Author's Note: Ah, it's been awhile, but don't you ever think I've given up on a story! For those of you who live in Canada, it's Thanksgiving Day! And my update if my thanks to all my supporters out there! I can't write without you guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Canadians, and if you're not Canadian, well then, have a good day!

I am thankful for fanfiction, this site, my readers, my reviewers, Namimakura (her writing motivates me!), Bleach, my family and friends, and so on...

Perfect Timing by HawkofNavarre

Chapter 6 – Stranger to Me

She was distraught. Matsumoto didn't know what to do with her emotions right now. How did her captain learn to be so compassionate? A kid his age should still be selfish, caring more for himself than anyone else. Yet…Hitsugaya was so altruistic, and Matsumoto hated this about him. She didn't want him to care about her more than himself. She didn't even want him to care about Hinamori more than himself, although he obviously did. He was such an idiot! He was such a moron!

When she reached Hitsugaya's room, she opened the door to see him staring blankly at the ceiling. The tired female knew he was thinking as she leaned against the doorframe, sighing quietly. Matsumoto crossed her arms and watched the boy in silence. The room was still, save for the small movements of his chest that were necessary to breathe.

"Matsumoto," he began, his voice cracked and broken, "What do you want?"

A moment of stillness passed through the room. She…was here, and she didn't even know why. It was true that she was worried for her captain—Matsumoto had been fretting all week—but she had come back the next morning when she knew he didn't want company. His sheets had been cleaned after she'd left yesterday, the blood staining it now gone from the room.

It wasn't as though Hitsugaya had sounded mean when he asked her that. It was a flat, straight-out question, but she really didn't have an answer for it. Maybe she could that it was because he was her captain or that she was worried for him—both of which were true. However, it wasn't the real reason the strawberry-blonde had come here. The answer was somewhere in her head. She just didn't know where. Actually…

"Why are you doing this?" Matsumoto blurted out with no self-control. That was why she came here. She wanted to know why he was hurting himself so much.

"Doing what?" the silver-haired shinigami shot back, not even shifting in the least.

Tensei—genius. Did he think he could fool her? Hitsugaya was regarded as one of the greatest prodigies in shinigami history in both brawn and brain. Playing dumb? Well, he was out of that technique's league. Hitsugaya Toushirou always knew what you were talking about.

"Stop it, Taicho. I'm through with watching you get hurt!" she declared truthfully. "I can see her words hurt more than any of your wounds!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hitsugaya hissed, finally moving to look away.

Why did he have to be so damn stubborn?! She was just about ready to scream her lungs out because he was so frustrating! If he wasn't willingly going to talk to her, she would make him, or at least force him to hear her out.

"Doesn't it ever matter what she says to you?! Can't you feel it digging into your skin?!" the vice-captain demanded, piqued by his indifference.

"Anything she says to me doesn't affect me in any way!" he lied hastily, pushing himself to sit up, his face contorted in pain.

Her back fell against the wall in shock. How could she be doing this? Matsumoto paused for a bit, appalled that she was doing the very thing she was against. The strawberry-blonde promised herself that she would cause him anymore suffering… Yet here she was, ready to push in over the edge.

I'm…upsetting him because of my own feelings. I have to stop. He doesn't need any more burdens.

"I'm sorry, Taicho," she apologized slowly, afraid of what he might or might not say next. Matsumoto knew she should be punished. In fact, she pretty much wanted to be punished. Retribution was fine with her as long as he forgave her. The last thing she wanted was his silent rage. That was the only thing she didn't want. Besides, it was rash mistake on her part. She hadn't meant to get so riled up, or to raise her voice at him.

"About what?"

The lieutenant bit her lip as water began to cloud her vision. She pounded the wall, mumbling profanities under her breath.

Stupid Taicho! Why are you so understanding?

Hitsugaya was pretending that she hadn't done anything. Nothing. She put him through pain and he didn't even want revenge. He was just a kid. He was still just a kid. The snowy-haired captain had a right to be unreasonable, but he barely gave that a thought.

"Blame someone! Blame me! I don't care! I don't want to see you suffer anymore!" Matsumoto confessed distressfully.

The bedridden shinigami's eyes widened when he heard this before they closed again. "There's only one person I will ever blame, Matsumoto."

Between her tears, she heard his unspoken words. The only person I will ever blame is Aizen Sousuke.

-

"There's nothing to talk about," Hinamori snapped, eyes flashing dangerously.

Renji was pretty nervous, if he was being honest. Mood swings were never good when paired with women. Seconds ago, the girl had looked shocked with herself. Now, all remorse was gone from her face.

Meanwhile, Kira wasn't helping at all. He was either more afraid of Hinamori than himself, or still had that dang crush on her. Renji thought that thing for her had died out after the academy though… It seemed he might be wrong.

"You realize that you nearly just fried us with a Shakkahou, right?" the redhead asked in disbelief. Actually, when he thought the Kidou attack might hit, he was freaking out inside. Hinamori's Kidou really hurt since she was a master at it. Renji did not enjoy being on the receiving end of that.

"So what? You could've easily evaded it!" she growled, rolling her eyes.

Yup, something was definitely up. He needed to find out.

"Why are you acting like this?" Renji demanded as Kira's head snapped up to attention. "We almost lost Hitsugaya-Taicho again and you don't even seem to care!"

"Be quiet! Hitsugaya-kun made Aizen-Taicho leave! It's all his fault!" Hinamori shouted, clearly showings she'd been experiencing delusions.

"Momo-chan! Calm down!" Kira finally yelled in concern for his two friends. Neither of them had ever seen her look quite so frightening or angry. That look of hatred on her face was not one that was familiar to any of them.

"No! You're all on his side! You all wanted to make Aizen-Taicho leave!" the disoriented female screeched within her own mix of hysteria. Her arm was raised in a flash, open palm facing out in front of her. "Shakkahou!"

Renji barely had time to register exactly what was happening, but instinct allowed him enough time to rely on reflexes and hit the ground at the last minute. Kira had done the same, yet his dive had been almost too late. The redhead could see the edge of his shihakushou had been singed like wood.

He looked up at the confused Fukutaicho standing ahead of him. Her eyes were wide with horror as she lifted her hands in front of her face. Hinamori's arms shook violently as she stared at her hands before her knees bent and fell to the ground. Her mouth was open slightly, but no words emerged from her lips.

Hinamori had just tried to kill her friends, and Renji was shaken to the core. She was so broken inside that she couldn't even identify the ones who cared for her anymore. The red beam was certainly meant to harm, with so much heat and power charged into it. The fact that she'd shot to kill was scarier than anything.

"W…" the black-haired vice-captain began in fear. "What…did I just do?"

-

Rukia was lost in her thoughts as she wandered around the halls of Seritei. She had no destination. All she could think about was how messed up everything was here. The petite shinigami was sure that Hinamori was in some sort of shock. Rukia had to admit, she hadn't really made any good friends after she had been adopted into the Kuchiki clan, and she and Renji had just sort of started drifting apart after that, but she still had some friends. While her relationship with Renji had been faltering, Hinamori had been one of the only females who had been friendly to her in the academy, even though she was in the advanced class. All the other girls had been envious of her status and made her out to only be a shinigami because she became a noble. It was true, she conceded, that she had been weak until she finally met Kaien-dono, but Hinamori had never looked at Rukia like the others. This time, however, Hinamori was in trouble and Rukia was going to be there to help her.

The bun-haired girl was not going to leave this situation unscathed, and that was for sure. Rukia knew someone would have to step in soon, or the Soutaicho would. She, and everyone else who cared for Hinamori, did not want that to happen. Yamamoto was a ruthless man who thought very highly of himself. If the fifth's vice-captain did not stop her Aizen obsession soon, the old man might deem her a traitor and have her locked up, as Rukia had been not to long ago. Then, the order might never be reversed unless they found solid proof that Hinamori was actually not a traitor. It was a blessing that Yamamoto-Soutaicho hadn't done anything yet.

Hinamori wasn't the only one having problems. Everyone was on edge. The tension was thick in Seritei after losing three captains. One captain had nearly died, her Nii-sama had fought until he was bleeding to death, and…

Rukia placed three fingers on her chest, breathing deeply as she remembered Aizen's hand tearing right through her. The memory still frightened her, the image of the traitor drawing the Hougyoku from her body. However, the wound was gone and the moment had passed. There was no need to be scared anymore. Shinigami were not supposed to get scared.

She shook the thoughts from her head and focused back on getting Hinamori's issues straightened out. There had to be something she could do. Rukia had already burdened so many people…

Ichigo… I wish you were here…

The young noble realized what she was thinking and scolded herself. She'd chosen to stay here. She had no right to yearn for his presence, nor did she need it.

Rukia exhaled sharply. Again. Why was she telling this to herself again?

Stop lying to yourself.

"Kuchiki-san!"

Finally, her period of thinking ended. Hisagi was coming up behind her, she found, and she noted that he wasn't wearing a grim face like everyone else had been for the last week or so. After turning to face him, she bowed politely.

"Hisagi-Fukutaicho, do you need something?" she asked the tattooed man.

"Yeah, I just wanted to know if you would like to drink with us tomorrow night," he replied, scratching the back of his head, as if that were an embarrassing question.

"Us?" the small female questioned in return.

"Well," Hisagi began, clearing his throat, "everyone looks like they're going to going to fall apart any minute, so I thought I'd organize a get together for the lieutenants—you know, to lighten the mood."

Rukia smiled at his consideration. "It'd be a pleasure to come, but…"

"But?"

"With all due respect, why are you asking me?" she enquired in slight confusion. "If it's for lieutenants, I shouldn't be invited at all. So why?"

He simply grinned at her cheekily. "We all think you should be one of us."

"Eh?" Rukia was gaping in shock and disbelief.

Hisagi turned and walked the other way, waving a hand over his should as he did so. "At six tomorrow night, okay? Don't forget. Oh, and there's no need to be so formal either," he told her loudly, retreating quickly.

"H-hai, Hisagi-san!" she obeyed with reluctance.

This was a very strange occurrence and had made no sense whatsoever, but she'd take what she could get. It was true that everyone looked pretty miserable, and she was a friend of a few of the vice-captains. She'd take advantage of the meeting and drink until she forgot that Ichigo wasn't there.

Oh, jeez. She was thinking of him again.

-

This time, it had happened. This time… This time…

"No!" Hinamori screamed as she fell to her knees, clutching her head. "I don't understand anymore!"

She could hear her name being called by different voices, but they were all distorted in her mind. Only one stood out from the rest.

"Hinamori-kun! They helped kill me too! They all wanted to kill me!"

Aizen's voice rang in her ears, beseeching her to kill them all—just as it had done a moment ago, and she had nearly complied. Over and over again he would tell her that he was dead and that everyone else but her had been part of the reason. Hinamori knew, though, that Aizen was alive. Her beloved Aizen lived! She'd seen it with her own eyes…right? Or was he dead; murdered by Hitsugaya and the rest of Soul Society? None of it made sense anymore. She saw him, he told her, but what was true? Her captain wouldn't lie to her—he never had before, and the thought that he would was simply appalling, so it had to right, what he said. No, that wasn't right. Aizen-Taicho was alive, and he was coming back for her. But…what if he wouldn't come back because Renji and Kira were still breathing? Maybe she had to kill them? No! Aizen-Taicho would never approve of something like that! Who was right?! Nobody was honest with her anymore! Hinamori had to fend for herself!

"I'm with you, Hinamori-kun, but you must kill them!" her superior told her.

"Stop it! That's not right!" Hinamori screeched desperately, shaking her head in denial. "It can't be right!"

"They killed me, they murdered me!"

"No! They didn't! You're still alive! You must be!" the delusional vice-captain protested.

"I bled…"

"Stop!" she shouted to his warm yet deadly voice. She could see him on the wall, impaled by his own zanpakutou.

"I bled…all of it…"

"You didn't! You didn't! Stop!" His eyes were lifeless. The blood dripped down the white wall like water in a river. There was no colour in his face.

All over again. It was happening all over again. Again… Again… Again…

"I bled…all my blood…"

"NO!"

And he was dead. Aizen-Taicho was dead. Motionless, lifeless, full of cold… Aizen was dead on the wall, and his blood was everywhere.

-

"Taicho, I'm going now," Matsumoto informed him with a small smile. "Take care. I'll be back tomorrow."

Hitsugaya sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Moving was a lot easier now, with the exception of his torso, since he'd been healed a good ways by the fourth squad. He wasn't about to let Matsumoto slack off, even if she was going through a hard time. This way was normal. This way was better for both of them. "Tch, don't waste your time coming here. You need to watch the division while I'm out of commission."

She pouted, getting into their regular routine. "But Taicho! Our third seat can just—"

"No, go watch the division or I'm confiscating all your sake."

Matsumoto raised an eyebrow. "You don't know where—"

"Under the couch, third row on the bookshelf behind the books, and behind my desk drawers," he listed without a second thought.

Her mouth was wide open in shock. The snowy-haired boy smirked at her ignorance. He'd found those hiding spots years ago.

"You know, I think I'm going to go back to the office and find some new places to stash my sake," Matsumoto announced and sped out of the room.

Now he was berating himself for his own stupidity. He'd have to find those new hiding spots when he got out of here. Speaking of getting out of here…

Unohana's words echoed in his mind. "You will not be leaving this room until I see fit, and that is at least a week."

Hitsugaya was just about ready to throw Hyourinmaru at something—until he realized, that is, that the fourth division's captain had also taken his frosty zanpakutou when he'd awoken. This was sweet. It really was. He had nothing to throw, nobody to talk to, and nothing but a white wall to stare at. In fact, he was beginning to think that the wall was plotting something…

Crap. Being in this room was making him crazy. Walls did not plot. He seriously needed to get out of here. The word "escape" registered like Kidou blast through the brain and a plan was hastily put together.

The silver-haired shinigami measured his reiatsu, hoping it would at least leave him enough energy to initiate his plan. Luckily, he'd have enough to start, but the action would have to wait until tomorrow night. This room was a horrible curse. He could be patient if he knew he would be getting out somehow.

Hitsugaya raised his hand to his chest. First step: speed up the process. A green light lit up beneath his palm and a soft sensation seeped into his body. The members of fourth division weren't the only ones who could use healing Kidou.

-

It had been several minutes since Renji and Kira had brought Hinamori into the fourth division after she'd had some sort of hysterical fit that was followed by fainting. Unohana had grabbed the female right away and rushed to a nearby empty room. They hadn't heard anything since, and Renji was getting restless. Before, he'd continually unsheathed the top of Zabimaru and then clicked the blade back in its original enclosed container. However, the baboon was getting irritated with the action and so Renji'd had to stop.

He glanced over at Kira who was twitching nervously, diligently fidgeting with his fingers as they both waited for the results of Unohana's examination. Great, the guy was more shaken than Renji, and that just wasn't right. There was too much mental damage done to everyone right now.

The door in front of them creaked open slowly, as if it were there specifically to make the suspense deepen. From there, the captain of the fourth stepped out gracefully, a grim look on her face. Her hands were tucked in the opposite sleeve, but she lifted a hand to greet them. Were they finally going to get the results?

"It seems," she began as Renji and Kira took a step closer to the woman in expectancy, "that Hinamori-Fukutaicho may have to be imprisoned."

…What?

Author's Note: Well, you'll be glad to know that Hinamori's not going to be insane for too much longer. Give it a couple of chapters, and the romance shall really begin! Haha! Hope you enjoyed! (Sorry for any spelling or grammar errors too. xD)

Chapter 7: Hitsugaya puts his plan to action and the vice-captains get drunk, very drunk.

Reviews and constructive criticism highly appreciated! A cookie for all those who reviewed last time, and pie for those who review this time!