Title: To Overcome Failure

Genre: Morbid epiphany, Irony

Characters: Hitsugaya

Summary: Hitsugaya Toushirou had finally realized.

It wasn't that he cared for the man. That could never happen.

Hitsugaya Toushirou could never care for a traitor.

But he'd seen what he could do. And it scared him.

He could level entire plains with ice. He could shatter living things into a thousand frozen pieces. He could kill. He had killed. Never who he wanted.

Obaasan was the lucky one.

Kusaka ... wasn't.

And Hinamori. Oh god, Hinamori.

He couldn't care for him. Not like he'd cared for them. But he couldn't kill him either.

He couldn't hurt him or freeze him or make him cry. He couldn't force him away or bother him or avoid him. He'd never have to avenge him. He'd never have to say goodbye to him.

So when Aizen Sousuke placed a foot atop Hinamori Momo's bleeding body and reached a hand out to him, he took it.

Hitsugaya Toushirou had finally realized.

It was the only place he'd ever be useful. If all he was capable of was ruining the lives of the people he cared about, then that was what he would do.

And for once in his life, he wouldn't be a failure.