Leave Out All the Rest

So, hello again,



Thank you for reading the story. I really hope all of you are enjoying this as much as I do.Again, there may be some OoC out there and a lot of confusion and drama



So, Read, enjoy and review!







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Chapter 9



The Calm before the Storm Part 2



“Tell me Gin, how it went with our little project,” asked Aizen, resuming his walk with Gin close behind.



“It wen’ well as yeh ‘spect it,” he answered with his always present smile; Aizen allowed himself a triumphant smirk. “They gotta take th’ lim’ters off, and even like tha’ it was ratheh diff’cult for them ta deal wit’ mere Fractions.”



“I see. This is certainly good news,” said Aizen; he looked sideways to Gin before continuing. “Too bad you couldn’t accomplish you’re little plan, Gin.”



“Nuttin’ ta worry ‘bout, Aizen-taichou. I guess i’s just a matteh o’ time.”



“Like our plans?” replied Aizen amused.



“Yep.”



“And are you sure that Hitsugaya-taichou doesn’t represent a threat?” the question made Gin chuckle a little. Aizen lifted a single brow at that, but was very pleased by that reaction. “So, I guess the ‘Heavenly Guardian’ is just a myth after all? It is a shame though that Kurosaki Ichigo and Hitsugaya-taichou ended up being so…disappointing.”



“Li’l Shiro-chan ain’t a threat at all. I coulda killed ‘im…but I was doin’ a friend a favo’.” Aizen frowned a little at those words; he looked intently at Gin for a moment before relaxing a little.



“I see. It doesn’t matter then.” Gin merely bowed is head; he turned ready to leave Aizen when the man stopped him with a strange, but not totally unexpected, question. “Is there anything else you want to tell me Gin?”



“Mmhmm, I cou’d tell yeh tha’ Shiro-chan is now a man, thanks ta Rangiku…but I guess yeh knew tha’ already,” said Gin. Aizen nodded his head and waved as the man left with his always present smile.



Aizen thought about it for a moment. It didn’t matter how infatuated he was with Matsumoto Rangiku, Gin was still loyal, which made things a lot easier because Aizen would hate it if he had to get rid of Gin. He was, after all, like a little brother – loyal and efficient. However, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t watch the group that was sent to Karakura Town closely… and he had just the perfect Espada for the job.





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He woke up at the sound of Matsumoto in the bathroom; just as he was hearing her the memories of the night before were back. He sat on the futon and looked with fear at the door of the bathroom, in there was the woman he loved …the woman that was carrying his…his…He couldn’t think about it; he didn’t want to think or say it.



Matsumoto wiped her mouth while standing up. She had woken up earlier that morning feeling really sick; of course she thought it had something to do with how tired and sore she was. She was shivering and felt a little weak; when she turned around she saw her taichou in the door looking at her with an expressionless face. But she hadn’t spent all these years beside him without learning a little about him, and his eyes were giving him away. He had a haunted look with a strange gleam, something akin to fear and helplessness.



“Did I wake you, Taichou?” she asked with a frown at her taichou’s attitude. He didn’t answer and didn’t move; he just stood there for a moment before he turned around and left.



Matsumoto stood in her spot for a moment, not really understanding what had happened but feeling hurt because of it. She thought that things were fine; of course not excellent or even good, but at least fine. She thought that her taichou had forgiven her for her weakness last night; that maybe the fact that he had put her on the bed and had slept beside her would have made a little difference. But apparently he was still mad at her. Rangiku looked at her reflection and another wave of nausea hit her and once again she had to lean on the toilet.



Hitsugaya heard his fukutaichou and he passed a hand through his hair, messing it more; he dressed rather quickly and left the place before Rangiku came out of the bathroom. He almost fell down the stairs and hit his head on the post just outside Orihime’s place in the rush.



“Damn!!” An old lady passing by looked at him with a sympathetically.



“Are you okay, darling?” Hitsugaya looked at her a little dazedly and nodded his head before he kept walking without a clear destination.



Now that morning had arrived and he had had a good night’s sleep, the weight of last night’s news hit him with a new intensity and realization had dawned on him. How could that have happened to him? How could he…and she…just because of a one night thing?? Something that obviously didn’t mean anything to her; not only because she didn’t even remember, but also because she was thinking about an entirely different person.



“This is so fucked up…” he mumbled sitting under a tree in a random park.



-I’m with you on that…-



‘I was so ready to let go of that night…to start something different…to do things right and tell her when the time was right, when it wouldn’t hurt so much for her rejection.’



-Toushirou…-



‘You…you weren’t joking, were you? You…this isn’t some kind of punishment, right?’



-No, it’s not. She really is…you know…-



‘Yeah, I know.’



Hitsugaya let out a bittersweet laugh; he started laughing really hard with his hands on either side of his body and his head against the tree. He was really freaked out with the whole situation and the only thing he could do was laugh. Inside him, Hyorinmaru was looking at him a little warily, not really knowing what to do until the sensations of what Hitsugaya was going through reached him and he started to laugh, too. Hitsugaya moaned in pain when he bent forward a little; he looked down to see traces of blood on his chest. He grimaced and sat straight again, his eyes focused on the blue sky.



‘What a prodigy, eh? We did it once and bang! She is pregnant.’



-Oh, yeah…bang!! Hahahaha…-



Hitsugaya stopped and looked at his zanpakuto with narrowed eyes; the sudden change in Hyorinmaru’s voice didn’t go unnoticed to him.



‘What was that?’



-What?-



‘That change of voice…that nervous laugh…



-…It was nothing…hahaha-



‘Hyourinmaru?’



The dragon looked at Hitsugaya and sighed before settling on the ground and looking directly into his master’s eyes.



-I guess…you deserve some kind of explanation.-



‘Explanation? Of what?’



-Look, we zanpakuto have a different way to find a mate. You shinigami and humans have a different process, you can find a mate one day and change it the next one…of course, I am simplifying all of this and I am not even going over the love part.-



Hitsugaya lifted his brows at the… academic attitude in Hyorinmaru. It was kind of funny to see him like that, after so many years that behavior was a little out of character coming from his zanpakutou.



-I love Haineko very much and I have known her for a long time now. After she let me know that she felt the same as I, my possessive instinct came into play and I marked her.-



‘Marked her? What do you mean Hyorinmaru? What does this have anything to do with me and Matsumoto?’



-Zanpakuto can be with another zanpakuto even if their wielders aren’t together in a romantic relationship. Even if their wielders are together and they break up we wouldn’t end a relationship because of that; like I said, our relationships are different and usually they endure forever. -



-What I did to my lovely kitty was mark her as my mate. She will be mine as much as I am going to be hers, forever. And you, due to the feelings you have for Rangiku, marked her the same way.-



Hitsugaya’s eyes opened wide at that revelation; now he partially understood why he had done that the night he and Matsumoto spent together. It was maddening to him at that moment to think that maybe it would be a one-night stand, that in that state she could be doing the same with another man. It made him mad and possessive of her, and he lost it and acted on instinct, leaving little marks all over her body and a special one on her right breast.



‘You mean that I…marked her?’



-Yes.-



‘I marked her as my…mate? But we’re not…animals or zanpakuto, then how…’



-Do you forget that I am you and you are me…that in a way we are one? As a dragon I’m very possessive with the things I care about or love. You could say I passed down that characteristic to you.-



‘But even like that…how can she…’



-Well, I don’t know exactly, and this is just a theory. You are a prodigy after all, it wouldn’t surprise me if you were a prodigy with this as well, and your instinct based actions were another main factor. So, in a way, it is my fault as well.-



Hitsugaya touched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache approaching. He wouldn’t only have to tell Matsumoto about that night, but also about the mark. Both master and zanpakutou stayed like that for a long time. Neither of them said or did anything, trying to understand or at least cope with the recent events. They would need all the strength, determination and resolution they could get, because things would get difficult from now on.



‘I think…we better go to Urahara’s place.’



-Are you sure? I know you still feel a little weak after yesterday.-



‘Yeah, I need to think about everything but this.’



-Very well.-





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Matsumoto rubbed her eyes and opened the door to find herself in front of Ikkaku, Yumichika and Renji. The three of them were smiling at her and Ikkaku had two bottles in his hand while the others had different bags full with food.



“Hey, guys! Come in!”



“Where is Orihime?” asked Renji, putting the bags on the counter while Yumichika was pulling the contents out.



“I think she is still at school,” said Matsumoto, eyeing the food her friends had brought with them. “What did you bring?”



“A lot of stuff,” said Renji, “I’ve been dying to taste this world’s food. There’s this something called fast food that Rukia said was really good. And maybe, after this we can go to this place Rukia told me about…something about an amusement park.”



“Oh, that sounds okay, I guess.”



“Hey, Matsumoto, where is Hitsugaya-taichou?” asked Ikkaku, sitting on the sofa and putting the bottles on the table.



Matsumoto frowned a little at the question; she completely missed the glare Yumichika sent Ikkaku’s way.



“I don’t know. He left early in the morning and hasn’t come back yet.”



“I see. So, you’re okay?”



“Yeah, I’m little sore, but okay.”



“You scared us a lot last night when you fainted,” said Yumichika, putting the food and four cups on the table.



“Yeah, and you still look like hell,” said Ikkaku, taking a french fry “What? You didn’t bring enough make-up with you?”



Matsumoto slapped him on the head, making him swallow his food without chewing on it.



“Careful Ikkaku, I may let Yachiru know some interesting things about you,” said Matsumoto, still glaring at the bald man that was coughing and waving for someone to help him.



“While Ikkaku was rather idiotic, I think he is right,” said Yumichika, looking at her with a frown. “You don’t look as beautiful as you used to be everyday.”



“Yeah well, I don’t feel ‘beautiful’ today. I was really sick this morning. That nausea again,” said Matsumoto taking one of the boxes, taking a bite of whatever was in there.



“What the hell Matsumoto? You almost killed me!!”



“You’re already dead, there would be no difference,” replied a smirking Matsumoto.



The discussion went for a good two minutes, while Renji was eating as much as he could while watching the little fight with amusement. Yumichika, however, was thinking over the information he had been gathering together since the first day Matsumoto started with that strange ‘sickness’; after all he had known Rangiku for quite some time and he could count with his hand how many times she had been sick, and that was only because she mixed sake with three other different alcoholic drinks that Kyouraku-taichou had brought with him that day.



“Just for that you won’t get this!!” exclaimed Ikkaku opening one of the bottles and pouring the contents in one of the cups, passing it in front of Matsumoto’s eyes several times. He had a victorious smirk on his face that was wiped away as soon as he saw the grimace on Matsumoto’s.



Without giving anyone time to react, Matsumoto threw the shrimp she had in her hand and ran to the bathroom where she emptied the contents of her stomach. Ikkaku sniffed the cup full of sake with a frown on his face. Renji had been the only one that had stood up and attempted to assist Matsumoto at the bathroom entrance; while he may be a little worried that didn’t mean he had to go inside and…watch. Hearing it was bad enough.



“Matsumoto, are you okay?” asked Renji with a frown when the woman stopped and went to wash her mouth.



“Yeah, what the hell was that? This thing didn’t smell bad or anything,” said Ikkaku who was now eyeing and sniffing some of the food. “Oi! Matsumoto! Was it the food?”



“It was nothing, just…what was in that?” asked Matsumoto signaling the cup.



“What else? Sake of course!!”



“That didn’t smell like sake!!”



“What do you mean? It smells like sake!!”



Yumichika looked over at Matsumoto, then at Ikkaku and finally at Matsumoto once again. She was paled and shaky, with a tired expression on her face and a strange gleam around her. Then it was her reiatsu and that morning sickness…



“Oh my God,” Yumichika’s eyes lit up in realization and he promptly brought the bottle of sake to his mouth and drank a long shot of it.



Ikkaku, Renji and Matsumoto looked at him with wonder at his unusual behavior. Yumichika eyed Matsumoto and again took another sip from the bottle. There wasn’t enough alcohol at hand to calm him a little.



“Oi, Yumi, are you all right?”



“I…yeah, I am perfectly ok.” He said with an odd smile on his face.



“Okay, then, I think I’m going to take a bath and then we can go to that place you mentioned earlier, Renji,” said Matsumoto, not really believing Yumichika but not feeling good enough to make him talk.



“Shouldn’t you…like rest or something?” said Renji with a frown. “I mean, you look really sick and maybe you just need to rest.”



“No, I feel like going out and having some fun.” Renji looked at her and the sudden change but decided that it was wise to keep his mouth shut. “Do not dare to peek at me or else…”



“Do not worry Rangiku-san; I won’t let such an ugly thing happen.”



Ikkaku glared at Yumichika while Rangiku smiled, satisfied, and left the trio there. Just when Ikkaku was about to discuss Yumichika’s comment, the latter turned to him and Renji with a serious look.



“I think I know why Rangiku-san is so sick,” said Yumichika with a little frown on his face. The other two looked at him with interest.



“Do you? And why would that be so important.” Ikkaku nodded in agreement at Renji’s words, while Yumichika merely rolled his eyes at the lack of understanding from them both.



“Is it contagious?” That earned Ikkaku a very amused smile from Yumichika.



“Can you at least think about it for a second?” he asked with a little humor in his voice.



“About what? She’s just sick, maybe she ate something rotten or her body finally is assimilating all the sake she’s consume over the decades,” said Ikkaku, snickering at his own joke.



“Well, it is rather strange that she got sick so suddenly, that and she’s been fainting a lot…but I don’t see how this is important. Surely she must have gone to the fourth division so someone can look at her, right?”



“You can’t really relate this to anything else besides sake and a simple virus or rotten food?” asked Yumichika, to which Renji and Ikkaku shook their heads ‘no.’



Yumichika imagined something like that and he looked around before talking to them in a deadly serious voice.



“When did these symptoms appear?” he asked. Renji scratch the back of his head thinking about that and Ikkaku was eying the last bottle of sake on the table.



“I remember,” said Ikkaku, surprising Renji and Yumichika. “It was after Ichigo returned to the real world, we went out and she almost fainted…then she threw up all over the bushes near the bar in the sixth district.”



“You remember that but not Yachiru’s nap time?” asked Renji.



“Yeah well, what can I say? It was rather disgusting. After that we had to go with her to her place and didn’t get the chance to drink that night!” Ikkaku replied defensively. “And I do remember Yachiru’s nap time…I just forget when she is about to get up, which usually leads to her running around Seireitei and me trying to catch up to her.”



“This is not the point,” said Yumichika. “So, these symptoms appeared after Ichigo left; can you guess?”



“Really, Yumi we could spend all the afternoon until we finally get why Rangiku has nausea and is fainting so much …”



“She’s pregnant?!”



Yumichika almost slapped his forehead at the yell from Renji, and in general for their stupidity. Really, sometimes he was just surprised at how good fighters they were but how idiotic they could be outside the battle field. Sure they were good friends, but rather slow and not discreet at all. Renji had his mouth wide opened at what he had just said; Ikkaku looked at him with a rather similar expression before he burst out laughing.



“Yeah right!!!” said Ikkaku grabbing his stomach and laughing a little more. Renji joined him later on feeling stupid because of his proposal. That was until both of them looked at the serious expression Yumichika was wearing.



“It can’t be.”



“No, you’re joking right?” said Ikkaku. “You can’t really mean that Hitsugaya-taichou just got Matsumoto pregnant after a one-night stand.”



“What? What the hell are you talking about?”



The trio froze in place at that voice; the three of them looked at each other before they turned to Matsumoto. She was looking at them with eyes wide opened and a stunned expression.



“Oh, crap.”





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“I think that’s all,” said Hitsugaya, eyeing the woman that was looking at him with a calculating glare.



Urahara nodded and took note of all the details that Hitsugaya had shared with him about the Arrancar and Gin. The man was looking at his notes and then turned to Yoruichi who merely shrugged and nodded her head.



“One more thing, Hitsugaya-taichou.” Hitsugaya nodded but said nothing, waiting for the man to ask the last question.



“Is Ichimaru Gin the father of Rangiku-san’s unborn child?”



The temperature in the room dropped drastically and Hitsugaya Toushirou sent a cold glare to Urahara that sent shivers through the man’s back, due to the intensity of the glare. Yoruichi couldn’t help the smirk that appeared on her face at the boy’s reaction; somehow it made her remember of a certain black-haired boy a long time ago.



“How do you know about that?”



“Oh, that,” said Urahara sheepishly, Yoruichi rolled her eyes but said nothing; it would be interesting to see the young taichou explode and make Urahara talk a little faster. “You see, I have to run a full cheek-up on all of you before I finish the gigai, so I can adapt them to you more easily. That’s how I discovered it.”



“If you knew, why didn’t you say anything to Matsumoto? Why did you give her some medicine for her nausea?”



“What I gave Rangiku-san was some placebo, not a real medicine,” said Urahara, “as to why I didn’t say anything, I was planning to do so when I finished the gigai I was doing specially for her.”



“Special gigai?”



“Yes, she can’t spend the next months in her state in that gigai. It wouldn’t adapt to well to the changes,” said Urahara. Hitsugaya nodded, feeling the weight of the oncoming chat on him.



“You haven’t answered Kisuke’s question, Hitsugaya-taichou,” said Yoruichi, suddenly interrupting the conversation. Hitsugaya looked over at her with a low growl and a small blush on his face.



“That’s right, Hitsugaya-taichou. If you know about Rangiku-san’s condition, then you must know if Ichimaru G…”



“He is not.”



“Excuse me?”



“I said that Ichimaru,” the name was said with such hate and venom in the voice of the young taichou that Urahara and Yoruichi lifted their brows in surprise. “Isn’t the father. The child….Matsumoto’s child…is…”



He trailed off. He couldn’t say it out loud, not yet…not to them. It would be as if he was accepting the facts. He sighed and lowered his gaze to the table, clenching his fists.



-Hey, it’s ok. You can do it…and if they say something we don’t like we’ll freeze their asses.-



Hitsugaya nodded with the smallest of smiles on his face. He lifted his head and looked directly at Urahara’s eyes, knowing too well what would happen from now on, from the moment he accepted the reality.



“Matsumoto’s child is mine.”



“We kind of suspected that, but thanks for confirming our suspicions.”



-Ok, that was a little anti-climatic. I was waiting some…reaction. Screams, surprise…anything, really I’m not picky.-



‘Totally agree with you.’



“You knew?” he asked.



“Yes, it is kind of difficult to work near her and not feel your signature on her.” Hitsugaya lifted an eyebrow with a clearly annoyed expression on his face at the comment. Yoruichi snorted at the lack of common sense, or tact, Urahara had just showed.



“Anyway, what is really interesting is that someone like you could get a woman like Matsumoto pregnant.”



“What’s that suppose to mean?”



“Now, now, Hitsugaya-taichou. We didn’t mean anything bad…it’s just that, Soul Society’s pregnancy rates are rather low and sometimes limited to people with certain characteristics. For example, someone that was actually born in Soul Society or that has an unusually high spiritual power, like Kurosaki-san. Or someone that came from a clan family.”



“And even like that it is rather difficult, if not impossible for some of them, to procreate.”



-Maybe, it would be good if you share some information with them.-



‘Are you sure? I mean…this is …this is my and Matsumoto’s child we’re talking about, I don’t want them to become some kind of experiment…’



-Then, better this Urahara guy and not the freak, clown-face Mayuri.-



‘You’ve got a point.’



“I understand what you mean.” He said eyeing Urahara and Yoruichi carefully. “Can I trust that you won’t say anything unless I say so?”



“Of course,” answered Urahara after a moment of silence.



“Then, I will tell you what Hyorinmaru and I were thinking.”



Two hours later Urahara and Yoruichi sat calmly, Hitsugaya had left just a few minutes ago, leaving them thinking over what he had said. Urahara scratched his chin before looking at Yoruichi with a well-known gleam in his eyes.



“What do we know about the zanpakuto Hyorinmaru? Apart from that information that Hitsugaya-taichou has so kindly shared with us?” he asked rather innocently and interestedly. Yoruichi merely smirked.



“We are going to know a lot as soon as I ‘borrow’ the information the Central 46 has of all the zanpakuto.”





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-I know you can…come on, we’re both males!! We can do this!!!-



Hyorinmaru said a little lamely inside Toushirou’s head. The young taichou rolled his eyes, even though he felt really nervous and anxious about entering Orihime’s place and facing Matsumoto. The moment of truth was there and he was ready to face her, right?





-Yep, you’re ready…I am with you and nothing can’t scare us or make us back away.-



Hitsugaya once again rolled his eyes but found himself nodding at the encouraging words from Hyorinmaru. With a last sigh he entered the apartment.



It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was ready to hide and let the fresh night come in. So, it was quite surprising to see the apartment so dark, with only the brief light coming from outside lighting the room, but that was enough to cover the sole figure sitting by the counter. Hitsugaya gasped at the beautiful sight; he entered the place and walked towards her but stopped suddenly at the cold look she sent his way.



“Good afternoon, Hitsugaya-taichou.”



-Uh…someone’s really angry.-



“Matsumoto?” he asked tentatively. The woman sat facing him and Hitsugaya could tell that she was really pissed off.



“It’s good to see you Hitsugaya-taichou. For a moment I thought you were gone for good.”



“What? What are you talking about Matsumoto? What’s wrong with you?” he asked, getting a little annoyed by her tone.



“Nothing is wrong with me, Hitsugaya-taichou,” said Matsumoto with such a cold and angered voice that Hitsugaya felt really confused and lost.



The woman stood up and walked towards him, the intensity of her glare made Hitsugaya back away unconsciously. She stood in front of him and with the same look, the one she usually wore when fighting, she leaned closer to him; with a snarl she spoke.



“Would you like to have some fun with me, Hitsugaya-taichou?” The young man gasped at those words, but for some reason he was far from being aroused or excited…he hated to admit it, and he probably would never admit it aloud, but he felt a little, just a little, scared.



“Tell me? Would you like to? Or… do you just enjoy my company when I am vulnerable and drunk?”



-Uh, I think she knows Toushirou…and by the sound of it, she isn’t happy.-



‘No? Really? What give her away?’ Answered Hitsugaya with sarcasm.



“I don’t know what’s worse,” she said, letting out a bittersweet smile after a very long silence. “That you, one of the men I respect and actually care about, betrayed me and used me in such a way, or that you don’t seem to care at all.”



Hitsugaya stood there, unable to react or move, to say or do anything. She stood there, watching him with disappointment and sadness, before she let out an angry snort and went directly to the front door.



“Do not worry, Hitsugaya-taichou. I won’t put this mission in danger due to my state. But I will present my resignation as soon as we’re back to Soul Society.”



-Don’t let her go!! Toushirou if she leaves now, you won’t be able to catch up with her, ever!!-



Hitsugaya’s heart clenched at the mere thought of him not being able to be by her side. He turned and grabbed Matsumoto by the waist and stopped her before she made it out of Orihime’s place. He pressed his body against hers, not really caring that he didn’t even make it to the back of her neck.



“Please, Matsumoto. Don’t go…don’t leave me…let me…let me explain everything to you,” he said, his voice full of desperation and pleading.



“Why should I?” she asked, and the tone in her voice made Hitsugaya flinch and fear even more that she wouldn’t want anything to do with him. She tried to leave again and Hitsugaya’s grip on her went a little stronger than before. He hated what he was going to do but…he couldn’t let her go. Not now, not when there was a tiny, little possibility of them being ‘happily ever after.’



“It’s an order, fukutaichou. You’re still under my command,” he mumbled; Matsumoto tensed up and trembled in anger as soon as those words left his mouth. She disentangled herself from him and without even looking at him sat on the sofa with a defiant expression on her face.



“I guess it was a matter of time that you would use your rank against me,” she said, clearly angry at what the young taichou had done. “Go ahead, Hitsugaya-taichou. I’m listening to you.”





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Ok, this is for next time!!! oh, before I forget, all of you know that Rangiku is pregnant by know, but I haven\'t decide if the baby is going to be a girl or a boy, I wouldn\'t mind hearing some opinions so, your free to express your opinion about it.



Do not forget to review and tell me what you think!!