P r o x i m i t y
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Her eyes were still closed and her breathing even. Ever since she got knocked unconscious during the fight of theirs that Ichimaru, no doubt, had planned all along, Hinamori's state had not changed. The sun was already setting and the room was almost void of any light, but Hitsugaya Toshirou remained still, kneeling beside the unconscious vice-captain of the fifth division's futon.
Her face looks the same when she's asleep or awake, he observed silently as her face was the epitome of peace at the moment. Even though it seemed like nothing was wrong, to Toshirou's mind, everything was chaos. The fact that Hinamori was not smiling or being annoyed at him for his "grumpiness" at the moment, or in the near future for that matter, was truly disconcerting his peace of mind.
He scowled when he realized where she fit in his life. He had never wanted to get close to anyone, especially a girl. But Hinamori made that very difficult as she was always close to him. Close enough, in fact, that she found the liberty to call him "Shirou-chan." He detested the name but he thought, though he would never admit it, it didn't sound so bad when it fell from her lips; if it were to fall from another's, he knew that he would not be able to control his desire to release Hyourinmaru. I wouldn't mind if it fell out of Ichimaru Gin's mouth...
But she called him "Shirou-chan" on the day she thought he was guilty of her captain's murder. When he thought about that, maybe he didn't really want her to call him that anymore.
She stirred a bit and his thoughts halted as his attention once again focused on her face. She did not seem as peaceful anymore. She looked distraught and Hitsugaya found that he didn't like the expression on her face at all. Without thinking, he clasped her hand between his and murmured in a very soft voice that didn't sound like his at all,
"Hey, Idiot, stop dreaming already."
She didn't wake up and he didn't expect her to. Hinamori would never stop dreaming, he reminded himself in an almost scolding manner.
/end