Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Minutes to Midnight ❯ The Song of Treason ( Chapter 17 )

Title: The Song of Treason

Characters: Kira Izuru, mentions of others

Rating: T

Warning: None

Words: 1,011

Description: There is a breaking point for anyone, even the most obedient.

 

 

Izuru used to like Hitsugaya-taichou. He had been rather fond of the draconic captain, admiring his strength and respecting him greatly. Not only because he was a dear friend of his classmate but also because he was a clear example of what one could do, no matter the circumstance. Hitsugaya was just a kid, after all. And yet, he'd made it as a captain.

 

It gave Izuru great hope for himself.

 

That was all before he found himself at the harsh end of a permanent inquiry with a certain icy bastard's words trying to damn him.

 

To be fair, he supposed his own situation was remarkably more indicative than Hinamori-chan with her broken heart and Hisagi-senpai, who had merely been following the law. But that didn't mean it was proper for him to be the only one suffering.

 

They accused him of everything, claiming that he must have known what his captain was up to. After all, he and Ichimaru-taichou had been really close and the third division was tight-knit. Was he so blind and stupid that he couldn't see his own captain was going to betray them? Of course not. Therefore, he must have known.

 

Hitsugaya Toushirou was his primary accuser.

 

He blamed himself for his childhood friend's pain and took that shame out on Izuru, stating that it was very obvious the vice-captain was a traitor. That Izuru was going to turn on them at any moment. That he was secretly feeding Ichimaru and Aizen Soul Society's secrets.

 

As if there was anything Izuru knew that Aizen-taichou didn't already.

 

No one cared that Izuru himself suffered. Except for senpai and Renji-kun. But then Kurosaki-san disappeared, and Renji-kun was soon too busy looking for him. The only ones to truly stand by Izuru's side had been Hisagi-senpai and Zaraki-taichou, surprisingly enough.

 

The others just accused him of all manner of horrible misdeeds, failing to notice the unavoidable truth. That Izuru had been left behind, callously forgotten by the one he was supposedly siding with. And that had been the most crushing blow, the knowledge that his dear captain had walked away without a second glance. Without so much as asking if Izuru would have gone with him.

 

And that had hurt the most. That was what had broken him. So much that he could only feel a cold burning in his belly for everything Hitsugaya threw at him. That he could only half-heartedly deny the accusations because a part of him wanted it so much to be true. He had fought to keep his position because he wasn't going to leave his division to someone who didn't know them. To someone who wouldn't care.

 

It was a painful reminder every day, when he stood in front of his subordinates with a noticeably empty spot behind him. When he watched the rest of Seireitei and Soul Society prepare for war. When he practiced until sore and sweaty in secret to achieve bankai on his own.

 

Ichimaru-taichou had abandoned him.

 

He hadn't wanted to believe it. But the truth was there, staring him in the face. He had been left behind to deal with the accusations and the stares, the calls to return him to prison. And other, far worse things. Dark whispers on the edge of his senses.

 

Binding his powers. Exile. Execution.

 

And yet, Izuru couldn't be angry with Hinamori-chan or Hisagi-senpai. It wasn't their fault that they hadn't suffered as much as he. Or that the new Chamber 46 and Hitsugaya-taichou didn't give them any blame. And that all of his captain's misdeeds, all the blame he should have received, had fallen on Izuru's shoulders.

 

They wanted someone to blame. And Hitsugaya-taichou had all too willingly given them Kira Izuru on a golden platter. All dressed up with icy, angry words and incriminations.

 

Izuru had helped his captain, had been there when Hitsugaya-taichou had discovered the murdered Chamber 46. He had led Hitsugaya-taichou on a wild chase, fighting against Matsumoto-san and subsequently losing. But fighting all the same. Had escaped from prison with Ichimaru-taichou's aid. Had raised his sword against Hinamori-chan. Had hardly seemed repentant for his actions.

 

He supposed the last few were true in part. He had followed Ichimaru-taichou because he believed in his captain, believed in the man who had made him a vice-captain and given him a chance. When Ichimaru-taichou asked those things of him, he hadn't even thought twice. He'd simply done it.

 

Perhaps the worst of it… what was most incriminating and that he never dare tell anyone was that if his captain returned, Izuru was more than ready to leave with him. Soul Society had already made him out to be a traitor. There wasn't much worse he could do.

 

Izuru wasn't stupid. He had only retained the third because they didn't dare lose the entire division. They were already short three captains and a vice-captain. They didn't need to suffer any more losses.

 

Izuru kept his silence, enduring the accusations with bowed shoulders and an inner hope. He buried the fury and the urge to strike back, resentment replacing admiration until he found there was no one in Soul Society he despised more than Hitsugaya Toushirou.

 

Hitsugaya-taichou… who had never once thought to offer him the tiniest word of sympathy. The captain was too much the stubborn brat to admit that he thought he had failed Hinamori-chan on his own. Or that he wasn't omniscient and hadn't been able see the betrayal coming either. Hitsugaya-taichou who wanted to see someone pay and had never even asked Izuru for the truth.

 

And Izuru thought to himself that if he ever had the chance to repay Hitsugaya-taichou for all the kindness the boy hadn't given, he would take it in an instant. Without regret. Without shedding a tear.

 

Somewhere along the way, amidst the grief and pain, Izuru stopped believing in Soul Society's ideals. Or maybe that had happened a long time ago; he just hadn't realized earlier.

 

So he watched the sky, looking for the telltale rip and tear. And Izuru waited.

 

*****