Just got this idea one rainy day, and I was just so bored I wound up writing the whole thing in less than 3 hours!! X3 May be a bit confusing but its worth the read in the end I promise! It's been too long since I've written some nice HitsuHina fluff! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach D: Otherwise Hitsugaya and Hinamori would have at least hugged by now, if not kissed :D
Converging Paths
Rain beat steadily down over Seireitei, swelling the gutters on the roofs of the buildings and drenching the windows in a torrential downpour.
It pattered melodically onto the rooftops, providing somewhat of a tune in the otherwise dead silence of the Soul Society, the streets currently vacant of the beings in its namesake.
Inside the 5th division's barracks, a girl with chocolate-brown hair tied into a baby blue piece of cloth sat back in the chair behind her desk and stretched her arms above her head. She attempted to suppress a yawn, but it was too great and in the end her jaws wound up parting and a squeak escaped her mouth. She then lowered her arms and rubbed her chestnut eyes, the gray coloring from the storm outside mixed with the bright lights in the office made her irises water. She assumed it was about noontime, considering the fact that it was slightly brighter now than it had been when she had woken up and began her day several hours ago.
She sat at her desk a while longer, staring at the completed pile of parchment as though it would give her something else to do. Then, leaning forward, she folded her arms on her desk and buried her head in them with an exhausted sigh. Closing her eyes, she pondered on if there was anything else that would keep her occupied on such a day.
A few moments later, she blinked her eyes back open, having caught herself before she fell asleep accidentally. She lifted her head and pushed the chair away from her desk, rising slowly to her feet. "I'll go visit Hitsugaya-kun." She murmured to herself.
Hinamori flicked off the lights to her office and slid out the door into the hallway, and then padded silently down the staircases until she reached the bottom floor and the exit.
She dashed out the doors and into the pouring rain, feeling the chilly drops pelting her head and seeping into her shihakushou. Nothing stirred in the streets; most of the building's lights were on for once instead of being off while the occupiers were out and about.
I'll take that shortcut. The lieutenant decided, veering off the main street onto a small, pebbly path that cut across almost directly to the 10 Squad's barracks. She had discovered the path a long time ago, and since then had kept it her secret passageway.
The seconds flew by like the raindrops striking her face as Hinamori quickened her pace, mud splashing noisily behind her.
What felt like hours were in reality only a few minutes when she finally reached the 10th division building. She slipped in through the door and caught her breath, shaking her head and sending drops flying in all directions. Wiping her feet on the auburn welcoming mat, she continued on to find her white-haired friend's office. She nearly leaped up the flights of stairs until she finally arrived at the right sliding door, where she knocked twice.
"Hitsugaya-kun? Rangiku-san? Is anyone there?" she called out.
Almost immediately afterward, the door slammed open and Hinamori found herself engulfed in an enormous hug.
"Oh, Hinamori-chan!" Matsumoto threw her arms around her favorite fellow lieutenant and nearly lifted her off the ground. "You're showing up has been the most exciting thing that's happened all day! Oh but wait-"
"Rangiku-san!" Hinamori managed to blurt out, her voice cracking. "I can't breathe!"
"Oh, sorry!" Matsumoto released her deathlike grip on the younger girl, who staggered to her feet, leaning against the wall for support.
"I'm glad to see you too!" she gasped, finally managing to smile up at the orange-haired woman. She then peered around the other lieutenant, trying to see into the 10th Squad office. "Is Hitsugaya-kun here?" she queried. She could see that his desk was empty and stacked with papers just as her own had been.
"Well actually, that's what I was going to tell you just now." Matsumoto replied. "Actually he just left."
Hinamori felt her heart sink. "Aw! Where did he go?" she asked. "Especially in this weather."
Matsumoto was smiling. "How cute."
"Eh?"
"Nothing!" the 10th division deputy sang. "He just went out, like I said. But oddly enough, he went to see you."
"M-Me?" the other lieutenant repeated, blinking in confusion. "Why?"
"Well why did you come all the way here to see him?" the elder woman posed the question with a tiny, knowing smirk.
"W-Well, I thought since it was such a dull day out, that maybe after I finished all my paperwork, I would come over and…just…see him. Or help him with his work." She concluded.
"And I'll bet you," Matsumoto went on. "That's exactly what he was thinking as well."
"Really?" Hinamori's expression changed from one of puzzlement to thoughtfulness. "Hm. Well then, what should I do?" she wondered aloud. "He's probably in my office right now thinking the same thing."
"Well then why don't you just go back?" Matsumoto suggested. "Or actually no just wait here. Let him run back through the rain, huh? I mean he can control the water and all so it won't even touch him." She winked.
"Yes but," Hinamori thought so intently her eyes hardened, as though she were trying to find evidence to a murder case. "If I went back, then he probably would do the same thing and we might miss each other. But then again, he might also stay there and wait for me to go back. But I know he'd hate the thought of me going back through the rain so it's most likely that he'll come back." She concluded.
It seemed she was thinking just a bit too much into this and Matsumoto was having a hard time following.
"Well the idea of using a Hell Butterfly is definitely out in this weather." She mentioned. "Just stay here and relax. Taichou will figure it out eventually and he'll come back soon. But then again, prodigy or not, he's not that smart when it comes to this kind of thing…"
Hinamori giggled. "It's okay, I'll go back." The girl decided. "I'm sure we'll figure something out!"
"Alright." Her companion agreed as Hinamori raced off down the hall. "If he comes back I'll let him know what's going on!" she called after her.
"Arigatou, Rangiku-san!" Hinamori waved back.
She flew back down the stairs, her spirits lifting somehow at the thought of this game-like situation. On such a dreary day, it was certainly a unique way to lift the gloomy atmosphere about the town.
She opened the doors, running out into the rain once more, her footsteps thudding on the ground, equivalent with the pattern of the rain. As she ran, the dark gray clouds in the sky cast shadows over the streets of Seireitei, making everything she saw a depressingly morose shade. Yet she ran on excitedly, as though she was a child and this was a challenge of tag she had been put up to. I'll just go back the normal way. She told herself. That way, if Hitsugaya-kun is coming back too, he'll be using the same road and we've got to meet up with each other. She ran on, passing the small pebbled pathway and racing away down the main streets.
At last, having taken much longer getting back by using that route, Hinamori arrived back home and went straight to her office. However, when she reached it, it was vacant and she sighed. The pale lavender carpet was stained violet in spattered parts, meaning he had just recently been there and must have gotten water on it from his dripping, white hair. I guess even with his powers he can't control every single raindrop. She reasoned.
Then, without even thinking, she turned on her heel and raced back down the steps and into the rain once more. I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the Squad thought there was a robbery going on up here! But I've got to beat him back there before he decides to come back here!
She had intended on going back along the main street, just to be safe, but she had only vaguely been paying attention to her surroundings and she found herself back at the 10th division in less than 5 minutes, having accidentally taken her shortcut. She slid in through the doors again, shook off the rain from her hair once more and then went back up to his office, the stairs wet with fresh water and she was careful not to slip. She pushed the door open and entered the office, her mouth agape in the beginnings of forming his name, but the syllables died in her throat as she saw only Matsumoto sitting on the couch, fiddling with her nails.
"Ah! Hinamori-chan, you're back now!" she looked up with an amused grin.
"I'm back now?" she echoed. "What's that mean?" she asked, already quite sure of the answer.
"Taichou was just here a few minutes ago." Matsumoto shrugged. "I can't believe it! I mean you were only a moment away." She sighed. "He said he found a shortcut and took it there. And he thought you might have only been taking the main road so he went back to your place through Seireitei." She reported.
"What?! Are you serious? That means we'd just missed each other!" Hinamori groaned. "I've known about that shortcut for years! I went back home through the main roads thinking he'd go that way. And then I accidentally took the shortcut back here! This is ridiculous!" she puffed, exasperated. "I've gotten enough exercise for a year, and if I never step in another puddle again, it'll be too soon!"
"Well why don't you just stay here until he comes back? He's got to have some sense in that boy-prodigy brain of his!"
"Maybe I should stand outside until I finally see his snow-white hair flash by." Hinamori suggested.
"Not when I'm here! You'll catch your death, if you haven't already!" the older woman scolded. "Just stay in here. Taichou'll figure it out." She assured.
"Alright." Hinamori gave in, stepping into the office and taking a seat on the couch as Matsumoto fetched her a towel to dry herself with.
Hinamori sat there for a few moments and quickly found that she could not stop fidgeting. The other lieutenant noticed right away from where she sat in her captain's chair.
"What's wrong? You got spiders crawling on you or something?"
"Ew, stop Rangiku-san!" Hinamori squealed as she felt something on her hand. She jumped and glanced down self-consciously, only to find that it was a stray raindrop. "I'm just…worried about him."
"Oh please!" Matsumoto laughed. "I told you he can manipulate the rain just as easy as he can snow. As long as it's got water, he's got it under control."
"I know that." Hinamori insisted. "It's just that, I can't help feeling bad that he has to keep running back and forth through the rain like this."
"And you think he doesn't feel bad for you?" the other replied. "I told him what you were doing and he called you an idiot but ran right out after you. Believe me, if he didn't want to be chasing after you like this, he wouldn't be." Matsumoto's words caused Hinamori to blush a little bit and she was silent for a moment, a small smile crossing her lips.
A few more moments passed before Hinamori spoke up again. "He's probably doing the same thing right now." She sighed.
The 10th Squad lieutenant had been snoring slightly and now she looked up drowsily. "Wha?" she slurred.
"Hitsugaya-kun's probably doing the same thing as I am right now." Hinamori repeated. "He's probably waiting for me in my office right now." She sighed. "That's it. I'm going back." She stood and took the white towel off of her head, folding it neatly on the couch where she had been sitting.
"Oh no you don't!" Rangiku jumped to her feet. "Like I said, if you keep up with this wild goose chase, you'll catch your death."
"Oh come on, Rangiku-san. Do I look sick or even tired to you right now?" she asked with a smile, her chestnut eyes sparkling innocently. Her puppy-dog-eyes trick worked, for Matsumoto twitched an eyebrow with a motherly scowl before sighing.
"Fine. But I don't want to see you back here anymore today! Even if he misses you, stay there and I'll send him to you!"
"Hai." She agreed. "Arigatou!" Hinamori called over her shoulder before darting out the door for the umpteenth time that day.
"And take that shortcut back!" the other vice-captain shouted after her.
Hinamori burst out the doors of the 10th division building one last time and took off down the street. The rain was coming down even harder now and everything was at least twice as dark as it had been the last time she was outside. Sorry, Rangiku-san. She apologized in her mind as her feet took her down the main streets of Seireitei.
She was halfway down the street when her lungs forced her to stop and catch her breath, the rain beating down relentlessly on the poor girl. She gazed down at the ground to see that it was almost flooding now and her socks were darkened with mud. Hinamori knew the rest of the road would be flooded, so she decided to double back and take the shortcut after all. So she retraced her steps, the mud sucking at her sandals the whole time until she finally reached the pebbled road. She ran along it, but a bit slower this time, her legs tired out from her vigorous day's marathon.
She finally made it back to her building and trekked up the stairs. "Hitsugaya-kun?" she panted as she slid open the door to her office once more. Her eyes lost their luster when she saw that it was vacant. What is this?! All we wanted to do was see each other after a long morning of paperwork! She frowned before turning around and heading back downstairs.
She stepped outside and stopped, standing at the entrance to her building and staring out into the rain. She waited and waited, with the water clouding her vision, wondering if he had just given up and decided to stay home. No. She told herself, remembering Matsumoto's words. She'd send him back here so fast he wouldn't even know what was going on.
She waited a while longer, only just now starting to shiver from the cold rain. She was soaked to the bone but was resolved to stay where she was until she was absolutely sure he was not coming back.
Hinamori was starting to feel groggy when she saw the white flash of hair she had been waiting for all day. She could just barely make out the captain's form as he ran down the pebbled pathway, his shihakushou nearly blending in with the surrounding dark colors of the buildings and rain.
Hinamori brightened and dashed off to meet him at last. He spotted her immediately and sped up until they finally met halfway.
"Hitsugaya-kun!" Hinamori skidded to a halt in the mud and flung her arms around him, finding that he was surprisingly dry and noticing that there was an invisible barrier around him keeping the rain away.
"Hinamori!" he cried. "You're freezing! And that's coming from me! Now get inside!" he ordered in his deep, 'command from a captain' voice.
She slowly let go of him and nodded, and together, the two childhood friends raced back to the safety of the 5th Squad building. The two slipped inside and closed the doors behind them, then standing side-by-side at the entrance trying to catch their breath while Hitsugaya did his best to extract the coldness from the atmosphere around them.
"So…" Hinamori gasped. "That sure was confusing!"
"I don't even know where to start." He agreed. "So apparently, every time you used the shortcut, I used the main roads and vice versa." He concluded.
"Uh-huh." She wheezed, still out of breath. "But what about that last time just now?"
"I went halfway through the shortcut but then thought you might be on the main roads for some reason. So I changed directions, but as soon as I got there I saw it was flooded, but I just kept going anyway." He sighed hopelessly.
"Really?" she laughed weakly. "Because I was on the main roads, assumed it was flooded, turned around and took the back road." She shook her head with a sigh of her own.
"Well you know what they say, great minds think alike." He said.
"So does that mean I'm a prodigy too?" she teased.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." He taunted and she pouted. "You can't possibly be smart considering you were running around in the pouring rain all day!" he scolded.
"Well so-rry!" she huffed. Then her voice softened. "I just wanted to see you."
"I know." His aqua eyes were soft with understanding. "Me too." They both shared a smile before Hinamori sneezed, followed by an embarrassed blush. "Come on." The captain said. "Let's get upstairs." She nodded and followed as he led the way up to the office she was just about sick of seeing as of today. She retrieved a towel of her own from her bathroom and carried it over to the couch.
"Here." She offered it to him.
"Are you mad?" he asked with a skeptical chuckle. "I'm as dry as a desert and you look like you've just nearly drown in an ocean and you think I need a towel?"
"W-Well I-" She tried to defend herself but he cut her off.
"I swear you are such an idiot." He sighed. "Stop thinking about others and worry about yourself for once, Bed-Wetter."
She pouted and said nothing as she untied her hair, releasing the brown cascade over her shoulders, now wavy like a sea of chocolate from the dampness.
"So what did Rangiku-san say to you?" she wondered, taking a seat next to him on her couch while rubbing the towel against her dripping hair.
"It was kind of funny, actually." He recalled. "Just now when I got there, she glared up at me like I'd just kicked a puppy or something, said "Go back!" all pissed-off, and I just ran out."
"Really?" Hinamori laughed, still drying her tresses. "Well I guess we sort of owe it to her that we actually met up with each other at all today. I'm actually kind of surprised she was even there! She didn't actually do work, did she? Be still, my heart!" She cried, placing a hand over her chest in mock astonishment.
"No, calm down." He chuckled. "Don't be ridiculous. I guess it was too crappy outside and not even her drinking buddies wanted to go out." He shrugged.
"I guess so." She agreed, beaming. "I just can't believe we kept missing each other!"
"Same here." He assented. "And yet somehow our paths led us back to one another." He murmured.
"Yeah." Her face turned red at his poetic words. A moment of silence drifted by them, the rain still pattering down relentlessly, and Hinamori awkwardly continued to dry off her hair. "So, now what are we doing now that we've actually found each other at last?" she asked.
"I have no idea." He replied honestly.
"Me neither." She flushed. "I don't even know what we'd be doing right now even if we hadn't gone through all that."
She finally deemed her hair 'dry enough', folded the towel and laid it on the ground before leaning back against the cushions of the couch with an exasperated sigh. Coyly, she leaned towards him until their shoulders touched, and she tried to fight away the urge to just close her eyes and go to sleep now. No. I'm not going to just fall asleep after all this. She vowed. Then, she sneezed again, quickly turning away from him and letting it out in a loud squeaking noise.
"You okay?" He asked, unable to keep the amused smirk off of his face.
"M-Mmhm." She sniffed.
"Baka." He stood to his feet and went over to a small closet at the side of the room, where he knew she kept extra blankets, since she often gave them to him when he fell asleep on her couch from time to time. He pulled out the thickest one, a light purple one made of wool and brought it over to her. "You're still shivering." He noted. "Here, stand up." He ordered softly.
No longer able to conceal the chills running up and down her spine, Hinamori shakily stood up beside him. Then, a huge shudder she had no chance of suppressing made her tremble uncontrollably from the very core of her being. "Baka." Histugaya repeated, dropping the blanket on the couch.
He then wrapped his strong, warm arms around her and she almost melted into his embrace. Feeling his warmth made her realize just how cold she was. Her shoulders slumped as she broke down shivering, squeezing her eyes shut as she nestled her face into his shoulder. "Hinamori!" he growled, annoyed that she had been hiding this from him all this time. "Come here." He hugged her even tighter, rubbing his arms vigorously up and down her back and arms as she continued to shake. She did not know how long this went on, but all she did know was that his warm motions felt heavenly against her frozen body and she never wanted it to stop. It still surprised her a bit that someone so cold could be so warm.
Finally, he resorted to patting her back and squeezing her closer than two beings had ever touched before and her breath was quivering against his ear, her heart pounding madly in her chest. Then, at last he loosened his grip on her and let her pull away. "Better?" He asked smugly.
"So much. Arigatou, Hitsugaya-kun!" she breathed.
"Good." He picked up the blanket again and opened it up, draping it around her shoulders. It was large enough to cover a huge bed and it made her look even smaller than she should have been with the rain pressing her clothes against her skin. He wrapped it around her body once tightly and she clutched it against her chest as he gently tugged her hair out from it so it could drip on the material instead of on her freezing back.
She let out a sigh as she sat down on the couch once more and he took his seat next to her. She frowned at the distance separating them and snuggled closer to him.
"Come here, Shiro-chan. You've got to be at least somewhat chilly?"
"Not really."
"Oh stop it!" she gathered some of the extra blanket and fumbled to grasp it before throwing it over him. He blinked as she reached across and rested the cover on his far shoulder. "There. Now we can keep each other warm." She smiled, her chestnut eyes sparkling in the dusky light mixed with the lights of the office.
"Fine." He gave in, but his eyes were shining as well.
They scooted closer to one another. Hitsugaya wrapped his arms around her waist and felt her relax as she wrapped hers around his shoulders. She allowed her eyes to close, completely forgetting that she had told herself she was not going to go to sleep after all of this.
Then Hitsugaya smirked and with a mighty surge of power, he lifted the unsuspecting girl up by her waist. Her eyes shot open as she squeaked, and both their sandals fell to the floor as the white-haired boy quickly slid his legs up onto the couch where she had previously been sitting. He then brought her down next to him so that they were both now lying down on their sides, facing one another, with the girl sandwiched comfortably between the boy and the back of the couch. They were both tangled in blankets, but it was the warmest either had ever felt in their entire lives.
He wrapped his arms around her back and she pressed up against his chest. Her body expelled one last shiver before she closed her eyes, and he did as well.
"Shiro-chan…" she yawned, moving closer to him.
"Shut up and go to sleep, Bed-Wetter." He mumbled into her hair as he rested his chin on her head.
"Mmkay…" she agreed.
Her breathing finally slowed and softened, and she was consumed in a deep slumber, and the captain soon could feel the beating of her heart coincide with the beating of the rain.
Then, he let the rhythm lull him to sleep as well.
No matter how far apart their paths diverged, they knew that there would always be a place where they converged and met up again, and that they would always find each other somewhere along the way.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! (LOL don't you do that too, when you think there's a spider there? XD) Sorry it went kinda fast at some parts though.
Pleeease review!! :3