Author's Note: ...Huh. This chapter is twice as long as my regular ones.

Disclaimer: I'm not feeling very creative with the disclaimer today. So here's a simple 'I don't own Bleach'.

Chapter 10 Day 5 Part 2

''So did yesterday's episode of 'Je ne t'aime pas' conclude your little bet with Matsumoto?'' he asked as he sat down on the bench swing.

They finished watering the plants, with Hitsugaya saying nothing and Hinamori grumbling about the gardener and his stupid standards. Then Hitsugaya shut her up by splashing some water on her with the watering can. Before she could ask him why the heck he did, he splashed her some more.

Hinamori dried her hair with a towel the white-haired boy gave her. He offered her some dry clothes and she accepted, though she was a bit reluctant when he came back with one of his shirts. She asked him for some trousers too, but he refused saying that his were too big for her and he wasn't allowed near his mother's closet. She replied that she didn't mind wearing one of his trousers, she could always roll them up. He told her he won't let her abuse his clothes like that.

''Yeah, I won.'' She tried to stretch the shirt to cover her upper legs as much as possible. ''And would you stop staring at my legs? That's inappropiate behaviour right there.''

''I'm not staring. I'm examining. There's a difference.''

''And you're examining my legs because?''

''Because they're longer than I thought, with you being a short girl and all.''

''...We're about the same height.'', she pointed out. She could also add that she was the taller one, but she knew how sensitive he was about his, umm, shortness?

''So you won the bet, huh?'' He ignored her.

''I already told you, yes I won. Rangiku-san has to ask Hisagi-san out.''

''Hisagi? That's not going to be a date. That's going to be Matsumoto walking around downtown with him following her like a dog on a leash.'' He paused for a moment. ''I take that back, he doesn't even need a leash. He's gonna follow her no matter what.''

She crossed her arms. ''It still counts as a date.''

''According to you and Hisagi... Does this mean you're not going to watch the show anymore?''

She shrugged her shoulders. ''Pretty much. Sure, I like the pairing, but the plot is garbage.''

''So what are you going to do with your free time now?''

''Aren't we just full of questions today?'', she laughed. ''I'm going to reread my manga... for the seventh time. In fact, I brought it with me.''

She revealed some volumes out of her bag and handed it over to Hitsugaya. He flipped through the pages with some interest.

''Why would you read it again if you already know what's going to happen?''

''Umm...? Maybe I like the characters? Maybe I adore the art? Maybe I enjoy the story? Maybe I'm trying to understand what the heart is?''

''The heart? As in an organ?'' He raised an eyebrow.

''It's more of a figure of speach.'', she explained.

''Can you give me a summary or something?''

''Well, a girl got kidnapped by this emotionless guy and her friends are trying to save her, including the guy she loves. Oh, and they have a thing with hearts."

He sighed. "Let me guess, he threatens to kill her and her friends."

"Kind of. He told her that her friends attempting to save her was futile and that they're going to die anyway and if she wouldn't eat he would force the food down her throat. Oh, and once he asked her if he would find the heart if he cracked her skull open or if he her ripped out her chest."

"Wow. He doesn't sound too fond of her."

"About that... It turns out he was affectionate of her."

"Then how about this. In order to win her heart, he let her go and became a good guy?"

"Nope. It turnes out her heart has been in the palm of his hand the whole time! Aaaand then he turned into dust after fighting her savior/love interest."

He stared at her sceptically. "Seriously, in the palm of his hand? How does that even make sense?"

Hinamori tilted her head to him. "I've no idea, that's why I'm rereading the manga, but it's still beyond my comprehension. Rangiku-san said it's very deep and meaningful and that I shouldn't dwell on it so much."

"She's right. You shouldn't. The guy sounds like a psychopath."

"Even so, lots of people like to ship her with him. I think the pairing is rather cute. Before he died, that is."

Hitsugaya stared at her with his poker face. "I'm beginning to question your taste in... everything." He gave her volumes back to her.

"Humph, there's nothing wrong with my taste.'', she retorted.

''You had a crush on a serial killer.''

''You had one on a man without you knowing it.''

He shook his head. ''That's in the past, Momo. The past. We should focus on the future.''

''I rather focus on the present and the present tells me that my uniform is dry by now. I'm going to iron it.'' She slid off the bench.

He followed her movement. "Now?"

"Of course. You can't expect me to walk around wearing your shirt the whole time, can you?'', she laughed.

''I don't mind.''

She stopped laughing. Oookay. He's acting strange. Real strange. A bit too strange. She cleared her throat and walked inside the mansion.

When they made it to the laundry room a 'click' could be heard from downstairs. Hitsugaya told her that his parents must be home earlier than usual and said that he would go see them while she ironed her clothes. She agreed and now she's here. Alone. She took his shirt off and put on her uniform, glad that he's not here with her now. Though she did like the idea of befriending him, she also thought that it's all going too fast. Yes, she did enjoy his company today and was grateful he helped her. However, she couldn't shake the feeling there's more behind his behaviour when he's with her. Something unsettling.

'I'm overthinking things. He is probably still upset about Giselle and needs someone right now to make him feel better. Yeah, that must be it.'

Hinamori checked the clock. It's 6 P.M and 30 minutes, she's done for today and can go home. She smiled, at least she didn't have to go home when it's too dark outside. She climbed down the stairs and there she saw the Hitsugaya's smiling at her. She smiled back. Were they waiting for her?

''Ah, Hinamori-san! Another day you do your work perfectly! No complaints at all!'' The man walked over to her with his wife. ''To show our thanks, we want you to dine with us.''

She smiled, but refused. ''Thank you sir, but you don't have to thank me. I'm happy enough to hear you praising my work.''

''Nonsense, Hinamori-san.'' The woman spoke this time. ''You're dining with us and that's that.''

''We've already made preparations. You can't refuse.'', the youngest Hitsugaya butted in.

She felt the same sensation from the day when she accepted to work for them. Pressure. ''It'd be an honor.'', she muttered under her breath.

The parents nodded, approving her reply and then walked towards the kitchen. Hitsugaya smirked at the troubled raven-haired girl and placed his hands on her shoulders.

''It's not going to be that bad. My mother is a great cook, you know.''

She lifted her head to look at him. Was he the one trying to comfort her now? She smiled at him with gratitude. Perhaps she was wrong about him all along. Sure, at school he wasn't the most friendliest person, but that was because he got hunted down by his fangirls. If he didn't act like a jerk they would throw themselves at him even more than they did before. And sure he's a bit of a brat with her, but that he makes up for that by acting all mature around other people. Yes, he's really just a nice guy, he just won't show it to everyone.

''Thank you, Toushiro.'' She giggled when she saw a slight blush on his cheeks.

''You're welcome, Momo.''

And she stopped giggling. Would he stop saying her name like that? Or is it she who only can hear him saying her name in that... voice. She hoped it wasn't the last option or she really was a bigger pervert than she thought she was.

''Momo, you're spacing out again.''

It was the last option. Oh, well at least she learned something else about herself today. As long as Matsumoto doesn't find out she should be just fiiiiiine.

''It's annoying, Mo-''

''I-I am not spacing out! A-anyway, we shouldn't make your parents wait.'', she stuttered.

He eyed her suspiciously and then grabbed her hand to lead her to the dining room. Hinamori was quiet, staring at their joined hands. The unsettling feeling returned.

''So! How was your day, Toushiro, Hinamori-san?'' The man grinned at them.

''It was good.'', the raven-haired girl replied politely.

''I helped her with her chores today.'', his son reponded in a bored tone.

''You... helped her?'' His mother just gaped at her son as she dropped her fork on her plate. He actually helped someone. Toushiro. 'The boy who would always scare people away' Toushiro. Since when was that a thing?

''Yes, I did. Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like I've never lent someone a hand before.''

''That's exactly what it's like... Hinamori-san, did you do something to him?'' She now turned to the girl who was eating.

''No, it was on his own free will.'' She reached out for the glass of water.

His own free will? Now the woman was sure there was something wrong about her son. She looked at her husband and exchanged glances. He coughed.

''Now Hinamori-san, this is your third day working here and yet... We don't know anything about you.''

She swallowed her food. ''Oh... uh, I'm not that interesting really. I live together with my best friend and I'm going to university next Monday. That's all I can let you know that's remotely interesting about me, I'm afraid.''

''Ah, maybe tell us about your boyfriend? Surely, a gorgeous young lady such as yourself can't possibly be single.'' He wiped his mouth clean with a napkin.

She blushed at the compliment. Her and gorgeous? No way. She's too plain, admittedly a tad cute, but no more than that. ''I don't have a boyfriend, sir.''

''A girlfriend?'' He studied her shocked expression.

''No! I mean, I'm just not looking.'' She focused on her plate. Why did she have to become the topic?

''Not looking? Don't you want to be loved?''

''I'm content with my friends and family.'', she answered stonily. He was asking personal questions and she didn't like that.

He shook his head and laughed. ''You're still too young to understand, aren't you?''

Understand what? Love? Hinamori was a plain girl, but because she was so amiable, plenty of guys confessed their love to her. She rejected them, saying she rather stayed friends and they complied most of the time and if they didn't, they'd still be at good terms with each other. Did they really love her? She was convinced they didn't. If they did then what did they love her like? Love her as a friend? As a classmate? As an acquaintance? Perhaps they were in love with the concept of loving her. No. Love was nothing but a mere empty word.

''I guess I am.'' She took another sip of her water.

Their conversation eventually changed to a different topic and they continued dining like that for the next twenty minutes until...

''Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.''

''Dear, I believe that's the phone. Are you going to answer?'' The woman asked her partner. He nodded and excused himself when he left the room. ''I'm going to collect the plates now and oh goodness, Toushiro fell asleep.'' She looked at her son and heaved a sigh. ''Hinamori-san, would you mind waking him up?'' She received a nod and walked out of the room while carrying the dirty plates.

Hinamori shook his shoulder and whispered, ''Toushiro, you shouldn't fall asleep. Not here. Go to bed.''

He slowly opened his eyes and stifled a yawn. ''Walk with me to my room.''

She stared at him blankly. ''...Pardon me, but I believe I've misheard you.''

''I'm tired. I feel as if I literally can fall asleep any second now.'' He gave her a sly smile. "If you don't support me, there'll be a chance I'll fall down the stairs. All because of you. You don't want that on your concious, do you?''

Did she though? It's not her fault that he's so sleepy. The girl sighed. ''Come here.'' But she also didn't want to risk him falling down the stairs when she could prevent it. She wrapped his right arm over her shoulder and her left arm around his waist for support. They exited the dining room and when they climbed the stairs Hinamori saw that it was already dark outside. So much for taking a bus home without creepy people hanging around ready to mug you. Alright, she was exaggerating, she never saw those people when she went home for the past few days. But hey, better careful than careless.

She unlocked his bedroom door and walked inside. She gently lay him on his bed and wished him sweet dreams or she tried to. He kinda pulled her into the bed with him. She just blinked with her eyes, her mind processing what just happend. So she lay in bed with Hitsugaya embracing her small figure tightly. Very tightly. He wasn't planning to let her go anytime soon. Nope. When she finally snapped out of her confusion she tried to pry the male off her. If Matsumoto giving her a death hug this morning wasn't bad enough.

''I told you I'm stronger than you.'', he murmured, nuzzling into her neck.

''I don't care! This is wrong and you know it. Now. Let. Me. Go.'' She still tried to break free from his arms. Bad move. He responded by hugging her even tighter if that was even possible.

''No.''

''Why?! What good will come out of me sleeping with you?''

''You don't have to sleep. You're going to help me fall asleep.''

''...Eh?''

''Your warmth and sweet fragrance makes me drowsy. It's nice.''

She blushed as his warm breath tickled her skin and she sighed. ''This is still a bad idea.'', she mumbled when she rested her chin on his head, hugging him back as she felt him smile against her neck.

''Good night, Momo.''

''Sweet dreams, Toushiro.''

Two hours passed and Hinamori, who was now no longer napping heard voices coming from the other side of the door. The sound was muffled, but one thing was clear. They were talking about her. She sneaked a peek from Hitsugaya who was in a deep slumber. It's time to leave. She stepped off the bed while making sure she wouldn't stir him awake. His breathing was steady and deep. Good. She tiptoed towards the door, unlocked it almost soundlessly and made her way out.

''I know that, but it's just.. you've heard her. She doesn't want to be in a relationship.''

Hinamori stopped moving. 'That's the room of his parents.'

''She doesn't know what she wants. Toushiro was helping her. Toushiro!'' Hinamori couldn't see the woman, but one could imagine she was flailing her arms around wildly.

''I know, I know. But it is what it is. She's still too young to understand the meaning of love.''

''She's eighteen. She knows what it is, if not already experienced it. We fell in love with each other when we were twelve years old.''

''She's not the same as us. Let's just forget it. By the end of this week she won't work for us anymore and our son will be the same. Trust me.''

''But...''

''But what, my dear?''

''They're just so adorable together!''

Hinamori groaned. His mother, the oh so refined lady, was just an older version of Matsumoto. Not caring to hear the rest of their pointless conversation, she walked away from the door. The raven-haired girl thanked the moon for its light that was shining through the windows, for she would stumble down the stairs without it. The front door was just a few meters away. One step. Two steps. Three st-

''Where do you think you're going?'', a voice echoed throughout the hall.

There he stood leaning against the pillar, only a few meters away from her.

'Déjà vu.'

''Toushiro? Why aren't you sleeping in your room?'' She was sure she didn't wake him.

''I could ask you the same thing. Why aren't you sleeping in my room with me?''

''I'm going home. Rangiku-san must be worried.''

''No, you're staying here. It's the middle of the night.''

''I'm leaving.'' She knew it was safer to stay here, but still. The look he gave her...

''No, you won't.''

She frowned and turned away from him. She grabbed the door handle and pulled it... It didn't work. She pushed it this time... Also didn't work. She used more force and eventually ignored the door handle as she slammed her body against the door to open it. Nothing helped.

She heard a chuckle behind her. 'Hitsugaya-kun.' ''Toushiro, what is going on?''

''What does it look like, Momo?''

A shiver ran down her spine. No, this was not the time for those thoughts. Her dark brown eyes glowered at his teal ones. ''Open the door.''

''Hmmm... Last time I checked, you're not my boss. So no, I won't.''

''I'm not scared of the dark, Toushiro. I also know how to defend myself so you don't have to worry if some random creep tries to lay his hands on me.''

''Silly girl. I couldn't care less about any of that.'', he laughed quietly.

''Then what? Why won't you let me leave?'' She didn't like the vibe she was getting from him.

''Remember what I told you last night? I don't want to be alone.''

She clicked her tongue. ''You're not alone. You have your parents who are probably asking themselves what the heck is going on downstairs.''

''They're too focused on their paperwork to notice what's going on in the house.'' He took a step towards her. ''And you misunderstood, I'm talking about the other kind of loneliness.''

She took a step back. 'He's talking crazy talk. What kind of people wouldn't hear the noise we're making? And what is h-

''For the first time in my life, I got to experience how it felt to like someone romantically. It was... nice.''

No. No. No, no, no. No flippin' way. Just no.

''Heeeeey, Toushiro. You're not", she coughed, "interested in me, right?.'' He couldn't be. They never spoke to each other at school and she has only been working here for three days. In that short span of time it's no-

''I am.'' He took another step towards her. True, he knows little to nothing about the girl who was standing a few footsteps away, looking at him with a very tense expression. But it's not just her. He never interacted with girls willingly as he always avoided them as best as he could. However, when he met Giselle he found out that it was nice to have someone around. That is was nice knowing how an infatuation felt like. It was great. Then emptiness took over when he found out it was all just a lie and he detested it, wanting to get the warm and fuzzy feeling back. He ran away from Giselle back to his house and hid himself underneath his blanket, moping. A few minutes later someone knocked on his door and unsurprisingly, it was Hinamori. He didn't want her pity or so he thought, but she didn't pity him. She listened to him, tried to cheer him up by telling him that she used to crush on a serial killer... Kind of a strange way to make someone feel better. Then she hugged him and he liked it. A lot. It gave him that warm and fuzzy back he loved so much. And it was Hinamori who gave him that feeling, the girl who's taking a step away from him right now.

She shook her head while she spoke, ''I'm sorry, but I don't like you that way.''

''A minor bump on the road. Nothing that can't be fixed.'' Two steps forward.

''If your definition of 'fixing' means I'll fall for you eventually then you're fixing it the wrong way by keeping me locked here.'' Three steps back.

''You don't have to fall for me. As long as I have you within my vicinity 24/7, I don't care.'' Four steps forward.

''That isn't a very healthy relationship. For you and for me.'' Five steps back.

''An unhealthy relationship it is. '' Seven steps forward.

''I once tried to kick your 'jewels' out of pure rage not too long ago! Any red flags? Any at all?'' Ten steps back.

''I'll take the liberty to pretend that's just one of those 'If I can't have it, nobody can' kind of thing.'' Fifteen steps forward.

''Y-you're insane!'' She spun around and ran away fom him.

''Don't worry, you'll grow accustomed to it.'' He casually strolled after her.

The back door. There's a back door. Her way out. She panted heavily, gasping for air. She has been running non-stop all the way around the mansion. She was almost there. Just a little bit mo-

'click'

Her eyes widened. What? What was that sound?

''Poor thing, you must be exhausted running around like that.'' His voice echoed. ''You can't escape, Momo. Not when you're inside my house.'' She could hear him come closer.

She ran the opposite direction. Why did she run? Was she scared? If she was, who was she scared of? Hitsugaya? No, he wasn't scary. He was nuts and Hinamori was told to always stay away from nutty people. She sped up the stairs and soon her footsteps and panting resounded through the hallway. He was right, she was exhausted.

''click'' ''click'' ''click'' ''click'' ''click''

She whipped her head to the large windows, wanting to know what this mechanical clicking noise was. She was shocked. Everytime she was near a window it automatically locked itself. She turned around the corner and entered the first room she could find. It was the laundry room. She was sleepy, tired and frustrated. He wasn't joking when he said she couldn't escape, the mansion wouldn't let her. Not trusting her wobbly legs, Hinamori slowly fell down on her knees. She then lifted her head in the dark room... and she frowned. The mirrors reflected something flickering. She crawled closer and closer to the mirror and saw as a result that the flickering light also moved closer... It was her. Hinamori could see her reflection, because of the little light. The light came from her hairclip, which she then removed, causing a part of her bangs to fall out of place and cover her face.

''And this is your uniform. The hairclip is part of it, so make sure to wear it when you're here. Always.''

'A sensor?'

She stood up and dropped the accessory on the ground. The next second, she crushed it with her feet.

My Thanks To:

leafpool5: Thank you for the suggestion! :) I wasn't even aware that it looked like he was flirting with her to be honest. I wanted to use your suggestion, but then it turned out differently... somehow.