Chapter 17:
Rather than return to his office, Hitsugaya sat outside, eating his teriyaki. His hand kept going back into the container as he mulled over what was happening until there was only a couple pieces left.
He was worried the Stealth Force would confront Byakuya but there was little he could do to sway them without drawing attention. They were under orders from their own Captain so he had no authority over them. They would call into question his reason for trying to limit their investigation which would in turn make him a suspect.
Hitsugaya licked his fingers and sighed.
A hand reached out and started taking the leftover teriyaki from the container.
"Hey," he said, turning around.
Yumichika grinned, cheeks stuffed with meat as he chewed. "Sorry, but if you're not going to eat it, I will. I'm hungry."
"Take it from the trash, why don't you?" called a man passing them by, along with two others.
"I turn my back for one second and the other half of my sandwich is gone."
Yumichika folded his arms defensively. "That was yesterday and we had just finished up training. I worked up an appetite was all."
"Get your own food, then."
"You left it sitting there. I thought you were done. No sense in wasting food."
"Again, Yumichika, just dig it out of the trash if you're so desperate."
He huffed and turned up his nose. "That's disgusting. You expect me to dirty myself digging through garbage?"
"Which part disgusts you, eating garbage or digging through it?"
"Neither are very appealing," Yumichika told them.
The men scoffed, waved him off and kept walking.
Yumichika turned back to look at Hitsugaya. "Sorry about them. I think they're just stressed since Ikkaku's gone missing again."
"I see." Hitsugaya wasn't sure what to say.
"Perhaps I've been stress eating," Yumichika mused. "Is that what I've been doing? I have been snacking more."
"How's Kenpachi feel about Ikkaku's behavior?"
"I honestly don't think he notices." He started touching up his hair with his fingers. "We haven't been doing much lately. I even have time for beauty naps. Ha, not that I need it."
"Uh-huh," Hitsugaya said flatly.
"Well, I better get going. We're running drills this afternoon and need to prepare. See you, Captain Hitsugaya."
He nodded in his direction as he left. Hitsugaya sighed again, picking up the scent of feathers as he did so. His keen sense of smell must have been extremely sensitive to the decorations Yumichika wore to pick them up so strongly.
After polishing off the remainder of the blood Ikkaku extracted from the girl, Byakuya found himself at a quandary. He needed more blood to sustain himself. Feeding off his servile trio wasn't enough anymore. Not if he wanted them to remain standing. If he took too much, he would send them to the sickbay where they could obtain a transfusion bag but that would be used to help them, not something they could bring back for Byakuya. Besides, he needed his servants, so he was unwilling to do them harm even to help feed himself.
This left only one option.
"I may have to start feeding off others." Which meant more servants. "I have to choose carefully."
"Any member of our Squad would do, master," said Renji. "They would be the easiest to get into your office."
"Yes… But would they be enough?" Byakuya looked at the ceiling in thought. "I'd have to take a lot from them in order to be satisfied or I'd have to take from multiple people. Too many numbers could be a problem. And if they are lesser, they may not be enough to suit my fancy."
Hisagi had a point about inferior blood. Blood packs were fine in that he didn't know the donor but for those he could guzzle down several bags at once. Blood that was still pumping was different. The flavor alone was superior. He felt he was settling when it came to blood packs. Getting it from the source was so much better.
Perhaps he was getting picky. He wouldn't even prey off his personal servants back at the manor. He would drink from any source when faced with starvation but he wasn't to that point just yet so he saw no reason not to browse the menu a bit longer.
Squad 10 had all their training outside and when the Captain had something to address to them, he had them assemble outside. His excuse was that he wanted to take advantage of the good weather but some were starting to notice that a lot of their activities were held outside recently.
"You suppose it's because of what happened to that girl?" whispered a woman to her friend.
"I guess the Captain wants us outside just in case it happens again so there'd be witnesses."
"I feel like a sitting duck doing this," complained a man. "If that's the goal, wouldn't it make more sense to stay inside as much as possible? You'd think a Captain would know that."
The women disagreed. "Inside is harder because there are more places to hide and fewer witnesses if it takes place in a private room."
"No, being inside is better because outside you're an easy target. It's easier to corner a person indoors that outside where they have multiple ways of escaping."
"It's neither," said Hitsugaya overhearing them. "Combat-wise, it could go either way depending on the situation. What I'm doing is taking advantage of the good weather. It has nothing to do with anything else."
That was only half true. He did want what happened to that girl not to be repeated with someone from his own Squad, but keeping them safe from Byakuya was the main goal. As long as they were outside in the sun, he wouldn't be able to get to any of them. Not that he had any business being near his Division in the first place.
"I thought you'd appreciate not being stuck inside a stuffy office all day," he said to them. "We do outdoor drills all the time. Why are you suddenly so suspicious?"
"No reason, Captain."
"Very well." He changed the subject. "Are those reports finished yet so I can sign them?"
"Yes, Captain. They're on my desk."
"Bring them to my office when you get the chance."
"Yes, Captain."
Hitsugaya dismissed the Soul Reapers and most started to go back inside. Some stayed outside looking at the ground. When he asked, the women replied that one of them had lost her necklace and was looking for it.
The women continued their search while he went inside. In the hallway he found a necklace on the ground and knew immediately that it belonged to one of the women. He bent down to pick it up.
The moment he touched it, a burning sensation engulfed his hand. It was like touching a hot stove with his bare fingers. He cried out, dropping the necklace and held his hand which had turned bright red.
Claws started to grow in reaction to the intense pain. Hitsugaya could also sense a change with the rest of his appearance. His ears and tail were exposed.
In the middle of the hall, Hitsugaya ran to his office and barricaded himself inside. It was one of the few times he was thankful Rangiku wasn't there. He tried to calm down but the wolf features weren't going away. It must have been due to the injury. His body might have been stuck like this until he started to mend.
Not knowing how long something like that would take, Hitsugaya started to administer treatment to hurry the process. He stuck his hand in the jug of water he kept on the windowsill hoping it would ease the burn. This made his hand sting but that was to be expected from a burn.
He looked at his reflection in the glass cups stacked near the jug. Not only were his ears out but he had grown fangs as well. As jarring as it was to see his hybrid form for the first time, he was equally fascinated. Curiosity took over and Hitsugaya simply stared at this version looking back at him.
Wonder in his eyes, Hitsugaya was transfixed by his reflection. He kind of liked how he looked. He wasn't very scary at all. He tried to make his ears move on command. One twitched then the other. He smiled, admiring his sharp teeth and his tail started to wag.
He was calm and in a better mood but these features still weren't going away. He wasn't too worried, until…
"Captain Hitsugaya, I have my report."
He spun around and dove towards the door, hand still in the water jug which he took with him for two steps before it slipped free and clattered to the ground, spilling everywhere. He threw himself against the door to keep it shut. "No! Don't come in!"
The girl was taken aback for a moment then called through the closed door, "But, sir, you asked me to…"
"Yes, but now's not the best time. The… the office is a mess and I'm trying to sort through everything right now. Just slide it under the door."
"Um… Ok."
Hitsugaya felt the papers hit his foot.
"Do you need any help, Captain?" she asked hesitantly.
"No, no. I'll manage. Just make sure people know and wait for me to answer. I don't want them stepping on anything or knocking the papers down."
"Well, ok, sir."
Hitsugaya breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her leave. "Now to contend with this," he said, looking down at his hand.
Mending the wounds proved to be quite the experience for the young Captain. The water helped relieve the burning sensation but his skin was still red. Unable to leave to get more water without people seeing him, Hitsugaya resorted to licking his injured hand which oddly enough seemed to help. He kept at it for a while and soon the redness started to fade. He couldn't find any bandages in the office so he tore off the hem of the curtain and wrapped it around his hand instead.
By this time, his wolf features were starting to fade as well. His claws had shrunk back to a normal length and his ears and tail were next to follow. His fangs were gone when he looked at his reflection again.
Feeling safe, he unlocked the door and sat down at his desk.
A strange mix of human and animal medicine proved to be a very effective treatment. When he looked at his hand again, the redness had all but faded to a light pink. Other than a dull throbbing, there was little pain.
He rested his head against the back of his chair, looking up at the ceiling, wondering why the necklace had burned him. What sort of metal could do that? If the woman could wear it without issue, it must have been something he himself could not touch.
It would seem he was still finding things out about himself, even at this stage.
After spying on Byakuya and those closest to him, the Stealth Force believed they had enough information to take action. They could not make a move without their Captain's permission unless the situation was dire. They reported to her immediately but she was unconvinced.
"Hisagi and Kuchiki," she repeated. "Why them?"
"It's possible that Kuchiki is the next intended victim. We believe Hisagi is the one responsible."
"Based on what?" she asked.
"He is spending a lot of time around a Division he doesn't belong to and a lot of time around a Captain that isn't his. What business does he have there? It's very suspicious."
"Kuchiki and Hisagi both were sent to the sickbay and treated for blood-loss," she explained, skeptical of their findings. "Perhaps they are launching their own investigation, both being victims of the same thing."
"That's… possible."
Soi Fon put her hands on her hips and glared at her men. "What you've found is hardly proof. While we're chasing our tails, the real culprit is still at large. Unless you can find something useful, steer your focus elsewhere."
"Yes, Captain."
The men returned to the Sixth Division to do just that. If they found nothing incriminating, they would have to abandon the idea of either Soul Reaper being involved in a crime.
Even so, they knew both people were acting very suspiciously. Byakuya hardly left his office and the windows were always closed, even the blinds. They could not see into the office, so they could only guess at what was going on in there. Hisagi spending so much time around Byakuya wasn't criminal but very odd behavior.
Soi Fon thought they were way off base and perhaps they were, but they wanted to make sure just in case.
In reality, they had the correct suspects but were incorrect about the situation. Perhaps if they knew what they were actually dealing with, they might have been more cautious when they decided to investigate Byakuya one more time.
"Why did you say it was Hisagi we were looking into?" whispered one of the men. "I say Renji is even more suspicious."
"How's that?"
"He never leaves the office, goes on strange errands and never went to the sickbay for anemia."
"But he's Kuchiki's Lieutenant. He actually has business there."
"Yeah. Him being around Byakuya so much makes sense."
"I still got a hunch something's not right with him."
"If you ask me, nothing's right with any of them."
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