Ack, exam results coming out in two days; I'm nervous thinking of the grades I will probably get. (crosses fingers). Wish me luck:)
Anyway, here's an update for all of you! (The timeline for this is not long after Hitsugaya and Hinamori had been newly promoted to their current ranks as captain and vice-captain). Feedback is always welcome and flames will be stored in case I need to burn my result slip next week.
On to the story!
Do What's Right
#21: violence; pillage/plunder; extortion
He wasn't very hard to find.
He barely looked up as she slid into place beside him at the little bar. "You're going to have one bad hangover tomorrow, you know that?"
Not glancing up, he sloshed the ice around in his glass as he replied in a low undertone. "Go away, Matsumoto."
She heaved a mock-sigh and threw her arms into the air. "No can do, taichou. I am your fuku taichou after all; I have to persuade you to go and sleep." She made an imaginary shooing motion at him. "So go sleep."
He muttered something under his breath. She blinked. "What?"
"I said how can anyone sleep after seeing all that carnage?" He tilted his head back and downed half the contents of his glass, grimacing at the bitter aftertaste. Matsumoto watched him in silence.
"Drinking won't take away the pain, you know."
Hitsugaya dropped his head unto the wooden bar table, breathing heavily. She could only offer him her mute understanding. Despite all his expertise in the demon arts, his skills with Hyourinmaru and his level-headedness in critical situations, nothing could prepare Hitsugaya for the horror of his first battle. The blood, the endless fighting, the harsh reality of knowing you've taken a life, however justified the action may be leaves scars upon one's soul that cannot be erased. Alcohol could numb the pain for a night, but can do no more than that.
Hitsugaya lifted the glass once more. Matsumoto looked at him, resigned to watching her captain drink his way into blessed unconsciousness…
-SLAP!-
The glass went flying through the air, the amber liquid splattering all around as it broke against the wall, a million astonished Hitsugayas reflected in the glittering shards all over the floor. As Matsumoto started, her eyes attached onto the small figure standing before Hitsugaya, her bosom heaving as she glared at him.
Hinamori Momo. Recently made vice-captain of the fifth division.
Clearly, she was angry. Very angry.
Angry enough to slam the beer glass out of Hitsugaya's hand. Maybe angry enough to slap some sense into him as well.
"Shirou-kun!"
Ah, obviously an old acquaintance. Matsumoto got up from her seat and gestured at Hinamori, inviting her to sit on it. Hinamori nodded gratefully at her before complying, pushing herself up beside Hitsugaya as Matsumoto discreetly made for the exit. As much as she respected her captain, she knew that he would have to overcome this first encounter with death as a shinigami. He was a child prodigy, true, but he was still a child.
Don't be too harsh on him, Hinamori, she found herself thinking. Help him, and aid him through this and he'll be a great captain.
I wish you two luck.
-
"Baka! What were you thinking? You know you hate drinking!"
Hitsugaya lifted his swimming head and looked at Hinamori, her eyes filled with a mixture of anger and concern. He laughed bitterly as his fingers idled all over the bar counter in no apparent pattern. "Do I?"
Hinamori had never seen her childhood companion like this before. Always he was the calm, collected one offering rational advice on what to do. To see him this way, depressed and shattered in more ways than one, she could only wonder how bad it was. He did not look drunk yet; his eyes were still lucid, though there was a grief in them that was hidden deep within their ice blue depths.
"Shirou-kun…" Now that her earlier shock had died away, she found herself at a loss for what to do, what to say. So she sat and waited, much like Matsumoto had done for Hitsugaya to confide in her.
Perhaps it was partly under the influence of the alcohol, or perhaps Hitsugaya was too tired to toy around with hiding secrets that night. He suddenly sat up straight, swaying slightly and turned towards Hinamori. "I…entered battle today."
She knew exactly what he meant: recently, hollows had been everywhere, plundering cities, and overrunning towns, causing several divisions to be sent out to deal with the problem, including the tenth as well. She had originally searched out Hitsugaya meaning to congratulate him on successfully executing his mission, only to find him in the last place she'd thought he'd be at. She stayed silent, encouraging him to continue.
"I…I killed today."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, her arms were around him, hugging him to her tightly as she whispered into his ear over and over again, "It's okay, it's alright." He allowed himself to bury his head in her shoulder, pouring out his despair in the few hot tears that stained her black uniform, accepting the solace she offered.
After a while, he pushed her back, his face as impassive as before if not for his eyes, which thanked her more than any words could. "You...you haven't killed a hollow yet, have you Momo?"
She shook her head no. "But if I have to, if I ever face that sort of situation, I...I will." She leaned forward unto the table. "Because it's right."
He was leaning with her now, listening to her words and letting them wash over his soul, echoing them softly. "Because it's right?"
"Yes, because it's right." The bluish glow of the bar lights illuminated her determined expression. "Without doing what we have to do, the number of hollows will increase and prey on the innocent. We have to k-k-get rid of them for those who can't. We have to maintain the balance."
She took a deep breath, her eyes conveying her earnestness even as she spoke. "We have to do what's right."
Hitsugaya reached for her hand beside his and squeezed it. "Arigato... Momo." As the weariness of the day finally caught up with him, he leant against her, his tired eyes drooping. Hinamori supported him gently. He had been through a lot today. And there would be countless tomorrows like today to face.
"Momo…" the faint question reached her ears.
"Yes, Shirou-kun?"
"…I did what was right, didn't I?"
She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Yes, you did."
He smiled slightly then, and closed his eyes.
"…Shirou-kun?"
"Hmm?"
"When….when my turn comes, can you…"
"I will."
Because the actions we take, the acts we commit, despite the paths they may steer us unto and whatever the effects may be, we still forge forward and execute them.
Because they're right. And that was all that counted.
