Tōshirō at His Wits' End

Ye Yang and his group continued strolling through the streets, and this time they encountered Byakuya walking down the street, with a small figure beside him—none other than Hisana's younger sister Rukia.

The two of them walking down the street looked rather strange, for no other reason than that Rukia too much like Hisana. Their faces were practically identical, except that Rukia's body was a Little Ichi.

"Byakuya, Rukia's here too! Happy New Year!" Ye Yang greeted them. Byakuya immediately turned his gaze and saw Ye Yang's smiling face, with Soi Fon and a disgruntled Tōshirō beside him.

Then Byakuya walked over with Rukia: "Brother Ye Yang, Captain Soi Fon, who is this...?" Byakuya looked at Tōshirō strangely, as he seemed to have no recollection of this boy.

"It can't be..." Byakuya was about to say something when Tōshirō interrupted him Tōshirō, jumping out and saying, "I'm not his son! I'm just his disciple, don't get the wrong idea."

Ye Yang chuckled. Everyone along the way had treated Tōshirō as Ye Yang's son, which had hurt Tōshirō deeply. It was only natural that he would jump out to argue now.

Byakuya was somewhat surprised, not understanding why Tōshirō would suddenly lose his temper. He frowned slightly, seemingly displeased with Tōshirō's agitated behavior. It seemed that Ye Yang's apprentice had a rather impatient temperament. However, little did he know how many people had misunderstood Tōshirō along the way. It was almost maddening.

Then his lips moved slightly. "I know."

"I said... Huh? You know?" Tōshirō looked at Byakuya with some surprise. In Byakuya's gray-purple eyes, he saw only indifference, a look that was devoid of emotion except when he was looking at Ye Yang.

He's been like this ever since Hisana and Ginrei Kuchiki passed away. Before, although he was cold, he would still smile at some people he knew, and his expression wasn't as cold and indifferent.

He's become indifferent now; you can feel a chill even around him. Perhaps the loss of those two people was too much of a blow to him. Although Ye Yang has tried to comfort him, it's impossible for Byakuya to accept it all at once. Maybe it will get better with time; time is the best medicine to heal wounds.

Rukia stood timidly beside him, not chatting with Byakuya. She was somewhat afraid of Byakuya now. Actually, when Hisana was still around Rukia would occasionally exchange a few words with Byakuya, and he wasn't as cold as he was now. Byakuya could also feel the care her older brother had for her.

But ever since Hisana left, he has changed, becoming unusually cold, making her afraid to get close to him. Every time she gets near him, she can't help but feel a little scared.

Today is the New Year's Festival Rukia originally wanted to stay at home obediently, but Byakuya suddenly approached her and asked her to put on formal attire and go for a walk with him.

Byakuya coldly replied, "Yes, I know. Brother Ye Yang once told me about it."

Tōshirō was somewhat embarrassed, after all, he had just drunk Byakuya's words. Since Byakuya knew his identity, Toshiro lowered his head in shame and whispered, "I see. Um... I'm sorry, I was rude just now. My name is Tōshirō Hitsugaya, nice to meet you."

"Byakuya Kuchiki!" Byakuya's words were still few, but his brows relaxed and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. Although he was annoyed by Tōshirō's rudeness on their first meeting, he gradually understood the reason for Tōshirō's outburst and was able to understand Tōshirō's predicament a little.

Most importantly, Byakuya suddenly remembered his childhood, and his fiery temper back then was surprisingly similar to that of the boy in front of him, so he couldn't help but feel a little fondness for him.

Unfortunately, Tōshirō didn't understand Byakuya. He thought Byakuya's cold face was because of him, or that it was just how he was.

Ben Ye Yang saw Byakuya's expression clearly. Tōshirō and Byakuya really looked alike when they were young. No wonder Byakuya treated Tōshirō differently.

Byakuya Rukia to the front and continued, "This is my younger sister Rukia Kuchiki."

Rukia immediately bowed and said, "Teacher Ye Yang, Captain Soi Fon, Hitsugaya- kun, I am Rukia Kuchiki, nice to meet you!" Her voice trembled slightly, clearly indicating that she was a little unaccustomed to it.

"Rukia, there's no need to bow. Actually, I knew you first. How have you been lately?" Ye Yang said with a smile.

"Ah, very good, thank you for your concern, Teacher Ye Yang," Rukia said politely, but she lacked a bit of aristocratic grace. She clearly didn't like this tone, yet she still spoke it anyway; perhaps Byakuya had instructed her to do so.

Tōshirō was quite pleased with the phrase "Hitsugaya," and immediately beamed as he said to Rukia, "Hello, nice to meet you!" Children are indeed very simple-minded; a single sentence can make them forget their troubles and smile broadly.

Ye Yang shook his head helplessly. He had already told Byakuya everything he could. What he thought was his own business. But he was already doing well now. At least he wasn't so cold when facing these familiar people. He could still show human expressions, which was much better than the expressionless face in the original work.

"By the way, Byakuya, are you free later? If not, let's go to the Shiba Clan to watch the fireworks at ten o'clock," Ye Yang said.

Byakuya nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll go."

Just then, a voice came from behind, "Hey? Shiro-chan? What are you doing here? Didn't you go home?" Hinamori walked up from behind and continued, "Teacher Ye Yang, Captain Soi Fon, Captain Kuchiki, ah, Rukia's here too."

Tōshirō quickly ran to Hinamori's side. "Momo? Tch, why can't I stay here? The teacher told me to stay with him today and go home tomorrow. What about you? Come back with me tomorrow."

Hinamori looked hesitant, unsure how to answer, but a tall figure appeared behind him. "It's alright. You can go home with your younger brother tomorrow. Hinamori hasn't been home in a long time, has he?"

Aizen slowly emerged from behind Hinamori and stood beside Hinamori. "Captain Aizen, but you..." Hinamori's words were interrupted by Aizen, "Didn't I tell you? I'm fine. Thank you for coming with me to the New Year's Festival today."

Seeing Aizen's insistence, Hinamori said to Tōshirō, "Alright, Shiro-chan, let's go back to see Grandma tomorrow." Turning her head, she saw Aizen smiling at her, and Hinamori smiled back.

However, these actions displeased Tōshirō. He frowned slightly and carefully examined the tall man in front of him. Aizen smiled at him and said, "I am Sōsuke Aizen, the captain of the Fifth Division, and also the captain of Hinamori. Hello." His smile seemed to come naturally, and coupled with his harmless face, it was impossible to feel any dislike for him.

"Tōshirō Hitsugaya!" Tōshirō said simply. He had heard of Aizen Tōshirō before. Momo had told him more than once. Ever since the Konso incident, Momo had been talking about him non-stop. Tōshirō was tired of hearing it, but he was very unhappy. He, who had been with her day and night, was not as good as a so-called Captain Aizen.

Therefore, Tōshirō asked Ye Yang about Aizen more than once, but each time Ye Yang never answered directly, instead telling him, "Don't let appearances blind you to your true nature."

This made Tōshirō even more curious about who this so-called Captain Aizen was and why Momo was so fascinated by him. Today's first meeting made Tōshirō understand that, on the surface, Aizen was indeed a near-perfect person. His gentleness, his care, and his smile were all impeccable.

However, Tōshirō sensed that something was amiss, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Perhaps it was Ye Yang's teachings that instilled a certain wariness in him, or perhaps it was the child's pure heart that had discovered something. In any case Tōshirō kept a watchful eye on him, his intuition telling him that the man before him was not as simple as he appeared.

Aizen smiled and said, "You're Hinamori's younger brother, right? You're a very cute child. Because of the New Year, most of the team members went home, but I saw that Hinamori was still in the squad, so I brought her out to see the New Year's festival."

At this moment, Ye Yang and Byakuya walked over, Aizen nodded slightly. "Lieutenant Ye Yang, Captain Soi Fon, Captain Kuchiki, what a coincidence that everyone is here."

Tōshirō immediately returned to Ye Yang's side, and Aizen asked with a questioning expression, "Huh? Lieutenant Ye Yang, do you know this child?"

"Of course, this is my disciple. Captain Aizen, how are you doing? And Hinamori, are you settling into life in the Fifth Division?" Ye Yang said softly.

Aizen: "Thank you for your concern, Lieutenant Ye Yang. Everything is fine when you come in."

Hinamori smiled broadly, "Teacher Ye Yang, I knew you'd be here too if Shiro-chan was here. I'm doing very well in the squad; Captain Aizen treats us all very well." She already knew that Tōshirō had become Ye Yang's apprentice, and she was naturally very happy about it, but Ye Yang hadn't told her to tell anyone.

"That's good. I was worried you wouldn't be able to adapt to life in the squad so quickly," Ye Yang said slowly. Aizen's face flashed with surprise as he said, "Lieutenant Ye Yang's disciple? It seems that the Seireien is about to produce another genius."

"No, no, Captain Aizen must have gone to so much trouble for Hinamori and Kira," Ye Yang said, looking at Aizen with a meaningful expression, though it was unclear what he was trying to say.

Aizen, however, remained calm and composed. "Not at all Hinamori and Kira are both excellent rookies, and their strength is impeccable. I believe it won't be long before they both rise to the Seated Officer and shine brightly in Soul Society. This is all thanks to Lieutenant Ye Yang's meticulous guidance."