Disclaimer: Bleach does not belong to me.
A/N: This is my first fic, so be kind and give me some constructive comments!!
"Hinamori fukutaicho, please report to the soutaicho now." the Hell Butterfly fluttered in front of Hinamori and Hitsugaya.
Groaning as she had just come back from a mission of slaying Hollows, and had expected to be able to rest for a day or two, Hinamori dragged her feet all the way to the first division.
Knocking wearily on the door, she was greeted by the weathered voice of the soutaicho.
"Come in, Hinamori fukutaicho." he said kindly, inviting her to sit down.
"Hai, soutaicho. Were you looking for me?" Hinamori asked tentatively.
"As a matter of fact, yes. We have detected signs of disappearances in a part of Japan and we would like to send you there to investigate.
"Rumours have been spreading about music from a nearby forest that lures the people there into the forest, and they are never seen again." The soutaicho explained.
Hinamori's eyes widened in shock.
"H-hai. Soutaicho, so you want me to investigate the source of the … disappearances, right?" she stammered.
"Yes. Do not worry. You are a shinigami who is a lieutenant, so I trust that you will be able to settle this problem easily." The soutaicho's words comforted Hinamori.
Nodding her head, she excused herself and went back to her division quarters, where Hitsugaya was waiting for her.
"Hinamori, why was the soutaicho looking for you?" he asked concernedly.
"Ano…he wanted me to go on a mission…" Hinamori said, packing her things into her bag.
"Ok… You'd better take care. I don't want my precious peach to come home wounded." Hitsugaya said, smirking.
"…fine, fine. Now, it's about time I go. Sayonara, Hitsugaya-kun!" Hinamori said, stuffing the last of her things in and slinging it over her shoulder.
Annoyed, Hitsugaya shouted at her, "IT'S HITSUAYA-TAICHO, BED WETTER MOMO!"
"…anyway, sayonara, Hitsugaya-taicho!"
Shunpo-ing gracefully away over the green patch of grass, Hinamori turned to wave one last time at her childhood friend before disappearing, a black speck against the blue sky.
Turning his back on her, Hitsugaya moved silently back to his office.
'Hitsugaya-taicho, Hitsugaya-taicho.' The Hell Butterfly fluttering in front of the captain had the message.
Listening intently, Hitsugaya was surprised that he was asked to meet the soutaicho.
"Another job, hmmm…" he muttered, dragging on his haori and speeding towards his destination.
He reached there faster than he'd expected and knocked on the door.
"Soutaicho." He greeted.
Nodding his head and motioning for the tenth division captain to sit, the soutaicho went straight into business.
"I would like you to listen to this," he said gravely.
A Hell Butterfly landed on Hitsugaya's palm.
"Taske…Hitsugaya-kun…Hollow desu…" were the only things he could make out from the background noise.
Staring at the soutaicho with horrified eyes, his worse fears were confirmed.
The soutaicho sighed.
"We lost touch with Hinamori-fukutaicho two days ago. When we tried contacting her Hell Butterfly, we could not reach them at all.
"Then, today, Kuchiki-taicho saw this Hell Butterfly fly into Seireitei without its owner.
"He brought it to me and I had to fix it up as there were wounds on its wings. We finally got her message an hour or so ago and it worried us.
"I would like you to go and search for her, as you are closest to her amongst the whole Gotei Juusan."
Standing up, Hitsugaya saluted and left the room.
The moment he was out the door, he ran back to his office and stuffed some necessities into his pouch.
"Matsumoto!" he yelled.
Said fukutaicho poked her head out of her room.
"Nani, taicho? Where are you going?" she asked.
"Mission. Finish up all the paperwork. I want them to be done by the time I get back." Hitsugaya said, ignoring Matsumoto's wail of annoyance.
"Okay, I'm off." He said.
He disappeared, and the only thing he left behind was a wisp of dust and a fleeting shadow.
Reaching the last-known location of Hinamori, Hitsugaya looked around for a clue to her whereabouts.
Seeing nothing, he sped into the forest, which he had heard enchanted the missing villagers.
He was greeted by a sight that spooked him.
Ice was everywhere in the middle of the forest, but did not seem to have harmed the trees.
To his horror, he saw ice cocoons of people everywhere.
Looking around in horror, he saw a familiar figure, hair down and legs frozen.
"Hinamori!" he yelled, running over to her and nearly losing balance.
Hinamori did not move. It appeared that she could not even hear him.
Until something grabbed him.
Turning around in surprise, he felt familiar hands clutching his neck.
"Let…go…o...f…me…Hinamo…ri!" he muttered, trying to free himself from her death grip.
The sound of her name seemed to wake her up from her deep sleep.
"Hitsugaya…kun?" she murmured softly, a shadow of her bubbly self.
"Hinamori!" he said in delight.
"Why are you here…? I don't want you…to be…cursed…like me…I am…reliving…my…" Hinamori gasped and fell back onto the tree.
Ice-like ropes bound her arms and legs and she wouldn't be able to move even if she were awake.
"Hinamori! Oi, Hinamori!" Hitsugaya yelled frantically.
The thing that had grabbed him just a few minutes before laughed, a horrible sneering laugh.
"Hahahaaaaha!" it cackled, gripping him even tighter.
"Your girlfriend will die here, just like all those other humans. And so will you!" it snarled, pointing a gnarled and wrinkled finger at Hitsugaya.
Hmm…should I continue? Erm, Review? Please!? Constructive comments only… :)
Sagashite-kokoro.