"Vague: My Impression of You"

When he first made it to his current position as 10th Division Captain, Hitsugaya Toshiro was not sure he would ever be able to stand Ichimaru Gin. The constant smiles and eternal feeling of creeping dis-ease he suffered through every time he encountered the other shinigami was more than enough to make him keep his distance.

Once he'd learned that Matsumoto Rangiku, his own fukutaichou, had a connection to the 3rd Division Captain, he did his best to discourage anymore "get-togethers" in their office; alas, come the final afternoon bell on any given Friday, the sake bottles mysteriously appeared on the table and Ichimaru-taichou and the lieutenants Hinamori, Kira and Renji did as well.

Ukitake Jyuushiro once told him that Ichimaru was much more complicated than his appearance bespoke, but at the time, he hadn't believed him. After all, what did the sickly captain know of his associate's truer nature that Toshiro didn't already sense? There was nothing left to Ichimaru Gin that Toshiro didn't already understand.

Or so he thought. When he stumbled across Ukitake and Ichimaru tangled together in an embrace beneath an oak outside the 13th Division offices, he hurried away, afraid he'd be seen.

The sickly captain took to "affectionately" teasing him with the name "Shiro-chin" the next morning.

Seeing Aizen Sosuke and Ichimaru Gin together at a council meeting had filled him with some undeniable loathing. He whispered to Ukitake—who was unfortunately the nearest individual—why they seemed so involved. Unexpectedly, the long-haired man laughed and turned on his heel, "They're lovers, Hitsugaya-kun." He said it softly and with some amusement before he left the room quietly.

Toshiro didn't pursue that end.

A week later, he caught Ichimaru Gin alone in the outer halls, on patrol. He nodded briskly and meant to sweep away with his chin held high—until a pale hand descended on his shoulder. With a glare, Toshiro addressed him.

"Ya don't need to be so scary, Hitsugaya-kun."

"Hitsugaya-taichou, Ichimaru."

"Hai, Hitsugaya-kun." The smile that was eternally on his face widened and Toshiro felt a heated sensation flooding across his cheeks: anger. With a curt nod, he turned on his heel and walked away.

Ichimaru chuckled and called down the hallway after him. "Yare, yare, so tough, Hitsugaya-chibi-kun—and cold as well! If you ever need a warm place to sleep, Izuru-kun can tell you were to find me."

Startled by the blatant proposition, Toshiro had spun to tell him off—only to discover an empty hall-way and Hinamori sticking her head out of an office, looking confused. "Shiro-kun, are you talking to someone out here?"

Glancing around, he decided against the truest answer. "No, Hinamori-chan, just myself."

Her brown head bobbed, she bowed and then disappeared back inside with the click of the shoji door echoing loudly in his ears.

When Ichimaru Gin was discovered to be a traitor, Hitsugaya couldn't say he was surprised…on the one hand, he'd known all along. When he confronted the other shinigami, he knew he was guilty as sin…and only got his suspicions confirmed when Ichimaru was taken away by the Hollows…with Aizen Sosuke, the biggest traitor of them all.

And in the weeks that followed—in which three leader-less divisions had to be dealt with, shocked and broken hearts seen to and injuries healed—Hitsugaya reflected on all he remembered of Ichimaru.

His permanent smile. His slitted eyes, never opened beyond that tiny bit—no window into his soul to be seen by anyone at all. His relationship with Ukitake—trumped for his ties to Aizen Sosuke. And what of Kira Izuru, his fukutaichou and probable lover? What of him?

What of Matsumoto, who grew up and lived and loved Ichimaru as no other? What of her memories and the drunken festivities in the 10th Division offices every Friday night? What of all the times Ichimaru helped her to bed and escorted the others to their divisions?

What of the things that Ichimaru had been to all those individuals in the Seireitei? What of that? Was that all a lie? Was every estimation Toshiro had made of the fox-faced shinigami—both good and bad—false and incomplete?

So, in the end, Hitsugaya decided this: Ichimaru Gin was not fox-faced, but rather snake-like. He was not always smiling, but rather thinking, analyzing. He never laughed but always joked. He was rarely ever serious but always aware. Never did he follow protocol but he never really broke the rules. He was both good and evil, both kind and cruel to tease and then break so many hearts over the whim of a madman.

But above all, he was a traitor, through and through—if not for one thing than for another.

Standing on the rooftop where he'd once battled the man, Hitsugaya regarded the starry night sky, imagining Ichimaru Gin curled up on a throne beside Aizen Sosuke, looking content and pleased with himself.

In the end, his only true impression of Ichimaru was…vague.

Tell me what you think, please. Review.

-erena g.t. rose