Liking Oneself II: Thank You (Bleach Fanfic)

Cliff Side Breeze

After finishing up the morning division work, Hitsugaya Taicho set out on his thank you errands. The cool breeze rustled his white hair as he headed up to the area that the small monument was built. His small feet made little noise as he moved up the path. Upon reaching the top, he made a quick bow to the two markers.

He then moved over to one, which had dried, white poppy petals blowing away from the cross. He took a piece of paper and tried to tie the paper down, only to have it blow from his hand, ripped open as the breeze suddenly picked up. At that, he found himself turning and running after the note, not noticing that two figures were moving up the path lower down.

Frustration caused his cheeks to puff up slightly at the fact that he was chasing a piece of paper like an idiot child. His hand reached out to grab the piece of paper as he came to a place that had a foot or two drop, only to have it blow out of his reach by a short amount just as his foot stepped over the edge without realizing where he was placing his footwork.

At that point, he suddenly found his body plunging to the ground, his teal eyes suddenly going wide from shock. As his foot hit the ground, his ankle suddenly bent in the wrong direction and he went down, just as the strap of his sandal also broke. The pain jolted up his spine, causing him to wince. Slowly, he attempted to move his foot from underneath himself.

"Hitsugaya Taicho? Are you all right?" A loud voice came to his ears. This caused the small taicho to glance up to see Komamura Taicho looking down at him, a worried expression on his canine face.

At that, Toshiro/s eyes turned to see that Hisagi Shuhei was in fact with hi, the paper that he had been chasing blow straight into his face. The man moved it away from his face and suddenly muttered. "I know that you did not like the fact that I became a taicho at such a young age, but it wasn't my choice to ever become a shinigami."

"Hisagi!" At that, the small taicho stood up, or attempted to. As soon as he put weight onto his one foot, he suddenly went down. "Give that back!"

"What exactly is this about?" The fukutaicho of the ninth division shook the paper at him. "It is important if you were willing to make a fool of yourself to rescue it."

"Because I hadn't..." At that, the small taicho clenched his jaw shut. "Just give it back, sempai."

"Sempai? Oh... this has something do do with the video Matsumoto made for you?" The fukutaicho raised an eyebrow at the small taicho.

"Hitsugaya Taicho? Were you leaving this letter on the memorial?" The big male stated, suddenly scooping Hitsugaya up and setting him down so that he was sitting on the small ledge in the landscape.

"That isn't possible as it would be impossible for Tosen Taicho to have been on the video. Matsumoto-san didn't start the project until after they had all let." Hisagi piped up, his mouth set into a scowl.

"Actually, Tosen is on the video." The small taicho glanced at the ground as the palms of his hands rested on the edge of the natural landscape ledge. "I don't know how, but Ichimaru borrowed the tape for awhile."

"What exactly did he say to you?" Sajin sat down next to the small taicho, his interest suddenly perked.

"He don't thin that I should have been made a taicho. But that doesn't have to do with my lack of skill, it has to do with the fact that a child shouldn't have to be faced with the evils of the world. He pities the fact that someone didn't stop me from entering the academy when I did." The small taicho then glanced away. "That is what he said."

"Did he really say something like that?" Hisagi suddenly found himself scratching his head, confusion written on his face.

At that, Toshiro let out a small cough. "I may have not joined the academy until after you graduated, but when it comes to the academy, I am still your kohai. You head all about my moving up from Hinamori, Abarai and Kira and got to meet me while I was still in academy, though you admit I may not remember that." There was a small pause. "I actually remember meeting you, believe it or not."