Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I wouldn't be stuck writing fanfiction, now would I?
Author's Note: Hey everyone! A giant, invisible, intangible cookie for all who reviewed! Thank you so much! Hopefully, you have an idea of how happy you've made me. Unfortunately, I guarantee there will be no update next week (because sometimes, you never know when those'll pop up) since I'm going to be out of town and away from my computer. After that, summer ends and I'll be back at school (OH GOSH, THE HORROR!), which ultimately means updates will probably take longer. Luckily, I'll be writing during my trip because I have my awesome NOTEBOOK! :D Hey... Do you guys notice that three out of four chapters have the word "break" or variations of it in the title. I'm going to try and stay away from that word during chapter naming now... Anyway, for my lovely, lovely readers, ENJOY!
Perfect Timing by HawkofNavarre
Chapter 4 – Breaking What's Broken
Fingers raked across the wall lightly as Matsumoto tried to imagine what her captain was thinking. Was he a fool or just incredibly concerned for Hinamori's well being? In fact, she had to admit that she was a little jealous of the Aizen-obsessed vice-captain for getting to be in Hitsugaya's room at the moment. There were still so many things she wanted to ask her cute, little Taicho. Still, Hinamori seemed to take priority over "big sister" Rangiku. She only hoped that nothing drastic happened while the Kidou expert was in there. Matsumoto wasn't exactly sure how much Hitsugaya's opinion toward Aizen had changed yet.
Then again, he'd always harboured some sort of hostility against that captain, but she was pretty certain that it was just because Hinamori was so infatuated the now traitor. The Ice Prince most definitely had a crush on his childhood friend, no matter how much he denied it.
"Matsumoto-Fukutaicho, are you feeling quite alright?"
The voice snapped her out of her reverie of thought. Unohana Retsu was standing in front of her, a warm smile on her face. "Ah, yes! Fine, fine," she answered hurriedly before remembering what Hitsugaya had asked her to do. "Unohana-Taicho, Hitsugaya-Taicho has asked a favour of you,"
"Oh? Please, enlighten me," the fourth's captain told her with a light voice. Matsumoto had no idea how that woman always maintained such a calm and kind exterior.
"He asks you to prevent Hinamori-Fukutaicho from knowing that it was traitor Aizen Sousuke who nearly killed him and tell her that it was Ichimaru Gin."
"In other words, Hitsugaya-Taicho wants me to lie for him," the elder woman rephrased while Matsumoto nodded grimly. "I will do it, but she must be told the truth in time."
"I very much agree," the tenth's lieutenant approved.
With a sigh, Unohana-Taicho shook her head sadly. "Hitsugaya-Taicho is simply growing up too fast. A boy like him should not be holding so much responsibility upon his shoulders or have to protect his friend's happiness at the cost of his own. This is hurting him, is it not?"
"It must be," Matsumoto replied, a distant look in her eye as she gazed over at her captain's room.
-
"Oi! Kira!" Renji called to his long-time friend. Kira Izuru was currently at a bar, drinking his sorrows away.
"Wha 'da you want, Renji?" he slurred half-lucidly as he slammed his glass of sake on the counter. "You gunna drink wif' me?"
Renji snickered as he looked in pity at his academy buddy. The poor guy had been a complete mess ever since the day it was announced that Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou might never wake up, blaming himself for the whole incident. All the vice-captains had been told what had happened, with the exception of Hinamori, and none of them blamed the third's Fukutaicho at all—not even Matsumoto. Kira had only been following orders and didn't even know what was going on behind his back.
This guy seriously needs therapy, Renji decided disapprovingly as he glanced at the emo looking man, half sprawled over the counter. "Did you hear? Hitsugaya-Taicho just woke up."
Kira dropped his glass in the midst of taking a swig, sending the sake bottle crashing onto the table. He clumsily picked it up his drink before it spilled and whirled around at Renji. "S'what? Hitsugaya-Ta-Tou-Taicho is just—wait, wha?! Hitsugaya-Taicho's okay?!"
The red-haired wanted to smirk. That guy would finally stop blaming himself and beating up his liver. Actually, was death by drinking even possible in the Soul Society? He knew in the living world people died from it, but…
Gah, get back on topic, Abarai!
"Yeah, so…you going to visit him or what?" Renji asked smugly, expecting only one answer from the drunken blonde.
Kira stared at his companion for a few seconds and blinked. Once, twice, three times. "…No."
He thought he nearly fell over from the shock of the response. That was…extremely anticlimactic. Renji was going to bash that idiot's head in soon. "What? Are you kidding me? You're beating yourself up over the fact that you think it was your fault that one of the ten loyal captains nearly died and you won't even go over and congratulate the guy for surviving? How much of a moron are you exactly?" the sixth's vice-captain exploded. "Jeez, and I thought I was the stupid one out of us three."
Once again, he received a blank look from the moping shinigami. It could perhaps be classified as amused; otherwise, it looked pretty dull.
"Is this about the blame? It is about the blame, isn't it? You feel guilty, right?" Abarai asked rhetorically. "Well, guess what? Nobody else thinks it's your fault. You were even excused by the Soutaicho, and I, personally, think that's something. The only person who you need to know doesn't blame you is Hitsugaya-Taicho himself, so why don't you go see him?"
More staring.
"Or is this about Hinamori? Are you afraid she's going to mad that you nearly got both her and her childhood friend killed?"
This time, Kira's expression looked considerably gloomier. "You're naht makin' me feel any better, ya know…" he groaned, his forehead hitting the counter.
Renji snorted and tugged hard enough on his depressed friend's hair to make his head tilt backwards. The tattooed shinigami made eye contact with the drunk and glared. "Listen up, Izuru," he growled forcefully. "You're going to see Hitsugaya-Taicho whether you want to or not. Now pick up your pathetic, intoxicated ass and let's go." Finally, he let go of the bright hair in his possession before sighing one more time at Kira. "Man, you look like you used Wabisuke on yourself."
There was no reply, but Kira grudgingly chugged the rest of his sake and got up from his stool, lazily lugging after Renji.
-
"I see… So it was Ichimaru Gin who did this to you…" Hinamori said softly as she gazed out the single window in the room.
For once in his life, Hitsugaya felt a bit like a coward. He really didn't want to face Hinamori at all. All of this was too hard for him to do. Who knew what she might say? He'd honestly been preparing answers for any other questions she might ask as quickly as possible, and now that she was right here in front of him, everything else that had been pre-organized had just blown away from his mind.
In other words, this was not good.
He struggled to sit up when Hinamori wasn't looking. Being a pathetic weakling was not in his book and he wasn't about to add it. The patient took in a deep breath and pushed himself up with all his strength, biting his lip in order to keep from making any noises of agony. He cursed Aizen inwardly; this wound hurt like Hell. As soon as he managed to get to an acceptable place in the bed, he exhaled and attempted to soothe his sore body. Crap. It felt like the thin layer of skin that had regenerated over his injury would burst any minute. He couldn't make any sudden movements.
"Poor Izuru-kun… He's been so betrayed by his captain. He always looked up to Ichimaru-Taicho so much," she sympathetically mused aloud as she turned around to see Hitsugaya wincing in pain.
Hinamori gasped and rushed over to his side, hold his back and shoulder tenderly. It took all his effort to keep his face at the correct temperature, close to blushing at the contact, even through all the ache.
"Mou, Shirou-chan, you should be more careful with your body," she scolded him with a frown.
"Isn't it the same for you?" Hitsugaya asked as he settled in a comfortable spot, regarding her previous statement. "And it's Hitsugaya-Taicho."
"Eh? What do you mean?" the brown-eyed Fukutaicho questioned him in confusion.
He wasn't sure if he should even be saying this. Hitsugaya knew it would be leading him down a dangerous path, but eventually it was going to come out of his mouth whether he wanted it to or not. It didn't matter to him much, because in the end, he was the one who was going to be taking the most pain anyway. The results would always be the same: he would always be inferior to Aizen in Hinamori's view, so if he wanted the emotional abuse, he was allowed to take it.
"Your situation and Kira's, they're very similar, aren't they?"
"No, no," she denied almost immediately. "We're in completely different situations, Hitsugaya-kun. Look at what Ichimaru Gin did to you! I know Izuru-kun must be devastated! Aizen-Taicho, on the other hand, has done nothing wrong. I'm quite sure that it was Ichimaru who forced Aizen-Taicho to follow him."
It was like someone was ripping his arm off bit by bit. Hinamori seemed as though she would believe in her captain no matter what, unlike her faith in himself. The pain of knowing she could doubt him so easily was worse than the pain in his chest.
"Do you remember any of what happened that day?" he ground out, voice shaking. His hands balled into fists so hard that he could feel small indents of crescent shapes from his fingernails forming. Was she ignoring all those events? Was she so blind?
"What day are you talking about?" Hinamori asked with genuine innocence, blinking in perplexity.
"The day we were in the Seijoutou-Kyorin," the green-eyed genius replied, the blood within him beginning to boil and his reiatsu rising just slightly. "You heard it all, and from Aizen's mouth no less."
"Ichimaru was forcing him! It was definitely that! Aizen-Taicho could never do something so horrible!" she defended the traitor heedlessly.
Frost began to appear on the walls. "How can you believe that so easily?" he demanded. Hitsugaya refused to let his temper win this battle. Nonetheless, he certainly was far from winning.
"I have faith in Aizen-Taicho," Hinamori snapped quickly, glaring at her oldest friend, as if he were doubting her loyalty to her captain.
His eyes turned down to the sheets on the bed, his expression dark. He lost the fight. His temper had won.
Hitsugaya hissed his next words quietly, but made sure she could still hear him. "And where was your faith in me?"
-
I didn't think that that stupid strawberry would have such an effect on me… Why the heck should I miss him at all?
Rukia was slowly making her way to the fourth division, but she was pondering on the way. She had gotten so used to being around that dumb substitute shinigami that it felt strange going more than a day without him. She hadn't even stayed in Karakura that long! How had this feeling of longing arrived in the first place? It had felt like this when she'd entered the shinigami academy as well and had been separated from Renji, but for some reason, being apart from Ichigo felt…so different. This emptiness was so foreign to her.
Ichigo was just so fun to be around, although she would never admit it. Recently, she had made a habit out of pissing him off, which would usually lead to verbal fights that, she conceded, were quite entertaining. Plus, she actually really did like his hair…
The raven-haired female turned a corner only to see Kira in a headlock, receiving an intense noogie from her old friend. The blonde appeared to be dazed, lethargically trying to stop Renji from doing further damage to his skull. Raising an eyebrow, she brushed the stubborn bang in the middle of her face to a place that was a little more comfortable as she approached the two vice-captains.
"Really, Renji, what are you doing? Bullying comrades again?" she asked with an amused stare.
"You heard about Kira's orders on the day of the 'incident,' right?" Rukia nodded as the redhead finished inflicting pain on Kira. "Yeah, so this idiot is still blaming himself for it."
The petite shinigami crossed her arms. "That's still bothering you, Kira? Why? You were just following orders."
"Whasat?" the drunk male inquired slowly. "Yeah… Orders 're nice…"
Ignoring the last comment, Renji released Kira from his hold. "See? Even Rukia doesn't think it's your fault. Man, news spreads fast, doesn't it? I bet the only people who'll see it the other way are the Hitsugaya-Taicho's fan-girls."
Both shinigami were now at attention. "He has fan-girls?" Rukia asked in disbelief. Come on, she knew Hitsugaya-Taicho was cute, but fan-girls?
"Yeah," Renji nodded almost jealously. "They call themselves the 'Followers of Hitsu-sama,' and it's freaking annoying. Those chicks carry around every picture and article about Hitsugaya-Taicho they can get in that stupid magazine that Hisagi runs."
"How ya even know dis, Rengi?" the wreck of a man questioned him, collapsing against a wall. "Ya gossip wif da girlies?"
The question seemed to embarrass the aggressive lieutenant as his face flushed red. "NO! I do not gossip, and it's Renji, not Rengi! I see those creepy females when I go to Rukongai every few days, jeez."
Rukia realized something and several large sparkles appeared in her eyes. "Do they have a Chappy fan-club?"
"No, but they do have a ryoka fan-club for Ichigo. Seriously, what the heck? What's so good about that stupid strawberry anyway?" he demanded to no one in particular. "They keep saying that he's cool and everything. Man, they go on and on about his 'hot body' when they don't even know his damn name!"
"Well, someone's jealous," she taunted him with a roll of her eyes, slightly disappointed that there was no Chappy club.
"I'M NOT JEALOUS!"
"Yeah, y'are. Even I can tell and I'm not even so…so… Hey, what was that word?" Kira mused airily.
"Sober," she supplied.
"Ah, das right… So-bur…"
Rukia laughed lightly at the two second-seats. Poor Kira. He wasn't dealing very well with what had happened a few days ago, but he seemed to be a little better when he was with friends. Of course, it could just be the sake…
"Rukia-chan!"
She turned to see her cheerful captain holding up an insanely large bottle of water. Wait, she thought he was sick today! What was he doing bouncing around Seritei with a huge jug of liquid?
"Ukitake-Taicho," the female greeted him, bowing respectfully, "ano…what are you doing with that…? And shouldn't you be resting?"
"Oh, I'm grateful for your concern, but I'm feeling much better now! I was just heading off to the candy store to buy a 'get well' present for Hitsugaya-Taicho. I know how much he likes his sweets!" the longhaired captain informed the group. Suddenly, the man blinked and it appeared as if he'd just realized something. "Right, and this…" Ukitake put down the massive water bottle on the ground, "is for you! It's important that you keep up your fluids when you're regaining your reiatsu!"
Her eyes were wide as she looked at the present, only nodding dumbly.
"All right, then, I'll see you later, Rukia-chan! You too, Kira-kun, Abarai-kun!"
Finally snapping out of her dumbfounded trance, she bowed once again. "A-arigato, Ukitake-Taicho!" Rukia said before gazing numbly at the "gift" she had just received. "How am I supposed to drink all of this…?"
Renji gave her a feral grin while Kira sent her a blank look.
"Heh, I've got an idea that'll put it to better use," the sixth's Fukutaicho cackled, lifting up the heavy container.
She watched in amazement as the water was dumped all over Kira's head, drenching the guy from head to toe. Rukia took a step back to avoid being caught in the onslaught of liquid.
"WHAT THE—RENJI! I'M GUNNA KILL YOU!" the blonde threatened as a vein popped up on his forehead.
"Not drunk anymore, are you?" Renji smirked.
"Oh, yeah, guess you're right,"
"Pretty good use," the short shinigami laughed, splashing between them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go to the fourth division barracks."
She could feel Renji staring at her back for a moment before he burst out, "Oi! Wait! We'll come with you!"
See? I don't need you to fill this void!
Rukia sighed at herself quietly.
Liar.
-
His words stung as soon as they hit her ears. Hinamori flinched and backed away involuntarily. Everyone seemed to be against her lately. Unohana, Renji (who had nicely pointed out to her that Aizen really was a traitor), and even her own zanpakutou! Now Hitsugaya was against her too! She didn't even know what she'd done wrong! All she'd done was listen to her captain, and nothing was incorrect when she listened to her captain! Aizen-Taicho was the wisest of anyone! Hinamori most certainly did have faith in Shirou-chan, but what Aizen said would always be right.
"I-I do have faith in you, Hitsugaya-kun!" she shielded herself with a low voice, unable to meet his eyes.
"Oh yeah, you displayed that tremendously well when you attacked me," Hitsugaya retorted coldly.
Hinamori could feel her fingers becoming stiff with frost coating them and she knew she had somehow angered him—truly angered him. The short-tempered boy that she'd lived with as a child constantly yelled at her and scolded her, but the words had never been serious. This time, however, she could feel his frustration and rage radiating off of him. This time, it was different from all the others.
"I'm sorry…" she whimpered quietly, unsure of what else to say. "I just… I was so confused…"
She heard him sigh as her eyes continued to gaze at the plain floor. Please don't be mad, please don't be mad, please don't be mad…
"I…know. I'm sorry too," Hitsugaya replied as a shaky breath left his mouth.
So at least she had Hitsugaya back on her side again. Hinamori didn't want to fight with him. He was her best friend, after all. He would definitely understand how she felt, right? He would agree with her when everyone else had given up on Aizen-Taicho, right?
"Ne, Shirou-chan, you don't believe what everyone has been saying, do you?" Hinamori asked him.
He visibly tensed, not even bothering to correct her by repeating his title. "What are you talking about?"
"Aizen-Taicho! You don't think he's really betrayed Soul Society, am I right?"
Hitsugaya turned and faced her, slowly and solemnly. "I have absolutely no reason to believe in him either," he told her truthfully.
She gasped in offence for her beloved Aizen. "Aizen-Taicho has only ever been kind to you, but you're siding with everybody else? How could you?" Hinamori shrieked in disbelief. She could handle everything up until her silver-eyed companion showed his distrust for the sinister man. Glaring indignantly, she huffed at him. She wouldn't tolerate this insult to her captain! "You're horrible! I'll never forgive you for this!"
"So you're still defending him?" He laughed bitterly, sending a chill up her spine. "I should've known. You're too stubborn to listen to anyone about Aizen."
"The only one that I'll ever listen to is Aizen-Taicho!" she shouted angrily. She'd believe in Aizen forever and for always.
"Screw that bastard! He tried to kill you!" he shot back furiously.
"Ichimaru made him do it! I know he did!"
Hitsugaya shut his mouth finally before calmly saying, "You will never realize the truth, even if it stands before you."
She was now seething with anger and couldn't take his rude comments anymore. Hinamori pulled the trigger. "What do you know? Aizen-Taicho is a better captain than you'll ever be,"
Her words caused him to jerk forward in shock, and before anything could come out of his mouth, Hitsugaya keeled over on the bed. She stood, frozen, as his wound reopened and blood spilled out, red contrasting against the white sheets. He began to cough violently and a crimson liquid spattered from his mouth.
An image of Aizen's bloodied body strewn out on the wall appeared in her mind and she screamed loudly. All over again! It was happening all over again!
As soon as reality returned to her, she found that Aizen was nowhere to be seen and then remembered that he was safe. The room was now filled with several fourth division members and Matsumoto came in as well. However, Hinamori was dragged out by the busty Fukutaicho and into the hall.
Matsumoto's face was filled with a calm resentment as she spoke to Hinamori. "Don't come back here again," the woman hissed venomously, "ever."
Author's Note: Hm, actually, now that I think about it, there's more Hitsu-whumpage in the next chapter. This one didn't have much... xD
Chapter 5: A pretty angsty chapter, in my opinion, but I'll let you decide that for yourselves. Most of it is just to establish that Hinamori is currently not herself.
Reviews and constructive criticism blows my mind into writing mode, so please, do so. :D Thanks! (Hehe, there will be a laptop on the trip...)
