"Gomene! Hitsugaya-kun! It took a while to find the cups!" Hinamori chimed as she held the tray of tea and walked towards Hitsugaya, who was sitting on the grass. Staring at the moon. The moonlight reflected on his hair and made it look silver instead of its usual white.

Hitsugaya turned around and smirked.

"The moon really is beautiful," he remarked as they both sat on the grass and stared at it. It was like a great big spotlight, shining on a black carpet, with stars scattered across it.

CCccrrrRRREEeeeeaaaAAAAAaakkkKKKKkkkkk…… SWISH!!!!!!!!!!!

Hitsugaya and Hinamori both turned around.

"It's not my imagination this time, it's really there," said Hitsugaya.

"What is? What is it? Tell m-"

"SH!" Hitsugaya pressed Hinamori's lips together with his fingers while his right hand reached for his zanpakuto. He released Hinamori's lips and creeped soundlessly towards her room.

There was something there. He was sure of it this time. He stepped into Hinamori's room and pulled his zanpakuto out of its sheath. He slowly gathered and released his reiatsu to make the room colder. The temperature was going down. By at least five degrees Celsius at a time. Frost started to form on the surface of Hinamori's walls.

"Hurry up and come out!" murmured Hitsugaya under his breath.

CCccrrrRRREEeeeeaaaAAAAAaakkkKKKKkkkkk……

A splinter of wood fell into his hair from above.

Hitsugaya quickly looked up to find a wolf-like creature with black fur and red eyes was clinging onto the ceiling, using its claws like hooks. It roared at him at full volume. Toushiro blocked his nose as the hollow's foul breath blew his hair back.

"It smells of blood!" he whispered to himself as he swiped at the hollow with his zanpakuto. It hit the hollow on its back but only gave off a few sparks like when you scrape metal together.

"What? Impossible!"

The hollow swished its tail at him which hit Hitsugaya's zanpakuto and made him fall back. He quickly regained his balance and used his flash steps to run around the hollow like he was 'surrounding' him. The hollow did nothing and sat in the middle of Hinamori's room as if Hitsugaya was just a fly.

"Is that even a hollow?" thought Hitsugaya as he used flash steps once again to appear behind the hollow and raised his zanpakuto to use his Hyourinmaru.

"SOUTEN NI ZASE! HYOURIN-" Hitsugaya was cut short when the hollow disappeared in a flash and appeared behind him.

"Flash steps?" Hinamori stood in shock, not knowing what to do as she watched Toushiro turn around in shock.

Hitsugaya turned around and struck his sword against the hollow but as expected, had no effect.

The room was almost below minus ten degrees. Frost was clinging onto Hitsugaya's hair. The hollow howled at a very high pitch and before he knew it, both Hinamori and Hitsugaya couldn't move.

"Damn, HINAMORI!"

"I'm fine Toushiro! Worry about yourself!"

"Is this a binding spell?"

"Yes, but I can't break it. It's too strong!"

"Impossible," Hitsugaya growled. He quickly looked around. The hollow wasn't there. He looked above, not there. He turned his head, not there either. There was only one place left. Below.

Toushiro looked down to notice a hole in the floor right next to him.

"Shit!"

He could hear the ruffling of the hollow, echoing beneath him.

CRASH!

There was a loud crash from behind Hitsugaya as the hollow jumped through the hard wooden floor and knocked Hitsugaya to the ground.

"Hitsugaya-kun!"

Hitsugaya strained to move his body but it felt like his body was coated in an inch-thick layer of steel. He quickly rolled over and tried to raise his reiatsu. The room was freezing… getting closer for absolute zero degrees…

Hitsugaya finally felt the strain on his body disappear. He could move again! Just as he raised his zanpakuto, he felt something bite him on the back of his neck. He froze in shock as the hollow's teeth sank in deeper. He could feel his own blood being sucked out and trickling down his neck.

Hinamori gasped at the sight of the white haired captain having his blood sucked out. She could hear the soft lapping sounds of the hollow's tongue drinking Hitsugaya's blood like tea.

Then before her eyes, the monster stopped drinking and bit the bottom of its paw. Just enough for blood to slowly drip out of it. It then laid its paw on top of Hitsugaya's blood wound and waited… for about five seconds before taking its paw off and licking Hitsugaya's neck clean.

It looked at Hinamori and then at the moon and let out a long lonely but filled-with-pride howl and Hinamori was instantly released. Without thought, she ran over to Hitsugaya's side and rolled him over.

There was no expression in his dull eyes.

"I feel so stupid. I couldn't even demolish a hollow," Hitsugaya sighed.

"NO! This one was different! It had shinigami abilities! Hitsugaya-kun" yelled Hinamori.

"It's Captain Hitsugaya not Hitsuga-" Hitsugaya's objection to the way Hinamori addressed him was distracted by a gush of blood, rushing out of his mouth. The crimson red blood soaked Hitsugaya's captain robe and he lay still… not dead though… just unconscious…

"Hitsugaya-kun? Hitsugaya-kun? WAKE UP!" screamed Hinamori as she violently shook him. She got the injured captain and put him on her bed in her room and went looking for help from the 4th squad.