5
"So, there's this little problem, Captain; how will you be sleeping?"
"For Seiko? Well, I don't have a clear idea either; but I think if the reiatsu doesn't start overflowing in the first place, it won't go overboard and burn her. So I simply need to release the reiatsu I keep sealed and neutralize her current reiatsu."
"Yeah, that's an option ."
"We'll probably be visiting Mayuri the first thing in the morning, anyway."
"Wise decision." Matsumoto nodded, sipping her tea. Seiko was discharged from the 4th division and put under 10th division's care by Unohana; moreover, Seiko was ordered to be near Hitsugaya until she could control her reiatsu on her own so it was a given that she'd be staying at his apartment for a while. Matsumoto had insisted on walking Hitsugaya and Seiko home "since it was dark", though Hitsugaya didn't see any reason for it. When they had arrived she had had him invite her in and made herself and her captain some tea. His apartment was pretty normal, though people mostly wouldn't think that way. His walls were camel, the floor was covered with tatami mat and there were light green rugs here and there. He had a small bedroom with one futon and a wardrobe with the mirror inside. The living room had cream furniture sets and a giant bookshelf full of books and a little study desk. His kitchen was small and simple. The bath was also a traditional Japanese bath, nothing too far from normal; just with a shower added in for the times he'd need a quick bath. Seiko was now in the bathroom, awing to the shapely pieces of ice Hitsugaya had just created to keep her occupied for a while. He didn't want her to be around when they talked even though he knew there was no reason for it. He had just felt it'd be better.
"Then, do you have any spare futons?" Matsumoto asked.
"Well, I don't. I wasn't expecting a guest." he sipped his tea, "I'll sleep on the sofa tonight. I can get one tomorrow."
"I have a few spare futons, I could lend you one if you wish." she suggested.
"Yeah, that would save me the trouble, if you could bring it here tomorrow."
"Okay then, I will." Matsumoto chirped, then got more serious, "Do you have any idea what's up with her?"
Hitsugaya's eyes glanced at the sight that could be seen from the almost-closed door's gap, of the girl innocently playing with the ice that glinted under the moonlight that came from the dark bathroom's window. Then he looked back at his tea.
"I have some theories, but I don't know how accurate I am." he answered slowly, putting his tea on the table. "I have no information about her past, after all. I have no idea if it's simply psychological. It'll be especially hard to deal with, if that's all; since such problems take very long to get over or heal. If it isn't that simple, though..." he went silent and sipped his tea, "well, we'll leave the rest to Mayuri, he will figure this out." He left his cup on the table and stood up, "Now, if you excuse me I have a child to take care of."
"Sure you don't need some help?" Matsumoto chirped,.
"Yeah, I'm sure I don't want another guest to take care of." Hitsugaya said.
"Fine then, g'night to both of you." Matsumoto chirped again, then went away, dumping her glass on the table. Hitsugaya watched her take her leave, then went to the bathroom, opening the lights. Seiko immediately turned to him. Her face was like a stone, she didn't have any expressions but emptiness and innocence. Hitsugaya was sure, though, she had been having fun with the ice around... well, more like the water. So her leaking reiatsu was enough to melt his ice so quickly. She truly would make a marvellous shinigami, Hitsugaya thought, if she was completely healthy.
"Time to sleep." he ordered rather softly. Seiko looked at him with empty eyes for three whole seconds, then her face showed a slight expression of fear. She shook her head slowly, looking at Hitsugaya with pleading eyes.
"You can't live your whole life never sleeping." Hitsugaya said as he reached out to hold her hand to guide her out of the bath. Seiko grabbed his sleeve and tugged on it harshly.
"No!" she said with a cracked voice. Hitsugaya sighed and squated down to be on her eye level, ruffling her hair with his free hand which Seiko didn't tug on the sleeve of.
"It'll be okay, don't worry." he said softly, seeing the fear in her purple eyes disappear slowly, "I will be there and if you ever start burning again, I will stop it for you. Now, will you go to sleep?"
"Uu... pu...puo... pwomise?" Seiko tried. Hitsugaya unintentionally snorted softly at the wrong word, still respecting her efforts.
"Yeah, it's a promise. Will you go to sleep now?" he replied. Seiko nodded, looking at the floor and let go of his sleeve to hold his hand. Hitsugaya stood up again and lead her to the bedroom, then let go of her hand.
"Now we have to find you some pajamas. Good thing I'm not all that giant, it'll be useful for a change." he mumbled to himself, opening the wardrobe. After a little searching he pulled out a very pale blue, old nemaki. It was the pajamas he used to wear a few years ago. He didn't know why he still kept them; but now they were useful.
"Here it is." he handed the pajamas to Seiko, then remembered she wasn't so well with daily things. "Can you change by yourself, or should I help you change?" he asked, feeling kind of weird. It was his first time taking care of a kid so he didn't know what exactly to do; he thought it'd be better to ask first. But this tiny girl here was more than obedient; and she was even more than mature. She was just so easy to deal with. He hoped he wouldn't have any problems later.
"Um... can... wear... no..." Seiko tried, not so succesful at saying the whole words.
"Okay, I'll ask again, just to be sure. Can you change by yourself?" Hitsugaya asked. Yes-no questions seemed to work the best with her.
"Not... all... now..." She tried again. So this time the answer wasn't as simple as a yes or a no.
"Okay, let me guess." Hitsugaya said. Looking at her limbs, it was obvious that it would be hard for her now; but she was normally old enough so, "You actually can change, but you aren't sure if you can with your arms and legs like these. Am I right?" Hitsugaya asked.
"Un!" Seiko nodded strongly.
"Do you want me to help you change?" he asked. Best to get permission from a girl even if she's a kid.
"Un..." Seiko nodded slowly.
"Okay." he said and reached for her shirt. She automatically raised her arms like she was used to it. He remembered she was living with a caring woman for the few days she had been burning. He pulled off the shirt and tossed it away.
"You must have not had a bath for weeks." he commented, looking at her upper body which had turned into a weird mud color because of dirt, "But you can't have bath for a while. Your wounds should heal a little more."
"Hm?" Seiko tilted her had to the side a little.
"I think we can wipe you with a wet towel; it'll do for today." Hitsugaya stated, then grabbed the shirt he had just tossed on the floor and dressed her back. The summer night was pretty warm, but the same couldn't be said about inside of his room. He liked his room cold.
"You wait for me here," he said to Seiko, "I'll warm the water a little and come back for you."
"Un!" Seiko okayed. Hitsugaya quickly went to the kitchen and heated some water to the body temperature – a bit warmer than his body temperature since he was always colder than usual – and brought it to the bedroom, pulled a camel towel from the wardrobe and wetted it with the warm water, pulled another towel and left it on the futon. Then he pulled Seiko's shirt back off.
"Okay, this water is warm, but tell me if you feel cold, okay?" he said.
"Un." Seiko nodded. Hitsugaya squeezed the exrta water off of the towel and started wiping her torso with it. She sure was dirty, but all that dirt came off very easily and quickly. When he finished wiping her torso he put the towel aside, dried her body with the other towel, then reached for her shorts and pulled them down too. Seiko quickly stepped out of them. Hitsugaya wasn't surprised to see her upper legs just as dirty as her torso. He quickly wiped the parts of her legs that weren't bandaged, dried them and put both towels aside. He dressed her with the nemaki he had pulled out for her. It was the first time he had taken care of a kid like this, it felt different.
"Okay, all done." he said when he finished, then helped Seiko get under the comforter. She was watching his every move this whole time. Her face didn't have any expressions and she looked so cold, so expressionless that it could be scary; but Hitsugaya could almost see the flames in her deep purple eyes and he also knew she wasn't what she seemed to be. She kind of reminded him of his own childhood – even before the time he became a shinigami. He ruffled her hair again, she seemed to like having her hair ruffled unlike him, then he took a pillow and a sheet to spread on the sofa from the wardrobe, and his nemaki.
"Do you prefer the lights on?" he asked just in case before going out. Seiko softly shook her head no. Hitsugaya turned off the lights and wished her a quiet good night before going out of the bedroom to change quickly and make himself comfortable on the sofa. He made sure he was releasing enough amount of reiatsu to repress Seiko's, then closed his eyes even though he didn't feel like sleeping. He had taken a very long nap while Matsumoto was working already. This was going to be a long night.
...
"Umm... Shi... Shiro!.."
Hitsugaya woke up to the hesitant, trembling voice and opened his eyes sleepily. Seiko was hovering above him, probably thinking of poking him awake but hesitating. She quickly backed away when he started to get up. Hitsugaya moaned a little as all of his muscles ached when he sat up. Well, it could be worse than this, he thought.
"Good morning." he said to the little girl waiting in front of him obediently. He was starting to wonder if such behaviour was normal. "How was your night? Did you burn?" he asked, massaging his neck to relieve the soreness a little. He had thought that he wouldn't be able to sleep all night, but it seemed that he actually had dozed off at some point, he didn't remember when.
"No!" Seiko replied with an energetic voice. It was obvious that she was very happy about it.
"Good. Do you know what time it is?" Hitsugaya asked, trying to guess the time from the sun; but the day was very cloudy.
"Umm..." Seiko thought a little, then ran to the study desk. She grabbed the clock and brought it to Hitsugaya as he watched her, surprised to see her so cheerful. Even her face looked more lively compared to the day before. She showed tiny bits of expressions, like the ghost of a smile she had on her face right now.
"Thanks" Hitsugaya said as he took tho clock from her. It was already nine. He sighed. He probably had slept for almost eight hours straight no matter how he looked at it. Good thing he didn't have any captain meetings appointed for that morning.
"Can you put this back?" he said and handed the clock back to Seiko. Make the kid feel useful. And wanted. He knew how it felt to be ignored.
"Un!" Seiko happily took it and put it back on the study desk.
"Now, has it been long since you wake up?" Hitsugaya asked. Seiko shook her head no strongly.
"So I assume you've just woken up and came to wake me?" he guessed. Seiko nodded.
"Oh well, then let me have a quick shower first. Then I can prepare something to eat for you." Hitsugaya said, standing up and heading towards the bathroom.
"Um... me?" Seiko asked.
"You can wash as I prepare your breakfast." Hitsugaya replied, ruffling and messing his own already wild hair even more.
"Um, but!.." Seiko called to him. When he turned around to look at her, she showed him her bandaged hands.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot that." Hitsugaya sighed. She looked so healthy that it was almost impossible to believe she was still not healed. "Should I help you with it?"
"Unn... pwe... pwease?" Seiko tried. Hitsugaya snorted. She sure was trying hard.
"You should say 'please' not 'pwease' okay?" he corrected her with a warm voice.
"Okay!" Seiko said, following him to the bathroom but not going inside, waiting next to the door.
"What are you waiting for? Come in!" Hitsugaya said. Seiko quickly went in and next to the sink after that.
"Do you need anything else?.." Hitsugaya mumbled to himself. "Oh yeah, I'll need to buy you a teethbrush. Bear with it for today, okay?"
"Un!" Seiko okayed obediently.
"Come close to the sink so we won't wet all the floor." Hitsugaya said. Seiko hovered above the sink, letting him gently wash her face. Then he handed her the towel.
"Need anything else?" he asked. Seiko shook her head. "Can you wait for me in the living room? I'll be out in a few minutes." he told Seiko after she handed the towel back.
"Okay!" Seiko replied and quickly went to the living room. Hitsugaya locked the door, stripped off of his nemaki and stepped under the spraying water. The cool drops rolling down his whole body relaxed him, made him feel home. He started planning the day as he enjoyed the refreshing shower. He knew Matsumoto would bring the futon, so he didn't need to bother with it. He sure had to buy some stuff for Seiko, though. He wondered if he could leave it to Matsumoto. She'd probably be happy to 'play' with Seiko. It'd save Hitsugaya some trouble. He assumed he'd have to give his report about Seiko to Soutaichou. His team was also given some small missions; but he didn't need to worry about them at all. His team was capable and didn't need him to take care of little things. This day probably would revolve around Seiko. Like, she had to be taken to the fourth division for examination. Such heavy burns like hers would be needed to be checked regularly, even after being healed this much. She also had to be taken to Mayuri for another health-check... somehow. He thought he might need some sweets to have Mayuri examine her. Oh well, not too much of a bother.
He turned off the water and shook the remaining water drops off of his white locks. He wore his pale blue bathrobe and went quickly to his bedroom. He quickly dried himself, wore his shinigami uniform and headed back to the living room. He hadn't worn his haori since there was the risk of it getting dirty.
Seiko was there sitting on the puffy armchair quietly, waiting for him. He was starting to wonder why she was so obedient... and so patient. A child this age wouldn't usually be like this, right? Oh well, he had no complaints about how easy she was, though.
"Okay, come now;" he called her, "We'll prepare our breakfast."
"Okay!" Seiko jumped off the armchair and followed Hitsugaya to the kitchen. Abnormally obedient, he thought; but that could wait until today's jobs were done and over with, at least.
A/N: Here's the fifth chapter, in one day for y'all. I'm not too proud of this work of mine I have to say, it's a little too action-less; but I can say it's getting more interesting lately. I have reached 10th chapter; but I want to give every chapter one day for possible reviews. And I have to warn you, don't expect much from the childhood except something like prologue to the real story. What I mean is, I was so bored of her childhood that I skipped to her "present" at one point which is definitely much more fun to write. This story was solely a fruit of my wild fantasy where I had to be with him 24/7 because of some reason and it got this far, it feels weird. I think I got a little addicted to Seiko's story in the end. Are you glad I did? Then please tell me so; because I really get motivated when my story is liked. Do you think there are problems, holes to be filled and unanswered important questions? Please tell them too, they always help so much. So, please review, thank y'all!