Summary: In an attempt to confront Aizen, Hinamori Momo's memory is stolen from her… Except her memories of Hitsugaya Toshiro. It's difficult not knowing who you are. "Shiro-chan, I can't remember… I don't know who I am, but I know that I must have loved you."

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does.

Quick word from me: Thanks to kRyStAlt3aRz, KnowledgeandImagination, StardustQueen, and xMidnight-Spiritx for reviewing. I totally dedicate this to you guys. Your reviews give me further inspiration! Thanks! And thank you readers as well!

Memories of Shiro-chan

Chapter 7: Memories of Happiness

Surprisingly, when Momo awoke, she was wide awake, even if she'd gotten very little sleep. She was just so excited. Orihime and Rangiku had helped to pick out an outfit to wear, both gushing about her 'date' with Toshiro. She wasn't so sure about that, but she was so glad to be able to do something like that with him. It had been forever since they'd been able to be, well, young together. They all had decided that she wear a white bikini, with pink flowers sewn on the sides. Over it she wore a denim skirt, and a denim vest to match that. She had wanted to wear something over her bikini top, but Rangiku had insisted she leave it be, pushing her out to where Hitsugaya was waiting for her to get ready.

He looked up, noticing her attire, and how her hair was left alone to fall down her shoulders. Hitsugaya couldn't stop a blush. Damn it! I can't be thinking about Hinamori like this! "Ready yet?" He said in his normal annoyed tone, looking away from her. He himself was wearing a light blue silk button up T-shirt over a white tank top and a pair of dark blue swimming trunks.

"Hai! Ano… Hitsugaya-kun… Does this… look okay?" She asked shyly, twirling around for him to get a full view of her.

"Why ask me?" He snapped, embarrassed. She didn't just look okay. She looked downright beautiful! And that was going to be a problem for him. He noticed the hurt look in her eyes and softened. "Hai, Hinamori. You look very… cute." He couldn't believe that word was spilling from his mouth. His face turned even redder.

"Aw, Taicho is blushing! That's so adorable!" Rangiku teased, coming into the room. "She looks gorgeous, doesn't she?"

"Don't you have study hall today?" Her captain asked irritably.

"Hai," she said, dejectedly. "Have fun. Poor little me is stuck in boring study hall for the day…"

Orihime waved to them. "I should be going, too. I was going to go with Ishida-kun and Tatsuki-chan since Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-kun were stuck in study hall too. And since Sado-kun was going to stay with them…" She shrugged. "You both have fun!" She bolted out the door.

"Come on or we'll miss the bus," he mumbled, taking a hold of her hand. Big mistake. His heart started racing.

"Hitsugaya-kun?" Momo asked innocently. Too innocently.

"Quit messing around! Do you wanna miss it?" He pulled her along, running down the street. It's too hot out here, he thought grumpily. He was suddenly feeling very irritated with himself for agreeing to go along with Hinamori. He absolutely hated the heat! And today had to be one of the hottest days of the season. But one look at her running behind him and he just knew that he couldn't back down.

She was smiling. No, more than that, she was laughing. "Hitsugaya-kun! You're going too fast!" She was laughing so hard she found it hard to breathe as she ran.

Toshiro knew then that he had to endure the heat, just for today. He wanted to keep that smile on Momo's face all day. He slowed his pace and they made it to the bus stop just in time. Once they got on, he sighed in relief at the air conditioning.

"Hitsugaya-kun? Will you be all right?" Momo asked worriedly.

"Hai. Don't worry about me."

"I have to. I know how much you hate the heat," she said softly. "When we get there, would you like to go to the water park first?"

"If that's what you want, Bed Wetter."

She slapped his shoulder playfully. "Shiro-chan! That's mean! I was just worried about you! Why did you have to bring up that nick name here?"

He chuckled. "Okay, okay. But is that what you want, Hinamori?"

"Yes! We will go on all of the water rides! Go swimming! Eat some ice-cream!" She giggled. "Watermelon flavored! And after, we'll ride the really tall rides to dry off!" She was silent for awhile as she looked out the window. "It's amazing here, Hitsugaya-kun," she said softly. "I wish that we could stay here together… forever."

He chanced a glance at her only to find her eyes fixed to him. "W-what?"

Her gaze didn't waver. "That way, it wouldn't matter to me who I was. All that matters would be who I am now, and you, Hitsugaya-kun." His eyes are so beautiful… Please, Hitsugaya-kun, look at me.

His blue-green eyes met hers. "Hinamori…" He found himself unconsciously leaning into her, almost in a trance. Why do I keep thinking about her this way…?

"Toshiro-kun! You both made it!" Orihime's voice interrupted, and they both jumped back, startled.

"Inoue! Ishida!" Hitsugaya recovered first. "I thought you left before we did."

"That one was full, so we ended up on this one," Orihime answered with a giggle. "But it looks like we're here," she said excitedly. "I can't wait to try their deep fried candy bars!"

The boy prodigy raised an eyebrow at her. Is food all she thinks about?

Momo grabbed his hand and pulled him up anxiously when the bus stopped. "Shiro-chan, let's go!" She led him over to the group of students being allowed into the park. Once they were in the clear, she half-dragged him over to the water park. Once there, they separated to go into the changing rooms there. Momo took off her shoes, skirt and vest and set them inside the locker. She then stepped outside into the pool area, looking for Hitsugaya. "Where is he?"

"Right behind you."

"Aaaack!" She whirled around and came face to face with him, giving him a full frontal close-up of her bikini-clad figure.

He stared for a long moment, and his cheeks were tinted pink. "Hinamori," he said, flustered. "Put some clothes on, for crying out loud!"

"This is my bathing suit, Hitsugaya-kun!" She argued. "You have yours on so what's the big deal? Let's go!" She took off toward a waterslide, leaving her childhood friend to follow her, lest he lose sight of her. She raced to the slide, and found that it had a rather short line to it. Once at the top, she caught sight of Toshiro running up after her and flashed him a mischievous smile before jumping down the waterslide into the pool.

"Hinamori!" He called after her. This isn't a game! What if she gets lost? He thought to himself with a frown. He followed her down the slide into the pool and swam after her.

"Gotcha, Shiro-chan!" He turned and was met with a wave of water.

He sputtered. "Oh, so you wanna play like that?" He said in a low voice. He sent a wave splashing into her, then another, and another and kept splashing until she began coughing and sputtering.

"Okay, okay, you win," she breathed. "Please just stop, okay?"

The white-haired boy smirked mischievously. "Okay." His hands dropped to his sides. "We've spent almost a half hour in here fooling around. Now what do you want to do?"

"But, Shiro-chan, you don't like it when it's so hot, and since I dragged you out here, I thought that you'd just be happy here."

"Baka, I thought I told you that we were going to make some happy memories for the both of us and that includes you," he said, flicking her nose. "Now get dressed. I'm fine. You said ice-cream after this right? Then that's our next stop. I'll meet you by the gate, okay?" He left her to gather his belongings and waited for her just outside the gate of the pool area. It was still unbearably hot outside, but he felt a little better now that he'd been swimming in the cool water for a time. Maybe they could head back there after a bit if it got too warm for him.

"Hitsugaya-kun?" She was back in her denim skirt and vest. "Let's go!" She smiled and they walked side-by-side. She couldn't begin to say how much she was just enjoying the feeling of the sun warming her skin and watching the crowds of people around her. It began to get more crowded and someone pushed her, nearly knocking her to the ground. Momo managed to catch herself but when she looked around, she realized that in her distracted state, she'd lost Toshiro. "Shiro-chan!" She called out. "Hitsugaya-kun? Where are you?" Hinamori began to get a little nervous, being all alone out there. Come to think of it, we forgot to set a meeting place. Maybe I should look for him at the nearest ice cream stand? She took off running, nearly slamming in to people left and right. Finally, she made it and looked for him. Momo began to panic when she still didn't see her snowy-haired friend anywhere. She sat dejectedly down on the bench. Several minutes passed and she felt more worried still. Her shoulders slumped forward and her head bowed, her eyes staring at her hands in her lap helplessly.

Just then, a vanilla ice cream cone was shoved right into her line of view. "Here, take it," Hitsugaya's voice commanded, its tone halfway annoyed and amused.

The raven-haired girl looked up at her friend, relief washing over her features. "Oh, Hitsugaya-kun!" She leapt forward and hugged him forcefully. "I was beginning to get scared!"

He stiffened. "Hey, cut that out, Bed Wetter! You're always scared of something. Storms, bugs, dreams… is there something you're not scared of?" He teased lightly pulling away and once again offering the melting cone to her. "Here, take this already!"

"Arigato," she said softly, accepting it.

"Come on, let's scout out and see what we want to do next." He began walking again, but hesitated a moment when her other arm locked around his. "Hinamori, what are you-?"

"I'm not losing you again, Shiro-chan," she answered.

A small smile formed on his lips. "Okay." He led the girl beside him around, both of them looking at tiny shops and different rides. He noticed that she still had a tight grip on his arm, and chanced a glance at her, but looked away when he felt a blush coming on. What was wrong with him? He'd known that he had always been fiercely protective of Hinamori, since they were children even. He'd always cared about her and she was never far from his thoughts, but lately, probably since the whole incident with Aizen had first started, he'd begun to realize that his feelings for her were changing. When he'd found her lying there lifeless on the floor in a pool of her own blood, he'd nearly died inside himself. Hitsugaya shook his head. Bad thoughts, he chided himself. He then looked back at Momo, and studied her while she was preoccupied with finishing her cone. She's really grown beautiful, he thought to himself, face reddening at those thoughts. I've never had these thoughts about her before. What's going on? I've always felt this way about her, but… it's different now. He had the same feelings; that protective feeling, needing to ensure her happiness and safety, the satisfaction of feeling wanted and needed, but new feelings were adding to that. Hitsugaya's heart began pounding as he recalled holding her to him on some of those past nights recently. Of how well their bodies seemed to fit next to each other. He broke from those thoughts and once again stared at his best friend. He glanced at her outfit yet again; she looked so cute in it. Then again, she was always pretty, even in her shinigami uniform.

His eyes trailed upwards and he blushed as he passed her chest. It was rather easy to see her womanly figure in that bikini, even with the opened vest covering some of it. He looked up even further and found himself staring at her soft pink lips. Toshiro wondered what they would taste like. Would they taste like vanilla? Or would they taste of watermelons, that fruit that they both so loved to eat?

"Hitsugaya-kun? What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?" Momo was asking him, causing him to blink as he snapped to attention.

"Actually…" He stared at her, and sure enough, there was a tiny bit of vanilla ice cream on her cheek. "There is." His heart racing with that crazy new feeling returning, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her cheek, tasting the vanilla on his tongue, and effectively cleaning it off for her. His eyes opened and widened in horror. What the hell am I doing?! He pulled back. "Hinamori, I'm sorry," he said quickly and turned away.

In the meantime, Hinamori's face was the color of a cherry. "H-Hitsugaya-kun?" Her heart was pounding so heavily that she thought for a moment that it might burst.

He was saved from having to answer her. "It's Toshiro-kun!" They had managed to run into Orihime, Tatsuki, and Ishida once again. "Hey, you guys, we were just off to the haunted house! Do you both wanna come?" Orihime made a face, trying to imitate a spook for emphasis.

"I'll pass." Toshiro folded his arms across his chest.

"Then, Hinamori-chan will come, won't you?" Orihime giggled and pulled the startled girl from Hitsugaya's side. "I mean, it's right there, and so Toshiro-kun can wait for us right out here!"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Hitsugaya shouted after the group. He ran after them, catching up, but realizing that there was a huge horde of people, crowding them in. The only way out was to go through the haunted house. He rolled his eyes. What a pain… It wasn't lost to him that Hinamori tensed beside him. She's always hated the dark, he thought, offering his arm for her to cling to.

She smiled appreciatively and was about to say something but then a dark figure dressed in rags dropped down right in front of her with a loud crack and a puff of smoke. "Kyaaaaaaaa!" She screamed and buried her head in Hitsugaya's shoulder.

He sighed, putting his arm around her and holding her close while brushing the animated doll away in annoyance. "Really, Bed Wetter. You're a shinigami. You're not supposed to be scared of ghosts," he joked.

"I-I'm not scared of ghosts," she huffed. "I-I just can't st-stand- eeeeeeeeeek!" Another 'spook' had jumped out in front of her; this time it was a real person, dressed in a dark cloak and had a goofy-looking mask with fake blood dripping down it. She pressed herself tightly against her friend once again.

Despite the situation, Hitsugaya blushed. He felt the curves of her body pressed tightly against his, and once again he found himself going down a very dangerous trail of thought. He forcefully stopped. She is my friend. Nothing, I mean nothing more! He glared at the person. "Do you mind?!" He snapped irritably. Deciding to keep an eye out to protect Momo from further getting scared, and wanting to get out of this pathetic place as soon as possible, he held Momo against him and quickened his pace, leaving Inoue and the others behind. To his left, a person dressed in a werewolf costume was getting ready to pounce on them, but he stopped that one with one deadly glare. "Do you want to die?" He hissed dangerously.

"I-I'm just doing my job…" The guy was murmuring pathetically.

"Do your job with someone else!" Hitsugaya stormed past him, Hinamori still in the safety of his arms. After dodging quite a few more scare attacks, he looked up to see the light streaming into the dark house from the open door. They had almost made it. "Come on, let's get out of here," he murmured to his friend, pulling her along. Much to his annoyance, an animated skeleton jumped out at them.

"Aaaaaaaaagh!" Momo screamed.

"This is just stupid and annoying!" Hitsugaya shouted, punching the skeleton and sending it crashing backwards into the wall in pieces.

"H-hey!" Another person dressed in a costume came out of hiding. "You… you broke it! You're going to have to pay for that!"

"If you hadn't thrown that stupid thing out in front of me, this wouldn't have happened. It's your own fault." Taking Momo's hand, he led her out into the safety of the light.

"Arigato, Shiro-chan," Momo said softly.

His teal eyes settled on her. "For what?" He asked, somewhat grumpily.

"For protecting me."

The white-haired boy rolled his eyes. "What? They were bothering me. Anyway, Bed Wetter, let's go."

"But, what about the others? Shouldn't we wait?"

"As far as I'm concerned, they dragged us in there without our permission, so why should I waste any more time waiting for them? They'll probably just try dragging us through something else we don't want to go through." He began to lead Momo away when he heard Orihime's voice.

"Toshiro-kun! Wait up! Come on, let's find something else. Ishida-kun, Tatsuki-chan, are you coming?"

And so, Momo and Toshiro were dragged once again to another part of the park. "And just what the hell is this?" The boy captain grumbled, glaring up at the heart shaped entrance with the swan shaped boats.

Orihime giggled. "It's the Tunnel of Love, silly! It's so cute, with the little swan boats! Tatsuki-chan, are you coming with me?"

Ishida Uryu looked a bit disappointed. "But… well, what am I supposed to do?"

She clasped her hands in front of her in realization. "Oh, that's right! Poor Ishida-kun, do you want to ride with the two of us?"

He sighed. "I guess so." She makes it sound more like the two of them are on a date! Wait a minute, I just thought 'date,' didn't I? He shook his head. "Well, let's get going…"

"Shiro-chan, can we go too?" Momo's brown eyes looked at him, pleadingly.

"There is no way I'm going on that thing." He said coldly, crossing his arms. He was set. He had his mind made up. He wasn't going to do it. He wasn't… aw, hell. He sat rigidly in the boat with an annoyed expression on his face, and his arms crossed. Why can't I just say 'no?'

The girl in front of him giggled. "This is so peaceful. I like this place much better than that haunted house, Hitsugaya-kun." She looked to her side, and gasped. "Shiro-chan! Look, it's so beautiful!" She pointed to where fireflies danced over a bed of flowers. A tiny stream separated the flowers and spilled into the river that carried their boat down the tunnel.

Has she even guessed at how I feel about her? Should I tell her? These things were running through Hitsugaya Toshiro's mind as he stared at the girl in front of him. The pale light reflected off of her creamy colored skin, giving her an angelic glow. It reflected from her dark eyes, bringing out the color. Does she feel the same way? She told me that she loved me… but is that just as a childhood friend? Does she only love me as 'Shiro-chan?' "Hinamori… I…"

"Hitsugaya-kun?" She pressed when he trailed off.

"No, it's nothing." He looked away. No. I can't. It's been awhile since we were assigned here, and aside from a couple of hollow purifications, I haven't done much. Still, this can't last forever. We're going to have to go back someday, and I'm a captain. She's a lieutenant, or, at least she will be once again when she fully recovers. We're both from entirely different squads. There is no 'us.' There never was, and never will be. It can't happen. It's impossible. I've been in the world of the living for far too long.

"What's wrong, Shiro-chan?"

"That's Hitsugaya-taicho to you," he replied flatly.

Taken aback by his sudden coldness, Momo blinked in surprise. "H-Hitsugaya-kun…?"

"Just… never mind. Come on. We're near the exit, and this park is closing soon. We're going to have to get ready for the school's festival, right?"

Hinamori sighed sadly. "I guess so." The ride came to an end, and they exited the ride. It was silent until they reached the bus stop, and more silence continued all the way back to Orihime's place.

Finally Hitsugaya spoke to her. "Let's meet with Matsumoto down here when were ready." Saying nothing else, he turned on his heel and disappeared into the guest room.

She stared after him, then finally hung her head and resigned herself to get ready for the festival in Orihime's room. After several minutes, she sank down on the bed and gave up. She had once again done something to upset her friend, she was sure of it. I wonder what it was? Does it have something to do with our past? Maybe I can't remember? If only I could get to Tobiume… She stopped that thought. Hitsugaya had said that contact with Tobiume for now was strictly off limits. And before now, Hinamori was content to just spend time with her childhood companion. But the loneliness now threatened to engulf her whole once again. If I could only remember a little… it'll only be a little. No one will know. It won't hurt anything. I'll come right back before they even know I'm gone. Hinamori peeked outside of Orihime's door. She glanced back and forth, noticing that Hitsugaya's door was closed. Rangiku and Orihime had gone out to find some flowers to put up in their hair that matched their kimonos, so Momo was alone. Good, she thought in relief. Deciding not to press her luck, she snuck out and raced down the street, running as fast as she could to Urahara's shop. She gasped for breath before knocking softly on the door.

The door opened, and a little boy stood there, with an expression reminding her oddly of Toshiro's. "Whaddya want?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Oh! Hinamori-san!" The little girl came up behind him. "Hello! Come in! What do you need?"

"Is Urahara-san here?"

"Ie," the girl said, shaking her head. "He's gone for the day. Gomen nasai."

Perfect, Momo thought. She then realized from the expectant look on the children's faces that she needed to come up with something, quick. "I was wondering, Ururu-chan, if you have any experiences with kimonos? I don't wear one often, and I'm confused as to what color I should wear."

"I'm not very good with those things," the girl answered shyly.

"Oh, I see."

"Well, if you guys need me, I'll be out back," Jinta said uncomfortably, shuffling his feet and quickly leaving the room, uncomfortable with the conversation.

"I'll go get you some tea, okay, Hinamori-san?" The little girl left.

Realizing that her time was limited, Momo stood quickly and looked around the room. She closed her eyes and tried to reach out with her own limited reiatsu, following a tiny tugging feeling into an empty guest room. She opened her eyes, and spied Tobiume in a glass case sitting on a shelf high up in the room. She quickly moved to the shelf and standing on her tip-toes, Momo managed to remove the glass cover, the urge to hold it once again overwhelmingly powerful now. Setting the glass cover down quietly, she looked up with determined eyes, reached up, and felt her hands clasp around what was rightfully hers.

End of chapter 7.

Author's note: You know, I was afraid there for a little while that I wouldn't be able to get this put up for everyone. I couldn't log in since Thursday. I would have been so angry if that had kept me from posting this. I'm glad that it seems to be working again, though. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and please, if it's not too much trouble, leave me a review? Thanks! I hope to have the next chapter up by mid next week, okay? Take care till then!-- Hallie