Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Bleach series in any way. All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.
Author's Note: Sorry for taking a while to update this challenge. I was too busy concentrating on finishing up The Next Greatest Treasure. Thank you for all your patience especially my awesome reviewers: EternalRoses, anime16, Evertale, icyangel27, Ebbie54, fayfan, Yellow. Sunshineeh, HyourinmaruIce, applestoapples, and Rawr.
Message to applestoapples: Yeah, I can see why you're thinking that way. It does sound like she's thankful for his actions. I suppose it's all part of her nativity. Anyway, thanks for your review!
Message to Rawr: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you enjoyed reading my works up to now. It's amazing how inspirational and appreciative words like yours just motivates me to write more. xD Stay turned for more!
Without any further adieu, here is an alternate universe one-shot of theme number ten. Enjoy!
LEGEND
"Talking." "Thinking."
The 100 HitsuHina Themes Challenge
Theme #10: Mother Nature
"Hitsugaya, can we take a break now?"
After hearing that comment multiple of times already, the white haired teenager let out a growl and turned his attention to the strawberry orange haired woman. "We just had a break five minutes ago and you're already tired?" he snapped. "Maybe you should have not decided to come on this trip in the first place!"
"Yeah, but if I do that, I'll be stuck at school doing homework! I don't want to do that!"
Hearing enough of her complaints, Toshiro let out another growl and resumed his attention to the front. "Anyway, let's not complain about school," Hisagi suggested. "We're here to have a good time."
"That's correct," Ichimaru replied with a grin. "We're here to enjoy what little time we have left before we have to start studying for our exams."
All of a sudden, a few people turned their heads and gave stern looks at the gray haired teenager. Renji, who is walking a few meters behind him, said, "That bastard, he said that on purpose."
His classmate, Kira sighed with defeat.
Toshiro looked over his shoulder and noticed the person, who is walking in the back of the pack, is falling behind. Deciding that he would wait for her, he stepped aside so that the others can walk ahead. By the time Rangiku passed him, she looked over her shoulder and suddenly let out an amused smile. There is only one reason he would something like that. It is to make sure that their friend, Momo is keeping up with the rest of them.
Noticing the changed expression on his friend's face, Ichimaru suddenly said, "Let me guess; you want to ditch them."
She then turned to the gray haired teenager. With a bright smile on her face, she placed her hands together and asked, "Can we do that?"
"It's fine with me." Gin grinned. "However, once we lose them, we'll hide in the bushes somewhere. We need to make sure those two don't get really lost."
Happy that she got his approval, she then turned to the others. "Are the rest of you cool with this?"
"Count me in," Hisagi said.
"Same here," Renji added.
"I don't think this is a good idea," Izuru suggested. "They're going to get mad at us once they find out."
"That's nonsense, Kira!" Matsumoto replied. "I think they'll thank us. Besides, those two have been dancing around each other for years! It's about time for us to step in and make them the destined couple they're mean to be!"
"Hush Rangiku, they might hear us," Ichimaru suggested.
Realizing what she is doing, she placed her fingertips over her mouth and whispered, "Oops, anyway...whether you like it or not, we're going ahead with the plan once we finished crossing the bridge over there."
Kira sighed with defeat. "I have a bad feeling about this..."
Meanwhile, in the back of the pack, Hinamori placed a hand on a tree trunk and let out a sigh. Who would have thought that doing a simple hike could be so exhausting? All of a sudden, she noticed her white haired classmate leaning against the tree next to her. She blushed. "Ah Hitsugaya-kun, were you waiting for me by any chance?"
Toshiro turned his head away and slowly nodded with agreement. "I just wanted to make sure you're able to keep up with us. You know, the last thing we want is for you to get lost in the forest."
She nodded her head. "Yeah..."
He resumed his attention to the front to find out that the others are walking way too far ahead. Placing a hand on the side of his mouth, he called out, "Oi you guys, slow down!"
However, they didn't hear him and continued walking.
The prodigy of class 2-1 placed his hand down and let out a defeated sigh. He resumed his attention to the raven haired girl and said, "Let's get moving before we lose sight of them."
Then, he began walking. Wanting him to stop, she quickly extended a hand out and took hold of his hand. Feeling the heavenly touch, he stopped and glanced back.
"Hinamori, what's wrong?"
Just as she took a step forward, Momo suddenly lost her footing, let go of his hand, and started tipping to one side. He looked over to the side and noticed she is going to fall off the cliff if she doesn't regain her balance quickly. Instinctively taking action, he ran ahead of her and embraced the girl in his arms. Moments later, the two teenagers crashed onto the soiled ground and started rolling downhill.
Unable to determine where they're going, Hinamori buried her face into Hitsugaya's chest and braced herself. It felt like the world around her has been spinning at the speed of light for a long time until she heard a loud crack. It is soon followed by a yell from Toshiro. At that moment, he let her go to be carried away by the momentum. By the time the peach girl stopped moving, she slowly got on her knees. Once she sat on her bottom, she placed a hand on the side of her head. "My head...It's spinning."
When the nauseous spinning stopped, Momo looked around to some of hers and Toshiro's belongings have scattered around the area. She let out a defeated sigh. Now, they have to retrieve their stuff after that experience. Suddenly, she let out a gasp.
"Hitsugaya-kun."
She began looking around, trying to locate where the white haired teenager is. When she spotted him lying on his side, she quickly got on her feet and ran to his side. By the time she reunited with him at the bottom of the hill, got down on her knees and started shaking him awake.
"Hitsugaya-kun, wake up!" she called out. "Are you alright?"
In response to her voice, Toshiro let out a groan and turned his body to the side. When he opened his emerald-teal eyes, he found himself starting at the concerned face of his classmate. "H-Hinamori..."
Momo let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness, you're alright."
The older teenager slowly sat up and said, "That was quite the fall."
"I-I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry; it's not your fault. Besides, I'm the one who literally jumped off the cliff."
Hinamori suddenly cracked a smile and giggled. "I suppose so..."
"Anyway, let's find our way back to the others."
She nodded. "Hai."
After standing back up, Momo extended a hand out. Taking her hand, he let her help him out. Just as she is pulling him up, Hitsugaya felt a shocking wave of pain and yelled. Scared that she did something wrong, she let go of him. "W-What's wrong?"
As he is hissing in pain, he looked down to check his current condition only to find out that his right ankle is stuck between a stump and a large rock. "Shit," he cursed. "I-I think my ankle is fractured..."
Momo placed both hands over her mouth and gasped. "Oh no, that's terrible! We have to get you out of there and take you to the hospital as quickly as possible!"
Hitsugaya nodded with agreement. "I need your help to get my ankle out of there."
"O-Okay, what should I do?"
"Carefully and slowly lift my leg out from between the rock and stump. After that, put it down on the ground so that we can take a look at how bad the injury is."
"H-Hai..."
She walked her way over and sat on the stump. When she extended her hands out, she noticed they were shaking with fear. She didn't want to be responsible for his continuous suffering, but nevertheless, she has to do it. She let out a gulp and proceeded. After taking hold of his leg, she slowly lift it up. Then, all of a sudden, Hitsugaya closed his eyes and let out a long hiss, causing the raven haired girl to stop her movements. When they made eye contact, he said, "I-I'm okay...just keep going."
Momo gave him a short nod and continued. As she continued to set his leg free, Toshiro bit the bottom of his lip. With all his might, he prevented himself from yelling out loud until Hinamori finally got his leg out. After she carefully placed his leg down on the ground, she began to untie his shoe. Once it is loose, she slowly began taking it off.
Leaning back further towards the ground, Hitsugaya helped Hinamori take off his shoe. By the time it's free, she put her friend's footwear to the side and watched Toshiro cross his right leg over his left. With his hands, he removed his white sock only to find both sides of his ankle joints have turned bluish-purple. "Damn, it has already swollen this much."
"I-I-I'll call for help!" Hinamori said as she frantically took out her cell phone from her pants pocket. After dialing a few buttons, she held it against her ear and waited for the dial tone to ring. However, it didn't come. When she took a look at the LCD screen, she noticed something. "Oh no, My phone is not picking up a signal."
Then, Hitsugaya took out his cell phone from his pants pocket and checked its signal. He suddenly hissed. "Same here."
"Mou, what should we do now?"
"Calm down for a moment Hinamori; we'll think of something," Toshiro said. "First, we need to gather what we just lost from the fall. Don't worry about the stuff that is uphill; it's too dangerous for either of us to back there."
"O-Okay, I-I'll go do that," Momo replied while standing up. "You just wait here; I'll be right back."
But before he could say anything, the peach girl put her cell phone away and already left. He sighed with defeat over his rotten luck. Not only they are somewhere off-course in Mother Nature's territory, but he is inflicted with a serious injury. He put his cell phone away so that he can put his sock back on. Then, he let out a curse. "Shit, it's going to take a while before we can get back to the place where we started."
"Hitsugaya-kun!" The white haired teenager looked over to see the raven haired girl return to his side, holding a few items in her arms. "I managed to get my hands on whatever I can collect."
"Arigato Hinamori, you can put my stuff in my bag and...you can do the same for my right shoe."
With a nod of agreement, she picked up the lone shoe, got behind him, opened his bag, and put away his belongings. "Okay, I'm done."
"Alright, we need to figure out where we need to go now." Hitsugaya looked up at the place where he and Hinamori fell from. "We can't climb our way back up for obvious reasons. Also, because we're in a remote area, I don't think it's wise to wait for someone to come and get us. So, that leaves us with no other choice, but to navigate our way out of here."
"How are you able to walk around?"
"If I can find a strong stick, then I can use it as support." Feeling his cheeks heat up a bit, he looked away and continued, "Otherwise, I have to hold onto you."
"Oh, okay..." Momo blushed. "I don't mind."
He resumed his attention to her. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Um okay, help me up."
She nodded and walked closer to him. From his right, she got down on her knees. Hitsugaya draped his arm over the back of her neck and onto her right shoulder. Hinamori took hold of his arm with her right while her other free hand is wrapped around Toshiro's side. After taking a deep breath, she slowly hoisted him up to standing position. At one point, he placed his injured foot on the ground to keep his balance, but all it did is cause the teenager to yell.
"Itte!"
Noticing that he is experiencing pain, Momo quickly regained her balance and pulled Toshiro close to her in order to help him relieve the pressure on his right side. "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine," he replied. "L-Let's go."
However, she doesn't believe his words. Judging by the way things look, he is not alright. He needs to seek medical attention and fast. "Alright, if you need me to stop, then say so."
Hitsugaya nodded with agreement. "Alright then."
"Hn, what's taking them so long?" Matsumoto asked. "They should have crossed the bridge by now."
"Patience Rangiku, they'll come soon enough," Ichimaru replied.
After crossing the bridge, the other students of Seireitei High hid in the bushes so that they can spy on Hitsugaya and Hinamori. Kira started questioning, "Do you think something might have happened to them?"
"Who knows," Hisagi said while shrugging his shoulders.
"Do you suppose those two have already become...together without us having to see them kissing?" Renji asked.
"Oh no, they better not!" Rangiku said. "It would totally blow my chance at spreading the news throughout the whole school when we go there tomorrow!"
"I can understand what you mean, but we have already waited for them for about half an hour already," Hisagi said. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to agree with Kira on this one. We should go back and check up on them."
Matsumoto folded her arms over her chest and pouted, "You guys are no fun!"
Just as Hisagi and Kira came out of the bushes, she noticed that Ichimaru and Abarai are doing the same thing. She then sighed with defeat and followed them back to the last place they saw Toshiro and Momo. "Hn, they should be around here," Shuhei commented. "Do you suppose they suddenly decided to go back to the bottom of the hill?"
The others walked ahead of the short haired teenager and began searching for traces of the two missing ones.
"I don't think so," Renji said. "It's too far from here."
"You guys," Ichimaru suddenly called out, "I found out where they went."
Heads turned to the gray haired teenager and started gathering around him. He pointed his finger downwards, showing the others traces of broken branches, flattened plants, and a beige coloured sun hat (which is resting on top of a nearby bush). Matsumoto suddenly exclaimed, "Wait a minute, that hat belongs to Hinamori!"
"Hitsugaya must be with her right now," Kira said.
"...In uncharted territory below," Gin added.
"We need to call for help," Renji suggested. "Either one of them could be hurt!"
"Well, why are we standing here for? Let's head back."
Hitsugaya let out a sigh before he started drinking from his water bottle. After walking for quite some time, he and Hinamori decided to stop and take a break. Once he puts his bottle down, he looked over to see his classmate has already finished eating her lunch. Now, she is checking for a telephone signal to pick up on her cell phone. "Did you have any luck?"
When she turned to him, the peach girl slowly shook her head.
"I see."
Momo puts her cell phone away. "I wonder how long it is going to take us to get back to where we started."
"Assuming that we're going in the right direction and nothing happens to us along the way, we would probably be there in about several hours."
"Oh..."
Noticing that she is looking worried, Toshiro scooted next to her and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"
"Eh?" Hinamori suddenly turned red. Raising her hand up she quickly moved them back and forth. "Don't worry about me, Hitsugaya-kun! I-I'm okay!"
"Are you sure?"
"H-Hai!"
Hitsugaya then let out a sigh, dropping the subject altogether. He put his water bottle back into his bag. After putting his bag on his back, he said to the raven haired girl, "Anyway, I'm ready to go."
With a nod of agreement, she stood up from her seat and helped him get back on his feet. Once they are comfortable, they continued their way back to the start.
For the next little while, the two teenagers didn't say a word to one another. From time to time, they would look at one another when the other is not watching, but it didn't take long before the silence got to them. They wanted to start a conversation with one another in order to pass the time. Suddenly, they both said each other's name at the same time. "Ah, you go first."
The peach shook her head. "It's alright; you go ahead. I can wait."
"O-Okay, um...Thanks for helping me."
Momo smiled. "It's no problem. It's the least I could do since you protected me from getting hurt."
"Yeah..."
"So, do you think Rangiku-san and the others have figured out that we're in trouble by now?"
Toshiro shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows..."
"I see; how are you feeling right now?"
"I feel a jolt of pain whenever I accidentally put my right foot down on the ground. Other than that, I'm okay." He stopped walking for a moment to look down at his injured ankle. He then hissed between his teeth. "Despite taking off my right shoe on purpose, I still managed to get the bottom of my sock dirty."
"Sugoi Hitsugaya-kun, you know how to take care of yourself at situations like this."
"Eh no, I would have died if I was the only one separated from the others."
There is a silent pause.
Feeling his cheeks heat up, he looked away from Momo and added, "I-I was able to calm down because...you are here. It feels reassuring to be with someone who you can rely on."
"Hitsugaya-kun..."
"A-Anyway, let's continue our way back. We need to cover as much ground as possible before it starts to get dark."
"Ah hai."
With that said, they resumed their journey back to civilization. Time continued to pass by over the next while until Toshiro took a step with his left foot and suddenly tripped over a rock. Feeling the weight on her shoulder has become unstable, Hinamori immediately leaned back in the other direction. However, Hitsugaya's weight is too much for her to handle. Eventually, she got pulled down along with him.
A few moments later, the two teenagers groaned. By the time they laid eyes on one another, they realized something. Why are they so close to each other? Soon, the answer dawned to them. Somewhere during the fall, Hitsugaya shifted his weight to the side and ended up falling on his back. Shortly after, Hinamori came falling on top of him. However, that's not the end of it. For some odd reason, their lips have made contact with one another.
Realizing what is happening; the two pulled away and turned their red faces to opposite sides.
"I-I'm sorry..." Hinamori quickly apologized. "I-It was an accident."
Hitsugaya's face turned a deeper shade of red. "Y-Yeah, I know..."
The two friends suddenly fell silent. They are unsure what to say in this awkward situation. Then, Hitsugaya decided to sit up. Noticing what he is trying to do, the peach girl quickly moved back, giving him the necessary space he needs. By the time he finally got up, he placed a hand on the side of his head. Concerned, she leaned over and asked, "A-Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm oka-" Without any warning, Toshiro's lips brushed against hers. Realizing what just happened, the two classmates jerked back and lowered their heads. By the time he found his words again, Hitsugaya apologized, "Sorry..."
"N-No worries..."
They fell silent once more. "Damn it, you kissed her twice now. It's certain that she is going to avoid you from this point on."
"Mou, why does Mother Nature like to play tricks on me?" Momo thought. "What should I do now?"
"Come to think of it, she didn't show any signs of disgust or anything." Toshiro took a quick glance at her before lowering his head again. "Actually, she was blushing."
"The first time we kissed, it took a while for us to break apart."
He took another look at the girl. "What if...Hinamori feels the same way about me?"
Then, Momo raised her head. "Could it be possible that he likes me too?"
When they made eye contact with one another, time seemed to have suddenly slowed down. "H-Hinamori..."
"Y-Yeah?"
"T-There's something...important I need to tell you."
"W-What is it?"
Hitsugaya let out a gulp and said, "I-I...I li-"
All of a sudden, they heard a distant noise coming in their direction. Without any warning, two Jeep vehicles jumped out from between the nearby bushes. Sensing danger, Toshiro took hold of Momo and dropped down to the ground. By the time they sat up again, they noticed the people sitting in the passenger seats are their friends. "Hitsugaya! Hinamori!" Matsumoto exclaimed. "You're both alright!"
"R-Rangiku-san!" Momo said.
"Are you guys alright?" Kira asked.
"We're okay!" Then, she remembered about Toshiro's condition. "Oh yes, Hitsugaya-kun needs to go to the hospital right now! He's hurt!"
"Well, what are we standing here for?" Renji questioned. "Let's hurry up and take him there!"
Hinamori nodded. "Hai!"
As quickly as possible, Hitsugaya is sent to the nearest hospital to get his injured ankle treated while his schoolmates eagerly waited outside for his return. In order to pass some time, Hinamori explained to everyone the story of how he got hurt in the first place. Matsumoto crossed her arms over her chest and said, "Hn, so that's what happened."
The peach girl slowly nodded with agreement. "Yeah..."
"Oh well, it sucks to be him!"
"If he is here right now, he would totally get mad at you," Renji commented.
"Abarai-kun's right," Kira agreed. "You shouldn't say that."
"Don't worry about it," Rangiku replied casually. "It's not like he can do anything now."
"I heard that Matsumoto," said a voice. Suddenly, they turned their heads to the side to see the white haired teenager, who is walking on crutches, glaring at strawberry orange haired woman. "Once I recover, I'll make sure you eat those words."
The group of friends got out of their seats and gathered in front of Toshiro. "Ah Hitsugaya, your treatment is already done?"
He grind on his teeth and growled at her. "That woman, she is trying to avoid the subject!"
"What did the doctor say?" Hisagi asked.
After letting out a defeated sigh, he answered, "It's going to take about a month or two for the broken bone to completely heal. After that, I have to go through rehabilitation."
"I see."
"Anyway, I think we all had enough adventures for one day," Ichimaru said. "Let's all pack it in for the night. We have school tomorrow."
"Oh great, school..." Renji said.
"Hinamori, why don't you walk with Hitsugaya back to his place?" Matsumoto suggested. "You two live nearby, right?"
"Ah hai," Momo replied as she nodded.
"Alright!" she exclaimed. "We'll head home first, okay? See you tomorrow at school!"
"Bye Hinamori-kun," Kira said.
"Later," Abarai added.
"Bye," Hisagi said.
"But Rangiku-san, everyon-" Momo called out to the others, who are walking towards the entrance doors.
"Ja ne!" Matsumoto said, waving good bye.
"Bye bye!" Ichimaru added.
Within a few moments, the five friends left the two teenagers on their own. Hinamori then sighed with defeat. "Mou..."
Remembering about the white haired teenager, she turned around and let out a hesitant laugh.
"Anyway, let's get going."
Hitsugaya slowly nodded with agreement. "Ah yeah..."
After putting her bag on her back, she carried Toshiro's belongings with both hands.
"Are you okay with carrying my stuff?"
"Daijobou; this is nothing."
"Alright then..."
With that said, the two friends left the hospital together.
Along the way home, neither of them said a word; not even a peep. By the time they arrived at Toshiro's house, they stopped and faced one another. Momo asked, "Do you want me to help bring you stuff inside?"
"Don't worry about it; I can mange somehow," he replied.
With a short nod, she handed over his bag and watched him put it on over one shoulder. "Well, I-I'll see you at school tomorrow."
Toshiro lowered his head and nodded. "Yeah..."
"Good night."
Just as she is about to turn around, Hitsugaya raised his head up and suddenly said, "H-Hinamori!"
"W-What is it?"
"T-Thanks for everything; you've done a lot for me."
She watched him walk closer to her. "R-Really?"
Then, all of a sudden, Toshiro pressed his lips against hers. At first she was startled by his bold move, but it didn't take long for her to wrap her arms around him and relax into the kiss. By the time they finally broke apart, he answered her question. "Yeah...I mean it."
She let out a blush and smiled. "It's no problem."
He slowly nodded. "If it's okay with you, can you come to my house tomorrow morning? I could use your help to look after me in case anything happens while I'm walking to school."
Momo first answered his question with a loving kiss on his lips before replying, "Sure, I would love to."
Japanese Word Translations
Hai - Yes, Arigato - Thank You, Itte - Ouch, Sugoi - Amazing, Ja ne - Good Bye (casual/informal), Daijobou - It's Alright
Author's Note: Yay, I'm ten percent done this challenge! LOL I still have a long way to go, but whatever...I hoped you enjoyed reading this one-shot. I'll be back soon with another one. Please review! Thanks.