All characters are owned by Kubo Tite except for Yoru Amai, and for that I give credit to WisteriaMoon on Quizilla.
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There she was, her ankle-length, black hair trailing behind her. She looked up at the sun and it lit up her face, brightening her caramel-coloured eyes. There was just something about her that struck Hisagi Shuuhei as different, but he just couldn't figure it out. He watched her from the top of a tree, staying hidden so that she wouldn't know about his strange fascination with her.
In truth, Yoru Amai knew about Shuuhei. She knew he was in that tree watching her at this very moment. She knew why he would be watching her. And she also knew he loved her. But Amai still couldn't gather up the courage to tell him that she loved him, too. So she stayed silent, keeping her painful secret.
She was still lost in her thoughts when Kotetsu Kiyone dashed past her Captain's empty office and skidded to a stop just in front of Amai, breathless. Before she could ask what was wrong, Kiyone said, "Amai, we need help! A bunch of hollows are attacking in the western forest and we're being pushed back!"
"Tell Captain Ukitake that I'll be there soon!" Amai watched as Kiyone used her shunpo to rejoin the struggle before yelling out, "Lieutenant Hisagi, if you could help us..."
"Alright then, I'll get backup. I'll meet you at the Hakutomon. " He dropped to the ground, making almost no sound and dashed off to get some help. The two of them rounded up a group of about five shinigami each and met up at the western gate.
"Everyone be on your guard! If there's enough hollows out there to cause twenty-five shinigami to begin retreating then there may be more." Amai shouted for the group to hear. They all nodded their heads and watched as she turned and led them out of the Seireitei towards the battlefield.
They ran due west until they heard the screams of shinigami and Hollows. They turned a bit to the left towards the cries, their feet pounding the ground, until they arrived at bloodied soil. There was a writhing mass of souls in the clearing, but the newcomers couldn't tell who was an enemy or an ally.
Suddenly, Captain Ukitake Jushiro broke through the crowd, flanked by Kiyone and Kotsubaki Sentaro. The Captain collapsed in front of the company and Amai and Shuuhei ran over to help him. He recovered from his fall and said, "Amai, Shuuhei, I'm glad to see both of you here."
"Captain, there's no time for that!" Shuuhei silenced him with a worried look. "Amai, could you use your shikai and heal the shinigami that are wounded? I'll lead the others into battle and help out with the fight." Amai, nodded at him and they held the other's hand, briefly, before Shuuhei signaled the backup squad and was lost in the clash.
Amai took out Fumetsu no Rei and used her shikai, Tamashii Genkaku, to heal the shinigami that were able to slink away from the swords and claws. She hoped Shuuhei would be able to finish off the remainder of the enemies quickly, because she couldn't keep this up for very long. She watched as the cackling chakrams swirled around her wounded comrades, healing them as fast as she could without using all her energy.
Without warning, a Hollow barreled her over. She kicked it off and quickly got up again. Then, she looked around. She was surrounded by three fiends. Amai knew that the people being healed would be protected by the twirling chakrams, but while they were being healed she would be defenseless. It took up all of her concentration to keep them protected.
As she had no choice, she directed her shikai at the Hollows, creating the illusion of souls that lusted for their blood. The chakrams began to close in and paralyze them when a fourth fiend came from outside the little circle and destroyed the illusion.
"Shoot!" Amai cursed, grabbing her weapons as they flew at her. She wouldn't survive if she didn't use her bankai, but then she wouldn't be able to heal the wounded. Fine, I'll have to take that chance, Amai thought as she cried out, "Bankai!"
The chakrams began to swirl around each other, fusing as they did so. The massive broadsword created from the fusion was snatched out of the air by Amai. "Juuman Naiteiru Tamashii."
At that point, the Hollows were no longer mystified by the transformation and they attacked. Amai swung her blade, and an ethereal wailing came forth for the impure to hear. The shinigami were unaffected, but the Hollows began to cry out in pain. At that point, she deftly cut down the Hollows surrounding her with a few more swings and they disappeared.
Shuuhei ordered the remaining shinigami to rescue their comrades after Amai unleashed her bankai. Alone, he turned back to the last few Hollows in his sight and he slashed at them, ending the time they had in this dimension and ending the fight. Turning, he saw Amai fall to her knees and knew something was wrong. He quickly ran over to her and asked, "Amai, are you okay?"
Amai nodded, feeling slightly dizzy after using her bankai. She looked up and smiled at Shuuhei, and he smiled back. He helped her up and they went to check up on the other shinigami, Amai leaning on Shuuhei.
Later that day, after they'd all gone to Squad 4 to get healed, the shinigami were relieved that there had been no casualties and only a few severe injuries. They all went to their barracks, exhausted...except for two people.
Amai couldn't stop thinking about how warm Shuuhei's hand was when he held her own before he went off to fight. Back when she was healing the others, she couldn't stop thinking about his safety, which is why the hollows were able to ambush her.
Shuuhei replayed the image of when Amai fought against the hollows, how gracefully she moved with her zanpakuto. He'd never seen her bankai, and it amazed him how powerful she was with that petite body of hers.
The two of them were still occupied with their thoughts when they turned a corner and bumped into each other. When they finally finished saying their apologies, they realized who the other was.
"Oh, um, what're you doing out so late?" Shuuhei asked, fidgeting with the hilt of his zanpakuto.
"Well, um, I...I was actually thinking of you!" Amai blurted out. She couldn't hold it back any longer. Seeing him so many times that day just triggered something in her heart and she couldn't bear it any longer.
The lieutenant was surprised at this, but he quickly recovered and quietly replied, "To tell you the truth, I was thinking of you, too."
Amai couldn't believe her ears. She looked up and found another pair of lips pressed against her own. She froze for a moment, then started kissing back and wrapped her arms around his neck while he held her by the waist.
The couple didn't know how long it lasted for, but they didn't really care. All they knew was that they were finally with the other. They broke off and looked into each other's eyes and said, "I love you."
Shuuhei never did figure out what was so different about her, but he didn't need to. And Amai didn't have to say much, only that her thoughts were always about him. No one else knew how this came about, but what they did notice was that they both looked quite happy and laughed much more when the other was around. It seemed as if this was inevitable, that they were already bound together.