Bleach: The Captain Part Two & Three, Toshiro Hitsugaya x OC

Chapter 20: The Warehouse

Sometime, during our huddled session on the floor, I had fallen asleep. When I awoke the room was quiet, aside from Toshiro, who was sleeping behind me. Across the room, Kisuke leaned against the wall, staring off into space.

"Well hello there," he greeted me. "Didn't want to disturb the sleeping couple." he added in a hushed voice.

My eyes lit up with a smile. "Kisuke, you're alright!" 

Toshiro stirred, stretching his arms out around me. 

Kisuke pulled a paper fan from the sleeve of his robe and tapped it open, covering his face. "Of course I am, what made you think otherwise?"  

I thought back to the events leading up to where I was currently seated. "You were trapped in a barricade with Aizen."

"That wasn't truly Aizen," he corrected me.

I waved him off with my hand. "The particulars don't matter. What happened?"

"First," he tapped his fan shut, pointing it to my makeshift bandage, "we need to deal with that."

I noticed for the first time that the linen had been soaked through and had begun dripping on the floor.

"Shit." I grumbled. 

***

After much a much needed rinse in the sink, I tossed the bloody linen in the garbage as Toshiro wrapped it in a fresh towel for me. Taking my seat next to Kisuke, I laid my arm out on the counter top and sucked in a deep breath. This was going to suck.

Toshiro handed me a wet cloth so I could wipe the dirt and grim from my face while he did the same, taking up a chair next to me to watch the seamster work his magic.

Kisuke laid out his kit, pouring alcohol into a bowl before dropping the needle into the solution. He cracked his knuckles in anticipation and began in earnest. I must have made all sorts of interesting faces because Toshiro had firm grip on my hand. Kisuke stitched without stopping, slowly closing the seam in my arm with neat, evenly spaced sutures. When he was done, he splashed some of the alcohol over it for good measure, causing me to jerk involuntarily.

"Frick this hurts," I shook my arm vigorously to lessen the pain.

"Don't go getting yourself cut up next time," he shrugged, reaching for my arm again with a fistful of gauze. Wrapping it until it covered completely, he tied it neatly and tucked the ends under the bandage. 

I tested my arm and found it felt almost normal again. I got up and grabbed a third chair, dragging it over to Kisuke and ordered him to sit.

"Thank you for stitching me up again," I gave him a genuine smile. I perched myself on the set across from him and waited for him to comply.

He discarded his hat on the counter. Combing his fingers through his hair, he situated himself on the chair in front of me. Without anything left to distract him, he relented.

"Ask away."

I wanted make sense of everything that happened. How did he know where to find me? How was he able to find me when he was away on other business? My head was beginning to hurt from the confusion.

"Did you know it was Aizen attacking us from the get go?" I finally asked.

Kisuke set his mouth in a thin line.

"Yes and no. I had a feeling that Aizen was behind the attacks on your Soul Reapers, I just didn't know how. I wasn't exactly running errands so much as I was trying to search out and stop Aizen before it got out of hand."