A/N: Sorry, the chapter I was writing took a bit, and I always try to finish one chapter before posting an earlier one.
Another A/N book at the end - y'all can ignore it if you wish. I'm glad most of you seem to enjoy the story so far!
So this chapter is full of Hitsugaya as his manipulative little bastard self and Nedzu as his too-smart mouse self. In other words - this is two highly intelligent creatures back-and-forth analyzing. It might get a bit confusing. But I've tried to make it somewhat easy to follow. Let me know if I didn't succeed.
Also...who wants omakes? Ideas should be put in reviews!
Being handcuffed wasn't a new experience – he was NOT bringing up the snow day incident again – but being handcuffed to a table by humans? That wasn't something he'd ever experienced before. He wasn't counting the time he'd run afoul of the gangs in Karakura, seeing as how he'd been handcuffed by the gang members and only put in a jail cell by the actual police…
Okay, maybe he needed to quit doing things to get himself arrested in the first place, but that was beside the point now. This, while not an irreparable situation, was not a pleasant one either. He was flanked by two of his teachers, hands bound to the makeshift interrogation table with just enough distance between his wrists that touching his fingertips together was uncomfortable. Nedzu and the police-cat sat across from him, Midnight standing behind them. They had a lot of questions – many of which Hitsugaya knew he could not answer. Getting out of this situation would be difficult, but hopefully not impossible. Then Nedzu put his paws together.
"I think there is one question that, at the moment, is more important than anything else," the mouse said gently. "Why did you lie about having memory loss?"
It was a good question – or at least, it would have been if there wasn't so much at stake. Seireitei had relaxed a good deal under Kyoraku-soutaicho's leadership, but divulging sensitive information, like the existence of the afterlife, to a group of living humans was entirely unacceptable. He might not be facing execution for that sin anymore, but he'd definitely lose his rank and be thrown in prison for a few decades so he could 'think about his crimes' just because Central 46 got offended. But how on earth could he explain this? Obviously working his way into their confidences by keeping his head down was a plan that had been shot to hell, but-
Wait. Maybe if he…Hitsugaya took a deep breath, flexing his hands as far as he could. Then he looked up, allowing the captain beneath the child's mask he'd been wearing to fully surface. Nedzu didn't seem surprised by the sudden cloak of authority filling the room, the projection of absolute power apparently already accounted for by the small mouse-man. The others were all visibly surprised, however. But here he was, finally being honest with them, and he was pretty sure that Nedzu was already aware that he'd dropped any pretenses just with that shift in demeanor.
If he couldn't lie his way out of this, he'd just tell them little bits of the truth and let them assume the rest.
"Amnesia is a particularly useful thing to claim when one is hiding something," he said plainly, startling Aizawa, Midnight and Cementoss with his blunt honesty. "And in this case, it was much easier than creating a fabricated tale that would inevitably have holes poked through it."
Nedzu nodded, sipping on a cup of hot tea with some measure of mixed admiration and upset, but he appeared perfectly calm. His ability to keep up with Hitsugaya's leaps of logic was refreshing – he would usually have to explain this sort of thing to his subordinates in detail.
"I suspected as much," he said, setting the cup down on a tiny paper napkin. "You're a clever boy, from what I can tell. Tell me, what exactly about your past were you hiding? You already are nonexistent according to the Japanese Ministry – why is that?"
Hitsugaya shrugged, only slightly apologetic. Here was where the assumption-making began.
"I'm not at liberty to discuss that information," he said firmly, watching as Nedzu's beady black eyes fixed firmly on his face. The teachers' lounge was silent for a moment, and then Midnight raised an eyebrow.
"…Hitsugaya, what is that supposed to mean?" she asked slowly. Toushiro tugged uncomfortably on his hands and rolled his eyes with a hint of exasperation.
"Ask Cementoss – he's the one who teaches Japanese Literature. I'm sure he can explain the definitions," he snapped sarcastically, indulging his childish, condescending side for a brief moment. Then he saw the flash of disconcerted upset on the woman's face and grudgingly sighed before giving an actual answer. "It means precisely what you think it means. I can't tell you why I don't exist on paper, and I can't tell you what it is that I'm hiding. Try again."
That answer appeared to be exactly as satisfying as he expected it to be, and as he watched the policecat's expression turn grim with annoyance, he let out a soft breath. The typical good cop/bad cop routine wasn't going to work on him, especially considering how long he'd been playing that game. The Tenth Division was in charge of internal investigation, and he'd dirtied his hands in interrogations far less kind than this one, like the time he'd be working on a case which ended in a noble's execution for a string of nasty serial murders. Over the years, his skills at extracting information had grown until they were only rivaled by the tactics of the Onmitsukido and Kyoraku-soutaicho.
Not that these living souls knew that, though.
So when Nedzu waved a paw signaling for the policeman to back off, thus disrupting the routine Hitsugaya was expecting as a simple matter of course, he raised an eyebrow in surprise and immediately started to recalculate his strategy. He narrowed his eyes, watching Nedzu carefully, and the mouse noticed this scrutiny with a somewhat pleased smile.
"Can we ask what you are at liberty to discuss, Hitsugaya-kun?" he asked nonchalantly. "Or would you face consequences for even divulging that much?"
It clicked. Nedzu already had figured out what he had been trying to do, and was giving him an easy out. He had been planning on carefully wording his answers to the questions he would inevitably face until the pro-heroes realized that he was giving them bits and pieces of the answers they wanted, but Nedzu was entirely skipping that step. He couldn't stop an appreciative smirk.
"I won't quite answer that one either, Nedzu-san," he replied, "Try something…a little more specific."
The mouse smiled as well, folding his hands on the table. The pros watched the exchange taking place in shock, starting to realize the implication of Hitsugaya's subtle means of cooperation.
"Ah, I see, can't versus won't. So that is a risk you're not willing to take versus…a legal contract of some kind, binding your tongue?" Nedzu noticed the change in syntax effortlessly, and Hitsugaya's smirk cracked into an actual grin.
"I can neither confirm nor deny any conclusions you might reach, you understand," he said with a hint of amusement. Nedzu nodded simply, tipping his head to the side.
"I understand that you're trying to cooperate with us despite you being legally unable to do so in some regard," Nedzu's tone was calm but considerably relieved. "So, you would face legal consequences – not retaliation from villains – for divulging your secrets, correct?"
Ah, that one was easy. Hitsugaya nodded with a sigh.
"Something like that, for certain things," he said, being purposefully vague. Nedzu appeared to understand, however.
"If you cannot tell us about your past, can you tell us about the incident which just occurred outside? What were the creatures we were attacked by?" Nedzu's expression was at once curious and serious. Hitsugaya steeled himself for the half-truths he would have to tell.
"…the creatures are called Hollows," he said carefully. "They are a species which preys primarily upon humans, distinguishable by a hole which is typically bored through the chest cavity, though it has been known to manifest elsewhere on their bodies."
He felt Aizawa and Cementoss breathe sighs of relief when he said that, obviously not expecting him to be so forthcoming. And to be frank, he was toeing a very dangerous line, so even he was nervous. But as long as he managed to convince the pros to leave the Hollow problem to him, and kept the existence of the afterlife secret, it would be fine to tell them little tidbits about the Hollows.
Hopefully, Kyoraku would agree if he ever got back to Seireitei. After killing the piece of shit responsible for destroying the humans' souls in Hosu, that was.
"And the man which you killed – he had a hole through his body as well," Nedzu prompted. Hitsugaya took a deep breath.
"He was also a Hollow, but a more advanced kind. Hollows with human appearances…are hybrids, for a lack of a better term, and they are more dangerous because of it. Their intelligence is above that of an average Hollow, and their self-control is greater," he explained carefully. "There are non-hybrid Hollows with high intelligence and self-control, of course – they are evolved to hunt humans – but this hybrid branch has the added bonus of better camouflage among a group of people."
This information appeared to surprise everyone present in the room, and before Nedzu could say anything, Midnight spoke up, her ocean eyes uncannily like Unohana's in both color and the simmering danger present there.
"That guy wasn't human?" she asked. Hitsugaya leveled a calm, cool glare at her.
"I cannot kill human beings without cause," he said coldly, narrowing his eyes in warning. "And the list of crimes which would cause me to have the authority to take a human life is both very short and very specific. If that Hollow had been human, I could not have slain him, even if he had slaughtered the entire school."
Nedzu appeared to catch the underlying current he'd put into his frost-tinged words, and the mouse relaxed then, but only slightly, a tinge of confusion passing briefly across his face.
"That isn't just a personal rule you're following, is it?" the mouse observed shrewdly, "I'll hazard a guess that's also law whichever…organization you're working for."
Hitsugaya smirked again.
"Organization is a poor choice in words," he said lightly, purposefully not acknowledging the first part of Nedzu's sentence, a factor which he knew the highly intelligent mouse would pick up on. "But acceptable for the moment."
Nedzu nodded, taking that statement at face value.
"How do you know so much about these monsters – the Hollows?" he asked, and Hitsugaya just shrugged his shoulders and raised an eyebrow.
"I can't answer that."
The policeman and the pro-heroes obviously understood where he was going with that, and Nedzu leaned forward in anticipation.
"Is there any way you could ask this 'organization' for permission to give us details on the Hollows, so we can distribute that among the pro-hero agencies-"
"Out of the question," Hitsugaya cut the mouse off flatly. "You lack the training and skill set needed to kill Hollows, and I'm not about to agree to distribute top secret information because you're asking nicely. I've already told you things I could get in trouble for. Letting you try to figure out ways to combat them might get me thrown in prison for the rest of my life."
There was dead silence for a moment, the pros obviously taken aback by his vehemence and the severity of the punishment that he could face. Hitsugaya leveled a direct glare at Nedzu.
"Leave the Hollows to me," he said stonily, displaying mild hostility for the first time since he'd entered the room. "This is non-negotiable."
The policeman-cat leaned forward, anger on his whiskered, furry face, and he slammed a fist down on the table.
"You are risking the lives of-"
"You don't have even the faintest idea of what you're talking about, and yet you think you know more about the situation than I do," Hitsugaya cut him off coldly, his reiatsu stirring just briefly, enough to give him the distinct chill of a smoldering captain. "I am not withholding this information for no reason. You lack the capability to kill those beasts. If I gave you more data on their behaviors and attack patterns, you would try to hunt them down, and you'd only get yourselves killed and slowly eaten, and not necessarily in that order, if you catch my drift. I will only say it one more time. Leave the Hollows to me. If anything, you should report all Hollows sightings to me, but I'll probably be alerted of their presence before you are."
The policecat stewed angrily, unnerved by Hitsugaya's chilly command, then slammed his hand on the table again.
"You're fifteen. You have absolutely no place telling adults and professional fighters what to do," he said furiously, obviously unwilling to let the matter rest despite Nedzu's clearly-persuadable demeanor, and Hitsugaya finally lost his temper. He leveled a terrifying glare on the cat-Quirk man, and let his reiatsu out just enough to turn the atmosphere of the room thick and soupy, so that it would be hard for the humans to breathe. Then he stood, wrists still chained to the table, and glared down at the cat-man with death in his eyes, bringing the aura of his race to full prominence.
"I," he stated slowly, his voice deliberately patient, a cruel wrath bubbling beneath the icy veneer. "have more battle experience than the lot of you combined. It was not your precious adults who managed to kill those creatures. I did that – and I didn't get myself hurt in the process. You were there, when I woke up in the hospital. You know about the scars I have."
Hitsugaya bared his teeth with a snarl. It was getting harder and harder to repress his full strength as his anger started to best him. (thank god for the limiters, honestly, otherwise he probably would have knocked them all out by now)
"I don't have scars because I let adults and professional fighters dictate my actions, you know," he hissed, "I earned these scars through battle. And if you think that you can tell me to stand down because you know best in this precious little bubble of a 'safe world' you have, you are wrong. Last time I checked, experience was what mattered when you're trying not to get yourself and others killed. So keep your ignorant mouth shut."
The policeman tried to stand as well, but the increased pressure in the room due to Hitsugaya's leaking reiatsu combined with the frightening glare he was giving were enough to keep the cat-man in his seat. Then, after a moment of standing there, Hitsugaya slowly sat back down and reined in the wisp of reiatsu he had released. The pros stared at him in no little shock, his sudden vehemence and usage of intimidation tactics rather unexpected and more than a little worrying. Nedzu placed a paw on Hitsugaya's hand, a tentative gesture.
"…You say we lack the capability to kill the Hollows. Is there a way we can gain this capability?" he asked, his voice low and mild. Hitsugaya took a deep breath and tried to rein in his temper. The policeman had meant well, he knew, and he shouldn't be getting so furious over it.
"No, there is not," he replied, a note of finality in his voice. "Not legally, anyhow. Passing on the knowledge of how to kill Hollows is a crime which has the unfortunate precedent of those who are convicted of this end up getting the death penalty."
The pros looked away with a hint of mixed disgust and horror, and Hitsugaya knew then that he had successfully managed to close that conversation. Thank god for Kuchiki's botched execution, otherwise that statement would have been entirely false. But then, slowly, Cementoss laid a hand on his shoulder, the blocky face twisted into a certain kind of hesitancy.
"…you said earlier that you cannot kill human beings without cause," he began gradually, tipping his square head down so he could look the boy sitting beside him in the eyes. "But you were seen in Hosu with your blade drawn, near the site of where a villain was found, slain by a technique which would remarkably simple for you to pull off considering the speed lent by your Quirk."
Hitsugaya blinked and cocked his head to the side, a silent question on his face. His eyes narrowed in thought, and then he let out an ugly, angry laugh, as if realizing what the stoneworker was talking about.
"Oh," he said. Then he cast his gaze down at the table, clenching his fists tightly. Pity and fury warred on his face. "That poor creature."
The admission implicit in his tone had the teachers all startled, and he seemed to realize their shock. He laughed again, the sound short and tight, and shook his head with a hint of grief on his face.
"That poor thing wasn't human," he said softly. "It probably was once, maybe a nice man or woman with children and a family. But not anymore. I don't…I don't know what was done to the person it once was, but whatever terrible evil he or she suffered…that damage was irreparable."
Nedzu frowned at that, but he merely sighed and took another sip of his tea, which had probably long gone cold by this point. The mouse looked down into the ceramic mug as if trying to read the tea leaves at the bottom of his cup.
"…So you killed them," he said heavily. Hitsugaya felt his throat close up.
"Nobody should have to live like that," he forced the words out, raspy and broken. "Nothing should have to live like that, in pain and suffering because someone else has decided you're better off as an…an experiment. So…so I ended it for them. Because anything is better than that."
He knew it didn't escape anyone that he was shaking, but try as he might he couldn't seem to quell the anguish in his voice, clogging his chest and making breathing impossible. Even the mere thought of those creatures being once human, destroyed by a mad scientist for their own selfish reasons, was enough to make fear settle like lead into the pit of his stomach. Nausea swam through his abdomen in waves, and he took a moment to slow his breathing, trying to blank out the memories threatening to surge forward and overtake him.
The mousy principal gazed at him compassionately, empathy a rare sight in his beady black eyes.
"…their experiences reminded you of something you once went through," the mouse stated, obviously certain of his deduction. And Hitsugaya took a deep breath, knowing that this next phrase would give the pros and police everything they needed to understand – even if it was slightly a lie.
"…I can't answer that."
The effect was immediate, and Nedzu's gaze softened immediately. The policecat made a note of something in the little book he had, trying to hide the shame on his face from his outburst earlier.
Hitsugaya was well aware what type of conclusion that his particular word choice for his answer would enable Nedzu to find, and it was exactly what he needed right now. By saying he couldn't answer the question, he was implying that the experimentation the poor creatures had undergone reminded him of his own, similar experience, and that whatever suffering he'd gone through was related to the 'organization' which the pros had deduced he was part of. And hopefully, they would then connect his ability to kill Hollows with that experimentation.
It was a story doused in just enough truth to make it believable.
Aizawa spoke up then, the first time he'd said anything since they'd escorted Hitsugaya into the room with his hands tied in front of him like a common criminal. He looked…hollow. As if he'd already put the pieces of Hitsugaya's non-answers together enough to see the horrors his student had endured.
"…I suppose you aren't faking your PTSD to gain sympathy, then?" the exhausted-looking man asked rhetorically, his voice unusually toneless, and Hitsugaya could see his teacher's knuckles whitening out of the corner of his eye. The by-now-familiar scaly itch began to creep down his back, ghosting uncomfortably over the base of his spine and pulling on his spinal column, the strange little muscle triggered by his tension and panicked avoidance of the memories of his terrifying stint as Kurotsuchi's pet. He swallowed hard, suddenly unable to meet anyone's eyes.
"…no," he forced the words out, the painful breaking of his pride almost physically sickening him. His hands trembled, and disgusted by his own weakness, he curled his fingers into fists. "No, I…I…"
He couldn't speak, but it seemed that Aizawa understood, as did the policecat, Nedzu, and the other two pros in the room with him. They gave him a moment to regain his tongue, and he felt Aizawa's hand settle on his shoulder, holding steady for him while he fought his own incredulous disbelief while facing his own reality. Finally, he gathered the resolve and courage he needed to at least get a sentence out.
"I can't pretend something like that," he gasped out. "Not…God, you have no idea how- I can't talk about this."
He would have buried his head in his hands, but they were shackled to a concrete table and he didn't want to have to explain that he wasn't exactly human either when he broke the stone. Burying his face in Aizawa's dark shirt worked equally well anyhow, and there was a moment of startled quiet before the man's arms settled fully around his shoulders, giving him a gentle hug.
"You didn't see anything," he choked out. Aizawa's sigh could be felt, the movement of his chest especially noticeable to Hitsugaya, and he felt the man's calloused fingers weave through his white hair, tousling the soft strands.
"I didn't realize there was something to see, Hitsugaya-kun," the man replied calmly. Then he felt Aizawa turn slightly towards Nedzu and the police officer siting subdued there, still carefully keeping his arms wrapped around his student. "I think…I think we got what we needed."
There was a brief lull, and then the police officer sighed, and there was a sound like mud sucking on the bottom of a shoe. Hitsugaya's hands fell, the table suddenly nonexistent beneath them, and before he quite knew what was happening, he felt the cuffs pop off his wrists, freeing his hands. He tucked his hands into his lap, still leaning into Aizawa's shirt and trying to hold back the trembling brought on by the near-brush with his memories. Aizawa didn't seem to mind, still stroking his white hair quietly.
"We did," the cat-policeman said quietly. "That counts as a full confession, and under the circumstances coupled with his recent actions protecting you all, I'm confident that we can get his case through juvenile court with him receiving only a few months of house arrest with supervised outings and some required therapy."
Nedzu let out a relieved sigh, as did Cementoss and Midnight, and Hitsugaya felt the couch he was sitting on rise as Cementoss stood up. Then Nedzu spoke again, his voice kind.
"Thank you for being honest with us, Hitsugaya-kun," he said gently, then paused for a moment before continuing with a hint of forced cheer. "And just so you know, I happen to have gone through an experience rather similar to experimentation in the past, so if you ever want to talk to me, you are more than welcome in my office at any time."
The news was like a rinse of cold water over the burning pain in his chest, and Hitsugaya carefully pulled back until he was looking at Nedzu, staring in incredulity. He wasn't…the only one to have suffered this? Matsumoto, Muguruma, and Otorobashi didn't remember Kurotsuchi's laboratory the same way he did, but the fact that someone else may have gone through some similar – and come out the other side in one piece – was something he'd never expected. Aizawa kept a steadying arm around his shoulders as he drew back, and while he was disgusted by his own weakness he had to admit that the quiet support was helping.
"…Thank you, Nedzu-sensei," he said quietly. The mouse gave him a kind smile, then turned a beady gaze on his teacher.
"Aizawa, feel free to use the teachers' lounge as long as you need."
Aizawa nodded a touch gratefully and watched as the group left the room. Then he turned back to Hitsugaya, sitting silently beside the young man as the teenager buried his head in his hands. Toushiro couldn't stop the breathy sigh that escaped him, a mix of relief that his story had passed the test and that he had successfully managed to pull himself away from the horrors of his past. Aizawa didn't say anything to him, only sat quietly and waited for him to collect himself. Finally, he lifted his head and rubbed at his eyes, standing up and pulling away from the man.
"Thank you, Aizawa-sensei," he told the dark-haired man. Aizawa just sighed and stood up.
"I already told you I didn't see anything, kid," he replied, and Hitsugaya's lips quirked in appreciation for the man's continued adherence to the charade. "But you're welcome."
Outstanding reviews may receive spoilers!
Reply to the anon 'star': The humans here have reiatsu the same way Keigo and Tatsuki do - they can't actually use it in battle. And normal humans in the Bleach-verse do have reiatsu of some kind, otherwise the Hollows wouldn't go for them, just not enough for them to actually do anything with. And as you pointed out earlier, shinigami fighting is a battle between reiatsu. So yeah, the Hollows are getting knocked back, but they're not getting hurt because there isn't any reiatsu behind those attacks. And All Might is actually doing damage because of his mutated reiatsu, but because One-For-All's power is waning it's not doing very much. As for Midnight, that's simple strategy. She can't control the dispersal patterns of her sleeping gas, and she'd risk knocking out the other pros if she used it.
As for the pros 'threatening' Hitsugaya - they think he's a fifteen-year-old boy who had just voluntarily placed himself in harm's way again to protect them. And had killed a semi-human being to do so. And had only lied to them because he's a traumatized lil' muffin. They're wary of him, yes, but they're also under the impression that he is at least somewhat like a normal teenager. And Hitsugaya, for his part, wants to keep that appearance up as much as he can.
And yeah, the Arrancar was an OC. But he's dead now :/