"Hitsugaya." The brunette stood before his companion, looking worse for the wear. His eyes were slightly puffy-a sign that he must have been crying recently-and dark circles framing them. Hitsugaya, however, looked much the same. They both turned back to watching the unconscious students sleeping on their infirmary beds, looking perfectly fine compared to a couple hours ago. "Anything happen while I was gone?"
"Nothing. That note, however, was from Aizen. Not only has he learned how to use the killing curse, but it seems he's developed one of his own as well. And what about you?"
Shouta scowled slightly. "I don't want to talk about it." He shuffled in his seat, something falling out of his pocket.
"You dropped something." Hitsugaya muttered, picking up a folded piece of paper from the ground. Upon closer look, he noticed that it was covered in blood, the paper itself similar to the one he had received. Shouta snatched it back quickly, stuffing it back into his pocket. "What the hell was that? Why is it covered in blood?"
"It's nothing." He snapped, standing up to leave.
"You got that from the body, when you were inspecting the wounds." Shouta stiffened at the accusation, confirming the Captain's suspicions. "What did it say? We both know that we can't hide things in the current situation."
"It's personal."
"Many things are. What did it say?" Even with his back facing the other, Shouta could still feel the frosty scowl glaring daggers into his back. "What did it say?" There was a moment of silence, until Shouta sighed, suddenly sounding exhausted.
"...He's saying that the kid died because of me. Just like 2 years ago." Hitsugaya frowned, but remained silent, until his companion erupted into a coughing fit.
"O-Oi. Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah. Just a cold. Anyways, as a precaution, we should ask for backup."
Toshiro nodded in agreement. "As much as I hate to admit it, you're right."
Manabu Hara glared at the brunette walking past, arms crossed. "Manabu! We're going to be late for class!" A male voice called out, and the boy reluctantly answered, turning away from his sworn enemy.
Harry groggily awoke to the sound of shouting. Slowly sitting up, he groaned in pain as his shoulder began throbbing. The shouting immediately calmed, and 6 faces turned to him anxiously. "Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked, sitting up straight from the stool she was perched on. Hitsugaya and Shouta made up two of the other 5, the rest looking similar, though Harry couldn't quite recall their names.
"Hermione? What happened? And why does my shoulder hurt so much?" He muttered, holding his shoulder to prove his point.
"Do you really not remember?" Hitsugaya asked, arms crossed and frowning. It took a moment, until the boy's eyes widened as the other night's events came rushing back.
"…Oh."
"Anyways," A strawberry-blonde woman interrupted, bouncing over to Harry. "How are you feeling Harry?"
"My shoulder hurts, but I'm alright. Um, what were you yelling about earlier?" Harry asked, not really wanting to ask who she was. Considering how he was sure that he's met her before, he didn't really want to embarrass himself.
"This pussy over here wouldn't let me look at the photo." She pouted, pointing at the brunette behind her. Shouta stuck his tongue out, putting what must have been the photo into his pocket.
"It's personal, Matsumoto. Not like it matters anyways." He replied, the usual frown on his face.
"So this is Hogwarts then?" One of the other 'familiar strangers' asked, this one being a rather petite girl with raven black hair. She crossed her arms, gazing around the infirmary.
"Apparently. Looks like some boarding school if you ask me." The last of them replied, his hair the color of a carrot. Something sparked in Harry's mind, remembering that the guy's name was Ichigo… something.
"You have yet to see anything." Hitsugaya muttered. "Should we take them on a tour?" The captain looked at both Shouta and Harry with an eyebrow raised, a small smirk playing upon his face.
"Up to Harry." The brunette replied, looking at the boy still sitting in the bed. Harry Potter nodded, not entirely sure what was supposed to be so funny.
"GYAAH!" The carrot-top fell backwards in the hallway as two foreigners cracked up, some of the men and women in the paintings looking at the sight with confused or amused expressions. "Wh-Why the hell are they moving?!"
"Boy, learn some manners. And clean out that foul mouth of yours!" A Victorian woman snapped, crossing her arms as she sat back on her stool.
"Is this still a boarding school, Kurosaki?" Shouta asked, grinning cheekily.
"Oh yeah, sure. Moving paintings, ghosts that don't become Hollows, brooms that fly, people with sticks that make things disappear! Of course this isn't a damned boarding school!"
"Boy! I told you to watch your mouth!" Ichigo winced as the woman in the painting shrieked, scooting away from her.
"Wait. What's a Hollow?" Harry asked, causing Rukia to glare at the other. Kurosaki shrugged in apology.
"...Should we tell him the truth?" Shouta asked, looking at the others.
"No. If he talks about it with his friends, it could leak to our enemies, or some idiot brats that think they can kill one." Hitsugaya replied, before turning to Harry. "Nothing important, Potter. Just something we have in Japan." Harry hesitantly nodded in reply.
"So, are you going to be transferring to Hogwarts?" The boy finally asked, looking at the three newcomers.
"Not till next year. It's too much trouble to enroll halfway through the year, so until then we'll be staying somewhere else." Kurosaki replied flippantly. "Anyways, let's get back to the infirmary. We should see if that red-headed kid has woken up yet." Harry, seeming to have forgotten completely about Ron, runs back to the infirmary with a sudden burst of energy.
Sorry about the short chapter!