This chapter goes out to the great people at FanLib, who invited me into their community and allowed me to finally make money by writing. Sure, it was a contest, but I still count it as a first paycheck.
It's open to the public now, so go take a look at www (dot) fanlib (dot) com. I have a few of these up there, but there're also plenty of one-shots from other fandoms, too, as well as some Bleach fics that wouldn't fit into this collection.
Okay, enough advertising. That's not what you've been waiting for, is it?
Here it is. The grand conclusion to the "Camping With the Kurosakis" arc.
Have fun.
One thought dominated his mind as the fight continued, as his muscles screamed and his blood flooded through his veins with all the intensity of a crimson hurricane and he thought he might explode.
Ichimaru was playing with him.
The thought made Hitsugaya want to scream, made him want to shove his fist right through the man's teeth, made him want to grip his former colleague by the throat and choke the life right out of him, the cocky son of a bitch!
This was a game to him!!
And then, it dawned on him that it was a very, very good thing that he was, just at the time when Matsumoto cried out to him.
"Taichou! Permission has been granted!"
And he realized not only why Ichimaru was playing with him, wasn't going at him full-force, but why he should fall to his knees and thank every god in existence that he was.
He couldn't believe he'd forgotten!
Ichimaru Gin was no longer bound to Soul Society's regulations.
Whereas he was.
He'd been going after one of the strongest men in Soul Society's history with about as much power as a damned gnat!
He was an idiot!
"...Lift the limit!!" he screamed.
The very world seemed to explode around him.
Ichimaru's eyes were open, and they gleamed dangerously. The entirety of existence only contained the two of them, and looking into those bloodstained, psychopathic eyes, Hitsugaya thought he must be looking into the face of the devil.
"...Show me, Hitsugaya Toushirou..." he hissed hungrily, crazily. "Show me!!"
Frozen fists tightening around his sword to the point that they hurt, Hitsugaya prepared himself for what, he knew, could very well be his death.
"Unare, Haineko!!"
Blocking his view of his opponent, Hitsugaya watched, mesmerized, as a wall of ash flowed like gray water between himself and Ichimaru.
Matsumoto stood beside her captain, arms crossed, gray eyes blazing.
"...While I appreciate your misguided concern for me, Gin, I'm not in need of a knight in shining armor to protect me. So I hope you don't mind if I step in now. You are harassing my captain, you know."
Ash and ice coalesced in the thick, cold air, bent upon a single target.
Ichimaru watched, fascinated.
And disappeared.
Hitsugaya sprang forward, spinning tightly, as the silver-haired shinigami flew toward him.
"Have it your way!!" he snarled.
Shinsou reared its head, poised to strike.
"Omote o agero, Wabisuke!"
Ichimaru actually seemed confused when his blade met resistance. He turned to idly regard his interrupter, all anger and malice dropping from his demeanor.
"Eh?" he asked.
Kira Izuru, lifting his square-hooked zanpakutou toward his former commander, scowled murderously. "...I cannot allow this."
"Big words, Izuru," Ichimaru commented.
Hitsugaya and Matsumoto both stared at the blonde in shock.
"What the...?" Hitsugaya breathed.
"Hajike, Tobiume!"
Ichimaru stumbled back, barely missing the blazing pink orb of energy that suddenly shot toward him.
Hitsugaya's eyes widened to saucers. His face went pale.
Matsumoto blinked.
Hinamori Momo dropped from atop a tree and landed in front of Hitsugaya's stunned, prone form. She glanced back at him, but only for a moment.
"...Hinamori-chan, huh? S'prise seein' you here..."
Hinamori didn't answer.
"Oi. Ichimaru. Bit outmatched now, aren't ya?"
Zaraki walked slowly forward.
"Don't hurt Hitsu-chan!" Yachiru admonished.
"Not that I particularly like this place," Ichigo added, "but this is a family outing you're interrupting."
Ichimaru frowned thoughtfully, lowering Shinsou to his side. All the fight seemed to have gone out of him as he looked at the seven shinigami all more than willing to kill him.
Four vice-captain class and three captain class...
The odds were certainly stacked against him now.
The grin returned.
"Well, well, well...Guess I oughtta be flattered, huh? All you t' kill li'l ole me...wow."
Hitsugaya scowled. "Tch."
Zaraki crossed his arms. "Don't flatter yerself, Ichimaru. Don' need all of us to break you in half."
"Ain't you gettin' a li'l cocky, there, Ken-chan?"
Zaraki scowled. "Ain't you?"
"Sorry," Kira said, "but Hitsugaya-taichou is too busy to be spending time in the infirmary. Soul Society is rather short-staffed at the moment."
Ichimaru either didn't catch the sarcasm or, most likely, didn't care. His face remained the same as always.
"We won't let you hurt Hitsu-chan!" Yachiru repeated.
"Yuzu'd never forgive me if I let 'Hitsugaya-niichan' get hurt," Ichigo said.
"I've hurt him – both of them – enough," Hinamori said harshly. "I refuse to let it happen again."
"You always were a compassionate soul..."
Even Ichimaru took a sharp breath at the sound of that voice.
Aizen Sousuke strolled slowly, serenely, into the clearing.
"So, Gin...this is where you've been."
"Thought I'd take a bit of a stroll," Ichimaru said.
"Hmmm..."
"A-Aizen...-taichou..." Hinamori gasped.
"Aizen..." Hitsugaya hissed.
"Hmmm...that is my name, ironically enough," Aizen said.
"Oh, crap," Ichigo breathed.
"Don't worry," Aizen said with a smile. "I don't intend to fight. I'm rather tired, you see. Up all night. I simply wanted to see what Gin was doing with his time. When I discovered the congregation taking place here, I simply had to stop in and say hello."
Zaraki's scowl deepened. "Oi. Cut the shit, Aizen."
"Ah, Zaraki. Lovely to see you again. I see Yachiru is still doing well. How are you, little one?"
Yachiru glared at the man. She said nothing.
Aizen shrugged. "Very well. I can see that not everyone appreciates my choices as of late."
He glanced at Matsumoto. "Dear Rangiku...how chivalric of you, defending your captain. I do believe you have it a bit backwards, however."
Matsumoto's expression didn't change. She did, however, step closer to Hitsugaya. "...My life before his," she said.
"How noble. I'm touched, honestly."
"Fuck you."
Aizen chuckled. "I see you still haven't taught her proper protocol, Hitsugaya-kun. Tsk, tsk."
"...Fuck you."
He chuckled. "I see."
"Aizen-taichou," Ichimaru said. "Shouldn'tcha say hello?"
He gestured.
Aizen glanced over at Hinamori. "Hinamori-kun. How lovely to see you well. I was worried about you, my dear."
"A-A-Aizen...?"
"Still."
The small girl was sweating, her face pale, and her mouth kept opening and closing as she strained to find words, but couldn't.
Aizen frowned thoughtfully. "...I have missed you, Hinamori-kun...it's dreadfully lonely in Hueco Mundo, if you could believe it. What would you say if I told you that I had a space open in my ranks...? Would you be interested?"
Ichimaru raised an eyebrow.
Hinamori began to shake. "A-Aizen-taichou..."
"Come, Hinamori-kun. Join me, and I promise you that nothing, and no one, will ever hurt you again. You'll have everything you could ever ask for. You'll be the queen of a new world, a fresh world, birthed in the womb of change. Doesn't that sound nice? I know you always hated people who hurt those smaller than they...those who prey upon the weak...we could get rid of them, you and I. Together."
She looked about to cry.
She took a wary, wary step forward.
She would go to him.
She had to.
Matsumoto couldn't fathom any possible reason why she wouldn't. If there was one person Aizen Sousuke had completely under his thumb, it was Hinamori Momo. If one person would be taken in by his flowery, smooth-as-silk lies, it would be Hinamori Momo.
She stole a glance at Hitsugaya, who would have looked frozen, emotionless, to almost anyone. But she saw it. The agony behind his icy green eyes, the way his fists clenched, the way the ice coating his body trembled ever so slightly...
Damn it...
Why does he have to see this...?
What had he done? What had Hitsugaya ever done, in this life or any past life, to deserve this? To have his heart broken twice? It wasn't fair...
She recalled how he had died. He had told her once, and she still remembered. Every word. Why, after going through that, had he been subjected to such...to such...?
Hinamori was walking slowly...so slowly...toward her former captain.
Aizen smiled serenely, looking every bit the doting father, and held out his arms as if to embrace her.
She stopped.
"Aizen...Sousuke..."
He raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
She sheathed her zanpakutou...
...And slapped Aizen across the face.
"I've hurt Hitsugaya Toushirou too much already. I will not betray him again. Kill me if you want; I can't stand up to you. But I will die by his side...not yours."
Aizen's expression didn't change.
He simply chuckled again, idly rubbing his face where his former adjutant had struck him, and glanced at Ichimaru. "...Let's go, Gin, shall we?"
"Hm? Already, Aizen-taichou? Aww...things was jus' startin' t' get int'restin'..."
"I've come for what I wanted to see...no need to waste our energy needlessly."
Ichimaru shrugged. "Fair 'nuff. Well, tha's okay. It was fun, 'Gaya. Did pretty good. Shame we couldn't go all out, huh? Interruptions all over the place."
Hitsugaya said nothing.
"...Nice seein' ya 'gain, Izuru. Nice hit. Gettin' better."
The pair of rogue shinigami turned and walked away.
"Fuckin' zoo..." Ichigo muttered as he walked back to the campsite. "Oi! Toushirou! Get yer ass back to camp soon, huh? Yuzu's worried!"
"Of course."
Nodding, he left.
The threat ended, for now, Zaraki, Yachiru, and Kira had departed for Soul Society, counting their lucky stars that Aizen had been in a peaceable (or, rather, playful) mood and hadn't obliterated them.
Hinamori stayed behind.
"...I'll go back to camp," Matsumoto said.
"No," Hitsugaya said, and grabbed her arm. "Stay, Rangiku."
She blinked.
She turned back around. "...Okay."
He didn't let go of her arm.
Hinamori sniffed, tapped the ground with her foot, and sighed heavily. "I...I don't know what to say...I don't have anything I could possibly say or do that could make up for...for what I did. For how stupid I've been...for how much I hurt you both..."
She looked up, and there were no tears there.
"I don't expect forgiveness. I don't deserve forgiveness. I don't want forgiveness. I just want you to know that I'll never hurt you again."
Hitsugaya's face was blank.
"...Hinamori..."
She bowed. "Now that there's no threat anymore, I'll leave you to your vacation, Hitsugaya-taichou. I apologize for the horrible reputation my division now has due to its captain's actions. I want you to know that I will do my best to correct it."
Hitsugaya was silent for a long moment.
...Then he smiled. "I'm pleased to hear that, Hinamori-fukutaichou. We'll be back in Soul Society within the week. Do inform Yamamoto-soutaichou that the situation is now under control."
"Of course, Hitsugaya-taichou."
She bowed again.
Turned around and left.
"Fukutaichou."
Matsumoto stiffened at the powerful, authoritative tone. She turned and frowned, confused. "...Y-Yes, Taichou?"
Eyes blazing, with a dangerous scowl on his face, Hitsugaya gripped his vice-captain's scarf and pulled her down so that her face was level with his.
"This is an order. I expect no argument. Is that understood?"
"...Yes?"
"You...Matsumoto Rangiku...are never allowed out of my sight again."
"I...I-I...Taichou...what are you—"
He kissed her.
Matsumoto's eyes widened to saucers.
This was nothing like the few times they had kissed before. This was no peck on the cheek, or the side of the mouth, or the forehead...this was...it was...
Her eyes closed, and she wrapped her arms around her captain's shoulders.
His reached around her waist, and pulled her closer to him.
Any thoughts of the past few hours flew out of their heads.
Any thoughts at all flew out of their heads.
They cared only for the moment.
They cared only for each other.
And that was more than enough.