Author's Notes: There are a couple of turning points in this chapter, so you'd better read it all and not miss any of it! Though my 'shocking' twists may have been much too predictable. I certainly think they are.
Also, I mentioned that this fic is also MatsuGin. I don't know if I'll have time to squeeze that in very much, though, but there will be some implications.
After another few minutes of searching, Ichigo came across a cabinet containing a vast amount of folders. The cabinet, too, had a lock on it, so he assumed what was inside must be quite "secret." Again, he was able to penetrate the lock and pull it open.
He began rifling through the file folders it contained, realizing soon enough that it was a cabinet containing files of the deceased. Good, that would narrow his search down by quite a lot.
After about ten minutes of searching, he finally found what he was looking for.
"Here you are!" the strawberry whispered to himself in triumph as he pulled out a folder with the name 'Kusaka Sojiro' on it.
He instantly flipped it open, finding nothing inside, save a small photograph and several notes. He picked up the faded photograph, observing it for a moment. "Huh," he mused, "So that's Toshiro's old boyfriend." Putting the photograph back into the folder, he then moved onto the small notes.
As he scanned each letter, his eyes widened.
"What the hell…"
After he had finished reading the notes, he put them back into the folder and closed it, feeling sick to his stomach. He had discovered several things:
One. Kusaka Sojiro had not been killed because of his zanpaku-to.
Two. Such a law that stated that two shinigami could not share the same zanpaku-to had ever existed.
Three. His death had been deliberate, and the whole line of events that had happened in the first division office had only been used as an excuse to kill him with a "legal" reason.
Four. The whole thing had been a plot to have either him or Hitsugaya put to death.
Five. And the reason why the government decided he had to be assassinated was this: They had heard through their intelligence agencies that after the two were married, Kusaka and Hitsugaya had not intended on continuing their careers as shinigami. Of course, that would mean that they would lose Hyorinmaru as a weapon, so they would have to resort to drastic measures to prevent the marriage. This meant that they would have to come up with something to facilitate the legal execution of one of them (if one of them didn't kill the other first), which would explain the fake laws they had came up with.
In other words, Hitsugaya had been used by them for the benefits that Hyorinmaru brought on the battlefield, and Kusaka had died so that they would be able to manipulate Hitsugaya (and Hyorinmaru) into staying with the Gotei 13 without interference.
This meant that the whole thing had only been a plot to be able to keep Hyorinmaru's power within the Gotei 13.
And all of Kusaka's publicly accessible records had been destroyed in order to prevent legal complications from arising if someone was to uncover their conspiracy.
Which, of course, Ichigo had just done.
"I've got to tell Toshiro," he murmured to himself, "And then I'm going straight to the sotaichou and I'll get to the bottom of this."
As he got ready to leave, he suddenly heard footsteps nearby.
"Shit," he muttered, hurriedly stuffing the notes into his robes, dropping the folder to the floor, ducking out of the room and hurrying away, attempting to conceal his reiatsu in the process.
"You wanted to see me, sotaichou?"
"Yes. Have a seat, Hitsugaya-taichou."
With a sigh, Hitsugaya seated himself in front of the sotaichou's desk. Earlier in the day, he had been out on his daily rounds when a hell butterfly had delivered notice to him that his immediate presence was required in the first division office.
"First of all," Yamamoto began, folding his gnarled hands on the desktop, "How has your little assignment been coming along?"
"I haven't seen Kurosaki-kun around recently," Hitsugaya lied.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, sotaichou."
Yamamoto wrinkled his brow, observing Hitsugaya's face intently as if he could see right into his mind. "I see," he finally said. "But don't forget, boy, my subordinates are watching you."
"I am aware of that, sir."
"I advise you to finish your assignment quickly. I am not an exceptionally patient man, and I would be most displeased if you were to keep me waiting."
"Yes, sir."
"And there's something else we need to speak about," Yamamoto added, seeming to glare unpleasantly at Hitsugaya from under his bushy white brows.
"I'm listening," Hitsugaya mumbled.
"Yesterday we discovered that someone had gotten into our archives," he continued. "Now, we know for a fact that whoever got their hands on the keys received them from Ukitake-taichou, but he has refused to say who it was."
"Erm, alright." By this point, the child prodigy was wondering why the hell he was being told this. It wasn't like it was any of his business or he had been involved or something like that, anyway.
"And do you know whose files the perpetrator was looking at?"
"No, sir."
"They were looking at the files of Kusaka Sojiro."
Hitsugaya looked up abruptly, and expression of shock running through his teal eyes as he glanced at the sotaichou.
"H-How do you know?"
"Whoever it was carelessly left the folder on the floor, but they made off with the content inside the file. Now, the files were located in a forbidden room, and I'm sure you know that entering that room without permission is punishable by law, yes?"
"Yes, I know that," Hitsugaya answered quietly, looking down into his lap.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you," Yamamoto ordered, which was enough to bring the young captain's attention back up to his face. "What exactly are you trying to do, Hitsugaya Toshiro? I know you're up to something."
"Are you accusing me of breaking into the archives?" Hitsugaya demanded indignantly.
"Precisely. Who else would be searching for files on Kusaka Sojiro?"
"I don't know! Sotaichou, I know this is too bold of me to say, but I find it extremely unreasonable of you to be suspecting me of a crime I did not commit, especially since you have no proof."
"The fact that they were Kusaka's files is proof enough for me."
"I'm telling you," Hitsugaya snapped, standing up angrily, slamming his hands on the desktop. "I did not do it."
"I will not permit you to speak to me in such a disrespectful tone!" Yamamoto barked. "Sit back down boy, and remember your place. You are nothing without the Gotei 13, and this is how you show your gratitude!?"
Hitsugaya faltered for a moment, before he shamefully sat back down. "I'm sorry, sotaichou," he muttered.
"You are either very lucky, or very unlucky, boy," Yamamoto hissed. "Although you deny involvement in yesterday's break-in, that doesn't mean that I won't be keeping a very close eye on you from now on, and that I won't suspect you, because I most certainly do. In fact, I would have you arrested right here and now, but I need you to complete your little mission first. Do a good job on it, and I will clear you of all charges. Do you understand?"
"Y-Yes, sotaichou."
"Then you are excused."
Hitsugaya hastily got to his feet and hurried out of the office, wondering who it was that had been rooting through the archives in search of Kusaka's files, and why they had done it. What had they been looking for?
As he approached the tenth division's office, he decided he would ask Matsumoto about it, perhaps she knew what was going on.
Before he could reach his office, though, his path was suddenly blocked by someone else, who had practically appeared out of nowhere.
Hitsugaya stopped abruptly, looking up, a frown coming over his features. "Kurosaki-kun? I believe I've already warned you to stay away from me."
"Y-Yeah," an out-of-breath Ichigo panted, who had apparently been running around for quite some time now. "I've been looking all over the place for you, 'cause I've got something I have to tell you."
"What is it? I don't-"
"It's about Sojiro."
Hitsugaya froze, his eyes narrowing. "So you're the one who stole his files. What are you playing at, Kurosaki-kun? What do you want with those files?"
"I'll explain everything…in a sec…" Ichigo answered, breathing heavily. "I'm just so…so exhausted right now…"
"Hey, King…Let me out. I'll regain the energy you lost running around all day."
"Go away," Ichigo muttered through gritted teeth. "I'm not gonna…"
Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed again. "Kurosaki-kun, who exactly are you talking to?"
"Ha! Then if you won't let me out, I'll let myself out."
"No! What the hell are you…?"
Shit, Ichigo thought, his mind racing. His hollow must have reacted to Hitsugaya's reiatsu, and he was so out of energy that right now, it would be hard to maintain control over his own body, as long as Hichigo was determined to get out.
"Kurosaki-kun, I asked you a question-"
"T-Toshiro! Get out of here! Run!"
"What are you…?" Hitsugaya's voice trailed off as he felt Ichigo's reiatsu spiking dangerously. There was something about it that sent a shiver down his spine, his reiatsu seemed to be mixed with another strange, alien energy. His eyes widened in quiet shock. He knew this type of reiatsu, it was unmistakenable.
A hollow's reiatsu.