Hitsugaya walked around the old yet familiar streets of Rukongai. It was his turn for patrol duty, and although he thought it a boring, mundane job most of the time, today he was in good spirits.

Suddenly, he trod on something. Hitsugaya backed off, and saw that it was a ball of rags. He heard a surprised squeal and looked up to see a small boy standing guiltily in front of him. His friends hovered uncertainly behind him.

Hitsugaya relaxed and kicked the ball back to him. The kid laughed and yelled a 'Thank you' at the captain before running off to join his friends, dribbling the makeshift soccer ball at the same time.

For the first time in a long time, Hitsugaya smiled.