Fic: Guilty Until Proven Innocent 1/?. Hisagi/Kira.
Title: Guilty Until Proven Innocent 1/?
Author: winteraconite
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Hisagi Shuuhei/Kira Izuru, some Hisagi/Matsumoto action and a bit of Ikkaku/Kira but only if you want to see them as such
Notes/Warnings: For bliriel who wondered what happened to Izuru right after Gin left. Mild angst. Spoilers for the Soul Society Arc. Written for theme #15: hold @ 50scenes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its sexy characters. I just borrow them and make them do my nasty bidding. They like it. A lot. >:)
bliriel: Do you know, I’ve always wondered what happened to Izuru right after Gin left? I mean, right after, like on the day itself. Haven’t you?
winteraconite: Not really. Why?
bliriel: No reason.
winteraconite: . . .
bliriel: ^_^
winteraconite: I hate you.
bliriel: PLOT BUNNY!!!!!!
winteraconite: DIE, EVIL CREATURE! DIE!!!!!!!
Just when I was getting started on studying for my midterms. T_T
This is my own melodramatic yaoi-tinted version of what went on right after the three captains left. I haven't written like this in a long time so bear with me. It's really been a while. And I didn't really read this over so if you spot a mistake, feel free to beat me up for it. ^^
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It was raining when he finally found Kira in the 1st Division Headquarters, in the room where the Captains had their meetings.
The room was packed with people, some he knew, others he didn’t--captains, lieutenants, seated officers and regular shinigami from every division, all talking anxiously, their voices warring with the sound of rain falling on the roof until the combination created an incessant buzz that made his head ache. At the center of the room Yamamoto-soutaichou sat surrounded by a few captains and their lieutenants, deep in conversation. Rangiku stood to one side deep in thought and beside her…beside her Kira stood quietly, as still as a statue.
Relief welled up inside him at the sight and he pushed his way past several shinigami, never taking his eyes of the blond’s motionless figure. But then Rangiku saw him first and his gaze shifted from Kira to the slightly shorter woman beside him.
What he saw shocked him.
The normally exuberant Rangiku looked exhausted. Her eyes were glassy and her face, wan. She looked for all the world to see as if her captain had just left her as well. Nevertheless, she looked up when he neared them and her shoulders sagged as though a great burden had just been lifted off them.
“Shuuhei,” she sighed and went to him, taking him into her arms. “I’m so sorry.” she whispered and Hisagi closed his eyes. For a moment the emotions he had chosen to lock into the far corners of the back of his mind threatened to overwhelm him and he clung to her, nearly crushing her against him. The din faded into the background until his mind knew nothing but her warmth. She held him and stroked his hair, murmuring softly in his ear, until he took a shuddering breath and pulled away, his composure regained.
She offered him a small smile which he returned.
“Go home, Ran,” he said softly. “You look a fright.”
She smiled again. “It is kind of pointless standing here doing nothing,” she said. She tucked a few strands of her strawberry-blond hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. Her voice trembled. “I…I have to see my captain.” She looked guiltily up at him as though the mere utterance of the word was a crime. True enough, Hisagi felt his stomach churn but he ignored it. Rangiku continued. “They…they tell me he’s going to be all right but…you know how he is; he can’t take care of himself if his life depended on it.” She tried to make light of the situation but she faltered and sobbed. From the corner of his eye Hisagi thought he saw Kira look up at them at the sound.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Hisagi said. He looked to Kira but the blond’s head was down. He placed a hand on the small of Rangiku’s back, guiding her through the crowd and toward the door. At the threshold she paused and turned to him.
“Stay with Kira, Shuuhei,” she said. Hisagi frowned and turned to look at his former kouhai who was still standing where they had left him.
“He’s fine.”
“He’s not.”
Hisagi’s frown deepened and Rangiku sighed. “Just stay with him. I’ll be all right,” she promised and finally stepped out the door. He meant to follow her-Kira could take care of himself-but she pinned him where he stood with clear blue eyes that lacked their usual vivacity. Without a word he stepped back into the room then watched her amble down the hallway until she was out of sight. Only then did he turn back to the chaos of the room.
The captains were arguing heatedly while their subordinates looked on in silence. The rain continued to pour outside. Kira had yet to move from where he stood.
Hisagi sighed and made his way back to him.
“Kira,” he said softly once he was in front of the blond. Two shinigami he didn’t recognize stood behind the blond and glared at him. Hisagi looked at them briefly before turning back to his friend.
“Hisagi-san.” Kira greeted him then but without looking up.
Hisagi frowned and took a closer look at his friend. He didn’t like what he saw. Kira’s blond hair hung in limp strings over his pale face, having just dried from the rain. His uniform was damp and he trembled from head to foot. Hisagi guessed that he probably didn’t look any better being soaked to the skin but he had a feeling the blond was trembling from more than just the cold.
“Hey,” he said softly, gently laying a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ve been looking for you for hours.” Still Kira didn’t look up at him but he was undeterred. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” He pulled at his friend to get him to follow.
He was completely unprepared for what happened next.
Quick as lightning a hand shot out through the air and gripped Kira’s shoulder hard enough to make him wince. On instinct Hisagi grabbed Kira’s wrist but didn’t know what else to do out of shock. The two shinigami behind Kira glared at him over Kira’s head and he felt anger surge through him.
“What’s all this?!” he bellowed louder than he’d meant to, tightening his hold on his friend’s wrist.
Heads turned to look at them. The captains themselves stopped talking to see what was going on. Silence fell and the only sound that could be heard was the pounding of the rain overhead. At the center of it all Hisagi stood, still not letting go of Kira.
“Let him go,” he hissed dangerously, tugging on Kira’s wrist. The blond didn’t move.
Static seemed to crackle in the air until finally the larger of the two shinigami, the same one who held Kira’s shoulder in a vise-like grip, spoke. “Kira-fukutaichou is to be detained pending his interrogation. He is not allowed to leave the premises until given direct orders by the commander-general himself.”
“Detained?” Hisagi echoed incredulously. He looked from his friend to the shinigami gathered around them. In the crowd he could see Iba and Nanao looking on in confusion. No one else seemed willing to look him in the eye. “On what charges?”
No one answered him.
“This is bullshit,” he said and stepped closer to Kira, slapping the offending hand of his shoulder. “You’re coming with me.” He said to his friend. “We’re going home.” From all around them came protests. Reiatsu started to escalate collectively but Hisagi ignored it as he again attempted to pull Kira along with him. He heard Iba yelling at those who were trying to get to the two of them, mentally thanked him, but didn’t turn around. He struggled to get past the shinigami between him and the door, turning a deaf ear on all of them-even the commander-general.
A sharp tug pulled him back. He heard Kira cry out and held on to his friend desperately, pulling at him until he was afraid he would tear Kira’s arm off its socket. Even then he held on as he turned to face his friend’s captor…only to find that Kira stood alone. The sentries-that’s what they had to be since they had the daunting air of guards-still flanked the blond but neither of them touched him. Kira was holding himself back.
“Hisagi-san, please…” The blond’s voice was barely above a whisper. His eyes were filled with quiet desperation but his voice was steady. “I can’t leave. You’ve got to go. Please.”
“Why?” Hisagi asked. He took a step closer to his friend. “Is this because of Hinamori?” Kira flinched. They all knew what happened to her. “Aizen tricked us all. It wasn’t your fault.” He didn’t speak loudly, only loud enough for Kira to hear. “They’re gone, Kira.”
Again Kira flinched, and averted his eyes. Silence hung heavily in the air and Hisagi suddenly resented the presence of all the others, hanging back and watching them like wraiths. He looked up at them, at all the captains in the room. Ukitake-taichou and Kyouraku-taichou gazed at them sympathetically while the rest looked on in indifference. Only Soi Fong looked at them with disdain.
Finally the silence was broken by the commander-general himself. All heads turned to his direction as he stood up.
“The charge is treason,” he said loudly. His deep baritone reverberated throughout the room. “Kira Izuru, vice-captain of the 3rd Division, is to go into trial for conspiring against the Gotei 13 and against all of Soul Society and assisting the felons Aizen Sosuke, Ichimaru Gin and Tousen Kaname in their defection.” There were gasps and outraged outbursts from some of those in the room but the old man went on. His hard gaze moved from one shinigami to the next, sweeping across stunned faces, though none looked more aghast than the 9th Division Lieutenant. “Should he be found guilty the penalty is death!”
He thrust his cane at the floor in one fluid motion; the ensuing crack of wood against wood was loud in the silence. For a long moment everything in the room seemed muted, and then slowly the whispers started and quickly spread like wild fire.
Numbness went through Hisagi, seeming to start from the point where his fingers were still clasped around Kira’s wrist. “Treason?” He whispered, turning to look at his friend. The blond looked back at him steadily but his wrist trembled in Hisagi’s grasp and his eyes spoke of the turmoil in his mind. Slowly, Hisagi let his fingers go limp around Kira’s wrist. The younger shinigami felt it and quickly lowered his eyes to the floor.
Kira, a traitor, Hisagi thought. His friend-his best friend-was a traitor. A liar. Defector. Conspirator.
No.
“You’re innocent,” he said suddenly, tightening his grip on Kira’s wrist until he was sure it was painful. Kira gasped then cried out when Hisagi pulled him against him and he crashed into the brunet’s hard body. “You. Are. Innocent.” Hisagi repeated as Kira struggled to pull away.
Hours sick with worry in the rain came back to him and he crushed Kira against him, willing his heart to not break any more than it already had that day. “You’re innocent,” he repeated over and over, as if by repeating it so many times he could make it the truth. “Tell me you’re innocent, Kira. Tell me!” In the back of his mind he saw Aizen’s face, the way he remembered it before the events at Soukyokou Hill. Kind, warm, eyes filled with compassion. He wanted to bash it in.
How many people are you going to take from me? His mind howled. Around them the guards were trying to pull them apart as Yamamoto watched with increasing impatience. Ignoring the angry shouts of the guards and the low-level kidou spells thrown at him, he held on to Kira as if his life depended on it, begging him again and again to tell him he was innocent and that this was all just a nightmare.
Then in his arms Kira went completely limp. Hisagi struggled to hold them both up and faltered. They would have both fallen had strong arms not come around the both of them. Hisagi turned to see Ikkaku and Iba supporting them. He couldn’t see Ikkaku’s face but Iba had his sunglasses lowered enough so that he could see his eyes. His eyes were focused on Kira. Behind them Ikkaku snapped at one of the guards who came nearer. Nanao appeared and took a place between the four men and all the others in the room.
“Please, Kira,” Hisagi whispered into his friend’s hair. “Tell me it’s not true.”
Against him, Kira took a deep shuddering breath and forced himself to stand on his own feet. Light glinted off the tear tracks on his face when he lifted his head to look him in the eye. Hisagi opened his mouth to speak again but Kira interrupted, putting a hand as cold and clammy as ice over his lips.
“Forgive me,” he said softly, only loud enough for his friends to hear. Nanao turned her head sharply to look at Kira and Hisagi felt both Ikkaku and Iba tense where they stood.
Kira smiled a sad smile and shifted to extricate himself from their hold. He moved to step back but was hindered by Hisagi’s hand still on his wrist. He placed a hand over it.
“Hisagi-san…” he whispered. “Please let go.”
Movement came from all around them and Hisagi suddenly remembered how to breathe. The guards and other shinigami closed in, pushing past Nanao, Iba and Ikkaku, but Hisagi refused to move until Kira slowly pushed him away.
“Shuuhei, you have to let go.”
Hisagi closed his eyes at the sound of his first name on Kira’s lips. A hand clamped down on his shoulder-Iba’s hand, he knew. He tensed and unconsciously squeezed Kira’s wrist.
Time seemed to slow and then come to a complete stop. “It’s not true,” he said. The words sounded hollow to his ears. He didn’t know who he was trying to convince anymore. “You wouldn’t. You would never.”
Kira looked at him with a silent plea to remain calm. The hand over Hisagi’s squeezed it gently.
Hisagi pulled Kira to him again and wrapped his arms around him. Kira was rigid with grief. “I’ll see you after all this is over,” he said, the words nearly stumbling over each other in a rush. “They can’t…because you didn’t…” He faltered miserably then lowered his head so his forehead touched Kira’s. “I’ll come get you when this is over.”
“Shuu...” Kira began but Hisagi cut him off by brushing his lips against Kira’s gently.
“I’m not gonna let them kill you, Izuru,” he said so softly that he was sure only Kira heard him. Kira gasped and tried to cling to him but Hisagi slowly pulled away and let him go.
The guards immediately moved to stand between the two of them. Then Sasakibe Choujirou stepped up and regarded Hisagi carefully. “Hisagi-fukutaichou,” he began. “I think it would be in everyone’s best interests if you left now.”
Hisagi nodded at the older shinigami and saw everyone in the room relax. Behind him Iba pulled at him with a hand on his shoulder and he reluctantly allowed himself to be led away from Kira who he could no longer see behind the guards. Ikkaku followed them.
“Get some sleep, Hisagi,” Iba said gruffly once they were out the door and out of earshot. “This…all this ought’a be sorted out by mornin’. We’ll have Kira back in no time.”
Ikkaku grunted in agreement and Hisagi sighed.
“You believe he didn’t do it?” He asked his friends.
Iba looked at him oddly and the silence that preceded his answer made Hisagi’s gut twist.
“What I believe is that Ichimaru screwed him over,” Iba finally answered. “Whatever he did, it wasn’t his fault.”
Hisagi nodded, glad that someone else was on Kira’s side. “I guess there’s nothing I can do for him here, not now.” Iba nodded and again Hisagi sighed. “I’m going home.”
Ikkaku pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on and followed him out into the night. the rain had finally stopped. They didn’t speak as they walked but it was a comfortable silence and Hisagi let his mind wander, steering clear of the thoughts of his own captain’s betrayal. He wouldn’t think of that. Not until he was alone and, he decided belatedly, not until he was sure Kira was safe.
Forgive me.
Kira’s words floated unbidden into his mind and he cursed, hands closing into fists where he had them stuffed in his pockets.
Dumbass, he thought. There's nothing to forgive.
Beside him Ikkaku stopped and Hisagi took a few more steps before stopping himself and turning to the bald shinigami. They were at the corner where they each took separate roads to get home.
A gust of wind blew past them and Hisagi shivered. Ikkaku looked at him grimly. “Did ya mean what ya said to him earlier?” He asked. “About not letting those bastards kill him?”
Hisagi was taken back. “You heard…”
“Yeah, I did, but barely so no one else knows. Now answer the question, I ain’t got all night.” The bald shinigami crossed his arms over his chest and glared. Hisagi thought back on what he had promised Kira.
“Yeah,” he answered. “I meant it.”
“Would ya die for him?” Ikkaku asked.
Hisagi felt something swell inside of him. “Of course,” he answered.
Black pupils glinted under painted eyelids as Ikkaku regarded him solemnly. Then the bald shinigami nodded once. “Good” was all he said. Then he turned and began walking toward the direction of his house. Hisagi did the same.
Halfway home he stopped and turned, not really thinking about doing it but doing it all the same, retracing his steps, his feet no longer really connected to his mind. He rounded the corner where he and Ikkaku had gone their separate ways earlier and saw the bald shinigami coming from the opposite direction.
They saw each other and looked mildly surprised. Then without a word they both turned and sped out into the night, in the direction of the 1st Division Headquarters.
TBC
~ Chapter Two
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x-posted: 50scenes, all_for_bleach, asterisk_plus, bleach_yaoi, kurosaki_clinic, sanbantaifuku and shuukira
Author: winteraconite
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Hisagi Shuuhei/Kira Izuru, some Hisagi/Matsumoto action and a bit of Ikkaku/Kira but only if you want to see them as such
Notes/Warnings: For bliriel who wondered what happened to Izuru right after Gin left. Mild angst. Spoilers for the Soul Society Arc. Written for theme #15: hold @ 50scenes.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its sexy characters. I just borrow them and make them do my nasty bidding. They like it. A lot. >:)
bliriel: Do you know, I’ve always wondered what happened to Izuru right after Gin left? I mean, right after, like on the day itself. Haven’t you?
winteraconite: Not really. Why?
bliriel: No reason.
winteraconite: . . .
bliriel: ^_^
winteraconite: I hate you.
bliriel: PLOT BUNNY!!!!!!
winteraconite: DIE, EVIL CREATURE! DIE!!!!!!!
Just when I was getting started on studying for my midterms. T_T
This is my own melodramatic yaoi-tinted version of what went on right after the three captains left. I haven't written like this in a long time so bear with me. It's really been a while. And I didn't really read this over so if you spot a mistake, feel free to beat me up for it. ^^
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It was raining when he finally found Kira in the 1st Division Headquarters, in the room where the Captains had their meetings.
The room was packed with people, some he knew, others he didn’t--captains, lieutenants, seated officers and regular shinigami from every division, all talking anxiously, their voices warring with the sound of rain falling on the roof until the combination created an incessant buzz that made his head ache. At the center of the room Yamamoto-soutaichou sat surrounded by a few captains and their lieutenants, deep in conversation. Rangiku stood to one side deep in thought and beside her…beside her Kira stood quietly, as still as a statue.
Relief welled up inside him at the sight and he pushed his way past several shinigami, never taking his eyes of the blond’s motionless figure. But then Rangiku saw him first and his gaze shifted from Kira to the slightly shorter woman beside him.
What he saw shocked him.
The normally exuberant Rangiku looked exhausted. Her eyes were glassy and her face, wan. She looked for all the world to see as if her captain had just left her as well. Nevertheless, she looked up when he neared them and her shoulders sagged as though a great burden had just been lifted off them.
“Shuuhei,” she sighed and went to him, taking him into her arms. “I’m so sorry.” she whispered and Hisagi closed his eyes. For a moment the emotions he had chosen to lock into the far corners of the back of his mind threatened to overwhelm him and he clung to her, nearly crushing her against him. The din faded into the background until his mind knew nothing but her warmth. She held him and stroked his hair, murmuring softly in his ear, until he took a shuddering breath and pulled away, his composure regained.
She offered him a small smile which he returned.
“Go home, Ran,” he said softly. “You look a fright.”
She smiled again. “It is kind of pointless standing here doing nothing,” she said. She tucked a few strands of her strawberry-blond hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. Her voice trembled. “I…I have to see my captain.” She looked guiltily up at him as though the mere utterance of the word was a crime. True enough, Hisagi felt his stomach churn but he ignored it. Rangiku continued. “They…they tell me he’s going to be all right but…you know how he is; he can’t take care of himself if his life depended on it.” She tried to make light of the situation but she faltered and sobbed. From the corner of his eye Hisagi thought he saw Kira look up at them at the sound.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Hisagi said. He looked to Kira but the blond’s head was down. He placed a hand on the small of Rangiku’s back, guiding her through the crowd and toward the door. At the threshold she paused and turned to him.
“Stay with Kira, Shuuhei,” she said. Hisagi frowned and turned to look at his former kouhai who was still standing where they had left him.
“He’s fine.”
“He’s not.”
Hisagi’s frown deepened and Rangiku sighed. “Just stay with him. I’ll be all right,” she promised and finally stepped out the door. He meant to follow her-Kira could take care of himself-but she pinned him where he stood with clear blue eyes that lacked their usual vivacity. Without a word he stepped back into the room then watched her amble down the hallway until she was out of sight. Only then did he turn back to the chaos of the room.
The captains were arguing heatedly while their subordinates looked on in silence. The rain continued to pour outside. Kira had yet to move from where he stood.
Hisagi sighed and made his way back to him.
“Kira,” he said softly once he was in front of the blond. Two shinigami he didn’t recognize stood behind the blond and glared at him. Hisagi looked at them briefly before turning back to his friend.
“Hisagi-san.” Kira greeted him then but without looking up.
Hisagi frowned and took a closer look at his friend. He didn’t like what he saw. Kira’s blond hair hung in limp strings over his pale face, having just dried from the rain. His uniform was damp and he trembled from head to foot. Hisagi guessed that he probably didn’t look any better being soaked to the skin but he had a feeling the blond was trembling from more than just the cold.
“Hey,” he said softly, gently laying a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ve been looking for you for hours.” Still Kira didn’t look up at him but he was undeterred. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” He pulled at his friend to get him to follow.
He was completely unprepared for what happened next.
Quick as lightning a hand shot out through the air and gripped Kira’s shoulder hard enough to make him wince. On instinct Hisagi grabbed Kira’s wrist but didn’t know what else to do out of shock. The two shinigami behind Kira glared at him over Kira’s head and he felt anger surge through him.
“What’s all this?!” he bellowed louder than he’d meant to, tightening his hold on his friend’s wrist.
Heads turned to look at them. The captains themselves stopped talking to see what was going on. Silence fell and the only sound that could be heard was the pounding of the rain overhead. At the center of it all Hisagi stood, still not letting go of Kira.
“Let him go,” he hissed dangerously, tugging on Kira’s wrist. The blond didn’t move.
Static seemed to crackle in the air until finally the larger of the two shinigami, the same one who held Kira’s shoulder in a vise-like grip, spoke. “Kira-fukutaichou is to be detained pending his interrogation. He is not allowed to leave the premises until given direct orders by the commander-general himself.”
“Detained?” Hisagi echoed incredulously. He looked from his friend to the shinigami gathered around them. In the crowd he could see Iba and Nanao looking on in confusion. No one else seemed willing to look him in the eye. “On what charges?”
No one answered him.
“This is bullshit,” he said and stepped closer to Kira, slapping the offending hand of his shoulder. “You’re coming with me.” He said to his friend. “We’re going home.” From all around them came protests. Reiatsu started to escalate collectively but Hisagi ignored it as he again attempted to pull Kira along with him. He heard Iba yelling at those who were trying to get to the two of them, mentally thanked him, but didn’t turn around. He struggled to get past the shinigami between him and the door, turning a deaf ear on all of them-even the commander-general.
A sharp tug pulled him back. He heard Kira cry out and held on to his friend desperately, pulling at him until he was afraid he would tear Kira’s arm off its socket. Even then he held on as he turned to face his friend’s captor…only to find that Kira stood alone. The sentries-that’s what they had to be since they had the daunting air of guards-still flanked the blond but neither of them touched him. Kira was holding himself back.
“Hisagi-san, please…” The blond’s voice was barely above a whisper. His eyes were filled with quiet desperation but his voice was steady. “I can’t leave. You’ve got to go. Please.”
“Why?” Hisagi asked. He took a step closer to his friend. “Is this because of Hinamori?” Kira flinched. They all knew what happened to her. “Aizen tricked us all. It wasn’t your fault.” He didn’t speak loudly, only loud enough for Kira to hear. “They’re gone, Kira.”
Again Kira flinched, and averted his eyes. Silence hung heavily in the air and Hisagi suddenly resented the presence of all the others, hanging back and watching them like wraiths. He looked up at them, at all the captains in the room. Ukitake-taichou and Kyouraku-taichou gazed at them sympathetically while the rest looked on in indifference. Only Soi Fong looked at them with disdain.
Finally the silence was broken by the commander-general himself. All heads turned to his direction as he stood up.
“The charge is treason,” he said loudly. His deep baritone reverberated throughout the room. “Kira Izuru, vice-captain of the 3rd Division, is to go into trial for conspiring against the Gotei 13 and against all of Soul Society and assisting the felons Aizen Sosuke, Ichimaru Gin and Tousen Kaname in their defection.” There were gasps and outraged outbursts from some of those in the room but the old man went on. His hard gaze moved from one shinigami to the next, sweeping across stunned faces, though none looked more aghast than the 9th Division Lieutenant. “Should he be found guilty the penalty is death!”
He thrust his cane at the floor in one fluid motion; the ensuing crack of wood against wood was loud in the silence. For a long moment everything in the room seemed muted, and then slowly the whispers started and quickly spread like wild fire.
Numbness went through Hisagi, seeming to start from the point where his fingers were still clasped around Kira’s wrist. “Treason?” He whispered, turning to look at his friend. The blond looked back at him steadily but his wrist trembled in Hisagi’s grasp and his eyes spoke of the turmoil in his mind. Slowly, Hisagi let his fingers go limp around Kira’s wrist. The younger shinigami felt it and quickly lowered his eyes to the floor.
Kira, a traitor, Hisagi thought. His friend-his best friend-was a traitor. A liar. Defector. Conspirator.
No.
“You’re innocent,” he said suddenly, tightening his grip on Kira’s wrist until he was sure it was painful. Kira gasped then cried out when Hisagi pulled him against him and he crashed into the brunet’s hard body. “You. Are. Innocent.” Hisagi repeated as Kira struggled to pull away.
Hours sick with worry in the rain came back to him and he crushed Kira against him, willing his heart to not break any more than it already had that day. “You’re innocent,” he repeated over and over, as if by repeating it so many times he could make it the truth. “Tell me you’re innocent, Kira. Tell me!” In the back of his mind he saw Aizen’s face, the way he remembered it before the events at Soukyokou Hill. Kind, warm, eyes filled with compassion. He wanted to bash it in.
How many people are you going to take from me? His mind howled. Around them the guards were trying to pull them apart as Yamamoto watched with increasing impatience. Ignoring the angry shouts of the guards and the low-level kidou spells thrown at him, he held on to Kira as if his life depended on it, begging him again and again to tell him he was innocent and that this was all just a nightmare.
Then in his arms Kira went completely limp. Hisagi struggled to hold them both up and faltered. They would have both fallen had strong arms not come around the both of them. Hisagi turned to see Ikkaku and Iba supporting them. He couldn’t see Ikkaku’s face but Iba had his sunglasses lowered enough so that he could see his eyes. His eyes were focused on Kira. Behind them Ikkaku snapped at one of the guards who came nearer. Nanao appeared and took a place between the four men and all the others in the room.
“Please, Kira,” Hisagi whispered into his friend’s hair. “Tell me it’s not true.”
Against him, Kira took a deep shuddering breath and forced himself to stand on his own feet. Light glinted off the tear tracks on his face when he lifted his head to look him in the eye. Hisagi opened his mouth to speak again but Kira interrupted, putting a hand as cold and clammy as ice over his lips.
“Forgive me,” he said softly, only loud enough for his friends to hear. Nanao turned her head sharply to look at Kira and Hisagi felt both Ikkaku and Iba tense where they stood.
Kira smiled a sad smile and shifted to extricate himself from their hold. He moved to step back but was hindered by Hisagi’s hand still on his wrist. He placed a hand over it.
“Hisagi-san…” he whispered. “Please let go.”
Movement came from all around them and Hisagi suddenly remembered how to breathe. The guards and other shinigami closed in, pushing past Nanao, Iba and Ikkaku, but Hisagi refused to move until Kira slowly pushed him away.
“Shuuhei, you have to let go.”
Hisagi closed his eyes at the sound of his first name on Kira’s lips. A hand clamped down on his shoulder-Iba’s hand, he knew. He tensed and unconsciously squeezed Kira’s wrist.
Time seemed to slow and then come to a complete stop. “It’s not true,” he said. The words sounded hollow to his ears. He didn’t know who he was trying to convince anymore. “You wouldn’t. You would never.”
Kira looked at him with a silent plea to remain calm. The hand over Hisagi’s squeezed it gently.
Hisagi pulled Kira to him again and wrapped his arms around him. Kira was rigid with grief. “I’ll see you after all this is over,” he said, the words nearly stumbling over each other in a rush. “They can’t…because you didn’t…” He faltered miserably then lowered his head so his forehead touched Kira’s. “I’ll come get you when this is over.”
“Shuu...” Kira began but Hisagi cut him off by brushing his lips against Kira’s gently.
“I’m not gonna let them kill you, Izuru,” he said so softly that he was sure only Kira heard him. Kira gasped and tried to cling to him but Hisagi slowly pulled away and let him go.
The guards immediately moved to stand between the two of them. Then Sasakibe Choujirou stepped up and regarded Hisagi carefully. “Hisagi-fukutaichou,” he began. “I think it would be in everyone’s best interests if you left now.”
Hisagi nodded at the older shinigami and saw everyone in the room relax. Behind him Iba pulled at him with a hand on his shoulder and he reluctantly allowed himself to be led away from Kira who he could no longer see behind the guards. Ikkaku followed them.
“Get some sleep, Hisagi,” Iba said gruffly once they were out the door and out of earshot. “This…all this ought’a be sorted out by mornin’. We’ll have Kira back in no time.”
Ikkaku grunted in agreement and Hisagi sighed.
“You believe he didn’t do it?” He asked his friends.
Iba looked at him oddly and the silence that preceded his answer made Hisagi’s gut twist.
“What I believe is that Ichimaru screwed him over,” Iba finally answered. “Whatever he did, it wasn’t his fault.”
Hisagi nodded, glad that someone else was on Kira’s side. “I guess there’s nothing I can do for him here, not now.” Iba nodded and again Hisagi sighed. “I’m going home.”
Ikkaku pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on and followed him out into the night. the rain had finally stopped. They didn’t speak as they walked but it was a comfortable silence and Hisagi let his mind wander, steering clear of the thoughts of his own captain’s betrayal. He wouldn’t think of that. Not until he was alone and, he decided belatedly, not until he was sure Kira was safe.
Forgive me.
Kira’s words floated unbidden into his mind and he cursed, hands closing into fists where he had them stuffed in his pockets.
Dumbass, he thought. There's nothing to forgive.
Beside him Ikkaku stopped and Hisagi took a few more steps before stopping himself and turning to the bald shinigami. They were at the corner where they each took separate roads to get home.
A gust of wind blew past them and Hisagi shivered. Ikkaku looked at him grimly. “Did ya mean what ya said to him earlier?” He asked. “About not letting those bastards kill him?”
Hisagi was taken back. “You heard…”
“Yeah, I did, but barely so no one else knows. Now answer the question, I ain’t got all night.” The bald shinigami crossed his arms over his chest and glared. Hisagi thought back on what he had promised Kira.
“Yeah,” he answered. “I meant it.”
“Would ya die for him?” Ikkaku asked.
Hisagi felt something swell inside of him. “Of course,” he answered.
Black pupils glinted under painted eyelids as Ikkaku regarded him solemnly. Then the bald shinigami nodded once. “Good” was all he said. Then he turned and began walking toward the direction of his house. Hisagi did the same.
Halfway home he stopped and turned, not really thinking about doing it but doing it all the same, retracing his steps, his feet no longer really connected to his mind. He rounded the corner where he and Ikkaku had gone their separate ways earlier and saw the bald shinigami coming from the opposite direction.
They saw each other and looked mildly surprised. Then without a word they both turned and sped out into the night, in the direction of the 1st Division Headquarters.
TBC
~ Chapter Two
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