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khatycrazy · 3 months ago

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I have thoughts on Hitsugaya's Secret Story from 'BLEACH: Rebirth of Souls'

So, you may have seen my recent reactions to Hitsugaya Secret Story from BLEACH: Rebirth of Souls. I finally decided to sit down and get my thoughts out about it, because I have some surprisingly strong ones. I'll be going through the cutscenes and giving my thoughts and a few more reactions, and maybe a bit of analysis for what I think it means for both Hitsugaya and Hinamori. Prepare yourself for some fangirling and some overly nerdy rambling.

Before I dive in, two things. First if you don't know what moment I'm talking about, you can look up 'Bleach rebirth of souls toshiro secret story' and should be able to find a playthrough. They're usually about 30 minutes long.

I've only been able to find the English dub versions, but would be very curious to see if there were any translation difference between the two. For instance, in the English version, Hitsugaya says in the beginning 'Long ago, when I was a kid, the only ones that would ever talk to me were Grandma and Mom, who I lived with." Now this wording could be taken a few ways, but I have admit, I took it to mean he lived with Momo, but Kubo recently confirmed in his Klub Outside Q&As that Hitsugaya and Hinamori were neighbours. I'd be curious to see if the Japanese version says the same thing or something different. Anyway, nit-picking aside, I recommend watching a playthrough or, of course, going to play the secret story yourself if you have the game.

And finally, you may be wondering the same thing I did after watching the cutscenes: how canon is this game? Well, it seems Kubo assisted with writing, but I don't have an official source that says this. If anyone does have a source, I would love to see it. If Kubo's truly that involved (and I'd honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was) then I think we can consider most if not all aspects of the story and characters here canon.

Anyway, on to the thoughts, reactions, and a bit of analysis!

The past

Canon-bending info aside, this section had me tearing up. Although it's mostly retreading old ground -- acting more as a clipshow for the chapter about Hitsugaya's past -- we got some interesting tidbits of info.

The ones that stuck out to me were the reveal that Hitsugaya stayed behind with his Granny to protect her. This was implied in the original chapter, with how Granny responded to him saying he was going to enroll in the Shinigami Academy. To have him outright state it, however, brought a tear to my eye. It implies that a part of him always wanted to go off and be where Hinamori was, but he chose to remain with his Granny to keep her safe ;w; All the while, he didn't realise he'd fallen into a tragic irony: because he had no control over his powers, he ended up affecting her health and being a danger to her during his sleep. The only way to protect her was to leave her behind...

Another interesting piece of dialogue is Hitsugaya mentioning this: "She probably knew that was the last time we'd ever meet, but Grandma still gave her blessing when I left." This implies Hitsugaya hasn't seen his Granny since he went to the Academy. We know for a fact, thanks to one of the databooks, that he visits his Granny. However, that's as a Captain. In the game, he seems to be recalling these memories while he's a Third Seat, which implies he hasn't seen his Granny since he left for the Academy, and that's...really sad if that's truly the case. We know he graduated in a year, and then quickly became a seated officer in Tenth Division. It could be that he was kept so busy with his work, or it could be that he was afraid of harming her with his powers. Regardless, it would make sense that later on when he's Captain and has the ability to reign in his powers and can make more time to see her.

Hitsugaya as a Third Seat

Here we get a few moments of Hitsugaya as a Third seat. The first is not long after he was promoted to the rank and battles Hollows in Karakura Town alongside Rangiku and two other Tenth Divison Officers who whisper about him.

So, first up, was I the only who laughed when he called Rangiku 'ma'am'?! I never thought he would ever be so formal with her. I thought right from the get-go these two would have an annoying sibling dynamic going on.

And the officers gossiping about him, I found this fascinating. We've never really gotten a glimpse into how other Shinigami saw him or interacting with him while he was climbing the ranks. I can definitely see some Shinigami brushing him off due to his young age, only to be surprised by his abilities. Still, it's sad to think even after graduating and becoming a seated member,he not only had to continue to prove himself worhy of being there, but also found it difficult to connect with those aroudn him despite having more in common with them than the residents of the Junrinan.

We also see here a glimpse of the message this story is getting at: Hitsugaya needing to trust in others and learn to relax and not be so strung up on becoming stronger. Rangiku, in response to Hitsugaya saying he needs to improve and become stronger in battle, says 'Know what they say about the about the strgonest Soul Reapers dying first?' Hitsugaya understands, but she elaborates anyway, saying that he can try his best, but also needs to learn how to relax. He gives a non-committal answer and goes off into thought, clearly thinking he can't afford to relax for even a second.

Also, yes, I lost it when Rangiku said 'I have your back'. My BROTP name for these two came to life!!

The second moment we get is him training until Rangiku comes along and asks to practice with him. it's implied he trains alone, and might be shy about training with others. The same officers from his mission in Karakura Town witnessed the two sparring, and after it's done, they're amazed by what they saw and ask for Hitsugaya to train them. Hitsugaya goes on to reflect how Rangiku and Isshin helped him fit in with the Tenth Division.

Again, the theme of his story is being emphasized here: Hitsugaya thinks he needs to do things on his own, including becoming stronger. It also shows, however, that even though he was among beings just like him, he felt a sense of isolation even when he became a seated officer. I wonder if perhaps this in part due to his prodical status combined with his age. You have to imagine with someone as skilled and talents as him, it's a different kind of loneliness even among people a lot like you. You can do things other Shinigami are still training to do, and there's no one like you. Aizen, I think, went through a similar struggle, but we saw how that turned out.

Where it differed for Hitsugaya is that his fellows officers began to accept him thanks to Rangiku's efforts to help him socialize and gets other division members to see him in a different light.

And then there's the Isshin part. We get to see the aftermath of Isshin going missing, and we get to see Hitsugaya already acting like the Captain he's going to become -- telling Rangiku to not think about the 'what ifs' like if she had follows Isshin to Karakura Town, for instance -- and the one of my headcanons got confirmed O_O I've always had the headcanon that Hitsugaya and Rangiku will focus on work if it means they want to try to forget about something that's deeply affected them. I'm currently writing of this very thing in my fic An Unwavering Light, and to have Hitsugaya say this in the game just made me:

The Fireworks

We get a reenactment of the Hitsugaya's birthday chapter.

All I have to say here is: Rangiku, you're not saying 'Aren't winter fireworks just so romantic?' to Hitsugaya with Hinamori just standing right there and expecting me to to take no other way!

Okay, I'm sure she meant it in a different sense, but let me dream of wing-woman Rangiku!

And again, Hitsugaya affirms he wants to become stronger for the people most important to him. We've gone from wanting to protect Granny to protecting more people. He's gradually expanding his circle of people important to him, even if he doesn't fully realize it.

After Aizen's Defeat

The way I nearly screamed when he asked Rangiku how Hinamori was doing, then when he punched the wall and yelled Aizen's name in anger and said he wasn't strong enough:

It's far less dramatic than what I wrote in my fic, but I couldn't believe how some elements of what I was writing were there.

Anyway, back to the scene! Here we get a brief interaction with Hitsugaya and Rangiku, who gives an update about Hinamori. After he tells Rangiku to get some rest and she leaves, he reflects on Aizen, causing him to yell and punch a wall. He reaffirms aloud that he needs to train harder to become stronger.

A piece of dialogue from this moment made me do a double take. When Hitsugaya is reflecting on Aizen, he says this: 'We...Momo and I...We didn't realize you were fooling us. We thought we were close...Hmph. What a total joke." Now, who's the 'we' in 'we thought we were close' here? Is he referring to Aizen or Hinamori? if it's Aizen, then that's interesting. In the manga, it's shown Hitsugaya trust Aizen enough to look out for Hinamori, but we've never really seen the two be on super friendly terms. Hitsugaya doesn't seem to respect him the same he does, say, Unohana. I believe he refers to Unohana by her title, but he doesn't do the same for most of the other captains, including Aizen. If he's referring to Hinamori...T_T Given this him at a low point, it would be tragic if he thinks his bond with her wasn't close anymore. I'd be curious to see what you all think.

After this scene, we get more battles, including one where Hitsugaya yells at some Hollows attacking him that he doesn't have the time to be held by them while he's trying to get stronger. Then, when a Menos Grande shows up, he's glad for the challenge, implying he sees his combat with Hollow as a chance for him to gain more strength. Rangiku approaches him after taking it down and notes he was pushing himself beyond his limits. Hitsugaya admits she's right, but also admits that he needs to become stronger. Rangiku tries to get him to take his mind off it by suggesting they go visit Hinamori.

The way he reacted to Rangiku suggested visiting Hinamori...

Oh my God he really wanted to see her! I honestly didn't see that coming. Yes, I thought a part of him would want to desperately see her, but that more than that he'd want to get stronger first before facing her. To think he'd want to see her first, even when he feels he needs to get stronger...

The last moment we get here is with Toshiro and Rangiku on their way to Fourth Division, but they bump into Izuru and Renji. Izuru unintentionally convincing Hitsugaya to not visit Hinamori when he says he needs to smile for her and not show how stricken or tired he is currently. He agrees, and tells them that they need to give their all in any future battles and that he's counting on them. When he and Rangiku are alone, Hitsugaya questions why Rangiku is so chipper, and she says she's proud of the person he's become, having seen him grow in how he connects and opens up with others. Hitsugaya brushes her off, saying he merely did it because he has a rank to uphold, and then, to himself, that this rank means he needs to be strong enough to protect those important to him.

For me this scene came back to instances where Toshiro visited Momo but had nothing to say. We of course have the manga and anime showing him visiting Hinamori while she was unconscious and we see how deeply it affects him. In the Honey Dish Rhapsody, we et a brief moment where Rukia mentioned Hitsugaya always looked grief-stricken when going to visit a still unconscious Hinamori. Similar to the anime version, he chooses to walk away when he can't think of anything to say to Hinamori, and in the case of the game scene, he walks away because he doesn't want her to see him so stricken.

And here again we Hitsugaya opening his circle that little bit more. He probably doesn't consider Renji and Izuru friends, but he cars about them enough to put their minds at ease. He was able to express himself more freely than he previously has, something Rangiku notices and is proud of him for.

THE MOMENT

The moment of all moments. The big one. The scene I always wanted to see. The reconciliation of Hitsugaya and Hinamori. WHERE DO I EVEN START?

I'm doing a more detailed summary because I'll have a lot to say about this section:

Almost a month after Aizen's defeat, Hitsugaya is training and still believes he's no strong enough. He laments about what happened, believing he failed in contributing to the battle and reaffirms his desire to protect the person who matters most to him.

Shinji comes in, having looked for Hitsugaya and Rangiku (who's watching all of this from afar, trying to stay hidden). After a brief comical moment, Hitsugaya and Shinji discuss the Visoreds and Shinji's return to the Soul Society.

Shinji cuts the conversation off though, and as for Hinamori to come out of hiding.

Hitsugaya and Hinaori become speechless when seeing each other.

Annoyed, Shinji prods Hitsugaya (aka, a kick to his shin) to speak up, but the latter is too flustered to come up with anything. Hinamori laughs at Hitsugaya reaction, which breaks the ice and gets Hitsugaya to apologize for letting her get hurt.

Hinamori is quick to forgive him, and goes on to say that she should be apologizing to him as she feels she was holding him back. Hitsugaya dismisses this, saying she has nothing to apologize for.

Hitsugaya ask Rangiku to come out of hiding, and while she and Hinamori chat, Hitsugaya thanks Shinji for giving him to opportunity to make amends with Hinamori. Shinji says it's nothinghe only did it because he was looking out for Fifth Division, but Hitsugaya is thankful he says he'll bring sweets over for them to eat together next time.

Hitsugaya thinks that he nearly forgot he isn't alone anymore, that he's always had friends who are by his side. Smiling, he reflects aloud that being obsessed with acting like a captain keeps him going around in circles. However, Rangiku assures him isn't going around in circles, and Hitsugaya a little moved by this.

He asks Shinji about his captaincy, and Shinji says he's isn't as 'stuffy and serious' and Hitsugaya back then or now. He offers to help Hitsugaya learn how to chill out, teasing that he has no idea how to do that. Hitsugaya says it'd be a big help if he did.

Hitsugaya silently reflects on Aizen's betrayal and letting Hinamori get hurt. He was shaken by both events and feared being betrayed by someone close to him again, causing him to shut his heart off to the world. He thought he could protect everything by himself, but he has come to realize believing in others isn't a weakness and that having them by his side is what will make him grow stronger. He reaffirms aloud he won't lose his way again.

He concludes the scene by quoting what he said about fireworks from his birthday chapter and saying that the bonds one forms never go away, no matter how distant they become or what's happened, they keeping on shining forever.

I'll get my reactions out of the way first:

'It's hard to admit, but I really didn't contribute anything to that battle...'

'I can't even protect the person who matters most to me.'

SHE MATTERS THE MOST!!!

Hitsugaya not remembering Shinji's name had me cackling, laughing way too hard for something so dumb:

Then Hitsugaya and Hinamori seeing each other:

I was like this throughout most of their exchange:

With a few moments of this in-between:

Now on to my thoughts. First I want bring up another bit of canon-bending that came up here, and it's going make me sound way too nerdy: in the game it's been almost a month since Aizen's defeat, but in Death Save the Strawberry, Hinamori was still recovering at this stage. In fact, it took her nearly five months to make a full psychological recovery and leave Fourth Division. We also see a scene from Death Save the Strawberry play out in Shinji's Secret Story, where Hinamori gets a text from Renji saying Rukia has a plan to help restore Ichigo's powers.

This is what makes me question if this game or canon or if the time periods are getting retconned. Personally, Death Save the Strawberry's seems more realistic to me. She's gone through so much in such a short period of time, from having the person she admired most betray her, thinking everyone is moving on without her, and likely thinking she wasn't strong enough to be on the battlefield. Plus, we get the beautiful interaction between her and Shinji, who reaffirms everyone's waiting for her and that he wants to her continue being the lieutenant of Fifth Division. I don't know, I just feel like it would take more than a month before Hitsugaya and Hinamori saw each other again, but again, I'm making a nerdy nit-pick.

Anyway, this scene all but confirms these two were on talking terms before the Thousand Year Blood War arc began. A few fans wondered, based on Hinamori's reaction during chapter 658, if these two were speaking to each other. I mentioned in my analysis post that I thought they had reconciled based on the snippets from the 13 Blades databook. Now though, if this game really is canon, we can confirm they absolutely were!

On to the interaction itself. I have to admit, I was shocked at how short and simple it was. Here I was, with my dramatics thinking they'd go somewhere quiet and have this long, emotional debrief about what happened and Hinamori would forgive Hitsugaya but say there was nothing to forgive, then Hitsugaya would ultimately realize he needs Hinamori in his life far more than he needs to keep her and others who are important to him at a distance.

What I got was basically:

'Hinamori, I'm sorry'.

'It's okay, Shiro-chan, I'm sorry too.'

'You don't need to be sorry'.

It perplexed me at first, and I even felt an odd sense of discouragement for the way I've been writing 'An Unwavering Light', a fanfic all about the reconciliation of Hitsugaya and Hinamori. Here I was thinking it would be this angsty, emotional period in their lives, but it got resolved so quickly and had more direct involvement from Rangiku and Shinji.

But the more I thought on this scene, the more it started to make some sense to me. Of course it can be that simple. It's THEM!

These two have known each other for decades, and it shows that even something as horrific as what they've been through can't tear them apart. They were uncertain when they saw each other, you can see it in the hesitation when neither speaks and they look away from each other. Hinamori even hesitates to make her presence known after Shinji tells her to come out.

Just when you think this is going to devolve into some angst-riddled moment, Shinji brought out a side Hitsugaya that Hinamori as always known -- a flustered side that's been with him since childhood, that she has even teased him about on a few occasions. Seeing him act like that makes her laugh, relaxes her enough that she speaks to him. It showed no matter what, even if she doesn't know where they stand or where to start, she knows him. She knows and accepts and loves him, whether you think that's platonically or romantically.

At hearing her laughter, all Hitsugaya can say is her name, but it's in such a way that made me do the fangirling reaction as per above. There's relief at seeing her being able to laugh, but there's also, I think, a little disbelief. It's like he's seeing her for the first time again. She can still laugh around him, she came with Shinji to see him. She's right there, wanting to see him. He's not even caught up on the fact she's laughing at him, he's just amazed that she's laughing and smiling at him. When was the last time he saw her do either of those things, let along at or with him?

It's this, I think, that gives him the courage to finally apologize. And of course he thinks he's responsible for her getting hurt, but Hinamori knows this isn't really the case. They were both victims of Aizen, tricked into doing things neither of them would otherwise do to each other. I think we as a fandom knew Hinamori would be quick to forgive Hitsugaya and say there was nothing to really forgive.

What I didn't see coming was Hinamori thinking she was holding Hitsugaya back. I would love to know where this thinking came from. Had it been something she'd been contemplating during her recovery? Had Rangiku let something slip during a visit and Hinamori thought on it too much and came to the conclusion that he was going through mental anguish because of her?

And Hitsugaya is quick to dismiss this and say she has nothign to apologise for. Because no, she never has. Hinamori herself has never held him back. Hitsugaya's obession with wanting to be stronger, with feeling he isn't good enough and needs to do things alone is what has held him back. He's still growing, still learning, it's understandable. What Hinamori doesn't realize is she's probably the number one person who is getting him to become stronger. She went to the Academy, and he wanted to go with her. He gained the abilities of Shinigami quicker than most, and he chose t use these abilities to protect her and eventually others he grew close to, as we've seen time and again in other BLEACH media. We even got a freakin' song about it for godsake!

His lack of strength is his own perception, but others like Rangiku can see he isn't weak and has become stronger as the years went on. He wasn't going around in circles, just getting stuck in a mindset that made him think he wasn't good enough when he always was. But he had to work his way through it, and a big part of doing that was finally seeing Hinamori.

It was through the effort of Hinamori, Shinji and Rangiku that he learned to let go of his fear of being close to others and of being betrayed again. It's something I'm 100% certain Hinamori herself went through, but this is Hitsugaya's story and I hope we get to see a secret story for Hinamori too.

My only small gripe about the scene is...I don't know if it'd be in character for Hitsugaya to offer to eat sweets with Shinji the next time they meet. Seems like something he wouldn't do, but maybe he really is just so thankful that this is his way of expressing his gratitude??

Also, Hitsuhina fandom...HOW ARE WE FEELINGS ABOUT WING-MAN SHINJI AND WING-WOMAN RANGIKU GETTING CONFIRMED!!

Maybe I'm being over-dramatic (I totally am), but what else can you call this?! Rangiku brought up the fireworks were romantic and was there for the final scene, and Shinji practically brought the two of them together to talk. He knows what's up, and he's not about to let them lose what they have and what it can potentially become in the future. It's like @alexiethymia said: he's likely learned from his past experiences with Aizen that communication is key, and that despite how long-lived Shinigami are, their bonds and time together are precious. He doesn't want to see his lieutenant lose a friend she's known since childhood. He wants to see her get better, to move forward into the future without doubt or fear about the people she's close to. He's looking out for her, as the proud pseudo father/uncle figure he will become to her!

I think the same can be said for Rangiku, who lost her childhood friend and love and doesn't know why he did the things he did. She doesn't want to see these two go through a similar fate.

All in all, it was a simple and sweet moment for all involved. For me personally, it didn't go down how I thought it would, and it's honestly made me reevaluate how I'm writing 'An Unwavering Light'. I plan keep the drama there, but maybe I can ditch a few of the moments I was planning to lighten the story up. I still like how it happened though, and I was an emotional wreck afterwards, so I think it did it's job XD

TL;DR

The whole story of Hitsugaya's Secret Story is to show the evolution of Hitsugaya's character. He's gone from a child who was emotionally closed off, isolated and ostracized, believing he needed to reliable/become stronger without anyone's help, to a teen who is opening up and becoming more expressive, is seeing the value in relying on others, and realizing he's always had friends by his side who will help him becoming stronger. It's a beautiful thing to see after all these years as a fan, and we've seen evidence of this growth throughout the manga.

For Hitsugaya and Hinamori's bond, it shows they were talking before the Thousand Year Blood War, and that their bond is too strong to be broken by something as big as what happened during the confrontation with Aizen. They went through so much, but ultimately, their reconciliation was simple and sweet, knowing who they each are and knowing they're better off by each others' sides than they are apart.

I'd like to thank @ryusxnka for bringing my attention to this in the first place. I was aware of the Rebirth of Souls game but not that there were secret stories for some of the characters. Here's hoping Hinamori gets one!

And if you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my crazy ramblings! I would love to read your takes on these scenes too! :D

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