Chapter song: Long night by the Corrs
Long night
"Momo." He breathed, sheathing Hyorinmaru "For a second there I thought…hey, how did you get here?"
The little girl pouted.
"Shiro-kun, you're so dense! I came through the front door, but you were so busy you hardly paid me any attention."
"Well…you could've called me."
"What if I wanted to give you a surprise?" she smiled and got on her feet
"Well…I…" he stared at her "Are you going out?"
"Well, not really." She grinned and spun around "How do you like me?"
Hitsugaya could swear he heard Hyorinmaru cuss in the back of his mind as his eyes followed Momo with growing horror. She was wearing a short, black dress with spaghetti straps and plum blossoms embroidered on the skirts. The garment was made out of some shiny, slick material that allowed the skin to breathe in the hot summer nights, but it also clung to the body in a way that could get even Kurotsuchi taicho a nosebleed. It was the kind of clothing you put on with the sole purpose of having it taken off, and by the looks in her eyes, Hitsugaya guessed Momo knew that.
"Shiro-kun?" she asked curiously
"Well, um…it's very pretty, Momo. But I…er….regret to inform you that I can't go out tonight, it's a…busy day, yeah."
"Oh, silly." She chuckled "We're not going anywhere."
"Really?" he breathed happily, before realizing she was advancing towards him "Momo…"
"You've been so busy lately…I haven't seen you in days…" she whispered "And with that lieutenant of yours sick…I thought you needed to get away from your troubles."
"She has a name…" Hitsugaya sighed.
"What?" Momo looked puzzled "What do you mean?"
"She has a name, Momo. She's not my lieutenant, or that woman, or that death glare you throw when you have to say it. She's Matsumoto Rangiku and I would appreciate it if you stopped that ridiculous quarrel with her."
"Shiro-kun, must you mention her, she's so…" Momo wrinkled her nose
"No, you just have to listen for once!" Hitsugaya walked past her and opened the windows to get some fresh air into the balcony "Look, Momo, I don't know what you two have going on, and frankly, I don't care either. But everything's got it's limits and I really don't appreciate your attitude towards her. She's an excellent subordinate, a great fighter and my friend and I will not have her insulted in any way."
"Is she a closer friend to you than me?" Momo looked at him with her big puppy eyes and started walking towards him "We've been through so much together…"
"Momo, I didn't mean that…" he sighed
"Then let me help you!" she walked up to him "You're so uptight, you need to relax. Relief the stress."
"I don't need stress relief, I feel great." Hitsugaya mumbled, while trying to keep a polite and safe distance from her.
"Sure you do. Or else…" she pouted "You don't love me anymore."
While he was trying to come up with some reasonable excuse, Hinamori took the silence for a silent encouragement and jumped, knocking him off and straddled his legs.
Hitsugaya's eyes went wide, and he could swear that he heard Hiyorinmaru cuss in the back of his mind, but every rational thought was being pushed aside. His senses sharpened up until he was in painful awareness of his surroundings, and then died out until all he could do is breathe and stare. Her skirt rode up to her waist, the straps fell to the elbows as she leaned forward, until Hitsugaya was seeing things he had only witnessed in his dreams…or nightmares.
"Just relax." She whispered, looking seductive…in her opinion. Toushiro found it disturbing. There was a small vial in her hand, filled with a strange liquid. Was it alcohol? Or she planned to get him high so that she could…
This is out of control, his reason screamed, this is wrong, stop her immediately. Hitsugaya was perfectly aware that he was stronger and bigger than her-he could throw her off with only the slightest of movements. But there was something nailing him to the ground, something stronger than their childhood friendship. "You're all you have." He heard the old woman's voice.
Hinamori carefully opened the vial and took the liquid in her mouth, then leaned forward, intending to kiss it into Hitsugaya.
"No!" he screamed in his mind "Please, stop! Please, please stop! Please, this is wrong! STOP IT!"
Everything went black. And then…
"This is so not good." Hiyorinmaru sighed, before the whole world filled with white light.
Now I'm all on my own again
Thinking you will never show you will be home again
Hitsugaya's angry scream shook the entire building from foundation to top, and a second later a cold tsunami flushed out of every open window and door, making passengers on the street freeze and wrap themselves up, when only seconds later they had wondered how to undress enough to keep cool without looking immoral.
Matsumoto, who had been spinning in her bed in desperate attempt to fall asleep bolted up and out, right into the office. She had Haineko in her hand, ready to unleash her on whatever attacked her captain, but the empty room puzzled her. Then she sensed her taicho's reiatsu in the other room and threw the doors open. The sight inside stopped her dead in her tracks.
Hitsugaya was lying on the floor, with both hands opened, as if to let something out. His body from the chest down was covered in thick, rippled ice. Hinamori lay against the opposite wall, as if thrown out by a great force, and both her legs and arms were blue and covered with frost. The girl was crying and shivering, and no wonder-the air in the room felt like -30° C.
Hinamori turned her blood-shot eyes towards Matsumoto and screamed:
"This is all your fault, you wretched, wicked woman!"
Sentaro and Kiyone, who were the second most bravest to enter the office, rushed out behind Rangiku, and stared in disbelief at the scene.
"Matsumoto fukutaicho, what's going on here?" Sentaro asked
"Matsumoto-san, what's happened?" Kiyone yelled at the same time
"Nothing." Rangiku braced herself "Nothing's happened. Sentaro-san, take Hinamori fukutaicho to the kitchens. Kiyone-san, prepare a bucket of hot water for her legs. Quickly."
And it's gonna be a long night
And it's gonna be cold without your arms
And I'm gonna get stage fright, caught in the headlights
It's gonna be a long night
And I know I'm gonna lose this fight
I'm gonna get stage fright, caught in the headlights
As the two third seats carried the almost unconscious fukutaicho away, Matsumoto put Haineko aside and ran to her captain.
His teal eyes were closed, his face seemed frozen into the tense expression of a man in a desperate struggle to stay neutral. Failing miserable. She sighed as she knelt down to him and touched his cheek. There was a painful spark of electric cold at first, but then his body seemed to recognize hers and let some of her warmth come into him.
She looked down at his body in disbelief. His reiatsu must've burst, she thought, and then formed ice. Rangiku had heard teachers talk about such occurrences in the academy, that they happened to people with high levels of spiritual power who were under a great deal of stress, but she'd never witnessed one for real. Her taicho was always so calm, so composed, he had always put up with her…she never imagined him losing control like that. And now…
The shock waves had spread all over his body, forming a sort of serpent's tail, with spikes of ice where the levels were unequal. The frozen surface shun with millions of little facets, like scales made out of rough diamond. It was a display in a reiatsu in it's most primal form, something like bankai, but much, much more uncontrolled and wild. It was almost horridly beautiful, but there was nothing good in Toushiro's face, twisted into a pose of pure anguish.
"Taicho, please…" Matsumoto whispered, leaning forward to him "Please, stop this. Snap out of it."
There were small rivers streaming from where their skin made contact and she wrapped her arms around his neck to enhance the touch. He was burning her with frost, yet she didn't let go, trying to accommodate. Meanwhile, Haineko was trying to reach Hyorinmaru so that he could stop this from underneath. Slowly, but surely, the ice started to soften up and melt, soaking the tatami and both their uniforms, but it worked.
Then, suddenly, Hitsugaya let out a groan and his arms, almost reaching out on their own accord, embraced Rangiku with such strength it cut her supply of oxygen for a second. Then, happy to see him coming back, she let out a yell of joy.
"Ren! Fumiko! Kaoru! Get here, quickly!"
While she was trying to get her captain on his feet, their 3rd, 4th and 5th seats rushed into the room, with their swords out and kido blasts prepared to shoot.
"Put those away, immediately!" she yelled "Ren-kun, set up a fire in my quarters and bring a kettle of hot water! Kaoru-kun, go get Hinamori-fukutaicho a clean uniform and escort her to the 5th division. Don't let her out of your site before you've handed her over to a member of her squad, and make sure she gets a warm bath and lots of rest in her quarters! Fumiko-chan, go find the healer, before taicho comes down with pneumonia."
"Yes, fukutaicho!" the three yelled in union, but the girl, Fumiko-chan, seemed hesitant "Matsumoto-san, what's happened?"
Rangiku hesitated-Hitsugaya was still unconscious, and while she had no doubt what could've happened, he might not approve if she accused Hinamori in something.
"I don't know. " she answered honestly "There must've been some disturbance…probably Zaraki taicho dropped his eye patch again…taicho must've reacted on instinct."
"Should we inform Ukitake-taicho?" Ren-kun asked, looking at the two through his thick blond hair.
"No. Don't bother him, the man needs rest." Finally balancing Hitsugaya on her side, Matsumoto rose to her feet "Just warm up my room, ok."
"But this could've been an assassination attempt." Fumiko objected
"Yes, yes, it could've been. That's why…" Rangiku quickly worked her way to the stairs "That's why we shouldn't leave them alone. Make sure Hinamori-fukutaicho is safe at her quarters, and tell the people in her division to…to…put a constant watch at her door. We'll inform the Correction Cops in the morning, until then….neither of them should be left alone."
"Yes, ma'am." The three shinigami finally dashed off to do their duty, as Matsumoto struggled to get her taicho up the stairs. Slowly, but surely, she brought him in her quarters, nicely warmed up by a dancing fire.
She set him down on a pile of clothes next to the fire place and checked the kettle Ren-kun had brought from the kitchen, then stormed the drawers in search of the herbs she kept there in case of cold. Kiyone came up to the rooms with a dry change of clothes for both her and Hitsugaya, helped her clear up the floor and then excused herself-Sentaro couldn't be left alone for a long while with his ankle.
Matsumoto changed them into clean yukatas and wrapped a blanket around Hitsugaya's shoulders. She checked his pulse, then started to make tea. While she was working, a quiet moan came from behind her.
"Matsu…moto…"
"Taicho!" she exclaimed happily and turned to him, pulling him in a bear hug "Taicho, I'm so glad you're ok!"
"I…can't breathe…" he whispered, making her loosen her grip just enough to reach for the tea
"Drink this, it'll stop you from catching a cold."
"A clod is the least problem." he sipped from the warm liquid thankful…
Thankful for what? For many things. For its sweetness that made his teeth hurt. For the warmth of the fire on which it was made. For the fact that Matsumoto stood in the same room with him and that Hinamori was nowhere in sight, that the nightmare had ended and he was once again the same.
Or was he? Truth to be told, even though he was frozen to the tips of his fingers and the gossipers in Seiretei were going to be all over him in the morning, he wanted the moment to last forever. But…come to think of it…
He frowned.
"Matsumoto, where's Hinamori?"
"I…I told Kaoru-kun, you know, our 5th seat, to get her to her division. I…I said there might have been an assault and that she needed to be guarded. Is…Is that ok?" for a split second she was ready to attribute that little scene down at the balcony to a foreplay gone wrong, but there was something in the way Hitsugaya was looking at her that told her that this was a ridiculous presumption.
"Good…good." Hitsugaya looked down at the tea in his hands and drank it in one gulp.
"More?" Matsumoto leaned forward and poured him some.
"Thank you." He narrowed his eyes "Matsumoto…what's happened to you? You look different."
"Oh…must be the yukata. Grey's not my color." She laughed, then turned serious "You don't remember? You were covered in ice and I was…close while you were melting…and I…actually you…well, er…we got a little wet…actually, the balcony is going to need new tatami."
Hitsugaya stared at her, then looked down in horror and his cheeks turned tomato-red.
"Were you…ugh…"
"Oh, taicho…" she laughed playfully "It's good to see your blood is still running."
"Yeah….sure…" he mumbled.
"But…what happened back there?" she asked, while sitting down next to him and putting an arm on his shoulder "You looked really…" she bit back 'scared'
Hitsugaya sighed. "It was…just…so wicked…"
"It's ok." She quickly changed her mind "I understand. I'll…tell everyone there was an accident with Zaraki's eye patch and…"
"No." Hitsugaya grabbed her hand tight "No, you will do no such thing."
"But taicho…"
"I won't have you lie for her!" He screamed, then added in a calmer tone "Matsumoto, I…I don't want to protect her."
"What?" she shook her head "Are you sure you're ok, taicho?"
"Yes, I am." Hitsugaya set his cup aside and rose to his feet to face her. "What happened just now…I've realized something, Matsumoto. Giving her what she wants is…not helping her…" his voice fell and he sat down, patting the ground to make her sit as well
"Taicho…I understand that but…what are you going to do?" Momo had gone far, that was sure, but if Hitsugaya turned away from her abruptly, that could be the last blow that could push her downhill. That girl was unstable.
"I…I don't know…I can charge her with assault of a superior officer…but…" he sighed "I can't do anything without hurting her, can't I?"
"Kira-kun's family has a sanatorium out of town." Matsumoto said carefully after a pause. "Perhaps we can talk to him…see if we can get her out of Seiretei for a while."
Hitsugaya looked up at her, his eyes lighting up with sudden delight.
"That's…great…" he mumbled "That's so…simple, I guess. That settles it all."
Matsumoto nodded. "Perhaps she needs rest like all of us."
"I certainly hope so." He nodded, then looked at her "How far had I gone, Matsumoto?"
"Huh? Well, you were…"
"I can't remember." He said "I felt…just like the time when Aizen stabbed me…Cold…helpless…lost…I hated that feeling."
She didn't say anything. What could she say? That is wasn't bad? That it was ok to be scared? That what happened wasn't his fault? It wasn't, yet she couldn't bring herself to say anything. Everything that popped into her mind sounded cold and cruel and selfish…in the end, there wasn't anything comforting for her to say.
"Taicho…" she began, but he cut her off.
"You're the one that brought me back." He said looking straight into her eyes "It's because of you and only you that I'm standing here…if it wasn't for you…if it wasn't for you…things…would've been…so…so…much…miserable…" he began slurring and swayed, finally falling asleep while resting on Matsumoto's shoulder. She waited for a while to make sure he was really asleep, then carried him to the bed and pulled the covers over him.
It's gonna be a long night
And I know I'm gonna lose this fight
I'm lost in your arms baby
Lost in your arms...
It had been a really long night….but at least not they were not facing the day alone.
