Author's Note: First things first. I don't own Bleach. That honor belongs to the super-special-awesome Tite Kubo.
Second, yes, I know I passed my own deadline. By almost a week. But hey, it's here! And now that it is, I shall officially stop setting deadlines for myself. I said this fic was going to be updated whenever, so… It shall! :D
I'm not particularly satisfied with this chapter… Something, something I can't put my finger on, is just plain off about this chapter. I just feel like I can add more detail or do something, but at the moment it seems like I can't. Believe me, I tried. And I realized I can't do even a one-sided fight scene worth a crap. -sigh-
On a lighter note, occasionally at the end of a chapter I'll have a short third-person view of things concerning "Hitsugaya," generally from Rangiku's view (and generally after "Hitsugaya" has fallen asleep, though there will be some exceptions). You'll see the first one at the end of this chapter.
EDIT: Heh, whoops. Forgot to edit some stuff before posting. Sorry if some of you got an alert twice.
Chapter 3: Fury
Who, what, when, where, and why?
Who, what, when, where, and why? …and how, too…
Such thoughts were all that was buzzing through my head as Rangiku and I walked back to the Squad 10's Captain's quarters. It's a good thing that Rangiku was leading; otherwise I'd have walked into several walls by now and would still have no idea how to make my way back to the barracks.
A couple minutes later we stopped just outside Hitsugaya's – my – room. Rangiku slid open the door and gently ushered me inside, saying, "Don't worry about the paperwork, Captain. I'll make sure to get it all taken care of. You just stay here and rest." Emphasis on "rest." Funny how fast she could go from being the immodest Lieutenant to a mother hen; almost a matter of seconds.
I paused, then nodded gratefully. "Thank you… Lieutenant."
Rangiku smiled softly and closed the door, and I waited until the sound of her footsteps faded before flopping down on the bed with a sigh.
No wonder I'd been so tired this morning. Hitsugaya usually stayed up until he either finished his work or passed out from lack of sleep. Considering I'd woken up in his bed, he must have finished his work before reaching the pass-out point, but he'd gotten close. I felt like sleeping for another year, I was so exhausted. But even though I tried, sleep just wouldn't come.
So I laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
So far, I had the where figured out; Soul Society, obviously, and if you want to get a bit more specific, the Squad 10 barracks. There was no knowing who did it, or how or why. I couldn't immediately come with a what, so all that was left was the when.
When was I? What episode, what point in the series? A specific episode, or in-between? Maybe even a divergent timeline? It wouldn't surprise me.
Is this before or after the Aizen incident? If it's before, then Momo is her normal, happy, Aizen-adoring self, and Aizen – technically speaking – isn't a traitor. Yet. But if that's so, then when the Soul Society and Rescue Rukia arcs come along, I'll have to fight Gin and Aizen without having any idea how to do it, since I have no idea how to use a sword. I'm no good with just trying to punch or kick anything, either, so even Hakuda and definitely Shunpo is out the window, and Kido is out of the question for the same reason as using a zanpakuto.
However, if it's after, then Momo will most likely still be in a coma and I'll have the Arrancar arc sitting on my doorstep.
Either way, I'm not looking forward to getting sliced in half, by Aizen or Shawlong. Or whatever comes after that. If I manage to make it that far, I'm screwed, since I only know a few things that happen after that. And the things I do know that fall under that category are at least a hundred episodes away; the information won't be of any help to me right now.
Well… I won't have to worry about being sliced in half if I end up dying first, which would mean that the DiamondDust Rebellion trailer I saw was right about Hitsugaya being executed…
Nothing is worse than having nothing better to do than to just sit there and think about your own death.
Heh. I was going to get Hitsugaya killed and it wouldn't even be him dying.
I let out an insane-sounding cackle, one that sounded especially strange coming from Hitsugaya's mouth.
"Well I can't just sit here and mope all day," I said with false enthusiasm, a crooked grin marking the white-haired Captain's face.
I rolled off the bed to sit in front of the mirror, legs crossed, while I tried to get my/Hitsugaya's hair back into its normal spiky position (at the moment it was kind of flat and looked more like Rukon!Hitsu's hair).
I don't know how the hell he usually got it to stay up like that (maybe he borrowed some of Kenpachi's hair gel or something), but at last I was able to get it at least a little bit spikier. More Hitsu-ish in any case. I'm glad I didn't have to worry about the little foof; apparently that was natural.
After that I spent the next twenty minutes or so getting into the shihakusho (that "black robeish thing" I'd seen in the closet earlier) and white undershirt thing. After much folding and stuffing and tying and such, I finally got the stupid robes looking mostly like they should, though if someone examined them closely enough they'd definitely be able to notice that something was off.
I found his Captain's haori neatly folded in one of the drawers pushed up against the wall (luckily it was in the first drawer I opened; thinking back, I realize how weird and embarrassing it would have been to open the drawer and find a bunch of underwear inside). I unfolded it and briefly admired the white, silky material before sticking an arm through the sleeve hole and flinging the rest over my back. I stuck my other arm through the other hole, and as I tugged the sleeve out I adjusted the haori and tried to look serious before turning back to look in the mirror.
The Squad 10 Captain gazed back at me from his glassy prison, turquoise eyes calm, looking unusually stern.
I quirked a white eyebrow, and the mirror image copied me and suddenly seemed to be amused with me. A smile twitched on his lips before stretching into a full grin, and he laughed quietly.
It was nice to hear him laugh; I hadn't heard it before.
Regaining some semblance of my "composure," I realized that there was hope for me, at least. If nothing else, I'd be able to pull off looking like him and acting like him for a while so as not to raise suspicion, something in which my fangirlish knowledge of Hitsugaya would come in handy… but sooner or later I would have to fight, be it Arrancar or Aizen, and my secret would be out in the open. Not to mention I'd be vulnerable to attack, able to be killed by even the weakest Hollow…
I sat down on the bed, feeling somewhat deflated. No matter what point I'm at now, there's going to be difficult times ahead.
I spent the next couple of hours exploring the Captain's quarters to which I was confined. Rangiku didn't suddenly decide to pop up out of nowhere, which was good, because I didn't have an excuse for why I was running around and looking at everything as if I'd never seen it before (which of course I hadn't, but you get the point).
Hitsugaya's quarters were actually quite spacious for just one person, though I suppose that just comes with the territory. Being in a position of power has its perks.
The hall just outside the bedroom was in an L shape, with the shorter side being in front of the bedroom and the longer side stretching off to the left. Down the shorter was a bathroom and what looked like a linen closet (or something that served a similar purpose), while the longer led to a living-room-like space. About halfway there the wooden wall turned into shoji doors, and when I slid them open, I found myself in a beautiful secluded garden.
A large sakura tree resided in the far right corner of the little courtyard. Various ferns and flowers I couldn't name bordered both the enclosing walls and a clear koi-filled pond that rested under the sakura. Petals of various shades of pink and red drifted gently through the air before settling on the grass, and the sakura's branches rustled quietly.
I smiled and sat down on the edge of the wooden path, realizing I'd neglected to even put on tabi when my feet touched cool stone.
I sat there for a while, simply enjoying the cool breeze and sweet scent of the flowers. The corners of Hitsugaya's haori moved gently in the wind, and I allowed myself to relax.
When I laid back against the wood floor, though, I realized I'd forgotten a critical part of Hitsugaya's appearance.
The peaceful feeling left abruptly as I hit myself in the head. I jumped up and ran back into Hitsugaya's room, berating myself for actually forgetting Hyorinmaru. HYORIN-FREAKING-MARU, of all things!
"Stupid, stupid, stupid…" I muttered over and over again as I looked for Hitsugaya's green sash. It was in the same drawer I'd found his haori in, along with the little flower clip.
I saw Hyorinmaru resting on a wooden stand next to the bed (yet another thing I hadn't noticed earlier this morning). Almost reverently I picked it – him? – up and raised a hand to draw him out of his sheath.
But as soon as my fingers brushed against the blue hilt, an icy shock ran up my arm, and I blacked out for the second time that day.
I awoke to find frost on my face and my limbs numb with cold.
'This isn't right,' I thought, shivering, my breath coming in small puffs of moist, warm air. God, even my bones felt frozen. 'Hitsugaya controls the cold… He can't – shouldn't – even feel it or be harmed by it…'
I sat up and started to brush the snow from my limbs, and made a very important discovery.
A giant, sinuous dragon made from perfectly sculpted blue ice was curled around himself in front of me, watching me with narrowed crimson eyes. His lip was curled in a gesture of contempt, and revealed long, icicle-like fangs.
"H-Hyorinmaru," I whispered, unable to keep a quaver of fear from my voice.
His head alone was at least ten feet from his nose to the point where his horns began, almost twice as tall as I was normally; the stag-like horns themselves added another five or six feet at least, and I had no idea how long the rest of his body was. With just his size alone, he could crush me like an insect, never mind using his unique abilities.
There in the field of snow, I trembled, and it had nothing do to with the cold.
Hyorinmaru represented Hitsugaya's power, equally as cold and unyielding as his wielder. He was the spirit of Hitsugaya's zanpakuto, frighteningly fierce as both an enemy and an ally. He controlled the weather, changing it at his leisure. He taught Hitsugaya to wield him, and thus pushed the tensai to the lofty perch of the youngest ever Captain in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. The dragon bowed to no one but his wielder.
Because of that, I was very, very afraid.
Despite appearances, I was not his wielder, and Hyorinmaru obviously knew it.
"Where is he?" the giant dragon roared, raising his giant ice-covered wings and sending a powerful gust of wind slicing through the air just above me. Hyorinmaru's voice was like splintering ice, and it shook the ground I rested on.
"I don't know," I said quietly as I slowly, carefully, cautiously rose to my feet, my eyes never leaving the dragon's head.
He roared again, right at me, and he lifted an icicle-spiked tail and swung it in my direction. I just barely dodged it, and by barely dodging I mean that I hadn't let Hitsugaya's body get maimed. Though I was now sporting a shredded sleeve and a set of deep cuts down my right arm, as well as being pierced by some of the shards flung from his tail.
"Hyorinmaru! Stop!" I cried, panicking as I tried to dodge a second, more violent attack that almost ended with me being crushed and riddled with spear-like icicles. The slowly-falling snow abruptly changed into a raging blizzard, a dangerous indication of the great dragon's violent mood.
"Bring him back!" Hyorinmaru roared, a dragon-shaped silhouette in the blizzard, his wings beating the air in a frenzy and creating giant flurries of ice and snow. His serpentine body uncoiled and stretched to its full length, and it was then that I realized how truly massive the ice dragon was.
"I don't know how!" I screamed back, pure adrenaline giving me a boost as I jumped out of the way of the mace-like tail. The ice shards that flew off upon impact now gave me a bit of a push in midair, but it was out of the frying pan and into the fire, and I ended up leaping right into Hyorinmaru's fanged maw.
I didn't even have time to scream.
His jaws closed around me, and everything went black.
Hyorinmaru clattered as he hit the wood floor. I sat a few feet away, panting heavily, my heart hammering in my chest as I stared at the zanpakuto.
That crazy dragon had just tried to kill me!
And unfortunately it seemed I hadn't come out of it completely unscathed. While the shihakusho was unharmed (apparently going into that inner world doesn't affect clothes), when I pulled the sleeve back I saw the same four bloody furrows that Hyorinmaru's tail had inflicted on me.
Warm liquid flowed down my cheek, and I lifted my other hand to brush against a stinging cut. I probably got that from the ice shards that were thrown from Hyorinmaru's tail whenever he slammed it into the ground, just like several other cuts and puncture wounds I could immediately see; there's no telling how many other injuries I'd sustained from that rather one-sided battle.
I sighed, the adrenaline slowly leaving my system and leaving me even more exhausted than before, which, considering Hitsugaya's state at the time of waking, was really saying something.
I could understand why he was so furious. The dragon was half of Hitsugaya's soul, and Hitsugaya was half of his. At first, it was just the two of them, two parts of the same whole; even way back when Hitsugaya lived in the Rukon district, Hyorinmaru had still been there, lurking beneath the surface of his soul, biding his time for the day when Hitsugaya would summon him.
Now I'm here somehow, and Hyorinmaru is alone, completely separated from his wielder. God knows where Hitsugaya himself is…
Gently I picked Hyorinmaru up and returned him to his stand, careful not to touch his hilt again, and placed the sash back in its drawer.
I would try speaking to him when he calmed down.
I left the room.
The scratches on my cheek and various other parts I didn't really have to worry about, as they were superficial and had already stopped bleeding, but the gouges on my/Hitsugaya's right arm still oozed blood (not to mention they really freaking hurt). Rummaging through the cabinets, I found some strips of bandages in the bathroom and wrapped my arm up as best I could after rinsing it with cold water. I hoped for Hitsugaya's sake that it wouldn't scar too badly.
Of course, if I wanted to prevent it scarring at all, I needed to go see Captain Unohana, but I didn't know how to get all the way over to Squad 4 much less find her. And I couldn't ask anyone; that'd give the whole thing away, and I needed to keep this as quiet as possible for as long as possible.
I headed back out into the garden and sat in the grass, one hand in the water of the little pond while the other rested in my lap. Apparently the koi were either used to Hitsugaya's presence or weren't afraid of him, because they swam around the pond like his/my hand wasn't there and even brushed against it a few times.
I sat there, thinking.
If Hyorinmaru completely rejected me, how was I supposed to use him to fight? No matter what episode I was currently in, Hitsugaya would have to use Hyorinmaru eventually; it was just a matter of time. But now the dragon was enraged at my "intrusion," and wouldn't talk to me without trying to slice me in half.
That, coupled with Hitsu's other skills (like Shunpo, Hakuda, and especially Kido), were going to be insanely difficult to explain away if I could even do it at all. I just didn't know how to do them.
I sighed, looking up at the clouds overhead.
Hyorinmaru's little stunt had cost me about three hours in real time, even though it had felt like only minutes in the snowy plain. (I wonder how the hell that even happened; considering the fact that when Zangetsu did it with Ichigo during his fight with Kenpachi, it only took a second at most, shouldn't it have been the same here?) It was sunset now; the sky blazed with color. Vibrant oranges mixed with subdued gold and warm red, and the edges of the clouds further away were tinged with purple, a warning of the darkening sky. Further back, where it was already dark blue, a set of tiny lights twinkled.
It was a beautiful sight.
But it did nothing to temper my current frustration.
I heard the door behind me slide open, and Rangiku said, "You're supposed to stay inside and rest, Captain."
I sighed again, trying not to be annoyed with her. "I can rest out here just as well as I can in there, Lieutenant," I retorted.
Rangiku laughed. "Stubborn as always, Captain," she said, completely unruffled. "At least come inside and have tea with me so I can tell you what happened today."
I lifted my hand out of the pond, flicking the water off, before standing and nodding, keeping my face carefully neutral.
Rangiku must have seen the bandages peeking out from under the sleeve of the shihakusho when I turned to face her, because a second later she asked, "What happened to your arm?"
"Hyorinmaru surprised me," I answered honestly, stepping onto the porch.
"Captain Unohana's orders were to take it easy today," the blond retorted, looking stern. "If you're tired enough to actually admit to being tired, you shouldn't be training with Hyorinmaru."
"Well it wasn't my fault he picked the wrong time to talk," I muttered, mentally glaring at the sword.
"He materialized?" the buxom Lieutenant said in surprise.
I shook my head as we walked into the living room. "No. He just pulled me into his inner world and caught me off guard. For once, I was careless." And I was, too. You don't just go around playing with other people's zanpakuto. That little fact was something that was now burned into memory…
Rangiku pursed her lips. "You should at least let Captain Unohana look at it," she said, but Hitsugaya's stubborn pride demanded that I say, "No. It'll heal just fine on its own."
Thankfully Rangiku dropped the subject, and I sat down on one of the couches while she walked into the kitchen space to make tea.
The stuff she brought out actually wasn't all that bad, and it got me thinking. Taste was determined by your taste buds, so if I was in Hitsugaya's body, theoretically I'd like all the stuff Hitsugaya liked, right? So I'd be able to drink tea and eat watermelons and stuff. That would help big time with keeping up appearances. I took another thoughtful drink while listening to Rangiku blabber.
"-and then Izuru got hit in the face with Yachiru's bowl of noodles, while Renji was accidentally whacked by Ikkaku's bokken, and-"
"Matsumoto," I interjected with false exasperation, continuing to look everywhere but eye-level, "the more you talk, the less it sounds like you completed your paperwork. I hope I won't find a stack of it on my desk tomorrow morning."
Rangiku laughed and waved her hand at me. "Don't worry, Captain, everything's been taken care of," she said flippantly. "You won't find a single scrap of paper in your office! Promise!"
I sipped the warm tea, glad she'd made something Hitsugaya liked (while wondering what the heck it actually was). "And I'm sure you managed to finish it all without shunting it off to another officer, such as, say, Lieutenant Kira, I suppose?" I said coolly.
To my amusement, she gave a nervous sort of laugh and said, "Captain, I'd never do that! How could you even think I'd do such a thing?"
"Because you like lazing around and drinking sake," I shot back, smirking slightly. "I know you, Matsumoto." Probably more than she realized, considering my relative "omnipotence" concerning the plotline (at least up to episode 136…). However, past that…
I decided not to dwell on that for now, instead gazing outside and commenting, "It's been a quiet day."
"Nice though, considering it's early September," Rangiku murmured, setting her cup on the wooden coffee table.
Early September… early September… Hmm. September, October, November…
…December! Four months!
FUCK.
I was stuck in the Arrancar arc!
Damnit.
It was dark now. Rangiku had left an hour ago. I was currently sitting on the porch (again), pondering my place in the universe.
The universe that seemed to like suddenly throwing shit like this in my face.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair… then instantly whacked myself in the head. I gotta stop treating it as my hair; Hitsugaya's hair is all spiky, so I need to stop accidentally messing it up, damnit!
I gave another frustrated sigh (I seem to be doing that a lot lately…). This was all so confusing… What the hell did I do to deserve this happening to me? Cheesy as it sounds, I've been one of those "good girl" types of people. I don't smoke, don't drink or do drugs, I do my homework… I pretty much live under a rock. My world is small.
I'm nothing special; I've never been anything special. I've never done anything to merit this recent turn of events. Which begs the question: chance, or fate?
Although I have no idea what fate could have in mind by sticking me in an anime guy's body, but hey. Throw me a bone, here.
Aaaarrrrgh… Damnit, why can't I just go home?
The thought of home – sweet, normal, wonderful HOME – left me choking up, and I forced back frustrated tears. After all, it would be a cold day in Hell if Hitsugaya started crying…
Katie… Mom… Dad… All my wonderful anime-loving friends…
I need something to take my mind off them, I thought, depressed. I stared at the garden.
It wasn't as pretty as it was during the day (especially at sunset), but it had a certain tranquil quality (which was definitely something I needed right then). The moonlight turned most of the petals on the sakura silver, while little golden dots floated through the air, winking in and out of existence; fireflies.
The firefly's light
gives hope to the lost girl's soul.
She will find her way.
Sudden haiku. Hmm.
Feeling inspired, I got up and walked into the living room. I rummaged around a bit and found some paper, a few brushes, and a little black bottle of what was apparently ink (sure smelled like it, at any rate…). I moved back out onto the porch and sat down and started writing, the task doing wonders to move my mind off of 'what-if's and 'what-should-be's.
Rangiku smiled to herself, her footsteps silent as she moved through the halls of Hitsugaya's home, a half-empty bottle of sake in her hand.
It was probably a good idea to come and check on him, she mused, taking a quick drink. After all, if he was still awake – at midnight, no less – then she could use the threat of Unohana forcing him to stay away from paperwork for another day to get him into bed and thus escape chastisement. If he was asleep, then she had nothing to worry about anyway… Not to mention he was adorable when he was asleep!
It seemed like he slept so little these days… It was a rare event that she got to catch him completely asleep, curled in his blankets and acting like his actual age… It wasn't exactly surprising. Everyone was suffering – and trying to recover – in their own way after the defection of three Captains…
Rangiku shook her head, now (unfortunately) completely sober. No use getting depressed now; the past was the past. They had the future to look toward.
The buxom Lieutenant silently slid open the shoji door leading to her Captain's bedroom. The bed inside was empty. She wasn't surprised.
Her next course of action was to slide open the shoji door leading to the garden.
And lo and behold, there he was.
His back was facing her, proudly displaying the Squad 10 symbol on his haori. His legs were hanging off the porch, and he was leaning against a wooden column. An inkwell and a brush were resting on a stack of paper by his side.
"Captain?" Rangiku whispered. No response.
She moved around in front of him, and grinned.
His head was leaning against the post, and his turquoise eyes were hidden behind closed lids. His breath was soft and steady, his robes were wrinkled from being in the same position too long, and in his hand was a loosely-held stack of paper.
Captain, Captain, Captain… Even when you're this exhausted, you just won't give up your paperwork, Rangiku thought, slowly taking the papers from his loose grip and looking them over. Hmm. This isn't paperwork… It isn't even Japanese. Just what were you working on, Captain?
Setting the strangely marked papers aside, she gently picked up the young boy and carried him to bed, where he immediately curled into the blanket.
Looking adorable as he did so.
I wish I had a camera… Rangiku thought wistfully. She left the room and slid the shoji door closed.
The blond stood outside Hitsugaya's door for a moment, trying in vain to make some sense of the papers she'd picked up, but quickly gave up; to her, it was unreadable gibberish. She moved into the living room and set the papers on the table before leaving to head back to her own quarters.
I'll just ask him about them in the morning.
Author's Note: I think this chapter went by too fast… Or maybe I've just been staring at it too long. Neither would surprise me.
Anyway, not really satisfied with both the Hyorinmaru encounter and the ending of the chapter. Seems like I could've put more detail into the fight, and I just don't particularly like the third-person ending as a whole. Nyeh. I'll edit it later if I have to.
Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated!