"...Ookami-san?"

Hinata was certain that she was once again dreaming. She stood alone in her personal world of snow and ice, which looked even more alive then before. There were more trees and more flowers, glistening like crystals in the forever-there winter light. The large puddle had grown to the size of a lake and sparkled all the shades of the rainbow, dazzling Hinata's eyes. Lilies had also begun to grow on the surface.

Lavender lilies.

"Ookami-san?" Hinata repeated as panic began to bubble in her stomach. It was bad enough dreaming of fire and ravens and some strange looking man without having Ookami-san abandon her; she was the only friendly spirit which inhabited her mind.

"Fret not, Hime, I am here."

Hinata squealed in surprise and immediately blushed in embarrassment after and turned around to face the silver-furred she-wolf. She was smiling in that amused way mothers did when their child had done something funny. But she also looked...tired. As though she had not slept in some time. Hinata frowned slightly in concern and Ookami-san chuckled.

"Don't worry about me. I'm sure you're aware by now that there is an intruder here." Her voice grew bitter. "I...I have been trying to chase the damned creature out of here but so far my attempts have been pointless. The man disappears without a trace whenever I get close! Damn him!"

Hinata flinched. She had never heard the she-wolf so upset before. "O-Ookami-san?" Hinata said tentatively. "Wh...what is it? The man? And the raven and f-fire?" Hinata had always hated fire.

"He is a konpaku (spirit/soul)." She said flatly. "A konpaku who appears to have the ability to enter another person's dreams...but it doesn't end there. There is a power like none I've seen before in his chest. The raven...hmmmm...the power in his chest sort of despatches a fragment of itself and turns that into the raven. The fire...well, I really have idea what's that about. Perhaps its his Inner World?" She suggested and Hinata had the feeling she starting to have a discussion with herself.

"...Ookami-san.."

"Hm?"

"Wh-what are you?"

The she-wolf was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. Hinata jumped in surprise and pulled her hands to her chest. Had she said something funny? She didn't believe so.

"...Oh, Hime, Hime, Hime! You still haven't figured out what I am?" The she-wolf chuckled. "I am your zanpaku-to."

Hinata's eyes grew wide as dinner plates. The zanpaku-to was the shinigami's katana and their main power. The zanpaku-to was a spirit with feelings and memories and a personality, and supposedly was born and died with the shinigami. There were two stages: Shikai and Bankai, both of which Hinata had only just begun to study about at the Academy but had already gained a lot of knowledge about from Toshiro. Shikai was the first stage and mastering it meant you were well on your way to becoming a powerful, high-ranked shinigami. Bankai was ten times stronger then Shikai and it was mandatory for all captain-class shinigami to have at least achieved it (the only exception being Zaraki Kenpachi, but Hinata hadn't been told why).

It was extremely rare for students to be talking to their zanpaku-to during the Academy, much less their first year. It was almost unheard of...and if that was so rare, Hinata was pretty darn sure that talking to your zanpaku-to before you were even dead never happened. Hinata swallowed.

"R-really?" She was, for some reason, having a hard time believing it. It made sense, after all, for Ookami-san to be her zanpaku-to spirit. She lived in Hinata's Inner World, Hinata couldn't hear her actual name, she seemed to know what Hinata was feeling...she fit the bill.

"Yes, I am, Hime. Your zanpaku-to."

"Whoa..."

"Hime, as much as I'd like to discuss this, we need to address another matter. The man with the power is accessing your dreams regularly and I have no means of stopping him. A few weeks ago, I was going to ask you to create a sort of 'barrier' around your sub-consciousness. I would've guided you through it, but I wasn't fast enough. That evil reiatsu cut through the barrier I'd set up and...well..."

"A-attacked me?" Hinata suggested. She remembered the pain that night, back when she had first met Ahiko and Kimi and when the bandits had returned for their revenge. She had been in utter agony, screaming and crying and clawing at whatever was in range. She shuddered at the memory.

"No." Ookami-san said much to Hinata's bewilderment. "It...it was trying to do something else. I believe it was trying to...to absorb your reiatsu, hime. Or perhaps it was trying to get you to absorb it."

"B-but why?"

"I haven't a clue. But we'll talk about this-and other things-later, Hime. You need to wake up."

Hinata blinked. "Wake up?" She mumbled before the ground suddenly lurched beneath her and she was falling, falling, falling into a never ending sea of black...

0-0-0

"She fainted?"

"Yeah..."

"Why?"

"..."

"...Hitsugaya-taichou? Is something wrong?"

"Eh..."

Hinata groaned and her eyes fluttered open. And she found herself staring once again at the Relief Station ceiling. Geez. She hoped she wasn't making a habit of ending up in here.

"Oh, she's wake." A woman said and Hinata recognized the voice as Unohana Retsu. She groaned again. She was burdening the powerful captain for the second time in one week. Gosh, was she really that much of a trouble-magnet? Hinata blinked. What was she doing in the Relief Station again? Had she hit her head or something? The memory was hazy...

Looking round, she saw she was lying in a hospital bed but was still wearing her school uniform and around her bed stood Unohana, a captain with long white hair, and Toshiro-

Hinata's heart skipped a beat. Ah. Now she remembered what she was there for. She fainted after Toshiro kissed her!

Ahh...wh-what should I do? Hinata thought desperately as her face began to heat up. He-he-he k-k-k-kissed me! Wh-what should I say? D-does he like me? Seriously? I-I t-t-thought w-we were just friends!

"Unohana-san, her face is..." The white haired man said and Unohana frowned and placed a hand on Hinata's forehead, which Hinata's eyes followed. She didn't want to look at Toshiro yet.

"No fever." Unohana announced and she withdrew her hand; Hinata looked up and briefly her and Toshiro's gazes locked. His cheeks went up in flames and instantly they were looking off at something else.

The white haired captain frowned when he noticed Toshiro's face. "Hitsugaya-taichou, your face is going red. Do you feel unwell?" He questioned.

"Huh? N-no, Ukitake, I feel fine..."

Ukitake's thick, black eye brow rose. Hitsugaya? Stuttering? That didn't add up. The elderly man shared a glance with Unohana, who appeared to be thinking the same thing. And somehow the two formed a plan through eye contact alone and swiftly they both pulled back from the situation.

"I'm going to find Isane," Unohana explained as she headed towards the door with Ukitake close behind.

"I'll help," He offered and immediately they were gone.

Toshiro silently fumed. He had a sneaking suspicion that they two would be pressing their ears against the now-closed door and listening to every word they said and then acting like they were completely innocent later in the day. Hinata hadn't even heard Unohana leave as she sat up; all she was concerned about was Toshiro and his 'kiss'.

What followed was a very thick and tense silence that only darkened the blush on Hinata's cheeks. Toshiro avoided her eyes and tried to think up something to say; he might as well have trying to figure out the meaning of life, for all that he came up with. He decided to just apologize. To tell the truth; he called out, she turned, he tripped, they kissed. A big misunderstanding. Which Toshiro, though he would never say it would loud, wasn't particularly upset over...

"Um...Hyuuga?"

"H-h-hai?" Her voice was frighteningly soft.

"About...about earlier...I'm sorry; I wasn't watching where I was going, and I tripped, and, well..."

Toshiro swallowed. Hinata twiddled her thumbs and bit her lip.

"I-I see." She mumbled. The silence that followed was extremely...awkward. Hinata had never felt so out of place in her life. Nor had she been so full of disbelief. Toshiro had kissed her-but by accident. She needed to remember that. He hadn't forced himself upon her or anything...he'd just tripped...For some reason that made Hinata blush even more.

"W-well, er...I-I should be getting back to the-the squad..." Toshiro muttered and Hinata followed suit.

"Y-yeah, I-I have school...t-t-to attend..." She jumped out of bed and bowed quickly in his direction before hurrying out the door; she didn't even notice Unohana and Ukitake leap back just in time to avoid the swinging door. Her speed went from walking to run in the blink of an eye and Hinata found herself racing down the hallways, dodging past doctors and nurses and carts overloaded with medical supplies. At some point in her run she'd momentarily closed her eyes...and bowled right into someone.

Hinata was thrown back by the impact. She scrambled to her feet fast, though, and bowed low to the fourth divisioner. "F-f-forgive me, I-I wasn't w-watching w-w-where I was-"

"H-Hinata-san?"

Hinata stopped and looked up to see Yamada Hanatarou heaving himself off the ground with a bag of cleaning utensils held firmly against his chest. The bag was big and he had to stand on the side in order to see her properly. He smiled.

"Hello again."

Hinata smiled, too. "H-Hi, Hanatarou-kun," She said and straightened.

Hinata followed Hanatarou around after that. She helped him put the equipment away and volunteered to help with his daily duties despite his protests and soon lost herself in the scrubbing of floors and cleaning of gutters. She also started to enjoy herself. One of Hinata's strong points had always been house hold chores; her father said she'd make a perfect house-wife, though he'd meant it as an insult. And as the fourth division was looked down upon by most of shinigami, it was probably considered an insult here, too; but Hinata didn't care. Perhaps she'd join the fourth after she'd graduated. Healing people and saving lives didn't seem like such a bad career path.

"Thanks, Hinata-san." Hanatarou puffed as they finally located the closet in which the brooms were stored and were able to stuff theirs' inside. "I got finish in half the time I usually do, thanks to your help."

"I-it's fine." Hinata said and her cheeks coloured faintly at his praise. Hanatarou really was nice. Nicer then most guys she knew. And he wasn't at all awkward to talk to...

"Do you want to get something to eat?" Hanatarou suggested and Hinata realized she was in fact hungry. A small part of her brains urged her to return to her classes but she pushed it aside. The academy had been notified of her hospitalization and would assume she was still bed bound; why rush? She followed Hanatarou didn't the cafeteria, which earned her a few curious glances but nothing close to hostile. They collected their food and found themselves a stable at the back of the room and sat down with their lunch. Hinata had ordered some simple sushi and rice with soy sauce and Hanatarou had ordered something similar, but there was green stuff-probably veggies-sprinkled into his rice.

As Hinata started eating she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye and looked up. She saw shinigami woman with dark brown hair pulled into a bun and soft brown eyes and smooth-looking skin hurrying through the cafeteria with a purse tucked under her arm. She looked somewhat distressed as she stopped to ask some shinigami men something and only then did Hinata spot the vice-captain badge. On it was the kanji for 'five'.

"Wh-who's that?" She asked and titled her head towards the distressed brunette.

Hanatarou followed her gaze and gasped. "T-that's Hinamori fuku-taichou!" When he saw Hinata's blank stare his mouth fell open like a jaw bridge. "H-Hinamori-fuku-taichou is the Gobantai fuku-taichou," He explained. "She's running Gobantai since Aizen-taichou disappeared."

Hinata frowned. She'd heard that name before; Toshiro had talked briefly about the brown haired, glasses-wearing shinigami captain who'd abandoned his post not four weeks before Hinata's death. Toshiro had said no more, though. He'd seemed reluctant to talk about Aizen Souske at all and he'd ignored or avoided any questions about him Hinata had asked. Eventually, she'd given up...but Hanatarou seemed to know something. Asking him wasn't against the law, was it?

"A-ano, Hanatarou-kun, w-why did Aizen-taichou disappear?" She asked carefully. If it was a touchy subject for Toshiro, then why not the other shinigami too?

"Um...I'm not sure...s-sorry." He admitted and Hinata deflated. "But I know he f-faked his death and blamed the ryoka for it."

Now the ryoka Hinata knew of: Kurosaki Ichigo, Ishida Uyruu, Sado Yasutora, Shihoin Yoruichi, Shiba Ganju, Inoue Orihime. A shinigami with a sword as long as his body; the last known Quincy; a Mexican Japanese man with insane physical power; a two-hundred year old shunpo-master who'd abandoned her post over a hundred years earlier; a member of the once all-powerful Shiba Clan with a grudge against the shinigami; and a somewhat harmless human girl with the ability to create near unbreakable shields and low power attacks that did little against shinigami. Toshiro had refused to teach her anything before she knew of those six individuals.

And Aizen had used them to fake his death. Why? Hinata wondered. He must've been plotting something absolutely horrible if he had to go as far to fake his death in order to escape detection. And that plan had already been executed if he had vanished into a different dimension. Hinata began to pout. Why hadn't Toshiro trusted her with such information? She had no friends beside him and Hanatarou; who could she have told? Hanatarou already knew Aizen was gone and wasn't in a hurry to find out more bad things about the legendary captain and Hinata didn't promise to keep her mouth shut for the fun of it.

Doesn't he trust me?

0-0-0

"Do you know where Unohana-taichou is?" Hinamori asked the fourth divisioner, who shook his head and apologized for the inconvenience. But the vice-captain said nothing; she just whipped around and charged of the room, hell bent of finding the captain.

She'd finally come to her senses. Of course, her dream of fire and ravens and Aizen (not Aizen-taichou) had been induced by her lack of sleep and her current anxiety. It was impossible to enter a shinigami's dreams without a powerful object backing you up and as far as Hinamori knew the only weapon Aizen had was his zunpaku-to. But all that could do was cast illusions, not access dreams.

She took a swift turn and marched down the hall. She barely knew where she was going despite having spent quite a bit of time couped up in here recovering. She rounded another corner and ran into some short person and she hissed in frustration. She just wanted to find Unohana so she could get some pills, for god's sake! Was that so much to ask?-

"H-Hinamori?"

Hinamori blinked and then gaped. She'd run straight into Hitsugaya Toshiro, her childhood friend and supposed boyfriend. And whatever worry Hinamori had felt over seeing him before evaporated in that one instant; she was shocked by how happy she was to see him.

"Shiro-chan!" She cried and threw her arms around his neck and buried her head in his shoulder. Toshiro's muscles stiffened but he didn't push her away; rather, he gently stroked her back as she started to sob.

"Hinamori, what's wrong?" He asked softly.

"I-I've been having weird dreams." She whispered. "I need to see Unohana-taichou...I...I'm starting to get scared..."

"Okay. Come on, she's just down here-" The second Toshiro fell silent his body froze and Hinamori frowned in confusion. She glanced up and saw he was staring over her shoulder, wide-eyed, at someone. She followed his gaze and saw a little girl with short purple-blue hair and strange lavender eyes standing by the corner and she was wearing a school uniform. Hinamori wondered briefly what an Academy student was doing here but before she could ask the girl turned on heel and ran.

Hinamori sniffed. "Wh-who was that, Shiro-chan?"

Toshiro took a moment to answer. "That was Hyuuga Hinata."

"The girl-the girl you trained?"

"Yeah..."

"She looked upset." Hinamori commented before resting her head against his shoulder again. She felt so, so tired. She barely slept a wink since the dream. And everyday since Aizen's face had appeared when closed her eye lids. But when she was Toshiro...all her problems seemed non-existent. There was just her and him and their relationship, as bumpy as it may be.

What was I thinking, considering that I loved Aizen more then Shiro-chan? That's crazy! Hinamori mentally scolded herself.

"...Unohana's down this way." Toshiro said at last and he took Hinamori's hand and led her into the room Hinata had occupied half an hour ago.

0-0-0

Hinata had no idea why she was running. Toshiro was just her friend, after all. If he had a girlfriend, then good for him. There was no law against captains falling in love. They were just friends. She shouldn't feel like she'd been betrayed; her chest shouldn't hurt the way it did. Nor should tears be sprouting in her eyes. Definitely not tears.

Hinata ran into the cafeteria and was immediately spotted by Hanatarou and the boy hurried over. He took her arm carefully to slow her down and then quickly lead her out of the crowded room and into the near deserted hallway. Only then did he notice her tears, her shuddering breaths, her red cheeks. His pale eyes widened.

"H...Hinata-san?" He said quietly, uncertainly. He didn't really know how to handle weeping women. "Wh-what's wrong?"

Hinata looked up at him through blurry eyes. She took in his gentle gaze and kind face and the concerned etched into his features and allowed her crying to grow louder. She thrust herself into his chest and clung to him, weeping and weeping and weeping. Hanatarou blushed and remained still for a moment. Then, ever so slowly, he raised his hand and stroked her hair and hugged her back.

"H-Hinata-s-san," Hanatarou stammered and his blush deepened. "I-I don't know w-what's wrong, b-but...but I-I'll stay with you. O-okay?"

Hinata responded by burying herself further into his shihakusho. Hanatarou replied by hugging her tighter. And as Hinata cried her heart out, Toshiro led a teary Hinamori to Unohana and the brunette told Unohana of her problems in a hushed voice. Toshiro just stood by and stared out the window and tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his chest that had nothing to do with injury.


!I own neither Bleach nor Naruto!

Hello ^^ As promised, a quick update. But I apologize for the chap's shortness. I'll try and make then next one longer!

Heh...Hanatarou has become a love rival XD Geez. Poor Toshiro. I'm making it hard for him to get the girl, huh? And you'd think the accident kiss would bring them closer, huh? Well, apparently not...

Ookami-san has RETURNED! Finally! I've been wanting to tell you guys officially what she was for SO DAMN LONG!

Thanks for reading! Please review! I'll be so happy!