Psychic Chick
Part Two: The Rising Threat
Chapter Fifty Four: Hitsugaya Support Group
Main POV
"Wow, alright, I think that is enough sake for you," I commented, yanking a cup out of the 9th seat's hands.
They went to argue but instead got up to run to the bathroom. These guys partied hard. Although, I did see a lot of the officers taking a break from drinking and grabbing water or ordering food to slow themselves down. It was nice. And they made sure everyone else was doing okay too. Kadeki had checked in on me several times tonight in several different bars.
"Your squad seems pretty good at taking care of themselves, and each other," I commented, turning back to Hitsugaya.
"Yeah," he agreed. "I got really lucky. I've been in this Division since I joined, never had a different squad. Kadeki might not like me but I've got a good squad here. They're all really decent people."
"They all seem a lot happier now they're dorms are up to code," I replied.
"Yeah I noticed they're work and training are better now too," he commented. "I wanted to thank you for that actually. It's no excuse but I'd like to explain why."
"You don't owe me anything, I was just doing my own thing, it just happened to benefit you as well as those guys," I told him.
"No, you're my friend, and it's not fair you're the only one who doesn't know," he assured.
"Alright, you can tell me whatever you want but let's get a drink first," I told him. "It'll make things more relaxed and I want to try drinking again, just moderate, no plans to get dunk but I don't want to fear alcohol."
"That's fair," he agreed. "Come on, let's go to the end of the bar, they seem to get served quicker over there."
He walked with an arm hovering behind me to shield me from the drunks and we shuffled around the crowds to the back corner of the bar. It was much quieter there and easier to talk. I wasn't practically yelling at him to order or to talk about our business, which meant there was less people listening in too. We ordered two beers and sat next to each other chatting idly while we waited. What surprised me was that he was drinking too.
"What?" He asked, raising a brow.
"I didn't think you drank," I replied honestly.
"I do, just not really compared to all the alcoholics we work with," he chuckled. "But I do occasionally drink with close friends. I'm hundreds of years old, Kiseki."
"Alright, alright, I believe you," I laughed. "I don't want this to come out wrong but.."
"You didn't think I had friends?" He laughed.
"I know you have friends, like Lieutenant Hinamori and stuff, but I just, you don't really do much outside of working," I explained. "I was surprised you offered to come with me, but I'm happy you did."
"That's actually what I wanted to talk about," he told me. "I've been pretty closed off and uncaring for years now. I was always a workaholic but I used to spend time with friends, but I've been putting distance between me and others for years. I imagine you've heard about her by now, Karin, and you've met her actually. It has a lot to do with her."
"I'm sorry," I told him. "There's been a couple of times I've read you and the other's thoughts over the years. I heard about her that way but I swear, as soon as I realised what I was doing I stopped. I can't always control it and sometimes I'm looking for something else and she just comes into it. I always stop, as soon as I heard her name, as soon as I felt thoughts getting personal. I don't want to be invading people's privacy but I did yours and I'm sorry."
"You heard her name and you're upset about that?" He smiled. "I know you can't control your powers sometimes. You don't use them maliciously and that's all I care about. Plus, I also think I know something about your powers that you don't."
"Huh?" I asked. "What do you mean?"
"You told me that last time you drank, you just blurted out, I can't see you," he told me. "I was so worried, I thought you'd gone blind or something but you then went on to explain you couldn't read my thoughts because you were so drunk." I laughed.
"Yeah, that makes sense," I replied. "When I'm reading thoughts it's like reading subtitles. When I was a kid I heard them, they were loud and I couldn't differentiate between thoughts and speech but now my seal has been broken I can read thoughts as well. I prefer it that way, it make it easier to read thoughts as well as listen to what's going on around me. But when you're that drunk you can't read."
"That explains it," he said. "I was wondering how that worked, that you couldn't read minds when you were drunk."
"Yeah I've been working on my power over the last year so I can hear and see them a lot clearer, have yet to try it drunk, although I'm not sure how that will help," I laughed. "So, can I ask what happened with Karin?"
"You can," he nodded. "It's not a secret and it's a closing wound now."
"Well that's good at least," I smiled softly at him.
"Karin is Ichigo's younger sister," he said and I laughed, thinking about how much trouble that would have been. "Yes, hilarious, the guy tried to murder me when he found out we'd been seeing each other."
"Sorry," I laughed. "I just know what Ichigo's like."
"Anyway, I'd known her almost as long as I'd known Ichigo, in fact every time I went to the world of the living, I made sure I visited her. At first she was just a friend, I met her when she was 11, I'm not some old creep. But when she got much older, last years of high school more deep feelings started to develop. She was in her final year and she kissed me. Told me she'd been in love with me since she was 11 and she was done waiting for me to kiss her."
"Yeah I had to basically throw myself at Renji to get him to make a real move, I had no idea he was trying not to get attached to a human," I told him.
"I figured it would have been you, he had a thing for Rukia before all this Kurosaki business and he didn't talk to her for 40 years," Hitsugaya told me and I laughed.
"So anyway, I was in love with her and she felt pretty much the same. She was strong but unlike her brother she was alien to the shinigami world," he explained. "She had no experience no training and I didn't want her to get any training in case she got hurt. I kept her hidden from danger, I wanted to protect her but I went a little over the top with it. She came to me one day telling me she was going to get stronger. She was going to become a shinigami like her father and brother before her and I told her no, it was too dangerous. I couldn't always be there to protect her if she did and she told me she didn't need me to, so I either had to accept her choice or leave her.
I wanted to stay, I tried but I still couldn't accept the idea of her in danger so in the end she dumped me, moved out of town and is a doctor. She works at the clinic now she's had training but I think I really ruined her dreams. She wanted to help people, she's always wanted to, and that's why she wanted to be a shinigami but she never did, or not to my knowledge, but if I just supported her, she could have been. And she would have made a great one at that."
"I'm sorry," I smiled sadly at him.
"It's alright," he told me. "I was the asshole. I hurt her, I made her life difficult and unlike me, she only has a short life. I could brood over this for centuries if I wanted, but she has to pick up and move on even though she's hurting."
"Still, you're clearly hurting too, even if it was your stubbornness that caused it," I told him. "I think that makes it worse, knowing the reason your hurting is your own fault."
"Yeah," he agreed. "But I'm slowly healing, getting better. And this closed off state, of my own causing, is why I wasn't giving my all to the squad. I let personal issues get in the way over everyone else's well being and you might tell me that oh, it wasn't your fault you were grieving, it was. Because I knew this and I didn't ask for help, instead I let those people suffer. I was incapable and instead of finding them someone who was, to take over, even just for a while, I let them rot."
"Hey, remember this, you have a lieutenant who could have been helping you. She likely saw all this and she also did nothing," I told him. "I know she's my mother and my friend but she was there, she saw how you were feeling, if she didn't want to do the work herself she could have gotten someone else to help you but she didn't. There were other adults around and the responsibility is yours, but not only yours. That's why you have seated officers dummy."
"Rangiku may not be perfect, but I'd never ever ask for a different partner," he told me. "She might not have done anything then, but she's had my back in a lot of ways no one else has. She was the one that made me go to the academy when I was a little boy. She's like an aunty to me, she's a good friend. So let's just agree it was a bad situation but it's over now."
"Alright," I smiled.
Renji POV
"I just heard," Shuhei said as he came into the office where I was sitting with Ichigo and Izuru.
"I can't believe it," I replied. "He's always there."
"He's her Captain," Ichigo said. "He's just doing what's right by her."
"Yeah and I'm sure Captain Kuchiki would come bar hopping with me if I asked," I replied bitterly. "That little genius has had a soft spot for her for years."
"Yeah but how can you be sure she feels the same way, she could be ignorant to all his actions, as far as she's aware, he's just a nice guy and you're her boyfriend," Izuru soothed. "Kiseki is a nice girl, anyone can tell she loves you, trust her."
"We had a huge fight earlier," I explained. "We haven't spoken since. It was about her going out tonight. I don't know if I told you, but about a year ago when you and her were drinking things got out of hand and she had some pretty severe alcohol poisoning. She was on a drip and hidden away at Hinamori's while she recovered. I felt guilty because I was the one who encouraged her to go out there, to have her first drink but I didn't stick around to keep an eye on her, she trusted me to keep her safe when she couldn't say no. Anything could have happened to her, she almost died.
She got invited out tonight, to go out with a bunch of the officers in her squad to celebrate the end of the work done on the dorms and I told her not to go because I didn't want anything to happen to her. I implied she couldn't control herself around alcohol and if I wasn't there she'd get herself killed. Of course I realise I was being an asshole about it, I was just so worried something would happen to her.
We haven't spoken since and because of that that little genius is out there right now, making his move on her. Using every opportunity to get close to her. And what reason would she have to stay? He's closer to her age, he's smarter, in a much better position and he's way better off than I could ever be. That didn't matter much before because she loved me, but what if I've really done it this time. What if she decides that she'd rather the Captain who can give her everything over the asshole who wants to keep her locked away from the world."
"You know," Ichigo said. "It wasn't that long ago that Toshito was that asshole. That's why he and my little sister broke up. It took him until after he lost her to change. But you know what you need to do. So do it, she loves you, she's not going to stop over one argument but if you want her to stay? Make her feel less trapped. I'm not saying never argue with her, just remember she's not made of glass."
"Alright, but what do we do about her Captain?" I asked.
"There's nothing you can do," Shuhei replied. "He hasn't done anything wrong yet and even if he did, he's a captain."
