Ok, so most of you wanted at least a few army chapters, and I realized that I liked them and some important stuff happens while he's there, so I'm going to put them in. There will be three army chapters and then he'll go home, so there is light at the end of the tunnel. And Karin will appear at least once. I promise to mix dark stuff with happy stuff so you won't get too depressed. Remember, good stuff is coming back, but I really do want to include this part. So please stick with me though the pain and suffering because it won't be all bad :P

"You've been assigned to barrack 3683K, bunk 87," the burly officer drawled, reading information off a clipboard. "Wake up is at 4:00, breakfast is served from 4:30-5:00, lunch is from 12:00-12:30, dinner from 19:00-19:30 and lights out is at 23:00. You're exempt from basic training, lucky stiff, so you'll be expected to spend as much time as possible in the smithy. Any questions?" Hitsugaya shook his head. He was still praying that this was all a bad dream and he wasn't actually standing here in the black kimono and hakama pants of the army's uniform.

"An assistant has been assigned to help you," the officer continued. "Her purpose is to serve your every need, so please take full advantage of her." He stood up and poked his head out the door.

"Oi, Saito!" he screamed. "Get your sorry behind in here!" A tall soldier with a crew cut and a cocky expression scuttled into the room.

"Ready for your orders sir!" he said energetically, saluting as he did so.

"Take Hitsugaya here down to the smithy and show him the ropes," the officer ordered.

"Sure thing sir!" Saito replied. "Come on kid." Hitsugaya swallowed his annoyance at being called "kid," and followed.

"Damn, you're one lucky son of a whore," Saito noted, clearly thinking he was giving Hitsugaya a compliment. "Exempt from basic training, shortened service time, plus you get Ori-chan as your mattress. Dang, I'd trade my left kidney if I could land her."

"Excuse me, my what?" Hitsugaya asked as politely as he could.

"Your mattress," Saito explained. "We've got a lot of lingo around here kid, and you'd better pick it up hella' quick or else you'll be floundering. Anywho, mattresses are what we call our service girls. 'Cause, you know, that's pretty much what they are."

"I'm sorry, I really don't understand what you mean," Hitsugaya said, trying desperately to keep his patience. He was beginning to dislike this Saito person.

"Oh come on," Saito groaned, rolling his eyes. "Don't tell me a pretty boy like you's never been laid." Hitsugaya choked, but Saito didn't seem to notice. "See, our mattresses are assigned to us by the brass to satisfy, you know, manly urges so to speak. Oh sure, they help us out in other ways, you know, making our beds, and washing our clothes and such, but it's at night when they're really valuable."

"Well, I afraid that I won't have much use for…um…Ori-san," Hitsugaya replied sourly, refusing to use a word as demeaning as "mattress" to describe another human being. "I'm perfectly capable of making my own bed and washing my own clothing. And there is absolutely no way I would take advantage of her." Saito laughed.

"Yeah, they all say that at the beginning, but you'll loosen up. As soon as you see her, you'll change your mind right away, mark my words." Hitsugaya scoffed.

"I sincerely doubt that. My wife would murder me in my sleep." Saito howled with laughter.

"Oh, idealist, oh that's rich…wait, WHAT?! You've got a bloody wife?! Then what the hell are you doin' here?"

"I wish I knew," Hitsugaya grumbled. Saito shrugged.

"Don't matter anyway. What she don't know don't hurt her, am I right?" He nudged Hitsugaya who scowled. They had finally reached a building which Hitsugaya could only assume was a smithy. The windows were smothered in soot and there was a towering brick chimney in the center.

"Oi! Ori-chan!" Saito called. "The sword smith dude is here!"

"Coming!" sang a voice and from around the corner emerged one of the most gorgeous women Hitsugaya had ever seen. She actually reminded him a bit of Matsumoto, with her long, flowing strawberry blond hair and excessive chest that was threatening to spill out of her uniform.

"Karin's much more attractive," he thought faithfully, but he couldn't deny this woman's beauty.

"Hi!" she said cheerily. "I'm Inoue Orihime. I'm your assistant."

"Hitsugaya Toushiro," he replied. "Have you ever worked in a smithy before, Inoue-san?" Inoue giggled.

"Oh no," she said playfully. "But I'm excited to learn!" Hitsugaya suppressed a groan with tremendous difficulty. He needed to work fast and efficiently if he was going to keep his promise. The last thing he needed was to waste time training an assistant, when he didn't even think he really needed one in the first place.

"Well, let's get started," he said optimistically. "Thanks for bringing me here, Saito-san."

"Anytime!" he replied. "I'll see you two later than?" He winked at Hitsugaya. "Enjoy!"

"Jerk," Hitsugaya mumbled. He entered the smithy and looked around. He had to admit, he was impressed. At least the army spared no expense when it came to their weapons. The smithy was very well stocked with every tool Hitsugaya could imagine himself needing and a six month's supply of materials. Trying very hard not to think of his smithy at home and how much he missed it already, Hitsugaya picked up a shovel and began to fill the forge with coal.

"Wow!" Inoue exclaimed. "Look at this! It's all…ouch!" she cried, jumping away from the tool she had been examining. "Did you know, that's sharp?" Hitsugaya sighed.

"Look," he said, "I don't mean to be rude, but the thing is, I don't really need your help. I'm used to working by myself and frankly, I have a lot of swords to make and I don't really have time to train you. So if you could just, you know, sit over there or something, that'd be great. Oh, and don't touch anything. Chances are you'll get cut or burned if you don't know what you're doing." Inoue's face fell.

"Oh, and here I wanted to be helpful," she pouted. "I know! I'll tell you a story! Once upon a time…"

"Inoue-san," Hitsugaya interrupted. "Please. Just…just let me work." But Inoue didn't listen and continued her story about a magical fairy and a box of raisins. Hitsugaya drowned her out as best he could and set his mind on the task at hand. He had made hundreds of swords in his lifetime, but finishing this project would be the biggest challenge he had ever faced. Not only would it be horribly boring, but he fully intended to keep his promise to Karin to finish in three years. And so, with Inoue's mindless chatter ringing in the background, Hitsugaya picked up the bellows and began to work.

ooooooooooooooo

"Hitsugaya-san. Hitsugaya-san. Hitsugaya-san!"

"Oh, sorry. What is it?" Hitsugaya had been doing his best to shut out Inoue's voice all morning, so he didn't even notice her call his name.

"It's lunch time," she told him. "Let's take a break!"

"You go," Hitsugaya said before returning to the sword he was hammering. "I'm going to keep working."

"You're going to wear yourself out if you work too hard," Inoue scolded lightly.

"I know," he replied distractedly. "Go to lunch." Inoue waited for a few moments, until it became clear that Hitsugaya had no intention of joining her.

"Ok, well, see you later!" she exclaimed before bounding out the door. Her face fell the moment she was in the fresh air and she leaned against the outer wall of the smithy and sighed.

"What's wrong Orihime?"

"Tatsuki-chan!" Inoue cheered, spotting her friend. "Oh, my new tyrant doesn't seem to like me very much. He just ignored me all morning." Tatsuki scoffed.

"And you're complaining? That's the best you can hope for. And at least I hear he's cute. I've got this overgrown tub of lard right now who smells like a sewer. Honestly, I think he rubs his dirty socks all over him every night before he calls me. Anyway, let's get to lunch."

Lunch was a silent affair, at least for the women. They were expected to service their "tyrants" without making a single sound. The consequences for speaking were too serious to comprehend. Having no tyrant to serve, Inoue ate rather quickly, then filled a bowl to bring to Hitsugaya. She figured it was the least she could do.

She returned to the smithy where Hitsugaya was still hammering away. His face was soaked with sweat and his hair and clothing were covered in black soot.

"Ano, Hitsugaya-san!" Inoue said brightly to get his attention. "I brought you some lunch." Hitsugaya looked up at her and at the bowl she was holding.

"Thanks, but I don't really have time…"

"Oh, you can take five minutes to eat!" she insisted. "Have you taken a break all day?" Hitsugaya wiped his brow on his filthy sleeve. No, he hadn't taken a break, and he was rather hungry.

"Thanks for getting me food," he said politely, dipping his hands in water to clean them and taking the bowl from her.

"Anytime!" she replied enthusiastically. "It's my duty!" Hitsugaya scoffed.

"Look, I don't care how other men treat women around here, but let's just make one thing clear. You are not my slave, nor my "service girl," nor any of the other derogatory things you're expected to be. This army is so messed up. I'm fine with you being my assistant in here, but I mean it when I say I don't have time to train you. It'll take months for you to learn how to do everything properly and I have to stay ahead of schedule if I'm going to be out of here in three years." Inoue was stunned by his little speech. Well, she guessed she should have expected it from a new recruit who still retained the morals of the real world. She had never had a new recruit as her tyrant in the four years she had been in the army. Usually, experienced women were assigned to the newly recruited men to "break them in," and newly recruited women were assigned to older men for the same reason. She had been in the army so long, she forgotten how normal men acted. But she knew Hitsugaya would grow out of it soon enough. The thought made her sad. This man seemed so pure and innocent. She hated the thought of him being corrupted by the ways of the army.

"Do you really think you can finish in three years?" she asked hopefully.

"I have to," Hitsugaya replied. "I promised my wife I would, and I know better than to break a promise to her." Inoue gasped.

"You have a wife?!" Hitsugaya nodded, and his eyes lit up as he thought of Karin.

"Yeah," he said wistfully. "And she's the most incredible woman I've ever met." He paused as he realized what he was saying.

"Sorry," he apologized curtly. "You don't need to hear that…"

"Oh no," Inoue protested. "I love that you have a life outside of here. You have something to go back to. It makes you real. And it might keep you sane."

"Don't you have family?" Inoue shook her head.

"I'm an orphan. And my brother who was taking care of me died right before I came here." She sighed then smiled broadly. "But it's ok! I'm doing alright here!" Hitsugaya was stunned. How this girl was surviving the army with such a cheery attitude he would never figure out.

He turned to the bowl in his hands. It was filled with some kind of grey slop that smelled like rotting meat. Tentatively, he leaned his head back and took a sip. It tasted a thousand times worse than it smelled, and he spit it out immediately.

"How can you eat that?!" he cried. "That is officially the worst thing I have ever tasted in my life!" Inoue shrugged.

"You get used to it," she replied nonchalantly. Hitsugaya scoffed.

"Whatever. I'm going back to work."

"Ok!" Inoue said brightly. "I know, I'll sing while you work!" Hitsugaya groaned. It was going to be a long three years.

I finally broke down and made an OC. I've tried to use as many Bleach characters as possible in this story, but there just wasn't anyone who acted the way I want Saito to act. I've also never written with Inoue before (she shows up for like 30 seconds in "Toushiro is Going to Kill You," but that doesn't really count, so I apologize if I butcher her character a little bit.

Oh, also, I want to thank you all so much for being such wonderful readers. The number of reviews I have for this story is absolutely incredible. I never expected anything like it, especially since I wasn't sure if this story was going to be interesting to people or not. So thanks a million! You guys really make my day :)