Chapter 4: Revealing Masked Secrets

While walking home, Hiranomi was thinking Whew! I was so close to that one this morning! What…Did any one of them notice me? Ohh… then she began to hum that sweet tune again. She saw Rukia and Ichigo walking home from school. Rukia glared at Hiranomi which made her nervous and then Ichigo called out to her

"Yo Hiranomi! You walking home by yourself?"

"Um… Yeah…" Hiranomi said in a small voice. Then Ichigo knew how Rukia looked at Hiranomi then he said

"Stop looking at her like you want to eat her alive!"

"What the hell's your problem? Most people would run away from you because you look like you just killed 300 people!" Rukia said with annoyance.

"Anu, I have to go. Well, bye!" Hiranomi said cheerfully. Then they just looked at her as she walked down the street.

That afternoon, Hiranomi was sitting at the swing by the playground while humming the sweet tune. A shadow passed over behind her and said

"What are you doing here alone?" She jumped up from the swing, turned around, and saw Hitsugaya-kun with Rangiku a few steps behind him.

"Umm…Nothin', what a surprise! Hahaha. Ha?"She tried laughing. Hitsugaya sweat dropped and stared at her for a few minutes then said to her

"Be careful in going home…" and vanished like the wind with Rangiku.

"Yup, I will Shiro-chan." She managed to say when he was gone.

3 hours after Hitsugaya left, Hinamori left her gigai at some place and stayed at the swing at the playground. She sensed a very powerful reiatsu and her cellphone beeped.

Out of nowhere, an arrancar appeared and saw Hinamori looking at him and he smiled. Hinamori then saw a child running in front of her and caught that little boy who was crying.

The arrancar stepped down the ground then said

"Hey miss! What's your name?"

"What do you care? What's more important is what are you doing here?"

"Oh..Tough are you. I came here to collect that child."

"What are you, a collector?!" The arrancar sweat dropped when he heard this and said

"That's not the point."

"Who are you?" Hinamori asked as she drew out her sword and placed the boy at her back.

"I'm…Grimmjaw…An ex member of the Espada. Nice to meet you. And you are?"

"5th divisions' vice-captain, Hinamori Momo." Then when Grimmjaw started out for the kid, Hinamori told the kid

"Run!"

Then she shielded her sword from Grimmjaw's sword and saw him smiling. Then she pushed her sword and drew Grimmjaw back and then she said

"Art of Destruction no. 31…" then white lighting came out from her hand then pointed her hand to Grimmjaw but he just ducked his head and managed to avoid it.

"Is that the best you can do?"

Having heard of this, she wielded her sword and kept on attacking Grimmjaw but he just avoided her blows easily. She used Kido and her sword at the same time and finally made a scratch at Grimmjaw's face.

"That's good, but I think we need more inspiration." Then Grimmjaw flash stepped aiming for the kid, when Grimmjaw was about to hurt the kid, Hinamori shielded him with her sword then said to the kid

"Run!"

"But ne-chan...How about you?!" the kid asked crying. Hinamori drew more strength, blood came out from her hands. She called out her zanpaktou "Snap Tobiume!" Then a pink light came from her sword then her zanpaktou emerged, Grimmjaw flew at the sky. Hinamori charged after him and sent him 3 balls of pink fire. At the sky, Grimmjaw put on his hollow mask and charged at Hinamori, he stabbed Hinamori at her arm and a cry of pain and blood gushed out from her arm.

Continuous attacks followed, he slice long open wounds at Hinamori's back and at her chest. Blood gushed out more. She fell from the sky.

"Where's your courage now huh?!"Grimmjaw said as he kicked Hinamori many times and turned to see the child.

"More inspiration eh? Fine by me." He said then continued to walk to the child. Hinamori saw this in a blurred vision and clutched Grimmjaw's foot.

"Nani?!"

Meanwhile…

Rukia was at Ichigo's bedroom reading a book when her cellphone beeped. She quickly dashed out of his closet (which errs… Is her bedroom.) And motioned Ichigo to come out outside when Ichigo asked why she said while they were running

"Trouble and I have a bad feeling about this."

Back to the fight…

Grimmjaw saw this and stomped on her back many times painfully, blood came out from her mouth. Then Grimmjaw left her there and began for the kid, he pulled the crying kid up by his shirt. Then Hinamori stood up and stabbed Grimmjaw at his back.

Grimmjaw brushed the kid aside and kicked Hinamori down. She stood up again and said to the kid

"Run!" This time, the kid followed, crying.

They both flew up at the sky then Grimmjaw pushed down his hollow mask again and began to attack Hinamori. He used his zanpaktou and charged after her. More injuries to Hinamori, the more the blood gushes out. (I'm so addicted to this. Don't know why though.)

This time, she charged 5 balls of fire at Grimmjaw and used Kido at the same time. When Grimmjaw looked, Hinamori disappeared. He looked at his chest and saw blood, Hinamori was behind him.

With a sudden gush of anger, Grimmjaw stabbed Hinamori at her chest and went deeper, and deeper, and then pulled out his word. Many blood splurted out. She fell down from the sky again.

He picked her up from her hair then punched her while laughing. She could only see a blurred vision of him. He kicked her head many times and she was close to unconsciousness.

"Aizen-sama, will like this news..." she heard Grimmjaw say. Tears came from her eyes. Aizen. When he was about to stab Hinamori at her head (Sorry if it is too violent. And sorry for those who hate Hinamori, she didn't die here.) She heard

"Zangetsu!" and "Hyourinmaru!" Then she fell unconscious.

"Hina…" Mumbling sounds. "…are you…"Whispers. "…Alright?"Familiar voices. Pain. Concern. Fear. These were what Hinamori was feeling while she was lying down there.

She opened her eyes slowly. Pain. She can only see blurred images.

"Don't wake her up baka! She's still weak!" a familiar voice said. It was Inoue's.

Even though it was still painful, she cried. Warm tears came from her half-opened eyes and she smiled. Then she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

When she opened her eyes, surprisingly, they didn't hurt at all. She had her normal energy.

"She's awake! Ururu go tell everybody." A red headed boy said as he sat beside Hinamori, it was Jinta. Ururu ran outside the door. And she switched her body to the other side to face Jinta.

"Hey…Jinta-kun…How many days was I asleep?" Hinamori asked in a weak voice.

"Oh, you slept for 2 weeks now. Are you okay, ne-chan?" Jinta asked with a hint of concerned voice. Hinamori's eyes widened. 2 weeks?! She thought. How much has happened since then?!

Footsteps.

"Oi! Are you..!" It was Ichigo.

POW! (I know it's corny…Maybe I ate a lot of corn! Jokes! Hahahaha!)

"Ouch! What did you do that for?!" Ichigo said with tears from his eyes. Then, a small girl appeared behind him. It was Rukia.

"Baka! She just woke up! Then you go here speaking loudly! Are you really that stupid?"

Hinamori began to smile at this sight (actually, anybody would.). Suddenly her smile disappeared, the kid! She thought. She sat up, she grimaced as she felt all the pain came back to her.

"Oi! What are you doing?!" Ichigo said as he came next to Hinamori to help her.

She gasped for breath. Rukia called Inoue (What's that? Is this a hospital?!)

"Lie down and rest first." A cold voice said.

"Stop being so childish Hinamori." He added. Then he entered the room, it was Hitsugaya. Hinamori stopped resisting at once and sat there, motionless with watery eyes.

"Hinamori-chan? Are you alright now?" Inoue said as she knelt next to her. Hinamori suddenly blushed in embarrassment because many people were taking care of her, even those who didn't know her.

"I'm fine already. Thanks a lot, Orihime-chan!" Hinamori said and smiled weakly at Inoue.

"What?! You know each other Inoue?" Ichigo suddenly asked. Everybody in the room sweat dropped. Matsumoto suddenly entered and smiled at Hinamori. Hinamori felt a shiver run down her neck (What kind of smile was that? How scary!)

"Ne, guys should we leave Hinamori to rest alone?!" Matsumoto said in an evil voice (3 words: Ha. Ha. Ha!) Then Matsumoto looked at Inoue and smiled devilishly (Inoue sweat dropped at this.)

"Minna, I think we should leave Hinamori-chan alone to rest." Inoue said pretending to smile. Then, Hinamori started to panic

"Anu…Where….How's….the kid?" Hinamori said as calmly as she could. Everybody stared at her and smiled. Then Rukia went out of the room and after a few minutes she came back with the child Hinamori was protecting 2 weeks ago. Hinamori got out of bed and sat properly with the others, grimacing but ignoring the pain, and gasping for breath.

"Hey, are you alright already? Why aren't you in Soul Society yet? Are you…" Hinamori started but she stopped.

"Done with what are you looking for?" Hinamori continued. Then the kid began to cry.

"I already found my parents, and I asked them to go on without me, I was…Waiting for ne-chan to heal! Waahh!" (Oh! How sweet!). Now, Hinamori was embarrassed to the max! He he! Good thing…

"I think we should leave them be. Let's go have some tea." Matsumoto suggested as she started for the door. Ichigo was forced to leave because Rukia was pulling him outside while Inoue happily followed. Hitsugaya started for the door but then...dot. Dot. Dot.

"Taicho, you need to stay there for awhile and...You know…Take care of them first." Matsumoto said as she smiled devilishly when she poked her head through the door then she closed it and quickly locked it. Hitsugaya stood there dumbfounded (Actually he decided whether he would kick the door down or not, and he decided not to.)

Hitsugaya finally realized that he couldn't do anything (Well…There is a window in that room.) So he just sat there. Hinamori and the kid stared at Hitsugaya.

"What?!" Hitsugaya asked in an impatient tone.

"Come on! Make with the drama! Pretend I'm not here!" Hitsugaya said with pink shades in his cheeks. Suddenly, Hinamori giggled. Then the kid started laughing as well.

"What?! What's funny?" Hitsugaya asked with a red face. Even though he sounded angry he missed Hinamori's laugh.

"Nothing Hitsugaya-kun…I-I mean Hitsugaya-taicho-"Hinamori began then she fell silent. Hearing those words, the two of them remembered what happened at Soul Society and the pain returned to the both of them.

"Are you alright ne-chan?!" the kid asked. Hinamori was beginning to be short of breathing she said

"Nothing…Hey, I don't want you to miss your parents anymore. So…" Then the kid stood up and went to Hitsugaya.

"I understand. Ja ne, ne-chan." The kid said then Hitsugaya...Ya know...Did his job. Alas, Hinamori fainted. She couldn't bear the pain anymore, good thing Hitsugaya was there.

After a few moments, that evening, they gathered at Urahara's house to have celebration slash meeting. Matsumoto said that she, Hinamori, and Inoue would be late. Here's what happened earlier…

"Okay, we'll all meet at Urahara-san's place this evening." Ichigo finally said. All of them nodded. Then Matsumoto raised her arm

"What's wrong Rangiku-san?" Ichigo asked nervously.

"I, Hinamori-chan, and Orihime-chan would be coming a little bit late today." Having heard of this, Hinamori looked at Matsumoto surprisingly. But Rangiku smiled devilishly. (With an evil villain background music please.)

And thus… (I sound like a textbook!)

"Where are they?" Ichigo glanced impatiently at his watch which says 6:53 pm. A foot landed on his face. Pain.

"Don't rush idiot." Rukia said simply. Ichigo couldn't stand up because her heavy foot was on his face. Then, he heard a familiar sound. Running towards them (actually to Rukia) Guess who it was...Dot…?

"Ne-chan!" A plush toy came jumping at Rukia but Rukia gracefully avoided the plush toy and slumped it down to Ichigo's face.

"Idiots…"Rukia muttered as she walked away. She left behind a face to face plush toy Kon and Ichigo. Ichigo picked up Kon then threw him down and walked away.

"You'll die soon Ichigo!" Kon shouted then laughed. Ichigo looked at Kon with a you'll-die-first-if-you-don't-shut-up look. Then Kon pretended to die.

Minutes after, they heard Inoue shouted while running

"Minna-san! We're sorry if we're late!!" Then Uryuu muttered

"It's about time." Then, having heard of Inoue's voice, Kon was alive again and returned to his normal energy. He became more energetic when he saw Matsumoto carrying their dinner.

"Aaah!! I'm in paradise-Huweh!" Kon said as he was stamped off by almost everybody inside Urahara's shop. (I actually…kind of…pity him…?)

That night, they all entered the room and began to eat. Suddenly, Urahara noticed something.

"Ne, minna…Where's Hinamori-san?" Then whispers followed. Matsumoto, of course, smiled devilishly, which made everybody sweat dropped.

"Hinamori-chan? Well...Ho! Ho! Ho!" Matsumoto began to laugh. Her laugh sent Inoue a shiver down her spine (What a scary woman…)

"Anu…" a whisper said. They looked at the back corner of the room and stood there was the most kawaii person they ever met.

There stood Hinamori next to the door. She had her hair wrapped in a bun (like she usually does.) Then she wore a yellow blouse and a yellow skirt (Like in the ending of bleach with the song: Tsumasaki…something?!).Then she was holding a plastic with 3 bottles of juice.

"Minna-san! Sorry if I was late, Rangiku-san asked me to buy the drinks while she bought dinner." Hinamori said as she smiled and placed the bottles one by one at the table while Ururu brought out the cups.

"Anu...Excuse me, but who are you?!" Ichigo asked. Again, everybody sweat dropped then Rukia punched Ichigo on his head very hard.

"Really...You are an idiot. You don't recognize her Kurosaki?" Uryuu said as he drank his well…Drink. After what Uryuu had said Ichigo really looked hard on her.

"Aaah! Hiranomi-san?!" Ichigo said. That really hit the spot, Rukia couldn't bear this much longer, she hit Ichigo an empty (plastic!) bottle on his head.

"Look at her closer! And try to feel her!" Rukia shouted.

"Aaah! Wait…Who are you?" Ichigo asked as he finally gave up. Everybody sighed when they finished eating and went to business. Hitsugaya suddenly appeared

"She's Hinamori Momo, vice-captain of the 5th squad." Then, everybody stared at Hitsugaya because there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Wait…You mean...All of you knew that Hiranomi and Hinamori was only one?!" Ichigo asked in amazement.

"You really didn't notice anything strange about her huh?" Uryuu asked while shaking his head in disbelief.

"Yeah…Well, I was wondering why Rukia was so interested in her."

"That's why she is interested in her…"

"HUH?! Hinamori's a shinigami?!" Ichigo suddenly said. (What a delayed reaction!)

"Hahahaha! Ichigo! BAKA!" Kon said while laughing. Of course, Ichigo picked Kon up by Kon's face then threw Kon outside the open window.

"How did you all know?" Ichigo asked with annoyance.

"Actually, me and Sado-san knew that she wasn't a normal person by the way she acts. She's too quiet and she acts weird from most of the time." Uryuu explained.

"Jah…How about Inoue?!" Ichigo asked. Inoue smiled then she giggled.

"Well, she entered my room with her gigai. So I was confused then thought 'Is this an invasion?!'"She started to explain. Then everybody fell down-anime style about the last part.

"Then I asked her about that, afterwards she explained it to me and asked me to keep it a secret."

"Well, idiots would be idiots..." Urahara explained. Then everybody laughed. (You know, I was affected by what Urahara said. Ouch!)

"How about you Rangiku-san? Eehh?! Where's Toushiro?" Ichigo asked. Then everybody noticed Hitsugaya wasn't there anymore. Hinamori frowned, and then Rangiku sighed.

"Well…I have my own clues to see if she was Hinamori or not" Rangiku said as she smiled. Hinamori began to stare off into space.

Poshpuppy27: Well…How did you like it so far?! I'm so excited! More exciting things would come! Ha! Dot. Dot. Dot.

Plush toy Kon: I'm sorry about what happened earlier.

Elie: Yah! (Giggles.) Me too, sorry about letting you have a few holes in your body.

(Kon looks down at his body and saw holes, good thing Ishida was there to fix them.)

Plush toy Kon: Moving on…Ahem… I'll start to interview you now.

Elie: Hai, hai! (Giggles again.)

Plush toy Kon: Do you like Haru?!

Poshpuppy27: Ouch! Nice question! Maybe Kon'll have more holes in his body or with no more head! Ha! Jokes…