This story is about my absolute favorite Bleach couple: Sarugaki Hiyori and Hirako Shinji. The story takes place in the "Turn Back The Pendulum" era because I totally fell the love with those episodes. It's my very first fan fiction so I really hope you like it. I'm sorry if I make some mistakes in my English. I'm from The Netherlands myself so English isn't my mother tongue. The main characters of the story are of course Sarugaki Hiyori and Hirako Shinji but Urahara Kisuke also plays an important role in this story. Some other Shinigami like Hikifune, Aizen and Unohana will play a less important role in the story but will come by every now and then.

Enjoy! =3

1. The new lieutenant of the 12th Division

In her life, Sarugaki Hiyori had never been as excited as the was at that very moment. She ran as fast as she could and didn't even think about the fact that she could be way quicker using her Shunpo. She had this big smile all over her face, which made her even more beautiful than ever. Hiyori had just heard that she would become the next vice-captain of the 12th Division within the Gotei 13. The girl from Rukongai had grown so much in her strengths and her hard work finally paid off; today was the day she was getting her reward and she deserved it. Sarugaki Hiyori was about to share her big news with the one person she had thought of the moment she heard she was going to be the new vice-captian of her own division. Sarugaki Hiyori noticed that she had almost reached her destination: the 5th Division. She barged in like it was her own home and yelled at a Shinigami with long blond, straight hair. Don't get fooled, though: he was definitely a male Shinigami.

"You'll never guess what I just heard!" and Hiyori glowed all over her face. She really seemed to be happy, a quality that hadn't fit with her for a very long time. She was standing there in the middle of the 5th Division, unbelievably proud of herself. She just could barely await the reaction of the Shimigami before her, standing with his back to her. Within a few seconds he turned around with a bored expression.

"I do, actually. You will become the new vice-captian of the 12th Division, won't you?" He turned his back on her with no further expressions off emotions.

The tiny little lights in the big brown eyes of Hiyori vanished. Her smile disappeared and she didn't glow like before. The disappointment was so big, almost too large for her. Once again, there was this little girl from Rukongai who couldn't do anything right. She waited so long for this day, but the one person who mattered already knew it and he couldn't care less. But Sarigaki Hiyori didn't show her disappointment and swallowed everything that looked like tears in her eyes.

"You're just jealous!" she screamed at him with a nasty look. She did not see this coming, but with her scream came a lot of emotions forward and the tears in her eyes returned too fast. So fast that she could not stop them anymore and one of them rolled over the left side of her cheek.

"Why would I be jealous, Hiyori? I'm a captain myse-" but he stopped his sentence when he turned around and saw something he had never seen before. Sarugaki Hiyori was standing before him and she was crying; she really was crying. Hirako Shinji never thought of seeing Sarugaki Hiyori crying in his life. He crossed the line so hard right now, but didn't know where exactly.

"H-Hiyori-san.." he stuttered with big eyes and a shocked face. He wanted to walk to her, but she did not give him the chance. With speed as if she was stung by a bee, she ran out of the 5th Division, which was now no longer the place she ran into like it was her own home.

Hirako Shinji didn't come running after her and she did not expect him to. Hiyori did not go back to her Division because she didn't want to answer any hard questions her Captian Hikifune Kirio might ask. She really liked her Captain; she even loved her because Hikifune gave her a chance no one had ever given her in her life. But right now, she didn't want to be comforted by anyone. Sarugaki Hiyori wandered about the streets and alleys of the Seireitei, wiping her tears away.

"That's really quite a sad face" said some voice from behind her. One second later, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Hiyori reacted immediately by turning around, making herself loose and give the Shinigami a hard kick in his face by sweeping her feet in the air. Before she even knew who it was, the Shinigami screamed and broke down to the floor.

"You broke my nose! You really broke my nose!" he wailed at her when he was lying on the floor.

"That's your own fault. It's for getting your dirty hands on me!" yelled Hiyori back. Then she thought she recognized him. The man crying on the floor in front of her could be Urahara Kisuke, the third seat of the second Division, and one of Shihōin Yoruichi best friends. Hiyori stared for a few second at him, as if he were nothing more than some animal shit. Urahara Kisuke used those second to wipe away some blood and tears before he pushed himself off the ground, a little bit dizzy from the hardest punch he had ever received in his entire life.

"You're a quite the fighter " Urahara sniffed a bit with his nose and came to the conclusion that his nose wasn't broken after all. He always overreacted with this sort of stuff, not quite charming for a man. He touched his nose really carefully to be sure of his conclusion and so he did not need to pay a visit to Unohana, a thought that it fact more creepy was that standing here before this little, tiny Shinigami, who had almost broken his nose.

"You are Sarugaki Hiyori, from the 12th Division, aren't you?" Kisuke already knew he was right. The fact that she almost broke his nose when he was only trying to help her matches exactly the description of her that he heard from some Shinigami.

"Not just from the 12th Division! I am going to be the new vice captain!" yelled Hiyori and when she spoke those words for the first time out loud she seemed so proud of herself again. For one moment, there was no room for Hirako Shinji and his reaction in her head. It didn't matter anymore, the only thing that did matter was the fact that Hiyori finally was getting a chance, that someone had had enough trust in her to give her that change and that she felt more important than ever in her life.

"You look really proud, Sarugaki Hiyori, and you should be proud of it. Now if you will excuse me, I think I need to take a bad." Urahara Kisuke looked at his hand and his uniform, which were both covered in blood. He walked away from her with a smile and did not seem to be angry about her attack. Hiyori almost wanted to say she was sorry, but she didn't, and let him walk away.

A few minutes later she returned to the 12th Division. She had taken the advice of Urahara Kisuke; she wasn't going to cry about that stupid reaction of Hirako Shinji. He was just not worth it.