Chap 3
Aizawa woke up that morning feeling as if he hadn't slept at all. At times like this, he wished there was coffee in the Soul Society so he could drown himself in a pool of it. At the back of his head, he could feel the distant rumbling laugh belonging to his Zanpakuto at his misery.
Looking over to the bed across from him, Aizawa could see his new roommate was also waking up from his slumber and rubbing his sleepiness out.
After preparing for the day, Aizawa tries hard to keep his face neutral as he helps Hitsugaya hem his uniform so that it does not seem like he is swamped in the fabric (even though it is already the smallest size they have available). His sewing skill was average at best, but making some simple size adjustments was easy enough.
"Here," Aizawa handed some of his school books to Hitsugaya.
"Why are you giving me your books? Don't you need them?"
"Not really, those are my old books back in my first years so I don't need them anymore. Plus I already memorise all my school books word by word, the peak of having an eidetic memory and I have already finished most of the theoretical curriculum that the Academy has to offer. That is why I have so many free periods. They would be more of use in your hand than in mine."
"Thank you"
"No Problem. Let's go before we're late, you would need to meet up with Onabana-Sensei first before going to your class. Do you still remember where the office is?"
"Yeah."
"Good because I can't lead you there today since my class is in the opposite direction. I'll see if I could meet up with you during lunchtime."
"Okay, I'll see you later. Aizawa-san"
"Remove the 'san' and we're good!" Aizawa yells as he Shunpo himself away.
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Aizawa does not lie, lying is something he swears to never do, sure he would not tell people everything but he would never lie. He did have a class today in the building he's heading to but that is not why he's in such a hurry. Since joining the Gotei 13, Hinamori usually starts her morning early so she can take her time preparing for the day so that she wouldn't be late to meet with her precious Captain Aizen and sometimes Aizawa would borrow the Academy's Denreishinki (Soul Pager aka Soul phone) to chat with her just to help her refresh her brain.
Aizawa knows that what he is about to do is pushing close to violating the newly growing trust between him and Hitsugaya. He could see that the white-haired boy was the type to keep all that troubles him to himself, but he also knew that despite her almost blinding obsession toward Captain Aizen, Hinamori also cared about the younger brother and grandma in Rukongai and would send 1/3 of her Shinigami's salary to them monthly. Lying could break a relationship but not telling the truth when needed would too.
Aizawa pays some money upfront for the extra sound separate barrier and quickly makes his way to the public Denreishinki. After a couple of rings, he could hear Hinamori's cheerful but sleepy voice answering.
"Umm, Good ...oa.... Morning, Aizawa- Kun"
"Good Morning, Hinamori-San. Sorry, did you just wake up?"
"No, no, I have been up for a while now but can't seem to get away from the sleepiness. Somehow, when I hear Aizawa-Kun's voice it is like I fell asleep in class and the teacher suddenly calls me up to answer some problem. I immediately wide awake."
"Hum, I'll take that as a compliment." Aizawa huffs as leans onto the wall next to the Denreishinki, eyes carefully scanning the surroundings and lightly covering his lip with his other hand.
"It is thou! Aizawa-Kun always seems so good at explaining problems and teaching others. I think that you would be a great teacher if you were to become one at the Academy."
"Ha! If I was to be given such authority I might expel most of the nobles that manage to get into my class."
"Ha ha ha, I could see that happen!"
"Hinamori - San" Aizawa said in a serious tone, Hinamori understood he wanted to talk about something important so she stopped laughing and waited for him to continue.
"Sorry, I did not call you today to just chat."
"It's alright, we're friends, aren't we? Since we're not in the Academy together anymore, listening and giving advice is the best I can do to help. Aizawa-Kun is usually a capable person you don't usually ask for help like this. It kinda reminds me of Shiro-Chan's"
"Your brother's full name is Hitsugaya Toshiro, right?"
"Huh? Yes, It is. But did I ever tell you his full name before?" Hinamori question.
"No, you didn't and It's smart of you to do that."
"Then how...?"
"Yesterday, Lieutenant Matsumoto had brought a young boy to the Academy and demanded the principal to allow him to be enrolled into the school. That boy has a head full of white hair and Blue-green eyes."
"Wait, What!? What is Shiro-Chan doing there?"
"Of course, the principal tries to stop it since 'our most pretentious Academy' cannot accept any random child who shows they have spiritual power and how it is 'already a full one month into the school year' so he cannot give 'special treatment' you know to those who are not a noble. Of course, you know of my role as the teacher's delivery boy so I was there. I could see the Lieutenant was this close to flipping the table"
"Oh my god, get to the point already. I hate when you get long wit like this" Hinamori complained.
"Shush you, so anyway, of course, he makes me the deal-breaker so, of course, I'm not gonna give him the satisfaction" Aizawa continues as he ignores her whining.
"Why does everyone think you're a teacher pet again?" She mumbles
"I suggest that it is not too much trouble to let him try doing the admission test and if he fails he would just have to wait until next year. And guess what? Your brother not only passes but he manages to score high enough to join Onabana - Sensei's Special Acceleration class"
"I... I always knew that Shiro - Chan is smart but to think.... But that did not answer my question on why he was there in the first place! Shiro-Chan always told me how much he doesn't want to be a Shinigami and how he doesn't understand why people would want to become a Shinigami"
Aizawa signs as he pushes himself away from the wall.
"How long has it been since you last visited your home?"
"Wha... what does it have to do with this?" Hinamori got confused with how he suddenly changed the subject, what does she not visiting have to do with...
Hinamori was at the top of her class so she could understand what Aizawa was implying to her.
"Could it be...?"
"I spoke with him yesterday. And from what I gather, he has already been unconsciously leaking spiritual pressure since a young age why does everyone around fear him but you and your grandma, you have your spiritual energy to protect you while your grandma is blood-related to him so she doesn't feel the effect of it."
"But his spiritual energy got stronger...."
"I figure that much, and not only that his Zanpakuto tries to contact him. Hinamori, Toshiro found out that he had been freezing his grandma in his sleep as it was getting too much for her. And if Lieutenant Matsumoto hadn't found him, Hitsugaya would have accidentally killed your grandma with his power"
Hinamori gasped when she heard what he said. "I.... I should have been there. If only I had visited them more then..."
"Stop, Hinamori. Yes, I agree that you should have been there for your family more but it is no use thinking of 'what if' when things have happened already. It is good for you to have a goal to chase after but never NEVER forget your roots. Rukongai is a harsh place to live even when you live in an upper-level district, the family that you make there should be cherished." Hearing Hinamori's soft small cry through the phone-like device made him feel bad to dump all this information on her like this, but at last, Ignorant would not do her good if she still insisted on serving a man like Aizen Sosuke. It is not like his first time in the role of a villain.
"Go visit your grandma on your next day off, okay? Though I suggest don't tell your captain all the details, just tell him that it's been so long since you visited your family so you kinda feel homesick. Since Captain Aizen is such a kind person he would probably worry himself sick." Aizawa doesn't lie but he sure can be sarcastic.
"Okay. Thank you for telling me Aizawa - Kun. And If it is not too much to ask..." Hinamori continues to sniff and hiccup.
"It's alright I know what you're gonna ask. I'll look after Hitsugaya-Kun for you. I have come to like him myself. You should still have some time before work to make sure to use that heated eye mask I gave you to clear away the puffiness on your eyes."
"Thank you, Aizawa-Kun. You know, you should stop pretending to be all hardcore and gloomy, we all know you're mother hen and big softy"
"Hey! I am not..." Before he could say anything to defend, Hinamori hung up "She hung up on me."
Aizawa signed resigned, he put the Denreishinki back in its place and paid for the borrowing fees.
"Well, That takes a bit longer than I expected. I should narrowly reach Hakuda class just in time." Aizawa said absent-mindedly as he quickly Shunpo away.
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On the other side of the school grounds, Hitsugaya Toshiro was not having a good time.
Toshiro feels small when standing at the front of the class as Onabana-Sensei introduces him and he feels even smaller with all the weight of everyone's eyes fixed on him, whispering and pointing out his hair, his eyes, and his height.
He could tell that no one was amused with his presence, their eyes either showed annoyance or curiosity.
If only Aizawa was in the same class as him. So far the other boy only ever gave him kindness and respect not only that he had helped Toshiro so much already.
Toshiro could only hope he could pass today in an eventful manner and not gather any more attention than he already has.
But then, when has Toshiro's luck been good?
By the time lunchtime came, rumours of Toshiro's enrolment and performance in today's classes had spread throughout the academy.
He was not that disappointed since Aizawa had already warned him about this. All the sneer and whispering were discomforting but sadly familiar considering Toshiro has grown up surrounded by it and, therefore, has lots of experience in ignoring them.
Clutching his books to his chest in fear of dropping them and losing Aizawa's generous gift for him. By now Toshiro knew that even if he was to lose them then Aizawa would make up a perfectly logical reason to buy new ones and easily convince him to take them as well, no, the elder boy had done so much for him already he would not trouble Aizawa anymore if Toshiro could help it.
When he looked around, Toshiro could see the hallway was filled with groups of students chatting away with each other, while he himself was standing alone in this sea of friends. Toshiro's heart could not help but ache from the loneliness.
'It will feel that the world has no place for you, despite how large it was' Aizawa had said that to him and Toshiro could feel how true that statement is as even among the abnormal he is still an abnormal to them.
He promptly tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. Who needed friends, anyway? (Is Aizawa his friend?) He needed to concentrate on his studies if he wanted to learn to control his power well and become a good shinigami.
Easily weaved through the crowds and slipped past people thanks to his size only to be stopped by a rude and obnoxious irritable sound of someone whistling at him as if Toshiro was some kind of obedient dog. He turns his head toward the source of the annoying gesture only to see a small group of smug and unsavoury-looking students leaning against the wall as if trying to look cool.
"Yo, newbie! Hear it your first day, but you're already making storms, eh?"
Irritated Toshiro does not wish to make a scene so he simply just ignores them while picking up his pace.
"Hey! How dare you ignore me, you midget! Come back here!" The leader yells as he reaches out to grab onto the back of Toshiro's uniform and pull the white-haired boy back.
But since Toshiro is much smaller than the leader, he ends up falling to the ground with all his books scattered everywhere. This makes the rest of the leader's goons laugh at him.
"Hahaha! That's what you get for ignoring this great Sakaki Gon-Sama, You brat!" The leader said as he joined in with the rest of his lackeys to laugh at Toshiro.
Suddenly the temperature around them drastically changes as the window already starts to freeze over.
The group of students had already fallen to their knees, while Sakaki could barely stand as he felt the weight of the spiritual pressure. His eyes were full of fear as they turned toward the source of the Spiritual energy.
A person with a high level of spiritual power can cause those of lower power to be stunned by simply being in the presence of a high-level spiritual being. It was only now that Sakaki regretted his action.
Toshiro's teal eyes were as cold as ice as he seemed to glare deeply into Sakaki's soul. The white hair boy already stood up from where he had fallen.
"Wha... who do you think you are!? Looking down on me!" Perhaps it was the feeling of near death from the spiritual pressure Sakaki managed to gather enough Hysterical strength to strike Toshiro viciously across his face with all his strength.
Did not expect the leader to strike him like that Toshiro was once again sent flying and would have hit the flood hard if it wasn't for someone who suddenly caught him.
Slowly opening his eyes, the first thing Toshiro noticed was the blue colour of the academy's male uniform of the person who caught him mid-flying and the second was a large....
CRACK
Turning toward the large sound Toshiro sees Aizawa standing next to the bullies' leader with the same scowl and emotionless eyes as last night, while the leader is lying on the ground and hugging his arm - the same one that he just used to hit Toshiro with. It seems like Aizawa just broke his hand.
"A-ah ah Ai...Aizawa-senpai" Sakaki managed to choke out as he looked at Aizawa with fear in his eyes.
But of course, Aizawa only gives him a murderous glare and turns away from him to walk to where Toshiro is lying on top of his mysterious saviour.
Toshiro only turns back to see who his saviour is. The person is a male student based on his uniform as he has long, black hair tied into a bun at the back, bangs hanging over the right side of his face and violet eyes that look very kind.
"Ah, I was planning to talk to you after class but I did not expect our first interaction to be like this" His saviour chucked in good nature. At least Toshiro knows that he's a good enough person to save a stranger.
"Hitsugaya - Kun! Are you okay?" Aizawa asks when he reaches them as he kneels to check the white hair boy for any other injury besides the large bruise on his cheek.
Sign in relief when he sees no other injury, Aizawa gently holds his hands above the wounds as his palms glow with green spiritual energy to facilitate healing. Toshiro could feel the soreness on his face instantly fade away.
With the ache on his body fade, Toshiro slowly stands up from where he's lying on top of his saviour.
"Th... thank you for catching me" his face burned with embarrassment from the position they were in.
"Haha, it's alright. But I make a good first impression with the cute new student, don't I?" The other boy laughs while giving Toshiro a flirting wink that makes the shorter boy blush even redder.
Toshiro turns away from the other as he walks over to where Aizawa is to gather up his scattered books, the other boy laughs as he follows to help them.
"So may I know the name of my cute damsel in distress?" The long-haired boy asks with a wide smile.
"Wh- Who are you calling cute!? And isn't it polite to introduce yourself first before asking for other people's names?" Toshiro huffs angrily (No he is not pouting!)
"Well, since my beautiful damsel demands it then I will provide. Kusaka Sojiro, at your service~"
"St- stop calling me that!" Toshiro yell
"Call you what, my dear damsel?" Kusaka asks, a smile still on his face as he seems to enjoy himself.
"That! St- stop calling me a damsel!" With how red Toshiro's face was, Aizawa was surprised no smoke had come out of it yet.
'Did you two forget that I am also here?' Aizawa thought as he looked at the two youngsters with blank eyes while squatting on the ground on the side and one arm under his chin with most of the scattered books already gathered into a small slack.
"Then would you give me the honour of knowing your name, my beautiful snow fairy?" Kusaka said with a face that could only be described as love-struck.
Aizawa - who is picking up the bullies' bodies and throwing them into a pile to the side of the hallway - whips his head back with widened eyes while the hand that is holding on to Sakaki's head tightens its grip making the bully cry out in pain.
'I knew it! That brat has nefarious intentions with Our family Hitsugaya-Kun!' Aizawa who already considers Toshiro as his precious baby brother does not feel amused with Kusaka's action.
"Beau...Beautiful..." If possible Toshiro's face grew even redder.
Hitsugaya Toshiro grew up hearing others calling him scary and scowling at him about his looks have never once heard the word 'beautiful' being directed at him, therefore, could not handle such a compliment. At first, he thought the other was just messing with him but when Toshiro looked into his eyes he could see the same kind of seriousness that Aizawa had.
Using the book he already picked up to hide his face behind, Toshiro's face looks as if it is going to combust at any moment as the white head is red from his neck to the tip of his ears. Heck, he might even be having a full-body blush considering how pale the white-haired boy is.
"Hi-Hitsugaya Toshiro" Toshiro took a peek from behind his book barrier and could only manage to give out a breathless whisper to tell the long-haired boy his name.
"Ah, It's a beautiful name. It suits you very much" And by now Toshiro looks about to faint from overheating himself.
Before Kusaka could say any more outraged things that could potentially make the white hair explode, a hand dropped down from above and chopped his head.
"Aiya!"
"Enough, Kusaka Sojiro." Aizawa said blankly with a stern face with a scowl on it.
"Ah! Aizawa - senpai, please be more aware of your strength. It feels like my head was cracked open!" Kusaka cried as he hugged his head.
Aizawa's superhuman strength is infamous because despite his slender look he is strong enough to create large craters in the ground or break walls with just a punch or lift things that are ten times his weight. There had been rumours floating around that he had once broken open a steel door with his bare hand. That is also among the reasons why the teacher at the Academy always asks him to help them carry and deliver documents and stuff because he could always do it in one trip.
No one ever wants to be paired with him in Hakuda class. Even the instructor.
Of course, Aizawa knew how to control his strength and did not hit Kusaka that hard.
"Cease the drama. Stop whatever it is that you're doing to my roommate." Aizawa signs as he gives the stack of books to Toshiro.
"Thank you, Aizawa - sa..." Toshiro was going to add in the 'san' but prominently stopped when Aizawa gave him a look.
"After all that trouble I think it best that we reward ourselves with some nice lunch don't you think? Do you have any other classes after this?" Aizawa ask
"Um, I think it will be a bit later in the afternoon when I have Kido Practical," Toshiro said as he dug out his schedule.
"Oh! Me too! Want to sit next to each other Toshiro?" Kusaka happily said
"Wha! It's Hitsugaya for you!" The blush had just disappeared from Toshiro's face coming back with a vengeance.
"*Gasp* I thought we were close now! We had a bonding moment. I cradled you in my arms!" Kusaka whined with mock hurt.
"Did you just say gasp out loud?" Aizawa muttered.
"Only because I was caught off guard! Had I been cautious then there is no way that big oat could have hit me!" Toshiro hissed and pouted overall just trying to defend himself. Aizawa thinks that the way he's acting would only make Kusaka want to tease him more.
Seeing Kusaka and Hitsugaya start bickering like some old married couple brings out a bubbly nostalgia feeling from deep inside Aizawa's heart. Aizawa's face could not help but soften as he chuckled and laughed quietly behind his hand as he walked alongside the two younger boys.
"Woah! Aizawa - Senpai is laughing, It is a never-before-seen sight! I am now blessed, my crops are watered, and my skin is cleared!" Kusaka whispers loudly in amazement.
"What nonsense are you babbling, Kusaka Sojiro?" Aizawa's face returned to its stern and scowling look in a blink of an eye as if the soft look he just displayed was just an illusion.
Before any other exchange was made a Hell butterfly fluttered its way toward them and landed on Aizawa's reach-out hand.
The scow on the male deepens as he listens to the message inside the butterfly. Taking in a deep breath and giving out a long sigh, Aizawa rubs his face in annoyance as if he's trying to smooth out his stress lines.
"Sorry, Hitsugaya - Kun. It seems like I won't be able to have lunch with you today." He apologized to the white-haired boy.
"N...no, It's alright. If you suddenly have some business to do then I won't hold you back, Aizawa." Toshiro resumes him.
"But still....." The upperclassman lamented as he leaned his head into his hand
"Oh!" Aizawa exclaimed suddenly, eyes open wide and hands clapped in front of his face.
He pulls out a wooden plate and hands it to Toshiro - the kind that all student was given to give to the chef to order food within the school grounds. However, unlike Toshiro's plain wooden plate, Aizawa's plate is a deep brown colour and feels new and luxurious.
"Here. If you give this to the people in charge of the food, they would know what to do. Ah, Ask them to make Kusaka's proportion too." Although it seems like his facial expression has not changed, the air around him somehow seems much softer, and if one were to look very, very, very close, then they could see how his lips are slightly tilted upward into a smile.
"Oh, I will have to go now. Hitsugaya-Kun, I'll see you back in our room. Kusaka Sojiro, I'll see you around" Aizawa gives the two underclassmen a quick wave as he calmly walks away.
When Aizawa is no longer within sight Toshiro once again looks at the wooden plate that was given to him while simultaneously taking out the one that he had received from the school to compare them.
By holding both plates in his hand Toshiro could see that his earlier guess that Aizawa's plate was made from a different wood was correct. The texture of the plate provided by the school was grainy and coarse while Aizawa's plate is smooth and somewhat silky. Other than that both look the same with one side having the indent of the circular symbol emblem of the Academy.
'Maybe it's different due to our school year?' Toshiro though
"OH My God, That was so nerve-racking" Kusaka panted out.
"Why are you acting like that?" The white-haired boy sign
"But Toshiro! It's Aizawa-Senpai!"
"I don't understand what you're saying. Might I remind you that this is my first day at the Academy? Is Aizawa-San someone important?" Toshiro huffed crossing his arms in front of his chest, wooden plates still in each hand.
"Aizawa-Senpai is currently the Academy's top student. Whether it be knowledge or skill Aizawa-Senpai already meets all the requirements to graduate early but no one knows why he hasn't yet. Currently, senpai only attends practical classes and acts as a teacher assistant for some theory classes. Not only that Aizawa-senpai is always open to tutoring and helping anyone who struggles with school, the rest of the time he's either doing errands and side jobs or missions for the Gotei 13 like what you see just now. Because of that Aizawa - Senpai is currently the most well-respected senior in the Academy. No one - even the teachers - wants to stand against him if we can help it."
'So that's why he could easily overrule the principle yesterday. Based on what Kusaka said, Aizawa-san has more authority than the teacher in the Academy and has already made a name for himself that the Gotei 13 would trust him to do missions'
"Thou, I'm also surprised to hear you and Senpai are roommates."
"And why that?"
"Well, although Aizawa-Senpai is very kind and considerate. But he has this kind of aura around him that makes him seem unapproachable - which I'm sure he did on purpose. Senpai used to hang out with another group of upperclassmen but they graduated last year, as for the roommate situation I hear rumours that they got beat up and kicked out by Aizawa-Senpai the reasons why were varieties. Everyone knows that Senpai always does things for good reason, but no one wants to risk his anger, so he has been alone since."
"I see."
Kusaka seems to notice how Toshiro's mood shifts, he pulls the white head toward the meal hall.
"Come on! Lunchtime won't last forever you know. We gonna make use of Senpai's goodwill!"
Kusaka's bright smile might be infectious as Toshiro could feel the corner of his mouth raise into a smile as well.
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