This is dedicated to MnC21 who requested that I make a Hitsugaya/Sakura fic. I hope you like it, hon. Anyways, 'Back At One' is a song by Brian McKnight and its sorta like a guideline for this story, so if you heard of it then good for you, if you haven't well then it won't hurt you. Team 7 is still whole in this fic, because I feel like it. Anyways, please read and review!
"Back At One"
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach. They belong to their respective owners.
10 years ago...
"Saku-chan, stop crying already", the young voice of Toshiro Hitsugaya spoke as he stood in front of his best friend, Sakura Haruno who was currently crying her eyes out. The young Haruno sat on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest, as she wiped her eyes trying to stop her tears.
"Th-they won't stop Shiro-kun! Why does Shiro-kun have to leave, doesn't he like Saku-chan!" cried the distressed pink haired child and Hitsugaya sighed, before he crouched down in front of Sakura.
"Please stop crying, Saku-chan. Of course, I like you and I don't want to leave", Toshiro spoke to the Haruno in a soft tone that he used only for her. Sakura stared at her white haired best friend with unshed tears shining in her bright green eyes.
Toshiro gave her one of his small, rare smiles before he patted the top of her head gently. Sakura wiped her eyes again and took off the pink bracelet that was around her small wrist, before she held it out to Toshiro.
"Here, Saku-chan wants you to have this so Shiro-kun won't ever forget Saku-chan", the pink haired six year old insisted and Toshiro's eyes widened a fraction before he stood up and crossed his arms over his chest.
"No way! It's pink! And, I won't forget you Saku-chan!" the stubborn seven year replied and Sakura jumped to her feet and pounded her small fists on Toshiro's chest, tears in her eyes once again.
"Meanie, meanie! Shiro-kun is gonna forget Saku-chan!" cried Sakura and Toshiro winced when Sakura's hits actually began to hurt. He caught her wrists with his hands and Sakura gasped lightly when he stared directly into her eyes, green matching green.
"I will not forget you, Sakura", he spoke in a serious tone and Sakura's eyes widened a fraction before she rested her head lightly on his shoulder, seeing as how he was a few inches taller than her.
"Please, Shiro-kun. For Saku-chan and promise you won't take it off", pleaded Sakura and Toshiro sighed softly, before he nodded lightly and he allowed Sakura to slip the pink bracelet on his wrist. He would do anything to keep the girl from crying again.
Toshiro's eyes widened a fraction when he felt Sakura wrap her arms around him in a hug and he slowly responded by wrapping his arms around her smaller form. Sakura breathed his frosty scent and sighed in content, before slowly closing her eyes. Toshiro smiled lightly when he felt the Haruno relax against him and he hesitantly kissed her hair; he would never forget her that was a promise of a lifetime.
(In Soul Society)
"Hitsugaya-taichou!"
Toshiro Hitsugaya sighed at the shrill, high voice that called his name. He looked up from his large stack of paperwork to see his usual cause of headache, Momo Hinamori standing in front with a large smile on her face.
"What is it, Hinamori-san?" he asked in a level tone although his aggravation levels were well beyond normal. Momo noticed how edgy the Captain of the Tenth Division was and wondered what was causing his discomfort, a quick glance at the calendar answered Momo's silent question.
"Hitsugaya-taichou, may I ask you a personal question?" Momo asked suddenly and Hitsugaya looked taken aback at her bold question, but he nodded none the less thinking that if he answered her question she would go away sooner.
"Why does it seem that every time March twenty-eighth comes around you get depressed?" asked Momo in a soft voice and Hitsugaya's body tensed up visibly at that question, which Momo seemed to notice.
"Hinamori-san, I'm going to have to ask you to leave", Hitsugaya spoke up after a while and Momo's eyes widened, before she feel to her knees and apologized, profusely. Hitsugaya stood up and walked over to Momo, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Hinamori-san, there is no need for you to apologize. I simply need a moment to myself", Hitsugaya explained in a sincere tone and Momo looked up at him with saddened eyes, before she slowly nodded and stood up.
"Hitsugaya-taichou, earlier I was here to tell you that the Captain Commander had issued an assignment. An unusual amount of hollows have been appearing in a village called Konoha, he told me that it would be best if you dealt with it", Momo whispered softly before she left Hitsugaya to dwell in his thoughts.
(In Konoha)
"Sakura-chan look out!" shouted the loud voice of Naruto Uzumaki as he watched another strange creature charge at his pink haired teammate. Sakura back flipped out of harm's way and focused chakra into her right fist before she ran at the creature with a lethal battle cry.
Sakura's fist collided hard with the white mask of the creature and she smiled in triumph when the mask shattered and the creature disappeared. Kakashi appeared in front of his female student and patted her head in a show of praise. Naruto smiled at her brightly and commented on how amazing she was, while the last Uchiha just nodded in her direction in a show of acknowledgement.
"What in Kami's name are these things anyway? They've been showing up in Konoha for the past few weeks and the only way to beat them is the break those masks", Sakura commented and Kakashi looked perplexed at that thought, as well.
"We don't have much information on these things, but all we really need is to know how to defeat them", the stoic Uchiha spoke up and Sakura glanced at him for a moment, before a loud howl was released into the air causing all members of Team 7 to cover their ears in pain.
"Oh come on! Not another one, we've beat like six of these things already and it's not even the afternoon yet!" Naruto complained loudly and Sakura smacked him in the back of his head, snapping at him to be quiet.
"Alright, seeing as how we don't know where these things are going to end up I want everyone to split up. If you find the creature spike your chakra to alert the rest of us, is that clear?" Kakashi commanded and the chunin of Team 7 all nodded their heads in unison.
Without another word, they all scattered in different directions. Sakura leapt through the trees with amazing skill and grace stopping when she heard the howl get closer. She landed on top of a hill where she used to play when she was a child. Sakura stared at the large cherry blossom tree and a small smile found its way onto her face. Sakura was abruptly pulled out of her memories when something large struck her across the face, knocking her against the cherry blossom tree hard.
The Haruno didn't have a chance to spike her chakra when the large creature was upon her again; she screamed and struggled when it picked her up in a large hand. Sakura struggled violently against the large creature when the mouth of its mask began to open, showing its intent to eat her. Sakura closed her eyes tightly and waited for the pain to come, instead she heard a strangely familiar voice.
"Sit Upon The Frozen Heavens, Hyōrinmaru!" Sakura's eyes snapped open just in time to see a large ice dragon rush at the creature and crash directly into its mask, causing it to shatter and the creature dropped Sakura. Sakura braced herself from the impact, but instead she felt herself being caught in a pair of strong warm arms. Sakura looked up at her savior and her eyes widened when stared up into a familiar shade of green.
"Shiro-kun."
Toshiro and Sakura sat on top of the hill underneath the giant cherry blossom tree with a content silence around them. Well, Toshiro was content anyway but Sakura kept picking at the grass, she really didn't want to lose her best friend.
"Shiro-kun can you tell Saku-chan why you won't forget her?" asked Sakura after a while and Toshiro looked confused on how to respond to the girl, but then a thought struck him. Sakura stared at her white haired best friend and Toshiro rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, he was leaving today so he might as well be honest to the pink haired girl.
"One, you're like a dream come true", Toshiro said and Sakura blushed a pretty shade of pink at that, but she didn't say anything. Toshiro coughed lightly to clear his throat, he really did think the Haruno was a dream come true; his dream come true.
"Two, I just wanna be with you", he continued and Sakura smiled before she intertwined her fingers with his. Toshiro didn't want to leave Konoha, but he knew he had to. He liked being with the small pinkette and wanted to stay with her forever.
"Three, well it's plain to see that you're the only one for me", he spoke lightly and Sakura giggled lightly, well it was self explanatory. She was the only person that Toshiro could even remotely stand to be around. Toshiro stood up along with Sakura and they began to walk around Konoha, hand and hand.
The civilians of Konoha smiled at the two young children and some women commented how cute the two were together. Sakura ignored the glares that some girls her age were sending her and Toshiro pulled her closer to him uncaring of the dark looks some boys would send him.
"Four, repeat reasons one through three", he whispered in her ear and Sakura nudged him lightly with her elbow. That was just like him to do repetitive things. Toshiro resisted the urge to smile and eventually he and Sakura wound up in front of Sakura's house.
"Five", he started and then trailed off causing Sakura to gaze up at him in confusion. Toshiro hugged Sakura fiercely to his body and Sakura returned his hug, trying to fight the tears that wanted to come; she promised to be strong.
"I'll tell you number five, when we meet again", he murmured in her ear and Sakura found herself nodding. The two children slowly pulled apart and Sakura stared at Toshiro with a determined expression on her face, before she held up her pinky to him.
"Shiro-kun, make Saku-chan a pinky promise that we will see each other again", the Haruno girl demanded and Toshiro smirked lightly, before he linked his pinky with hers in a solid pinky promise that they would meet again.
"I promise", he spoke out loud and Sakura smiled at him brightly, before she gave him a quick peck on the lips and disappeared in her house. Toshiro didn't care to hide the bright smile that formed on his face.
Toshiro set Sakura down on her feet, but she didn't release her hold on his Shinigami robes. Sakura touched his face softly and Toshiro just examined her silently, noticing how much she had grown up in the past ten years.
"Y-you're really here", Sakura whispered and she couldn't help the tears that fell from her eyes as she hugged him, tightly. Toshiro wrapped his arms around her and smiled as he inhaled her familiar scent, she hadn't changed that much. Sakura glanced down at his wrist and she giggled softly, when saw the pink bracelet on his wrist.
"You kept the bracelet all these years?" she murmured and tightened her hold on him, almost as if she were afraid to let go. She was afraid that if she let go then he'd disappear and she'd be alone, once again.
"I promised", he said simply and Sakura pulled back to give him a teary smile. Toshiro wiped away her tears with his thumb and leaned down to kiss her forehead, causing her to gasp lightly.
"Five, I have to make you fall in love with me", he whispered in her ear and Sakura looked at him with a look of shock on her face, which made Toshiro chuckle. Without warning, Sakura pulled Toshiro closer to her and their lips met in a fiery exchange which caught him off guard, but he didn't fail to respond.
Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss and Toshiro tightened his hold around her waist. When the need for air became too great, the two broke apart and they rested their forehead against each other, panting lightly.
"Happy Birthday, Saku-chan", he murmured softly and Sakura smiled as she ran her hands through his hand, causing him to sigh in content. The cherry blossoms from the tree swirled around them in a beautiful display and a light breeze whipped against the young couple.
"Now, that you've told me your reasons what will you do now?" Sakura whispered against his lips and Toshiro smirked, before he pulled back and tilted her chin up so he could stare at her in the eyes.
"I'll start back at one", he responded and without another word his lips crashed to Sakura's again in a passionate exchange. Sakura smiled against his lips and returned his passion with her own; she didn't remind him being repetitive.