Disclaimer; I don't own Bleach. Nuff said.
Kira Izuru thinks it's her smile.
At least, that's what he tells himself as his eyes take in the entirety of the small girl in front of him, from the dark brown hair to neatly folded hands and the tidy way her shoes are tied.
He brings his gaze back up and forces a nervous smile in response, all the while telling himself to look her in the eye.
He can't do it. His eyes fall back down, tracing the gentle slope of her nose until he sees that smile again. He likes her eyes, too, to be sure, but he can never really look at them for any period of time. His attention is always taken back by that smile.
She's looking at him questioningly, but he can't really tell because she's still smiling and that's all he sees. It's not until Abarai hits him over the back of the head that he realizes he's been standing there for a good minute, and he laughs nervously.
She asks him if he's sleeping enough.
Abarai snorts.
Kira smiles politely, nodding thoughtfully. Of course he does. All his dreams are of that smile. It's all he can do in the morning to wake up.
Hinamori flashes that smile again, grabs both their hands, and starts pulling them along behind her. They'd promised to spend the day together, to celebrate graduation and squad selection.
Kira doesn't care what they do, as long as she's smiling.
Kira Izuru thinks it's his smile.
It's slightly creepy, but it's his newly appointed captain, and Hinamori is smiling too as she waves at him across the courtyard. Vice captain. He allowed himself a small smile back in satisfaction, playing with the adjunct badge in his hand. He liked that word. It meant more time with Hinamori.
Ichimaru Gin is still smiling. It fills him with apprehension, but it's his captain. He'd come to appreciate it, he told himself, forcing his body to move into the stiff bow he'd perfected at the academy. It was his pleasure to be serving under Ichimaru-taichou.
It was a step closer to being who he wanted to be, a step closer to being the sort of person Hinamori admired.
It was a creepy smile, but Ichimaru was a man more than worthy of Kira's respect. He'd work hard under this man and become a captain himself. Because that way he could protect that other smile.
So Kira smiled slightly in return, nodding his head in understanding as Ichimaru lead him away, informing him on all his new, vice captain duties.
Kira doesn't care how many duties he has now, as long as she's smiling.
He half expects to be hit.
In fact, he'd really like that right now. Anything to stop his mouth from saying such stupid words as he watches her heart breaking in front of him. But he can't not defend his captain, and her face is torn in despair and anger as he blocks her next attack.
She should just slap him. But that would be improper, and Hinamori was anything but as she brings Tobiume against Wabisuke in that perfect strike she'd mastered years ago. She'd fight to the death for her captain, and he knew that feeling, even if what he felt for Ichimaru wasn't quite the same. His devotion had never lead him to seek solace in his captain's room at night when he couldn't sleep. His devotion had never left him wondering what Ichimaru was doing when he wasn't around.
His devotion left his hands shaking as he parried her again, his efforts to calm her in vain. She never had understood what he'd do for her, and with the way he was acting now, he wasn't surprised. His devotion left him feeling hollow.
He half expects to be hit.
He doesn't want to, but his feet won't move as he watches Hitsugaya unleash his reiatsu. The child genius is a monster, but he's still so gentle around Hinamori.
Kira would cry if he could. But his feet were frozen to the ground already, in fear, and if he cried he was pretty sure that it would only be fueling Hitsugaya's attacks.
As much as he wanted Ichimaru to win, he couldn't squash the small desire to see Hitsugaya triumph. Kira's devotion had left him with Ichimaru each night, rooms next to each other. His devotion meant that Ichimaru was hardly ever not around. But his devotion had never led him to Hinamori, and that was part of the problem, he decides. She looked even smaller than normal, lying on the ground, and Kira wished he could move but by now the ice had caught him and he could only watch in vain as his own captain threatened her safety.
His hands shook as Rangiku stepped between Hinamori and his captain's blade. No one knew he would have done it himself, but he supposed he shouldn't expect anything else. Ichimaru had a job for him, and he would do it. His devotion left him feeling numb.
Kira Izuru thinks it's her smile.
More than anything, as he watches her move about the fifth division, he misses it. She had the power to make an entire division weak at the knees and utterly obedient with one small grin. Now the unfamiliar white cloak lay heavy across her shoulders, face set in grim determination as she goes through sword swings with a group of recruits. They don't know if they should love her or fear her.
Kira doesn't know either.
Kira misses her smile, even more so when he turns to head back to the third division, his own heavy white cloak billowing out behind him.
One day, she'd smile like she used to. Kira would just have to make sure he was still around to see it.
She thinks it's his smile.
Small and sad, lonely. She wonders if that's what it feels like, upon his face, and the urge to make it better filled her again. The battlefield stretched out before them, blood splattered across white cloaks. Red on white. More noticeable than red on black.
Her own smile was small and grim. But they were done for the day and she turns, limping back towards safety.
He turns with her, still polite, asking if she'd like a hand. She can't not stare at him. After all that had happened, and he still cared enough to offer his help. She smiled in response, taking the offered hand, leaning against him.
He jokingly asks if she's been getting enough sleep. They both laugh, not knowing if it was from exhaustion or because the question had really been that funny.
She nods, they reach their camp, and she sits and pulls him down with her. She's yawning for no good reason other than to yawn, to take her mind off of what lay behind them.
It was still hard to talk to him, sometimes. Especially when she saw that small, sad smile. Her mind was made up in an instant, and she leant forward, murmuring his name as the recruits around them glancing nervously away. What two captains did was none of their business, after all.
She smirks slightly as she pulls away, an annoying habit she's clearly picked up from the short captain. But Kira doesn't mind, pulling her back into his arms, lips ghosting over her forehead. It was worth the wait, he decides, his smile echoing that dorky one she'd known since the academy. He was breathless, although neither knew if it was from the five hours they'd just spent, grips tight on their respective zanpakutos as they fought off wave after wave of attacks, or if it was because she'd just kissed him.
Kira didn't really care, because Hinamori was smiling at him like she used to.
It was her smile, he decides, holding her tightly.