Thawing the Ice Heart
By: HellsWorstMistake
WARNING: This Fanfiction contains some language, and can be a spoiler for those of you who have not seen or read Bleach. Read at your own risk.
"I dreamed of a day when I would meet the perfect man. When my knight in shining armour would save me from the tower of my own despair. But even as his sword freezes the land around it, his heart can never be completely frozen."
Chapter 1
A Newfound Emotion
The sun was shining and all of the soul society seemed to finally be at peace. Many scars of war had been left after the battle with Aizen and the Espada. But even with this new peace trouble always found a way to arouse and distress the 13 court guard. Captain Hitsuguya of the 10th division, like any other normal day, was filing reports on recent missions and recruitments. As he walked through the streets in between the many buildings he noticed a group of trainees training with lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto. After a long week of hard work he found himself longing to do something different, more exciting. He walked over and leaned on a nearby tree observing the working soul reapers. After 5 minutes Rangiku stopped in her tracks and stared into the distance. A moment of silence fell upon the training ground, when finally it was broken when she turned around and exclaimed, "Captain... How long have you been standing there?" Her face was red as she blushed at her foolishness.
"Honestly Rangiku, you need to watch your back or else..." He disappeared all of the sudden and reappeared behind her, a training Zanpakuto aimed directly at her back, "You're going to get killed." The watching recruits stared in awe at their captains' speed and skill. Rangiku put on a ghost of a smile as she leaned forward and kicked the sword out of his hands, and up into the air. Even he hadn't expected that. She caught the sword and spun around, pointing it to where his neck would be, but he was gone again. Suddenly he landed as light as a feather on the tip of the training sword. Rangiku blushed in embarrassment as Toshiro bowed to his audience.
"Hey Rangiku, why don't you go grab some Sake. I can take it from here." He said with a wide grin on his face. The crowd cheered as Rangiku grumbled and turned towards the squad 10 dorm area. Hitsuguya then became serious and turned to the trainees.
"Now as you can see even a lieutenant can't match the skills of a captain. But I didn't get this fast and strong over night. I trained every day for almost 7 years before I even reached lieutenant level. Now if you all want to survive in this world I expect you put all your thoughts and actions into becoming stronger." He held up his Zanpakuto in the air. "I want you all to hold up your Zanpakuto and call it out." A wide range of voices called out their Zanpakuto's names and they all began flashing and changing forms. But one stood out from all the rest, catching Toshiro's eyes. A frail looking blonde haired girl stood there with an enormous sword that was bigger than her in her hands sat there staring back into his. A Zanpakutos' size is supposed to express the users' spiritual pressure. I haven't seen one this big since Ichigo. He stepped forward and stood in front of her. They looked at each other with blank faces.
"You there. What is your name?" He asked. The girl stood up straight and tried to look confident, but he could still tell she was nervous.
"My... My name is Kyla Inoue, Captain sir." Her voice trailed off at the end of her sentence. He stood looking at her sword and then back to her.
"Kyla. I want you to hit me with that blade." He told her. She looked up in surprise. She opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it. Hitsuguya stood there waiting as she struggled to lift her sword above her head. When she finally did he was already behind her. Before she could notice her sword was slammed against the ground, so hard the impact caught Hitsuguya off guard and he was swept off his feet and landed on the ground. Kyla swung her sword around, almost effortlessly this time, and pointed it at him.
"I may look small and frail, but I'm tougher then I look." She swung the sword over his head as if it was a feather before returning it to its' dormant state. Hitsuguya turned on his back and looked up at her. She giggled in amusement. Without warning he spun his legs around and took out her legs from under her, and faster then anyone could see he was up on his feet and caught her in his arms with his sword, which was sheathed, to her neck. This time he laughed and all the trainees stared in amazement. Kyla began to blush, not only because she had been out done, but the way he was holding her made her feel awkward.
"Never, EVER, let your guard down until your are 100% sure your enemy can't pull something like that." He lifted her to her feet and put his sword back on the strap around his back. She was still blushing as she walked back into her spot in the lines. She looked back at him, and for a second she could see something strange about him. Was he blushing too? Hitsuguya then turned around and gave his instructions.
"Now I want you all to partner up. You will then spar with your training swords. I want you to try to catch your opponent off guard while keeping yours up. When you do that switch partners." He finished then jumped up onto a nearby tree branch. Laying against the tree he observed all the new soul reapers. Then Kyla again caught his eyes. He again began to blush. Shaking his head he moved his eyes to another pair of trainees. Why did he feel this way. She was incredibly beautiful, even more then Momo, but what he felt inside was strange. He was lost in thought when he finally came back to his senses at the sound of his name being called. Rangiku was at the trunk of the tree.
"What is it?" He asked.
"I think the new guys have had enough." She told him, a little annoyed. He looked around seeing everyone was gasping for breathe, some on their knees. How long had he been zoned out?
"Everyone, I am sorry for my non realization of the time, you are now free to go back to your dorms." He told them, embarrassed. They all walked away as he jumped down from the tree. Rangiku put his hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright. It happens to everyone." She tried to cheer him up.
"But I am a captain. This kind of stuff must never happen. I must be focused at all times." He exclaimed. Rangiku shook her head and began to walk away. Then he was alone. Hitsuguya stood there looking at the ground for a while until he felt a hand on his shoulders. He turned around, startled, and saw Kyla standing there.
"It's alright captain. Everyone makes mistakes. We forgive you." She was sweaty and panting but had a big smile on her face. He looked down and began to blush again. Her words were soothing and the anger that was building up inside him began to fade. She began to massage his shoulders to calm him.
"Please understand. No one is perfect. So you zoned off, so what. Everybody in existence has done it before. I do it all the time." She began to giggle. Then she stopped and took her hands from his shoulders. Now she was blushing. They stood there in silence for a moment, then she turned away. She looked into his eyes again before turning her back to him and walking to her room. Her words echoed in his head as he watched her walk away. He shook his head. I need to stop zoning out. He thought. Then he turned back to his own room. Tomorrow would be another big day.
Kyla
I opened the door of my dorm and walked in. What the hell happened today? I've never felt like more of an idiot in my life. I put Sakura, my Zanpakuto, against the wall near my bed and layed on my back on the floor. I hugged a pillow near my chest, lost in thought. What was I thinking? Massaging his shoulders. Man I am so stupid. And I BLUSHED. Dammit! This was the worst day in my life. I'm so embarrassed. Suddenly the door flew open and my roommate, Tsaki, came in.
"HEEEEEY there Kyla. How was your day?" She yelled in excitement. She was always way hyper. Staring at me she looked puzzled. "What are you doing on the floor?" I got up and sat on the edge of my bed, and told her everything that happened. Her face was stupid when she smiled widely at me.
"Kyla's in love with captain Hitsuguya." She said in a childish voice, laughing.
"Oh, shut up." I told her angrily. But she was right. I tried to deny it, but I couldn't.
Hitsuguya
What happened today? The question roamed my mind since I got home. Who was she? Why does she make me feel this way? All I wanted was to forget everything. I sat on the couch trying to figure out a solution. Then I made up my mind. "It's settled. I'm going to get to know her more tomorrow." I blurted out with a grin on my face.
"Get to know who?" Rangiku asked, appearing out of nowhere. Oh crap. How long has she been there? I thought.
" Uum... No one. Just a..." My voice trailed off, in fear that Rangiku would find out my feelings.
"Oh come on Captain. You can tell me." She wrapped her arms around me and pulled my head against her chest. "I won't tell." She said in a sarcastic voice. I hate it when she gets like this.
"It is none of your business." I told her, annoyed.
"Pleeeeeaaaaaasssssse." She went on. "I can help you."
"You don't even know who I'm meeting or why I'm seeing them, so lay off." I unwrapped her arms and stood up. "If I want your help I'll ask for it, but for right now just leave me alone." With that I walked into my room and slid the door shut.
"Wonder what his deal is." I heard her say. I desperately wanted to run back out there and ask for her help, but I couldn't tell her how I felt inside. I can't tell anyone... maybe not even Kyla. Laying down on my bed I planned how I would approach her the next day. For some reason I treated it like I did during the war against the Arrancar. Do I really like her that much? I kept asking myself throughout the night, until sleep finally conquered me.