"Ne, Shiro-chan, isn't the sunset beautiful?" That was Hinamori Momo's voice, though it was a bit high like a baby's. Toshiro was busy eating watermelons and just said, "Uh-huh". Hinamori frowned at him, then took his watermelon from him. "Hey!" Hitsugaya protested.

"I said look at it, you bakayero!" Hinamori snapped. Hitsugaya turned his head towards the sun. It really was beautiful. Hitsugaya smiled...

The scene shifted, and there was various flashes of Hinamori eating, smiling, laughing, crying, smacking him upside the head, and others. Oh, great, Hitsugaya thought sarcastically, Now I even dream about her.

But as he thought more about it, it was weird. Hey, this is like what happens when a person important to you dies. He frowned in his sleep.

Suddenly, with no warning, he was shot about 5 feet above the ground. The trees were swaying, and the ground was trembling so hard that he nearly broke his back when he landed on the ground with a loud thump! Oh, Tskusho(It means damn it), Hitsugaya thought. When he opened his eyes, he saw a storm of flame coming right at him. His instincts helped him protect himself with Hyorinmaru. But his instincts also reminded him about Hinamori. He turned his head side to side to find her, but she was nowhere to be found.

Hitsugaya froze. He remembered that Tobiume was a fire and heat Zanpakuto. That must mean she was the one in the middle of this. Still guarding himself, he ran through the charred undergrowth toward Tobiume's reiatsu. He was nearly there when three things happened at once. First, a reiatsu resembling those of Espadas suddenly passed near him so fast that Hitsugaya only had time to blink before the reiatsu faded away into the distance. Second, Tobiume's reiatsu faded completely. Third, the flames disappeared. So Tobiume was the one doing this. I was right.

When Hitsugaya reached the clearing with a worried expression, shouting, "Hinamori!" he stopped suddenly as if he hit a stone wall headfirst. His hand holding Hyorinmaru dropped and hung lifelessly. Hitsugaya couldn't comprehend what he was looking at. First, there was a very pale and cut up girl lying in a pool of blood. She resembled Hinamori very much. Second, a smoking zanpakuto was lying beside her. It looked like it had been used very recently. It must've fired the shot on its own accords. Third, the cut-up girl looked very much dead, which disabled Hitsugaya of any actions except staring dumbly at her.

She cannot be dead, right? He said to himself. It was Hyorinmaru who answered. Hitsugaya, I can feel her spirit powers, even though it's decreasing in an increadible rate. Go! Save her now, or it'll be too late!

Fortunately, Hitsugaya snapped out of it, and Shunpoed to her side. He couldn't breathe, or say anything except Hinamori's name. "Hi-Hina...mori," He spoke softly. He caressed her face with shaking fingertips. His throat was constricted.

Hinamori opened her eyes, which was bleary with the loss of blood. "Hi-Hitsug...aya..ku..n," She coughed up blood. The bloody fuku-taicho smiled weakly at Hitsugaya, then started to say, "I...I'm so glad that y-you're here." She looked like she was going to pass out, but she raised her hand reached Toshiro's cheek. He grabbed her hand and helped it stay there. "Stop speaking, Hinamori. You.. You'll lose more blood. I... I couldn't protect you. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." Hinamori smiled reassuringly, rather like a sad smile, "It's fine, now that you're here."

Hitsugaya still felt guilty, and grabbed his Zanpakuto tightly with his other hand. "Who did this to you? Who did it?" Now that he was relived that she was alive, he was consumed with a surge of rage. It was like Tobiume's anger when she released the enormous ball of flame. He was ready to chase him even if he had to search every District in the spirit world. It would be easy to kill him when he had his Shinigami powers and his rage combined. "Ka..Kashida Lightwind. I beat him at the Winter War. I thought Tobiume had killed him, but she didn't." Hinamori coughed up more blood, and her voice became weaker. "He is the Espada 7. Tobiume.... she saved me.... She used up all of her powers... to save... me..." Her voice started to trail off. "But... I... can't... even... talk... straight... now... can't... I?... Tsukusho...." Then, she was silent. Her face was deadly pale. Her hand on Hitsugaya's cheek dropped to the ground. Her glazed eyes stared up at the night sky.

"Hinamori!!" Hitsugaya called, paralyzed with fear. The fuku-taicho's spirit energy disappeared. He took a shaking breath. Hyorinmaru's physical form materialized beside him. He put a hand on his wielder's shoulder. Tobiume's form morphed into a physical one, too. "Momo?" she asked, horror coloring her small voice. "Momo, why won't you answer me?" Tobiume's Katana broke. Tobiume gulped. Anguish rattled her heart painfully. "Momo. Why are you doing this? You're still alive, aren't you?" Tobiume knew the answer. If a Zanpakuto's Katana breaks, it means the wielder's spirit powers have disappeared completely, which again, meant that the wielder was gone, dead, have passed away.

"Hi...Hit...su...ga..ya...kun..." Tobiume stuttered. She knew what was coming. Tears were pouring out of Tobiume's and Hitsugaya's eyes. Hyorinmaru's head drooped, and said in a husky voice, "Hitsugaya, calm down." Hitsugaya replied in a voice so low that they were barely able to hear him. "How..Can..I...Calm...Down!" He forced his words through his teeth.

Hitsugaya threw his head back to face the sky. Then, he shouted in a voice full of unbearable grief.

"HINAMORI!!!!!!!"