Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated in such a long time! I do have a new five-shot fic and a one-shot coming up, and of course, the conclusion of "The Ryoka and the Taichou," though. The five-shot, in case you haven't looked at my profile recently, is going to be more of a comedy than my other fics, sort of like "Fishing." I think I need to start writing lighter fics again in which there's no blood or gore or carcasses scattered all over the place like dominoes. And by the way, I plan on ending this particular fic with ten chapters. So yes, it will be shorter than my standard fifteen-twenty chapter fics. So yes, this is the second-to-last chapter! And yes, I intend on making a tragic ending. All my fics end happy or at least bittersweet so I kind of want this one to be a tad different.


"Kill me?" Ichigo repeated, his eyes narrowing.

"That's right, Mr. Kurosaki," Aizen answered, "Though we are in a public place right now, so we can save that for later. For now, since you were the one who checked Hitsugaya-kun here into the hospital, would you be so kind to check him out now? We have business to attend to."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Ichigo shot back. "I said no. Toshiro's not going anywhere until he's recovered. He's in no condition to get up and walk around and do whatever it is you and the rest of those government agents or whatever do."

"Mr. Kurosaki, I'm not sure if you fully understand who you're dealing with here," Aizen chuckled. "You know, I can track anyone I want to. I can track down the rest of your little group and have them all killed on the spot. You wouldn't want that to happen to your little friends, now, would you?"

"You son of a…"

"That's what I thought. I advise you check Hitsugaya-san out of the hospital. Unless, of course, you want something unpleasant to happen."

"You heard him, Kurosaki," Hitsugaya murmured. "Check me out, please."

"Hime…"

"Do it."

Hesitantly, Ichigo rose, moving towards the door. "Fine," he stated flatly. "Fine, then, if that's what you want, Toshiro, then I'll do it."

He disappeared, heading down the hallway. Taking advantage of his absence, Aizen turned back to Hitsugaya.

"Well, then," the brown-haired man spoke, "It certainly seems that the boy has become quite fond of you, no?"

"I wouldn't say that, Aizen-sama," Hitsugaya answered, "I'd appreciate it if you would refrain from making such comments from now on. It's rude, and I don't like being talked to in that manner."

"Ah, I see," he laughed, "Touchy, are we? Is there something wrong, eh, little Hitsugaya-san?"

"No. I believe I've already told you that you are not to speak to me like that. Trust me; you do not want to make me angry right now."

"Is that a threat?"

"It depends on how you perceive it, sir."

"Listen closely now, Hitsugaya-san," Aizen stated, the smile back on his face, "Just because you work with me, doesn't mean that I won't hurt you if you irritate me. You're a pretty little kid, and it would be such a shame to ruin that face of yours, wouldn't it? After all, naughty children need to be punished, otherwise they will never learn their lessons. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Aizen-sama."

"Good. As long as you understand this, and don't forget it," he smiled.

"Yes, sir."

At that moment, Ichigo stepped back into the room, glancing suspiciously at Aizen, before, after a brief pause, announcing, "We're good to go, I guess."

"Very well," Aizen nodded as he rose, "Let's go, Hitsugaya-san. We have business to take care of, and I don't like to be kept waiting."

Unsteadily, Hitsugaya made his way out of the hospital bed, following Aizen quietly as he made they made their way down the hall, Ichigo trailing behind them.

"Where are you going?" the strawberry demanded, his words accompanied by the sound of their footsteps echoing through the deserted hallway.

"Oh, that's classified information," Aizen answered curtly, "Certainly, we can't share it with some low-class boy off the streets such as yourself."

"Son of a bitch," Ichigo hissed under his breath through gritted teeth as he continued to follow the pair of government agents, his eyes glued to Hitsugaya's backside. He could almost feel the hate and anger surging through his body. He realized that Renji hadn't been wrong to attack Hitsugaya, now that he knew that awful, sinking feeling of betrayal. He wanted, with all his heart, to grab Hitsugaya by the shoulders and shake him, scream at him, punch some sense into him, but even if he wanted to, he knew he wouldn't have the heart to hurt him, even if he was acting like this.

"Hime," he protested as he hurried through the hospital doors after the pair. Upon stepping outside, he discovered it was raining, and it was raining quite heavily at that, which he discovered after splashing through some small puddles.

"Hime, are you seriously going to just turn your back on me like this? After everything I've done for you and said to you?"

"Kurosaki," Hitsugaya spoke slowly, stopping. "I'm not turning my back on you."

"And why is that?"

"If I did, then I'd never be able to do what I promised I would."

"Toshiro-"

Before Ichigo could finish his sentence, he felt a sudden searing pain in his lower body, and as he doubled over, his hands moving to the afflicted area, he could feel hot, wet blood spilling into his hands.

His chocolate eyes moved rigidly upwards to look at Hitsugaya.

The white-haired boy held a gun in his hand, and it was still smoking from the after-effects of a freshly released bullet. Looking into those eyes that he was so desperately in love with, Ichigo felt as if his heart was being turned to ice. In Hitsugaya's eyes, he saw almost no emotion. No regret, no sympathy, no unspoken apologies, absolutely nothing but ice cold contempt.

"Hime…" he choked, coughing on the blood that was making its way up his throat and into his mouth, splattering onto the floor to mingle with the muddy rainwater accumulating in puddles all around him. "Hime, you…"

The words in Hitsugaya's reply did not quite seem to match up with the ice in his eyes, however. As the boy began to speak again, the orange-haired teen was sure he could detect traces if uncertainty and regret.

"Kurosaki, I've already told you that you mean nothing to me," Hitsugaya stated, his voice trembling the slightest as he lowered the gun. "You know very well that the only reason why I was ever with you to start with was so I could do this. You say you love me, but you must realize that even if you do, it will not change the way I feel about you. Even if it did, I would not allow such silly emotions to overcome me as they have to you. Look at where they have brought you. You tell me you love me, Kurosaki? If you want to feel something for me, then I advise you to feel nothing for me but hate. Hate me, Kurosaki, curse me, ill-wish me. Do whatever you like, but please, let me ask you one last favor. You must stop loving me at once, otherwise this guilt will be my death. I never wanted to do this to anyone, but you left me no choice. A promise is a promise, so you have to understand why I chose to do this.

His vision blurring, Ichigo's knees buckled underneath him as he collapsed onto the wet pavement, raindrops battering him from every side. "Hime, please…" he choked, begging pitifully. "You can't do this to me…Hime, this isn't like you! You're not this kind of person…"

"You know nothing about what kind of a person I am. I'll simply do what is right," the younger boy retorted, "And if you'll excuse me now, Kurosaki."

As he spoke, the orange-haired teen noticed a black car pulling up by the side of the car. Aizen opened one of the doors, gesturing for Hitsugaya to get in.

"If you please, Hitsugaya-san."

"Kurosaki, truly…I…" Hitsugaya began, as if to form an apology. He stopped, the rain drenching him as he gave Ichigo a final glance. "Never mind," he muttered, "I have nothing more to say to you. Let's go, Aizen-sama."

"Toshiro, what am I to you?" Ichigo spluttered, blinking furiously and trying to maintain focus. "I don't care if you don't answer, but…But you should just fucking know…That you're everything to me. I'm sorry, Toshiro, and I want you to say the same, since you're a double-crossing son of a bitch, and yet, I can't hate you…I can't hate you, even if you beg me to."

"Kurosaki, I'm not going to apologize to you. I have no reason to be sorry, and you should not be apologizing to me, either. Save your shit for Kusaka when you see him in the afterlife." These were the last things Hitsugaya said to him before quietly getting into the back of the car.

"Not going to finish the kid off?" Aizen asked.

"No, sir. I'd rather him die slowly and painfully like a dog than quickly and effortlessly."

"Toshiro, no…" Ichigo rasped, his mind failing him. He was losing conciousness quickly. "You can't leave…Please, don't leave…"

The last thing he saw before everything went dark was the dark outline of the car moving away, and the screech of its tires as it disrupted several puddles in the process, splattering the strawberry with muddy water.