Chapter 4: Hitto's Request

With the light shining into the room growing in intensity, Matsumoto felt her chest rise and fall as she grew more aware of her waking surroundings. She stretched her arms out behind the couch, yawning groggily. "Oh? Did I over-sleep again?" She muttered to herself, turning her body over and planting her face against the back of the couch, her mind still tangled in the web of sleep. Matsumoto heaved a tired sigh, attempting to snuggle up to the cushions again and go back to dreaming. But as she repositioned herself, she felt something slip off the lower half of her body. Sitting up straight, she looked down at the floor of the office.

The Captain's Haori!

Matsumoto had forgotten she'd draped it over herself as she fell fast asleep the night before. A scowl crept across her brow. "So. It wasn't just a dream after all."

"Left it in your office? That doesn't sound like Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of the 10th squad to me," Kyoraku laughed mildly as both he and Hitsugaya proceeded back to their barracks.

"That's what happened," Hitsugaya sighed, "But man, I thought the Commander-General was going to banish me to the Precipice World just for not having my Haroi on at the captain's meeting."

"Can you really be that surprised though Shiro?" Kyoraku looked up at the sky, taking note of the tiny pink flower petals blowing whimsically about in the breeze. "I mean, old man Yama founded the entire Gotei 13. He's probably not accustomed to his chosen leaders disregarding protocol."

Hitsugaya knew that Kyoraku was right. He also knew that the entirety of the scolding could have been easily avoided if he had remembered to grab his Haori off of the couch the night before. What a bother. Maybe if I'm lucky, Matsumoto won't remember anything that had happened. She did seem to have been a little intoxicated. Maybe she will think it to be only a dream.

"Still though." Kyoraku stopped for a moment, raising his hand to his lips, "What do you make of this disappearance situation? Do you think there's something more at work here than just ordinary hollow attacks?" Hitsugaya looked out over the courtyard the two had stopped in front of. As usual, the court was bustling with the daily activities of the ranking officers. A few Soul Reapers sat on a patch of grass, talking amongst themselves while others were sprinting past with urgent business for their respective squads. As the two stared on, searching for answers, Hitsugaya sighed softly.

"I'm not sure. The hollow that Hitto, Matsumoto and I encountered the other day didn't seem like anything too out of the ordinary," Hitsugaya replied, "But it was fast, and it's spiritual pressure did differ slightly from that of a normal Hollow. I will continue to look into it with Matsumoto."

Kyoraku let out a bellowing but warm laugh, kindly patting Hitsugaya on the shoulder, "Yeah. I knew you would say that. Might as well take Hitto too if he was with you before. Isn't that him just over there?" Pointing out towards a tall Soul Reaper standing alone at the edge of the courtyard, Kyoraku began shouting. "Oi! Hitto-kun! Come here for a second." The distant figure of Tottaki Hitto shot up straight as he jogged over towards the two captains. "He's turning out to be pretty good for an officer yes?" Kyoraku filled the awkward silence that had wedged it's way into their conversation. But as he looked back over at Captain Hitsugaya, he noticed a small frown had formed on his fellow captain's face; as though something about Hitto was troubling him. "Hitsugaya?" Just as the question was asked, Hitto approached the captains, taking a small bow as he stopped before them.

"Good Morning Kyoraku Taichou, Hitsugaya Taichou!" he eagerly greeted them with a friendly grin.

Hitsugaya looked up at Hitto, the young officer being quite a bit taller than the captain himself. The bright blue color of Hitto's hair shone in the sun as it was pulled back into a spiked, short ponytail. His dark chocolate colored eyes carried a vibrant and neighborly feel about them and his posture resembled that of a proud lion or other royal beast, quite comparable to another one of Hitsugaya's comrades, Abarai Renji.

"You're looking well sixth-seat officer Hitto!" Kyoraku chimed in, trying to lighten the air of the conversation, "Isn't that so Captain Hitsugaya?"

Toshiro had been unintentionally staring down the young officer, taking notice of every detail he could of this man. He was definitely strong, the trimness of his muscled body showing through the contours of his kosode. Hitto would have appeared very attractive and charismatic to any woman, soul reaper or not.

"Something the matter Captain? You look pale," Hitto finally asked, concern drawing the grin from his face.

Hitsugaya finally snapped out of deep thought, realizing that he'd been absent from the conversation that was now focused on him. "Pardon me Hitto-kun," Toshiro apologized, accidentally putting a little extra emphasis on the kun. "Captain Kyoraku and I were merely discussing the matter of that hollow we faced the other day. Did you sense anything unusual about it."

"I uh...no sir," Hitto hesitated, feeling the weight of his captain's spiritual pressure bearing down on him. "I didn't come too much in contact with it at that time. If you recall...it mainly went after Rangiku-san." Hitto looked back over to Kyoraku, quietly staying out of the conversation, but secretly observing Hitsugaya's odd behavior.

"Yes. It did go straight for her didn't it," Hitsugaya removed his glare from Hitto, looking off into the distance.

"It's a good thing you were there in a flash to save her...right captain?" Hitto smirked, complimenting the Captain's reflexes and awareness.

"Hai...hai!" Kyoraku suddenly butted in on the conversation, placing a hand on Hitto's shoulder. "Captain Hitsugaya is usually pretty good at showing up at just the right time to save the day," a chuckle woven within his words. Both he and Hitto smiled down at Hitsugaya, who was trying to appear happy and social, masking his unease.

"Hitto, I'm going out again later today to see if I can learn anything more about the Bird-Hollow we fought yesterday. I want you to accompany me." Hitsugaya folded his arms while addressing his subordinate.

"Of course Captain." Hitto agreed softly, a small grin returning to his face. "Is Rangiku-san coming as well? She was pretty close to the thing when it attacked. Maybe she will be able to help us." he suggested, a spark of excitement in his voice.

"I'm not sure if she should be out there doing that when there's a mountain of paperwork with her name on it." Hitsugaya joked, trying to come up with an excuse not to allow her to come with them.

"Come now Captain," Kyoraku interjected, "The paperwork can wait. This is a high priority for the Commander-General." Hitsugaya could tell that the smile across his fellow captain's face was slightly forced; Kyoraku was uneasy about something as well. "The sooner this gets dealt with, the sooner I can get back to drinking Sake and laying next to my Nano-chan."

"Hitto." Hitsugaya sighed, looking down at the ground for a moment to think. He raised his gaze back up to the officer, "Go get Matsumoto and tell her I will meet both of you at the edge of the same field we were in yesterday, just outside the Rukon district."

"Hai!" Hitto replied enthusiastically, running off into the distance towards the 10th squad barracks, leaving Kyoraku and Hitsugaya alone in a now emptied courtyard. Nothing was said for a moment as the two captains stood there, the gentle breeze still blowing small pink petals from various blossoms about the courtyard.

"Say, Toshiro," Kyoraku finally asked, watching as Hitsugaya stared off in the direction his subordinate had been running. "Is there something I should know about you and Hitto? Back there, it felt like you were interrogating him instead of just talking to him," Kyoraku stated, a note of uncertainty in his normally calm and easy voice.

"It's nothing Shunsui." Hitsugaya replied softly, not breaking his gaze from the empty corridor. "But something about Hitto..." he paused for a second, clenching his fists slightly at his side, "I just don't trust."