Author's Note: Long time no see. xD Anyway, some of you (or none of you) might've wondered where I've been. Well, it's called life, and recently I haven't had any motivation (from readers and reviewers…etc.) to update this story. I think it's because my writing class is sucking the creativity out of my writing brains. I'll understand if you feel like throwing rotten vegetables at me. :D

To the reviewers: I'm most sorry that I can't offer you a longer and better chapter, but chapter eight is almost done and will hopefully be up soon. I apologize to those of you who always put in a word for my efforts. The sad thing? I've had this one written for three weeks and I never updated. Okay, who feels like throwing rotten vegetables at me now?


Perfect Timing by HawkofNavarre

Chapter 7 – Cry of Despair


It felt so cold, like and icy fluid seeping through her bones. With as much strength as she could muster, Hinamori lifted her head in confusion. She didn't understand what had just happened. It… No, it couldn't be this way, could it…? It wouldn't be his face she saw. Not a chance.

However, when her eyes were set upon his glistening glasses, she knew she was wrong. But…it was impossible. He wouldn't do something like this to her, ever. He was a kind man; softer and gentler than anybody else she'd ever known. He wouldn't cause her to feel this way. He wouldn't…yet when she looked down at her hands, crimson liquid stained her skin—blood, her own blood.

And he was standing there calmly, a sinister frown upon his usually smiling face. Where was the warmth? Where was the kindness? Her heart only beat faster as the horrendous image clouded her vision.

That was the last thing she saw.

"Hinamori! Open your eyes!"

"A-Aizen-Taicho!" Hinamori gasped in fear, clutching the white sheets of the bed hard enough to make the colour in her knuckles fade.

"Are you okay?" asked Tobiume worriedly. "I could feel your unease as you slept."

"I-I… I h-had a-a dream…about A-Aizen-Taicho…" the dark-haired shinigami stuttered, still shaken from the nightmare. She was finally sure of this: Aizen had tried to kill her in her dreams.

"What was it about? You might feel better if you tell me," the female zanpakutou advised in concern for her master.

Hinamori knew that her companion was right although she didn't want to think about the seemingly real incident. It was only now that she realized how utterly terrified she'd been in her vision, and it occurred to her that she couldn't stop trembling no matter how much she wanted to. "He was…k-k…killing me," the bun-haired girl confessed as frightened tears began running down her face. She hadn't known they were there in the first place.

"Momo-chan…"

"Aizen-Taicho was killing me!" she cried quietly, whispering harshly under her breath.

"He's not the man you think him to be, Momo-chan. That's the truth…" Tobiume honestly informed the sobbing shinigami.

"He must be! He must be!" the Fukutaicho convinced herself, trying to persuade her zanpakutou at the same time. "There are no men or women as kind as Aizen-Taicho!"

"Momo—"

"It was just a dream," Hinamori chanted aloud to herself. Even though she could hear the words, the anxiety and doubt built up within her. "It was just a dream, just a dream…"

Or was it really?

-

"Unohana-Taicho…" Renji began reluctantly, "please tell me you're kidding."

The captain shook her head remorsefully before glancing to the side, lowing her voice so that only the two men could hear her. "As long as Yamamoto-Soutaicho does not ask me of her condition, I can keep her situation concealed, but if he does, I will not lie."

"Wh-what exactly is Hinamori's situation?" Kira asked desperately. Renji could tell that he wasn't the only one that was worried about the results of Unohana's tests. Things were turning out to be going from bad to worse.

"Aizen has prepared her for this. He victimized Hinamori-Fukutaicho so much as to make her suffer even after his betrayal," she explained with a sigh. "If the Soutaicho finds out her condition, she may very well be viewed as a traitor."

"And that's why she might get incarcerated…" the normally loud vice-captain finished, biting his lip nervously. Pent up anger and frustration burst from him and he slammed his fist in a nearby wall. He was hissing lowly, annoyed and aggravated with the current state of affairs. "What the hell can we do to prevent it? I'm not going to let her get thrown in a prison again, especially if it's the same one Rukia was tossed in."

Unohana offered him a soft smile. "It is simple. You must cure her from this image of Aizen she is obsessed with."

"A lot harder than it sounds," mumbled the third's lieutenant.

-

"Drinking? Tonight?" Matsumoto repeated Hisagi's words.

It was now the afternoon and she'd just been in to see her captain. He had acted strangely when she walked into the room. His hand had been at his chest and she felt reiatsu lingering in the room. Really, it was quite worrisome, but Hitsugaya had continuously assured her that it was nothing she had to worry about—or stick her nose in, for that matter. How in the world was she supposed to not worry? He'd nearly died twice within the last two weeks!

"Yeah, what do you think? I was hoping a few of us could have a chat. Besides, I think everyone needs to get something off their chest…" he explained, his voice getting softer as he spoke.

Matsumoto looked at her fellow vice-captain, examining his downcast face before she smiled lightly. "Aw, Shuuhei! You're so considerate! How sweet!"

"W-what?!" the scarred male shouted, flinching. "I'm not sweet! What are you saying?!"

"It's so adorable! Who would've thought, Hisagi Shuuhei, the cold lieutenant, is actually a big-hearted softie!" the strawberry blonde exclaimed with humour in her voice, fanning herself from her intense laughter.

"S-s-stop!"

She only laughed harder. Eventually, her fits of giggles died down enough for her to start speaking again. "You know, being thoughtful and considerate isn't something to be ashamed of, Shuuhei."

"Sure doesn't sound like it when you say it," he muttered sulkily, still flushed from embarrassment.

Her hand came down on his back and nearly knocked the wind out of him, smiling good-naturedly. "Anyway, I'd love to come!" she accepted with cheer. It would be nice to have a drinking party with friends again, especially after all the tension of the last couple of weeks.

…And she had an ulterior motive. Sake was the only way she could escape from the worries that had developed while the stressful days went by. Hitsugaya didn't want her to worry, right? A little alcohol would definitely help.

"Great, see you there," Hisagi called as he left, finally regaining his breath.

Matsumoto sighed. Things would've been so much easier if nothing had changed.

-

Hitsugaya was attempting to keep his nerves in place. It felt like they were severely frayed after Matsumoto's morning intrusion while he had been doing some self-healing. Of course, if she ever knew he was doing that (he was supposed to be recovering his reiatsu steadily after the massive damage to his soul), she might have Unohana put him in a spiritual pressure sealing room. The snowy-haired male loathed those rooms more than he hated this one. Those things made him feel like a dragon in a cage.

Despite the consequences of getting caught, he'd used the bit he knew about healing Kidou to mend the rest of his skin and a little deeper. The fourth division had taken care of his back earlier, since that was where Aizen's zanpakutou had first pierced. Just thinking of that asshole of a man was enough to make Hitsugaya want to punch a wall, but he resisted. The captain knew his strength was still at a minimum.

He hesitantly slid off the bed he'd been lying on for so long and was relieved to know that his legs could still remember how to stand. Taking a few steps around the room, he figured he had enough strength to run and jump across rooftops, because he was really going to need that power if he was going to get where he wanted to go. Hitsugaya was weary of these surroundings. He wanted to go somewhere that he could relive happier memories…

He shook his head. It wasn't the time to think about such things. The dragon was escaping now, but not without Hyourinmaru. Although his reiatsu control wasn't as thorough as Hinamori's, he could still keep it low enough to appear as if he wasn't even in the room. Only a skilled shinigami would be able to catch his signature, and they would have to be concentrating to feel it.

So, Hyourinmaru was in Unohana's office. He had to make sure she wasn't in there first. After putting on the top layer of his shihakushou (he made sure to leave his captain's cloak. He didn't want to be noticeable), the young shinigami opened the door just a crack and peeked out. It was just his luck, seeing Unohana walk by with Kotetsu Isane unsuspectingly. He'd have to sneak by everyone else as well. His silver hair and, well, his height were a big give-away to his real identity.

Hastily, Hitsugaya confirmed the path he would have to take to get to his zanpakutou and estimated the time it would take to reach the room. He was fortunate. His room was only two halls away from Unohana's. He did a quick double check, his head inconspicuously sticking out from behind the door before dashing out.

The incapacitated captain took a right turn and spotted one of the fourth division's shinigami walking down the corridor, facing away from his direction luckily. She didn't know what hit her when he pressed a point on her neck, effectively causing her to faint. As she crumpled to the floor, Hitsugaya took another step, ready to run again.

He faltered, wincing slightly.

His chest was throbbing painfully, but he ignored it like a captain would. It wasn't hard to figure out that part of his wound had opened up again—in the front, he felt, and that he had began to bleed some more. The icy death god cursed inwardly, scolding himself for not knowing that this much exertion of energy would cause his sloppy healing to be proven useless. No, Hitsugaya wasn't going to let this injury destroy his mission.

Pressing hard on the opened cut, he dashed down the halls empty of people. Great, he was beginning to go in circles now. Finally, the corridor to Unohana's office proved to be empty and he took his chances without a second thought. It was now or never.

A satisfied feeling bubbled up within him as he made it to his fellow captain's door. Hitsugaya slipped inconspicuously into Unohana's office and found a whole pile of zanpakutous were sitting by her desk, but he dared no approach it yet. Who else was in here? He spotted the blond hair of a man whose name he couldn't recall, but the young shinigami was quite sure it was the fourth's third seat. The awkward man was emitting some sort of strange noise… Oh, he was snoring, and sleeping like a baby, now that Hitsugaya actually thought of it.

What a moron… was the only thought that crossed Hitsugaya's mind as he sweat-dropped in relief. It was less to deal with.

Swiftly, the small captain shunpo-ed across the room for safety, still keeping his reiatsu at a minimum as he had before. Hyourinmaru, being a special zanpakutou as it belonged to one of captain class, was separate from all the other blades. He slung the sealed sword across his back and climbed through Unohana's window, making sure that the third seat was still fast asleep, which he was, thankfully. As he leapt from the window, he silently welcomed his zanpakutou back.

"It is good to see you are well, Toushirou," the ice dragon growled, Hitsugaya feeling very gratified that the presence of the great spirit had returned.

"So what'd you like better? My back or Unohana's desk?" he asked mockingly, jumping up to the roof and finally leaping passed the barrier of the fourth barracks. It was a relief to be free of that wretched whitish place. He was no longer repressed of freedom unless he was caught. Hitsugaya could go where he wanted.

Hyourinmaru simply snorted and ignored the question, instead replying to the icy boy's later thoughts. "And where would that be?" he questioned the captain.

"The place with the best memories," he replied softly, smiling lightly.

-

Matsumoto opened the door to the bar and Rukia stepped in behind her almost immediately. Renji, Kira, and Hisagi were already there, apparently waiting for the two that had just entered. She briefly wondered if any of the other lieutenants were coming, but she really doubted it. Choujiro would never be seen at a place like this one, Omaeda only cared about himself and eating, Isane was way too busy, Hinamori was totally out of the question, Tetsuzaemon didn't want to bother with them, Ise didn't drink like her captain, Nemu only listened to her father, and, well, though the thirteenth squad didn't have a vice-captain, Rukia was here, mostly because she was affected by the betrayal more than the rest of her division. Yachiru…Matsumoto didn't want to think about what would happen if Yachiru got drunk. The candy was already bad enough.

"Yo," Renji greeted, lifting a hand in welcome.

"Hey," the tenth's Fukutaicho said back as she took a seat beside Hisagi. Rukia echoed her and sat next to Renji, ordering some light sake.

There was a while of just silence, the sound of glasses hitting the table only coming to her as she got lost in her drink. Beside her, she listened to Hisagi order another bottle of sake—her favourite kind, at that. Why wasn't anyone saying anything? The silence was driving her insane. It left her to her own thoughts—thoughts that always led to Gin. She loved him, but…how could she possibly love a traitor? It was disgusting, despicable. Traitors shouldn't be loved.

"Hinamori…needs help," the redhead suddenly commented aloud before he poured his shot glass's contents into his mouth.

"She needs to get her screwed up mind back in order," Matsumoto hissed almost spitefully, downing her own glass hastily. Hinamori's name only sparked the image of her broken captain, lying in the fourth division.

"It's not her fault. She just believed in Aizen so much that…" Kira defended the absent vice-captain.

"I don't care if it wasn't her fault! She's over a century old! She should have better judgement!" the strawberry blonde sneered drunkenly.

Rukia, the most sober at this point, shook her head. "You care for your captain a great deal, Matsumoto-san, and Hinamori's the same way, but think about what Aizen did to her. She thought he was dead when he wasn't, and that was revealed to her. Hinamori's mind must be completely broken. I'm willing to bet that Aizen has used Kyouka Suigetsu on her more times than we can count just to manipulate her…"

"Aizen's such a bastard," Hisagi threw in darkly.

"Manipulative…" the sixth's vice-captain trailed off.

"Evil…" Kira added.

"Traitorous…" the petite shinigami stated.

"Sly…" said Matsumoto quietly as a flash of a person appeared in her mind.

"Hurtful…"

"Greedy…"

"Sadistic…"

"Foolish, clever, confusing," the buzzed lieutenant listed. "Selfish, deceitful…"

"Matsumoto-san?" Kira started in concern.

"That idiot…left me all alone. He didn't care at all, even if he left my heart broken and forsaken," she laughed bitterly. "Was I just a pawn to him? Did he ever tell me the truth? Did I even know him?"

The space between them was quiet, all eyes on Matsumoto and hers staring solemnly at the table. Hisagi reached for her should, but the stubborn shinigami shook it away. They weren't talking about Aizen anymore, and everyone knew it, because Hinamori wasn't the only one that had been deeply affected by the betrayal. They all knew that Matsumoto had been hurt just as badly.

Matsumoto wished she hadn't said anything in the first place, but when those words touched her ears, she knew that they all described Gin. The anger she felt towards him seared through her veins and her rage seemed uncontrollable. She needed to fix things. They needed to be fixed.

-

"You are free to go—for now, Hinamori-Fukutaicho," Unohana told the mentally exhausted female with a slight smile. It was barely noticeable. "Please take care of yourself and don't do anything rash. Straight to your quarters now, and do not raise your zanpakutou until your state of mind is stable. I know that Aizen…Taicho's departure has troubled you."

Hinamori nodded and thanked the kind captain before she began walking slowly back to her home. The wooden paths weaved together and she stopped at an intersection. The world had never been so confusing to her before. How could the bun-haired vice-captain forget her way around? She shook her head and closed her eyes, breathing deeply to try and recall which way she was supposed to go.

Her eyelids lifted and Aizen appeared on the path to her right, beckoning her to follow. This was all she needed to chase after the image of her captain. One foot stepped to the right side, but the other refused to move. She shook violently as her nightmarish dream occurred for the second time…except…she didn't even know what she was seeing. There was Aizen's smiling face, his warm, loving, and welcoming smiling face, yet there was nothing else she could see besides book—her own blood, not her captain's. But…why was she bleeding? She gasped for air lightly as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Arigatou, Hinamori-kun."

Hinamori's breath had become ragged when she finally opened her eyes to the empty three-way split she stood within. Abruptly, the young lieutenant turned to the left path and began shakily walking. She remembered the correct path, and Aizen's was not the correct path.

…Right?

Finally, she reached her destination. Hinamori pressed the hilt of her zanpakutou to the seal on her door while channelling a bit of reiatsu into her blade and it slid open. One step inside and she closed the door before she collapsed against the inside wall, dropping Tobiume to the ground. The floor was shaking—no, she was shaking, and she couldn't stop.

It was because of Aizen. He had done this to her.

No! Aizen-Taicho would never do that to me!

So why did it seem like her faith in her beloved captain was faltering?

A knock on her door woke her from her stupor. Hinamori stood up hesitantly, still trembling, and slid open the door.

"I've been waiting for this day," Matsumoto announced soberly, a glare fixed upon the blonde's visage, "the day that I get to say everything I want to you and Taicho isn't here to stop me."

"W-what?" Hinamori stuttered uneasily.

"Hinamori Momo, I'm going to tell you exactly what I think about you," the tenth's vice-captain hissed venomously.


Author's Note: Please don't kill me. :D

Chapter 8: Matsumoto finally confronts Hinamori and Hitsugaya finds himself in a worse situation than a horribly white room.

Feedback highly appreciated (AND motivational. –Laughs nervously-)!