Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Bleach series in any way. All copyrights go to Tite Kubo. The only characters I do own are my original characters: Naomi Hitsugaya, Tatsuya Hinamori, and Miyako Hinamori.
Author's Note: Gah, I'm terribly sorry for taking so long to update one of my multi-chapter stories. I've been spending time with my family, happily finish typing up this fairly long one-shot. Anyway, thank you Captainof10, Evertale, fayfan, MoonLightView, loriakari, applestoapples, HyourinmaruIce, anime16, skylar, icyangel27, athdrizzle (x2) and Yellow. Sunshin3h for your wonderful reviews! Without any further delays, here is the alternate universe one-shot of theme number four. Enjoy!
LEGEND
"Talking." "Thinking." Toshiro's POV (Point of View).
The 100 HitsuHina Themes Challenge
Theme #4: Pain
Hitsugaya is sitting on the couch in the living room, flipping between television channels on the remote control when he heard the doorbell ring. Thinking that somebody else is going to answer the door, he ignored it. He suddenly hollered out, "Okaa-san, answer the door!"
Once again, the doorbell rung. He ignored it a second time.
"Okaa-san!"
Instead of hearing the annoying noise for a third time, he heard several pounding knocks. Frustrated, he turned off the television, placed the remote down on the table, and stood up from his seat. At that moment, he remembered something.
"Damn, I completely forgot that I'm alone in the house right now." He has no other choice, but to personally answer the door. Taking a look through the peek hole, he saw a familiar face standing at the door: his childhood friend. "Hinamori..."
Placing his hand on the lock, he unlocked the door and opened it. Just as he was about to say something, the younger teenager said, "Mou Hitsugaya-kun, why didn't you answer the door the first time?"
"Sorry, I sort of forgot that my folks went out for the night," he apologized, welcoming her into his home. He closed the door once she entered. "By the way, why are you doing here?"
Momo took off her footwear and put on some slippers. She replied, "I'm here to cook some dinner for you."
They walked through the hallway together, heading towards the kitchen. "There is no need for you to do that. Besides, it's not like I don't know how to cook a decent meal."
"I know, but your mother insisted that I come over. It just so happens that my parents are also out for the night."
Toshiro let out a sigh. "Knowing Okaa-san, she doesn't want her favourite non-related daughter to be alone in her house."
"Now, that's not true."
He shrugged his shoulders. "I beg to differ. She likes you so much that she wants you to be my future wife."
Hinamori suddenly blushed. "R-Really?"
Hitsugaya nodded with agreement as he walked past the raven haired girl. "Yup."
It is when she lowered her head. In her thoughts, she want something like that to happen. For as long as she could remember, she had intimate feelings for her white haired friend. Today is no different.
He placed his hands together behind his back and went back to the living room to watch some television. "If you need any help, feel free to ask."
"Ah...hai!" Once he is gone, the peach girl let out a sigh before looking up at the ceiling. After putting up a gust pose, a determined look appeared on her face. She is going to make Toshiro impressed by her cooking skills. From there, maybe he will start seeing her as more than just a childhood friend. "I can do this!"
She began by taking a medium sized pot out from the bottom cupboard and placing it in the sink. Then, she lifted the tap handle so that the water could start running. When the pot is half full, she shut the tap off and transferred the pot to the stove. Leaving it aside for a bit, she turned her attention elsewhere. She turned around, walked over, and opened the refrigerator to look at the contents inside.
Just as Toshiro's mother has mentioned before hand, she has given her the necessary ingredients to make dinner. She is going to make some vegetable soup, egg roll omelet, and fried fish which will all go with cooked rice. She took out from the fridge three thin carrots, two sticks of celery, three potatoes, two tomatoes, a small bag of green beans, a raw fish, and four white eggs. After sorting them out in their respected dishes, she took out a medium sized knife, a wooden cutting board, and began prepping for dinner.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Hitsugaya is sitting on the sofa, flipping between television channels using the remote. There is nothing on television that is interesting for him to watch. He took a quick peek at what is going on in the kitchen. From the way things appear to be, it seems like Hinamori has everything under control. Feeling a bit at ease, he let out a sigh and resumed to watching television. However, it didn't take long before he took another quick glance. After that, it was followed by several more at shorter time intervals.
Since he has known her for a long time, he has a very good idea what she is like. She tends to jump into conclusions and does rash things without thinking things through. As a result, she always have to apologize or get injured for the misunderstanding. On the bright side, she is a kind and heart-warming person, who is able to crack a smile on the grumpiest of people.
Toshiro took another quick look at the raven haired girl before letting out a silent sigh. Because of previous experience, he's too worried that she might do something reckless again opposed to watching television in peace. After finally giving in, he turned the television off with the remote, put it on the table, and left his seat. He went to the kitchen to see what Momo is up to.
Just then, it is as if his world stopped. He heard a yelp. Without any time to waste, he rushed to the kitchen to find the peach girl sitting on the floor with her hands together and held up to her chest. He asked, "What happened?"
When her eyes made contact with his, she let out a small gasp. It is soon followed by a series of hesitant laughs. "Ah no, nothing happened," Hinamori replied. "I just lost my footing and fell down."
However, he didn't buy the story at all. He got down on his knees, crawled over, and took hold of her hands. Momo tried to resist, but her strength is no match for him. His eyes narrowed once he inspected her hands. He looked up at her and said, "Baka, this is what happens when you're careless. You're bleeding."
"D-Don't worry about it; it's just a minor cut."
"Yes, it is a minor cut, but it looks pretty deep," Toshiro said. "Knife cuts needs to be treated as soon as possible."
Without another word, he put Momo's injured finger into his mouth. She let out a blush. "W-What are you doing?"
He removed her pointer finger from his mouth and replied, "I'm stopping the bleeding. Applying saliva onto one's injury stops the blood flow."
"Oh..."
He put her finger back into his mouth to resume his work. During this time, Hinamori lowered her head and fighting off her unrequited emotions.
"Calm down Momo, Hitsugaya-kun is doing nothing that implies that he likes you in that sense," she thought. However, she is fighting a losing battle. She quickly clutched her hand over the place where her heart is located. "Mou, I hope he doesn't notice."
"Is there something wrong? Are you in pain?"
"Not the same kind of pain as you're thinking." All of a sudden, his voice dawned to her. Looking up at the white haired teenager, who removed her finger from his mouth, she turned about two shades darker and looked away. "I-I'm fine!"
"Are you sure?"
"Y-Yes!" she said quickly.
Toshiro gave her a good look before let out a sigh. "Fine, I won't ask anymore. Just stay here while I go and get the first aid kit."
With a silent nod of agreement from her, he temporarily left her side. During the waiting time, Hinamori thought about her childhood friend. Ever since they were young, she has always questioned his actions and thoughts. Even though he says things that mean one thing, his actions says otherwise. Momo sighed, defeated by the fact that she couldn't completely figure him out.
Eventually, the older teenager returned with exactly what he said he would bring: the first aid kit. He took a seat next to her and opened the box. After taking out the appropriate materials, he began treating Hinamori's wound. "Once your treatment is finished, you'll go to the living room and watch some television," he suddenly said.
"Eh, what about dinner?" she asked.
After finishing her diagnosis by applying a band aid over her injured finger, he started cleaning up. "I'll finish making dinner."
"W-Wait a minute, I-I'm suppose to be coo-"
Before she could say any more, Hitsugaya placed his pointer finger between her lips. Once she is silent, he removed and said, "I know, but I can't let you get hurt again."
He turned his attention to closing the first aid kit closed.
He whispered, "It's too painful for me to see."
"Painful?" she wondered. It is when Momo realized something."I see; despite not showing his feelings, even he worries about me."
She suddenly cracked a small smile.
"Then again, I shouldn't be too surprised about it. He's that type of guy who does these things."
Noticing the changed expression on the raven haired girl's face, Toshiro raised an eyebrow. He asked, "Why are you smiling, Hinamori?"
After snapping back to reality, Momo's face turned another few shades darker. She raised her hands up and moved them back and forth. She quickly replied, "Ah d-don't mind me! I-I'm just being thankful for your kindness, that's all."
She got on her feet and headed towards the living room.
Just as she is about to leave, she turned around and said, "Anyway, I should leave you with the dinner preparations. Call me if you need any help, okay?"
As he is about to say something, she already bolted out of the kitchen. Toshiro placed a hand on the side of his head and began scratching his hair. "What has gotten into her?"
Neither Hitsugaya nor Hinamori spoke to one another for the next little while. They were both busy minding their own business. While Toshiro is cooking dinner, Momo is watching some television. Soon, she stopped because thoughts of the white haired teenager surfaced in her mind. She raised her injured finger up to look at the band aid. After cracking a small smile, she gave it a kiss. Her childhood friend have treated her injury well. All it needs is a simple kiss to make the pain go away. "Arigato Hitsugaya-kun..."
"Hinamori, dinner is ready," said a voice.
Once she snapped back to reality, she looked up to see the white haired teenager at the border wall to the kitchen. She replied, "I-I'm coming!"
With that said, he returned to the next room and waited for the peach girl to turn off the TV and take her seat behind the dinner table. When the two friends have settled down, they both placed their hands together and said their prayers of thanks. During this time, Momo took a peek at the various food dishes Toshiro is able to cook up.
"S-Sugoi, everything on the table looks delicious!" she thought. "It smells good too. Then, it probably tastes good too."
After picking up their chopsticks on one hand and their rice bowls on the other, they began eating. Throughout most of dinner, neither of them exchanged words. Momo began wondering if there was something that caused him to be silent. Suddenly, a thought came into mind.
"W-What if he's mad at me? He usually gets annoyed whenever I do something reckless. Compared to the other times, this one's more serious. I could have lost a finger and bleed to death. Yeah, that's right; t-that must be the reason. Besides, it's my fault for causing him so much trouble. I-I-I better apologize quickly or else he might not want to be friends with me anymore!"
Without any warning, she slammed her rice bowl on the table, startling the older teenager. Once he gave his undivided attention to her, Momo placed her hands on the table and stood up. With a determined look on her face, Toshiro couldn't figure out what she's thinking. So, he asked, "W-What's wrong?"
She gave him a hard look, sparking tension in the air. All of a sudden, she leaned over and bowed. She quickly apologized, "I'm very sorry for whatever I have done to get you mad, Hitsugaya-kun!"
"W-What? Mad?" he asked. "Hinamori, why would I be mad at you?"
"Eh, you're not mad at me?"
"Of course not, why should I be?"
Then, Momo let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness, he's not upset," she thought. "Wait a minute, why weren't you talking before?"
Next, it is his turn to give her a look. "I'm in the middle of eating my meal. Of course, I wouldn't be talking."
Hinamori lowered her head, hiding the face of embarrassment. "Oh..."
Noticing that she's feeling down, Toshiro let out a sigh and placed his chopsticks and rice bowl down on the table. "I didn't want to bring this up, but I have to. Ever since you first stepped into the house, you've been acting strange. I get the impression that you're trying to impress me."
Her heartbeat began to race. "Oh no, he has already caught onto me!"
Hitsugaya placed an elbow on the table so that his chin could rest on top of his wrist. He asked, "Now, tell me the truth; why are you trying so hard?"
She placed her hands together and began fiddling with it, trying to come up with the proper words to tell him. "Y-You're right; I was trying to impress you because..."
"Because..."
"...because I wanted to get your attention."
"I don't get it; I don't see the point in you doing such things."
"I don't blame you for not noticing because you never realized it." When the peach girl raised her head up, he noticed her eyes watering with tears. "Hitsugaya-kun, I love you."
There was a silent pause. "Wait a minute, you what?"
"I-I love you."
He is at a loss for words, unable to come up with a response. It is his first time being in this situation. He slowly lowered his head and thought for a bit. "How am I suppose to respond to this?"
There are two ways to go with this matter: reject or accept her feelings. "I'm sorry," Momo apologized, getting Toshiro's attention. "Maybe I should have not said that. It's just I-I sort of lost myself for a bit, thinking that I was unable to endure the pain any longer. As a result, I blurt everything out into the open."
His eyes softened exposing his inner feelings. "So, this is the type of pain she has been enduring these days. I should have been more aware of it."
He quietly stood up from his seat. Hinamori lowered her head, unable to find the words to say to him. Just as she thought he left the dinner table, she felt something is placed on her shoulder. When she raised her head, her eyes widened, surprised that he's standing by her side. "H-Hitsugaya-kun?"
I won't do it anymore; I won't be oblivious to your feelings.
Without any warning, he threw his arms around her and pulled the peach girl into an embrace. Her heart feels like it is about to burst, but then, she noticed it isn't the only one that is beating so fast. Her childhood friend's heart is doing the same thing. "What could this mean?" she wondered. "I-I appreciate the hug, but why are you doing this?"
Toshiro pulled away and looked deeply into her chocolate brown eyes. He whispered, "I'm sorry."
Momo turned her gaze away and said, "No, you shouldn't apologize. Besides, everything is all my fau-"
I'll make sure to give you my answer. It will be portrayed to you: loud and clear.
He interrupted her sentence by pulling her close and give her a sweet kiss on the lips.
I promise you that I will stop making you suffer.
Time seemed to have stopped for the two friends. It is as if she has found her purpose of living. Toshiro Hitsugaya felt the same way about her; always have, always will. The two new found lovers pulled away and smiled. "Toshiro..."
Hitsugaya merely smiled back.
That way, all the pain will truly go away.
"Well Momo, are you going to finish your meal or am I going to have to feed it to you?" the white haired teenager asked.
"I don't know," she teased. "You just might have to."
The older friend retreated back to his seat and picked up his pair of chopsticks. "Fine then, have it your way."
Using the sticks, he picked up a piece of egg roll omelet and pulled it towards the raven haired girl's face. With a happy smile, she opened her mouth and ate the food. "Mm, delicious!"
After picking up a piece of fried fish with his chopsticks, he asked, "Ready to have another bite?"
With a content nod, he fed her once more.
"Why Tatsuya-kun and Miyako-chan, you both came here to pick up your daughter?" Naomi (1) asked.
The raven haired mother nodded with agreement. "Do you know where she is?"
By the time Toshiro's mother came home, Momo's parents arrived at the Hitsugaya household. "To be honest, I just came home myself. So, I haven't got the slightest clue where they may be at the moment."
"The house is silent," Tatsuya commented as the three adults entered. "Do you thin-"
"Don't think such nonsense," the female Hitsugaya interrupted. "My lil'Shiro wouldn't do such things to sweet Momo-chan. I bet those two are quietly watching television in the livi-"
When they came to the living room, the adults found the two lovers sleeping (with Toshiro sleeping on Momo's lap) on the large sofa together. The two female placed their hands together and started cooing. On the other hand, Tatsuya raised an eyebrow at them. "Aww, they're sleeping so adorably," Miyako said.
"I know!" Naomi agreed. "Let's leave them to sleep peacefully for a little longer. In the meantime, why don't we have some tea and coffee in the kitchen?"
"It sounds like a good idea to me."
"I could use a cup of coffee," Tatsuya said. "Besides, today has been a long day."
Naomi smiled. "...and I think those two would agree."
"You got that right."
Japanese Word Translations and References
Okaa-san - Mother, Hai - Yes, Baka - Idiot/Stupid, Arigato - Thank You, Sugoi - Amazing
(1) Naomi Hitsugaya is an OC introduced in Blessed from the Heavens ALT while Tatsuya and Miyako Hinamori are the same thing, but introduced in Secrets Untold. Too lazy to come up with new OC parents, I have decided to put them into this one-shot.
Author's Note: Hopefully, this one-shot is to your satisfaction. I'll do my best to post the next one as soon as possible. Please review! Thanks.
