Title: Guilty Nightmares, Devoting Kicks
Summary: Kurosaki Karin takes after her brother; short tempered, powerful, understanding, rude, yet determined. She's determined to become what her brother became by going to the shinigami academy in Seireitei, and then become a powerful shinigami, exactly like her brother. While she becomes prey at the academy with Kuchiki Rukia, her relief at the end of the day is with her friends. One of them, specifically, makes her happy; brilliant soccer player, Hitsugaya Toshiro. Hitsugaya's mind wanders from Karin to Hinamori, wondering what they've created in his life. Rukia's unfazed charisma is suddenly cracked open with the sudden announcement of Ichigo and Inoue's 'relationship.'
Pairings: Karin/Hitsugaya Hinamori/Hitsugaya Rukia/Ichigo Inoue/Ichigo
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach…Sadly…
Chapter One: Of Black Cats and Hell's Butterflies
Matsumoto awoke to a throbbing headache and a note from Hitsugaya, telling her to stop drinking or he'd have to buy more sake pills. She realized that was the reason why her mouth tasted like vomit and sand. Then, she was instructed to get Rukia, Renji, Kira, and Ichigo. Matsumoto realized she had a hard time recalling what day and time it was, not to mention what had happened yesterday. Slowly, though, she regained her sense of composure. Pulling her body to the bathroom was like pulling a load of iron with her legs cut off. Everything around her was intense, banging against her head over and over. It took a massive amount of determination to peel away her sweaty clothes and get into the shower.
"It feels like I'm in my gigai again… Painful." She soaked her body in cold water, releasing the colossal headache easily. This was followed by turning the handle to the hot water, chilling her to the bone. She always loved the sudden switch from freezing cold to billowing steaming hot water. Matsumoto soaked herself comfortably while the air filled with an overpowering flowery scent, which usually meant she was about to go unconscious, or start seeing doubles. "God…. I'm delusional, better get fresh air." She cursed and washed out her hair again. With her robe on, wet hair wrapped in a towel, Matsumoto looked like a huge ball of fluffy clothes. "Mm…. January's still cold." She noted, biting her lip as she consumed the shiver that was rising when she stepped out of her bathroom.
Another chill went up her spine as an additional wave of cold went through the hall. "Captain Hitsugaya must be totally pissed that I didn't finish my paperwork…" She squeaked and bit her lip again. Her captain's icy reiatsu were different from the natural winter cold.
She pulled on the underwear and khaki shorts Inoue-chan had sent her, and covered the rest of her body with knee-length black T-shirt bought from this 'mall' in Kurakara. "Sexy?" She asked herself in the mirror. Her face was a little blotchy from not having eaten in the last ten or so hours, her eyes had some bags, but other than that, she still held her charming charisma. She strutted into Hitsugaya's room to find nothing but tidiness. "To think I would've walk all the way down here just to see a bed, closet, and bathroom. The kid seriously has to loosen up. Not a perverted magazine in sight... Hitsugaya-san, you're going to turn in Captain Kuchiki in a few years…" She sighed dramatically and flopped down on the bed. "Can't you even try to be cuddly? Yachiru-chan is…."
From across the hall, a voice called, "Matsumoto, get out of my room! Don't compare me to the pink-headed girl!" A packet of paper flew right at Matsumoto's head. "That's your paperwork. Finish it up after you haul all four of them back into my office. Get out of my room!" This time, a brush and ink bottle came flying at her. "If you don't get out, the next item I'm going to throw at you is going to be my Soul Slayer!" Matsumoto groaned and walked out of the room, shivering and sticking her tongue out at the back of her captain's white hair. She found herself comparing Captain Hitsugaya not to Yachiru-chan, but to the chilly morning air biting at her bare toes.
oOo
January 9 was cold. Perfect weather for anything ice-related.
It was humid too. Humid enough to create more attacks and continue to use the moisture to store up more power.
His footsteps barely made a sound in the hall. His office was on the very end of the hallway. The hallway was a dead end, after all, but its sides each held three rooms, making it a total of seven rooms in the vast Division Ten vicinity. His room was on the left, right next to his office, Kira and Abarai taking up the two rooms next to him. Matsumoto's room was on the opposite side, holding the room farthest from his office, nearest to the door leading out. "Leading out to parties and getting drunk." He thought acidly. Other than Matsumoto and him, there weren't supposed to be any other people living in the hallway. Abarai and Kira had just had a sudden notion that it would be convenient to slack off and not sleep somewhere else; for a completely accurate example, in their own division's district. If Abarai and Kira wouldn't have had the completely outrageous notion, the theoretically empty rooms were built for high-ranking officials of the Tenth Division to stay at, but those were old days. These days, high-ranking officers were well respected enough to manage to rent out a room somewhere in their division's area, so Captain Hitsugaya didn't care where they stayed, as long as they were up for battle.
There were seven rooms, five rooms occupied, so that left the two rooms left to be filled. Abarai had especially instructed Hitsugaya to keep one of the rooms clean a few weeks ago, saying that Kuchiki Rukia would be boarding with him.
The door at the opening of the hallway clicked open, and he walked out.
In the chilling presence of the sliver of melting ice over the grass, Hinamori's face appeared. She seemed to be just like melting ice. Stable at one time, during the cold night, but when the sun came up, boiling her over with the truth, she didn't seem to be able to take it. The ice would turn to water, and then disappear as mist. Hitsugaya wanted to see her, wanted to know that she was fine, but it was forbidden, among other things. Hinamori's state of mind had always been a little naïve, although, that was why he had liked her. Upbeat, kind, and always funny, Hinamori had been a close friend. How close, he couldn't figure out. He knew, at one time or another, he had believed he had liked her more than 'just a friend,' but now? She had admired Captain Aizen so much she had attacked Hitsugaya. "Attacked….me…" His voice faltered and cracked a little, but he continued walking, avoiding the site of the icy grass. Then, betrayed and injured, she had been rescued. After recuperation, she had gone into denial, blaming Gin. Proving too difficult to handle, Hinamori had been confined somewhere in secret. Even if he knew the place where Hinamori was, he would have refrained from rescuing her.
"Admiration and friendship… Hinamori-chan, what drove you to doubt me?"
He kept in step with the rhythm he was thinking at. Up ahead was the hill that overlooked Seireitei. Every time he thought of Hinamori, he was alone. He had to be alone to experience so much pain. Pushing Hinamori's painful subject out of his mind, he climbed the hill, feeling the reiatsu coming from it. "Ichigo, Abarai, Kira! Where's Rukia-san?" His low voice came out loudly, abruptly breaking their fights and discussions. "In addition… where is Matsumoto? Did she come by here?" His voice was a suspicious hiss, barely audible by the time he started talking to himself, cursing Matsumoto's party-addiction. Ichigo's reiatsu was incredibly high, dropping one second, soaring up another. They smelled of alcohol.
A gurgling sound caught Hitsugaya's attention. A tiny figure was slowly moving across the opposite side of the tree Ichigo was leaning against. Ichigo's reiatsu secured her to the tree, Hitsugaya noticed as he moved on in. The tree trunk had a deep scar rubbed into it because of the reiatsu being pulled and pushed; Rukia trying to escape, apparently. Her Shinigami uniform had been pretty well torn, where Ichigo's reiatsu had rubbed against her clothing while she was trying to escape. Her mouth had been tied with cloth, and she was glaring at Ichigo with killing intent. Once the reiatsu confining her to the tree vanished, she ripped the cloth off her face and started attacking Ichigo, screaming, "You ugly asshole! " She punched him in the cheek, making a notable dent in his skin. Rukia wiped her hand a little and returned to the Captain. "Captain Hitsugaya, Lieutenant Matsumoto has been deceived into thinking that I was with Nii-sama, Captain Kuchiki. All three of them just celebrated Ichigo's 'successful return to Seireitei' with Lieutenant Matsumoto by drinking a few glasses. Please give me the honor of knocking them unconscious before they hurt someone else."
Hitsugaya would have to remind Matsumoto later that she had no authority bringing alcohol everywhere she went, just because she was a Lieutenant. He made a sort of 'mm' sound, which Rukia took for a 'yes.'
Rukia snapped her index finger and middle finger out and connected them with the back of their heads, at the base that met with their spine. One by one, all three of them flopped onto the ground, alcohol diminishing the thoughts that were usually supposed to come after being knocked unconscious. Rukia's mind was somewhere else again. It was January 8 or 9, meaning she would have a limited amount of time with Ichigo. He'd promised to stay there until after her birthday, January 14. Then, after that, he was going home to study for college. This meant that she'd be staying in Seireitei for about seven or eight months, as a minimum, before Ichigo would come back, for more than a week. She still hadn't gone to Kaien-dono's grave, hadn't told Ichigo about Chappy's new released movie, and lots more. Time was flitting away, sadly.
Absentmindedly, she pried Ichigo's body up and found a stifled lion stuffed doll. Subsequently, she bowed courteously before Captain Hitsugaya, as custom. "Captain Hitsugaya, I will find Lieutenant Matsumoto for Ichigo, Renji, and Kira, if you want me to do so." Hitsugaya was looking away again, the faraway look that Ichigo always got when he thought about something deep and depressing. It was this look that Ichigo held whenever Karin annoyed Ichigo with her thoughts of 'protecting the family; and 'becoming a shinigami, just like Ichi-Nii.' Ichigo had no right over the matter about Karin becoming a shinigami to protect, but he was utterly set against it. He had no intention of putting any family members in danger just to become what he'd become.
There were many things bothering her about this look; Hitsugaya's eyes reflected the same sorrow as Ichigo's did when he tried to shield her from her dreams. He wanted to protect someone; someone who'd been hurt. "You won't mind me saying this, but Hitsugaya-san, as long as I'm going to Division Six's quarters, why don't you tell me about Hinamori? Everyone, even Renji, seems to be avoiding this 'Aizen and Hinamori' issue. If Soul Society is in denial, times have definitely changed. Will you tell me? Even though Hinamori and I weren't close, I knew she was kind. Aizen was the bastard that manipulated her feelings." Her voice went steely. "Seireitei should have been able to prevent this." Hitsugaya finally looked at Rukia, his face back to the normal uncaring expression. Rukia smiled genuinely, "It's great that you care about her so much. It's sort of… it's sort of like me an Ichigo, when he's not acting like a complete idiot." Hitsugaya's facial expression changed a little. His eyes reflected an odd type of longing. He didn't say anything for a few moments.
The silence was broken when the stuffed lion began to make a sound. Then, its eyes began to take on a living glow, and finally a shriek of, "Nii-san!" Regrettably, the doll was crushed by Rukia's fist, stuffed into her shirt's pocket, and forced to endure a terrible journey to Byakuya's quarters. All the while he was plotting how he was going to show more affection to the flat chested, violent girl.
While moving quickly through the awakening Seireitei, the captain began to talk. "Rukia-san, Hinamori seemed to have lost her will to understand her situation after awhile. She wouldn't believe what Aizen was doing, refused to eat or sleep, so all we could do was keep her on lockdown, force-feed and give her paralysis to keep her from injuring herself. Very few people know her whereabouts." He kept his voice steady, monotone. "It's only a short period of time before she heals, according to the other captains. It's just some shock; of course it'll wear off. But after that shock wears off, what'll happen when she's notified that Aizen has been killed? Hinamori may be in Soul Society's way, keeping us attached to the past." He repeated what the general had told him.
Rukia's entire body spun around, "Captain Hitsugaya, you aren't saying this because you want to. I remember you as one of Renji's friends; someone who was always attached to Hinamori. Seireitei should learn from the past, not go into denial and try to forget. You don't forget a person's existence; why would there be graves and shrines? But I agree, how Hinamori would deal, and is dealing, with the situation currently is too cruel on those who've been connected to the incident."
Almost instantaneously, her tone changed. She was now a bright and cheery, yet fake, kind of girl as she skipped along. "Oh! Look, we're here!" Rukia's voice turned bright as she walked into Kuchiki Byakuya's large courtyard.
Almost as though he had been waiting at the door for the right moment to make his entrance, Captain Kuchiki opened the door to his office and declared slowly, "Lieutenant Matsumoto collapsed on the ground after vomiting up small amounts of alcohol. She's lying in the first room on the right." Hitsugaya sauntered into the directed room and closed the door. Byakuya's eyes narrowed for a second, and then relaxed. "Rukia, Jidanbo the Gatekeeper has let in Yoruichi-san and a Kurosaki girl, unexpectedly. According to Jidanbo, this girl plans to stay in Seireitei and become a shinigami by going to the academy. I'm supposing these ideas were put into her head by you and that Kurosaki boy. Bring her to me, and I will sort her out."
Rukia's head was tilted low as she said a simple, "Understood, Nii-sama."
Kon, who had heard all of this, slipped out of Rukia's pocket, unnoticed and skidded for the room Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were in. He felt the need to tell them about this. Byakuya noticed this out of the corner of his eyes, as he twirled around and walked away. Kon was about to feel the wrath of Kuchiki Byakuya.
oOo
Karin's entire lower body had been numb after Urahara's 'practice.'
Apparently, dislocating her knees and an ankle was just to get her reiatsu to flow into her feet faster, and to 'make her grow in controlling reiatsu.' So now she wore two flexible metal conductors around her legs to her toes, as supports for standing and as a 'conductor for reiatsu.' Not only that, he had gone and numbed her feet so she wouldn't feel the pain when he had put the incredibly tight casts on. And then, in his fake-kind voice he explained what the two metal crap joints on her legs were for. "Karin-chan, this weapon can help you transmit your reiatsu to your feet much faster because of their ability to conduct reiatsu. Take the metal ball with you, but remember that the more this ball gets injured, the more you'll get injured, and vice versa. Your reiatsu and it are connected, which is the only way that this thing isn't going to end up in someone else's possession. Also, Karin-chan, you might want to get through to Soul Society before the numbness in your legs wear off, because then you might experience a little pain." The black orb was bouncing in Karin's hand, having been forced into the size of a baseball after transmitting her fury and annoyance into it.
Urahara's thoughts echoed in his mind as he watched Karin's form disappear. "Kurosaki's family is interesting."
Once Karin had walked through the gate, she realized that she somehow felt lighter, like a weight had been forced through her body, and was left in the real world. As she stepped out of the gate, her question was answered. Her body had been forced to stay behind in the human realm, so her spirit was now standing here. Her legs were still equipped with the metal crutches, her hand still held onto the metal ball, but she couldn't feel any of the numbness or supposed pain from having her knees and an ankle broken. Thankfully, she could feel her blood circulating through the tight crutches. Likewise, Yoruichi had transformed into her black cat form.
They found Jidanbo, the immense and ugly shinigami, who let them in after they told him Karin's reason for going in, and walked through the back alleys of Seireitei for many hours, until arriving in front of another gate, surrounding the Shinigami Academy and the Gotei 13's living and training quarters, according to Yoruichi. The black cat flicked her paw a little, and a shadowy butterfly appeared. Karin's eyes remained transfixed on the butterfly as it moved towards the closed gate."Karin-chan, the Hell's Butterfly is the only way to get through this gate. Every important figure in the Gotei 13 takes one before leaving the perimeters of this place. If you can't get through the gate before the gate closes, I can't open it again." As soon as it touched the gate's barrier, it vanished. Yoruichi, as the black cat rushed towards the gate, commanding Karin to follow before the gate closed.
Karin complied immediately, pacing to keep up with the black cat. She couldn't lie to herself; Yoruichi-san's run was incredible. Even she, a complete soccer-star scorer, had yet to keep up with Yoruichi-san's fast movements. She could shoot reiatsu out of her feet to slam a ball into the soccer goal, but she didn't know how to maintain reiatsu in her feet to run. She'd just been naturally fast, no tricks for running. That was the reason Karin had found herself disbelieving her eyes as Yoruichi-san had easily beaten her in a race, even though she'd been putting her all into it. Once again, the black cat was using her high-speed technique, 'Shumpo' to get through the gate. Yoruichi-san slid under the gate, moments before Karin, but those moments meant a lot to the soccer-player. Moments of time she couldn't keep up with the black cat meant moments the barrier could've closed and Yoruichi-san would've left her there.
The black cat began to talk again. "From here on out, Karin-chan, it'll be easier for both of us. We were avoiding guards back there. Now, we'll be able to walk freely through here." The black cat's paw moved to the sky a bit, until it pointed at 'a hell of a gigantic building,' as Karin nicely described it. Painted black on one end, and white on the other, the gigantic building spread out for a mile, at the very least. It looked about three stories high, and there were more than two hundred windows. Karin's eyes continued to grow bigger and bigger as she stared at the building. Yoruichi explained her plan simply to the watery-eyed, very touched, girl. "If we manage to find Captain Soifon or Captain Hitsugaya before Jidanbo's message to the Gotei 13 reaches other Captains' ears, and they send out their Shinigami to retrieve us, then we should be safe. I can persuade Captain Soifon and, at least, Lieutenant Matsumoto to get a word in to Captain Yamamoto about your situation. Obviously, I'm not just bringing you here, but it'll help with your case." The black cat had started running again, leaving Karin stumbling after her.
The race against the other search parties continued for many hours before a black figure appeared before the two of them. A pair of black, billowing trousers below a black, flowing skirt descended in front of them. Kuchiki Rukia descended in front of both of them, and with a Hell's Butterfly in one hand and her Soul Slayer in the other, she truly looked menacing. The cold words she spoke as she avoided their eyes were, "Captain Kuchiki has ordered me to retrieve Yoruichi-san and Karin-chan, as it's against the law to bring living human souls to Soul Society without a rational reason. You will come with me to be questioned. Either come with me peacefully, or I'll be forced to use my Soul Slayer."
The Hell's Butterfly crackled a very distinctive sound. Captain Kuchiki's hollow, distant voice blared through the butterfly. "Yoruichi-san, Kurosaki girl, this is an order that will be obeyed." The Hell's Butterfly crackled softly again, and then stayed silent. Yoruichi seemed indecisive. Karin was confused and anxious. Where was Ichi-Nii? Captain Kuchiki was Rukia-san's father, brother, or what?
oOo
Matsumoto was awakened by a sound a few meters away. Her shrimpy captain was sitting against the wall's corner, sleeping. Matsumoto watched him sleep restlessly for a few minutes, until she confirmed that he actually was dozing. She sat up, ready to go party again. The first step towards the door was stopped by Captain Hitsugaya's low voice. "Matsumoto, if you do not finish the stack of paperwork assigned to you, I will be forced to replace you! You have no right to give alcohol to Abarai, Kira, or Ichigo without me knowing. Leave. NOW!" He roared, making even the ceiling, shake under his massive outburst. Matsumoto cringed, and without saying a word, bowed, and crept back to her room to finish everything up.
Byakuya pushed open the door forcefully and glared at the white haired, arrogant little punk, whom stood up and sighed. "Captain Kuchiki, I'm very sorry about Matsumoto's actions, however they might've offended you. I would like to know, Captain, if you happen to make plans for Rukia-san to live with you, or not. It would be more convenient for Rukia-san if she were to live with you, Captain Kuchiki, in my opinions. What are your thoughts?" Honestly, captain Hitsugaya's thoughts were, 'If Rukia-san came to live with Abarai, Kira, and Matsumoto, my hallway would be demolished and burned after one night of wild partying.' It wasn't that he didn't trust the raven-haired, violet-eyed girl; it was her red-headed and tattooed friend he had trouble assuring himself with.
Without a moment's hesitation, Rukia's Nii-sama replied, "Captain Hitsugaya, as I'm sure you're aware, Abarai and Kira have both chosen not to permanently live within their own Division's provided quarters. Instead, they have chosen to stay with Lieutenant Matsumoto and you, for most of their time in Seireitei. Because of this, Rukia's friend, Abarai has probably already convinced her of moving in with him, more exact, in one of your rooms. I have no control over where my Lieutenant may live in Seireitei, so I have no control over where Rukia lives. Of course, if you don't want Abarai and Rukia living there, please feel free to kick them out." The way Byakuya had phrased it so easily was as if he had done it hundreds of times.
Hitsugaya remembered the many times he had tried to lock Abarai and Kira out of his rooms. No matter what he'd planned, Both of them had always managed on returning to the hallway, apologizing for everything they had done to annoy Captain Hitsugaya, promise not to do it anymore, and let it happen again. Then, the cycle would return to the first step, and keep on going. Life had cursed him with fools who would intrude upon his life and never leave him alone. They were all happy idiots; Matsumoto, Abarai, Kira, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and so forth. His thoughts trailed back a little too far; until he remembered the one friend he had who called him, 'Shirou-chan,' and he had let her do so. His thoughts shattered at that point, glass breaking as if a fist had cracked it open. He turned away from Captain Kuchiki, nodding as his eyes glazed over, refusing to show any emotion. Captain Kuchiki took this as a sign for his leaving.
He cracked at Hinamori's name. Rukia's conversation bled through his mind as he stared at the tatami mats below his feet. He was alone again. Slone; sitting in a dark room, staring at tatami mats, and thinking of his friend who'd been imprisoned due to infatuation. He felt like Hinamori, now. He felt imprisoned because of her. Was he infatuated with her? All that time, his conscious was failing to suppress his want to see Hinamori; see that his friend was all right and as happy as before. No, he wasn't infatuated. He wanted to be relieved of this pain of not knowing what had happened to her. His subconscious opened everything up for him, painfully and quickly. Images and memories flashed in his mind, her words, her smiles, and her actions, everything about Hinamori from those spitting watermelon days to the last chat with her before she was cut away from Soul Society. The pain was unbearable, yet the pictures kept coming one-by-one, unable to stop. Little by little, the thoughts began to slow down, being again suppressed by his awakening conscious. His eyes drooped, heart beat slowed, all feeling lost in his body, and quickly descended upon a coma.
Byakuya sensed a sudden drop in reiatsu from Captain Hitsugaya. His first guess was, 'Masking his reiatsu, I suppose. Maybe Matsumoto or Rukia's back.' Although not too concerned, he was a bit curious why the captain had masked his reiatsu. He knocked on the door to the room Captain Hitsugaya had yet to come out from. He slid it open and watched the bent figure in a mixture of curiosity and unease. Captain Hitsugaya would've moved by now, he realized. Once he moved himself in front of Captain Hitsugaya, his unease was furthered.
The Captain's eyes were blank. Completely blank; they had yet to blink in the three minutes Captain Kuchiki sat in front of the kid.
Hitsugaya made no response when Byakuya leaned in and forcefully punched him in the stomach, causing blood to trail down his chin. The prodigy captain had been pushed back a few inches, but there wasn't any change in the unblinking, almost lifeless eyes of his. Byakuya was beginning to wonder if the Captain had suddenly died and was beginning to be reborn in the human world, when the Hitsugaya's eyes closed and he slumped down. Byakuya checked for breathing and then left to contact Division 4, just to make sure Hitsugaya hadn't had anything fatal happen to him.
There was one point Byakuya noted about the captain. He had the ability to put up with incredibly idiotic people around him. It amazed him to no ends how a captain could have been able to put up with Kira and Abarai, the lazy Lieutenant Matsumoto, narcissist Yumichika, completely insane Ikkaku, and so many more. His eyes wandered back to Hitsugaya's slumped body. He was also aware that Hitsugaya showed humane emotions to all those people he put up with… He was lost, though. How Hitsugaya could put up with aggravating annoyances, and still show them friendliness was beyond him. He could only show emotions to a selected few.
The door was opened a little crack after Byakuya had left. Kon looked ragged and depressed as he peered into the dark room. He burst out crying, "Nii-san!" before Byakuya snatched the doll up by his neck and threw him back into his office. The idiotic doll was getting on his nerves.
oOo
Author's Note: So… the Prologue was really quick typing, and this chapter was just some background information. I promised a lot more words, so there you have it! Back on topic, I know I haven't started with the action or romance yet, but please don't be disappointed. As you can figure out, Rukia and Toshiro have just started a friend-friend relationship with him; good thing too, because she's going to need someone to talk to with that Ichigo going to chase another girl…. My bad, said too much, didn't I? Please read and review, because I just want to know of you all like the story so far. You know? Thanks for the support!