Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
A/N: I'll admit that the main basis for Hitsugaya's and Halibel's physical appearances in this fic are based from a picture I saw.
I know the whole idea about letting a young kid go with some guy you met only recently can be seen as really bad judgement and all, but this is fiction, and, well, it doesn't really matter all that much. I tried to give as many good reasons/excuses as I could for why this Aizen can be trusted.
Karakura Town was a small, and relatively peaceful, suburbia. Many people knew each other well enough that hardly anyone could be considered a stranger. A river ran through the middle of the town, splitting it into two. The streets were hardly ever busy, as the majority of the local residents chose to traverse by foot. Sosuke Aizen was one of those particular residents. He enjoyed taking his time most often; he had always been a procrastinator by habit. He didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but it felt good to be out in the fresh air after spending two and a half days conked out on drugs in his shitty little apartment room. It also felt really good chastising Gin for being so careless with everything. Of course, even if things were playing out in his favor so far, Aizen wasn't about to let his guard down. He knew very well how life loved to fuck with people when they're at their most content. As it turned out, his intuition was right on the mark.
"I-I'll defeat you with Hyourinmaru this time for sure!"
"Hey, c'mon, kid, cut it out; I can't play with you right now. I got school to go to!"
"PLEEEEEEEEASE, GIVE ME A CHANCE TO SHOW YOU MY STRENGTH!"
"CUT IT OUT, I SAID!"
Aizen turned his attention to the two figures standing on the opposite end of the road from him. A well-endowed young woman with tanned skin and long, messy blonde locks was attempting to remove from her sight a small boy. Oddly enough, his hair was as white as snow. He was waving around a small wooden sword as he used his other hand to pull on the girl's handbag; he was quite reluctant in releasing it to her. None of the people passing by even gave the two of them a secondary glance. It was probably considered a normal scene about town in the past time that Aizen was asleep. Still, he could not help but find it so annoying that he had to intervene. He also secretly loved proving his superiority by handling situations that others couldn't.
"Excuse me, miss," Aizen spoke casually as he approached the distressed teenager, "I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be having some trouble dealing with this child...could he be, your son?"
"LIKE HELL I WOULD HAVE A SON! I'M ONLY 17! JUST BECAUSE I GOT A CHEST THAT CAN BREAK MY BACK IF I'M NOT CAREFUL DOESN'T MEAN I'M SOME KIND OF SLUT!" The girl snapped back, her temper already inflamed due to the white-haired boy's screeching. Aizen felt like she had seen her somewhere before, but his memory was still a little fuzzy since he woke up. Her voice even seemed familiar.
"Ah, yes, of course it doesn't...in any case, just what is this brat to you?"
"Why should I tell you? I don't even know you! You could be a freak!"
"Look at my mullet, girl. I want you to ask yourself this...could someone with hair like mine truly be evil?"
"I...I don't know...but I still have no idea who you are!"
"Very well then. I know just how to fix that." Aizen stuck out his hand and nodded, "My name is Sosuke Aizen. Nice to meet you."
The girl was taken aback at first, as would be expected, but she slowly and carefully took his hand into her own and shook it. "I think I've seen you a few times before around town now that I think about it. Old Man Yama talks about you from time to time, for some reason. Uh...I'm Tia Halibel, by the way."
"And the boy?"
"My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya, you girly-haired bastard!" shouted the child. His innocent, sky-blue eyes were practically staring into the older man's very soul. Upon closer inspection, Aizen recognized him as well, for some bizarre reason.
"I told you never to use that word in public, Toshiro! Your mom would get mad at me if she found out that you learned a bad word!" Halibel chastised Hitsugaya by giving him a light slap in the back of the head. The boy was not even phased by the strike however, and he continued to swing about the wooden monstrosity he called a sword.
Aizen let out a soft chuckle. "As I was asking earlier...why is he following you around?"
"He's just some kid that a friend and I get paid to babysit from time to time. All I did was show off a few moves I learned in self-defense class when I was a kid and now he won't stop bugging me about 'challenging me to a battle'...I think we've been letting him read too much shounen jump...oh god, why am I even explaining this to you?" Halibel made several fast glances at her wristwatch to keep track of the time. It wouldn't be long before the school bell rang.
"I want to see the full extent of your power! I...I won't lose to you, Halibel!" Hitsugaya bellowed loudly.
"I CAN'T JUST LEAVE HIM HERE ALL ALONE, BUT I CAN'T BE LATER EITHER-"
Suddenly, Aizen daintily raised his index finger, and that simple act alone held enough impact to silence both Halibel and Hitsugaya in an instant.
"How about I watch over the child for you while you attend your classes?"
"T-There's no way I can do that! I would be gravely neglecting my duties to watch out for him! Plus, we've only just become acquainted...!" Halibel nervously fiddled with the hem of her skirt as she spoke. Hitsugaya's full attention had currently been drawn to a trail of ants skittering past his feet, although he was still grasping onto the corner of Halibel's bag.
"Then how do you expect to make it to school on time...?" remarked Aizen, his expression smug. He really didn't plan on doing anything bad to the boy; he would probably buy him some ice cream, and maybe take him to the park too. He figured his more pessimistic outlook on life would return in full force once the after-effects of his drug overdose wore off, so he was going to enjoy feeling relatively high-spirited (emphasis on 'high') as much as he could. Plus, it would give him a chance to learn more about today's young generation.
Halibel looked down at Hitsugaya, then up at Aizen, then back at Hitsugaya. She checked her watch again. Her mind raced to think up a better solution to ensure Hitsugaya's safety, but she just couldn't do it. If she was late to school one more time during this semester, she would be suspended from the swimming team, and be unable to participate in the upcoming competition. Still, she couldn't really allow Hitsugaya to go with this strange Aizen fellow, could she? It's way too risky. She would be the one held responsible if something bad happened. On the other hand, the majority of Karakura were very trustworthy, and Old Man Yama had a good nose for spotting out undesirable. From what she had heard, Aizen was a bit of a bastard with a high and mighty attitude, but could still be counted on to do honest work if he seemed sober enough.
"Well, Tia Halibel? What is your final answer?" Aizen felt like some kind of announcer on a big-time game show. "I promise with both my heart and soul that I will not do anything to put the child in harm's way."
Halibel groaned in defeat. She removed a piece of paper from within her backpack and began to write on it as she said, "Alright, listen...I want you to take him to this address right away. My friend works there, and she'll be able to watch over him for a while. I'm going to call her as soon as homeroom ends to make sure you brought Hitsugaya there, and if you don't, I swear I will fucking hunt you down and beat you to near-death...do you understand? I'm pretty sure you don't want that."
"I understand, and you're right I don't want that, but I must admit it's a bit hard to take you as seriously when you're only 17 years old," Aizen replied.
"I'll have the police on my side, though."
"Hmm...you make a valid point. I shall do as requested, and without complaint. Will I get paid?"
"You never mentioned anything about money earlier."
"I just realized that I could make some extra cash this way. I deserve something for this random and selfless act of mine, don't I?"
"Argh, fine...here's twenty bucks!"
"Sweetness."
"You just better do it...and thanks, I guess,"
Once she was finished writing, Halibel shoved both the money and the piece of paper into Aizen's hands. The confident smirk Aizen wore on his lips quickly faded out of existence the moment he saw the address. His blood ran cold and his throat became achingly dry. At the same time, Halibel was hastily trying to explain the current situation to the young Hitsugaya as best she could.
'This...this is...'
