When Kagome next woke it was Toshiro who came to visit her. Unlike the previous times she had seen him, his posture was stiff and his expression was blank. He was in full Captain mode, the picture of cold and uncaring, and it scared her. He took out the keys to the cell and unlocked it, swinging open the door with a little more force than necessary making it bang loudly against the next cell over and causing Kagome to flinch. She had already been up and pacing before he came so when Hitsugaya opened the door she was already walking out toward him. Kagome stopped directly in front of the Captain and stared down at what had become her best friend. Toshiro looked at her with something in his eyes that she couldn't quite pin down but if she had to guess she'd say it was a mix of worry and anger. Wordlessly he turned and made his way down the corridor. Kagome followed, of course, and Shippou tried to follow too but Hitsugaya made it clear that the fox was not allowed to accompany them.
Hitsugaya led Kagome down the corridor until they were almost out of the prison but Kagome's hopes were dashed when they made a turn she hadn't seen and went down an arduously long flight of stairs. They finally came to a large stone door and Hitsugaya motioned for Kagome to go inside first. The moment her hand touched the cool rock she knew it wasn't ordinary stone. Her powers moved to her fingertips and seemed to pool into the handle of the door. Nevertheless, Kagome gripped it firmly and pulled the door open with a yank that took quite a bit of her strength. As quick as possible she withdrew her now slightly sweaty palm from the stone surface.
The entire room was made of the same material as the door, which made her extremely uncomfortable and was barren except for a low wooden table and a black cushion. Kagome had an inkling that the cushion wasn't for her so she sat on the opposite end of the table. Hitsugaya followed behind her, grim-faced as he sat down. He sighed slightly and stared Kagome straight in the eyes as if daring her to squirm. Normally she would have but this situation was different.
"Name?"
"Kagome Higurashi"
"Soul Number?"
"73106"
Her response surprised him though he gave no outward inclination. When a soul appears in the soul society they are given a soul number, an id, that is unique to them. The first two numbers indicate the district the soul is assigned to and the others indicate the time of their arrival in relation to others of the same district. Once again Hitsugaya realized how much he really knew about Kagome Higurashi.
"There is a 73106 in the Academy records but not under the name Kagome Higurashi" he stated and in the back of his mind, realized how hard it was going to be to defend her case if her credentials didn't even match up.
She almost growled in frustration at his frigidness but answered the unasked question anyway, "My name was misspelled on the entry form and I never saw to correct it until after I had graduated. You will probably find my school records under the name Kiname Higurashi."
"You say you corrected it but there are no records of a Shinigami under the name Kagome Higurashi"
"That's impossible I gave my forms to the Captain…"
She swore.
"Look, I'm not lying"
"I believe you" Hitsugaya responded tersely, drawing a surprised look from Kagome, "Captain?" he continued.
"It's in my file" was Kagome's stubborn reply. She never wanted to say that man's name again and nothing could make her do so. He had violated her soul, branded her like an animal and now that he was gone she thought would never have to think about him ever again.
"Who. was. your. Captain" Hitsugaya enunciated every word as if she were a child and to be honest he almost felt that she was acting as one. It was becoming increasingly hard to control his emotions around her and he didn't like it. He could feel the bitterness rising up in him. It was standard procedure, even she had to know that; giving your name, Soul Number and squad Captain, to make sure all discrepancies were dealt with. It shouldn't be this difficult.
Kagome's hand were shaking under the table and her mind was scrambled, threatening to take her under, to drown her, and relive the past. Why couldn't he see? Ask her anything else she screamed in her mind. The icy blue stare directed at her didn't hold compassion or understanding, only anger, and distrust. She knew he couldn't continue without this information to match up with the information on record. She wanted to lie, god she wanted to lie so bad but this room, something about it made her want to puke at the thought. It took her another five minutes of silence to draw up her courage
"Aizen, my Captain was Sosuke A-Aizen" those words seemed to break her and she slumped further in her sitting position, finally earning a semi-concerned look from Toshiro before the icy mask on indifference was back.
"Why did you leave?"
"I-" she clamped her mouth shut, eyes wide.
"You cannot lie here, Kagome, I'm surprised you even managed to stay silent."
Her eyes darted around the room dawning in realization. It all came rushing to her; the door, the power drain, the truth waiting to spill from her lips. This room, the whole room, was made of Piedra de Verdad or Soul Stone. Only found in Hueco Mundo it absorbs spiritual power and makes it impossible to lie.
Anger. Kagome could feel it welling up inside her like a tidal wave and who was she to stop it, "You must think I'm pathetic," she hissed, "A stupid, runaway deserter who's stuck back at the beginning. Do you think I want to be here? In this room, in my cell, Gods, I was afraid to be in my own house for the longest time! I-"
Kagome could feel her lips part against her will words on her tongue, ready to tell every detail. She bit her tongue, hard, letting the copper taste fill her mouth. The pain brought her back within her own control, barely, she doubted it would work a second time. She glared harshly at the person who had at one time been her best and only friend.
She laughed harshly, "I guess the stone really does work"
"Kagome" Toshiro tried to speak but Kagome looked away as if it was painful to look him in the eyes.
"No. Don't. Please continue with this little interrogation; I don't want to be here longer than I have to."
He winced inwardly at her words before doing as she requested, there were still some things he needed to sort out.
"Why did you leave" Hitsugaya repeated the question.
The words tumbled out of Kagome's lips,
"I didn't leave because I wanted to. Being a Shinigami was important to me, I wanted to come back." Even to herself, she sounded a little desperate.
Kagome took a deep breath, craning her neck to stare at the ceiling before looking back at him. She seeming to choke on her words before finally getting them out
"I knew too many secrets"
She had to keep a tight reign on herself, only allowing vague truths to escape.
Hitsugaya blinked. He had expected an answer along these lines but it was too vague,
"Who's secrets" he pushed.
"Aizen's. He-" Kagome could feel the seal start to activate, a familiar burning on her tongue, "He wanted to keep me quiet."
"Why did you run, why not tell another Captain?"
Kagome looked at him incredulously, "You think I could just go up to another Captain and say 'hey by the way my Captain is kinda evil and threatened me to keep quiet but I can't really tell you anything specific because-"
She almost said it: because he sealed me. Because he took a piece of her soul and turned it against her. Because he branded her so that she couldn't tell anybody even if she wanted to.
"Because?" he prompted.
Hitsugaya needed to know how much information she was going to be able to give. He knew something was preventing her from telling the whole of it. He could also imagine the kinds of things Aizen had hidden away while he was Captain, things Kagome supposedly knew.
"Because he sealed it away" came her small answer. She clapped her hands over her mouth eyes wide and tears spring to the surface.
Toshiro was beyond angry, he knew Aizen had modified souls but this made it personal. He hoped Aizen burned in the eighth layer.
"We're almost done here, why did you reveal yourself that night? You could have stayed in your house" you could have stayed protected he thought
Kagome looked personally affronted "I couldn't just leave those people out there to die! There were five Adjuchas Toshiro, five! Even if they were Shinigami those kinds of wounds were fatal!" she huffed, "It was the right thing to do."
He sighed. They were done. Aizen resided in the final layer of prison underneath the First Division Barracks and would be staying there for twenty thousand years and as much as Hitsugaya wanted to punish him further, he couldn't. A voice whispered in the back of his head that they weren't done with Aizen yet but he ignored the feeling for now.
"I have to read you your crimes"
She nodded her understanding.
"Absence without leave, reckless endangerment, resistance to arrest, and…" he paused, eyes widening "the suspected murder of Kikyou Shinai."
Suspected… Murder?
He took a moment to close his eyes before he regarded her as she sat silently with a blank countenance, "God, Kagome, do you have any idea what kind of situation you're in?"
She didn't respond. Everything seemed as if it was underwater. She could hear Toshiro's words but she didn't hear him. The erratic beating of her heart sent blood rushing through her head.
Murder
"I didn't… I didn't hurt her. I would never…"
Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes at her "There is evidence that says otherwise" he was telling the truth when he said that. Kiyou had been found in her room stabbed through the heart and badly burned. The burns matched with the kind of Zanpakuto Kagome uses but there were other flames users. There hadn't been any other evidence except for the testimony of the Fifth Captain at that time Sosuke Aizen which is why the charge was "suspected murder" but Hitsugaya didn't know that. He only saw the charges written on her file and any other information that had been placed there.
She looked at him sharply, focusing on his face for the first time, "How. dare. you. How dare you!" she seethed before she raised her voice, "I DIDN'T kill her!"
"Kagome-"
"I DID NOT MURDER MY SISTER!" Kagome faced him angrily "I DIDN'T- I didn't even know she was dead"
AN~
Phew! That was dramatic! I know the conversation is a little rushed but it's the best I can do at the moment. Let me know how you like the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Bleach; all rights go to their respective owners
