Yes…I finally update. I hope you guys didn't wait for a long time. The laptop broke down and the other computer conked out a long time ago, leaving only one computer for us to fight over, not to mention an annoying little brother and a mom that works from home, I barely have time to even type. Well, here it is. Again sorry for the long wait. Now enough of the small talk, and enjoy the sixth chapter of Reincarnation of Ice!
Special thanks to Gaara'z Inner Demon, IlliterateGuy, toushirou no hana, Nyu Kitsune, ennui deMorte, Jay Kamiya, i.love.waffles, Rasgara, Sleeve of White Snow, aznpinayshinigami, Lady Nessa Fefalas, First Lady and OShayO for reviewing the previous chapter. As for the questions/comments that I'd like to respond to:-
IlliterateGuy: I understand your wish to send me to hell, but please know that I'm terribly sorry about sending Hitsugaya on death's road. I was very well tempted to do a sequel and it was the only way to make a nice one. But all the same, I'm glad you like it (the sequel i mean).
toushirou no hana: ...did you read chapter 5 or do you don't understand it? I'm not questioning your knowledge or anything, but if you're confused about something then it signals my failure at portraiting it to you properly and I'd like to improve on that aspect. Thanks for reviewing though!
Sleeve of White Snow & Lady Nessa Fefalas: Yes, I'll admit I didn't put my all into it, but I hope this chapter will make up for the last, if not then I'm terribly sorry.
note: If any of my comments anger you, feel free to skip this part next chapter. I am terribly sorry. I do not mean to contradict you in any way at all.
With that said, please carry on to the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. However, what I do own is the storyline and OCs for this fan fiction.
Reincarnation of Ice
Chapter 6: Unveiling Secrets
It had been a week since Matsumoto had become a teacher at Tanaka Private High and Toushirou was already tired out from scolding her all the time even though she was a teacher. Honestly, he had no idea how she had even gotten a degree to teach. She must have driven her trainer to the brink of insanity until he or she would so blindly give this woman passing marks for the degree.
The first thing Matsumoto had done as a teacher was to assign one of the strangest assignments ever given in the history of history teachers he had ever had. Scratch that, she was different from any other teacher he had ever had in his entire life. He may be a genius, but he had absolutely no idea what she meant to imply by asking them to research on what kind of doo-doo birds knew how to sing.
When he had asked her after class what in all the hells had she meant, she just waved his question off and said she needed to give an assignment and had no idea what topic to give them, so she just created one on the spot.
The next incident was when she was teaching about World War Two. She had worn some crazy military uniform that she had made up and had gotten them to eat some horrid broth that she claimed was what the soldiers ate during the war. He was sure that soldiers didn't eat chicken stew with tomato paste and pickles laced with sake and sugar. Her sense of taste was just as bad as his mother's. Luckily, the one that cooked in the house –when the kitchen wasn't in shambles- was Shihou; otherwise they'd more likely been poisoned to death by now.
After that, all Matsumoto had said about the fact that half of the students in her class had thrown up was that they more likely hadn't chewed on their food properly. At that moment, Toushirou was even more glad that he had thrown the stuff away and stopped Hinata from even touching it.
Honestly, Toushirou couldn't comprehend what was wrong with that woman. He was just glad that Eisetsu-sensei was coming back today; otherwise they would more likely be dead by the end of semester.
Soon the bell for lunch break rang, its melodious tune resounding through the whole school. Getting up from his seat, he made his way out of the class and walked down the corridor, past the science labs, down three levels of stairs and turned out into the open court yard. Walking past the gardens that were beautifully decorated with roses and tulips and a beautifully carved fountain, he couldn't help but feel impressed; the gardening club had done a fine job.
Soon, Toushirou reached the staff building where all the management of the school took place. Pushing the big mahogany doors open, he entered the building. With its sweeping marble tile floors and beautiful décor, it would have been mistaken for a castle. Tanaka Private High was once the mansion of a rich millionaire with a taste for Italian designs. After he had died, he had donated his house and fortune to creating a private school. With the fortune the man left behind, they build class rooms and other school facilities, computerizing the whole system at the school and naming it after him.
It was lunch break so not many people were in the staff building. Making his way past a row of computer booths, he walked up a small wooden round stairs up into the teacher's lounge. Making his way past a few work spaces, he soon reached the one with Matsumoto's name hung on a hook outside. Peeking inside, he saw the familiar tuft of orange hair bent over on the table, head in arms. He could here slight snoring sounds coming from the lying figure.
Toushirou sighed and walked in. Making his way to Matsumoto, he knocked her on her head, waking her up abruptly. She jumped out of her seat and looked around the work space wildly with dazed eyes. Clearing his throat, her eyes finally settled on him and she stopped her little frenzy.
"Oh Toushirou, it's you," she said cheerily with a smile.
Toushirou's eyebrow twitched. "It's Hyuuga-kun for you," he said, crossing his arms in front of him irritated. "Come on, let's go to the cafeteria."
"Hai, hai, Tou-chan."
"Don't call me that either."
"Your mother does."
Toushirou sighed again. It already didn't help that he had to see her everyday at school, but it was worse that Matsumoto lived just next to him and thus walked home with him and Hinata. Hinata didn't mind the extra company; in fact she welcomed the prospect. What was even worse when Soraya had invited her over for dinner; when both ladies found out they had much in common, Soraya insisted that Matsumoto come over more and the other agreed eagerly. Now, he had a hyper, baby-like crazy teacher added into his already weird enough life.
After exiting the staff building and passing the gardens, they turned left towards the cafeteria. As soon as they reached, Matsumoto quickly dragged him into line. After ordering for a chicken sandwich with fried calamari and tomato juice, she made her way down the line to collect her food and inserted her ID card into the machine at the end of the line. Toushirou ordered soba and green tea before following suit.
Here at Tanaka Private High where most of the things were computerized, every student and teacher had an ID card. When entering the school, they would scan their cards at the scanner at the main gate to take attendance. It was also used as a credit card when buying something from the bookstore and cafeteria. Whenever they bought something, the amount of the stuff would be deducted from the credit inside the card. You only needed to have real money ready to top up the card when the credit was low. Another function of the card was as a library card to be used at the school library and a pass card to enter certain places. A lot of student info was in the card like name, class, post and others. So if it was lost, the students would have to immediately alert the school. Students and teachers were advised to remember the card code if so.
After settling themselves at a table in the cafeteria's indoor garden with Hinata, they began their meal. As soon as Hinata had finished her meal of onigiri and plum pudding, she chatted with Matsumoto who had also finished eating. As soon as Toushirou finished his soba, he saw a familiar figure enter the cafeteria. Waving to him, the man spotted them and made their way to the table.
As the man got closer, Toushirou heard Matsumoto gasp. The look of shock that appeared on her face was evident. As soon as the man reached the table, his eyes widened.
"Ran-chan!" he said, clearly surprised.
"Gin!" she screamed.
'Gin?' Toushirou thought.
"Matsumoto-sensei," Hinata said, clearly confused. "This man is called Eisetsu Kodachi-sensei. He's our science teacher."
The look on Matsumoto's face was so strange that Toushirou would have laughed if not for the fact that Eisetsu-sensei looked so serious.
Matsumoto couldn't believe her eyes. This had to be a dream. Looking at the man standing before her, she wasn't sure whether to laugh, cry or be angry. She just stared at him. He did just the same.
Gin looked about just the same as last time, except slightly different. He still had that creepy grin and silted eyes and with his hair as white as ever, but he clearly looked more weary and aged. It was also a little strange seeing him wear casual clothes like a beige shirt and black color pants.
When Toushirou cleared his throat, she snapped out of her day dreaming and looked at him. She noted that he and Hinata looked somewhat confused at all of this.
"You know Eisetsu-sensei?" Toushirou asked with a frown on his face.
"She and I are both old friends," Eisetsu -or rather Gin- said, before she could say anything.
"Is that so?" Hinata said, the confusion in her eyes disappearing. "Then, would you two like to catch up? Shirou-chan and I can leave if so."
"Yes," Matsumoto said quickly. "It'd be nice if you could do that."
The look on Gin's face wasn't as convincing.
"Fine," Toushirou said, getting up. "I've got something to do at the student body council anyway. Come on Hinata."
With that, they left them alone. Gin sat down at the seat that the boy genius had been occupying and said nothing. Matsumoto didn't say anything either.
"Ne, Ran-chan," Gin finally said, breaking the silence. "What do you think of him? You know…Tou-kun."
"He's him, isn't he?" Matsumoto said, knowing that Gin knew full well who he is.
"He is, and he's not," Gin said, a smile on his face. "He's the same soul, but he's lived a different life then the Hitsugaya-taichou we knew."
"I get that part," Matsumoto replied. "And I don't blame you."
Gin didn't say anything at that.
"Gin," Matsumoto said. "How did you know Toushirou?"
"I met his sis when she was a little kid. I know his parents and family as well. In truth, Tou-kun and Hiro-chan didn't like me much, until…" Gin shook his head at that moment.
"Until what?" Matsumoto asked. Toushirou had had almost the same response when she had asked about his family.
"It's not needed for you to know."
"Toushirou said the same thing when I ask about his family."
"He did, huh?"
"You know I'll have to tell Soul Society about you." Matsumoto finally said. She thought she saw Gin tense slightly at that.
"Do what you have to, Ran-chan," Gin said, the grin ever present on his face. "I'll see what I have to do then."
"Gin, are you…"Matsumoto began, but he cut her off mid sentence.
"I don't have Shinigami powers any more, so even if I wanted to do something I'm still human."
With that, he got up from his seat and left as well. Matsumoto just sat there until the bell rang again, pondering on what she should do.
It had been almost a month since Eisetsu-sensei had come back. Autumn was coming and it was getting colder by the day. However, Toushirou seemed unaffected by it.
"Shirou-chan, how come you don't ever feel cold?" Hinata had asked once through chattering teeth when they were younger. He had told her then that he just didn't, and that was that.
Toushirou wasn't sure whether it was his imagination or not. For the past month, Eisetsu-sensei and Matsumoto had been looking agitated and worried, as if they were expecting something bad to happen. But as far as he knew, they didn't seem to be having any problems lately. He had asked Hecate and Hiro to look at them when they had come over for dinner a week ago. Hecate said that there was a dark shadow on their hearts; Hiro said that he sensed dark expectation coming from Eisetsu-sensei. He had concluded that something from the past bothered them and it was coming back to haunt Eisetsu-sensei.
But so far, nothing had happened. Toushirou was beginning to wonder whether the twins' sixth sense could ever be wrong.
Today seemed like every other day. Hinata and he were taking some lab frogs to the science lab. Eisetsu-sensei said he needed them to do dissection for a first form class. Climbing up the stairs to the second floor, they were about to open the door to the science lab that Eisetsu-sensei normally used when they heard voices coming from inside. Two of which Toushirou could pinpoint as Eisetsu-sensei's and Matsumoto's, but the others –even though they sounded familiar- belonged to strangers.
Peeking from behind the door, he could see three men confronting Eisetsu-sensei. Matsumoto was standing a little further away from them. One of the men had spiky, long bright red hair and tattoos all over his forehead and hand as far as Toushirou could see. He wondered whether the man was some kind of punk, his clothing were definitely weird enough. The other man had orange hair and wore a plain shirt and pants. He silently wondered whether the hair color was his original hair color. The last man was a bit more classical. He sported a high ponytail and wore a traditional gi and hakama.
"Are you going to come along quietly, Ichimaru Gin?" The man with the red hair said.
'Ichimaru Gin?' Toushirou wondered silently. Was that an alias for Eisetsu-sensei?
"I don't have Shinigami powers anymore," Eisetsu-sensei said in an as-a-matter-of-fact way. "I can't go into Seireitei or Soul Society."
'Seireitei?' thought Toushirou. He remembered that Matsumoto had told him something about that place -a place where all Shinigami resided, or as Matsumoto had said. It could only mean that these people were also Shinigami and Eisetsu-sensei once was one. That fact was quite clear from what they had said just now.
"What makes you think that we'd believe what you said?" the man with the ponytail finally said. Toushirou may not know that man, but he had a feeling that man was a no-good lowlife. Or that's what he thought.
"You're all taichous, so you should know whether or not I'm lying," Eisetsu-sensei replied calmly. The man clammed up at that.
Toushirou sneaked a peek at Hinata. From the look on her face, she had no idea what was going on and was clearly getting very scared. Is should be about time to end this. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open, startling the people inside. Walking in with Hinata in tow, he looked around the room, glaring at the three men. When the men saw him and Hinata, they looked somewhat shocked and the orange head looked like he wanted to say something.
"Eisetsu-sensei," he said, turning his glare onto the teacher. "Here are your frogs."
Eisetsu looked slightly surprised, but recovered quickly and grinned. "Thank you. Put them on the shelf over there."
After doing that, Toushirou turned his attention on the three men.
"Who are you? What is your purpose here?" Toushirou said with as much authority as his post gave him.
"What gives you the authority to question us, squirt?" the red head said, clearly annoyed with him. Toushirou's eyebrow twitched at that.
"Intruders aren't allowed in this school," Hinata said quickly. "If you do not have proper authorization to enter here then please leave or I'll call the guards."
"Stay out of this matter, girl," the pony tailed man snorted. "It's none of your business."
"It is our business as the student body president and secretary," Toushirou replied, glaring at the men. "If you still wont tell us what your purpose is to be here, then leave."
"I thought only a teacher could do that," the red head remarked, quirking an eyebrow- if it was his eyebrow. With those tattoos it was hard to see.
"They do," Eisetsu piped in, earning a glare from the three men. Turning to Toushirou, Eisetsu said, "Can you excuse them just this once, Hyuuga-kun, Hinata-kun?"
"But they're disturbing you aren't they?" Hinata replied, surprising the occupants of the room.
Eisetsu recovered first and smiled at her. "Why do you say that?"
"Because they're talking about things like Shinigami and Soul Society and all that nonsense," Toushirou said. "Those things don't exist."
He was sure Matsumoto and the three men were staring holes into his back at that moment. The red head looked like he was about to blow a gasket when Matsumoto stopped him. "That's enough," she said calmly. "This has been going on for long enough. Just leave."
"Now you're taking his side?" the guy with the ponytail sneered, glaring at her. "What would Hi…"
"Don't say anything about him here!" Matsumoto cried angrily, startling Toushirou and Hinata. "Especially not in front of…" She stopped at mid-sentence.
Suddenly, Toushirou felt his head swoon. His vision blurred and his consciousness started slipping. Images began flying before his eyes.
A man…
'That man is…'
"Shirou-chan! What's wrong? Say something!"
A sword curving…
"Toushirou, wake up!"
A woman screaming…
'That woman…'
"Tou-kun, Tou-kun, come on… Snap out of it!"
The sword piercing into…
'White hair…'
"Shirou-chan!"
Toushirou faded into unconsciousness at that moment.
Matsumoto was panicking. Half way through her sentence, she stopped. Toushirou was here, and it wouldn't be right to talk about him here. Then all of a sudden, Toushirou had had that strange far-away look in his eyes. No matter how much they called his name, he wouldn't snap out of it. Then he had collapsed.
Hinata looked about close to tears at that moment. Getsushirou, Ichigo and Renji were surprised to say the least. Gin just looked perplexed. Matsumoto didn't know what to think, but she was definitely confused.
Gin was the first to snap out of his daze. "Hinata-chan, calm down," he said, patting her on the head. "We have to take him to the infirmary downstairs. Ran-chan, help me lift him. I'll carry him down the stairs. You three stay here. No protesting. If the guards saw you then you will have to leave whether you like it or not."
With that, they left the three men behind, flustered and agitated. Soon they reached the infirmary. After the nurse there had taken a look at him, she concluded that there was nothing wrong with him and he was just unconscious. She couldn't find the cause of why he had though and was slightly perplexed, but she just concluded this as a case of stress and lack of sleep.
Looking at Toushirou sleep on the infirmary bed, Matsumoto couldn't help but muse at how he looked so peaceful and young when he slept. When there was no barrier or worries, he looked plain innocent lying there.
"It should have stopped already," Hinata murmured from her position by Toushirou's bed, still clutching onto his hand. What she said caught Matsumoto's attention and Gin's as well.
"What should have stopped already?" Matsumoto asked tentatively.
"When Tou-kun was little," Gin cut in. "He would space out like this as well. Then when he wakes up, he would always tells us about some sordid, sad past of some person he saw in 'visions'. After looking around the neighborhood, we could always find the person he sees and it turns out what he saw really did happen before. There was even once when he saw a vision of a girl drowning, and when we looked for the person we found out that that girl had died for some time, and that her soul was trapped in that river."
"So you mean…"
"Yes, Tou-kun has the power to see into the past of others, even souls," Gin said, confirming her suspicions.
"However," he continued. "Tou-kun has no control over it whatsoever. When someone feels upset or is in pain, his senses pick it up and he's able to see into their pasts. We have no idea how far his senses can pick up, or how far back he sees. Sometimes it not even a past, it's a future. That happened to an old man. He saw the old man getting hit by a car, and it happened the very next day. Some way or the other when it happens, it happens, and Tou-kun can't help it."
Matsumoto was shocked to say the least. These kind of spiritual senses were hard to find, and signified that the person had a strong reiatsu. For Toushirou to have it shouldn't have come as a surprise, after all the Hollow had targeted him and his friends. Suddenly, Matsumoto remembered what Hinata had said.
As if reading her mind Gin replied. "A few years ago, Sora-chan and Ryuujin-san took him to a shrine in Kyoto and had him blessed by one of the priestesses there. After that the visions stopped."
Matsumoto nodded her head in understanding and turned her gaze back onto the sleeping boy. She wondered what he had seen. It could have been a stranger, or it could have been…Matsumoto didn't want to think about that. Soon enough, Toushirou woke up. Matsumoto heard Hinata let out a sigh of relief. Toushirou was a bit muddled, but soon his head cleared enough.
"Matsumoto, Eisetsu-sensei, can I talk with you for a minute?" Toushirou asked, making a motion to get up, but Hinata stopped him, saying that he should rest a bit more. Toushirou said he would and asked her to leave for a while. She complied immediately.
Turning to them, he didn't say anything for a while. When he finally spoke, Matsumoto couldn't help but have a sinking feeling in her gut. "I saw the both of you wearing Shinigami robes, fighting in some kind of city. Everything was suspended in mid-air, like time had stopped. There was a huge door and there was a boy standing in front of it. Then, Eisetsu-sensei's sword suddenly curved and pierced the boy. Matsumoto screamed for the boy to watch out, but in the end, it didn't help."
He stopped there. Silence fell upon the room. Matsumoto had no idea what to say and Gin looked like he had been expecting that.
"Matsumoto," Toushirou continued. "The boy…had white hair like mine. Was he…the friend you said that looked like me? Did he…die then?"
Matsumoto didn't respond at first, but then she nodded her head. "Yes," she said. "That's him. But he didn't die then. Only after the incident, he died from…illness."
"I see." Was all Toushirou could say at that moment His brow creased into a frown and he turned his attention to Gin. "What about those men? Is it because you did that to that boy that they're here?"
"It's for a reason bigger than that," Gin said, not looking at Matsumoto.
Toushirou didn't say anything at that.
"I'll ask them to leave," Matsumoto finally said, getting up from her seat by the window and left the room.
She wasn't sure what they talked about after she left, but she didn't really want to know. Getting to the science lab, she found Ichigo and Renji wrestling on the floor. Sighing, she easily booted them out. Getsushirou was harder.
"You know Central 46 won't be happy about this," he said, as she escorted them out of the school grounds.
"I'll handle the consequences," she said firmly. "What about you? Will you tell Renhana about him?"
Getsushirou paused for a while before answering. "No, I am no longer his father, and she is no longer his mother. There is no need for her to know."
And with that, they left, leaving Matsumoto to wonder whether her decision was right or not.
Yay, ten pages! I was on a roll of sorts and I didn't want to split the pages. Anyway, I hope this please you all somewhat. Please review. Flames are invited. Until the next chapter, chao!