Hi!

To thank everyone who has been supporting my story, I'm putting the list in again! I'll stop posing this label soon, so if you see a bunch of pennames in bold, you'll know what I'm talking about.

weeweeeweeee, xxIciclebloomxx, Minimum Ride, Coal143, 15, FuzzyShadowFoxx, Kumishima, ChinenYuri4eva, diamondarrowmage, sarahnyaa, Mizuki-the-dead, 1o1dragon, ToshiroHitsugayagirlfriend

And as always, thank you to those people that come to visit my story, even if your name isn't up here!

Oh, and there's some special directions at the end, so please check!

But, story first, right?


The forest was breezy, and a thin layer of snow obscured the green grass under our feet. There was almost no sun at all, and that fact was evident when we realized that we could barley see. Why Taicho wanted to take a look at the hiding spot in the middle of the night, I don't know.

Anyway, we shuffled over the white floor, huddled up in layers of clothes. I cringed as a sharp breeze cut across the clearing, penetrating the protection we thought we had attained by piling on coats.

"What are we looking for?" I whispered to Taicho, my boots squeaking over the white flakes gathered beneath us.

"Mind your boots, Ohara-san," he ordered quietly, ignoring my question. Fine. I glanced back at the trail our rubber footwear made, watching the wearers packing the snow flat. Our unsynchronized steps made a whole band of different squeaks. Some were low, some were high, and they were all annoying.

I stepped carefully, trying to reduce the noise I made. It didn't work.

We stopped, from Taicho's hand signal, at a bush. It wasn't even a big bush, nothing anyone could hide behind. I snuck my way to the front and eyed the tangled mass of leaves.

"This is very important. Nobody make any loud noises. Don't make any loud noises from here on, and don't touch it.," he hissed, seeing my eager hand reaching out to pluck off a leaf. I pulled it back in.

He crept up slowly, standing over the thick, short shrub, and carefully poked it with the silver blade of his zanpakuto. I took a defensive stance, readying Mizuhyo in my grip.

'Don't be so tense. Loosen up.' she advised. I relaxed my hand a little, letting the hilt rest in my palm.

We waited, katanas out, for what must have been ten minutes. I mean, I've heard of slow reactions, but really? I was freezing out here.

I plucked out a leaf, fast, so that Taicho wouldn't have time to stop me. The bush shook from the movement, but nothing else happened.

"Taicho, I don't think this bush is all that deadly," I said, ignoring his stare at my loudness. I stabbed the bush to be sure. My sword went through. "Nothing's in here."

We waited, still, for another good chunk of my sleeping time, before he sighed. "Alright, let's just go back and try again tomorrow," he ordered, giving up. I sprang up from my crouching position and led the way back to the warm comfort of the house, shaking the loose snow out of my hair.

Back inside, we started to get ready for bed, Ikkaku and Kenpachi going back to their own sleeping places. Kenpachi moved into the basement, not caring to stay in the snow.

After brushing my teeth, I walked up to the room I was sharing, with Kenji at my heels. He placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Miyako-san?" he asked hesitantly. I turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Um, about the thing I was trying to tell you before…"

"Is everything alright?" We had reached the room by now, and Taicho was brushing his teeth. We left Matsumoto in the living room, talking with Nami, Yachiru, and Momo. I sat down on my sleeping bag, and he sat on the other side of the room, near the window.

"Yeah, can I ask you something?"

"Uh, you just did."

"Ha, ha. But, seriously, can I ask you something? It's kinda really important, so…well, to me, anyway."

"Sure, what did you need?"

"Um, Miyako-san, how long have you known me?"

I was confused. It sounded like he was testing me. "Um, I dunno, a few weeks?" That was when we met in the seating announcement.

"Yeah. But, I've known you for a lot longer, even if you don't know it."

Now I was totally lost. "What?"

"What I mean was, I've seen you around the Soul Academy for as long as we were there, which was a lot longer than a few weeks." He half-smiled.

"Yeah…" I knit my eyebrows in confusion. I kind of remembered someone, a young-looking Kenji, talking to me in my first few years. But, I was so forgetful then, he probably slipped my mind because I barley ever saw him, I think. We were strangers enough for him to have to introduce himself when the seatings were announced. Hm.

"Anyway, I…" he turned away. When he looked at me again, he was pretty red. "I've really, really enjoyed having you as a friend, and I was hoping…I was hoping you'd felt the same."

I nodded once, slowly. His words were leading me on a strange path, and I was falling off the edge.

"Um…okay, I'll just say this straight." He sighed, inhaled deeply, and looked at me, all joking aside. "I…I've really liked you for a while, and I wanna ask. Do you want to…to do something? Like, a date?"

I stared at him for a long while, shocked beyond words. When I finally snapped out of it, I stammered, trying to find my voice. "U-um, Kenji-san…" I began, unsure of anything and not wanting to disappoint him, and not wanting to get myself into anything while I couldn't think straight. I hadn't even realized! Either he was a good actor, or I was bad at observing. It was probably the latter.

"Kenji-san, can I sleep on it? I-I really…I'm just surprised." I said this softly, trying to weaken the blow of decision time.

"Sure."

And that's what I did.


Kenji's POV

Well, that was surely one of the dumbest things I ever did.

Asking her out like that…grr! So, so stupid. I should have asked when she was in a really happy mood, and when she was awake, not when she was half-asleep and freezing!

I couldn't hold it any longer, though. I would have burst. But seeing her confused expression, and her lack of spark when she finally answered was really sad. I hope, beyond hope, that I'll get a good answer, but things don't look to great right now.

She said she'd sleep on it. I hope, when she clears her head, that she says what I'm hoping she'll say.

It makes me wonder if I should have waited. She doesn't really know me that well, and I'm beginning to think that I could only hope for little more than a "No way!" from her.


Hitsugaya's POV

'Well, well, well. Not looking so good, is it, Master? Remember that silence after? They were probably ki-'

'Be quiet, Hyorinmaru. What they were doing together is none of my business.'

'Oh, but it is. You're mad over this, aren't you?'

'I…I guess. But it is because there should be no relationships within the divisions. It could lead to a disaster.'

'Or you're, dare I say, jealous.'

'What? No, I'm not.'

'You are.'

'I am not.'

'Then, prove it. Go tell it to her face, if she even bothers to tell you when she says yes to him, if she already hasn't. Tell her you're happy for her and that you hope she has a nice relationship with Kenji.'

'What if she doesn't say yes?'

'Oh, being positive, I see. You hope for that, don't you?'

'I'm just asking what I say if she says no.'

'Then, you comfort her, give her whatever she wants, and wait until she's over Kenji to ask her yourself.'

'Why would I do that?'

'It's in how you say your part that makes it clear whether you are jealous or not. You can't be your normal, indifferent self when you do that, so it'll really bring out your soft side.'

'…I don't have a soft side. And I'm not doing that.'

'You'll regret that, Master. And, you're jealous. I can tell.' He chuckled, fading out until I couldn't complain to him anymore.

Darn him. I'm not asking her, no matter what he tries on me.


Miyako's POV

Night is the most quiet time of day. You get time, and quiet, to think.

So I thought.

What was I going to do? Kenji, he's so…he's great, and all, but I don't think I like him the way he likes me. I've never thought about it that way before!

Mizuhyo tried to help. 'Let him down gently.'

'I can't. He's just too sweet for me to not say yes.'

'Don't forget the time with Rika,' she warned. I thought back to the incident weeks ago, wincing.

'But, he apologized.'

'So? He still did it.'

'Yeah, but…'

'Just tell him what you think. Don't speech out what you're going to say, just blurt out what comes from inside. He'll forgive you.'

She left me with that, a tiny shield against the thousand soldiers of the day ahead.


I reluctantly pried my eyes open the next morning. Sneaking to the bathroom, I tried to buy time with brushing my teeth.

As I turned the cold sink knob, I realized I couldn't really make up my mind over this. Why did he have to ask me, he of all people? I could never think of him as more than a friend.

But, I didn't want to hurt him. That look of sadness was just too much.

I went through the motions, taking my time with everything. Finally, I snuck back up to the room, grabbing my clothes and, once again, charging back to the bathroom to change.

After I bought all the time I could, I went downstairs. Everyone was 'enjoying' their breakfast. I went to the kitchen, claiming to have eaten too much dinner, and devoured an apple.

We needed to get ready for another investigation. I'd talk to Kenji after.

We traveled again to the snow-covered field, with coats and boots. The snow partially melted in the weak sunlight, so we were standing in slush. Ew.

Carefully picking our way over to the bush, we examined it another time. It was in the same condition we left it in, save for the water droplets that still clung to the leaves.

We waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, when I stood still for so long I thought I had turned to stone, Ikkaku slashed the bush right in half, almost making me sliced Miyako.

"Argh! I won't wait here anymore! Not when we can clearly see that there is nothing here. Nothing! I wanna fight, not stare at shrubbery!" Ikkaku complained.

"Watch that blade of yours!" Hitsugaya barked, rubbing his temples.

"I'm going back to the house!" he called over his shoulder, flashing away, in the direction of the house he was sleeping in. It's lucky Yachiru was so energetic (and would do anything for candy), or we would never reach Ikkaku in time on mornings. He stayed so far away.

"I'm with Ikkaku. Let's go back to the house," Momo said. "I'll bet people are getting suspicious about us." We all looked around at the families, off in their own world of picnics and games, even though it was so cold frost was building up on the edges of their drinks.

I started to panic. I didn't want to go back, not yet!

I tried to tell Taicho, but thought better of it at the last minute. He would ask why I would rather stand outside in the cold than be warm inside a house. And they all knew I was lazy, so I couldn't give them a working excuse. I'd have to lie. And I don't care for lying.

So, slowly, I trudged back to the house, ready to burst.


Inside the comfort of a roof, I was extremely edgy when I arrived. Zooming to the bathroom, I changed into my favorite kind of clothes - comfortable jeans, not the kind that were so tight you could barley walk, and a t-shirt, with an old, baggy sweatshirt.

I tried to sneak into the kitchen, but Kenji's sharp eyes caught me and dragged me aside. "So, did you think about it?" he asked.

I sighed inwardly. This was going to be tough.

"Um…Kenji-san…" I avoided his gaze. There was no conversation for a long time, besides the background blurb of the many other house inhabitants.

"I'm sorry, Kenji-san." I looked him straight in the eye, even though it pained me to do so. "I don't think I feel the same way about you as you do for me. It's my fault. I'm just…not ready for a relationship right now. I hope you can understand. And, if it's not too much, can we still be friends?"

He sighed. "Ah, I was afraid of that. It's alright. And, yes, we can. But, I won't give up. I'll keep going, and someday, I'll be with you. Just not today, I guess." He smiled at me, a look of determination glinting in his eye. I smiled back, but very faintly.

"Alright. Thanks, Kenji-san." I was glad he wasn't mad with me, but still, I felt…somehow empty. Like he wasn't telling me everything. I went up to the room I was staying in.

I sat against the wall and watched the clouds drift carelessly for long hours, fighting tears the whole while.


For the next few days, I tried to pretend like nothing happened, because Kenji didn't tell anyone. So I won't tell anyone, either. It's good that only we know. I don't want other people involved in my problems. Because if I can't fix them on my own, I'm sure they're too complicated for anyone else to understand.

These days, whenever I feel like I'm going to be overwhelmed by emotions, like when I'm stuck with Kenji for too long, I go to the window and watch the clouds roll on by, like the day I told him no. They flush away the bad emotions and I come out in a better mood.

I like these times.


Kenji's POV

Why, why, why?

Every time I try to do something, I fail at it. Why?

She even said that it was her fault, but I know it was me. I don't even know what to feel! Should I feel angry? I guess. But, at who? Miyako? Maybe.

No, I think I'm angry, all right - angry at myself.

I should never have asked her.


Hitsugaya's POV

It's been over half the trip, six days. Nothing's been happening at the bush. I'm starting to think nobody's even there, and we just mistook the readings for something bad. I'm kind of worried about this.

But, I'm even more worried about Miyako.

Everyone has been normal, except for her. She's acting normal. She's eating normal. She's laughing the normal amount. So, why do I feel like something's wrong?

'The make it or break it relationship. What if she told him no?' Hyorinmaru offered his advice. It wasn't very helpful.

'Then, wouldn't Kenji be the one who's down?'

'How do you know she's feeling bad?'

'I just know. She's…off, somehow. I can't explain it.'

'Well, when did you notice this?'

'Um, a few days ago. She was in her room for a long time. When I asked her about it, she only said she was watching the clouds.'

'She probably was. It's relaxing to watch the clouds. But, what does this have to do with anything?'

'She's just off.'

'What about her is off? She's pretty normal, save for the cloud watching.'

'Her…her laugh.' Everything clicked for me then. 'It's off.'

'She laughs just as much as she did before.'

'No, the laugh itself. It's…missing something. Like if your trying to play a C major chord* on the piano, but you miss the E. It's not like you hit the wrong note, which throws everything off. It just isn't whole.'

'Well, Master, since you notice this, why don't you go ask her about it?'

'I can't tell her I was listening in on her conversation.'

'You don't have to. Just ask her if she's all right.'

'…I guess.'

'That's it, Master. Just tell her how you feel.'

'This is not some soap opera, Hyorinmaru.'

He annoyed me further by not responding when I questioned him.


I wandered around the house for a while before I found out she left an hour ago. Irked, I wouldn't answer anything anyone asked me, strolling around the town.

I found her at a ramen place, kind of like the one back at the Soul Society. She was eating a big bowl of the stuff, facing away from me. I started to sit down at her table without asking. I called for the waitress to bring me a cup of tea.

"Oh! Hello, Taicho! I didn't expect to see you here," she chirped. I didn't respond. She looked awkward after a while.

"Uh, so…what brings you here?"

"…How do you feel, Ohara-san. Are you sick?"

"No, I'm fine, Taicho."

"You don't seem fine."

"What do you mean?" She smiled sweetly, looking confused.

I sighed. How was I going to ask without offending her?

"Look, Ohara-san…" I stared her down. "I know what happened with you and Kenji. I was passing by your room, and he asked when I walked by the door. I didn't mean to hear it, but he did say it kind of loudly. So, let me ask again: Are you okay?"

Her smile faded. She seemed hurt, emotionally.

"Taicho, you…I can't believe you were listening in on me! That conversation was private!"

I didn't answer, but looked around the room. There were a lot of people crammed inside of here. I felt a spiritual pressure, strong and close.

"Ohara-san, I think it would be best if we left now," I tried to usher her out the door so we could talk privately.

"You haven't even said you're sorry!"

"I will when we get out of here. Come on, now. That's an order."

She resisted at first, but she had no other choice when I was giving her a direct order. She stalked out, fuming. We walked for a while, no words passing between us. Finally, we arrived at the place I'd been looking for. The park, where we'd spent one of our vacation days.

I directed her onto the playset. Only little kids would come up and bother us. I sat next to the slide, and she sank down on a step. We faced each other.

I looked at her. She did the same. Finally, she said something.

"What?" she asked.

"You never answered my question. Are. You. All. Right."

"I'm. Fine."

"No, you're not. You're just acting like it. You have to tell us, Ohara-san."

"Then, why bother asking if you already know I'm not all right?"

"I need you to realize it for yourself!"

A small boy came up to me. He tapped me on the shoulder. "Excuse me, Mister, can you please move over?" He looked over to him mother, who smiled and held a thumbs-up. She must have told him to say that.

I scooted over until I was next to Miyako. He slid down, cheering. "Whee!"

I ignored his call. Shifting my gaze, I once again stared her down.

"Why aren't you telling me what's wrong?"

"Because…"

"Because?"

"I don't know."

"Just tell me the entire story, Ohara-san. From the beginning."

"Okay. Kenji, well, you know, he asked me. I told him I'd think about it, because I didn't know what to say. He's just so nice, and I wanted to tell him yes. But I didn't feel the same way, you know? So I said no. And he took it better than I thought he would, but something was missing. I tried to forget about it, but every time I would see him he wasn't the same. It's like our friendship broke, and he's not telling me how much it's affected him. So I kind of absorbed his hidden sadness.

"I turn to the clouds to forget it, so I won't have to think about it. So…no, I guess I'm not okay." She was trying to hold back a good cry.

"You know, Ohara-san? That feeling you were talking about? Like you knew he wasn't telling you everything? That's how we all felt. We need you back to your actual happy self, no matter how annoying it can be." She smiled at this. "Not some fake you that pretends to be happy."

That was it. She broke. Tears rolled down her face. She leaned in to me, crying on my shoulder like some helpless little girl.

"What the…" I tried to push her off. She wouldn't budge. I sighed, trying to get Hyorinmaru to tell me what I needed to do to get her off.

'Just let her alone,' was his unhelpful advice.

'I can't just let her alone while she's making my jacket wet. I'm annoyed now.'

'If you don't want to let her alone, then hug her already!'

So I did. It felt really awkward, just patting her over and over again in a pattern. After she was finished, she wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve. "That was embarrassing. Sorry," she said.

"Hm. My shoulder is wet. And I said to never hug me," I replied, taking off my jacket. I only wore a black t-shirt underneath, and it was literally freezing out here.

"Let's just go back to the house. Maybe you can talk to Kenji-san there," I finally decided. She nodded, and we left.

I was feeling weird. Not sick, but something else. It wasn't from the spiritual pressure I'd been sensing from the time I walked out of the restaurant, but something else. Something…deep and soap opera-like. I got this feeling whenever I looked at Miyako on the way back to the house, and from then on.

What was it, this feeling? I couldn't place it.


Aika's POV

This was excellent.

I'd been feeding emotion into his and her zanpakuto for some time now. He's finally realizing the effects, and can sense me. But it's okay. I have the picture that will destroy the whole of his division. The girl, though…she could be a problem. Her zanpakuto is too noisy. And the other boy, the taller one. What to do with him?

Well, at least this is working. I've got something the Soutaicho might enjoy. With Snowy and the bun girl, or the blonde, it was too weird for him even to consider those feelings, so naturally, he ignored them. But, I will bring him down. He'll not get away from me again!


Whew! That took a while…

Yay! Actual fluff between the main pair!

And so many questions!

Who is Aika?

What is she doing?

Who is she targeting? (Though this one is easier than the rest)

And more, probably!

Okay, from this point on, I will really be pounding in the plot. I hope to still mix in fluff, though. I usually don't write fluff, so if my writing is off, you know why. Unless my writing is always off, in which case, it's normal!

I've given up on the whole 'NamiXRyu' thing. They'll just come and go as I please, but I'll try to include them in the story. Maybe I'll write a one-shot, like I've said before. Maybe. But, I'm still debating.

Okay, the announcement: I will, sometime in the future, need a letter from a Hitsugaya lover to Hitsugaya. The lover's name will be posted when the next chapter comes out, so there won't be any confusion. But it needs to be overly sweet and admiring (something Hitsugaya would throw away once he read it) And it needs to have a gooey love confession in it.

The first one given to me (by PM or review) will be the one put up, just how it's typed, and I won't put yours in if it is given to me before chapter 8 is up. You can re-send it to me if you still want it in after chapter 8 is posted.

If nobody gives me one by the time I'm done typing chapter 8, I'll put in my own. I promise to post chapter 8 exactly one week from today. If you want me to put your penname at the bottom of the story saying that you wrote the letter, I'll gladly write it. But if not, I'll leave you anonymous. Just put a note at the bottom of your letter if you want me to post your name.

Oh, and one last thing: Please refrain from cursing. I have a bad personal history with a lot of cursing, so if you put it in, please don't have a lot of it. The letter can be as long as you want.

Wow, I talked a lot over there. (I bet I seem pushy and controlling, huh?) Sorry. So expect to see chapter 8 in one week!