DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach, although I am grateful for the opportunity to make my favorite character, Shuuhei Hisagi, once again suffer at my hands as I pretend to be a writer.
This story takes place immediately after my story, "Regression." While this one stands alone, it might be helpful to read "Regression," since it goes into further detail of the many strange events.
WARNING: I am well-aware that this story does not follow Bleach canon, so please do not give reviews based on whether or not the story is true to canon. Trust me, it isn't. In my Bleach universe, Soul Reapers are discouraged from remembering their lives and deaths in the world of the living. "The less known, the better." This is also my attitude about hypnosis. I do not know a lot about it. Enjoy the story for what it is, flaws and all.
"Isane! Isane! Open up!"
"Shuuhei, what are you doing here? Get in here before someone sees you. Are you crazy? You can't just barge into my room like this in the middle of the night."
"Please, Isane, please help me. Make the dreams go away, Isane, please. Boxing parakeets, Tousen in a barrel, bulls on a plane…."
In spite of herself, she pulled him close to her. It broke her heart to see him this way. But then again, breaking her heart was nothing new for him.
Five days earlier…
"Do something, Misaki," grumbled one of the men as he passed third seat Misaki Ino of the Ninth Division. For the third night in a row, a scream of terror had raced through the camp. Shinigamis in various states of undress had come running from their tents at full alert, just like the previous nights. Ino, quick to check on the suspected source of the disturbance, had reassured the men and sent them back to their tents to try to recapture their dreams. "Ya gotta do something about him," agreed another before he disappeared into his tent.
Ino stepped into Vice Captain Shuuhei Hisagi's tent and roused the sleeping man.
"Hisagi, wake up. You were screaming in your sleep, sir."
"Huh? I was?" came the husky reply.
"Yes, sir. You woke the whole division." Ino knelt next to his vice captain's field cot.
"What?" A hand rubbed at groggy eyes. "Again?"
"Yes, sir," Ino spoke softly to his commander and friend. "Shuuhei, the men and I are concerned about you. We've been field training for three days now, and every night, you wake up everybody except yourself with your screaming."
Hisagi sat up and ran both hands through his unruly hair. He looked blearily at his comrade. "If you have something to say, Ino, say it."
The younger man sighed and placed a hand on his superior's forearm. "We're here for you, Shuuhei. No one wants you to be promoted to captain of the ninth more than we do. When the traitor Tousen left, you were there for us. You ran the division, scheduled field exercises, did everything it took to keep us going as a team, as a unit. We're here for you now," Ino paused to catch his breath, "but you've got to get a handle on these dreams of yours. You show such strength during the day, but you seem so vulnerable at night. It's kind of a morale buster, sir, especially if you're having nightmares about Tousen." Ino looked his comrade in the eye. "The Giant Hollow attack that scarred you, we can understand. But not Tousen. He's not worth it. Hisagi, tell me you're not having nightmares about a traitor like Tousen."
Feeling ambushed, the Vice Captain replied a little too forcefully, "No, Ino, I'm not. I know you mean well, but I'm fine."
"Yes, sir, if you say so." Hesitant, Ino said quietly, "I hope I haven't stepped out of line…sir."
Hisagi gentled. He lowered his eyes and spoke softly, "No, Ino, it's fine. I understand your concern. This has nothing to do with Tousen, I can assure you." He laid a hand on the younger officer's shoulder. "Apologize to the men for me and go back to sleep, Misaki. We have a long day of field exercises tomorrow...er, this morning."
"Yes, sir. Good night, sir." The younger officer nodded and backed quickly out of the tent. Hisagi heard him reassuring the men that were milling around the bivouac.
He stretched and yawned to clear his head. Further sleep was now a lost cause, which suited him. He had no desire to scream like a little girl in front of his men again.
Rubbing his hand over his bare chest, he rose from the cot and threw on a pair of shorts. He paced the tent, one hand behind his back, the fingertips of his other hand playing over the three scars that ran vertically down his right cheek.
When he dreamed, he didn't dream about the Giant Hollow attack. It had happened in the line of duty, and he accepted his scars as the price of battle. But the scars to his heart were much deeper and much more frightening to him. He hadn't lied to Masaki Ino, exactly. He did dream of a traitor, but not the one Ino had suggested. Tousen's betrayal had shaken his ideals. But, that betrayal was easier to deal with than the knowledge that Hisagi possessed of another betrayal, one that cut him to the core and made him wonder what kind of man he truly was.
He felt like a coward. What kind of captain was he going to be if he couldn't be honest with his own men? These dreams haunted him. How could he explain this to his men when they expected him to be a strong leader, and all he felt was fear?
"Damned chicken shit!" The sound of his own voice startled him. He shook off his thoughts and doubts. No, his men needed him to be strong, and that's what he intended for them to see in the fast approaching morning.
"Coffee. What I wouldn't give for a cup of coffee right now." Searching through his duffle, he held up the empty tin that had stored his coffee rations. "That can't be all I had with me. I packed in enough coffee for a week!" With rising panic, he tore through his tent, overturning his cot, rifling through his extra clothing, scattering training documents, all in vain. In frustration, he kicked the corner of the overturned cot. "Ow, ow, ow." Holding his sore toe, Hisagi hopped on one foot to the flap of the tent.
"Ino!" he yelled out into the waning dark, "where's my coffee?"
The third seat of the ninth division was standing around with a small group of men, just off to the side of Shuuhei's tent. "You used up your officer's rations yesterday, Vice Captain," came the reply.
"I need some coffee."
"I'm sorry, sir, but there's nothing left but the men's rations."
"I need coffee; I need it bad. Tell the men that whoever supplies me with coffee will get the morning off from field exercises."
"Yes, sir!"
The group of men scattered to their tents, each tent coming alive with activity. Men raced back and forth between tents as word of a possible morning off spread quickly through the camp. Hisagi's men trained very hard, and these past three days had been no exception. He was a disciplined task master, even without proper sleep. A morning off during field exercises was a rare treat, especially when all it took to get it were coffee rations.
Within minutes, Vice Captain Hisagi had more packs of coffee than a normal man could use up in a month. But he was not a normal man, especially lately. Coffee had become his drug of choice. He chugged it at every opportunity, trying to sleep as little as possible in order to dream as little as possible. Yet, somehow, sleep always seemed to catch up to him, and with sleep came the dreams…and the fear.
He scrutinized his new cache of coffee, "Yes, that will do nicely, at least until we get back to the Seireitei in a day or two." The morning and a certain realization dawned on him at the same time. He would be training by himself this morning. "But at least, I have my coffee."
And after a morning off, Division 9 would be ready for an afternoon of pure training misery.