Chapter 9: Betrayal

The months following my decision to let you go were hard for me. I guess, when it comes down to it, letting someone go is a lot easier said than done. It seemed like no matter how much I told myself that you would be better off with him, a part of still hoped that I… could stay by your side. Even if it was only as a friend, I told myself I was fine with that. After all, you had given me so much happiness over the years, so the least I could do was support you in the pursuit of your own happiness… Even if that happiness wasn't with me.

But it was just so difficult, watching you look at him like that. It was unbearable.

And so, I began to distance myself from you in an attempt to shield myself from further pain. Whenever I would see you or whenever you would call out to me, I would just ignore you and turn the other way….

I know this hurt you, I could see it in your eyes every time I turned away. But please try to understand… I wasn't keeping my distance from you because I wanted to be apart from you. In fact, deep down, I still craved your kindness and your warmth more than anything. But I... I had to be apart from you... Because every time I would see you, that blue hair cloth would remind me that… I wasn't the one. And that was just too much for me to bear…

And so, months passed, and then years. And as they passed, our relationship was deteriorating more and more….

I know this was my fault. Had it not been for my feelings towards you, we could have still maintained the relationship we always had. But once I realized I loved you, I just couldn't be satisfied with what that anymore…. No, I wanted more than that. I wanted you, and only you, all to myself. And it was because of this selfish desire of mine that our friendship was fading away.

At that point, I had pretty much given up all hope of ever being with you. But then, just as I was trying to imagine a future without you, the unthinkable happened…

Flashback, Never Again:

"Well, Taichou, I'll be heading to the vice-captains meeting now" Matsumoto declared as she sat up from her usual spot on the tenth division office couch. "I swear, with these pesky Ryoka around, there's so much more work to do. It's really annoying."

"You say that as though you actually do any of the work" I retorted as I looked up from my paperwork. "Honestly, Matsumoto, you have no right to complain if you're not going to help with any of it."

"I do help!" she exclaimed before making her way to the door. Once she reached it, she added "Well, sometimes I do. Anyway, I'm off!" and then exited the room.

I merely sighed in response before returning to the work at hand. Despite the fact that she isn't helping at all, she is right about one thing I thought as I continued the paperwork assigned to my division. These Ryoka are causing a lot more work for us.

After a few minutes of working, that's when it happened. All of a sudden I felt a large amount of vice-captain level spiritual pressure being released all at once. As soon as I felt it, I knew it belonged to you. Worried that you had encountered one or more of the Ryoka on your own, I stormed out of my office and rushed to where you were. Even with the distance that was now between us, there was still no force in the world that could ever stop me coming to your aid.

And when I got there, that's when I saw it. Plastered on the wall above everyone was Aizen's dead body. I was so shocked to see him hanging there that I momentarily forgot you were fighting below.

There was the man, the man I had entrusted your happiness and protection to… and he was dead. A title wave of emotions washed over me in that moment. However, I didn't have time to process them all. Because, soon after I arrived, I started to feel two more powerful spiritual pressures coming from below. And one of them had the intent to kill…

Rushing to where you were, I blocked Kira's zanpaktou with mine as I stomped yours into the ground with my foot. I resisted the urge to wince as I felt a cut form under my foot where I had made contact with your zanpaktou. Even though I knew I could have prevented that cut had I used my sword to block yours rather than use it to block Kira's, there was no way I could ever raise my sword against you.

"Hitsugaya-kun…" you muttered as you stared at me, your anger temporarily subsiding as you looked at me in confusion.

"Seize them. Both of them" I stated bluntly, not giving you a chance to say anything more. As soon as I said that, the remaining vice-captains broke free of their trance and restrained both you and Kira at once.

"But Hitsugaya-kun!" you pleaded as were taken back and restrained. "He's-"

"Hinamori!" I interrupted as I turned to look at you. "Do you honestly think now is the time to be fighting?! Regardless of your anger, your first priority as a vice-captain should have been to take down Aizen's body. I thought you, of all people, would know that!"

All I got in response from you was a glare. And I knew what that glare was trying to tell me: you're the one who told me to be weary of them in the first place and now you're refusing to help me. How dare you...How could you!?

"And Kira" I added as I turned away from you and glared at the third division vice-captain. "Need I even say anything more?" Seeing the frightened look in his eyes, I knew nothing more needed to be added. After all these years of knowing the relationship I had with you, he knew the consequences of trying to harm you. "No? Good. Now, take them both away and out of my sight." I added harshly before the remaining vice-captain started to drag you both away.

Once you were both out of sight, Ichimaru finally decided to speak. "My, My, I'm sorry about Izuru" he said with his signature smile on his face. "You shouldn't have had to deal with my vice-captain. So I'll take full responsibility for his actions."

"Ichimaru…" I muttered with the utmost intensity. "Just now, you were about to kill Hinamori, were you?"

"Now, whatever are you talking about?" he replied with his same carefree demeanor.

"I'm warning you, Ichimaru" I added as I ignored his excuse. "If you ever make Hinamori bleed, I'll kill you."

"My, My, how scary" he responded. "You best keep an eye on her, then. It would be a shame if something happened to her."

After that encounter, I fully devoted my time to solving the mystery behind Aizen's death. Though I still managed to find time to complete my paperwork, not to mention yours, I dedicated all of my remaining time to figuring out what happened to Aizen. While I had my suspicions that Ichimaru was behind his death, I still needed proof. And that proof would allow me to avenge Aizen's death once and for all.

This may seem strange to you, me going to such lengths for him and all... After all, I wasn't exactly a huge fan of Aizen. But even so, I still did whatever I could to find out happened because I knew how much he meant to you...

So, in order to get you the closure you needed, I vowed to do whatever I could. And that included giving you that letter he wrote you…

"Hinamori…" I muttered in disbelief as you held your zanpaktou at my throat. "W-What are you doing…?"

"What Aizen-Taichou asked of me…" you whispered in response as you stared coldly at me. "Tell me... why did you do it, Hitsugaya-kun? Why did you kill Aizen-Taichou!?"

I stood there stunned in response. "Y-You think I…" I began as I tried to process what you were saying "W-Why? What makes you think I…"

"It was in his letter..." you replied as I started to make out the faint sparkle of tears as they began to run down your face. "A-According to his letter, you're the mastermind behind all of this… And when Aizen-Taichou found out your plan, you…." You didn't finish the rest of your sentence. Instead, consumed by rage and grief, you screamed as you swung your zanpaktou at me.

Fortunately, your coordination was deeply impaired by your intense emotions. As a result, I was easily able to dodge your attack. It didn't take you long to recover from the impact of your swing and you then began to charge at me once again.

As I dodged your grief filled attacks, I desperately tried to think of some way to reason with you. And as I tried to think of a solution, I noticed a knowing smirk forming on Ichimaru's lips…

"YOU!" I yelled at Ichimaru as I began to piece things together. "You did this! Your forged Aizen's letter! Hinamori, can't you see!? He's the one behind all of this!"

You then stopped swinging at me for a moment to consider what I had just said. "H-He's the one behind this…" you muttered as you tried to consider the alternative I had just presented you. However, the thought didn't last long. "No…. The letter was definitely written by Aizen-Taichou… It was in his handwriting…" You then shook the thought from your head as you resumed your charge at me.

However, this time, you only swung at me once before stopping your advances. As I looked at you frozen in place, I could see you shaking as you gripped your zanpaktou as hard as you could. "I-I…" you began as your voice cracked and tears streamed down your face. "I don't know what to do anymore… Shiro-chan…"

Never before had I seen you look so… lost. You looked as though everything that you had ever known was a lie… As though your entire world was being torn apart…

And that's when I knew how much of an idiot I was. All this time, I had been thinking that you didn't care about me anymore, now that you had Aizen…

But I was wrong. I was so, so wrong.

My own self-pity had blinded me from what was right in front of me. You did care, you always cared… Even when I started avoiding you and creating distance between us, you never once stopped caring... I was just too stupid to see it.

And now, you were being forced to choose between the two people you cared about the most. And it was tearing you apart...

"Hinamori…" I whispered as I stared in shock back at you.

You then screamed again as you blindly charged at me, leaving me no choice but to jump in the air to dodge your attack. However, this time, you didn't pause after your swing. You immediately leapt into the air after me as you prepared another attack.

And then I… hit you.

"Now, now, did you have to hit the poor thing so hard?" I heard Ichimaru remark behind me as I stared down at your unconscious body. "The girl was obviously delusional. So there was really no need to be so rough with her, Hitsugaya-Taichou."

It was then that I noticed stains of red covering your hands where you were gripping your sword just seconds before…

"Ichimaru…" I growled as I began to lose control of my spiritual pressure. "I warned you before, didn't I? That if you ever made Hinamori bleed… I will kill you myself!"

I remember then charging at Ichimaru in a fit of rage. I won't bore you with the details of it, since it really wasn't much of a fight. Fortunately, Matsumoto showed up before things got too heated. And as I'm sure you can guess, Ichimaru backed off the minute she showed up in the line of fire.

In any event, after that night, I kept you in the tenth division medical room. After what happened and the newly acquired knowledge I had about potential enemies, there was no way I was letting you out of my sight. It was obvious that whoever was behind all this had intended to have you die by my hand. Because of this, I knew you wouldn't be safe in the fourth division. So I kept you in the tenth division, where I knew I could look after you until you woke up…

While you were unconscious, I was determined to get to the bottom of this. That way, when you finally woke up, I could prove to you that I wasn't what the letter said I was. And it was with that thought in mind that I investigated central 46… And also ran after Kira when I saw him there…

"Now, Hitsugaya-Taichou," Kira began as Matsumoto and I chased after him. "Is now really the time to be chasing me? Shouldn't you be looking after Hinamori-kun?"

"What are you talking about, Kira?" I replied as I quickened my pace. "Hinamori is safely asleep in the tenth division barracks. I personally made sure no one can get to her while she's there."

"Oh, so you haven't noticed then?" he added without turning around. "That she's been following you around this whole time? Well, that is, until we left central 46. Honestly, Hitsugaya-taichou, did you really not think that she would follow you? That kido you cast is only good at keeping people out not in, you know."

My eyes widened in response. I hadn't even considered the possibility of you breaking out and following me. "Matsumoto, you handle Kira. I'm going back to central 46" I stated as I quickly turned around and rushed back to our previous location. All I could do was hope that I made it in time…

… And when I got there, I realized that I was too late. There, lying motionless in a pile of blood on the floor, was you….

"Oh, Hitsugaya-kun" I heard Aizen begin from behind me as I stared down at your motionless body. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Truly, I never intended for you to come back so quickly and find her this way. I guess I really should have cut her into little pieces and disposed of her while I had the chance."

"Aizen…" I growled as I continued to stare intently at you. "You did this…? Why? After everything… After everything she did for you!? She admired you… So she trained so hard.. All these years… Just so she could become your vice-captain…Just so she could be of some use to you... And this is how you repay her!?"

"Now, Hitsugaya-kun" Aizen replied with a sinister smile on his face. "Don't you know? Admiration is the furthest thing from understanding. So, when it comes down to it, she did all that for a man she thought she understood but never did. Therefore, it's really her own fault she ended up this way."

It was at that point that I lost it.

"Bankai!" I yelled as Hyorinmaru powers engulfed me and turned me into a replica of his ice dragon form. "You'll die here, Aizen!" I added as I charged at him with every ounce of strength I possessed.

But it wasn't enough… Within mere seconds, I was struck down and left for dead on the floor. Never have I felt as helpless as I did then…

Fortunately, Unohana happened to be in central 46 at the time and managed to revive us before we lost too much blood. Truly, I don't think I could ever thank her enough for saving your life…

While it only took me a few days to regain consciousness, more than a few weeks passed and you had still yet to open your eyes. Your injuries were a lot more serious than mine, after all, and you had been left to bleed out for longer than me, so it made sense that you would take longer to recover…

...Or, at least, that's the justification Unohana gave me. All I remember is staring down at your unconscious body as you were only able to hold onto life thanks to the machine standing next to you…

Even when I was deemed healthy enough to return to my captain duties, I still made sure to visit you whenever I could. After all these years of wasted time that we spent apart, I was determined to make sure no more time with you passed me by...

There was also another thing that I vowed as I stared down at your motionless body: revenge.

To think that the man I had entrusted you to had gone and betrayed you to such an extent…. I was ashamed… and angry. I should have known what he was really like. I should have been able to prevent this… And yet all I could do was bleed out on the floor as the man that had betrayed my trust walked away scot-free with your blood on his hands…

Never Again.

Never again will I entrust your protection to someone else. Never again will I entrust your happiness to someone else. No, never again will I ever entrust you to someone else.

After that day, I knew that if I ever wanted you to be truly happy, I had to secure that happiness for you myself. And I was willing to do whatever it took to make sure you were happy.

But, before I could do that, there was somebody I had to kill...

Wow, what a chapter to write!

Finally, it seems like Hitsugaya is out of his rut and is back to the protective and powerful guy we've all grown to love!

Honestly, after the sadness of the last chapter, I really wanted to update quickly so I wouldn't be leaving the story on a sad note for too long.

Plus, now I don't have to pretend to show Aizen in a good light! Thank god, because boy, do I hate that bastard...

Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter!