Chapter 5:

Hitsugaya couldn't concentrate on his paperwork, thinking about Hisagi.

Before leaving the lab, Akon suggested the possibility of the bite protecting Hisagi from Byakuya. There was a chance of that being true, but there was equal chance of Byakuya gaining a werewolf slave if he bit him. There was no evidence the bite of a werewolf gave the victim immunity from a vampire bite. Arguably, it could grant Hisagi heightened senses to avoid danger but if he was unaware he had become a werewolf and couldn't place these bizarre new feelings, Hisagi might ignore certain instincts and embrace others. What if he didn't run from Byakuya, even if he sensed danger, just because he recognized that Byakuya was a man that he trusted? There was no edge to be gained if Hisagi ignored it.

Akon also commented on how well Hitsugaya was handling being part wolf, to which he informed him that he had already been through this and trained himself to be in control. He couldn't say the same for Hisagi, wherever he was. He could only hope Hisagi wasn't drawing attention to himself.

Ikkaku and Yumichika stared at the low branches of a tree without a word.

Yumichika finally leaned over to the man on his left and asked, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Ikkaku couldn't look away from the sight. "Yeah."

Yumichika couldn't look away either. "Why are we seeing this?"

"Ask him," said Ikkaku, nodding towards the man dangling from a branch by his teeth.

In an effort to grab a good chewing stick, Hisagi jumped up and grabbed the nearest branch with his teeth but could not rip it down so he merely hung there, hoping his body weight would help break it in two. He even snarled and kicked his legs towards the ground, trying to make himself heavier. His jaw was starting to cramp.

"Uh, Hisagi?"

"Yeah?" His voice was muffled by the branch but still managed to speak clearly enough.

"Why are you doing this?"

"You look like a fish on a hook," commented Yumichika.

"I dot id de a dood dida."

"What?"

"I-" Hisagi opened his mouth to speak more clearly and dropped straight down, landing on the grass with a thud. "Ow… I said I thought it'd be a good idea."

"To..?" Ikkaku prompted.

"I needed to break that branch."

"Why?" Yumichika asked but his question was drowned out by Ikkaku's.

"Why didn't you just break it with your hands or use a sword?"

Hisagi looked back at the tree and back to them. "It… It didn't occur to me at the time."

"Uh-huh." Ikkaku and Yumichika exchanged looks.

Hisagi brushed himself off, losing interest in the branch and rubbed his jaw. "I should probably get back to the office. The Captain probably wants me to do some stuff."

"You do that." Ikkaku waited until Hisagi left to berate his actions to Yumichika. "What was that guy thinking? Did you see him?"

"See him? I couldn't look away." Yumichika laughed, shaking his head.

"From his mouth. You saw him. He was hanging by his teeth like a bass."

"Honestly," Yumichika chuckled, moving closer to the tree. "What was he trying to accomplish?"

"Maybe he just likes the taste of bark."

"How can anyone..?" Yumichika paused a moment, running his hand over the trunk of the tree. It felt good on his hands. And the smell. Such a refreshing smell. The smell of nature. Looking into the canopy of leaves, Yumichika lost his train of thought, mesmerized by the light shining through the leaves so beautifully. It looked like a peaceful sanctuary.

"I said, are you coming?"

"Huh?" Yumichika turned and saw Ikkaku walking away. "Oh. Yes. Coming."

Those branches looked so inviting.

It was getting late and most were getting ready to go home for the night. Byakuya had been feeling weak most of the day but felt energized a soon as the sun began to set. With the sun's descent came a primal desire to hunt. He couldn't place the feeling but he embraced it.

Byakuya noticed several changes to his person over the past two days which brought him mild concern. First, the incident with his Lieutenant. Second, he noticed that he had no reflection and couldn't stand the sunlight. It even burned his skin when he stepped directly into it. He learned this while trying to close the window and his hand began to smoke. He grew more alert at night and wanted to sleep during the day.

However, over time, he stopped questioning it and accepted these changes. The rational part of his brain told him that this was wrong and he needed to seek help to correct it. That part of himself was growing quieter as time went on.

He perched on the roof and looked over the Seireitei with silent eyes. He remained perfectly still until something drew his attention and he leapt from the roof to a building in the distance, flying. Someone was training late at Squad 11th's dojo.

"Alright, that's enough for tonight." Ikkaku rested the wooden sword on his shoulder.

His opponent bowed, sweaty and tired. "Thank you, Ikkaku. Have a good night."

"Yup. Get lost."

Byakuya hid in the rafters of the dojo, watching Ikkaku put away the wooden swords. The other Soul Reaper bid him goodnight and left. Ikkaku was in the process of turning out the lamps when Byakuya chose to make his move.

With one lamp to go, Byakuya descended upon Ikkaku in one jump and bit down on his neck from behind, stuffing his fist into Ikkaku's mouth to muffle his screams. Ikkaku fought back, clawing at the man in his back and slamming into walls to try to knock him off.

Yet another thing Byakuya had noticed was his strength. It had increased so much. There was nothing Ikkaku could do to shake him loose.

Soon, Ikkaku started to lose strength as his blood was drained away. He grew dizzy and faint. Byakuya held him close, finished his meal then dropped Ikkaku on the floor of the dojo. With the one remaining light flickering in the dark, someone was sure to come and find him.

Byakuya stepped over Ikkaku's body to make his escape.

Hisagi was having a rough night. He felt feverish when he got ready for bed. He was sure it was another symptom of needing sleep so he got changed quickly and climbed into bed. He felt really warm. He put a hand to his forehead but couldn't tell if he had a fever or not. His hand was sweaty, too. He couldn't stand being under the covers and kicked them away. He left the window open to get some air into his room but it didn't cool him down very much.

However, the scent of night did put him at ease and started to relax. He finally felt comfortable enough to fall asleep.

He could hear leaves rustling in the wind. Saw small game dart away from his path. A pair of yellow eyes watched him.

Hisagi woke up, seeing the floor under his nose. He could see his room more clearly than before. Perhaps it was almost morning. Looking out his window, he saw the moon and stars. It was still night. Late night. He reached out to close the window.

"Wha..?"

A paw.

"Huh?"

He looked down and saw four furry feet. He backed away but the paws did what he did. These were his. He spun around and saw a tail. He went over to the window and saw a wolf staring back at him. He turned his head from side to side and it mimicked him perfectly.

He was a wolf.

How did this happen? What should he do?

Then a thought occurred to him.

"I must be dreaming."

Of course he was. This couldn't really happen. A Soul Reaper turning into a wolf was impossible.

What a fun dream. The fact that he knew it was a dream made things even better. "Maybe this is a lucid dream and I can control what happens." He tried to make something happen and when it didn't, he wondered if that really was what a lucid dream actually was.

Even if he couldn't control what happened, knowing this was a dream meant he could have fun.

He decided to leave his room and explore the world as a wolf.

Good thing he left his window open. It was easy to climb out and trot down the street. The Division was deserted but that didn't deter him from wandering around anyway. He romped there for a while before noticing the forest beyond the buildings and longed to venture there. Everything about it looked so inviting.

Hisagi tried to running to get there faster and found how fast he could move on four legs. This felt amazing. He picked up the pace and felt the wind on his face, taking in all the smells. He loved it!

Wondering how fast he could move through the trees, Hisagi made a beeline for the forest and dove right in. The dirt felt good on his paws. The scent of bark was so thick in here. The leaves, the dirt, the grass- everything was so pungent. He felt free.

He ran faster through the trees, zigging left and right and caught a new scent he was unfamiliar with. Whatever it was, it was getting stronger. He sped up and abruptly found another wolf in his path.

Yelping, he tried to stop but was moving too fast and the wolf turned in time to see him and the two collided and tumbled through the shrubbery.

"Hisagi, is that you?" came Hitsugaya's voice.

He scrambled away from the white wolf in surprise. "Captain Hitsugaya? You're a wolf, too?"

"We can understand each other," Hitsugaya was saying. "Makes sense, considering we're both wolves."

"This is incredible," said Hisagi, tapping his paws on the ground with excitement.

"You like being a wolf?"

"It's amazing!" Hisagi said with glee. "I love it. I'm so much faster now. And the smells are so much stronger. I had no idea the forest could smell so good. And I thought the scent of trees and grass was relaxing before. Man, this just takes the cake. Plus, are you seeing how everything looks at night?"

"Wolf eyes can see well in the dark," Hitsugaya told him.

"Wow. I can really appreciate this."

Hitsugaya moved closer to him. "Though, Hisagi, you do have to learn to control your new desires as I had to. You can't act like a wolf in public. There's also a risk you could change into wolf form in front of people and we can't have that. It would be too dangerous."

Hisagi was confused. It sounded like Hitsugaya had always been a wolf and kept it secret. Well, if this was a dream, it didn't have to make sense. He decided to go along with it.

"And, Hisagi… I wanted to apologize again. For biting you. If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't be like this."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I'm a werewolf. When I bit you, I made you one, too. That's why you're like this. I'm sorry for that."

"Don't be. This is great. I love it." Hisagi wagged his tail. "Being a wolf is amazing."

Hitsugaya smirked. "Yeah, it is pretty great." He grew serious again. "All the more reason we should take this seriously. Now come with me and I'll teach you how to be a wolf. More importantly, how to control your urges."

Hisagi followed Hitsugaya to the field where he demonstrated how to run and avoid obstacles. He showed him little tricks for moving around trees and to not stumble on his own feet. He encouraged him to practice here at night and let out his wild side in a private, appropriate space so he could carry throughout the day as a Soul Reaper. He told him that if he ever felt overwhelmed to try going for a walk or chase a rubber stress ball around to vent and keep his wolf side in check. He warned him about his increased appetite and the full moon. He told him never to bite anyone because he would turn them into a werewolf and he didn't want more of them running wild. Lastly, he told him to avoid Byakuya.

"Why?"

"Because he's a vampire and a threat."

"Of course he's a vampire. Because we're werewolves and there has to be vampires involved."

Hitsugaya went on but Hisagi was barely listening, marveling at the notion of Byakuya being a vampire. This was such a fun dream.

He and Hitsugaya romped most of the night before returning to their barracks and Hitsugaya urged him to keep what he said in mind. Hisagi agreed and climbed back through his window and circled his bed to tamp it to his liking before laying down.

Come morning, he was a Soul Reaper again and feeling much better. His stress was gone and he was ready to start the day. Seeing his usual self in the mirror and no evidence of anything actually happening, Hisagi was convinced last night's adventure was nothing more than a dream.

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