Author's Note: This is my first Bleach one shot, so I hope you enjoy it. Please review and all input is appreciated. Thanks.
Momo felt like she could cry.
The piercing wind tore through the trees and carried away anything that wasn't planted firmly on the ground. Soon enough, those too would be taken away. Momo crouched deeper into the thick bushes, which were only doing so much to protect her. Somewhere, there was a crack of thunder, causing her heart to skip a beat.
She had been asleep when she first heard it. The loud crack of thunder that startled her so much she jumped several feet into the air. It was just meant to be a short nap before she went back on duty, but she never could have anticipated this. When she finally came around the winds were already racing and thick clouds swirled overhead. Usually, such a thing wouldn't be a problem – she could just sneak into someone's house and wait for it to pass. But wanting a more peaceful sleep, she wondered off, far away from any humans. There was no warning of this storm – at least not that she heard – and now she was going to pay for it.
There was soft trickle of rain hitting her skin, and she knew it had begun. The leaves of the bush were quickly being stripped away and eventually they might all disappear, leaving her vulnerable to the hurricane. Her thoughts were scrambled and disconnected, every time she tried to form a plan it fell flat. Every instinct told her to panic, and it was only her previous training that kept her from giving in to them.
The rain was now coming down in buckets, weighing down her clothes. The wind tore through the thin cloth making her shiver. She didn't know what she was going to do, if she didn't think up something soon, who knows what will happen to her.
"Someone help me," she cried under her breathe. Her tears seemed invisible under the heavy rain.
"Momo?" She pulled her head out of her arms. Had someone just called her?
"What are you doing?" Her head snapped around, eyes finally finding the person she was looking for.
There, standing right in front of her, drenched in rain and looking none to pleased about it, was Hitsugaya.
"What do you think you're doing?" His expression was it's usual over serious one. This, however, melted when he finally got a good look at her.
There were crevasses in her skin from where she had dug her nails in and her face was a blotchy red color. She looked bewildered, and more importantly, she looked frightened.
"T-toshiro-o?" Her mind was having trouble piecing itself back together. He sighed, his expression morphing into one of concern.
"Ya, it's me. Are you alright?" The storm continued to surge. Hitsugaya had known Hinamori for a long time, and despite appearances, she was actually very brave. To see her in this condition, well, he couldn't recall seeing her more scared in her entire life.
"I . . . don't know." She curled herself into a tighter ball.
Hitsugaya looked up at the thick, dark clouds, before looking back at Hinamori. He never knew she had such a fear of storms. But how was he supposed to know, comparing they never got any in Soul Society? Still, he hated seeing her like this. She was too nervous to try and drag her to safety. Guess he was just going to have to go to the root of the problem. Were there any councilor's offices that would be open at this time?
Not likely. Hitsugaya drew his sword, ready to make this storm vanish forever.
"Sit Upon the Frozen Heavens, Hyourinmaru."
Hinamori peaked up, surprised and confused. What was he doing?
A dragon made of ice sprang from his sword and reached for the skies, to the heavens themselves. It soared above the clouds as Hitsugaya turned him this way and that. Slowly, the dark clouds lost their color, fading to a softer shade. The air dropped several degrees, making both of them shiver. But best of all, the booming thunder and dense rain disappeared, instead being replaced by soft, intricate snowflakes.
"That's better." He sheathed his sword.
Hinamori sat up, holding out her hand to allow snowflakes to fall in. They melted on contact, only to be replaced by more of them. She looked up at Hitsugaya, who was holding out a hand for her.
"Come on." She grabbed it, hauling herself up from the ground. For the first time in a long, long time, he was genuinely smiling. Then something dawned on her.
"Wait, what are you doing here? Did you get stationed in the human world too?" They were both seated officers, so it could happen.
"No, I was sent here to collect you." His face was returning to it's usual all-business expression.
"Really? But why?" She was still having trouble getting over the effects of the storm.
"Your time in the human world is up. You can go back to Soul Society now."
"Okay, but what are you doing here, Shiro-kun?" He pouted at the nickname. Now she was returning to her old self. But the question still stood. He wasn't even in the same division as her, why would he have come here?
"W-well, I just thought it would be better if you were told by someone you're more familiar with." He was making a poor attempt at covering up his embarrassment. Momo turned a warm smile on him.
"Okay, whatever you say, Shiro-kun."
"My name's not Shiro-kun, Bed Wetter."
"Hey!" She turned her back and started marching off. Hitsugaya smiled to himself. It was just like old times.
They were greeted on the other side by Kira and Hisagi.
"Whoa, what happened to you guys?" Hisagi gestured to their soaked clothes.
"Oh, you should have seen it! It was this huge storm unlike anything you've ever seen. And you'll never believe what Hitsugaya did . . ." She continued to rant on as she and Hisagi made their way back to the barracks. You'd never believe she was ready to have a heart attack less than an hour ago. Kira gave Hitsugaya a questioning look.
"So, pretty huge storm, huh?" Hitsugaya just shrugged.
"It was nothing." It was behind him now. He had never been one to brag anyways. In a flash, he disappeared, heading back to his squad's barracks. To him, the storm didn't mean anything, but if it was a threat to someone he loved, he had no choice but to destroy it. No one was hurt, so in the most basic sense, it was a victory. But there was someone who had lost from this.
The people who had to explain why it was snowing inside Florida in the middle of summer.