DISCLAIMER: Nope. Still not mine. What a tragedy, isn't it?
Author's Note: I'm really sorry for the late update! For some reason, holidays seem to be more busy than term time, and I have no idea why that is so. And what's worse, I won't be able to update for the whole of next week, considering that I'm going to my hometown, which means that won't have access to the Internet. (Unless I somehow end up in Starbucks, or something like that.) So anyway, if you guys don't see any updates next week, it doesn't mean that I am dead, just cut off from the wider world. Hopefully I'll be able to write something while I'm away, and post it when I get back. *sigh* On with the story then, and hope you guys enjoy it...
Tōshirō opened his eyes, expecting to see the familiar ceiling of his captain's quarters.
He was in for a shock.
The ceiling, far from being the light blue that his own was, was a shimmering silvery colour. It wasn't really silver, but seemed to glow with a multi-coloured light.
Which, to be honest, entirely freaked Tōshirō out.
As far as he knew, only one Division in the entire Gotei 13 possessed anything of that colour. And it wasn't good news.
If I am correct, then–
A voice cut into his thoughts.
"Ah, you're finally awake, Hitsugaya-taichō."
The owner of that voice seemed, to Tōshirō, at least ten times worse than what he had just realised.
Slowly, he turned around, dreading what – or rather, who – he would see.
"Ichimaru."
The name came out as a low growl. Tōshirō's hand reached for Hyorinmaru almost automatically... only to find empty air where the familiar hilt should have been.
His gaze burned through the former taichō. "Is this part of another sick plan, Ichimaru? Where–"
Suddenly, Tōshirō was interrupted, unceremoniously, by another voice.
"Hey, hey, hey! No need to get violent here, okay?" A hand appeared beside him, and he saw another person whom he thought he wouldn't see again.
"Kaien-fukutaichō? But you're – this is –"
The traitorous taichō was shoved to the back of Tōshirō's mind as he looked, disbelievingly, at the late member of the Thirteenth Division.
For a brief moment, he wondered if he was, as many had predicted, going crazy from the stress. How else could the sudden appearance of these two people, one dead and one gone, be explained?
The worst thing was, no matter how many times he willed them to disappear, the two people didn't. In fact, they seemed to become more solid with every passing second.
I'm not making sense.
Tōshirō considered – and quickly dismissed – the very tempting idea of banging his head against the wall a few times.
Even though it might help to clear things up, having a sore head wasn't going to help any.
He let out a long-suffering sigh, and wondered what, precisely, was going on.
"Okay, let me get this straight." Tōshirō pointed to the smiling ex-taichō on his left. "You are supposed to be Hueco Mundo with Aizen. And you," his gaze shifted to the person on his right, "are supposed to be dead!"
The Tenth Division taichō noted, absently, that his voice seemed a little hysterical, but he thought it to be understandable, considering the circumstances.
"Of course." There were nods of assent from his audience. "We know that."
"The thing is," started the black-haired fukutaichō, "someone managed to find a way to summon us back here. Probably the taichō of the Twelfth Division – what's his name, Mayaka or something like that."
"Mayuri." Tōshirō corrected him almost automatically.
The usually unflappable taichō was quite close to breaking out in cold sweat. What he'd just heard confirmed his worst fears – what he had just realised, right before Ichimaru had spoken.
They were in the Twelfth Division.
But why?
Ichimaru's voice broke the silence that had settled over the three.
"Actually, considering who Mayuri has gathered here, I would say that his objective is quite obvious." He paused a moment before continuing. "The three of us graduated from the Academy in record time. If I were to guess, Kurotsuchi probably wants to experiment on us to find a 'child prodigy' gene." The silver-haired man shrugged, almost gracefully. "Or something like that."
"And you would be correct!" proclaimed a voice, almost gleefully.
Tōshirō whirled around to see a grinning Mayuri stride into the room, dragging something behind him.
The 'something' quickly revealed itself to be a person.
More specifically, a highly irate Yachiru.
"Kusajishi-fukutaichō?" Kaien was the first to speak. "What's she doing here?"
It hadn't seemed possible, but Mayuri's smile grew. "Well, since I managed to get Hitsugaya here, I thought that I would do another experiment that I've been wanting to do for a long time."
He dragged the Eleventh Division fukutaichō into the room despite her protests, still talking to the trio.
"Let me explain. Somehow, in the recent years, there seems to have been a sudden rise in the number of small-sized shinigami rising to the post of taichō and fukutaichō. These two," he pointed to Yachiru and Tōshirō, "are prime examples of that. I would have liked to experiment on the Second Division taichō too, but she's not in Soul Society currently. How unfortunate."
As a frown settled on Mayuri's face, a sudden image of Soifon being dragged to the Twelfth Division crossed Tōshirō's mind.
The brief amusement thus obtained, however, was quickly extinguished when Mayuri began to walk towards him, the creepy smile back on his face.
"So Hitsugaya here will be able to participate in both experiments! Don't worry, I won't do research for more than eight hours in a row. That's very good, don't you think?"
Mayuri's smiling face seemed to obscure Tōshirō's view, and he backed up a few steps.
Suddenly, his vision went black.
When he could see again, what swam into view was not the Twelfth Division taichō, but his own quarters.
Tōshirō sat up slowly, feeling stunned.
Then he shook his head.
Maybe Matsumoto is right. I'm working way too hard. It's starting to affect my sleep, even.
As he straightened up, Tōshirō hoped, quite fervently, that he would never have another dream like that, ever again.
LATER THAT DAY...
Tōshirō skimmed through yet another report, authorizing it with barely a second thought. He had been doing paperwork since morning, and it was starting to become mind numbing.
His hand froze, however, when he saw the next piece of paper.
It had the insignia of the Twelfth Division. The thistle seemed to mock him as seconds ticked by, and he still sat there, unmoving.
He slowly scanned the paper. It was a request to see him with regards to some "pertinent matters", as it said.
No way am I going there. I'd rather see that idiot Kurosaki than even step into that place.
Tōshirō picked up the seemingly innocent paper very carefully, as if it would rear up and bite him at any time, before walking to the couch.
"MATSUMOTO!"
His fukutaichō jerked awake at his yell. "What is it, taichō?"
She sounded very bleary.
Which was to be expected, since she had been out drinking until early this morning.
Perfect.
"Take this. Go." To emphasize the point, he made a shooing motion with his hands.
"But – but – " she spluttered. "It specifically stated that you should go –"
"I don't care." Tōshirō was already walking back to his desk, extremely relieved to be free of the job. "I have better things to do."
His fukutaichō continued to stare at him as he picked up another piece of paper from the pile on his desk.
"What are you waiting for?" He didn't even look up as he spoke. "Go already!"
As Matsumoto reluctantly got up, she wondered whether something was wrong with her taichō. Nobody liked going to the Twelfth Division, but he had sounded slightly desperate to have her go there.
She dismissed the thought as she walked towards her destination. It was impossible to freak her taichō out, as she had learned over the years.
After all, he wasn't known as the second-coldest taichō in the Gotei 13 for nothing.
Matsumoto smiled as she continued to walk, oblivious to the relief on her taichō's face.
END
2nd Author's Note: Poor Hitsugaya. Hope it was okay. This was really fun to write. Seriously...
3rd (and last) Author's Note: Reviews are eagerly welcome! And thanks to all who have reviewed the last chapter. I wasn't expecting such a good response for it :) Thanks again!