a/n at the end of the chapter!
"Right, so," Heita said, shoving a handful of potato chips into his mouth and not bothering to chew before he spoke, "as you all know, summer vacation is coming up, and things are going to be different this year. We're all in high school now, which means that we can't waste time just playing sports or going to the arcades. Our youth is upon us, gentlemen. We have to do our best to capture those sweet, fleeting feelings of a summer romance before our time is—"
"Stop right there," Hitsugaya cut in, holding one hand up. "You said this was an emergency meeting. This is not an emergency."
Heita's apartment was a modest one, and pretty average looking, considering the person who lived in it. With Heita's parents and sister out, they were assembled on the living room floor, the coffee table loaded with convenience store treasures. The TV was on with the volume lowered, tuned in to this week's FC Tokyo vs. Urawa Reds match. Near the balcony door, a small bamboo tree for Tanabata had been purchased, and four brightly coloured paper tags were tied to its skinny branches.
"Maybe for you it's not!" Heita shouted, and thrust an accusing finger into Hitsugaya's face. "So the rumors are true then? You and Kurosaki went on a date? OH-HO, HOW GOOD FOR YOU THEN! I didn't take you as the kind of guy to leave us in the dust, but by all means, enjoy living the shoujo dream!"
"Don't kid yourself!" Hitsugaya snapped, pushing Heita's finger away. "We didn't go on a date. I just let Nomura come to that conclusion so that he would leave me alone."
"I'm surprised, Hitsugaya-kun," Kazuya said, peeling back the lid of a pudding cup. "I can understand Eiji not getting along with Nomura-san, but I didn't think you would dislike him, too."
"Speaking of, where is Eiji?" Kei said. "You got started without him."
"He's coming from his part-time job," Heita said, rolling his eyes, "so he's gonna be late. Not that he's in any emergency, either. The guy's rich and blond. He's got the best chances out of all of us."
"Look," Hitsugaya said, annoyed, "I'm really not interested in hitting on girls or whatever it is you're scheming to do, so if that's all you called me here for—"
"Not so fast, friend," Heita said, putting a hand on Hitsugaya's shoulder and shoving him back down when Hitsugaya tried to stand up. "Girls are just one piece of the big picture. I also need help with my summer homework."
"I'm leaving now."
"If we're going to be planning summer vacation, then why didn't we invite Kurosaki?" Kazuya asked, as Heita began wrestling with Hitsugaya to keep him seated.
"I mean, I get that she probably won't be interested in hitting on girls, but that doesn't mean we still can't hang out as six."
"For most stuff, sure. But if we're going to be doing things like the beaches or an overnight trip like Heita wants," Kei said, "then it's probably not a good idea to bring Kurosaki with us."
"It's not?" Hitsugaya asked, holding a struggling Heita in a headlock. "Why do you think so?"
"She's a girl," Heita wheezed, prying Hitsugaya's arm off of his neck. "You really think any of our parents are gonna be chill with one girl being alone with a group of guys?"
"Not that Kurosaki can't fend for herself," Kazuya said. "Or that we'd try anything."
"Tell my faithless sister that."
It was with disconcerting embarrassment that Hitsugaya realized they were right. Kurosaki could fend for herself—especially against these idiots—but at the end of the day she was, in fact, a teenage girl. It was something that Hitsugaya often forgot, what with everything going on, and to be reminded of it gave him a strange tingle in his neck.
"Eiji texted," Kei said, looking at his phone.
"He almost here?"
"No, he said he can't come. Has something important to do, apparently."
Kazuya frowned. "It's not like him to cancel last minute. Hopefully it's nothing serious."
"Oh, it had better be serious," Heita interrupted. "Or else he's gonna hear it from me the next time I see him. Now, I know you losers don't have any plans tonight, so are we going to Tanabata or what?"
Despite all attempts to escape at this point, the numbers were against Hitsugaya, and he found himself spending the next thirty minutes listening to Heita's brainstorming. He didn't say it out loud, but there was a low chance of him doing anything Heita was suggesting. He didn't want to spend any more time outside in the sweltering heat than he had to. Things like the public pool, going camping, and the batting center required leaving the house. He mentally crossed out each activity one by one.
His cellphone, which was on the table, suddenly began to vibrate for an unusually long duration. Hitsugaya frowned, wondering if someone was calling him, but when he picked his phone up he realized that two text messages had come almost simultaneously.
To his surprise, the first one was from an unknown number.
Hello, Hitsugaya-kun. This is Eiji Furukawa. I asked for your number from Karin. I hope you don't mind. If you're free, would you mind meeting me? I have something I'd like to discuss with you.
The second was from Matsumoto.
Hello Captain! I'm back! Come to Urahara's shop! I have so much to tell you!
Hitsugaya stared at his phone. In spite of everything going on, at that moment, both text messages had his equal attention. Eiji had never privately reached out to him before. Hitsugaya had spoken to the group collectively a couple times, when Karin had tried initiating him into their World of Warcraft guild, although that had stopped pretty quickly upon realizing that Hitsugaya could barely operate a keyboard.
I'll be there soon, Hitsugaya texted Matsumoto. Then, to Eiji, I need a bit of time. Can you meet in front of subway station around 6:30?
His response came quickly. I can. See you then.
-.-.-.-
"His records had been altered," Matsumoto said, swirling her glass of cold barley tea with her straw. "Must not have been difficult, considering this is Aizen we're talking about. All mention of the fact that he was the first person at the crime scene and the first person to speak to Iwasaki was completely gone from the report. So was the fact that they'd found blood underneath the foundations of the house. If there had ever been any bodies to find, doubtless Aizen took care of those, too."
"So the people Iwasaki lived with abused him, and he retaliated by killing them, or else made them disappear," Hitsugaya said. He wished he'd had the foresight to suggest meeting at Kurosaki's house. He was already on his third glass of tea, and didn't feel any better for it. "That doesn't explain why Aizen decided to take such a personal interest in him."
"I can hazard a guess. After all," Matsumoto said, "Aizen had been visiting Rukongai constantly. As far back as when I was a child. Don't you think it's possible that he might have taken notice of Iwasaki while he was out testing the Hōgyoku on people?"
"And then took him under his wing? Aizen tested that abomination on thousands of people. What could have prompted him to care for a single soul from Rukongai?"
"I don't know. But take a look at this." Matsumoto slid a few sheets of paper Hitsugaya's way. "This is all progress feedback from the teachers who had Iwasaki as a student at the Shin'ō Academy. They all cite impeccable behaviour and a glowing disposition for learning. Does that sound like the kind of person who was at the heart of a family massacre?"
"So Aizen was covering for him in the Academy, too." Hitsugaya crossed his arms. "I doubt he would do any of that out of the goodness of his heart. He probably had some sort of plan for Iwasaki."
"Except that whatever it was, Iwasaki bailed," Matsumoto said, "and left for the World of Living. Never to be heard from again, until now."
They both sat in silence for a while, thinking this over. Hitsugaya pulled the blade fan across the tatami mat until it was two feet away from his face.
"Do you think he got scared?" Matsumoto asked.
"Of Aizen? More than likely. Still, I find it odd that Aizen would just let Iwasaki run off like that. Taking him out of Rukongai, covering up the murders, helping him fool everyone into thinking he was harmless. Either Aizen got what he wanted from him, or Iwasaki was extremely good at hiding."
Matsumoto sighed. "Anything new on his accomplice?"
"Nothing. Kurotsuchi went back to Seireitei just after you returned. Said he couldn't deduce anything else without running the reishi samples through his lab equipment."
"So we're all stumped, then."
"I guess that's what that means, yes." Hitsugaya glanced at his watch. 5:53. "The investigations into the 5th Division are still ongoing, so the best thing for us to do now is try and track down Iwasaki's paper trail. Undoubtedly living under a false alias, but if we can figure out what sort of position he held at the publishing company, we might be able to go from there."
"I don't know about you," Matsumoto said, grabbing a nearby handkerchief and unabashedly wiping the sweat from her breasts, "but this is starting to feel more and more like we're on the losing side of this fight."
Hitsugaya felt inclined to agree. "Did you talk to anyone from the 5th while you were there?"
"Not really. Captain Hirako basically told me to bug off when I tried, and I didn't feel like trying to snoop around after that."
"Doesn't matter, then." Hitsugaya stood up. "I need to go. Tell Tsukabishi thanks for the tea."
"Sure you don't need to use the bathroom before you go?"
"I'm not a child," Hitsugaya snapped. Then, after a moment, "Where is it again?"
-.-.-.-
Hitsugaya arrived at the station ten minutes early, but Eiji was already there, standing across the street with one hand on the bicycle he'd leaned against a streetlamp. He was still in his black uniform slacks, his shirt sticking to his back. He smiled and waved as Hitsugaya approached.
"Hey," Hitsugaya said. "Sorry. Were you waiting long?"
"Not at all. I just got here myself," Eiji said. Hitsugaya had no clue whether Eiji was telling the truth or not. "Have you eaten yet?"
"No."
"Me neither. Let's grab some dinner first, and then we can talk. I don't know this area very well, but if there's something you'd prefer…"
"It's all the same to me," Hitsugaya said, because it was. Most of the food of this world was still foreign to him, even some of the Japanese dishes. At this point he was resigned to eating whatever was in front of him regardless if he knew what was in it or not.
They ended up in one of the fast food burger restaurants, not that Hitsugaya knew any of them apart. After ordering their food, they carried their trays over to the window seats so that they could keep an eye on Eiji's bike while they ate. The sun was sitting in the middle of the sky, casting long shadows from the surrounding buildings and the feet of the crowds swarming past the other side of the glass.
"Thank you for taking the time to meet me," Eiji said, wiping a bit of mayonnaise off his thumb with a napkin. "I'm sure you were surprised to hear from me earlier today."
"Well, a bit," Hitsugaya said. "Since you didn't show up to Toujoin's bogus meeting."
Eiji laughed. "Yeah, I felt a bit bad about that. But it sounds like I wasn't missing out on much."
"You weren't." Hitsugaya paused. "The others were worried about you. Did something happen?"
"No," Eiji said, "not exactly. I guess I wasn't up to meeting them today. Or maybe I was feeling uneasy thinking about this meeting."
Hitsugaya looked over, the rest of his fries forgotten. "I make you uneasy?"
"You really do speak frankly, Hitsugaya-kun."
"When I mean to," Hitsugaya said.
Eiji propped his chin in his hand, gazing absent-mindedly at the people beyond the glass. "No, you don't make me uneasy," he said finally. "But the conversation I want to have with you does. Although—this is a bit off-topic, but can I ask you something?"
"Yeah?"
"How old are you?"
The question nearly caused Hitsugaya to fall out of his stool. He stared at Eiji, trying not to look like he was suppressing an instinctive fight-or-flight response. "W-What?"
"Sorry," Eiji said. "If that's weird. It's just…sometimes the way you talk, or the way you look at people…you've got these crazy blue eyes. They show expressions and emotions I've never seen before. Not even elders look at me like that. Every other part of you looks young, but…"
In that moment Hitsugaya knew that lying to him would be useless. He couldn't tell him the whole truth, of course, but any story Hitsugaya could try and conjure up would fall flat under Eiji's observant gaze. Clearly he wasn't as good at playing a sixteen year old as he'd like to be.
"I'm older than you," Hitsugaya said, after a long minute of collecting himself. "I actually…well, I used to go to a different school, once. Circumstances just made it so that I ended up enrolled in the same year as you. That's all."
"Hmmm," Eiji said. He sat thinking for a while. "Thank you for being honest with me."
"It's fine. But I can't imagine that's what you called me out here for."
"You're right. I was just curious, so I couldn't help asking." Eiji took a sip of his drink, until the sound of the straw sucking air at the bottom of the paper cup came out. The ice inside rattled when he set it back down on the counter again.
"I'm thinking," Eiji said, "that I'm going to start getting serious about Karin."
"You are?" Of all the things Hitsugaya expected—particularly after being asked his age—this was not it. It surprised him in a number of ways; he didn't actually figure Eiji to have the guts to go for it. What surprised him more, though, was the tumultuous feeling that suddenly churned in his gut, as if his stomach was being vaulted through a raging and stormy sea. It unsettled him in ways he didn't understand.
Whether or not Eiji understood what Hitsugaya was thinking, he was still able to notice the expression on Hitsugaya's face. "You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this."
"I'm assuming you want me to keep my distance," Hitsugaya said, remembering Heita's accusations earlier about him and Karin going on a date.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to say as much." Eiji looked out the window again. "The truth is, I didn't know how to tell the other guys. We've all been close friends for so long, it's kind of embarrassing to think about how they might react if I told them. Somehow it seemed…easier, to tell you instead. You don't strike me as the kind of person to kick up a fuss about stuff like this."
"You'd trust me enough to tell me something like that?" Hitsugaya said, stunned.
Eiji blinked. "I don't think you're a bad person, Hitsugaya-kun. I told you this because I don't think you're the type to share a secret or go behind my back, and because I hoped that if you ever felt the same way, you'd do the same thing and tell me, too."
Hitsugaya blushed furiously. "There's nothing to tell. Like I said already, there's nothing going on between me and Kurosaki."
"Then," Eiji said, smiling, "I'll count that as your blessing."
"Please stop talking like that."
"Sorry, sorry." Eiji scrunched up his burger wrapper. "Shall we go?"
They walked out. Hitsugaya stood by and waited for Eiji as he unlocked his bike. "You heading home?" Hitsugaya asked.
"Not quite. I have one more person I have to meet, and then I'll be heading home. Will you be okay from here?"
"Yeah. Kurosaki installed a GPS on my phone for me."
"Then I suppose I'll see you at school on Monday," Eiji said, swinging his leg over his bike. "Get home safe."
"You too," Hitsugaya said, and watched as Eiji pedalled leisurely away, one hand lifted in farewell before disappearing.
A couple passed by in front of Hitsugaya, the sound of their geta clattering against the sidewalk drawing his attention. They were both wearing a yukata, arms linked beneath the folds of their large sleeves. Right, Hitsugaya thought, Tanabata. He'd been largely ignoring colourful streamers and paper lanterns that hung from every shop and corner, but now they were at the forefront of his vision, reminding him that he still had a blank tanzaku waiting for him at the Kurosaki house.
Hitsugaya stuffed his hands in pockets, the soles of his shoes dragging a bit as he walked in the direction of the clinic. If I wrote that I wished for these stomach pains to go away, he thought, somewhat irrationally, who out there is reading it?
Author's Notes
It's been 84 years...I don't even remember if I've made that joke yet anymore...
I feel TREMENDOUSLY awful, especially considering that this chapter is not as long as I would've liked, but I promise promise promise I have not given up on this. I love and miss my boys (and girls) and it'd be very difficult to let go of this story so easily. I will die finishing this fic if I have to mark my words
As always, thank you to all the lovely and encouraging messages!