Author's Note: Before I posted the end to Hanging on the Edge, I decided to give you all the first chapter of my next big project. Hopefully I won't lose interest in the middle and cut it off like I have the bad habit of doing. Anyway, may I present to you the first chapter/prologue of Love Game, and look forward to me updating it in the very near future!

Love Game

by Open Casket Ceremony

It started out as a normal enough day. The products of the inner workings of the minds of two very bored individuals.

Back before the storyline you love and know. Back before Ichigo had even met Rukia.

Even back in that time, Soul Society already had a routine. The captains would go about their business everyday, getting new recruits in order, taking care of administrative work, training, organizing missions, so on and so forth.

For the tenth-division captain, Hitsugaya Toshiro, this cycle of routine applied strictly. He would rise at the break of dawn, sometimes skip breakfast, and instead opt to spend the morning training or communicating with Hyorinmaru. Then, he would attend the daily captains' meeting, get things running within the division, and in some occasions, he would have some spare time for himself.

Some captains went out for a stroll during their spare time. Others got together for a drink or some other recreational activity.

Hitsugaya, on the other hand, preferred to clean his office.

This chilly winter day was no exception.

Usually during this time of the year, Soul Society was in a particularly festive mood. The winter holidays had set in, with Christmas and New Year's clearly visible on the horizon. And so, the soul reapers had these few weeks off for the most part.

Matsumoto had gone out to a Christmas party, and she had pestered Hitsugaya to go with her. The young captain had refused, insisting he had better things to do. And that, as was usual of his free time, was cleaning out his office.

Hitsugaya was set on making his office spotless now. He was extremely OCD about this, and now was no exception. With a sigh, Hitsugaya knelt next to the desk, opening each drawer and removing unnecessary items to clear out clutter.

One would say that out of all the captains, Hitsugaya Toshiro was the one with the least things inside his desk. He felt no need for anything beyond spartan necessities, and the almost bare state of each desk drawer was a testament of his policy.

There was one thing, however, that Hitsugaya could not bear to discard, and that he had kept safely in his desk for many, many years.

Hitsugaya had a reputation for being cold-hearted, but everyone knew he was not emotionless.

And it was also a widely known fact that the child prodigy had even been in love once.

Years ago, when he was but a student at the soul reaper academy, Hitsugaya had found himself falling in love with a classmate who had unfortunately passed away since then, by the name of Kusaka Sojiro. The two were absolutely inseperable. Hitsugaya's fondest memories of his winter holidays in the academy was when he would return to the Rukongai to stay with his grandmother during the holiday break. Kusaka, however, had no family to return to, and thus stayed in the academy dormitories for the duration of the holidays. During these times, they would write letters to each other, and each letter Hitsugaya received from Kusaka during these times was more precious than any Christmas gift he could receive.

Since that time, Hitsugaya had kept every single letter, and now they were stored safely in a box tucked away in one of the many drawers of his beloved administrative desk.

As he re-sorted each drawer, Hitsugaya opened another, letting his eyes fall upon its contents. The box where he kept the letters.

With a nostalgic sigh, the snow-haired boy slowly pulled out the box, opening it, staring wordlessly at the countless letters inside. He reached inside, taking hold of one and looking longingly at it.

It had been so long since he had loved another person in the way he had loved Kusaka.

There was a pause before Hitsugaya glanced towards the office window. Through the frost-coated glass, he could see that outside, it was snowing. He smiled softly, deciding that since the weather was so nice - in his opinion - it wouldn't hurt to go outside for a while.

Wrapping a large scarf around his neck to ward off the chill, lest he catch a cold, Hitsugaya walked outside onto the office porch, the letter still in his hands, watching the snow fall quietly. As much as he refused to admit it, he liked the holidays. The lighter atmosphere, the weather, and the nostalgic air that seemed to come with it, bringing back fond memories of holiday seasons past.

He sat down, letting his legs hang over the end of the porch. Quietly, the child prodigy unfolded the letter, holding it in his hands as he inhaled deeply, reading the affectionate words it contained fondly.

Toshiro -

I hope your holidays are going well so far. Most of the students have gone back to their homes for the holidays, like you have. I'm one of the only ones left in the dormitories, but don't worry. I don't feel lonely. The letters I get from you are almost as good as you being here with me yourself. If there is one good thing about the season, it's the snow. It's beautiful, and it reminds me of you. At this moment, I am eagerly anticipating the time when I can be at your side again. I miss you very much, but I am glad that you are doing well with your grandmother - please send her my regards. As I am writing this letter, there are many things on my mind. Are you happy, Toshiro? Are you enjoying yourself? I can wish for nothing more this holiday season than for you to be safe and happy. I will continue to wait for the time that we can be together again.

- Yours truly, Kusaka Sojiro

As he read the final lines of the letter, Hitsugaya couldn't help but read the words aloud to himself.

"Together again..."

He knew that this would not be possible. They would never be together again, that was inevitable due to the fact that Kusaka Sojiro had been dead for quite some time at this point.

Hitsugaya looked back up into the snowing sky, a soft sigh falling from his lips as he clutched the letter, his breath coming out in frosty clouds. He didn't know at the moment if he would ever meet someone like Kusaka again in terms of his own feelings. Matsumoto often insisted that he should find someone special again - it would be good for his heart. She herself had gotten quite cozy with the third-division captain, Ichimaru Gin, although Hitsugaya didn't particularly care for him himself.

"Hitsugaya-kun."

Startled by someone addressing him so suddenly, Hitsugaya hastily folded the letter back up, turning to look at who could possibly want to talk to him at a time like this.

"Aizen?"

The spectacled, brown-haired fifth-division captain nodded in greeting, a warm smile on his lips. "Good afternoon, Hitsugaya-kun. I was just passing by when I saw you sitting here by yourself. Would you mind if I joined you?"

"Not at all," Hitsugaya answered, scooting slightly to the side to allow his senior to have a seat. Out of all the other captains, Aizen seemed to be one of the few who did not treat him with utter disdain because of his age. In fact, Hitsugaya considered Aizen to be almost like a father figure to him, and he knew why Hinamori had been so intent on becoming his fukutaichou. The man had charisma, charm, and a certain kind of warmth.

"Are you enjoying your holidays?" Aizen asked as he seated himself next to the prodigy.

"I suppose," the younger captain mused. He had been intending to, as usual, return to the Rukongai to spend the holidays with his grandmother, but his plans had been foiled by a massive load of paperwork that Matsumoto had neglected. "I haven't been doing much. Just some paperwork."

"Diligent as always, are we?" the older man responded, chuckling good-naturedly as he placed a hand on the prodigy's shoulder, "You are quite the hard worker. One day, undoubtedly, you will make an ideal spouse."

Hitsugaya didn't know why, but he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable after hearing this words. He said nothing in response, merely glancing warily at the large hand that was resting firmly on his shoulder. "Is...Is that so?" he managed to reply half-heartedly.

"Certainly," Aizen answered, a smile on his lips now, "You have grown since your academy days, Hitsugaya-kun. I remember seeing you one time during an inspection. You've grown even more lovely since then. When you're a little older, I'm sure that you will have many suitors." The hand on the boy's shoulder tightened its grip slightly. "...Perhaps including even myself."

Now Hitsugaya could feel his heart beating a little faster, but not in a good way. An embarrassed blush sprang to his cheeks as he carefully pushed the man's hand off of his shoulder, looking away. No one had ever spoken to him so shamelessly before, not even Kusaka. This wasn't the same kind of feeling. Kusaka didn't mind telling Hitsugaya he found him to be very pretty, but this felt different. With Kusaka, he had felt a certain kind of affectionate warmth. But here, he only felt discomfort. He was still young, and Aizen was much older than him, and he didn't know why the fifth-division captain would want to discuss something like this with him now of all times. He had never brought up any such topic before, and this was so sudden and strange that Hitsugaya wanted badly to get far, far away from him. He scooted slightly further away.

"Don't be shy, Hitsugaya-kun," Aizen chuckled, "Trust me, I am not the only man in Soul Society who thinks this of you. Do you really think that so many others have not noticed how beautiful you are becoming?"

"I-I'm sorry, Aizen...I have to get going. I...I have other important things to attend to," Hitsugaya stammered, getting up quickly. He was confused, bewildered, and even a little...scared? He didn't know what it was Aizen wanted with him right now or where this conversation was going, but he knew that he wanted to get out of there, fast.

The young prodigy hurried away, Aizen watching him leave with amused interest.

He was not the only one watching, however.

From a rooftop, safely out of view from Aizen and Hitsugaya, crouched Matsumoto and Renji, who had both been watching the conversation between Aizen and Hitsugaya with much amusement.

"Geez, I didn't think Aizen-taichou would ever say something like that to my taichou," Matsumoto mused in a sing-song voice.

"Me neither," Renji agreed, "But you know, Rangiku-san, Aizen's right. Hitsugaya-taichou is growing up to be a pretty little kid."

"Pervert," Matsumoto accused, "And you make no sense, Renji, how the heck can he grow into a 'little kid' like you said? Wouldn't that technically make him, like, not growing at all?"

"That's not the point!" Renji snapped, "In any case, though...Hitsugaya-taichou needs to get laid."

"Big time," the large breasted tenth-division fukutaichou agreed, "But with who?"

This was a question that went unanswered for the two plotting vice-captain's for quite some time.

However, months later, an incident occurred in which a flaming orange-haired ryoka boy and several others broke into the Seireitei, triggering mass panic throughout the soul reapers. Eventually, the incident died down and they came to know this boy as Kurosaki Ichigo, a subsitute shinigami for Soul Society. But they figured, if anyone was reckless enough to break into the Seireitei, then surely, they'd be reckless enough to try out a fling with the cold-hearted tenth-division captain, Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Matsumoto and Renji exchanged knowing looks.

"Kurosaki Ichigo...he's our man."