Author's Note: Um…I know I said that the 4th Division wasn't going to be this chapter, but then when I went to check my story skeleton, I realized that it was this chapter XD
Ok, so I'm starting to go slightly off the sanity scale from nearly an entire week full of writing HitsuIchi oneshots, but I'm ready to get back to multi-chapter stories before I am able to carry on with the last of the Heavenly Guardian trilogy. Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: Read previous chapters.
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Chapter 6 – The One Being Trusted by the 4th Division
Hitsugaya never, ever, wanted to have even the slightest bit of a lick on another piece of candy ever again.
Because his candy-full delusions, peaking temper, caffeine addict-like behavior and vomiting sessions only sent him to the 4th Division for Unohana to conduct a super mega thorough check-up session for him.
Toushirou was by his side, all right; by his side eating the candy. It did not help him at all, and in fact, it only made him have a higher chance of vomiting purely at the sight of the beautiful wrapper curled around the cherry-flavored ball of sugar. No, it wasn't because candy had unusual effects on him and him alone; it was just that Hitsugaya and candy were like Matsumoto and sake. No, wait, that kind of comparison sucked. Let's just say that candy was a whole lot like sake to Hitsugaya. One lick, and he would get addicted; too many candies down his throat and he would get… 'drunk', so as to speak. Ukitake was baffled by the aftermath of innocent sugar balls had on the young captain. It seemed ridiculous, even. He had been eating candy for a long time, despite his condition, and he was still quite healthy (other than his tuberculosis, of course).
"Unohana-taichou, how is he?" Ukitake asked, hoping that he would get some answers from the medical head.
There was suddenly a slight chill down his spine as Unohana spoke so-called tenderly, "Oh, Ukitake-taichou, you don't have to worry. Hyousetsu-taichou is fine, but he is not allowed to consume anything with high sugar levels." The emphasis on the words nearly made Ukitake cower. He didn't know if the gentle motherly Unohana was being like any other caring doctor, or just plain creepy. Or both. Yeah, both.
"…The words on the wrappers clearly stated that it was sugarless!" Ukitake exclaimed in minor protest.
"Yes it did. It said 'less sugar'. You read it the wrong way, Ukitake-taichou," Unohana replied, examining the sweet wrapper that Toushirou gave her after he unwrapped his twentieth lollipop. "You must have read it as sugarless because the words are bunched together. You should've been more careful, Ukitake-taichou."
"Yes, I apologize for causing you any inconvenience," Ukitake apologized, bowing a little. "Although, I still don't understand how our young Hyousetsu-taichou can have such reactions to sweets…"
"Well, as captain of the medical division, I have access to all medical files of every single shinigami in Seireitei, and Hyousetsu-taichou's explained clearly as to why he should not consume anything sweet," Unohana spoke, as if that explained everything. In the corner of her eye, Toushirou unwrapped another lollipop.
"Which is…?"
"He was born with exceptionally low blood pressure. Anything sweet will instantly send him shockwaves."
"…Oh." Deciding that it was best to leave the matter at that, Ukitake was about to leave the 4th Division when he noticed that Toushirou was happily licking on his lollipop and realized something horrible. "Unohana-taichou, may I ask if little Toushirou-chan over there is allowed to consume candy?" He hoped that the answer was yes.
"I'll have to give him a thorough medical check before I can decide so. In the meantime, I hope you don't let him have too much candy, just in case." Unohana turned around and was slightly taken aback by the number of candy wrappers on the ground lying in front of her. She didn't bother to count; Isane and Hanatarou were busy sweeping the floor already and she knew that there were…a lot. And apparently, Toushirou thought that he was Superman and started jumping from chair to chair as if in an attempt to fly.
Ukitake Juushirou fled the 4th Division when he felt that it was too dangerous to be around Unohana right now.
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"Unohana-taichou," Isane acknowledged, bowing.
"How is he?" Unohana asked, her tone of voice back to her usual kind and gentle one.
What a relief, Isane realized. It was scary having a captain who was trying to keep her danger level in check. "I've given Hyousetsu-taichou the sedative. It will wear off in a few hours' time. Oh yes," she changed the subject. "How about the boy?"
"I've done a thorough check-up for him, Isane-fukutaichou," Unohana replied with a warm smile as she ruffled Toushirou's hair. "Toushirou-kun indeed suffers from the same ailment as Hyousetsu-taichou does, but as he had consumed far less sweets than Hyousetsu-taichou did, he's in a better condition."
"I see. That's a relief," Isane sighed, smiling a little. "Um…Unohana-taichou…May I ask you something? How was Hyousetsu-taichou convinced to eat that many sweets at one go?"
To be frank, Unohana had no idea. Toushirou, on the other hand, enthusiastically raised his hand and jumped up and down. "Ooh! Ooh! I know I know! It's coz I told him that if he didn't eat the candy, I'll go touch that pwetty big sword thingy on that hill up there," he answered innocently as he pointed a finger at the Soukyoku. Isane nearly paled at the mere thought while Unohana giggled at his cuteness. Yes, he was just too cute and innocent. It was both a blessing and a disaster for young Hitsugaya to have such a cheerful and lively kid by his side. Toushirou then tugged at Unohana's haori, causing the head of the medical division to bend down and meet him at eye level. "Onee-chan, what's that pwetty big sword thingy up there? Why won't Hyousetsu-oniichan let me touch it?"
Unohana smiled and carried the boy up by the waist, bouncing him a little. "Toushirou-kun, Hyousetsu-taichou didn't want you to get hurt. Nobody wants you to."
Toushirou cocked his head to one side in confusion. "I'll be pricked by the sword if I touch it?"
Isane smiled weakly while Unohana giggled again. Everyone knew just how powerful the Soukyoku was. Well, not everyone, and since Toushirou was an exception, no one could blame him for not knowing. "Never mind. Just bear in mind that we don't want to see you get injured. I don't want to perform treatment on you all the time, you know," Unohana joked, carrying the child over to Hitsugaya's ward. She laid him down on a smaller bed that was right next to Hitsugaya's and was just about to leave the ward when Toushirou called for her.
"Um…Unohana-oneechan, can you read me a bedtime story? I can't sleep without one."
"Ah," she sighed with satisfaction. It had been a very long time since she read someone a bedtime story, and truth be said, she had grown very fond of it over time. She took a seat by Toushirou's bed and tucked him in. "Alright. What story would you like to hear, Toushirou-kun?"
"Um…I dunno…" he trailed off, sucking his finger in thought. "Hyousetsu-oniichan has read me Snow White and the Seven Shinigamis, Shini-derella and the Three Little Pluses…Hinamori-oneechan never read me a bedtime story coz I was too tired for a bedtime story."
Unohana hid the surprise she felt within her. "Hyousetsu-taichou reads you bedtime stories? My, you must be a very lucky child," she commented, ruffling Toushirou's hair.
Toushirou gave a soft giggle. "I suppose so. Hyousetsu-oniichan tells me that all the time."
"Alright then. Would you like to hear the Three Little Pluses again?" Unohana asked sweetly.
Toushirou nodded profusely. "That'd be wonderful, Unohana-oneechan!"
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Once, three young siblings died in a fire together, and their souls as per normal left their bodies and they became what we call Pluses. They drifted around, chains dangling from their chests, and looked for homes. Soon they decided to build their own homes and since each of them had a different outlook on what type of house they wanted to build, they soon separated and went to build their own homes somewhere else. The eldest brother built a cardboard home, the second eldest brother built a wooden home and the youngest built a brick home. They were very happy until a hollow, small but dangerous to Pluses, decided to devour them and consume their reiryoku.
"Come on out, boy!" the small, bad hollow screamed. "You can't hide in there forever! Or else I'll punch, and bash, and kick your house's ass!" (A/N: Hey, that rhymes.)
And so the hollow kicked the cardboard home belonging to the oldest of the siblings, destroying it completely, and the frightened boy ran to find his younger brother living in a wooden home. The hollow chased after him, and attempted to knock down the wooden house as well. Of course, the wooden house was still much too weak compared to the hollow's strength for a small one, and so the two brothers could only turn to their only hope: their youngest brother with a brick house.
"I'm hungry!" the hollow screeched as it tried to kick the brick house, but it only resulted in a sore foot. "Eeeowww! Why can't you prey be easy for once and come outta there for me to eat your delicious souls?! Now I'm mad; you don't ever wanna see me mad! I'll punch, and bash, and kick your house's ass!" The hollow, however much it tried to knock the brick house down, couldn't for it was too small and weak to make the bricks move out of place. As the hollow was merely a really small one, it was not capable of cero and only had paranormal strength. It got very angry, until it realized that it was just as big as the door to the house. It knocked down the door and went in, and was about to eat the children inside when a shinigami came and attacked the hollow from behind before exterminating the hollow and sending it to Soul Society after the purification.
"Are you alright?" the shinigami asked the Pluses. They nodded yes, though they were still very frightened. The shinigami then walked over to them and performed konsou (soul burial) for them. This resulted in the children having a happy home in Rukongai, and as for the shinigami, he was still rather angry that a mere simple task of killing a small hollow that was a few inches taller than him was given to a fourth seat like him. But nevertheless, everyone lived happily ever after. The end.
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Unohana giggled quietly again when she saw the look of confusion on Toushirou's face. It seemed that he still wasn't sleepy. Maybe he wanted another bedtime story. "Unohana-oneechan…that wasn't how it ended."
Now it was Unohana's turn to be confused. "Oh?"
"Hyousetsu-oniichan told me that the hollow went in and ate the children and everyone lived happily ever after."
The captain of the 4th Division nearly laughed out loud at the quick reply. If it were any other captain, except for Byakuya of course, he would be laughing his head off. Maybe even Soifon would laugh. Maybe even the soutaichou himself would be amused. She knew for a fact that Ukitake and Kyouraku would for sure laugh. Well…Hitsugaya was famous for his adolescent-like emo behavior (at times, I might add) but she had no idea that he was that frustrated. "He only said that because he didn't want to embarrass himself."
"For what?" Toushirou enquired, raising his eyebrows.
"He was the one who killed that hollow."
The cutie pie's mouth formed a huge spherical O at the answer, but nothing came out. After staying in that position for a good five minutes, he asked, "So the story is true?"
Unohana smiled warmly. "Yes, it's all true. At that time, Matsumoto-fukutaichou was his superior and when she heard his report on that certain mission, she happily spread the word about his success of his first mission after being promoted to fourth seat once he graduated from the Shinigami Academy."
Toushirou had a very bright (and goofy) smile on his face as he clapped his hands excitedly. "WOW! I had no idea Hyousetsu-oniichan is so smart!"
"And just who is so 'smart' again, Toushirou?"
At the familiarity of the voice, Toushirou stiffened and instantly turned to stone. Hyousetsu-oniichan didn't sound very happy…
"Ah, Hyousetsu-taichou, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"
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Hitsugaya was discharged from the 4th Division after he strongly insisted that he was just plain fine, albeit he was a still a tad bit temperamental. It wasn't clear as to whether or not it was because of the sweets, but he was acting rather pissed once he overheard Toushirou's conversation with Unohana when he woke up. As much as Toushirou was sleepy, he dare not show his exhaustion from the day's events and candy, for he was afraid that he would be bothering Hitsugaya to have the need to carry him on his back all the way to the 10th Division. The sun was already setting.
"Toushirou."
Said child nearly bumped into Hitsugaya when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Um, yes, Hyousetsu-oniichan?"
"If you ever tell anyone else that you know…" Toushirou gulped at the dripping venom of Hitsugaya's voice. "…you will be in a lot of trouble."
"I…I thought everyone knows?"
"Yes. Everyone knows. Except for one certain blockhead of an idiot currently wasting precious time goofing around in the material world."
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After he lost yet another hollow but much milder match to Ishida, Kurosaki Ichigo suddenly sneezed. (A/N: It is believed in Japan that when you sneeze, it means that someone is talking about you.)
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"If this ridiculous ordeal is even mentioned in passing when that idiot is around, the first person I'll blame is you," Hitsugaya spoke accusingly.
Toushirou stepped back. "Huh?! Why me?!"
"Because I know that you're very talkative and naggy, after spending time with you."
As Hitsugaya turned back to walk towards his division, there was an amused smirk slowly forming on his face.
Toushirou gaped. "But but but…I'm too cute to be naggy! Mou! Hyousetsu-oniichan!!! Meanie!"
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A/N: I can just imagine Ichigo laughing his ass off when he hears that story XD
Now, please be so kind to review while I go play as every single character in Shattered Blade and kill Hinamori. If I have to play as Hinamori to kill Hinamori, that's even better.
Tip for those who hate Hinamori: Go to Com VS Com, set the settings to five rounds, unlimited time, turn up the com difficulty to hard, and choose both coms as Hinamori. You'll have a good time laughing watching Hinamori kill herself.