Author's Note: Well, here's chapter 1. Please read and review!
The timeline of this fanfic is: during the Arrancar arc, after Hinamori woke up, but before Orihime was targeted by Aizen.
Disclaimer: Read previous chapter.
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Chapter 1 – The One Who Starts Everything
"Adjuchas class hollow heading your way. We'll continue to keep track of its reiatsu and see if it will lead us to Aizen. If need be, you may request for a limit release."
"Wakata. Arigatou," ended the white-haired captain as he folded the mobile phone and hid it in his shihakushou. He jumped from the roof of Orihime's house to another house's rooftop. As he jumped continuously, Hitsugaya mumbled a complaint, "Of all times, Matsumoto just had to go out shopping with that ryoka girl. Inoue, was it?" Hitsugaya sighed. It wasn't his place to complain. He just needed to take care of the hollow, return to his rooftop sanctuary in the material world and scold Matsumoto all he wanted later.
The hollow's cry gave him a brief idea of where the hollow was. He shunpo-ed off the roof and readied his grip on Hyourinmaru's hilt. The hollow's reiatsu was getting stronger and easier to sense, and its cry, louder and less distant. Hitsugaya scanned the area carefully. Where was that hollow? Then, just as he expected, at the corner of his eyes, he saw the familiar blur of white, a common trait of all hollows: the white porcelain mask. Without hesitation, Hitsugaya unsheathed Hyourinmaru and slashed at the Adjuchas. It fell to the ground with one arm missing instantly, the deep crimson liquid bursting out from the wound. It cried out in pain while Hitsugaya approached it carefully. That seemed too easy to land a hit, even though he was a captain.
As if the hollow had read his mind, it lunged towards him with one arm missing still. Hitsugaya jumped out of the way, calling upon his zanpakutou's shikai, seeing as it was necessary to make it quick. Hitsugaya tossed the chain-blade of Hyourinmaru towards the Adjuchas which got trapped almost immediately. Ice burst out from the chains of the chain-blade and spread all over the hollow like a disease. It gave out one last cry before getting encased in a thick ice cage, and Hitsugaya pulled the chain-blade out, slicing the frozen hollow in half. The ice soon melted away along with the hollow, leaving only water and bits of ice behind. Hitsugaya sealed Hyourinmaru and sheathed it before making his way back to Orihime's rooftop.
He was really going to have to give Matsumoto some work to do.
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"Ehh? Taichou, you're back already?" the strawberry blonde fukutaichou muttered out once she caught sight of Hitsugaya's approaching figure.
"Why? Are you doing something behind my back, Matsumoto?" Hitsugaya asked suspiciously. Of course, with a sake-loving, pig-lazy, driving-taichou-crazy fukutaichou, how could Hitsugaya not feel suspicious?
"No way, taichou! I never do anything behind your back!"
What a lousy lie, Hitsugaya thought to himself. Folding his arms, he shot Matsumoto a glare, causing her to cower a little. Little time passed by when Hitsugaya sighed before jumping up to the roof. Matsumoto heaved a sigh of relief and wiped her forehead. Suddenly, Hitsugaya's tiny white-haired head appeared upside-down before her, his emerald eyes staring back at her blue-gray eyes. Matsumoto gave a yelp of surprise, not recognizing her captain at first. "I'll be watching you, Matsumoto," he warned simply before pulling himself back up to the roof.
"Taichou! Don't scare me like that!" protested Matsumoto. She went back in and closed the door. Hitsugaya, who was hanging on the roof, pulled himself back up to the roof and slipped into his gigai. He spat out the rikongan and put it back in his soul candy dispenser. Just as he was about to sit back and relax, he heard someone yelling to him.
"Yo! Toushirou!" the voice yelled. Hitsugaya blinked and looked down from the roof. He was disappointed to see who it was down there. The smiling face of Kurosaki Ichigo welcomed him. Ichigo waved. "Ohayou!"
Hitsugaya could've sworn his left eyebrow twitched. "What is that idiot thinking…? He should've known by now that he has no right to call captains by their given names…" Hitsugaya mumbled, mostly to himself.
Ichigo blinked in confusion. "Uh…Toushirou, what did you say?"
"I said ohayou, Kurosaki," replied Hitsugaya in frustration.
"Doesn't look like it, though…"
Hitsugaya glared. The ringing of his mobile phone distracted him. At the same time, Ichigo's badge glowed. Hitsugaya unfolded his phone, revealing a map of Karakura Town. A hollow was nearby. "Another one? I just got rid of one…" Hitsugaya mumbled, putting his phone back. He popped the rikongan into his mouth and swallowed it. In shinigami form, Hitsugaya got out of the gigai. "Stay here and tell Matsumoto to stay and protect Inoue," he instructed the Mod-Soul. His gigai nodded and climbed in through the window. Hitsugaya jumped off the roof with Ichigo in shinigami form following him.
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"Yamamoto-soutaichou! Yamamoto-soutaichou!" Unohana called out, moving as quickly as possible to where the old captain was.
Yamamoto looked up from his seat. "Yes, what is it, Unohana-taichou?" enquired the long-bearded captain.
"My seated officers have found a mysterious boy unconscious in the middle of Seireitei. They brought him to my division for healing, but…" Unohana hesitated. "…But…he hasn't woken up yet, and I don't see anything wrong with him. Moreover…he bears a strange resemblance to Hitsugaya-taichou…"
Yamamoto's eyebrows were raised. Hitsugaya Toushirou, Matsumoto Rangiku, Abarai Renji, Kuchiki Rukia, Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika had all been sent to the material world and hadn't returned to Soul Society. Ever since they had been sent there, strange weather patterns began to occur all over Soul Society, but only consisted of abnormal snowing, rainfall and hail. The 12th Division, which had been investigating the weather, blamed Hyourinmaru for it, but Hitsugaya – Hyourinmaru's wielder – never returned to Soul Society, so the accusation was deemed invalid. And now, a strange comatose boy who resembled Hitsugaya…?
Yamamoto spoke, "Take me to the boy immediately."
"Eh?" Unohana whispered.
"And inform Hitsugaya-taichou immediately." Yamamoto opened his eyes with seriousness written all over his face. "I want all of them back in Soul Society now."
"Hai, soutaichou."
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"Well…" Ichigo began, breaking the awkward silence between him and Hitsugaya. "That was easy."
Hitsugaya sheathed Hyourinmaru and turned to face the substitute shinigami. He still had that grumpy look on his face. "It was easy for you because you didn't need to do anything."
"Hey, I offered to help!" Ichigo protested. "It's just that Mr. Grumpypants here didn't want it!"
Hitsugaya twitched. "What did you call me…?" he asked, his voice low and obviously dangerous.
"Well, am I wrong?! You always look so damn f-ing pissed all day long! It's like as if the entire world has done you wrong!"
Hitsugaya glared at Ichigo with a I-wasn't-pissed-till-you-came-along glare, but unfortunately, Ichigo was too much of an idiot to notice. "Just so you know, Kurosaki…" Hitsugaya said, his voice still low and dangerous. "I'm not pissed all the time."
"Yeah right, Toushirou."
"It's Hitsugaya-taichou."
"Whatever. Still the same thing, ain't it?"
"Of course it's not."
"Sure, let's just leave it at that and go back, Toushirou."
"Kurosaki…!" Hitsugaya scowled, losing his patience. Really, just who did Ichigo think he was? Not even the soutaichou himself referred to captains by their given names unless they weren't captains any longer.
"Come on, Toushirou!" Ichigo complained, pulling Hitsugaya's arm with him like a pissed father dragging his toddler son out of the carnival.
Hitsugaya pulled his arm out of Ichigo's grasp in irritation. "Oi! Kurosaki! Don't drag me! I can walk!"
"Then why aren't you walking already?!" Ichigo asked, starting to get irritated as well.
"I'll walk when I want to, Kurosaki," Hitsugaya replied, folding his arms.
"Bah, suit yourself, then." As Ichigo began to storm off, leaving Hitsugaya behind, Hitsugaya himself began to move forward. With every step he took, however, made Hitsugaya feel weaker and weaker. His world began to spin and he felt a migraine acting up. Hitsugaya leaned against the wall for support, and suddenly passed out. Hearing a thump behind him, Ichigo turned around. "Now, what is it, Toushi-" Ichigo blinked, looking at the still figure of Hitsugaya before him. "-rou?" Ichigo ran over to Hitsugaya and poked him. "Oi."
He poked him again.
"Toushirou."
Poke.
"Oi!"
Poke.
"Oi, Toushirou, don't faint on me now!" Ichigo touched Hitsugaya's forehead and backed off immediately. "Whoa, Toushirou's death cold! I'd better get him back to Inoue's."
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Matsumoto placed her hand on Hitsugaya's forehead. Her hand flinched a little before she took a warm towel and placed it on his forehead. Smiling a little as she ruffled her captain's soft and fluffy snow white hair, the buxom fukutaichou stood up from where she was and left the room, entering the living room. "So," Ichigo began. "How's Toushirou?"
Matsumoto took a seat next to Orihime. "Daijoubu. I've been his fukutaichou long enough to know how his colds are like," Matsumoto replied enthusiastically. "It's very normal for taichou to have a much lower body temperature than regular shinigami, so when he falls sick, he doesn't exactly have a high fever. It's more of a cold fever, so it's possible that taichou's just down with the common cold."
"Oh, I see." Ichigo blinked twice in rapid motion. "Wait! Toushirou has a lower body temperature? Why's that? Is he always sick?"
"No. I'm surprised you still haven't realized the connection."
"Connection? The hell you're talking about, Rangiku-san?"
Matsumoto sighed drearily. Orihime excused herself and went back to her room. Matsumoto began, "Taichou's zanpakutou is of the ice element, so it makes sense for taichou to have a lower body temperature."
"Then doesn't that make Rukia having a lower body temperature too?"
"There's a possibility. I'm not sure about Rukia, though." Before Ichigo could spring up another question, Matsumoto's phone rang. She unfolded it and answered the incoming call, "Hai. Jyuuban fukutaichou Matsumoto Rangiku here." There was a paused. "Hai." Another pause. "Ehh?!" Matsumoto glanced over at the room Hitsugaya was in and continued, "But taichou's sick!" A pause again. "Hai. I understand. Arigatou gozaimasu, Unohana-taichou." Matsumoto folded her phone and sighed.
"What is it, Rangiku-san?" Ichigo asked.
Matsumoto hesitated. She had a serious look on her face as she glanced at Hitsugaya's room once more. She then turned to face Ichigo. "Soul Society called. We've been ordered to move out immediately."
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"How are you feeling, Hitsugaya-taichou?" the kind, motherly Unohana asked, touching the snowy captain's forehead.
"Same as before," came the rather sickly reply from Hitsugaya. "So, this is the kid whom you said looks like me?"
"That is correct, Hitsugaya-taichou," Yamamoto answered. "Do you know him from anywhere?"
"…No. I would think not."
"Try waking him up, Toushirou," Ichigo suggested.
"It's Hitsugaya-taichou, Kurosaki."
"Yeah, yeah." Hitsugaya gave a grunt in reply and went closer to the bed where the child was. He shook the child and called for him to wake up. Soon, the child's eyes opened very slowly, revealing sapphire eyes that dazzled and shone. They went well with his unique snow white hair, just like Hitsugaya's. His eyes starred into Hitsugaya's eyes in confusion. He blinked and sat up, with Unohana supporting him.
"Ah, you have finally come to. Thank goodness," Unohana heaved a sigh of relief, smiling sweetly at the child. "Tell me, child. What is your name?"
"My…name?" the child muttered out, feeling rather unsure.
"Yes, can you tell me what it is?"
The child who looked like a Rukongai version of Hitsugaya blinked slowly. "It's…" He struggled to remember, rubbing his temples. "I think it's… Hitsugaya Toushirou."
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the white-haired captain who was just as shocked. There was silence. Hitsugaya could've sworn his breath got caught in his throat. Then, Ichigo, Matsumoto and Renji couldn't help it. They looked back and forth between the two Hitsugayas. Then…
"HUH?!"
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A/N: So, how is it? I apologise for no previews and no Shinigami Zukan for this chapter. I have been told to rest at home till I return to school on Wednesday, so yeah…And I'm on medication too and it's kinda making me drowsy even now, so…Yeah…You get it.