VIII. "Follow Me"

"Follow me," he spoke, voice low and laced with worry and cautious paternity.

Hinamori bobbed her head, all too relieved to distance herself from the gruesome scene where so many of her classmates and friends had become fodder for the Hollows. She walked solemnly behind this man, head hung and shoulders slumped, tears ebbing on the precipice of her eyelashes, and placed her trust in him.

"Follow me," he instructed, tone tender and guiding.

Hinamori swung her zanpakutou as he directed, overwhelmed with glee when she perfectly mimicked the motion. He placed a reassuring pat on her shoulder, bathing her in praise that she willingly drank in. Filled with pride, admiration and only the slightest cluster of butterflies, she continued their morning exercises with excitement and fervor.

"Follow me," he whispered, the palm of his hand warm and comforting on the top of her head.

Hinamori dipped her chin to her chest, afraid and ashamed that even now she placed all her trust in this man. Her eyes wandered the room, roaming the white plaster walls and the beings that clung to their sides like hungry bats: the Arrancar. She watched her feet as they mindlessly imitated his footsteps, marching further into the room. She saw the Hogyouku clasped loosely between his fingers, and only for the slightest moment did she feel a tinge of fear.

"I trust you," she mumbled as he readied the device, prepared to kill her and reincarnate her as a child of his own. "I will follow."