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

Chapter 11: According to plan

Yuki must have anticipated my reaction because he'd sent Shinji halfway across town. I found him near the edge of the forest, nursing two black eyes and his pride. Other vizards hung around, either to protect him or to watch whatever was about to unfold but he held up a hand for silence.

"Good to see you're awake," he addressed me when I finally stopped in front of him.

"I'm surprised you cared," I spat.

Shinji nodded to the vizards surrounding us. "Leave us," he waved his hand.

Hiyori made a face and sneered as she walked past me, but she listened to him none the less. Soon we were down to the four of us, and Shinji looked at my entourage expectantly. 

I looked at both of them and nodded. "I'll be fine."

Yuki glared daggers at Shinji. "If you pull anything. . ." he made the motion of dragging his thumb across his throat.

"You can relax, I'm not going to harm her," Shinji rolled his eyes.

I turned to Yuki and put my hand on his shoulder. 

"I can take care of myself, let me handle this," I assured him.

He looked hurt by my comment, but he nodded just the same. Yuki grabbed Kensei, and I waited until they were out of earshot before addressing Shinji.

"Why'd you do it?" I asked without turning to look at him.

"To get you here," he replied.

I spun around and gave him a confused look. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Shinji touched his nose gingerly and winced. He pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped snow in it as a compress, holding it to his nose carefully. He was taking his time, and I knew he was doing it on purpose which made me even angrier. He found a spot on a bench and sat down, offering me a place next to him. I leaned against a tree and folded my arms, waiting for him to continue.

He removed his compress and sighed. 

"Let me ask you a question if you had a choice, would you have stayed away from the battle if Kisuke asked you to?" Shinji looked at me thoughtfully.

"Absolutely not," I said quickly.

"Right, because he's family and you feel the need to protect him. Am I getting that right?"

"Kisuke and Yuki are my family; I'd do anything to keep them safe. It's no thanks to you that I'm stuck here," I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to launch myself at him.

"That's exactly my point. Kisuke wanted you to stay behind, but he knew you wouldn't even if he asked you to."

"Why would he ask me that? I'm a captain in the Thirteen Court Guard Squad, even if I wanted to stay here it's not my choice to make." I shook my head. Kisuke should have known that, after all, he used to be a captain as well.

"Right. Well, I think you wouldn't have listened to him even if you had a choice in the matter."

"This doesn't explain why you tried to kill me," I all but yelled at him.

"Come on now, quit being dramatic. You're a Soul Reaper, you and I both know it takes a hell of a lot more than a single stab wound to kill a Shinigami. If I wanted to kill you, I would have stuck around to make sure I did the job properly."

Reflexively, I reached for my sword, but Shinji held up his hands in defense. 

"Give me one good reason," I uttered darkly.