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rays-of-fire-and-ice · 4 years

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In Times of Peace

Prompts: “3. It’s three in the morning.”

Rating: K

Setting: A few years after the ten-year timeskip.

Synopsis: While on a mission in Karakura Town, Toshiro gets a call from Momo.

AN: Thank you again for sending in prompts, and sorry it took so long. From what I can tell, the Soul Society’s timezone matches with Karakura Town’s, but for the sake of this fic let’s pretend they’re different. Even though the focus of this is hitsuhina, for anyone who doesn’t like the ending ships, you may want to skip this one as this story follows the manga canon. Anyhow, enjoy!

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At first Toshiro doesn’t understand why he’s awake. Moonlight flits through the gap in the curtain, spilling across the Kurosaki’s living room and the lower half of his futon. No one is in the room or coming down the stairs, and he can sense Rangiku’s reiatsu from upstairs.

It’s not until he props himself up on his elbows that the ringing of his denreishinki registers. Frown deepening, he reaches over and slides the device to himself. He squints at the lit-up screen.

Incoming call…HINAMORI

With a confused grunt, he flips the lid open. “Hinamori?”

“Hi, Hitsugaya-kun!”

“Why’re you calling?” he asks as he rubs his eyes.

She makes a confused sound. “Wait, what time is it over there? You sound sleepy.”

He twists around to the wall clock in the kitchen, blinking as his vision adjusts to the darkness. “It’s three in the morning.”

She gasps. “I’m so sorry! I completely forgot that the World of the Living doesn’t always match up with Seireitei’s time! I’ll let you go back to sleep-”

“It’s fine, I was going to get up in an hour anyway.”

“But, Hitsugaya-kun-”

“It’s ‘Captain Hitsugaya’, Hinamori.” He sighs as he throws the covers aside. “So, why are you calling? Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m okay. It’s nothing urgent.”

“So what is it?”

On her end in the background there’s clanking of wood and shouting – although muffled, he hears something about attacking the flank of the opponent. She must be at one of her division’s training grounds.

“I wanted to hear how you were going,” she eventually says. “It’s been a few days since you left, so…”

Toshiro uses the coffee table next to him to pull himself up and stand. Blood rushes to his head and he sways slightly. “We’re still monitoring the Hollow activity, but it’s nothing unusual or never before seen. Chances are it’s a group of Hollows trying to escape to the World of the Living without being noticed by Halibel.” Hunched over, he trudges his way to the kitchen, moving to keep himself awake. “If they choose to invade, we’ll take care of them, and if not, I’ll advise Kurosaki to continue monitoring Hollow activity, or Kuchiki. We should be done in two days time…tomorrow, I mean.”

“Ah, right. It sounds like you and Rangiku-san have it under control.”

“For the most part.”

“I tried to call Rangiku-san just before, but she didn’t pick up. I hope I didn’t wake her.”

He rolls his eyes to ceiling as he comes to a stop at the counter. She sleeps in the spare room one of Ichigo’s sisters used to occupy. “You know her, she sleeps like a log. She’s doing one of those ‘beauty sleeps’.” He gestures to his face as if he were speaking to her in person. “It’s where she puts that gunk on her face and sleeps with it on.”

“You mean a face mask?” Momo giggles. “Let me guess, she tried to get you wear one too?”

He shudders at the thought of having the cream on his face. “Ugh!”

That gets a laugh out of her. “It’s not bad! It can make you feel really refreshed in the mornings.”

“I don’t need to feel ‘refreshed’ in the mornings, I need to feel awake!” His eyes widen at how loud he spoke. He listens for a moment to see if anyone was disturbed by his rant. Well, if nothing else, at least he didn’t feel groggy anymore. “Hinamori?”

“I’m here, just moving back to my room. It’s getting louder here.” Her voice is fainter when she bids her subordinates farewell. The sounds of the training grounds gradually fade away, until it’s only her footsteps padding hastily across floorboards. “Have you been up to anything else besides the mission?”

Toshiro tilts his head down, free hand tugging at the pyjama top Rangiku and Orihime had bought him yesterday. “Matsumoto and Kurosaki are certainly enjoying spending time together.”

“Which one?”

“Kurosaki Orihime.”

“Ah, that makes sense. What about Kazui-chan?”

“He’s as hyper as ever,” Toshiro huffs, but not out of frustration. When on a mission, he doesn’t have much time for the youngest Kurosaki. Outside the missions, he didn’t mind him – maybe even enjoys teaching him how to play with spinning tops. He knows Momo certainly likes him, often jumps at the opportunity to babysit him with Rangiku when she can. “I gave him that toy you got.”

Momo let’s out a delighted gasp. “Thank you! What’d he think?”

“Seems to like it a lot.”

“I’m so glad! I was worried he wouldn’t like starfishes anymore.”

Toshiro lets out a weak chuckle. “I’m pretty sure he likes most things. He’s a lot like his mother in that way.”

“…That sounds very mature and observant coming from you, Captain Hitsugaya.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” she laughs as she opens and closes a door. “But come on, you must be doing something while you’re there. It’s not good to stay so focused on work all the time.”

“Says the ‘tiger of paperwork’,” he rebuts.

She sighs. “…I still haven’t found who came up with that. It’s a silly nickname.”

“Yes, I can relate.” He smirks, imagining her glaring or pouting at her denreishinki.

“At least yours is part of your name, Shiro,” she says with a teasing edge.

Now he glares towards his device. “Yes, I suppose it is,” he manages to strain out. “Very funny, bed-wetter.”

She lets out an indignant sound, and he can’t help but chuckle. Soon, she’s joining him, her laughter filling the receiver. It’s only then he notices how light he feels, the weight of sleep and unfinished business easing away; it’d been so long since they’ve been able to have any exchange beyond work or last longer than five minutes.

Turning, he leans his lower back into the counter, looking out to the living room. “What about you? Anything happen in the last three days?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. Captain Hirako was arguing with Hiyori-san yesterday over who’s turn it is to visit.”

“I thought I heard someone screeching yesterday…”

“She is quite…loud. Anyway, the day after you left I went to library with Nanao-san and had dinner out with the Women’s Association.”

“Matsumoto will be devastated when she finds out you met without,” he remarks, sarcastic. “What scheme are they concocting now?”

“It’s not a scheme! Besides, you know I can’t say what our activities are.”

“Again with that loyalty to them.”

“It’s not photographs this time, I promise!”

“Better not be.”

She chortles. “Anyway, aside from those things, I’ve just been focusing on paperwork and training for the most part.” She walks again and opens another door. Judging from the twittering of birds and the wind blowing into the receiver, she must be out on her balcony. “I was training just before I called.”

“So I gathered. Any progress with your bankai?”

“No, not today. Tobiume can only remain physically manifested for a short while before she needs to return.”

Her disheartened tone causes the furrow in his brow to soften. He steps away from the counter and paces back to the living room. “Keep at it, you’re strong enough to get there.”

“I know, I will.” He senses the smile in her voice as she continues. “It makes me even more amazed that you obtained bankai as quickly as you did.”

He stops, toes just edging into a strip of moonlight coming through gap in the curtains. “Everyone will learn bankai at their own pace. Mine just happened to be faster than yours and others. It’s no use making comparisons.” This was the kind of talk he gave to his discouraged subordinates.

“I know,” she says, upbeat. “I wasn’t comparing. It just amazes to me. You were so young when you entered the tenth division, I never realised you had so much strength and potential.”

“You sound like the Academy instructors.”

She chuckles. “I didn’t think anything could top your early entry. But then you went for the captain exam, and I only found out then you had obtained bankai. I must admit, I was angry when I found out. I thought you’d kept it as a secret from me.” Her voice takes on a sadder tone. “Then I realised that wasn’t right. I didn’t know about it because I hadn’t been there for you for a while.”

“Don’t be silly. You were recently made a lieutenant at the time, you had your work cut out for you, and…”

“Yes, that too.” It can go unsaid that Aizen had manipulated her so that her time was completely monopolised by him. In the sombre pause, he looks down at the floor, toes stretching and curling on the carpet.

“Captain Hitsugaya?”

“Yes?”

He senses hesitation on her end. “This is the first time you’ve seen him since the end of the Quincy War, isn’t it?”

He takes a breath, shifting weight from one foot to the other has his chest slowly turns to lead again. “Yes.”

When she doesn’t immediately speak, he knows she’s choosing her next words carefully. He steps into the moonlight when she asks, “Is everything going okay?”

Now it’s his turn to think carefully. “Matsumoto is definitely happy about it.”

“And you’re not?”

With long, low exhale he looks up at the moon through the curtains. “I don’t know how to feel.”

It’s most honest answer he can give. One part of wants to scream at his former captain, to remain bitter that he abandoned them; the other part wants to talk to him about everything he missed and express his relief that he’s alive. Internally, he’s at war with which reaction he should have.

“Hitsugaya-kun? Hello?”

He startles out of his thoughts, not bothering to correct her. “I’m here.”

“Are you okay?” When he doesn’t answer, she sighs. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“It’s okay.” He shrugs. “I’m fine. He doesn’t live with Kurosaki anymore, so we’ve only seen him once.”

“Right.”

Something in her tone is prompting him to continue. In the past he would have ignored it, but now, after everything they’d been through with Aizen and the Quincy war, he’d vowed to be more open with her.

“We didn’t talk much,” he recounts. “Our meeting wasn’t even planned. We just bumped into him while surveying the area yesterday.”

“You weren’t planning to see him at all then?”

“No.”

Another pause, but this one leaves him reflective. He thinks back on when he saw his former captain. Rangiku kept the conversation short and mostly pleasant, with the occasional jab about him leaving only a note behind when he disappeared or how he’d ‘let himself go’ in old age. It was like watching them argue from years ago when he reacted the same way. For a moment he was back to when he was a third seat, when he had less responsibilities then he does now. When he was more certain about life and his place in the Soul Society.

Momo’s voice brings him back to the present. “I remember when he disappeared. I wasn’t really there for you at the time, but whenever I saw you few months after, you looked so…lost.”

He bites the inside of his cheek and ducks his head away from the moon. As always, she could read him, even back then. When Isshin disappeared, it was as if the compass needle had toppled out. He had no direction or sense of where to go. Neither did Rangiku for a time, but she found her feet quicker than he did. Even so, looking back now, he didn’t have much time to recover from the loss. He had to step up and take over, because he was the only one of the higher ranks that had bankai.

“Rangiku-san said when you two saw him again she was happy to see him,” she continues. “She said that it wasn’t the same for you. I…I know it’s not my place, but I’m glad you bumped into him.”

He blinks. “What’re you getting at?”

“Well, it’s just…” he imagines her pursing her lips, contemplating how to continue. “I’m sorry, I was trying to help. I know it isn’t any of my business, but I always hoped he’d return one day so you could know what happened to him. Some Shinigami have disappeared and their family and friends never find out what happened to them.” She breathes in deeply and exhales, a sign that what she is about to say next will be a struggle for her. “You saw me when I thought Aizen was dead. Then you saw me when I denied who he truly was. None of us know why or how he became the way he is, and we’ll never know. We’ve had to move on from that, because we’ll never find out the answer.”

He wishes he could be there with her right now. He considers himself hopeless at comforting others, even when he reassured them no harm had been done or everything would be all right. Regardless, he wants nothing more than to-

“I can’t imagine how it feels for you,” she continues, voice softer than before. “Now that I think about it, if I had a chance to reunite with someone who disappeared long ago, I’d like to think I’d take it, but I don’t know. I know that closure is never a guarantee, that we have to move on, but even so…I think I’ve always hoped that one day you would get closure somehow.”

There was a time during the investigation into ‘Aizen’s death’ when he sympathised with her about being abandoned by her captain. Unlike him however, that captain was a fake and would never come back; though she didn’t know why or how, she knew what had become of him, and the answer crushed her. His former captain was alive in the World of the Living and the father of Soul Society’s saviour, her former captain was alive, corrupt, and deceitful to the core, buried hundreds of feet beneath the Seireitei.

And somehow it’s in this realization he comes to an answer.

He thinks back to that moment again when they bumped into each other. When Isshin finally addressed him after assuaging Rangiku, Toshiro barely spoke; his answers were blunt and got the point. Maddeningly, Isshin only smiled and said he was proud of how far he’d come, and apologised for not telling them why he disappeared until now. However, Toshiro knew better than to yell at him then that becoming captain hadn’t been a choice but a necessity in the wake of his reckless abandonment. He had be above childish pettiness and old grudges. Even if he was forced to become the next captain, he did make one of the few choices available to him: to move on and keep going. Momo struggled to make that choice, but she too had done the same in end. In place of that bastard was a better captain, one that only earned Toshiro’s trust completely after the war against the Quincy had ended. In place of Isshin if now Toshiro.

In a few strides he reaches the nearest couch, folding forward to rest his forearm along it’s back.

“I understand why he abandoned the Soul Society, but I don’t know if I can ever fully forgive him,” he admits. “I don’t hold ill will or a grudge against him, I just never needed closure. I moved on and got on with becoming the next captain, that was closure enough.”

Toshiro’s shadow slides over the cushions and along the floor, ending at a collection of frame photos. One of them is of them features a chuffed greying Isshin gazing down at the three-month-old Kazui in his arms, while Ichigo is next time him smiling at the camera. “It’s why when Matsumoto and I first came to Karakura Town and we sensed his presence, we chose not to bother him then. He knew we were there too, but he didn’t assume we’d want to see him. He chose to live a different life, and it’s not our place to interfere with it. He, like us, enjoys this time of peace, and I’m…I’m glad he’s alive.”

“Yes, of course.”

He faintly smiles. “Are you crying?”

She sniffs. “Maybe…”

“There’s no need to.”

“I can’t help it! It’s just really nice to hear you say those words. I’m happy for you.”

He sighs. His vow to be more open and this peace had softened him, made him more open with his thoughts and emotions around her. He glances at the clock again; it’s almost four o-clock. “Don’t get used to it,” he lies. “It’s only because I’m tired.”

“Sure.” She moves as she speaks, seemingly come in from outside. “I should let you get back to sleep.”

“That won’t be happening. Like I said, I was going to be up soon anyway.”

“Well, in that case you didn’t answer my question from before.”

“Huh?”

“What’re you doing outside of your mission?”

He huffs, leaning away from the couch and rounding the furniture to returns back to his futon. “I just go for walks around the place.”

“You must see some interesting things then. Any bookstore or tea shops?”

He quirks a brow. Why would she be interested in shops here? “There’s a bookstore that sells the kind of books you like. Mystery novels haiku collections from what I could see. There’s a several tea shops here you’d like too.”

“I’ve been meaning to visit the World of the Living again, it’s been so long. You’ll have to show me around Karakura Town.”

“Wait, what? Since when did I sign up to be your tour guide?”

“You…you wouldn’t want to do it?”

How he hates the slight wobbles in her voice, how it sounds like she’s pouting. Even without her right in front of him he caves to that darn pout. “I wouldn’t be able to come here again for a while. You’re better off either coming here and asking one of the Kurosaki’s to show you around or going with Kuchiki or Abarai when they visit.”

“It’s okay, I can’t go visit it anytime soon, but it’s just something I thought we could do together sometime in the future when we both get time off…if it’s something you want to do that is.”

He would like to have conversations like this again more regularly, and preferably face to face. “I guess, but we’ll see.”

He hears the beam in her voice, and it’s enough to make him smile too. “Okay, great! In the meantime, when you get back and after work hours, do you want to go out somewhere together?”

“You mean like see Baa-chan?”

“No. I mean…go out for dinner somewhere. Just the two of us.”

He blinks, dumbstruck gaze looking ahead. She couldn’t mean a date. No, Rangiku’s stupid horoscope magazines and teasing were getting the better of his thinking. He and Momo had gone out to restaurants before for lunch…but never dinner. Heat creeps into his cheeks. “Sure.”

In a rush, she says, “Okay then. I’ll swing by your office the day after you get back. Unless you’re not there, in which case-”

“I won’t be anywhere else.” He briefly glares at ceiling, roughly where Rangiku sleeps. “Someone needs to check the reports are accurate.”

“I’m sure Rangiku-san will help you with that.”

“Of course she won’t. She’s going to use the first chance she gets to go drinking with Kyouraku, Kira, or Hisagi. It’s either that or find out what the Women’s Association has been up to. Prepare for the tears.”

She chuckles. “I will. I, uh, better go. Like you, this paperwork won’t fill itself out.”

He lies back on the futon. “Right. Thanks for calling.”

“Oh, no problem. Thanks for answering. Stay safe on the mission, and say ‘hi’ to Rangiku-san and Kazui-chan for me.”

“I will.”

“Bye, Shiro.”

He lets out an indignant sound, but he can’t correct her, the dial tone already sounding off in his ear. With a deep exhale, he shuts the denreishinki’s lid and puts it aside. He stares at the ceiling again, trying to figure out what just happened. Why had she spoken so quickly? Why was she suddenly interested in seeing the World of the Living with him? Why have dinner with him instead of lunch?

He shakes his head. I’m overthinking this. She probably just wants to catch up and is so busy she can’t do lunch. The conclusion doesn’t completely gel with him – there’s small part of him humming with nervous energy about the idea that this was a date. He makes a mental note to confiscate all of Rangiku’s magazines in the office when they get back – they’re clearly influencing him too much.

Or maybe it’s this swirl of emotions he still can’t put a name to; ones that only Momo could conjure up. Ones that had been a mere flicker decades ago, but now grew into a small fire in his chest whenever she’s around.

Whatever this dinner was, he can look forward to it. This time of peace opened new opportunities to everyone: for him, for those from his past, and for those going forward with him into the future.

#hitsuhina #hitsumomo #toshiro hitsugaya #momo hinamori #bleach #fanfiction #sorry for any typos

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