Vietvn: Whoo..Sorry for the late update, I was really busy with school now, boo. Anyways, here's the epilogue :D as promised but its more like a chapter XD. And guess what?? I watched the second bleach movie, diamonddust rebellion in subs and IT WAS AWESOME!
I got some great ideas on how to change to story up a little while watching sooo I'll be incorperating them into my story for the sequel! :D
I'll be starting the first chapter of the sequel sometimes soon and have that posted up so yea, just please be patient and look forward to it :)
Epilogue: The Sweet Taste Never Last That Long Anyways
"Ano Tanaka-taicho, Hinamori-fukutaicho is here requesting entrance-..."
"Come in Hinamori." I sighed from my desk, my head resting on my propped up hand. The brunette bunned girl entered after I allowed her and she carried with her a folder of more paperwork for me. Joy...
"Not more..." I whined.
"Sorry Tanaka-taicho, but we're still missing captains from divisions and the 11th division tends to not do their paperwork so they send it to other divisions." Hinamori apologized, setting the stack on my desk. I glared at it hatefully. Ever since I started working as a captain it's been nothing but paperwork. I wasn't sure how many times I would be saying this but I should've taken Toushiro more seriously when he said I'll be busy with paperwork 24/7. Things has been going on too; Orihime was kidnapped and labeled as a traitor for going to Hueco Mundo, just as I predicted Aizen would do. Of course, Ichigo -being reckless such as myself- went to go rescue her with his friends and soon Rukia and Renji joined up. I wanted to pitch in too but Yamamoto forbids anyone from going. I would've still gone anyways if it wasn't for Toushiro who had convinced me in a heated argument to not break a shinigami order again.
I pouted and grumpily took out the sheets of paper and began to individually look them over.
"Thanks Hinamori for your hard work." I said, smiling lightly at her. She smiled back and laughed a little despite the dark circles that were still visible under her eyes.
"I'm sure you wouldn't thank me for more paperwork Tanaka-taicho because you hardly get to see Hitsugaya-kun anymore."
I sighed, "I thought I told you to call me Reimei and yeah, I'm actually starting to miss that snowman." I bet he's in the same situation as I am; stuck at our desk looking at ink on paper all day.
"Well it's not much today; I'm sure you can do half and leave the rest for another time." suggested Hinamori. I shrugged my shoulders.
"We'll see how it goes. Maybe I should consider getting a stamp of my signature instead of having to sign it continuously; I'm starting to get hand cramps." I said, taking up my pen and flicking it around my fingers while scanning the contents of the paper. Hinamori giggled and then left me to my work.
Hm..Let's see what we have here; hollow attacks, academy graduates soon to be placed in squads, blah, blah, blah. I just signed the paper; they're mostly notices anyways and reports. It glanced around the office; it was so quiet that it was too quiet. Not that that made sense but it was quiet and lonely. I frowned sadly; I might've just discovered that I get lonely easily.
"You do actually, that's why you have us."
'Oh hello.' I replied back in my head, glancing over at the light blue zanpakuto that rested on a stand near a pure black one on one side of the room.
"I'm bored."
'So am I.'
"Joy..."
"You two have too much in common."
I twirled my pen and signed another paper absent-mindedly before putting it off to one side and grabbing another one. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to the black phone near my desk. I wonder...
Picking up the receiver gingerly, I started to dial the connection line to division ten's office. I waited for it to ring for a while before the other end picked up.
"Moshi moshi?" came a low drawl.
"Well don't you sound happy?" I replied with a smirk.
"Reimei? Is there something you need?" Toushiro asked again, his voice sounding a bit more livelier. I chuckled and balanced the receiver between my cheek and shoulder.
"I'm just bored and I feel lonely." I said in a sad tone. A sigh came to my ear in response.
"What'd I tell you about being a captain?"
"I know, I know. I should've expected this from the old man; it was too convenient and too good to be true." I twirled my pen in my fingers, frowning while scanning a report paper. I signed it and placed it over on the finished pile. Stupid old man; me being captain was a nice way of saying, 'You can be together with Hitsugaya-taicho, not like you'll have time anyways.'
"How much work do you have on you?" I asked after a moment of silence.
"A fair amount; I might stop by if I get at least half of it done by today."
"I was thinking the same," I smiled while taking another sheet of paper and signing it.
"TAICHO!" I faintly heard in the background on the other line, I had to pull the receiver away from ear to avoid going deaf. After the sudden shout died down to normal talking, I listened in on what was being said.
"Are you talking to Reimei?" asked a teasing voice, no doubt the busty lieutenant.
"Urusai Matsumoto and do your paperwork." scowled Toushiro.
"HI REIMEI-CHAN!" I bursted out laughing before I greeted her back too. She must've taken the phone from Toushiro.
"Give me the phone! MATSUMOTO!"
My hunch was proven correct and I was left in the dark as to what was going on over there.
"I need to ask you a favor! Is it okay if I stop by right now?" she asked.
"Yeah, come over any time. I'm lonely by myself anyways." I said. Matsumoto squealed in delight.
"I'll be right over! There's something I wanna show you and I think you'll like it!" I laughed; Matsumoto is such a joker. Before I could reply back to her, the phone was supposedly taken from the lieutenant because a more serious and deep-toned voice replaced the bubbly one.
"I better go now Reimei to finish up some paperwork but I'll see you later."
"Yup, we can go to a cafe if you want."
"Sounds good."
"Ja ne Toushiro, aishiteru."
"Aishiteru." Aw, he sounded so sweet even over the phone. It almost makes me faint every time he says it. I smiled and hung up, placing the receiver back on the holder. Not a moment after I drew my hand away from the phone, the door to my office swung open; revealing a very excited looking Matsumoto. I blinked in surprised; that was quick of her.
"REIMEI!" She exclaimed, bounding over to me. In her hands, she clutched a manila folder. The lieutenant slapped the folder on the surface of my desk with a triumphant smile. I stared back at her confused.
"What is it that you wanted to show me again?" I asked. Matsumoto giggled before gesturing to the folder, urging me to take a look at what might be inside. I was uneasy but dragged the folder closer to me as Matsumoto spoke.
"Hisagi wanted me to chip in on this week's shinigami magazine. He wanted me to do something that would catch the reader's attention, I was so stumped but I finally figured something out!"
At that point, I had flipped open the manila tag folder and what I saw caught me by surprise. Countless pictures of Toushiro were clipped together and they were taken in a way a paparazzi would. I flipped through the pictures amazed; there were pictures of him sleeping, sitting near the sun set in school uniform, sitting on the bench in casual clothing, looking off to one side in his office and even playing soccer.
"S-Sugoi..."I breathed while eyeing the picture. Matsumoto smirked triumphantly like a Cheshire cat.
"I took them myself when he wasn't looking! So what do you think?" I looked up from the pictures incredulously.
"How did you take a front view picture without him noticing?! And it's a close up too!" The busty lieutenant just winked at me and held an index finger to her lips.
"That's my secret."
I stared back at the pictures before clearing my thoughts and placing them back in the folder and sliding it back towards Matsumoto.
"Just make sure he doesn't catch you with it." I muttered, smirking a bit. She nodded enthusiastically and took the folder and slipped them into her sleeves.
"Hai!" she smiled, "Well, gotta get these to Hisagi then, see you later!" And with that she skipped out of the office. I sighed and shook my head; I'll be sure to purchase this week's shinigami magazine edition. Taking one more piece of paperwork and signing it quickly after a brief skim, I set it over on the 'done' pile and leaned back in my office chair.
"Finally," I said out loud, glancing at the rather small pile of paper, "I can relax...Oh! I should go see Toushiro about that 'date'." I got up and headed out of the office and into my room, going over to the body-length mirror. My usually long hair had a bit of hair partially pulled back from just above my ears with a thin white ribbon that had blue metallic patterns on it that shines when the sun hits it. The rest was still let down. I wore the outfit when I first came to Seireitei except I changed it to a shirt that slightly resembled the top part of the shinigami uniform. It was black along with the skirt which I still kept. The captain haori I received cut short to the middle of my calf and was sleeveless. And finally around my waist, the trademark red sash that I once wore was replaced by a dark teal-navy blue colour that was tied over the captain haori.
I checked my appearance over just to make sure nothing is out of place.
"Gosh, you sure like to pretty yourself up for ONE person..."
"Hush, I think she looks beautiful." came the voices of my two zanpakutos. They had started to bicker in my thoughts again. It took a lot of effort to stop them from ranting on for 5 hours straight but I stopped them just in time before a headache rolled in. After being satisfied with my looks, I turned on my heels and flash stepped towards the tenth division. I got there in no time and headed towards the captain's office.
"Excuse me." I said before sliding the door open. I smiled, finding Toushiro still at his desk scribbling down his signature on a piece of paperwork. He glanced up and let a small smile appear on his lips as he saw me.
"Reimei, you're awfully early." stated Toushiro as he placed his pen down and stretched his arms.
"Well I guess you can say I was excited to see you in such a long time." I replied, crossing my arms in my sleeves. It has been a while actually. Nearly a month and a half since we've seen each other. Sure we've bumped into one another once in a while but the short moment of spending time together was cut even shorter with the piling paperwork and duties of a captain. It was only once in two weeks we get a day where we can properly spend time in each others company for more than half of the day.
Toushiro got up from his seat behind his desk and made his way around it. He walked towards me and placed a small peck on my lips before tugging the ends of my sleeves gently.
"C'mon, let's go."
I nodded my head and followed after him. We sauntered down the streets of Seireitei side by side. We had small talks here and there about how much paperwork we're getting and how tiring it was to be a captain. We both came to a stop at a sweets shop that sold KakigÅri (japenese dessert that's made of shaved ice and flavoured syrup).
We took a seat near the window and a waitress came to take our order.
"Strawberry for me." I replied.
"Watermelon." With a nod, the waitress went to the counter and placed our orders. As soon as she left, I let a giggle slip out and had to use my hand to cover it up as much as possible but it was still audible. Toushiro gave me a puzzled look from the seat across from me.
"What?" He asked, blinking his sea-green eyes. I shook my head before replying.
"Nothing, I just find it cute that Hinamori was actually right; you really do like watermelons a lot."
I saw his face colour up in a light shade of pink but he huffed and turned away slightly in attempt to cover it up while crossing his arms.
"So what? It's good."
"So Hitsugaya Toushiro has an inner child after all."
"U-Urusai!"
I laughed at his retort; it was absolutely adorable and funny to see him so flustered. The waitress came back and placed our orders in front us.
"Itadakimasu!" I sang and scooped up some of the cool dessert with the spoon and placed it in my mouth. It melted on my tongue slowly and the sweet taste of strawberry hit my senses. I smiled happily and went for another scoop but this time, scooping up something from deep within the icy outside.
"Eh? Strawberry sorbet?" I wondered, peering at the extra treat on my spoon.
"That's new, I didn't know they put sorbets inside now..." Toushiro commented, also looking at his own dessert and finding the same thing. I shrugged and ate it anyways, the sorbet intensified the strawberry flavour more and now it was as if I really was eating strawberries.
"Does it taste good?" asked Toushiro, watching my delightful expression amusingly. I nodded and scooped a spoonful and held it to Toushiro.
"Try it!"
He looked from me to the spoon then back to me as if wondering if it was okay. I nodded my head encouragingly and he in turn, leaned forward over the small table until I was able to place the spoon nicely into his mouth. He withdrew and the strawberry dessert that was once on the spoon was gone. Sitting back in his seat, he swallowed and licked his lips cutely.
"How is it?" I asked.
"Pretty good, but I've tasted better."
I pouted my lips at him.
"What, your watermelon is too good for my strawberries? I don't see what's so good about them..." He smirked in turn, taking the spoon from his mouth from which he consumed a bit of his watermelon kakigori.
"I didn't say it was bad, I just like it in a different way."
"Different way?" I asked curiously but was answered only with a spoon with watermelon kakigori on it directed to me. I glanced at Toushiro, blinking before I allowed him to spoon feed me some of his dessert. Watermelon was just as sweet and I could almost smell the scent of it. Oh wait, that's Toushiro. Ha Ha, kidding though if I get close enough to him I COULD actually smell hints of watermelon in his hair and skin.
I swallowed the taste and let the cool ice run down my throat. Licking my lips, I picked up traces of watermelon and strawberries. I hadn't notice Toushiro was leaning over towards me until I felt his hand gently take my chin and held it in place for him to place his lips on mine. I nearly drop my spoon which I still held onto. Now I could literally smell and taste watermelon. A tongue gently licked the bottom of my lips and before I could do anything, he pulled back and sat back in his seat again; smirking that smirk of his.
"Now that's the best way to taste strawberries and watermelons."
I felt my cheeks flushed as I stared back at him.
"I can see why..." I said absent mindedly before snapping out of trance and quickly adding in, "You're such a flirt Toushiro..."
He only chuckled lightly and I couldn't help but smile once again. A slight pause was shared between us. I started to slowly consume more of my kakigori before my mind wandered off into thought. The topic of Hinamori and Toushiro's relationship started to tug at me again. I was starting to feel that maybe I should tell him some of the truth behind me. I mean, I feel guilty now that I think about it; thinking that Hinamori was more to Toushiro than a friend sort of pushed me to agree with Aizen in helping him.
"Toushiro..."
"Hm?" He looked up slightly, the spoon still placed in his mouth. I smiled slightly but then let it slide off of my face. Looking down slightly, I hesitantly started to word my thoughts.
"We're pretty close now in our relationship and to keep it strong we have to trust in each other right?"
"Yeah..." He replied, looking up now and directly at my dark amethyst eyes.
"So no secrets from each other when it comes to the time where we need each others help right?"
He nodded, listening intently.
"Well," I stumbled with what words to say.
"It also means you can tell me anything, I'm always here to listen...so what's on your mind?" came his soft voice, gently urging me to continue without being too pushy.
I sighed, "I've been meaning to tell you...that some of the reasons of my betrayal were that of my selfish desires. I guess you could say a part of me wanted to help Aizen and his plan." He looked incredulous at me so I quickly added, "Just a little. I admit it."
Toushiro blinked confusedly before I continued, "When I first met you, I was immediately intrigued by everything about you; your presence, your history, your skills as a shinigami captain; everything. But then...when I finally realized that I've fallen in too deep, a certain person came into the picture and probably changed my 'perfect' fantasy. And that's when I started to have my doubts."
I paused, looking at Toushiro to see any reactions. Of course there were, but they weren't mad or shocked. They were softened and almost understanding where I'm getting at.
"Reimei, you can't tell me you thought-..."
Okay, more like understanding all of where I'm getting at. I cut him off, saving him the trouble of confirming my guess.
"I couldn't help it! I really did! I thought...Hinamori was someone who you love in a romantic sort of way; being your childhood friend and actually staying with you throughout your whole life." I sighed, "After thinking that, I was so bitter but yet trying to fight against my selfishness at the same time. So when Aizen asked me to join him, I did hesitate before he mentioned about how he knows the bitterness I had for her." I decided to end it there, glancing downwards onto my lap again. Nothing was said afterwards until a soft hand touched my cheek gently. I glanced up to meet sea-green orbs but then looked down again, almost afraid.
"Reimei, look at me..." He said gently. I did after a few seconds. I was soon trapped in his gaze as he stared right back at me.
"Hinamori was only like a sister to me. I know how careless and even naive she was and is now so I felt the need to really look out for her." He gently caressed my cheek before letting his hand slip away and settled back into his seat, "Besides," He turned his head towards the streets through the window, "I've had my eyes on you the entire time." A familiar smirk slowly made its appearance. I smiled softly at him before nodding my head.
"Thank you, Toushiro..." I said softly. He just closed his eyes momentarily.
"You should know by now that I have intentions of staying with you forever."
I giggled, "Yeah...That's really sweet of you Toushiro." I saw him blush a few shades of red before he opened his eyes and changed to a different subject.
"I'm being assigned on a mission."
"Oh? What is it?" I asked, not minding his idea to get out of the serious atmosphere. It was bugging me anyways.
"I need to escort and guard the transportation of the King's Seal with my squad and Matsumoto. I'm leaving for the human world in about 3 days."
"Ah, sounds important." I said, nodding my head thoughtfully while scooping another spoonful of my forgotten kakigori dessert into my mouth. Swallowing, I replied, "Well, at least you can get out now. I'm still stuck at my desk."
He smiled and also began to finish his own dessert, "It's too bad for you then."
The rest of the 'date' was filled with small talks, fun moments and moments where we caught ourselves flirting with each other even. After eating, we decided to go back to our old childhood play place in the forest to just sit and enjoy the peace and quiet company of each other. It wasn't until late at night did we start to head back to our respective divisions. We each bid each other good night and a shared a small peck on the lips before going our separate ways.
Three days came by faster than expected and I soon found myself seeing Toushiro set off to his mission at the Senkai Gate with Matsumoto and his squad.
"Don't get killed no matter what, okay?" I said sternly. The white haired captain in front of me rolled his eyes and nodded his head.
"Reimei, you know I won't."
I smiled, "I know but still, you never know. I'm not the only one who does reckless things."
He chuckled, "I guess you're right."
"And please come back safely." I added in softly, looking at him with softened eyes. Toushiro smiled lightly at me and took both my hands into his.
"I promise. Nothing will happen to me."
I nodded and pulled him into a hug, wrapping my arms around his mid-section tightly. He returned the hug and leaned his close to my ear.
"Aishiteru." came his soft whisper.
"Aishiteru...Shiro-kun." I replied back just as softly. We pulled away, giving one last long look at each other and just as he was about to turn away to head to the gate, Matsumoto's shouts were heard from up ahead the gate.
"TAICHO! DON'T LEAVE HER WITHOUT A KISS GOOD-BYE!"
A vein pulsed on the side of his head in annoyance before he turned around to face the busty woman who had been watching the entire time.
"URUSAI MATSUMOTO!"
"C'MON! DON'T BE SHY!" came her cheery reply, adding in a thumbs up in encouragement. He sighed, rolled his eyes and turned back to me, immediately putting his lips on mine as his hand gently cupped my cheek. I eagerly kissed back, the scent of watermelon filtered into my senses. The kiss wasn't too long nor too short; it was just perfect. He drew away, staring back into my eyes deeply. Toushiro gave one last smile before turning away and headed to the Senkai Gate.
I watched him depart and disappear beyond the gate til it closed. Sighing, I headed back to my division to finish up on some more paperwork.
I didn't know how many days had passed by; nothing much really happened so I couldn't tell except Hinamori overworked herself and ended up having to recuperate again in the fourth division. As I was doing my daily stacks of paperwork, a hell butterfly fluttered in through the open window of my office. It landed on my pen and relayed its message.
Attention Gotei 13 captains, you are to meet in the first division immediately for a meeting. You are to be expected there. That is all.
Wow, this was probably my first captain's meeting as a Gotei 13 captain. I didn't exactly know what to expect but I'm guessing it's really serious. I got up from my seat behind my desk, abandoning the pen and papers I've been working with and quickly flash stepped to the first division. As I arrived there, mostly all of the captains were already there. I took my place in the two rows of captain, filling in the spot where the fifth division would be. Afterwards, a familiar strawberry blonde lieutenant stepped into the meeting hall and kneeled down at the very back of the two rows of captains. I was surprised when I saw her there. Wasn't she supposed to be in the real world escorting the King's Seal? A bad feeling lurched up in my gut but I pushed it aside for now.
The head captain was already sitting at the head of the rows, his lieutenant beside him. The large doors to the meeting hall closed and Yamamoto-soutaicho spoke.
"Captains of the Gotei 13, recently an assigned task of escorting and protecting the transportation of the Royal Family's treasure; the King's Seal to another placement area has been issued to a division. However, this mission had gone horribly wrong. Soifon-taicho,"
"Yes, sir." came the quick reply of the second division captain. Soifon stepped forward from her place in line and began to report her investigation search with her squad in the real world. So far, I didn't like the sounds of what's going on and I'm pretty sure no one did either. According to Soifon, some strong enemy forces attacked the group as they were making their journey to its new placement area, the King's Seal was later declared stolen since Soifon and her squad couldn't trace any of its spiritual powers. I wasn't really eager to know all of that; I wanted to know more about the person who was in charge of the supervision of this mission.
"And evidence that the man in charge of defense, Jyuubantai-taicho Hitsugaya Toushiro, deliberately and personally moved to erase his own reiatsu from the scene."
"Wait just a second!" exclaimed Matsumoto who had been quiet the entire time, "Are you saying that captain abandoned his duty?!"
"Then why did he take such action?" inquired Soifon, facing Matsumoto with a hard stare, "Such behavior is against the law."
"But I-!"
"Enough!"
The thundering voice of the Soutaicho echoed throughout the spacious room. While they were having their argument, I was too busy trying to absorb everything in. Toushiro's missing now? Did something come up during the mission? This is all happening to suddenly. It's only been a few days since I've seen him leave and now he's gone just like that?
A lot of questions streamed into my mind, but bottom line is that I needed to find him and ask him myself.
But for now, he is one dead shinigami.
For those who haven't seen the movie yet GO WATCH IT NOW LMAOO its on veoh :) Anyways, yea that's it for "You gotta be cruel to be loved."
Now look forward to the sequel which I will entitle; "But You Still Love Me (Even if I'm Cruel)" Yes another long title XD And Omgg! Another story finished :D Accomplishment for me! X)
