Chapter 8

Hitsugaya's alarm went off, and he blindly slapped it into silence. The buzzing was redundant. Meanwhile Hinamori eased slowly into consciousness. Together, they'd been up for hours playing Shogi to pass the time in silence, until dawn's arrival; did they end up falling asleep on the couch.

There was an odd sensation against Hinamori's forehead. Her eyelids fluttered open. Long male fingers were brushing her bangs aside. They barely drifted across her cheek and then over her jaw. She could hardly make out the figure that she was leaning against from the light that was slipping through the curtains, despite this she knew. Hitsugaya's eyes were closed, arching brows drawn down, thick lashes against his regal cheekbones. His right arm was draped across her waist in a protective hold, while his left hand returned to the head of the couch, when it absently stopped touching her face.

Her memories of what happened between them hung just on the tip of her tongue. She recalled how Hitsugaya decided to 'just drop' their discussions until later, then they were suddenly engrossed in a still, fierce battle of Shogi. A clock sat next to it. Evidence of the board game still lingered scattered across the glass table, a few pieces untouched; Hitsugaya had won by two.

Somewhere in the office, a phone went off. Before Hinamori had time to stretch her arms, Hitsugaya moved so fast making her jump. At the desk, he picked up the phone.

"Yeah? Abarai? Sure. It's fine, then I'll see you tomorrow."

He hung up the phone, flexed his arms, his biceps curling up thick, and one shoulder cracking from the force. He ran a hand through his hair. Hinamori shifted nervously as she watched him. She looked at the clock ticking on the table. They had slept through the whole morning. She continued to stare at the round object, getting lost in the second hand's crawl around the dial.

"Hinamori." when she looked back at him again, he was leaning his head back. "You should eat, and do whatever you need to do because the others are out till sunrise, tomorrow."

She nodded slowly before pausing; "Yeah?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Meaning you have all the time to think, of questions. Whatever you want to discuss, we'll discuss with no interruptions. You have till dinner."

Matsumoto, Renji and Ichigo walked down an alley opened to streets at both ends. After leaving their carriage hidden in the shadows, they slowly advanced into the darkness.

"Where'd Kira go?" Renji asked as he caught the whiff of a dumpster nearby.

"He's taking the other end with the others."

Somewhere in the dark, shadows shifted by the buildings. Their focus was getting to the victim. So it wasn't until Renji and co were halfway across the path, that they smelt the rotten odor. And sure enough, not long after the second figure, another appeared at the end of the alley. It looked left and right and then rushed forward. Ichigo and company knew what their enemies were after. There was nothing to draw these creatures into a dark alley except for the scent of blood, something human noses could never pick up. The closest of the three figures fell upon the unconscious female, like someone had laid out a buffet for it. The woman's wrist was already slit as it began drinking; it was taken by surprise when the first shuriken went into its shoulder. Immediate instinct was to protect the meal, so the dark figures hauled the women's body behind some mangled trash cans.

The second shuriken hit, one became disorganized in its movements but the group kept on sinking deeper into the shadows, all now taking their share of blood as swords were being drawn.

"Ichigo, move." Renji said. "Flash bomb."

In a fluid motion, Ichigo wheeled around just as a red flame whizzed passed his head. The creatures howled in pain. He ducked and swung his sword, which flashed silver and swerved in a deadly arc. It caught the closest Kaiju in the neck, splitting his throat open before it disintegrated into a black mist. Another eerie screech echoed the night as the second dispatched. Leaving the last, to drive its teeth into the back of the victim's neck and pushed the bite home. Moments later she slumped like a rag doll, before the Kaiju itself, dematerialized.

Hitsugaya followed Hinamori into the basement; her only guidance was the torches lined up on the brick walls. And then she reached the bottom, welcomed by the warmth of candlelight. The shades of white and black were all Hinamori saw as Hitsugaya past her and sat down on a black leather couch.

He leaned back, running a hand across the sofa. His knees fell out to the sides, his thighs spread. He looked damn comfortable as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Without further a due, what do you want from me, Hinamori?"

She wiped her eyes. "Truth."

"You asking for truth is a great price, but it is seldom what you truly want."

She shook her head, "Please, Hitsugaya-sama, I need to know. I know I'm difficult, but let's pretend I'm not. Let's pretend that I'm not a huge pawn. Just talk to me and tell me your reasonings." She paused before adding, "I'll do whatever you want."

Hitsugaya smiled a little, as if something pleased him when Hinamori sat down beside him. Then again, desperation could make a fool out of anyone.

She pursed her lips. "Tell me why I'm here."

"Your parents were old acquaintances of mine," he sat forward, elbows on knees. "Very loyal to the Aisu-Clan, second to inherit the money and they were very good at keeping it safe." He leaned his head back staring at the roof. "As their daughter, half of this is yours."

"Really? Then there should be a will, I mean there has to be one, for the last twenty years."

"That I don't have in my possession."

She took a deep, sad breath. A small part of her believed she'd get some answers. Finally. "This is a waste of time." She stood and began walking away.

He was in front of her before she could blink; fear struck her heart as she stepped back. He caught her wrist and wouldn't let go. She tugged and her body swayed, whenever he got too close, her mind blurred and it was happening, again.

"Your parents entrusted me with you, to protect you because you're going to need me."

"I've seen my records." Her voice didn't waver. "My father passed away in an accident, my mother committed suicide because of it. They left me."

"I'm sorry, but that's just not what happened. They loved you."

She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself. She wasn't going to fall under his spell again. "Let me go."

"Hinamori, look at me."

"You'll only capture me with your gaze."

"I don't wish you capture you," he said softly.

"Liar," she said. "You're seeing how careful I need to be around you."

"I don't want you to have to be careful around me, but I don't know how to get you to believe me."

When she didn't say anything, he took her hand and held it over his heart, becoming utterly frozen, giving her a chance to read him. "They weren't capable of protecting you because they don't have the abilities I do."

Her expression shrank and there was a long silence. He dropped her hand and reached into his pocket, pulling out a black and silver shuriken. Hinamori shrank in horror and stumbled away from him. Suddenly the room got brighter; more candles came on in the room, lit by no one. Hinamori had trouble speaking around her pulse now, because she had a feeling something bad was about to happen. Something she wasn't going to enjoy.

With a flick of his wrist, the shurikens left his hand, and shot past Hinamori like an invisible force inches from her head, before colliding with the wall in an eerie echo. She turned to see the weapons stuck in a crease in the wall, and looked back at him in disbelief. "This isn't happening."

She raced across the room, bolted up the stairs, tripping only once. When she fumbled with the latch on the door, she broke a nail, but eventually got it open. She ran through the hall. Burst into the main entrance and-

Hitsugaya was there, leaning against her only exit.

She fumbled in her steps, and took the stairs two at a time. Terror flooded her body, fright and disbelief seizing her heart in a fist. Her mind thrown into madness. She knew he was following her, and she ran harder and faster till she reached her room. The door swung with a bang against the wall, but his foot caught it before she could slam it shut.

"Why?" She clamped a hand over her mouth as if she were going to be sick. Hinamori backed until she collided with her bed; she shook as tears took control of her. If this was a dream, she'd want to wake up and if not…he had a lot more explaining to do either than a recollect of their lives. Seconds ago he standing in her doorway, then he had captured both her wrists in one hand. In one moment, she didn't have time to think, as he took her face in his free hand, and closed his mouth over hers.

Authors Note: Special thanks to froXenshadow, Kaishi-chan and sayume214 for their alerts! Well there you have it, until next time. Reviews are always welcomed because they always make my day or motivate me to write more! Thanks to everyone for supporting me with my slow updates!