A/N: Guess who's back!
THANK YOU FOR 1,000 FAVORITES OMG I'M CRYING LASDHASKJDFASDFASDG
SERIOUSLY I'M IN TEARS YOU ALL ARE WONDERFUL AND I LOVE YOU.
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Twitter handle: avtorsola (I will occasionally post NSFW here, be warned)
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A03: avtorsola
So, updates are still probably going to be fairly slow for this fic. It's reaching beastly proportions, and I'm currently working on several published fics at the same time, including my Hunter x Hunter AU, Seeking Petrichor, and my A03-only Bleach fic, Smells Like Peppermint. In addition, I am also an admin for the Bleach Big Bang, which has been eating up my time recently.
Also, to that one anon who asked about me writing the HxH/Bnha crossover - See the A/N at the bottom, please. My response is touch long to be up here.
The interrogation room's door was bolted back into place, the ominous kathunk of steel clanking against concrete echoing in the small room. Toushiro paid it no mind. If the worst-case scenario did come to pass, Shakkaho should be able to blast a hole in the two-way glass, at least, if not the door itself. Or he could cast the Bakudo that allowed his reishi to disassociate enough that he could pass through solid objects. There were plenty of things he could do if this all went wrong.
He'd prefer if he didn't have to resort to assuming the worst, though.
Another hour or so passed in relative silence. Toushiro put his head down on the table, on top of his folded arms, absently allowing himself to doze. Tsukauchi stayed with him, seated in the chair opposite with his phone in his hand. Aizawa and Nedzu both left the observation room at some point, most likely to chew out Midoriya and the others, but returned within a short while.
And then the door opened again, and the police chief strode back in followed by two men in dark suits and a burly woman with green glasses and a white lab coat. Aizawa trailed these three, the slim Soul Phone clenched tightly in one fist, and Nedzu was at his side, beady eyes narrow with suspicion. Each of the newcomers brought a chair with them, plastic folding chairs. Nothing fancy. Toushiro waited patiently while they seated themselves, watching keenly as the men in suits withdrew handguns from their pockets and held them up.
"The Chief of Police has informed us of your intent to cooperate, but please know that we are authorized to eliminate any threat to our safety."
The speaker was the brunette agent, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses and hair neatly coiffed. His older, grey-bearded partner, said nothing. Toushiro rolled his shoulders carelessly, eyeing the weapons with interest. Handguns. Not bad. Being shot wouldn't kill him – his reiatsu should be able to prevent a bullet from going too deep into his flesh – but it would definitely hurt like a bitch. And if they caught him off guard, before he could gather his reiatsu to ward off the worst of the impact, a bullet could do some serious damage.
"Understandable. You two are the smartest I've encountered thus far, defense-wise," he commented lightly. He'd managed to rein in his breathless relief in the hour he'd spent waiting, but the humming undercurrent of nervous energy was still threaded through his pulse, so he kept his voice soft. "A bullet wouldn't match my speed should I be moving, but if you catch me off guard it's your best chance at injuring me."
The two men in suits blinked in surprise at the backhanded compliment, as did the burly woman in the lab coat, but after a moment the elder shook the shock off and turned to Tsukauchi, quickly asking for the use of his Quirk, and then to Aizawa, asking him to set the phone down on the table. Hitsugaya watched quietly, lacing his fingers together beneath his chin as the government agents set themselves up. It didn't take long.
The grey-haired man broke the silence.
"We have been informed that you are, simply put, a juvenile non-human lifeform," the grey-haired man said, obviously skeptical. The wavering looks he kept shooting Tsukauchi, however, said otherwise. Hitsugaya stayed perfectly still. "And on top of this, you are here to…hunt down another species of non-human lifeform that preys on humans?"
Hitsugaya ducked his head a little bit and took a deep breath. Time to come clean.
"Not exactly, but close," he said, without blinking an eye. "In truth, I have no mission assigned to me by my superiors here – only a set of ironclad laws that I am acting in accordance with as problems that I am responsible for arise. At the root of it all though…I'm stranded."
He saw the surprise pass across Aizawa's face at the same time as Nedzu leaned forward, mouse paws pressing into the steel table top. The mouse principal looked distinctly wary of him now, a healthy respect forming in that beady gaze. Toushiro smiled a bit.
"While it may sound incredible to you, my people have been able to facilitate interdimensional travel for thousands of years now," he revealed, knuckles starting to whiten as he ventured into territory that he hadn't yet covered with the UA teachers. "However, three or four months ago – I'm starting to lose track – I fell through a spontaneous, interdimensional Einstein-Rosen bridge and arrived in this dimension. I have no way to return home at this time, and I believe that the most likely cause of this sudden interdimensional portal was some Quirk in this world. In order to facilitate my exit from this dimension – which was previously unknown to my people – I allowed myself to be placed at UA Academy, which had resources I was previously unable to access. And then Hollows began arriving in this dimension. I suspect that my presence in your world is holding open the dimensional tear and allowing the Hollows to cross over here behind me. I am thereby solely responsible for eradicating them. Furthermore, Hollows are my people's responsibility, even in my home dimensions, and I cannot allow human interference with this misson."
Tsukauchi stared. And slowly, all eyes turned to him. He shook his head, hands shaking.
"…there wasn't an ounce of dishonesty in what he just said."
The government agents looked stricken, but the burly woman in the lab coat leaned forward, peering over the top of her green glasses.
"So, you're a stranded interdimensional traveling alien, are you?" she summarized, "And because of this dimensional portal, the more unsavory creatures from your world are bleeding into ours?"
Hitsugaya nodded, biting down on his lower lip, his calves pressing back against the legs of the chair as hard as he could.
"Unfortunately so." His voice was hoarse, the grim tone enough to make the houndlike Chief of Police growl slightly. "Hollows prey on humans, and in a world where my people don't exist…there's no predator above them. The more evolved, intelligent Hollows seem to have formed alliances with your world's villains in order to gain a foothold in this world – a platform they can return to after devouring their victims. However, humans lack the ability to fight Hollows, for the sole reason that Hollows, like myself, don't have bodies made up of the same, normal matter that you're used to dealing with. We're not bound by the laws of physics – at least, not in the same way – and so I can't allow humans to do anything more in this kind of situation other than act as informants. You're easy prey otherwise."
Nedzu's paws squeaked as they slid back on the table.
"And you cannot give us these powers without facing serious repercussion from your people," the mouse said, eyes narrowing. Toushiro sighed, once agains biting his lower lip.
"…the precedent is execution or torture and imprisonment, depending on the severity of the offense, the situation in which the power transfer was conducted in, and the identity of the perpetrator," he said hesitantly, offering the bait for the highly intelligent mouse to take. Nedzu's beady eyes narrowed – he obviously knew that Hitsugaya was fishing for questions. But he bit anyway.
"There's a but in that statement, isn't there Hitsugaya-kun?"
Toushiro sighed heavily.
"Yes, in a sense," he groaned. "But it's difficult to explain without discussing the inner workings of my society and our power structure."
The two government agents glanced over at Nedzu, then exchanged a long, meaningful look in which there was much head craning and raised eyebrows. Toushiro would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. Finally, the younger brunette tapped a sharp grey fingernail on the steel table.
"…well, to be frank with you, kid," the brunette said slowly, "We will need to know about your societal structure. The Ministry of Defense and the Prime Minister are unsure of how to deal with you, given your apparent youth. We need to know if your words will hold any weight in any future dealings with your people. From what you've already said, it sounds at least as if you're a part of your people's military…?"
Hitsugaya nodded, then pointed at his Soul Phone.
"Someone, please open my phone for me," he said calmly. "I'm going to demonstrate a little of my people's technology for you."
There was some hesitancy for a moment, and then Aizawa picked the small device up and pressed the power button, waiting for the screen to light up. Then he slid his finger across the screen.
"…It looks like a normal smartphone to me. You even have one of those Flappy Bird game apps on here," one of the agents said, leaning over Aizawa's shoulder. Hitsugaya tried not to grin – he still couldn't get over how cool the latest Soul Phone was.
"Of course it looks like a normal phone to you. It's keyed to my signature. May I?"
After a general consensus, Aizawa placed the phone in Hitsugaya's hands. And Toushiro tapped the screen twice, turning it white, and set his fingertips in the center of the touchscreen. A tinge of his reiatsu licked at the glowing white background.
"Voice override. Hitsugaya Toushiro," he said clearly. "Security clearance Alpha. Information level: Emergency."
The phone beeped twice, and then the screen lit up with the Gotei 13's distinct rhombus. A cool female voice rang through the speaker, only a touch tinny in the small concrete room.
~"Reiatsu signature: Match. Access Authorized. Information level: Emergency, is currently accessible."~ the AI's modulated voice was distinctly similar to the late Captain Unohana's, soft and soothing with a hint of iron. Several gasps came from the group supposed to be interrogating him, and he grinned a little bit, unable to stop himself from feeling just a touch giddy.
"Engage holographic menu," he commanded, and set the phone down on the table. The rear-facing camera lit up in blue, then projected a three-dimensional web of light into the air, several menus popping up. Hitsugaya skimmed them quickly, bypassing the Mission Reports, Hollow-Locator, and Basic Information: Individual tabs in favor of selecting a separate one.
"Basic Information: Society," he said, and the chosen tab glowed yellow for a second before the holographic projection shifted, now displaying several other tabs including, Overview, Schooling and Economy, Government, and Geography. The agents looked on, transfixed by the projection.
"Government," one of the agents said then, immediately zeroing in on their desired information. Then the phone beeped once.
~"Unfamiliar Voice Command Registered. Please Authorize."~
Toushiro leveled a flat glare at the agent and raised an eyebrow. The man dropped his gaze, looking sheepish.
"It responds to my personal energy signature, you know," he said, slightly irritated, returning his attention to the phone in his hand. "Temporary Authorization granted. Engage supplementary images and text."
The phone obeyed, and Hitsugaya steepled his fingers.
"My home is a feudal military society, for lack of a better explanation," he said easily, and the hologram shifted to show a picture of the Seireitei. "The central city, Seireitei, is ruled by the Gotei 13, with nominal and ceremonial oversight from a now-defunct body of judges and scholars called Central 46. This body used to have the power to stand against our military, but following two mass assassinations it has lost much of its power. It retains enough to force singular issues, such as the executions of criminals or the passage of minor laws, but beyond this it is dependent upon the Gotei 13."
The image shifted, transitioning to something like a rank-structure chart, and Hitsugaya glanced at it briefly before continuing.
"The Gotei 13 itself is the most powerful of three military branches. The other two, the Kidoshuu and the Onmitsukido, have more specialized roles, thus limiting their power. The Onmitsukido is also headed by the Captain of the Second Division, and thus is intricately bound to the Gotei 13 as well," he continued. "The only body of influence able to sway the Gotei 13 on large-scale policy would be the noble clans – specifically the Four Great Noble houses, which are renowned for their wealth and their consistent membership in the ranks of the Gotei 13. Our King technically could as well, but he is nothing more than a figurehead and has little bearing on military decisions or martial law."
Nedzu leaned forward, examining the chart with interest.
"So, according to this picture here, it looks like your military is divided into thirteen different divisions?" the mouse said. "And within each division there is a very clear chain of command established by rank and seniority, ending with the foot soldiers."
Hitsugaya nodded, affirming the mouse's observation.
"Yes. Each division typically has twenty 'seated' ranks, numbered from one to twenty. Multiple individuals will share lower-ranked positions, usually numbered Tenth Seat and below, and the most senior within each rank group will be in charge of their juniors," he explained. "Each seated officer can command anyone lower in rank than them, but they will typically be assigned to lead a squadron of unseated soldiers up until around Tenth or Eleventh Seat, where administrative duties will start to take precedence and their squadrons will consist of lower-seated officers – and subsequently the subordinates those lower seated officers have command of."
Nedzu's paw slid up then, hovering over the top of the chart, where thirteen different markers sat.
"Then, the 'first seat' of each division…?"
"That's the Captain," Hitsugaya confirmed. "Captains have incredible power, both politically-speaking and in combat. They're directly assisted by the Lieutenant, who occupies the 'second seat' rank of each division, but the power gap between them can be be incredible, and Lieutenants are – on average – already powerful enough to defeat the rest of the Seated Officers below them simultaneously, except perhaps the Third and Fourth Seats. And the head of the First Division is the Captain-Commander. He has nominal control over the other twelve captains, and in times of crisis he has the authority to issue orders to them. But typically in peacetime the Captain-Commander acts more as a moderator. Captains can be very prickly and standoffish with each other, and when you give one of those individuals an entire Division that is absolutely loyal to their leader…well, things can get unpleasant, and quickly. The Captain-Commander maintains law and order between each of the thirteen divisions, and frankly, his job is an unenviable one. If he did not have the Captains' confidence and loyalty, civil war would be commonplace."
The two government agents let out huge sighs of exhaustion. Hitsugaya didn't really blame them. Seireitei's political intricacies were obnoxious, and he lived there. Then the elder of the two leaned forward, a grave look in his eye then.
"Son, you said you were involved with your people's military. Do you have a rank?"
Oh, they wanted to know that, did they? Hitsugaya smiled, a touch playfully, glancing up at the chart projected by his Soul Phone.
"Yes, I do, actually," he said. "Try to guess, why don't you? I want to see what I look like to you. I'm in the Tenth Division if you were wondering. Beyond wartime reconnaissance and special operations, our primary peacetime specialization is internal investigation – basically policework and criminal prosecution for the Seireitei."
He ignored the sharp look from Nedzu – the mouse already had figured it out, so that didn't count, and focused on the two agents, genuinely curious. The elder regarded him carefully for a moment, then glanced up at the chart.
"…I'm going to guess that you're probably fairly high up, given your confidence. Perhaps you're one of the Fifteenth Seat ranks?" he guessed. Toushiro tried not to growl at that, feeling mildly insulted. But his amusement won out, and so he turned, glancing at the rest.
"Any other guesses before I confirm anything?" he asked, lips quirked on one side. The lab-coat wearing lady blinked at him.
"I'll bite," she said bracingly. "How about Eleventh Seat?"
Better than Fifteenth, he supposed, but still a little irritating. He glanced at the others, but they shook their heads, obviously unwilling to indulge him, and he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Is that what you hope, or what you genuinely believe?" he asked then, narrowing his eyes carefully. The two agents exchanged long looks, allowing the woman in the lab coat to speak up again, looking slightly sheepish.
"Perhaps a bit of both," she groaned, but Toushiro had to appreciate her honesty. "The higher your rank, the easier it will be for us to trust that your word will hold whenever your people come into contact with us. Can you at least verify that the Captain of the Tenth – your captain – will honor your word?"
Toushiro felt a rumble of amusement purr deep in his chest, Hyourinmaru's mirth seeping across the physical distance. One corner of his mouth quirked as he attempted to hide the twitching of his lips. But dutifully, he turned his attention back onto the pared-down schematic of the Tenth Division's power structure and gently tapped the icon at the top that represented the captain.
"You can decide that yourself. Soldier Profile: Tenth Division Captain."
The phone chirped awkwardly for a moment, obviously halted by something. The humans leaned in, the two agents setting their elbows on the table even as Aizawa leaned away. Nedzu looked vaguely irritated by the whole charade, and Hitsugaya spared him a sympathetic eye roll.
~"Requested Soldier Profile contains classified data requiring Security Clearance: Alpha. Redact classified information in accordance with Emergency Information protocols?"~
Hitsugaya sighed and authorized it, then watched slowly as his own image was rendered in the bluish holographic light, his most recent patient reports from the Fourth Division littered with starred words popping up beneath his picture. There was a short silence, his rank typed neatly beneath his name, division affiliation, Zanpakutou name, and blood type. Then he lifted his gaze, all trace of cheer gone.
"Only a captain is authorized to wear a white haori with their division number on its back," he said lowly, eyes blazing, well aware of the white haori hanging from his shoulders at that very moment. "…Is it now making sense, why I would not yield? Why I insist upon acting on my own? Why I cannot lend any of my power to you? I have a division to command, to lead. How could I possibly justify such a crime to them when I am whole and hale?"
Tsukauchi turned a searching gaze on him, pale as a sheet of printer paper.
"You're one of the thirteen captains of your people," he murmured. "and you're…not even fully grown? You're suffering from PTSD?"
Hitsugaya bared his teeth at the reminders, growling low in his throat. That had not been what he'd wanted them to focus on, but perhaps it was best to get it out of the way before any more egregious errors or insults took place.
"I have lived through two wars and several near-death experiences, all at an age much younger than I am now," he snarled. "I don't need your human pity. What's done to me is done, and I will deal with the fallout."
There was another pregnant pause, and then Toushiro's eyes narrowed to thin slits of green. He pressed one palm flat to the table, frost tracing curlicues from his fingertips.
"So," he said coldly. "I can, to some extent, make my own laws, as I did when I executed All-For-One for his crimes against the human race and my own people. After all, convicting a Captain of the Gotei 13 of any crime and forcing punishment on them is extremely difficult unless it it glaringly obvious. For instance, one of my fellow captains is, simply put, a mad scientist with few, if any, morals. He has been responsible for the mysterious death and disappearance of many of his own subordinates, and has repeatedly conducted experiments on humanoid subspecies. However, he is the Captain of the Twelfth Division, and thus rarely faces repercussions for his actions."
Nedzu's round ears suddenly slid forward. The mouse's whiskers drooped as well, mimicking the sinking sensation in Hitsugaya's gut as he realized just what he'd inadvertently revealed to the mouse.
"…He was not punished for what he did to you?"
Toushiro felt his mouth go dry, the air suddenly thin and deoxygenating at a rapid pace. His knuckles went white on the edge of the table. Aizawa's dark eyes slid from his paling face to Nedzu's twitching paws, then back again. The realization was setting in. Why would Nedzu ask that question? Why now, of all times, when he needed to be thinking clearly?
"…It was necessary. I don't know if he realized I was awake through all of it, but he knew I was conscious for certain portions…not that he cared," Hitsugaya finally breathed, clutching vainly at the metal table. "…He was applauded for his efforts, and I thanked him."
Nedzu's large front teeth squeaked slightly as they ground together, anger darkening the mouse's beady stare into sunken pits. Aizawa's gaze flashed uncontrollably red, on and off. Tsukauchi looked between Hitsugaya and his two teachers, budding horror in his eyes. Aizawa turned a ferocious stare on Tsukauchi.
"He's lying," Aizawa snarled. Tsukauchi slowly shook his head.
"…No, he's not."
There was a pregnant pause, and then one of the government agents leaned forward, looking mildly intrigued by the conversation.
"Would someone explain what the conversation is about?" the grey-bearded man said. Hitsugaya's breath caught in his chest, an invisible pillow pressing over his airways. The cold tickle of a needle brushed over the side of his throat. Kurotsuchi's disembodied voice echoed coldly in the white interrogation room – it was white, of course it was white, just like that lab where he'd been- No, no, shit-
Hitsugaya-taicho, I have some medicine I'd like you to try. Don't worry – It's all for the sake of Soul Society!
So stubborn, Hitsugaya-taicho. Relax, and this will all be over before you know it.
"…his initial story to explain the Hollows and his own trauma was that he was previously human but had been subject to experimentation and was altered into something different that allowed him to fight Hollows. Now…now we know it's not entirely a lie – and that the perpetrator was a colleague of his."
The voice was Nedzu's, strained and thin, helpless anger simmering in that squeak even as it was drowned out by the cacophony of Kurotsuchi's machines. Toushiro clung to the distinct sound, staring down at the metal of the table, trying desperately to block everything out except reality. He couldn't afford for this to happen now, couldn't afford this kind of weakness when he needed all his wits about him.
His lungs ached for air he couldn't breathe, and he crumpled facedown, pressing his forehead to the interrogation table, grinding his teeth. It was blessedly cold, so unlike the fiery venom that Kurotsuchi had injected into him, so unlike the burning agony wreaking havoc on his body.
"Hitsugaya-kun, stay with us. Come on, now,"
Aizawa's voice, broken with aimless fury and reluctant concern, shattered the pounding in his head. Hitsugaya gasped for breath. It wasn't as bad this time. He could break through, he was still aware of his surroudings. There hadn't been a major trigger. Just enough to pull up the panic and vivid memories to bubble just beneath the surface. Just enough to knock him off balance.
"He saved my life," he wheezed, unsure of why he was defending Kurotsuchi when the man had done far more than simply reverse Giselle's zombification. He'd been in non-stop agony, had tubes and wires shoved into his body as the poisons were flushed and reintroduced to his system on repeat for hours- no, stop remembering-
"Son of a- someone talk!" The cry was strangled, a plaintive demand, but as his voice broke like glass on stone it didn't seem to matter.
"…I spoke to Midoriya and the others earlier about your plan on retrieving Bakugo, Hitsugaya-kun," the voice was Aizawa's, kept frighteningly even in spite of how upset he'd just sounded. "Why did you allow them to accompany you to Kamino?"
Okay. Okay, he could focus on that. Kamino. Why did he let Midoriya come to Kamino with him?
"…he would have gone anyway," Toushiro breathed finally, sliding his head into his hands and forcing chilled reiatsu to prick at his fingertips, cool enough to remind him of where he was. The fiery phantom pain and flashing surgical lights eased away. "Better he and the others stay with me and under watch than roam on their own."
Aizawa hummed a low, growly hum of understanding, and though his eyes were closed Hitsugaya knew that the dark-haired man had either gripped the table or had clenched his fists until veins popped in the soft underbelly of his forearms.
"And your flashback on the train that Iida-kun spoke of – that was a side-effect of trying to explain your requirement for their absolute trust?"
The flashback on the train. He'd forced it, hadn't he, forced himself into confronting it so he could tell a bunch of teenagers that he'd die before hurting anyone he cared about again? How hypocritical, when he'd hurt them with nothing but his own scheming and lying.
Well. At least they weren't dead.
"Yes." The words came easier this time, his heart rate slowing somewhat. Guilt pressed at the back of his throat, sticky like tar. "I…I needed them to trust me for their own safety. I knew they would protest – even mutiny – if I explained that I planned to swap myself with Bakugo, for the simple reason that they think I am their equal. I…I appreciate their concern, truly, but there was no time to explain that I've seen more war than anyone here, no time to- to explain who I am…what I am. And if I had explained myself…there is no guarantee they would have believed me."
The room fell silent then, and he took several deep, slow breaths in an attempt to redirect his focus. It seemed to work, the fluttering adrenaline buzzing through his whole body draining away. He lifted his head out of his hands, ignoring the continuous trembling of his fingers.
The fluorescent lights were sharp and unpleasant, but at least he was seeing those and not the shadow-erasing glare of Kurotsuchi's labs.
"Well, regardless of the methodology you used to carry out your plan," one of the government agents said finally. "…you still killed someone in cold blood, a crime which was televised live. We can't let you walk free without inciting public outcry."
Hitsugaya's gaze narrowed. So, as he'd suspected. The government needed to save face. An understandable dilemma, one Seireitei usually tackled with gag orders, burned records, and assassinations.
Obviously, the same couldn't be said for a world of heroes.
"I executed All-for-One under my authority as the Captain of the Tenth Division for illegal human experimentation, striking an alliance with Hollows, and stepping foot into my people's realm of jurisdiction without prior permission," he kept his voice even, steeling himself for the possibility that he may have to resort to violence in order to accomplish his duty as a shinigami. "I will not allow any sort of punishment that would hinder my progress in my mission to eradicate the growing Hollow presence in your world or in my eventual mission to return to my home."
The humans all shifted in their seats – all save Nedzu, who was gazing steadily at Hitsugaya with his whiskers twitching.
"So then." The mouse was clearly trying not to bare the exceptionally long teeth he usually kept out of sight in his smile. "You have us cornered, do you not? You will not share the ability to destroy Hollows, and you will not bend to our laws. You refuse to submit to punishment that would restrict your ability to…function, I suppose. And yet we can do none of these things without, in essence, submitting to the same form of extraterritoriality that colonial powers used to allow the brutalization of their conquests."
Ouch. Put like that, even Toushiro would admit to it seeming to be a little much. But he rather thought Nedzu was forcing the words out of his mouth. The mouse should already know of the plan that Hitsugaya was going to divulge – of the falsehood that he could spin so easily.
The tail twitched again, jerking in Tsukauchi's direction. And suddenly, Hitsugaya understood what the mouse was doing. The clever creature. He knew he'd always liked this one. He hadn't, however, realized when Nedzu's anger had turned from genuine upset to mild irritation. What an actor.
"That's not what I want," he snapped, letting aggravation carry him. Tsukauchi would see through the truth of his words, and Nedzu would be satisfied that power over humans was precisely the opposite of his intent. "In fact, I can appreciate the need for a farce of a punishment of some kind. What I want, however, is indeed cooperation. My phone has a radar installed that can track Hollow appearances, but only within a certain range. I can't give this technology out, but what I can do is ask that there is a protocol put in place for dealing with Hollow appearances, and a method devised of alerting me."
The two agents looked distinctly confused, startled by this sudden switch in tone.
"I thought you said humans lacked the ability to defeat Hollows," the younger man said, his neat coif of hair starting to stick to the back of his neck. "Why the sudden change?"
Hitsugaya laced his fingers together, elbows on the table, and smirked wickedly.
"I said you couldn't defeat them and shouldn't fight them. I said nothing about holding them off," he pointed out. "Most low-level Hollows are easily recognizable. They're large and animalistic, resembling anything from a bird to a fish to a dog, and they always have a face-mask made of bone. There's also a large Hollow hole bored through their chests – in autopsies, you'll find that they lack a heart. This level of Hollow is what heroes may be able to stall. If you can issue orders of some kind to heroes, notify them that only ranged fighters that pack a lot of firepower should engage these creatures. Guns won't work, but if you have weapons that can fire explosives, and can consistently hit a Hollow's mask, you should be able to slow it down."
Hitsugaya tapped his phone, pressing a touch of icy pale blue into the circuitry.
"Basic Information: Hollows. Level: Emergency."
Instantly, the doctored information on Hollows came up, flashing into blue, and several varities of low-level Hollow appeared in the holographic light. Hitsugaya pointed at one of the images. The humans, Nedzu excepted, all looked vaguely fascinated by the strange pictures.
"On average, low-level Hollows will range in size from a small car to the size of a fully-grown oak tree," he said. "And their abilities will range as well. But the bottom line is that the more a Hollow eats – the more humans it kills – the stronger it gets. So if a Hollow appears, the first step should be to notify me immediately so I can kill it. And make no mistake. Hollows are not all dumb animals. Some have incredible intelligence. They will try to reason with you. To make you think they're just sad mistakes, that they're human in some way. Don't be fooled. The only Hollows that can claim some level of humanity are the high-level Hollows, the Arrancar. These Hollows look human, save for a Hollow hole and a bone mask fragment of some kind. They're strong enough to ignore their hunger for human flesh in favor of a greater goal, but it doesn't mean that they don't indulge."
The agents and the burly woman in the lab coat all looked distinctly unnerved by these revelations, though Aizawa and Nedzu were calm, for the most part. Finally, the elder of the two agents spoke, summarizing weakly.
"So…call you and keep the Hollows away via ranged attacks. But we can't justify using a kid to fight our battles, and we can't just reveal the existence of aliens to the general public…"
Hitsugaya bared his teeth, eyes flashing.
"What are you talking about?" he sneered, "I thought I was a human experiment genetically engineered to go after Hollows and brainwashed into thinking I'm an inhuman monstrosity? Oh, and suffering severe PTSD on top of all this. I mean, doesn't that already explain a lot of my behavior?"
Aizawa's tired gaze flicked up, snapping through the rubber drag of the dark bags under his eyes. His fringe fell away from the sudden realization.
"…That would have been your story this whole time if we hadn't put the pressure on, wouldn't it?"
Hitsugaya let out a sharp laugh, not bothering to be nice about the whole affair.
"Yeah, and even that was dangerously close to the truth." He glared, no looking directly at Tsukauchi with a cold stare. "But you damn well couldn't take no for an answer, and now I have to risk facing trial among my own people to satisify your persistence."
Aizawa's expression changed. Hitsugaya could feel the mood of the room shift toward sympathy, easing toward agreement.
"…You'll get in trouble for even telling us this much?"
The speaker was the police chief, his wobbling hound-jowls slightly agape. Hitsugaya laughed coldly.
"Are you stupid?" he spat, aimless anger tainting his words with acid. "My people enjoy public executions. I might be a Captain, one of thirteen of the most powerful people in my society, but if my actions offend the nobles enough, or if Central 46 chooses to pursue my actions as their one policy for the year, then I'll be lucky to escape with my skin intact! Hell, I've seen lower-seated officers whipped to death for this kind of security breach! The only reason I could possibly get away with it is because I'm doing it to prevent mass human casualties, and because I'm really fucking dangerous when I'm pissed off."
He stood up, ice in his gaze.
"So, this is my only offer," he leveled, glaring around the room. "Either you agree to my terms – releasing details of my PTSD and the human-experimentation story being the sole reason I can defeat Hollows, as well as the orders to hero offices – or I walk out of here with my sword drawn. If the criminal charges are your concern, I'll accept a tracking bracelet of some kind and I'll plead insanity at whatever sham trial you have to give me if I must. Anything else you'll have to convince me of."
The police chief glanced worriedly at Nedzu, then directed his gaze to the pair of government agents. They both looked contemplative, and Hitsugaya took their moment of silence to deactivate his phone. It turned off with a soft dial tone, the screen flashing blue before going fully dark. Steel flashed as the fluorescent light overhead flickered.
The greying agent stood, face grim, and stepped lightly towards the door.
"…I need to make a phone call."
So, a bit of a recap chapter for those of you familiar with Bleach. Hopefully it was halfway interesting! Please, let me know what you think in the box below!
A/N to Anon Reviewer:
I suppose I do have to thank you for having enough faith that I can write someone else's ideas well, and for being a fan of my writing, but it seems I'm going to have to explain a few things to you.
One) My Hunter x Hunter AU is published. It is not a crossover. I am not interested in currently writing requests at this time. Sorry.
Two) The crossover idea you're giving me is not really yours. It belongs to another author, and is a story I follow because I genuinely enjoy reading it. I think that, yes, perhaps it's not perfect, but things rarely are perfect. My stories are not perfect, the world isn't perfect, not even chocolate is perfect, though I'm sure somewhere Killua is plotting my death for saying that.
Three) You need to fuck off. This is one of the most tasteless things I have ever seen someone do on this site. Who do you think you are, asking me to rewrite someone else's story because you think it's bad? I will NEVER stoop to redoing other authors' works without their permission, for ANY reason. You do understand that most people on here write for fun, right? That they're not overly concerned about making every little plot hole disappear? I've actually read the story you're talking about, and frankly, I see nothing wrong with it behind some minor grammatical errors and perhaps some mild OOC. I've shared this review with several other fic-writer friends of mine – we all agree that this is entirely uncalled for. I've spoken with the author of that work about this as well, and learned through reading the reviews of that person's story and their A/Ns that you were, in fact, extremely rude. People don't usually write out long, argumentative replies to polite, constructive criticism – and this was done in abundance for this story.
Four) If you suck up to me while insulting my friend and their writing, you're nothing more than a smarmy piece of shit. Fanfiction authors should support each other. Not tear each other down. If anyone here isn't mature, it's you. Grow up and quit tearing people down just to feel powerful. It's pathetic.
Signing off,
avtorSola
