Chapter Six
The young captain of ice twitched, feeling at least twenty bonfires ready to explode in his head. One of his hands was clenched at his waist while the other massaged his aching temple. Looking behind him, his office was a complete mess! Papers were strewn all over the floor. Random ink marks scattered the pieces of parchment. Even a very saddened Matsumoto was obediently filling out her pages as fast as she could. Hitsugaya gave out a long sigh and ran his hand through his fluff of white hair. "Hinamori. I'm a bit busy right now so can you find someone else?"
Hinamori put on a pouty face and shoved Masaki wearing the same pouty face. "Look at her! She wants to stay too!"
"Hinamori!"
"I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-kun." Hinamori clasped her hands together, while still holding onto Masaki tightly. "But I have a field trip with my students and I have to cancel Masaki-chan's lesson. I can't find anyone else to look after her and you're stuck in the office all day. So can you please…?"
"I can't!" Hitsugaya pointed at his mess. "Look at this! We're already behind deadlines! Go find Naori or something."
"Captain!" Matsumoto loudly called out from behind her desk. "Don't you remember? You sent Naori-chan and her team as back-up to a hollow attack."
"See! So can you please baby-sit her?" Hinamori whined.
The young prodigy groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose again. "Okay fine!"
Hinamori squealed so loudly that Hitsugaya felt at least one of his ears go deaf. Just what is in these girls that can make such high-pitched noises? Hinamori quickly dropped Masaki, who swiftly landed on her feet, and happily grabbed onto Hitsugaya's hands. "Thank you! Thank you! Shiro-chan! I knew I could count on you!"
"It's Captain Hitsugaya! Bed wetter Momo!"
Too late… She already bolted the hell out of there, leaving a captain standing awkwardly at the door with a little child at his feet. Hitsugaya groaned once again, mentally slammed his fist against the doorframe, and turned back to walk to his desk. One of these days, everybody will address him as a captain. Not that 'Shiro' nickname. Not than 'Hitsu' nickname. Not even his first name. Captain Hitsugaya!
"Uncle Shiro!" Masaki literally hopped about three feet and landed right onto his ridiculously high desk. "What are we going to do? Are we going to play games? Or are we going to train?"
Irritated, the young captain stuck out his brush and left a little ink mark right at the little one's cheek. "Nothing. I have paperwork I need to finish and deadlines to meet. And will you stop calling me that?"
"Hmph!" Masaki pouted in disappointment. She quickly turned heels and launched forward…flash stepping right onto Matsumoto's desk!
His green eyes stared dumfounded at the empty space in front of him with his brush slowly slipping out of his hands. His jaws dropped wide open. His eyes were bulging right out of their sockets. Anybody would be surprised. When did she learn to do that? Two months into the stay and she already knows how to move at the speed of light. She might even outrank him as prodigy!
"Masaki-chan…how did you learn that?" Matsumoto gaped, just as astonished.
"Uncle Byakuya really beat this flash stepping stuff into me. I don't know, something about making me even faster than the Goddess of Flash. You know, he even times me and I get scolded if I'm a millisecond late. That's one of the many reasons I don't like him." Masaki shrugged and then, she tugged right onto Matsumoto's sleeve. "Ran-chan! Let's play! This office is boring."
"Masaki-chan…I'd love to…but…" Matsumoto ushered her to come a bit closer. "Captain Grumpy over there froze my butt to this chair."
A low growl erupted from the young captain. "Matsumoto! You deserved it. In fact, this office is ruined because you were trying to escape."
Masaki glanced at him with frightened eyes and averted back to Matsumoto. "Ran-chan! Is he always this angry?"
Matsumoto shook her head. "Not really. Only when the paperwork's not done or when things don't go his way. Most of the time, he's stressed."
"Is that why his hair is white?"
"Masaki." Hitsugaya scolded her for the gossip. "Look. I'm sorry if you're bored, but we have jobs to do. We can't play with you right now and I can't exactly let you wander around. So why don't you find a spare sheet of paper and draw or something."
He was about to do more signatures, but a little girl's feet stepped right on the line he was going to sign. The young captain looked up to see that the strawberry blonde flash stepped back onto his desk and was now occupying the entire front half of his desk. The child plopped down and stared right into his teal eyes.
Masaki suggested, "Or you can tell me a story. Or we can just chat."
"Ooh! Masaki-chan!" Matsumoto loudly yelled, making his brush slightly jump. "I know a great story to tell! Want to know about the time Naori-chan and Captain Hitsugaya spent seven months in a room together?"
"Really!" Masaki leapt up to her feet and was about to flash step again…if it weren't for a really strong hand gripping onto her leg.
"No." Hitsugaya sternly replied before facing Matsumoto with his face completely red. "And we did absolutely nothing!"
"Are you sure?" Matsumoto suggestively wiggled her eyebrows.
"Get back to work!" Hitsugaya groaned. The tired captain turned back around and promptly face planted himself in to his arms. Great. With this fiasco going on, he's not going to finish the paperwork anytime soon. Why did he have to send Naori away? Why did his personal typewriter have to be busy at a time like this? He could take a little nap before doing a twelve-hour long paperwork marathon, but the kid was still hanging around on his desk. "Masaki. I swear. Nothing happened. We were taking care of you."
"Hm…I believe you. I did see that kind of stuff in my dreams." Masaki innocently replied as she rocked back and forth on his desk. "Hey do you have any other fun stories? Auntie Nao always has a lot of stories to tell me. She talks about her hollow missions. She talks about her first time in this division. She even talks about her high school!"
"Oh? What does she say? Anything nice about her captain." Hitsugaya asked, interests peaking high.
Masaki placed her thumb on her chin and glanced up at the ceiling. "She says you're a big meanie. And you have a huge Napolean complex. She sometimes calls you her 'Godly Superior' behind your back and she is only joking around."
Hitsugaya twitched. He had to physically restrain himself from searching and possibly locking up that girl. Seriously! Sure he might have slightly abused her and possibly knocked her out from stress. But that was a long time ago! How can she hold a grudge for this long?
"Hey Masaki-chan? What exactly happened at her high school?" Matsumoto piped in. "I hear rumors how she's a total guy magnet." Just from that, a crinkle appeared on Hitsugaya's paper.
"Yeah." Masaki nodded, not even noticing a really ticked off person behind her. "I was only a two years old so I can't remember much. But Auntie Nao said that there was always someone to carry her books, to save her a spot in the lunch line, and to give her a reason for not showing up to class."
Crinkle! There goes another fist of paperwork.
"Auntie Nao says it's really annoying. There were even a few guys who confessed to her."
Crinkle!
"But she turned them all down." Masaki didn't even notice the sigh and silence from behind her. "Oh! But there was this really persistent guy!"
Crinkle! Crinkle! Crinkle!
"He confessed to her and even though she repeatedly turned him down, he kept following her. He even followed her after she graduated high school. But apparently, he didn't pay attention to his surroundings and got hit by a car. I guess that's what happens when you follow death. Uncle Shiro? Did I say something wrong? Your face is red!"
Matsumoto inwardly giggled as she watched her captain hilariously attempting to diffuse his anger. The young captain always turns so red when he's wreathing in jealousy. What a kick to watch! Usually he would have a calm appearance out when he watched his subordinates acting silly or unprofessional. One look at Naori being patted on the head by an older shinigami usually sent at least a shikai at the poor guy.
"Jealous? Captain?" Matsumoto playfully clued in.
"Jealous! I'm not—She's—Shut up!" Hitsugaya groaned. The exasperated captain would have made a grab for his brush and started speed working if it were not for a pair of chestnut eyes staring him down.
"Jealous? Are you jealous?" The young child asked. Though the captain did not respond and only had a small, light pink blush, she took it as a yes. "Ah! My Uncle Shiro is jealous! You must really like her!"
A speechless Hitsugaya gaped at these two nosy idiots. Maybe this was what Naori meant when Masaki tends to get too curious.
"Masaki-chan! Come over here!" Matsumoto requested, leading the young child to transport over to her desk. The blonde leaned forward into Masaki's ear. Only little whispers drifted around the room. Not one single sound was made, other than Hitsugaya trying to get back to work, until…
"EHHH! THEY KISSED!" Masaki shrieked. "They kissed! They kissed! Kiss. What's kissing?"
That sudden loud noise caused Hitsugaya to unfortunately scribble across the page. Great. Another document in ruins. The young child started bouncing up and down in delight. The young man only paled even more and he felt like rain and lightening was going to strike him any minute.
"It's when two people's lips touch and it shows they really love each other." Matsumoto happily explained.
"MATSUMOTOOOOO!" An extremely red faced Hitsugaya yelled. He angrily stomped up to her desk and slammed his palms onto the surface, rattling her brushes and Masaki. "Why are you even telling a young child this? And how did you even find out?"
"Well…" Matsumoto innocently twiddled her fingers. "Naori-chan felt so confused that night. So she spilled it all to Hinamori and then, Hinamori to me. I swear I didn't tell that many people…"
A vein popped on his forehead and a low growl erupted from his throat. "Matsumoto…you are so dead…"
On the other hand, Masaki was giddily smiling at him and laughing her butt off. "I knew it! I knew it! So you like her! You definitely like my Auntie Nao!"
A red splash of heat covered his entire face and even he fumbled to gather himself together. "N-No! That's not—She's not my—She's just a subordinate!" He stammered back out.
"Tsk. Tsk. Still denying it." Matsumoto shook her head and clicked her lips. "And that's just the tip of the iceberg Masaki-chan! He also thinks she's really cute when she's asleep. He gets really worried when she cries. And you should have seen how depressed he got when she was exiled!"
With every little statement, the young captain felt his dignity dropping lower than a sinking ship. A swarm of clouds appeared over his head with little patters of raindrops hitting his white hair. Just like he ordered. If Naori was here, she could send her shikai to complete the storm happening over his head. He wanted nothing more than to trudge back to his desk and let the complete idiots fawn for an eternity. But, just as he turned around, a black butterfly perched onto the corner of his desk.
"What is it?" Hitsugaya apathetically answered whilst picking up the frail insect.
"Requesting your presence!" A light voice rang out and filled up the vicinity of the room. Her voice was so clear that it even reached Masaki's tiny ears.
"Auntie Nao!" Masaki exclaimed. The young child hopped off Matsumoto's desk and quickly fled over to Hitsugaya.
"Masaki-chan? What are you doing there? Oh never mind! Captain Hitsugaya, you know the hollow attacks from earlier on? There's something peculiar about these attacks and we want you to check it out."
OoOoO
Two very fast figures sprinted through the horizon: One being an incarnation of an ice dragon and the other, some sexy model that should be on a playboy magazine. The two were flying by so fast that some nearby villagers had to take a double take to see if they were seeing things correctly. That had potential to be a hawk or a very fast, huge kite. What they did not see was a little bundle of cuteness strapped to the buxom of a certain lieutenant.
"Ran-chan? How much farther do we have to go?" Masaki peeked out from the little bundle she was confined in.
Matsumoto peered down and ruffled her wavy hair. "Not long. We're only at the fifteenth district. Only two more to go!"
"Matsumoto, I do not understand why you insist on bringing her here. It's dangerous! And the Kurosaki's are going to have my head if something goes wrong." Hitsugaya replied back to her as he sped ahead.
"Masaki-chan really wanted to see Naori-chan in action."
Hitsugaya scoffed at that answer. "I doubt it. I sent her there as medical back up. All you're going to see is she with a bunch of wounded men-Oh crap!" A huge red cero shot up from beneath him and he had to jump two feet back and forward to avoid the rest. Looking back, Matsumoto was trying her hardest to dodge and keep Masaki from falling to her death. Why did Byakuya had to teach her flash stepping before proper spiritual pressure control? "Matsumoto! Get her some place safe!"
"Yes sir!" In one quick flash, Matsumoto was gone from his side and on the ground somewhere. She searched around the area, looking for a safe place to hide the child. She was supposed to be fighting by her captain's side! If the hollows sense her spiritual pressure then she'll still put Masaki in danger. That definitely cannot happen! Luckily, the busty lieutenant managed to find a vacant hut in a random field of a forest.
"Ran-chan, where are you going?" Masaki innocently asked, scrambling out of her woven confinement.
Matsumoto gently patted the child's head. "I'm going back to get rid of those hollows. It's only for a little while. I'll come back for you."
Masaki's smile dropped at that moment. "I wanted to see you and Uncle Shiro fight."
"It's too dangerous for you. Maybe later when you're older." The lieutenant gave a quick wave and at that moment, flash stepped back into the sky, leaving a little child alone in an empty hut.
Masaki didn't really feel scared at the moment. She has walked to Urahara's shop alone before! That's quite a mile long accomplishment for such a little kid. When Masaki was young, she never got why her parents were so loose about their child wandering around. But, due to her discovery of the Soul Society, she pretty much figured out why. They already knew where she was twenty-four seven, anytime and anywhere. How was this possible? Urahara.
The young child gazed up longingly at the blue skies, trying to find at least a faint hint of the captain and lieutenant. She saw a couple ceros being fired around and that was it. The distraught child pouted up at the sky and kicked the dirt below her feet. So boring! Here she was, looking for action! She's heard stories from Naori and her parents of those days at war. Her father, Ichigo, came out as a hero. Hitsugaya was one of the fiercest fighters in the field. Even Naori saved many lives during this war! Those were the glory days for them.
In the midst of her reminiscing, she had no idea that someone else was in the same hut with her.
"Who are you?"
Masaki quickly turned around. There was nothing there, nothing but sheer darkness and shadows. She could turn around and pretend it's the wind if it were not for that voice again. This person, likely a teenager, came out from the shadows. He looked quite frail and thin for his age. He looked like a scrawny kid who gets regularly beat up by bullies. Looking closely, his light brown hair was quite disheveled and his black eyes showed signs of no sleep. This boy's entire left side was exposed from his dark red kimono. At the bottom of this cleavage, Masaki could clearly see a bruise on the side. Ouch! He must have hit something hard!
"Who are you?" He asked again. His voice was deep though. Not as deep as Hitsugaya's, but still deep to tell it's very masculine.
He looks quite harmless! No worries! And if he tries something sneaky, Masaki could just tattle him to her guardians. "I'm a child waiting for someone to pick her up."
"Your parents huh? I don't think that's going to happen." He said as if he knew she would never find them. All spirits get separated from their families and here they build new ones. She probably didn't even know her own name. That's how most new spirits are when they first come here.
Masaki nodded innocently. "I know they are going to come for me. They always do. What's your name?"
"I'm Yu Honda. I'm like you except I died about three years ago…I was only a senior at that time. What a waste of a life." He replied.
He seemed like he was missing something from the world of the living. "Do you regret it?"
"Regret what?"
"Do you regret anything you've done before you've died so young?" Masaki asked. "I died when I was five. I don't know what I could do or what I was capable of. But you look like a high school student. Did you do anything that you regret?"
"What great curiosity you have." He commented, patting Masaki on the back. "In my past life…I don't remember much. But I do know that I don't regret encountering her. She was one of the most beautiful ladies I've ever seen. Even though I'm supposed to lose my memories when I come here, I never lost the image of her. But because of her, I died."
Masaki inched closer. This story seems really interesting! "What happened?"
Yu leaned back with a small smile before starting his story. "Well, I first met her during a hot springs trip with my friends. I decided to take a dip alone, but then she comes in-er-in a very improper fashion. But I can see how beautiful she looked from that moment alone, but I guess she wasn't acting quite like herself. As a caring person, I carried her back to her sleeping quarters. I thought that was the last time I'd see her until school started and she was in my class! It was a miracle!" He sighed, a sigh that Masaki was oddly familiar with. "She sat so close by to me. Everyday, I felt I couldn't breathe because of her! So one day, I summoned up all my courage and confessed to her…and got shot down just like every other guy."
Masaki frowned at this person. Why does this story seem so oddly familiar? Has she heard it before?
"But I didn't want to give up there. I wanted to show her that she was missing so much. I thought that if I helped her out in many and little ways, she'd come around and maybe fall for me. I was so stupid. Like a blind idiot, I followed her to my death." He mumbled out as those sad memories replayed. "I want to see her once again. But I bet she's somewhere down in the other world; living out her own life and getting a boyfriend who truly loves her."
"But you seem like you really love her."
"Yes. I did. I can never forget her. Even the death angel that took me away looked like her!"
Masaki questionably tilted her head to the side. Could he? No. She would have remembered or Naori would have complained about it. The young child opened her tiny mouth to speak again until a huge wave of spiritual pressure slammed into the hut. What is this? It's not Hitsugaya. It's not Matsumoto. It's not even a shinigami! Masaki whimpered and fell down to the ground, her hands flying up towards her head. Tears came out of her eyes. She never learned how to fight! Was she going to die from this hollow? The boy quickly dove out and covered her body. But even he won't be enough.
"Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!"
Masaki did not dare to look outside. But with her other senses, she felt the temperature suddenly drop. That deep, husky voice became recognizable. Even little icicles were starting to form on the floor. "Uncle Shiro!" The young child yelled. She wrestled her way out of the safety of this stranger and ran out the door, confident that he was there for her.
She was right.
The ticked off captain sheathed his sword and dusted himself off. All in the while, the captain cursed to himself such as: "Damn! It got away!"
"Uncle Shiro!"
"It's Captain Hitsugaya." He gruffly reminded her. The captain bent down and picked up little Masaki. "Are you okay?"
Masaki nodded her head. "Yeah! I'm okay. I only have a few scratches, but I'm fine. He protected me from that big hollow!" She excitedly pointed to the entrance of the hut.
There was someone in there with her? She could have gotten kidnapped! How reckless of Matsumoto! She could have left a kido barrier or something. But it seems everything turned out all right so he should go in there and thank whomever this person is. Hitsugaya marched over to the cloth door and entered into this small home. It was ridiculously dark for some odd reason. But he could clearly make out the person within the darkness. As far as he knew, this was just some guy who did not live quite a perfect life and suffered for that. This incident was only because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Thank you for protecting her…"
"Yu Honda! His name is Yu Honda!"
"Right Honda-san." Hitsugaya acknowledged. "I'm Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou of the Tenth Division. This is Masaki Kurosaki. We both are very grateful for what you've done." He held out his hand to this person.
Yu merely smiled and gave his hand a firm shake. "Nice meeting you Captain. You guys should get home now. It's really dangerous for a child like her to be out here in Rukongai."
"My thoughts exactly. We have to get you home before your parents freak out. Say good bye, Masaki." The young captain instructed.
"Bye Yu!" Masaki cheerfully waved back. Her face was lighting up in an innocent glee. She was met with an equal amount of satisfaction when he waved back.
Hitsugaya quickly turned around. "Thanks again." He said on a quick note and vanished right there along with Masaki.
Yu kept waving on until he was sure that both of them were out of sight and out of his field. His controlled hand stopped like a broken wind-up toy and fell down to his side. He turned around and opened up his curtain serving as the front door. Right from the bottom, he could spot a little snake-like thing slither out from the entrance.
"She's the one…" A raspy voice told him from the inside. "She has traces of her spiritual pressure."
Yu frowned at this creature. With one swift move, he dug his heel into the snake-tentacle thing, causing the creature to screech in pain and withdraw into the darkness. "You have to keep quiet. I can't keep you here for long. That was already a close one." He lectured back in a whisper.
"Don't you want to see your true love once again? Don't you want to see that pretty face?" The creature cackled. "That young child is your first clue."
"Masaki only proves that she is also here in Soul Society." Yu retorted back. "But I won't have you pillaging and slaughtering innocent people."
The creature cackled, loud enough for the walls to vibrate dangerously. "But you need me. You need someone who can find a person in seconds without even having to move an inch. You need my doppelgangers. You need to find your woman. And I can help you. I can help you find her. I can reunite you with her. You can live happily for once. But I need that delicious child. If you don't bring her to me, then I guess my job here is done."
"Wait!" Yu quickly yelled. "I'll bring that little girl to you. Give me some time."
"Oh I'll wait." This creature cackled with his tentacle weapons slithering out and wrapping themselves around Yu's ankles. "I'll wait for that child and that captain!"
Shinigami Cup!
"Where's Masaki-chan?" Naori asked as she put the last finishing touches on her latest patient. Apparently, this hollow attack was worst then she thought. Who knew hollows can come and ransack a village in packs!
"She's resting. I think Captain Kuchiki is watching over her." Hitsugaya replied as he sat down next to her.
"If only she knew how much he cares about her…" Naori sighed. "By the way, how did she get injured?"
"A hollow attacked where she was staying at the time. I tried to get rid of it, but it got away." Hitsugaya explained. "Luckily, there was this guy already protecting Masaki. He looks about our age. He had scruffy light brown hair, intense dark eyes, and he looked like he hasn't slept in weeks. His skin was also pale, but he had a pretty good complexion. He was wearing a really rich red kimono and he leaves his entire left side uncovered. He does look pretty built especially around the chest area…"
A sudden daunting silence came between them. He had to stop everything he was talking about just because Naori was staring right at him. Her golden eyes were wide open as if she thought he was crazy and her mouth dropped into a big 'O'. She even dropped all the utensils she was holding!
…
"I'M NOT GAY!"
So…who's seen enough hentai to know where this is going? Well…on another note, I have finally found time to upload this. School is so time consuming! I hate AP Biology. It's killing me!
So read and review!