Consequences
Title: Consequences
Fandom: Bleach
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Hitsugaya Toushiro, Ichimaru Gin, Kyoraku Shunsui, Matsumoto Rangiku, Yamamoto Genryuusai
Summary: Hitsugaya's duel with Ichimaru did not go unnoticed. There are wheels within wheels in Soul Society - and the actions of two Captains do not lightly go unnoticed. These are the consequences.
Note: Archiving one of my FFN fics here. Written in 2009. I read in one part of Bleach that Captains aren't allowed to challenge each other, which explains why Zaraki Kenpachi hasn't actually gotten to see most bankais so far. So if the reiatsu of a Captain is unmistakeable, can Hitsugaya really be so stupid as to go challenge Ichimaru, neither of them using bankai, both of them possibly causing widespread destruction, as well as being neon lights to anyone with spiritual energy - because he was angry? That angry? While they were on war footing?
-
Kyoraku Shunshui lifted a hand to shift his straw hat. Perhaps he should get another, he mused. This one always fell right over his eyes, shading his vision too much. But then, this had been the hat that had lasted the longest.
He liked the cool air on top of the Eighth Division barracks, looking out at the night sky, unbothered by the political games that went on between clans -
And between some Captains.
He took a deep breath. Reiatsu pressed against his senses, distant, but powerful. He definitely recognised the feel of one of them - blue-silver power flooded the edges of his senses. But the wielder wasn't cutting loose.
Kyoraku allowed himself to reflect a little more on former Lieutenants, watching the grey clouds gather in the sky, waiting as the smell of impending rain grew stronger in the air.
He just hoped Hitsugaya Toshiro had a damned good reason. (But then again, since when didn't his former Lieutenant have a good reason for doing things?)
Yama-ji is not going to be pleased.
-
As a matter of fact, Hitsugaya Toshiro did indeed have a damned good reason.
Or at least he hoped he did, as Matsumoto supported the limp body of Hinamori. He felt the prickle of concern in his chest and smothered it ruthlessly. He had to focus on his task, now.
He gazed carefully at the retreating backs of Ichimaru Gin and Kira Izuru, making sure they weren't going to turn back. He could feel the faint traces of his reiatsu and Ichimaru's, still lingering at the site where they had fought. Soon, they would completely dissipate.
He realised his palm, too, was faintly red, from where he had been tightly gripping Hyorinmaru's hilt.
You do not trust him, the dragon whispered.
No. Not at all. Hitsugaya responded, silently watching. Matsumoto had moved off for the medical unit of the Tenth Division barracks - Hinamori needed medical attention. She had also carefully wiped off the blood from her raw palms, but that was temporary.
Hitsugaya flinched at that sight. He knew the lie behind his words, and so did Ichimaru.
There are to be no challenges between Captains, save in the course of duty. Zaraki Kenpachi's instation as the Captain of the Eleventh Division had made that necessary, or every Captain would have faced a challenge already. As it was, they had fought several times, and Hitsugaya knew Zaraki had his eye on Kuchiki.
That wasn't his business to care. But it was his business to know.
Restraint was one of the most important tenets of Soul Society law. Every Captain, every Lieutenant, and every officer had limitations to their power. Captains challenging each other would lead to the unleashing of bankai in Soul Society. At their full power, they could easily lead to great destruction.
No, he had not been serious, and neither had Ichimaru, and they had both known that, as they fought.
He had been testing Ichimaru. Hinamori had provided the grounds for a challenge. He cared, yes, but he was not foolish or rash enough to break Soul Society law, even in complete anger.
And he had pushed Ichimaru. Steel and battle sometimes spoke more truthfully than words, and while Hitsugaya was versed in both, he had to admit that Ichimaru was a confounded enigma. He grunted. As always.
Be careful, Hyorinmaru breathed. He has something planned.
Hitsugaya felt for the edge of the emotion - the ideas - that bounded Hyorinmaru's words. He knew that when shinigami fought, especially when their shikai were released, Hyorinmaru and Shinso would have fought, would have faced each other.
But it seemed even Shinso was just as damned annoying as his wielder.
Shinso is tight with anticipation, Hyorinmaru agreed. Something is planned.
"That's too little information." Hitsugaya said aloud. He clenched his fists. Under the conditions he had just faced - Hinamori had nearly died - he felt he was entitled to this slip-up.
And he knew, as certain as the last dissipating traces of reiatsu, both icy cold and the sharpness of blued steel that swirled lightly around their battle ground, that the sotaicho would not be happy.
But he knew something that was quite important. They had fenced, and neither of them had emerged victorious. Neither of them had been serious, but Ichimaru's skill had not slipped.
Ichimaru could have been playing games with the ryoka.
But Hitsugaya knew that Ichimaru would have likely been able to crush the ryoka, if he had been serious.
He held back. But why?
-
The basic functions of each of the thirteen divisions were no secret. The true depth or extent of such functions, as well as what they entailed, however, were only known to the Captains commanding the division, as well as the Captain-Commander, Yamamoto Genryuusai.
As Hitsugaya's Lieutenant, Matsumoto knew something about the Tenth's duties. That was to say, they specialised in information and field agency. That wasn't at all the same as the Second Division - the Second Division enforced the law.
Scouts, reconnaissance, investigation - those were the lines along which the Tenth specialised. And as the Captain of the Tenth Division, there were special duties that entailed, as well as a certain privilege.
Hitsugaya was supposed to investigate, even within the workings of Soul Society. The Tenth was the check and balance against corruption, against treachery. And Hitsugaya's instincts screamed Ichimaru was up to no good. He was watchful, but Ichimaru was devious.
How could the silent agents of the Gotei Thirteen act if Hitsugaya didn't even know Ichimaru's plans, didn't even know Ichimaru's intentions?
There has been treachery among the Captains before.
That was one of the reasons the role of the investigative division had expanded - because even the Captains were not immune to treachery, or wrongdoing. The case of Urahara Kisuke had proved that. And there was the history of Soul Society - the betrayal of the Captain of the Seventh Division, several hundred years back.
But is there treachery now? Conspiracy at work?
He paced the office floor, annoyed with himself. The problem was, he didn't know. He couldn't go to the Captain-Commander with scant information and primarily suspicions. Something about this was wrong, wrong, wrong - but what was it?
"Taicho?" He heard the unasked question in Matsumoto's voice.
He did not, and could not take her into confidence. And especially not now. She was too close to Ichimaru.
He outmoved you, this time.
"Thinking." He said.
"Will you…will you get into trouble?" She asked, hesitantly now. She was all steel, when the situation called for it. The aftermath of his fight with Ichimaru Gin left him tense and defensive, and lent them both a grimness.
"Yes." He said. He did not flinch away from the truth. "You know the laws."
The hell moth fluttered into the window - Hitsugaya held out a finger. He was already expecting it, and the order to report to the Captain-Commander.
-
"Sotaicho."
"Hitsugaya taicho." Yamamoto said, gravely. He peered through narrowed eyes at Hitsugaya. Yamamoto seldom opened his eyes fully, unless he was surprised, angry, or shocked.
In that, perhaps, he was like Ichimaru.
"Explain."
Nothing needed to be said. Hitsugaya kept his hands firmly at his sides, and relaxed, determined not to demonstrate any sign of tension. He wasn't the paragon of composure Kuchiki Byakuya was, but he couldn't let any sign of his remaining tension be displayed to the Captain-Commander.
"I challenged Captain Ichimaru, sir."
"You know the laws forbid this."
"You know who I am." Hitsugaya said, quietly. Or perhaps, he really should have said, 'You know what I am.' In this situation, the two of them were the one and the same. The things they did in the pursuit of duty.
Ichimaru's smile mocked him, in his mind's eye. Something was wrong.
Strange how conveniently Kuchiki Rukia's execution date keeps moving forward, his mind taunted him. Strange how conveniently the ryoka have penetrated so deep into Soul Society.
And then again, Hyorinmaru's words repeated - and as he thought them, the dragon stirred, just a little from the frozen coils of sleep within his soul. Do not trust Shinso - do not trust Ichimaru Gin. His own words to Hinamori.
"Do you have evidence?"
"Suspicions." Hitsugaya replied. They both knew what that meant. Suspicions were one thing. Evidence was another. And without evidence, the Central Forty-Six could do nothing. The Captain-Commander could do nothing.
Neither of them dared to breathe what his words implied.
Conspiracy. Betrayal among the Captains.
It could not be true. Neither of them wanted it to be true.
But it never mattered what Hitsugaya wanted. That was his duty.
"Kuchiki Rukia's execution has been scheduled for the end of the month." The Captain-Commander said, blandly. He slipped the pile of paperwork on his desk to the side, and carefully lowered his voice. "You will have the time to investigate."
Hitsugaya inclined his head. "Hai, sotaicho."
-
It was with a heavy heart, and an occupied mind he returned to the Tenth Division. He didn't like this, so many things coming together at once. The ryoka invasion. Kuchiki Rukia's execution. The (possible) conspiracy.
The possible betrayal of a Captain.
Why? What were Ichimaru's plans? What had he to gain?
"Yare, yare, Hitsugaya-kun." He heard, along with the flap that might have come from a floral wrap that a certain Captain wore along with a haori. "I'm surprising Yama-ji let you go with just a reprimand."
Hitsugaya half-turned to face his former Captain.
Conspiracy, his mind reminded him. Can you trust anyone?
"Kyoraku." He said, inclining his head in acknowledgement. He settled for distant formality. He could hear the voice of Hyorinmaru, stirring in curiosity at the back of his mind, and the flicker which meant Katen Kyokotsu and Hyorinmaru were exchanging a brief greeting.
"A clear night, for a walk. The clouds seem to have cleared." Kyoraku said pleasantly. He was never direct if he could help it, and Hitsugaya noticed the intent gleam in his eyes, before they were shielded by the wide brim of his straw hat in the next moment. Kyoraku made a slightly annoyed sound (by his standards) and lifted the hat again. "I really should get a new hat." He murmured vaguely.
"Indeed." Hitsugaya murmured. He took a step towards the Tenth Division barracks, and Kyoraku followed, walking alongside. "The wind seems to have dispersed them."
Kyoraku paused, as they reached the Ninth Division. He lowered his voice. "I know the feel of your reiatsu, Hitsugaya-kun." He said, glancing at the squad which patrolled the streets. "And the release of a restrained shikai."
Hitsugaya inclined his head again, in polite agreement. And here, they were dancing on delicate ground, because further would result in Kyoraku inquiring into things he could not know, just as Hitsugaya had once stumbled into that which his former taicho could not inform him of.
Kyoraku eyed him, thoughtfully, and then smiled. "Come, Hitsugaya-kun!" He said, louder and much more cheerfully. "You haven't joined a sake party yet -" He grasped Hitsugaya by the elbow, trying to turn him around towards the Eighth Division.
"I'm sorry, Kyoraku." Hitsugaya said, carefully. "I have paperwork."
"Paperwork can wait!" Kyoraku announced, happily. "That's what Lieutenants are for - "
Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. Kyoraku's shameless glee did not stop.
"Oh, you have no life, Hitsugaya-kun." He said, with feigned sadness. He turned around to leave, haori fluttering in the breeze. As he turned, he bent down and whispered - his pitch not meant to carry -
"Be careful. Sanbantai-taichou is just as skilled."
Hitsugaya carefully moved away, and gave his former Captain the slightest of nods. "I know." He said, face unreadable. And then he forced himself to say it. "He hurt Hinamori."
And wondered, as he walked back towards the barracks of his Division - if that meant the friendship he had with Hinamori was slowly decaying, slowly disintegrating. What was he, if he could use that friendship as a smokescreen for a truth he could not and was not allowed to voice?
And what had happened, if she cared so much about Aizen, to the extent they would draw swords against each other?
And what would Ichimaru gain by doing that?
-
"Her condition is stable." Matsumoto reported, as Hitsugaya re-entered the small medical unit. He didn't know how he'd managed to get some scant sleep between the late hours of the night and the dawn, and he was still feeling exhausted. And thankful to Matsumoto for watching over Hinamori. The medics of the Tenth had already stabilised Hinamori, in the small treatment room each Division had.
Their skills, of course, would pale next to the treatment a proper Fourth Division member could offer. But Hitsugaya had already determined her injuries weren't that serious.
And you don't want her lying in the middle of Fourth Division, his mind whispered.
And then the second treacherous thought, coiled in his mind like a lazy snake, ready to snap its jaws shut on his emotions -
The Fourth Division is next to the Third Division.
What is Ichimaru's plan?
"If you hadn't come, Hinamori would be dead." He said quietly to Matsumoto, his voice low enough that he wouldn't wake Hinamori up. She needed the rest, he realised, from the faint shadows dark circles beneath her eyes. She had been emotionally taxed, and strained. He wouldn't disrupt that."Thank you, Matsumoto."
Those words were easy to say. He knew he had slipped. And that was the pure, unadorned truth.
Hyorinmaru knew that, too.
"Not at all." Matsumoto said, equally quiet. It was clear she was distracted, perhaps by thoughts of Ichimaru. Hitsugaya knew the two of them had some kind of friendship, that much was obvious.
He did not want to raise Shinso against her.
He did not want to kill her.
What is he planning? Is he planning to use the power of the Sokyoku? How would anyone do that?
And why would he reveal his plans in the letter to Hinamori?
Hitsugaya was utterly unprepared for the second hell moth that fluttered into the window, and wondered vaguely if that meant he was going to get into more trouble from Central Forty-Six, if the Captain-Commander had filed a report.
"Attention, all Captains and Lieutenants! This is a report on the latest developments. There has been a final change to the date of Kuchiki Rukia's execution - "
No. Hitsugaya's heart was hammering with forboding -
The spear of ice struck. " - The sentence will be carried out twenty nine hours from now. This decision is final - "
Hitsugaya was conscious of his hand moving towards Hyorinmaru's hilt. One of his strengths, he knew, was his ability to make decisions fast. That was also important in a Captain.
There is too little time. I know something is involving Ichimaru. And I cannot hope to wait to flush him out, to examine his plan -
And then he was moving, out of the door, in the same moment, Hyorinmaru uncoiling around his mind, and his power, his reiatsu fluctuating just a little before he bit down with cold determination to control it.
"Taicho?"
"Follow me, Matsumoto." He said, making his decision. I'm sorry, sotaicho.
Central Forty-Six can be furious later. Of all the Captains, he was likely the only one with a dispensation to do what he had just decided.
He felt the simultaneous surge of resolve harden in Hyorinmaru, felt the slight resonance of the zanpakuto against his spiritual pressure.
Yes.
"We're going to stop the execution."
And the consequences be damned.