Years had passed since Captain Shiba Isshin's disappearance, and many members of the Tenth Division no longer even knew his name.
Even in the long-lived world of Soul Reapers, a decade brings change. The boy who had been promised a future by his predecessors, Hitsugaya Toshiro, had succeeded him as captain of the division.
"...Phew."
Toshiro meticulously organized the scattered documents on his captain's desk before leaning back in his chair. The room was spartanly furnished, befitting a warrior's austere lifestyle. It was a space worthy of the "strong, steadfast man" he aspired to be.
"Heh."
The smile that escaped him came from the joy of a long-cherished dream finally fulfilled. Though the intense workload following his appointment had kept him busy, now that he finally had some breathing room, Toshiro allowed himself to savor the sense of accomplishment he'd been holding back.
At last, at long last, he had gained strength worthy of pride.
Men are simple creatures. For Soul Reapers who live by the sword, finding something sacred in "strength" comes naturally. But Toshiro pursued those two syllables with a different kind of masculine simplicity, driven by another pure purpose entirely.
The very pure goal of protecting the woman he cherished.
"...Hmph."
Yet his expression soured as he reread the letter from his pocket. The message came from that stubborn woman he'd made an important promise with... well, not exactly a promise, but someone he was constantly competing with anyway. The lovely stationery adorned with pressed plum blossoms contained words praising and celebrating his promotion, but the words he truly longed to hear were nowhere to be found.
"Captain, what's with all the huffing and grimacing you've been doing by yourself?"
"Gah!"
Toshiro jumped at the sudden voice from beside him.
"M-Matsumoto...! How long have you been..."
"I've been here the whole time. Watching our captain smile with satisfaction about finally being in a position to protect his girlfriend, then getting all pouty over a letter from said girlfriend..."
"I wasn't doing any such thing!"
"Ow!"
Covering his embarrassment with anger, he hurled the finished paperwork at his habitually lazy subordinate, Matsumoto Rangiku. The frivolous blonde always looked like she was carrying two heavy melons on her chest. Their relationship was complicated, filled with both gratitude and resentment, and though this longtime companion had shifted from equal to subordinate some time ago, he'd never once felt it strange.
Seeing her settle into her rightful place had been one of the first sources of satisfaction he'd felt upon becoming captain.
"...Take that and follow me."
"Oh, the First Division submission forms! Captain, you did them for me!"
"Do them yourself next time."
Dragging along his vice-captain who would never work if left alone, Toshiro departed the Tenth Division barracks. Their destination was the Gotei 13 headquarters and First Division barracks, a place he'd had no connection to during his days as third seat.
The two chatted as they walked toward their destination. But on their way to the Captain-Commander's office, Toshiro found himself stopping involuntarily at the sight of two figures appearing in the corridor ahead.
"Oh, Shiro-chan! Rangiku-san!"
The petite girl's face lit up like a blooming flower. It was his older childhood friend and sender of the letter in his pocket, Fifth Division Vice-Captain Hinamori Momo.
Joy and pride at seeing her for the first time since his appointment as captain surged through Toshiro's chest. But his composed expression relaxed only for an instant. The reason lay in the presence of a certain man walking alongside his precious childhood friend.
"Well, good afternoon. Captain Hitsugaya, Vice-Captain Matsumoto. Are you here for the regular reports as well?"
The person greeting them with a gentle smile carried himself with confident bearing.
Irritatingly handsome features and impressive height. A low voice that somehow carried sweet, seductive undertones. Black-rimmed glasses that gave him an intelligent appearance, and the scent of refined cologne. The man widely acclaimed as the most beautiful in all of Seireitei, Fifth Division Captain Aizen Sosuke.
The object of his childhood friend Hinamori Momo's admiration.
Swallowing the small surge of irritation deep into his stomach, Toshiro returned the greeting with a light bow. Then he immediately turned to face the girl who truly mattered.
"Wow, the captain's haori really suits you, Shiro-chan... ah, um... H-Hitsugaya... Cap...tain..."
"How much do you not want to say it..."
After a long internal struggle, the title Hinamori finally managed to voice was painfully formal. The boy could only feel exasperated rather than angry at her stubborn resistance.
"Mmph, it just feels like I'm losing somehow..."
"You're not 'feeling like' you lost, you actually 'did lose,' Vice-Captain Hinamori."
"!?"
When he teased her back in retaliation, Hinamori made a face like a pigeon that had been hit by a peashooter. Served her right.
"Mmmph! Rangiku-san, our Shiro-chan is getting even more cheeky now that he's gotten too big for his britches! Big sister is so sad..."
"Just let him be, Hinamori. Being able to honestly lord his rank over people is something only pure kids can do. Right, Shiro-chan?"
"You two should go back to the Academy and relearn some respect for superior officers."
The two women, kindred spirits in their shared indignation, joined forces to begin their usual "Shiro-chan teasing." At times like this, Toshiro always found himself fighting back alone.
"That's quite right, Hinamori."
But this time, someone spoke up in his defense. The eldest person present, someone who could scold subordinates for showing disrespect to captains from other divisions, a model Soul Reaper who understood proper etiquette.
"Captain Aizen...!"
"Friendship is a precious treasure above all else. But disrespectful behavior toward a superior officer is hardly commendable. You must learn to distinguish between public and private matters."
"I-I'm sorry..."
Hinamori immediately became bashful and withdrawn. Seeing this side of his childhood friend for the first time, Toshiro's eyes widened in surprise. All he could manage was a noncommittal response when she and Aizen both apologized with a proper "We apologize, Captain Hitsugaya."
But immediately after, Toshiro stiffened. Aizen had, with shocking familiarity, placed his hand on the dejected Hinamori's shoulder and smiled at her.
"Haha. It's fine as long as you understand, Hinamori."
"C-Captain Aizen..."
His precious childhood friend gazed up at her superior with flushed cheeks.
An expression even more lovestruck than when she used to talk about her admired Captain Aizen during their days off back home, like a maiden truly in love.
"Well then, I'll take my leave first. It wouldn't do to interfere with you young people."
"Wh... but Captain Aizen, you're young too!"
"Haha, thank you, Hinamori. Then perhaps I should say family time instead? Take your time getting back."
"Ahh... Captain Aizen..."
Thinking he was being considerate, Aizen began to leave alone while Hinamori gazed dreamily after him. With a face she had never once turned toward Toshiro.
He knew he was reading too much into it. But Aizen's retreating figure seemed to be saying "You're not even in the same league," and overwhelmed by humiliation, Toshiro felt compelled to say something back to the man who had thoroughly stirred things up.
"We're not family."
What escaped his lips was such a childish retort. The pitiful pride of a man flailing against his seething irritation, impatience, and sense of defeat naturally became fodder for laughter.
"...Pfft!"
"M-Matsumoto!"
"Ahahahaha! Captain, that's just pathetic! Oh, oh, my sides are killing me!"
"You littleeeee!"
Toshiro put his erupting vice-captain in a headlock, taking out his frustration on her. As Matsumoto ran off toward the Captain-Commander's office, still laughing with documents in hand, Aizen watched with a wry smile, his elegant brow forming a mountain shape.
"It seems I said something that bothered you. I apologize, Captain Hitsugaya. Please allow me to make amends another time."
With that final troubled apology, Aizen departed the First Division barracks with unhurried composure.
Toshiro felt as though the man's dignified back had shown him his own insignificance, and left alone with the object of his affections, all he could do was bite his lip in defeat.
"...Tch, still not man enough... telling me I need to surpass that guy..."
Toshiro muttered his frustration under his breath.
He had finally surpassed her in rank and even risen to captain, yet still hadn't earned recognition of his strength. Still wasn't allowed to protect her.
Confronted with the reality that another man already occupied the position he desired, the boy couldn't help but let slip his discouragement at the magnitude of the wall he had to overcome.
"Well then..."
Just then, he heard his childhood friend's voice from beside him.
"What..."
"Well then, next time I'll test whether Shiro-chan has become a real man."
Her voice carried the mature tone of someone soothing a petulant child.
For a moment not understanding what she'd said, Toshiro replayed it two or three times in his mind before...
"Huh? ...Whaaaaaat!?"
He turned red to his ears and let out a shriek of shock.
"Eek! Huh? Wh-why are you so surprised..."
"Y-you idiot! Do you have any idea what you just said!?"
"Eh... huh? ...Oh."
When he scolded her for being carelessly inappropriate as a woman, the defenseless fool finally realized her slip of the tongue after several seconds of thought. Hugging herself with an apple-red face, she began protesting frantically.
"N-n-no no no, that's not what I meant! Not in that way... why would your mind go there first!? Shiro-chan, you pervert!!"
"It's because you said something weird! What's a woman doing saying such things in front of a grown man, you idiot!"
"I'm not an idiot! And where exactly are you a grown man, you precocious brat!"
"Who's a precocious brat, you damn woman! Come outside! Today we're settling once and for all who's on top!"
"How awful! Terrible! And you call yourself a man! A captain trying to use violence against a vice-captain! Just because you got a little promotion over me, you're getting all full of yourself!"
"Don't twist my words! And stop treating me like a man only when it's convenient, you cheater!"
Toshiro and Hinamori bickered loudly. The familiar interaction with his childhood friend, somehow reminiscent of old times, made the boy happy to feel the jealous sludge in his chest dissolving away.
"...I won't be able to go back to Grandma's house for a while pretty soon."
After catching their breath, following a brief silence, Hinamori suddenly murmured this.
"...A long-term mission in the World of the Living?"
"Hehe, it's a secret."
His childhood friend deflected playfully while showing her mischievous side. But Toshiro thought he glimpsed some untouchable sorrow in her expression.
"So before that, I'll give you a chance. If you can show me something so cool that I have to see you in a new light..."
"Hinamori...?"
Gentle. Quiet.
Unlike her usual self, his childhood friend wore a smile tinged with an indescribable, sorrowful shadow as she made this one-sided promise.
"Maybe I'll let you protect me."
***
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