"What Best Friends are for."
A Bleach Fan Fiction.
Written by trekkiexb5.
Hitsugaya/K. Kurosaki friendship. Rated T for language.
DISCLAIMER: If Bleach was mine...but it isn't…damnit!
CHAPTER 10:
ANSWERS
I hate silence.
I hate the weight, the feel of it.
I despise the fact it tells you little and gives you nothing.
The stretch of silence that the Head Captain Yamamoto is issuing is the worse.
Say something, already!
Silence.
"Hmm," He murmured. Silence again. Damn this! But, I stood there, like a good little captain, trying to keep my trembling down and the screams inside my head. I stared at the Old Man, wishing he would speak real words.
Tell me my fate, Old Man!
"Captain Toushirou Hitsugaya, you have forgotten your responsibilities to settle a juvenile grudge, it is time we remind you of such duties."
Deities…he spoke!
"I have decided the worse crime you committed was the attack and injuring two squadron lieutenants; two squadrons that were already weakened by the traitors. This action alone affected our already precarious numbers. We cannot afford such weakness when we are on the edge of war. You punishment is this: You will be in charge of Squads 9 and 3 as well as your own squad. You will do the paperwork, as well as standing the watches as their captain and as part of each squad. You have authorization as temporary captain. You will train the demoralized squadrons and you will motivate them. Do not neglect your own squad. In one month, they must be ready for battle, for in two months we go to war. Do you accept this punishment, Captain Hitsugaya?"
Do I have a choice? "Yes, sir!"
"Very well, take your place among the Thirteen. Your punishment will start in three days, as that is Squad 3's patrol day."
I respectfully bowed and returned to the spot between Kurotsuchi and Kyouraku. My head was whirling, automatically, I went into organization mode. I don't think the Head Captain knows that I basically took over Squad 5. Maybe with Momo back…I have a bad feeling. It's best to watch that squadron. Adding the duty days, captain duty days for 3 squadrons plus squad 5's…
Shit. I'm not going to sleep for a month.
"Now, to discuss this affair." He continued, rustling me out of my panic mode. "Captain Hitsugaya, you inferred in your reports that this could be connected to Aizen."
"Yes, sir." My voice was steady again. I was still shaking, a little, but I think it was due to lack of food. Or joy. I was so relieved to be a captain again that the Old Man could order me to dance with a hollow and I would agree. "Kusaka said several things that he could not know of. I believe he was set up as a distraction that almost worked."
"Whatdaya mean, a distraction? Why would Aizen do that? Wouldn't he want the Ouin himself?" Ichigo asked.
"The few months I was in the World of the Living, Aizen sent many of his troops, including several high level ones, in maneuvers either to rid himself of rebellious factions or seeking information. This falls into his modus operandi of behaviour. Plans within plans to make sure it would be to his advantage in some way if the worst did happen. If Kusaka was successful, then Aizen would have extra power. If Kusaka was able to influence me, he would have another captain to his faction. If it failed, which it did, Aizen, via Kusaka, would sow chaos within the Soul Society." I sighed. Well, each bite of humble pie was getting easier to swallow. "And due to my actions, it did weaken Gotei 13. So Aizen got something that he wanted out of the situation."
"Indeed," The Head Captain spoke. "This is why the punishment on Captain Hitsugaya was so lenient," Lenient? Well, compared to the Maggot's Nest, I suppose. "We cannot afford to weaken our forces any further. As soon as we understood that Captain Hitsugaya wasn't a traitor, we agreed that he should get a lesser punishment."
Okay. Right. Translation: All the captains browbeat you to accepting a lesser punishment for me. The word lenient is against the Old Man's religion. Regardless, I was a loyal pawn for the war, why waste such a powerful asset?
I wonder if being bitter is part of growing up?
"So he found Kusaka in Hueco Mundo and said 'hey, what the hell, let's screw with the midget's head, he might bring him to the dark side, if not, it will be fun to watch!'" Ichigo said in an exasperated tone. "Is Aizen that messed up?"
There was silence. I forgot (and I think many of the captains did) that he really never met Aizen. Heck, he didn't really meet me until after Aizen left and we were in medical in rooms across from each other. "Kurosaki, the man got his lieutenant to fall in love with him, choosing her out of the academy almost 50 years ago. He played with her mind even after we thought he was murdered and nearly killed her when he was done with her. She was…my sister, lack of a better term. I spent more time with Aizen than any captain; I thought I knew him well."
I remember something else that Karin said. "He likes 'playing' with his food. How he killed hollows, how he gave gifts, how he did things for others, how he would tease…everything was for his enjoyment and his betterment." I took a deep breath. "So yeah, this sounds like something he would do. It could be a big coincidence, but this close to war? I think not."
Hold on…what did he call me? "AND, By the way, it's CAPTAIN Hitsugaya, not midget or shorty, or snowy or Toushirou."
A small chuckle in the room broke the tension. Damn that boy! Komamura spoke up after the laughter died down. "I don't understand one thing, how could there be two Hyorinmaru? Are they not supposed to be unique, even his?"
"Yes," I spoke up. "I was always curious about that. Nobody ever answered the question from 45 years ago." I think after all this time, I deserve an answer.
"45 years?" I heard Karin whisper. I glanced over at the Kurosaki siblings, she was tugging on her brother and the question was for him. I suddenly recalled not putting dates on any of my explanations. I smirked. Maybe that would kill the elementary student descriptor. Probably not. Knowing her, she'll use it more than ever now.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, if you will," The Head Captain replied, deferring the explanation to Squad 12's eccentric captain.
"When Captains Ukitake and Kuchiki approached me about the matter, I took the liberty to dig a little further in the Daireisho Archives." His on-the-edge-of-madness voice was grating, but still; I was curious what he dug up. "The reasoning is simple, once you see it! I was so surprised I did not see it myself!" He cackled.
"And that was?" Ichigo prompted.
"Well, every soul has the capacity to become a hollow. We all have a tiny hole in our souls that can activate if the right circumstances are met. Such is the case of Visored, Arracar and Ichigo Kurosaki's unique case." He sounded like he wanted to dissect him. He probably did. "What matters is the placement of that tiny pinprick of a hole that makes the difference." The man, and I use that term loosely, laughed softly.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo was getting irritated, and I don't blame him.
"What I mean is that as long as the tiny hollow hole we have isn't in the same place that our inner worlds are, we all have the ability to manifest both hollow and shinigami powers. Again the Visored are a prime example of this."
"But I see my inner hollow in my inner world like all the time. Zangetzu says they are one and the same. Since the inner world is my Zanpakuto, wouldn't that mean that they are in the same location?" Good question. Ichigo does have some brains.
Kurotsuchi waved his hands and shook his head. "No, no, that's your perception they are actually two distinct geographical locations on your soul. Like your soul chain. They all cannot be in the same place." Ichigo looked confused, scratching his orange hair. I was confused too. "Of course, geographical locations of a soul isn't possible. We are discussing fuzzy logic. While a Plus or a Hollow's chain or hole respectively can be seen on the chest of the being, it isn't actually physically there. We can see what is in a soul, but to map it, alas, we do not have the ability…yet." Dear lord, I'd bet he's working on that. I shuttered at the thought.
"Regardless," he continued. "Very rarely, the hollow hole and the inner world manifest in the same place. Even then, it is not an issue. I am sure there are many souls in the Soul Society walking around that are currently like this." I said a quiet prayer to the deities to protect such people from Kurotsuchi's painted white hands. "No, the problem manifests when such a person has rierkoyu high enough to activate shinigami powers.
"Such souls start instinctually start seeking their inner worlds and Zanpakutos, like we all did. However, the hollow hole, driven by hunger for all that is spiritual, swallows the inner world and the Zanpakuto spirit inside the individual. But the person has taken the journey towards shinigami abilities and has a need to find them. The soul is unconsciously forced to find another to fill the missing inner world, some other's inner world, bigger than theirs. Because its inner world is gone, the soul will 'copy' another's, usually not as correct as the original or as powerful.
"In this case, Kusaka heard his inner hollow, and thought it was his Zanpakuto speaking. When he met Captain Hitsugaya at the academy, with probably the strongest Zanpakuto spirit that the school had seen in a while, probably stronger than any Kusaka had seen, he subconsciencoully chose Hyorinmaru as its Zanpakuto."
"What would happen if he was allowed to live with the copy?" I asked, softly. I needed to know that he needed to die.
"He would eventually suck you and Hyronmaru's Reiroku dry, and then devour your soul, slowly in the attempt to 'fill' that hollow hole in his inner world. I suspect that was the 'poison' that you felt after you were stabbed by him. That would be bad, especially in the case of a Heavenly Guardian. Regardless, he would just move on to the next person, not realizing it was him who killed you. He couldn't become a proper hollow, nor could he be a shinigami. Kusaka was basically a Zanpakuto vampire, or a leech, if you prefer."
The room was silent. I thought about his friendship. Was it real? Or was he just trying to get close enough to me for my spiritual pressure. I was conflicted. And confused. "Head Captain," I spoke up after a moment. "Did you know about this?"
"Yes."
"Then, why the duel? I mean you could have easily convinced us of a practice duel at the academy and quietly killed him off later. Why the spectacle?"
The Old Man sighed. "That was Central 46's choice. They needed to see who was the true wielder of Hyorinmaru for themselves, despite the fact that all signs pointed that you were most likely the correct master of the Heavenly Guardian."
"Then why didn't they let me finish the duel? I never understood that! They ordered us to duel then the Punishment Squad killed him after I got one hit in!" My voice rose near the end of my little speech. I was angry. This whole thing would have turned out differently if…
"Captain Hitsugaya!" The Old Man broke my thoughts. He sighed again. "They did not really understand your age until you came to the chambers. You were what, the human equivalent of seven." Karin looked at me, her eyes wide. "Your weapon was taller than you. When they planned it out, your age or size was not a factor. But when they met you, they became concerned that you would not be able to do the task because of that. SO they decided as soon as you demonstrated the true Hyorinmaru powers, in accordance with the ancient manuscripts, the Punishment Squad would complete the task. That way you would not have the blood of your friend on your hands." Even from the back of the room, I could see his eyes open and focused on me. "Even with a Zanpakuto, they still saw an innocent and naive child. They did not wish to corrupt it."
Corrupt it! I wish they were still alive, so I could go a yell at them. Seeing my friend die was just as bad as striking the final blow myself. Then the order to keep the incident quiet wqs given in the chamber, while Kuaka's blood stained the stones. I guess the irony is that their blood now stained the floor of the Central 46 clamber.
Too much blood on that floor. I was getting tired of it. Things need to change.
"Does that answer your question, Captain Hitsugaya, Ichigo Kurosaki?" The Head Captain asked.
Ichigo and I looked at each other. We both shrugged and nodded. The look in his eyes was he agreed with me, things need to change, but this wasn't the time or place, not so close to war. "Yes sir," I spoke up, still looking at Ichigo.
"Very well," The Head Captain replied. "Now for the last piece of business. Karin Kurosaki, please approach."
I tore my eyes off of Ichigo as both of us watched the little girl go up to the Head Captain and gave him a small bow. At least she is polite.
"Yes…uhm, Head Captain?" Her voice was wavering, she's probably nervous as hell. Even when it is pleasant news, facing the Head Captain is still frightening.
"Now, young lady, I need you to explains some things to us. Can you tell me what happened on top of the pillar just before the lightning struck and released you?"
She rocked a little on her heels, her head turned to the side in thought. "Well, I did understand I was being used as bait. Toushirou said he may do that."
"Captain Hitsugaya, is this true?"
"Yes sir," I answered. "It is in the report. I also speculated it didn't matter if I returned her to her home or not. If Ichigo did not demonstrated such power the morning after he found me, they would have used him instead. Karin, to Kusaka and the two Arracar girls, was a softer target."
I could see Karin cross her arms on her chest, "I am NOT soft!" Her mumbles could be heard all the way in the back. I chuckled quietly. She wasn't soft, just not as strong as everyone else.
"Hmmm…very well. Please continue, Karin Kurosaki."
She faced the Head Captain again. "Well, I was really scared. I mean I prepared for this to happen, but it actually happening are two different things. Anyways. I was getting cold and that Kusaka kept muttering to himself. Then…well, it was really weird, so don't laugh ok?"
The Old Man made an affirmative noise.
"Well, this really sound stupid and all, but I heard this voice like thunder."
Her Zanpakuto Hyorinmaru rumbled. Her Zanpakuto spoke to her.
"What did it say, child?" The Head Captain's voice surprisingly gentle.
"It said that Zang-something and Hyorinmaru couldn't defeat the nameless one with me in the way."
Nameless one? Interesting. I asked Hyorinmaru. He replied that he was overjoyed that she remembered his name. Like it hasn't been said in the last 5 minutes. Stupid dragon goes to mush when a girl remembers his name.
I merely reflect my master's heart.
I shoved my retort aside for a later jinzen and focused on Karin's words.
"So I said I couldn't do anything about me being in this cage and at the same time I was feeling really stupid talking to a thundercloud in my head but it said 'we can' but I hadda ask first. So I thought what the heck. Then BOOM!" She jumped with the word, her hands spread wide above her head. "Then the voice said, 'Toushirou is going to grab you, get ready,' and he did and my brother did this explosive thing-ee and…"
The room was laughing. I KNEW why they were laughing…bastards. Even the Head Captain was chuckling.
Karin stamped her tennis shoed foot on the slate tile floor. "I KNEW I shouldn't said anything! Stupid adults!"
"Oh no, we believe you," Captain Unodana spoke through her quiet giggle. "It's the fact you said Toushirou not…" She started giggling uncontrollably again.
I waited for the enviable storm of mockery. Anything I say at this point would be like adding fuel to the fire. I hate them all, bastards.
"I think what Captain Unodana is trying to say is," Kyouraku spoke through his laughter. Karin glared at him. "What she was trying to say is, he INSISTS on being called Captain Hitsugaya, unless you are a captain. Even then, the 'it's Captain Hitsugaya' can be inflicted if he's in a bad mood, which is most of the time. He corrected your brother the first time he said it, but he NEVER corrected you." Kyouraku looked a Karin. I couldn't see his face. I had a clue what he was going to say, though. "So, are you two dating?"
Ok, I KNEW he was going to say something like that. I have had a stressful two weeks. My temper is usually at a simmer at the best of times. BUT, I am usually smart enough not to let it explode at inapproate locations and times. The Captains' Meeting chambers being the prime example not a good place for my righteous ire.
"WE ARE NOT DATING!" I yelled, my face probably red, hands clenched at my sides and my reiatsu bristling. Then I paled. Karin had said it too…at the same time. She even was in the same stance as I was. Dear lords and deities. Oh, no…with this bunch of perverts…
The chuckling became laughter, interspaced with Ichigo's "What the Hell are you doing with my sister?"
This is most amusing, master. I know you are not dating yet, is this the plan for the future? Hyorinmaru laughed in my head.
Deities, the damned blade was laughing at me, too! It will be decades before I hear the end of this!
"Well, young lady, you certainally have been an interesting visitor." The Head Captain spoke after the laughter died down. "However, we have a war coming, and you are a high source of rierkoyu for Aizen to focus on. The question is, what to do with you?"
Good question. There is no time to train her, and frankly, I would not want her to go through what her brother went through. While she doesn't beam her spiritual pressure out like a beacon, people like the Espada and Aizen will notice her. Leaving her alone with her family would put her twin and her father in danger.
So yes, what would happen to Karin during the war?
XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX
Toushirou was very lucky…I was very tempted to do the Maggot's Nest scenario. I might, for another story.
I HATE no explanation for the two Hyorinmarus. I was waiting for Kurotsuchi to run his mouth for unneeded exposition on the subject in the movie. Never came. SO I decided to answer that question.
: