Intro: Another chapter. This I had written a while ago actually, and it was known as the "Random Filling-in chapter". I figured now was a time to do some filling-in, because in regards to the actual storyline, there's really only one chapter left to go, so here it is. Some fluff, Hyourinmaru's origins, and some alcohol fun. Sorry if there is some crazy OOC, there might have been...
Random notes to reviewers:
anGeL Hinaningyou- It took me… 3 days to figure out what "IG" was… I'm so smart! But apart from that, thanks for reviewing once again!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
As the sun rose up over Soul Society, 4 figures could be seen on the roof of the 10th Division building. Hitsugaya Toushirou, Hinamori Momo, Hitsugaya Kumatsurou, and Matsumoto Rangiku. Toushirou and Hinamori were leaning against each other as they sat on the roof, while Kumatsurou had his arms around Matsumoto's neck, she was sitting, while he stood behind her, since she towered over him when standing. It had been a month or so since they had left the hospital, both of them had completely recovered.
"Kumatsu-kun, there's something romantic about sitting up here in the morning and watching the sunrise." Matsumoto's voice was filled with affection as she used the nickname she had devised for her favourite boy captain. Hinamori agreed whole-heartedly.
"Hai, and it makes it all the more special today!"
"Today? What's so special about today?" Toushirou couldn't see any special reason, but he didn't really care. It had been a week or two since the unwanted visit from Aizen and his friends.
"Yeah, there isn't anything that special about today is there?" Kumatsurou said it casually, feverishly hoping it wasn't something like Valentine's Day or one of the girl's birthdays. He never bothered to check the calendar, and if he had forgotten something important like that he'd be in big trouble.
Matsumoto frowned as she looked up and poked him. "Of course there is silly! Shame on both of you, both of you geniuses and you forget."
Both Toushirou and Kumatsurou looked at each other in bewilderment. "You know what it is Kumatsurou?" He shook his head dumbly.
"It's your birthday, Shirou-chan!"
"And yours, Kumatsu-kun!" Both the boys had completely forgotten. Before Toushirou could react, Hinamori had leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"How could you forget! You should stop trying to act so grown up all the time, you forgot your own birthday! And your brother's as well!"
There was only one thing on Toushirou's mind. "Wait… am I supposed to get him a present?" He had no idea, Kumatsurou probably didn't get a present for him anyway. Hinamori didn't answer, but thrust a package into his hands, which he cocked an eyebrow at. It was soft, and squishy, didn't feel like anything too exciting. Slowly unwrapping it, he found himself staring at a rather badly made plushie of himself, scowling. His mouth dropped open in disbelief. "Uh... Hinamori, what is this?"
"It's you silly!"
"I don't look like that."
"Yes you do! That's what you look like to me anyway!"
Toushirou sweatdropped. "I look that bad?"
"Tch. It's not that bad Shirou-chan! You shouldn't be mean to other people on your birthday!" Toushirou glanced up at the 5th Vice-captain. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? You shouldn't be mean to me on my birthday. And giving an ugly caricature-like plushie of me as a present seems pretty mean to me…
The pair of them continued arguing, one saying that it didn't look like him, the other insisting it did. Meanwhile, Matsumoto and Kumatsurou were in the middle of his birthday present unwrapping. It was a rather distinct shape. The bottom was wider than the top, and the entire package looked like a cylindrical object with a tube stuck in the top, and the object was hard. Unwrapping it, Kumatsurou stared in disbelief, much like his brother had done at the present Hinamori gave him.
"A bottle of sake, Rangiku?"
"Well, I'm not sure exactly how old you are, but I figured you birthday's as good a time as any to start drinking, anyway, we can pretend you're over the legal limit anyway."
"I'll… think about it."
"Come on! You're starting to sound like Taichou, always so tight-lipped and serious! Loosen up, I like you better when you're normal." If she liked me normal, she shouldn't have given me a bottle of sake for my present… Matsumoto hugged the blue haired captain. "Happy Birthday Kumatsu-kun!"
Smiling as he freed himself from her tight embrace he looked up at her. "Remind me to give you a pile of paperwork on your Birthday then."
Matsumoto pouted. "Aww… that's so mean! And anyway, you can't give me your Division's paperwork!"
"I can always ask Nii-san for some and give that to you." Matsumoto pouted again.
Grabbing his arm, she led him downstairs, screaming. "Let's go say hi to everyone! Then they can give you presents as well!" Kumatsurou's protests could be heard even as they made their way down.
"I don't want to be dragged around all of Soul Society collecting presents!" But it was no use, the determined blonde proceeded to drag her boyfriend around, embarrassing both him and her.
Back on the roof, Toushirou and Hinamori were still arguing. "Fine! If you don't like it, you don't have to keep it!" Hinamori stormed away, firmly planting herself at the other end of the rooftop. Toushirou sighed. Why'd she have to give me that ugly thing in the first place? But anyway… His mouth curled into a grin as he decided what to do next. Quietly, he unsheathed his sword and held it out in front of him limply. A thin mist emanated from the tip of the blade, rising up into the clear sky. A moment later, clouds covered the sky, and the temperature dropped slightly. Go, Hyourinmaru… Snowflakes began to fall down, mostly on the rooftop. A few stray ones drifted away from the roof, but the majority of them fell down around the couple. Hinamori looked around in surprise as the snow fell around her. Turning around, she saw Toushirou smiling as he stood there.
She began to smile as well. Shirou-chan is so cheap! He knows I have a weakness for those snowflakes of his… As he walked towards her, she stood up and let him embrace her. "I'm sorry, Hinamori."
Tears formed in her eyes. "I'm sorry as well, Shirou-chan." As the snow continued to fall, she looked up at the sky. "Remember the first time you met Hyourinmaru?" Toushirou nodded. How could I ever forget that day…
"Hinamori! Look out!" Toushirou screamed out a warning, but it was too late. The large hollow they had been fighting descended upon her, its tentacles flailing. It was truly gruesome sight. The creature, not unlike a jellyfish in appearance, had many long tentacles suspended under its clear, jelly-like canopy, which it used to float around. There was a loud splash and Hinamori landed in the fast-flowing river. "Hinamori!" Toushirou screamed again. Her head bobbed up and down in the water as the current swept her away. No. She can't survive in that river. There was a dangerous waterfall up ahead, he knew that, she knew that, everyone knew it. In fact, there had been several deaths which had occurred due to careless people going over the waterfall.
I won't let her join that list. Toushirou thought fiercely. There's no way I can let her die like this. Without thinking about his own safety, he plunged into the icy water and dived under. He could see her up ahead, Hinamori, flailing limply, the current had already sapped most of her strength. With all of his might, Toushirou tried to reach her, but he just couldn't. No. No. NO!
The next thing he knew, he was no long under water, swimming towards the struggling Hinamori. He was in a large cavern, made completely of crystal clear ice. Where am I? He looked around him, the multifaceted ice shards around him reflected the light, making them shine even more. There was a loud roar, and before his very eyes, Toushirou saw a white dragon emerge from the ice in front of him. It was huge, gigantic even. From it radiated the deepest cold Toushirou had ever felt. Its breath chilled even his bones. "Wh-wh-who are you?"
The dragon didn't move its mouth, yet Toushirou could hear a voice. "I am your soul cutter. Say my name and release me, so that I may grant you the limitless powers of ice and water."
"I d-don't know your name!" Even though he was shivering, Toushirou managed to sound angry as he argued.
"You must listen, to hear it." I'm listening, thought Toushirou. Tell me… "If you are truly ready to wield my awesome power, you will know my name."
"I'm ready." Toushirou braced himself, he had seen others release their soul cutters before, and he knew that it was a unique experience for everyone. I wonder if anyone else has a dragon as their soul slayer…
"Listen carefully… my name… say it now. Say it and I shall soar in the frozen sky…"
"HYOURINMARU!" There was a bright flash and Toushirou blinked, when he opened his eyes again, he was surrounded by a large coiled being. The dragon… Hyourinmaru roared, his crystalline body hitting the water surface as Toushirou jumped. It froze instantly. Landing on the ice perfectly, Toushirou ran over to where Hinamori was, having found a rock and climbed onto it for safety.
"Shirou-chan… I..."
"Don't worry about it, bed wetter Momo." Turning his head back to the jellyfish-like creature, he ordered an attack. "Hyourinmaru!" The great dragon of ice obeyed, and rammed into the Hollow, disintegrating it into millions of fine ice crystals. The dragon turned to look at Toushirou, and they stared into each others eyes for what seemed to be an eternity, before the dragon finally melted away, leaving only his sword.
"I'll never forget that." Toushirou's voice was wistful, as he recalled the events of that day so long ago, not only had it been the first time he had met Hyourinmaru, it had been the first time he had realised how he felt about Hinamori, although it had taken a long time for him to tell her.
"I wonder where Matsumoto-san and Kumatsurou-taichou went." Despite the nostalgic atmosphere, Toushirou could not help retorting.
"Hey, how come you call him taichou but not me? He's younger than me you know…" Hinamori giggled and merely patted his spiked hair, before snuggling up to him again.
Downstairs, Matsumoto and Kumatsurou were talking quietly, well, quietly would be an understatement. Matsumoto had used every ounce of her charm, and poured every inch of her soul and voluptuous being into making the captain drink. And it had worked. Kumatsurou now lay, sprawled on the couch, while Matsumoto looked over him, giggling and hiccuping at the same time. When he spoke, his voice had a definite slur to it. "Get me some more of that stuff Matsu-hiccup." Once he had started, the young boy had found it quite impossible to stop himself from guzzling the beverage down. He struggled to get up, but fell down again, Matsumoto took a few more swigs herself, then fell on top of him.
"Isn't this fun Kumatsu-kun?" Her eyes had slid out of focus and she had a silly grin on her face. Kumatsurou was groaning. The massive amounts of alcohol were starting to take their toll on his small kid-sized body. Even though he was in reality over a hundred years old, his body didn't seem to have developed to that stage, and the alcohol was making him woozy.
The sound of voices was approaching, but of course, neither of the occupants of the office could hear them. "You know, I bet those two are- HOLY! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO MATSUMOTO!" Toushirou had opened the door, followed by a curious Hinamori. "MATSUMOTO YOU CRAZY WOMAN! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO KUMATSUROU!" The 10th Division captain rarely lost his temper, in fact, rarely displayed any emotion other than boredom, but this was an exception. He was literally steaming. Matsumoto hiccuped softly, and from beneath her, Kumatsurou gave a faint squeak to greet his brother.
"Rangiku-san... Taichou!" Hinamori's eyes grew wide stepped around Toushirou and saw the two lying on the couch. She ran over to them, pulling at the woman's arms, trying to get her off him. "Get… off… Taichou… Rangiku-san…"
"Go and get some therapy, you crazy-" Toushirou stopped himself from saying what was on his mind, knowing that Hinamori wouldn't approve of his language. Turning, he walked off. Hinamori opened her mouth the question him, but he answered her without even hearing the question. "I'm going to get Unohana, Matsumoto may be used to that crap, but Kumatsurou isn't."
A short while later, Kotetsu Isane appeared at the 10th Division Office, and walked over to the slumbering couple, shaking her head. "It was a stupid thing to do to allow Kumatsurou-taichou to consume alcohol. He is still far too young for it, and by the looks of things, he consumed as much as Rangiku-san did." Bending over, she picked the snoring boy up, and turned to his white haired brother, who was glaring at the sleeping form of Matsumoto with daggers in his eyes. "I'll take the captain to the 4th Division for now, he will probably need some medical attention, but I think Rangiku-san should be fine, she can work it off herself."
Toushirou didn't look up. "Don't worry, I'll make sure she's fine… then the moment she wakes up, she dies." Hinamori scolded him.
"Shirou-chan! You shouldn't be so mean to Rangiku-san!"
"She deserves it." Toushirou was still stinging from the 4th Division's light treatment of the matter. When he had arrived at the captain's office, demanded to see her and was ushered in, she had listened to his tale, and laughed at him. Fancy that! She had said that something like that wasn't an emergency, and he hadn't needed to go straight to her, that other members of her Division were more than capable of handling something like that. Toushirou scowled. Obviously she hadn't understood the seriousness of the situation, and Toushirou had stubbornly refused to move until she saw to his brother, she had compromised, sending her vice-captain instead, whom she guaranteed was 'as capable as myself to handle this situation'. Toushirou didn't want to believe her, his brother was a captain, and he deserved the very best of attention, even if it wasn't strictly required.
The next day, a subdued Kumatsurou followed his storming brother, who was keeping an eye out for his vice-captain, yet she seemed to be nowhere in sight, having been advised by Hinamori to not be seen by Toushirou for at least another decade.
"Nii-san…"
"I don't want to hear it."
"But…"
"Shut up. I'm going to find Matsumoto and kill her, that's the end of the story."
"But-"
"Then I'll find all her stocks of sake and confiscate them."
"But-"
"That irresponsible pig isn't going to get a drink for a long time…"
"Nii-"
"Maybe I could give it to Kyouraku…"
When they reached Matsumoto's room, she was in there, shoving what seemed to be a large number of sake bottles into her kimono. "Ta-taichou!" She gasped. She hadn't expected him to come so soon.
"Hand over the sake now. If you do, I might consider making you my slave instead of killing you." Matsumoto pouted. Death seemed far more favourable than abstinence. Toushirou strode forward, grabbing the 20 or so bottles from Matsumoto's garment.
"TAICHOU!" As he began to walk out of the room, Matsumoto jumped and grabbed onto his leg, crying out in pain as she was separated from her best friend. "DON'T! I'll be good from now on, I promise!" But Toushirou's face was grim. He marched out of the room, determined to keep it away from the blonde's greedy grasp. Kumatsurou looked pityingly at Matsumoto, but there was nothing to be done to persuade his brother.
A few days later, Matsumoto (who had suddenly found it a lot easier to work and stay awake without alcohol) and Kumatsurou were passing by Toushirou's office when they heard a strange sound. A hiccup. Opening the door in surprise, the two of them felt their jaw drop to the ground. Kyouraku was sitting in the armchair opposite Toushirou, and both of their eyes had slid out of focus, and they were hiccuping at random intervals. Hinamori looked on in horror. "What happened, Hinamori?" Kumatsurou was bewildered.
"Oh! Kumatsurou-taichou! Hitsugaya-kun invited Kyouraku-taichou over, and when he saw the bottles of sake, he grabbed one and shoved it in Hitsugaya-kun's mouth, then the two of them just started drinking, and only stopped just then, because they can't hold the bottle up to their mouth." Hinamori looked mortified. "Kyouraku-taichou said it was the easiest way to make sure Rangiku-san didn't drink any more."
Matsumoto and Kumatsurou were speechless.
Stuff: Yeah.. sorry again if they were OOC, just wanted to make both the little kids drunk... :-D