Hi guys.
So this is my first fic so be kind. It features my new crack OTP of the two short captains!
Just so you guys know.
"Japanese"
'Thoughts'
'Zanpakuto'
Enjoy!
"Eh. I don't think this is Karakura..."
Toshiro looked down from the huge wall he had ended up on. The smooth stone easily towered over everything in the old looking town below. There were cannons on the top of the wall that looked like they had been maintained and used recently. The town below looked deserted and had many crushed houses along with huge chunks of debris here and there.
"Definitely not Karakura." Toshiro concluded. He sighed and pulled out his denreishinki, his fingers swiftly punching in thenumber for the twelfth division. The device responded with a few beeps indicating there was no signal.
'The energy in this place is different. So much so that I can hardly identify the things I feel through you as human though I know that they are.'
'Ah, now that you mention it I can see the difference. Any ideas as to where we are?'
The dragon gave a low rumble and fell silent. Toshiro knew that meant he was puzzled and was analyzing the situation.
A new voice snapped the icy captain from his thoughts.
"Hey! What are you doing up here kid!?"
Toshiro whipped around to see someone calling out further down the wall. A few more men joined him, flying up on the wall using the devices strapped to their hips. They seemed to be wielding blades attached to the devices and were all wearing some sort of uniform. Toshiro could tell that these were military personnel and judging by their looks, he wasn't supposed to be up here.
In a flash, the small captain vanished from their sight and quickly descended to the ground.
'So they can see me without a gigai. And it wasn't just one. I'll have to disguise myself as well as you Hyorinmaru.'
'You're asking me to seal myself and leave you defenseless in an unknown place?' The dragon scoffed. 'Very well.'
'If my kido won't work I can always unseal you.'
'True enough.'
The zanpakuto burst into millions of tiny white particles of light before reforming around Toshiro's wrist. The dragon's body wrapped around with the mouth and tail latching onto a circle with the four pointed flower in it's center. The bracelet was mostly silver with the exception of the flower which was a teal blue and shone like crystal.
After a good minute of admiring Hyorinmaru, Toshiro set out to find a change of clothes and possibly a shelter. As he walked down the streets though he noticed there were no people around anywhere. To confirm his suspicions he entered the nearest house noticing the door was still slightly ajar.
"Maybe there was an earthquake?" He muttered to himself, noting the items that were carelessly tossed around.
There was still food set out on the table as if the family were in the middle of dinner when the crisis had struck. The chairs were tipped over and all of the windows had shattered.
After a quick rummage through the house he managed to find a set of clothes that mostly fit as well as a bag to put his uniform in. He tossed on the slightly over-sized, red, wool shirt and tight fitting, itchy, black pants. He kept his tabi socks and sandals on, the pants just reaching his ankles.
Flinging the bag over his shoulder he headed towards the front door again and pulled it open. His eyes widened and the small captain froze.
There was a giant, smiling, face in the doorway.
Toshiro flash stepped away just in time to avoid the giant fist that came crashing down into the house.
'Hyorinmaru! What is that thing!?'
'I don't know, little one. But it seems very intent on trying to catch you.'
The naked, genderless giant lumbered after Toshiro who was gaining more and more distance. It seemed to lose interest though and headed off in a different direction. Toshiro took the chance to sneak in between some houses to catch his breath and calm his racing heart. That giant was really fucking scary. Hollows were no problems as he at least knew what they were. But that grin, that just got to you.
Curious, Toshiro climbed up to the roof of one of the houses and scanned the area again.
There were dozens of these giants all heading towards the same area in the town. Pillars of smoke rose up from the felled bodies of the giants as the bodies burned away on their own.
'At least now I have clothes to fit in when I find a normal town.'
'That's only if there is a normal town you can go to.'
'That gear looks useful though. That way I can get around without needing to draw suspicion to myself. Though chances are it's only given to those in the military.'
He looked back towards the walls and saw the huge gate. People were scrambling towards the giant boats that were passing through, trying to get away from the giants that were closing in on them.
Suddenly he was jerked forward and flying through the air.
"What do you think you're doing kid!? We need to evacuate! You're lucky I grabbed you or you'd be titan food."
Toshiro looked up at the man that was carrying him.
"Titans? That's what those things are?" Toshiro asked, glancing back at the hordes of lumbering giants.
"Che, of course. Did you live under a rock all your life or something?"
The two landed close to a boat and the man shoved Toshiro on. The small captain was quickly pushed in further by the mob of fearful townspeople while the military man in charge threw all personal belongings over board. Being observant as he was Toshiro managed to sneak his bag under his shirt, though he now looked like he was overweight. He wrapped his scarf back around his neck to help thin out some of the bulk in the bag.
A little ways away he could hear a kid muttering about wanting to kill all of the titans. He looked like he had just been crying a river.
'He must have lost someone dear to him.'
'I doubt there's a single person on this ship that hasn't lost something precious.'
'Those things would be of no match to us.'
'It is not our job to interfere. Not as a shinigami anyways.'
'I take it you are joining the military.'
'If they accept me. Chances are I will find out everything I need to know there. And at the rate those soldiers are dying I'd say they'd take anyone they can.'
Toshiro closed his eyes and blocked out the noise. Right now all he wanted was to be back in his office with a nice cup of green tea.
'I'm going to kill Matsumoto for volunteering me for that mission to Karakura when I get back.'
-line break-
Several weeks had passed since Toshiro's entry to the strange, titan filled land. He ended up in wall Rose along with thousands of other refugees. Right now though he was standing in the middle of a ring facing a military member with spectators all around them.
Why?
Because the military man laughed in his face when he had said he wanted to join the military. So Toshiro has struck a deal. If he could beat him in a one on one spar then the man would personally bring him to training camp. If he didn't then he would be the man's personal servant all week.
The small captain smirked. The man had no idea what he was really up against.
Toshiro quickly sidestepped another attack while dealing his own counterattack to the military man. This went on for several minutes until finally Toshiro had enough. With a quick roundhouse to the side he sent the man toppling over before pinning him to the ground.
"Yield or the arm breaks." He whispered in the man's ear.
"I yield! I yield!" The man cried out quickly.
The crowd cheered behind him. Some of them because they had just won a lot of cash. The rest were just common folk who were fed up with the military and wanted to see them beat down a little.
"Where did you learn to fight like that, kid?" The man asked.
"I picked a few things up here and there. And I'm not 'Kid'. My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya. I'd prefer if you call me Hitsugaya. Now if you don't mind, I would like to be shown to the military camp."
-line break-
5 years later...
"Hitsugaya! Commander Erwin wants to see you."
Toshiro nodded in acknowledgement and rose from the table. He offered the rest of his food to Milo Jargen, one of the soldiers he bunked with. He was a pleasent fellow who came from a smaller town and joined the survey corps in memory of his father. Milo gave Toshiro a worried look before helping himself to the others plate.
He followed Tolsen Yordevitch, a cocky soldier who enjoyed bossing others around. Toshiro often ended up being challenged to spars during training with the guy. He was ranked number eight in Toshiro's graduating class while Toshiro was ranked first.
Tolsen didn't enter with him when they finally reached Erwin's office. But Toshiro wasn't the only one present at the time. There were five others in the room aside from Erwin with the shortest (though taller than Toshiro) standing facing the rest of them.
"Now that you are all here I would like to introduce you to your new squad member." Erwin nodded. "This is Toshiro Hitsugaya. He will be joining your squad and assisting in your new mission."
Erwin then turned to Toshiro and held his hand towards the shortest member of the group. "This is Levi. He will be leading the Special Operations Squad that you have been chosen to be in."
Of course he had already known who Levi was after hearing the stories and seeing the man around headquarters. Usually it would be comments about how Toshiro was even shorter than Levi Heichou.
"We will be heading out to a new location tomorrow morning. Our task is to protect Eren Jaeger and if necessary, eliminate him. I assume you have all heard the news of our fellow titan-shifting soldier." Levi said, his eyes lingering on Toshiro. "I expect to see you all at the stables an hour before training starts. You're dismissed."
The five left the room leaving only Levi and Erwin in the room.
"That boy doesn't even look old enough to be in the military, let alone in this squad. He better live up to your description." Levi said, turning back to face Erwin.
"He's a lot like you. You won't be disappointed." Erwin smiled. "I've seen the boy in combat several times. The only reason he hasn't been promoted is because he looks so young. No one takes him seriously."
Outside the room Petra was taking care of the introductions. "My name is Petra Ral, to my left is Eld Jinn, and to my right is Gunther Schultz. The guy behind me nursing his tongue at the moment is Oluo Bozado."
Toshiro nodded. "My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya. I would appreciate it if you would address me as Hitsugaya. Thank you for the introduction Miss Ral."
"Well if we're going to be a team then it would be best to at least know each others names. I know I've seen you around plenty of times but I never worked with you before." Petra smiled.
"I did though." Eld smirked. "You're pretty good for a short guy. Not that being short is bad but I expected you to blow over in a strong gust of wind you're so small. You sure surprised me. The little squirt killed a 15 meter class all on his own as well as several other titans on the expedition we did a while back."
Toshiro's eye twitched a little at being called a squirt. He was thankful Matsumoto wasn't around to see this.
"Wow! I guess that's why they put you in with us." Petra said, ruffling his hair.
Toshiro swatted the hand away lightly while Oluo spoke up from behind them.
"It's not that impressive. That shitty brat still has a lot to learn. Maybe when we get the time at the new headquarters I'll show you some real techni-AUGHBFLTH!"
"That's twice now in less than twenty minutes. And stop trying to imitate Levi-Heicho. You're just making yourself sound stupid." Petra chastised.
"I'm going to head back to my room. I need to check over my gear and supplies for tomorrow. Thank you Miss Petra." Toshiro said with a slight bow before he left.
"See you tomorrow morning Hitsugaya!" She said, giving a small wave.
Toshiro headed back towards his room but at the last moment turned and hopped out the nearest window. He was already on the top floor so he didn't have far to climb to reach the roof. He liked to sleep up here whenever the sky was clear. It was much cooler outdoors and didn't have three other guys snoring all night.
The sun had just finished setting and Toshiro could see the faint stars that littered the sky. He could almost pretend he was back home despite the foreign reiatsu around him. He still had no luck accessing a senkaimon and his pager still had no signal. He was starting to worry that he might not ever get home. There weren't even any souls wandering around that he could talk to.
He ran his fingers along Hyorinmaru with a small sigh. At least he had his most trusted friend with him in this world. And with that final thought in his head the small captain finally drifted off to sleep.
-line break-
The next morning Toshiro headed down to the stables to ready his horse. There didn't seem to be anyone else there yet which he was somewhat thankful for. He liked being able to work in silence.
He picked his gear off the hook and opened the door to his stall.
"Ohayo, Frost."
The large white horse whinnied happily at the sight of his owner and nudged his head against the captain. Toshiro was nearly knocked over by the large equine that towered over him.
Frost was only two years old. His dam used to wander over to where Toshiro trained and watch him through the fence. Toshiro would sneak her oats and little treats before heading off in the woods to train. But when she gave birth to Frost her demeanor changed.
To everyone's surprise she gave the newborn a hard kick and ran off without him.
No one had any idea as to why until the little foal finally stood up and wobbled over to Toshiro, bumping heads with his fellow white haired human. Toshiro then realized that while he was training his reiatsu not only affected the environment, but also the development of the foal that had hung around everyday.
This was why shinigami were not allowed to interact with the living world and it's inhabitants. Now this horse had a small reserve of spiritual energy that had bonded with Toshiro.
Dita Ness commented on how the foal wouldn't survive without a mother and moved to put a tiny harness on the foal. The little guy snorted at Ness and ran away at each attempt.
"Allow me to try." Toshiro offered, taking the harness from Ness after the umpteenth try.
The next time the foal came up to him, Toshiro slipped the harness on with ease. "I guess he just doesn't like you."
"Or maybe he only likes you. You can have him if you want but you'll have to care for him and pay for all his necessities. The guy probably won't co-operate with us anyways and you still need a horse. Most recruits don't have personal horses this early on but we can make an exception this one time."
"Don't you have a personal horse?" Toshiro asked him.
"Like I said, most guys. Shallot is my baby even though she likes to eat my hair." He smiled.
"I can try. You'll have to teach me how to train him though. I've never had a horse before, unless it was loaned to me for an expidition."
Needless to say it was a lot of hard work and very costly to buy the milk the foal needed to survive. Toshiro found himself broke most of the time and ran a few errands here and there to keep up with the costs. But the effort all paid off in the end. Frost was the most loyal horse he had ever seen. Toshiro swore that he was also the biggest, healthiest horse.
When no one was looking he would often run in the fields with Frost, using shunpo too keep up with the animal. He found it was good training for both him and the horse.
"We're moving today. You better behave." Toshiro warned the large horse as he brushed his coat and picked the dirt clogged in his hooves.
The horse grunted in response and nudged Toshiro's shoulder roughly.
"Oi! Stop that. I need to get all this dirt off you. I don't even know how you manage to get so filthy."
By the time the others arrived Toshiro had already finished grooming Frost and was making the final adjustments to the saddle. He left the stable after greeting the others and mounted his horse with a grace that only came from lots of practice.
Down the path he could see two figures on horseback heading towards the stables. Toshiro called out to Petra to let her know someone was coming.
"That must be Heicho! He went to go get Eren earlier." Petra answered, mounting her horse and moving next to Toshiro.
Oluo, Eld, and Gunther joined them after a couple of minutes.
Levi nodded at the group. "Good to see that you're all ready in time. Lets head out. I want to be there before everyone rises for training."
Levi went on ahead with Petra and Oluo close behind. Eren went slightly after them along with Toshiro and Gunther while Eld stayed in back.
The ride was a silent one apart from Oluo trying to intimidate Eren and biting his tongue again. Eren was a little startled by the display but was put back at ease thanks to Petra.
When the castle finally came into view Toshiro nearly cringed at the state it was in. They followed Levi to the stables and took care of the horses, Levi handing his to Petra and leaving to go check out the castle.
Once the horses were all taken care of the squad gathered out front. Petra was chastising Oluo again while Eld and Gunther commented on the state of the place. Eren stood to the side quietly as he observed all the the members.
"Are you nervous?" Toshiro asked him, startling the younger soldier.
"No! Not at all. Just...thinking." Eren replied. "I know all their names but I don't know yours. I guess you know mine already though."
"Eren Jaeger. Yes, I've heard. Though I suppose that's not a bad thing considering we are responsible for your well being. My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya. I would prefer it if you addressed me as Hitsugaya."
"Fine, but only if you call me Eren." He smiled.
Toshiro gave a small smile in return. The boy's lightened mood seemed to be contagious.
Levi approached the group and looked at the castle with disgust. "We're cleaning up the castle. Everyone get to work. I want the place spotless by the time we're done. Jaeger, you're in charge of the upper floor. Eld and Gunther, I want you cleaning the walls. Petra and Oluo, you are going to do the middle floor while Hitsugaya cleans the basement."
'We're even cleaning the dungeons? How much of a clean freak is this guy?'
'You're almost just as bad, little one.'
Everyone scurried off to their designated area, collecting the cleaning supplies Levi had put out for them on the way.
To say the dungeons were filthy would be an extreme understatement. The place looked like it hadn't been touched in centuries. Toshiro could have sworn he saw some of the dirt move on its own.
'I wonder if I can blast the grime away with kido.'
It wasn't until evening did Toshiro finally finish cleaning the entire dungeon on his own. The white cloth he had tied around his hair and face was now a dirty brown. He could feel the dust caked onto his fingers and clothes.
"There's a shower room upstairs. I suggest you take one before coming to dinner."
Toshiro turned around to see Levi standing behind him.
"You did a good job though, better than that Jaeger brat. He had to redo his whole floor." Levi said, staring at the shorter. "I have to say, it's nice to be able to talk to someone without having to look up." He smirked.
Toshiro managed to hold a straight face as he listened to his superior talk. "Well then if you'd excuse me, I will go up and get ready for dinner." He replied with a curt bow.
It turns out that he wasn't the only one told to go get a shower. He was suddenly jealous of Petra for being able to shower by herself as he saw the four other guys in the room. At least when he was back at the old HQ he could wait until the others had left. This time he had to take one now or face the wrath of Levi. He could feel the stares of the others as soon as he stepped under the shower head. He knew they were eying his scars. Most likely they were staring at the long one that ran down his left side where Aizen had sliced through him.
He knew that they knew those scars weren't from titans. You didn't get scars from titans, you got missing limbs. Thankfully none of them asked about the scars. Even Oluo stayed quiet about it.
Toshiro finished showering in record time and pulled on his other clean uniform minus the jacket. He could hear the other guys starting to chat with each other again. Oh, so they waited until he was out of the room before they talked about his scars, how considerate.
Levi and Petra were already at the table and halfway through their dinners by the time he had arrived, with the rest of the guys showing up a few minutes later. No one missed the looks of pity they gave Toshiro as they sat at the table.
"Did we miss something?" Levi asked the group, Petra watching out of curiosity.
"It's nothing." Toshiro answered for them.
"What, did you come onto them in the shower and they rejected you or something?" Levi asked, calmly sipping his tea.
Toshiro nearly choked on his meal and glared red-faced at the man. "No, those four idiots are just making assumptions about my past and are pitying me because of their own foolish beliefs."
"The brat looks like his entire left side sliced off!" Oluo exclaimed. "How are you even still alive!?"
The other three nodded in agreement while Levi raised his brow in interest. Petra looked horrified at the thought.
"Hitsugaya, take off your shirt." Levi ordered.
"Heicho, I don't think that it's necessary..." Petra started.
"Take it off before I take it off for you. You caught my interest and now I want to see." Levi said, cutting Petra off.
Toshiro glared at the man again before standing up and undoing his shirt. His face turned a slight shade of pink as his eyes met Levi's but he managed to suppress it quickly. He shrugged the left sleeve off and turned so they could see the scar.
"Turn around." Levi ordered again.
Toshiro did so and Levi examined the scar. Petra looked at it with interest as well, though she did look quite horrified still.
"So how did you survive this? A normal person would be dead, and according to the observations on Eren a titan-shifter wouldn't bear a scar."
Toshiro put his shirt back on and shrugged. "I was lucky enough to be close to a good doctor. I heal quickly it seems."
There was a heavy silence that seemed to drag on forever until Eld cleared his throat and drew all attention to him.
"Well now that that's settled, I heard there's going to be a large expedition soon. I also heard the new recruits are going to be joining us." Eld said.
"So soon? Not to mention they're only just recovering from the last titan attack. Most of them are probably in shock." Gunther said, crossing his arms.
"Is this true Heicho?" Petra asked, everyone turning to look at Levi.
"Erwin is the one to make the call, not me. He always thinks a few steps ahead than any of us." Levi told her.
Toshiro collected the empty plates and placed them to one side as the rest continued their conversation. This time it was focused on Eren and his titan transformation. He could hear footsteps outside the door and turned his attention to the entrance instead, curious to see who came in.
"Good evening Levi's squad!"
Toshiro's eyes widened a little at the woman. "Hanji? What are you doing here?"
"Eh? Toshiro's in your squad too Levi? Why didn't you tell me!?" Hanji said, going over and ruffling Toshiro's hair much to his dislike.
"I didn't know you knew the brat."
"Of course I know him. He did his first expidition under my command!" Hanji said, puffing her chest proudly. "He performed spectacullarly. He even helped capture one of the titans we had previously."
"Anyone could have done that. I was merely following orders." Toshiro mumbled.
"And he loves learning about titans too. I could talk to him all night about titans and he'd just soak it up like a sponge." She added before walking over to where Eren was.
"So you like learning about titans do you?" Eld chuckled, nudging the icy captain.
"It was one time." He growled. "She just didn't stop. Like she's going to do now." He pointed out after hearing Eren ask about the experiments. He rose from the table and left the room with the others, leaving Eren alone with the crazy woman.
Lemme know what you guys think. I really need work on my writing so constructive crit is much appreciated.