Disclaimer: I've probably said this a thousand times already. I don't own bleach. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfics right now.

Chronicles Of The Past

Chapter 11

"Never Let Go"

Her tears stopped drastically once she felt the crack issued beneath her stomach. She could feel it nudging her skin through her clothes. She could feel the slowly melting ice everywhere on her body. She could feel her nerves slowly devoured under the uncaring sub-zero temperature. Tempting her. Threatening her.

"Hinamori!"

She heard him call.

"Stay there. Don't move."

Hinamori could feel the burden of her shoulders increasing menacingly. She would have to shift sideways soon, or she wouldn't be able to feel her shoulders anymore. Hinamori aimed her vision at him.

She was scared. She had to admit it. Beyond anything she had ever felt before.

She knew how crucial his orders were. She knew that she had to do exactly as he told her to.

Hinamori was trapped. Not under layers of ice, not drowned inside hundreds of litres of sub zero cold water. But she was trapped between life and death, and her instincts were telling her that one single false move, one slip, one second where you allow panic to overtake your ration, one mistake could deprive her soul away. She was locked inside a deadly consequence. The icy lake had robbed her off her choices. Hinamori tried calculating her chances, her eyes darting here and there, tying to find a safe way to flee the cracking ice layers.

Nothing. No escapes.

Hinamori would unbalance the thin island of ice on her left if she tried crawling to her left, and by doing so, would be the same like plunging head-first willingly to the merciless cold water. If she so much as moved a muscle, the action would cause the chunk of ice ti tip off and bringing her sliding, powerless, into her watery grave. It doesn't matter where she would try to move, since she was trapped in the middle of the ice. Left or right would mean the same greasy end.

"Stay there. And just calm down. "

Hitsugaya carefull instructed.

Hinamori complied. Her shoulders were aching like mad but she complied. Her biones were sore, her fingers so cold that she could no longer feel them supporting her weight form under her. She felt strained, stretched far beyond her limit. How long was she supposed to stay still? Even her body would not cooperate with her for their own safety. Her lips shaking, she continued looking at him, hoping he could find a way out of this.

Hitsugaya knelt down before the snowy edge of the lake, bending his left knee to support his body. He crouched low on the snow covered ground and put on of his hands down to the snow. He closed his eyes, and waited.

They didn't even hear a ground breaking roar when it happened. Nor did they hear a majestic growl, or a powerful ear splitting roar. They heard nothing, before the ice crack Hinamori was surviving on cracked into pieces.

Hinamori tossed aside her white bedsheets and jumped out of bed when she sensed the familiar presence of her taichou walking solemnly towards her ward. A soft click, and the door swung open.

"T-taichou."

"Hinamori-kun. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, taichou."

"Then, Hinamori, I'd like to have a word with you."

Hinamori sealed her eyes shut when it happened. In a way, she knew this would happen. Might as well as enjoy the thousands of cold staggeringly sharp knives stab and slash her skin, the icky sensation when your body is being dissolved into a pulp of frozen meat, the glorious feeling, when your body could no longer feel anything.

Maybe it wasn't so bad, dying in a half frozen lake.

She waited. But the pain, the sensation, all the things she'd imagined didn't come. In fact, it never came.

When Hinamori braved herself to unlid her eyes, she never believed what had happened.

Soaring above the ice layered waters of the lake, were Hyourinmaru, the proud ice dragon, and herself, safely tucked on the back of his head.

Not a scratch. Not even a single drop if ice or the merciless lake water left on her. Un harmed. Untouched.

Safe.

Hinamori looked down, and caught the sight of Hitsugaya. He was still kneeling, yet his eyes fixed completely on her,watching only her as hyourinmaru swiftly shifted in and out of the sapphire winter sky. Letting Hyourinmaru do the job had been the best choice he had. If ice was his element, Hyourinmaru was, as a matter of fact, literally made out of ice. It wasn't a hard job to have Hyourinmaru lurk inside the wafty waters under the fragile layers of ice up above and crack the ice into pieces and take Hinamori into safety with him.

Hinamori ran her eyes through the names on the paper.

Nanahara Kirihara, 10th division errand runner.

Yagami Ryouta, 3rd division messenger.

Yukiko Mayu, 6th division helper.

And all through the thin material she found more and more names declaring their missing presence.

"Taichou. This is –"

"The hollow, Hinamori-kun. It has started attacking again."

Hinamori stepped down slowly from Hyourinmaru's head, its eyes following her. And once she felt the steady feel of snow under her feet, she could feel his eyes upon her. He was still kneeling, that's for sure, but she had a feeling he wasn't going to kneel there anymore. And sure enough, he lifted his body up the moment she had completely grasped the ground under her feet.

"Hinamori-"

He began.

The wind howled past, sending more and more white cottony snowdrops into both of their heads.

"Alright."

He sighed.

He gave in. It was his loss.

"It wasn't entirely like that."

Hinamori looked at him, slight annoyance in her eyes. A child's annoyance.

"Then why is it?"

Hitsugaya stood there in silence, with the little girl obediently waiting for his answer.

"I had a friend. Who had been, pretty much like you."

Hinamori's lips parted slightly as she heard his unanticipated remark. A friend. Who was just like her. A friend.

For someone so mysterious. For someone so unpredictable and full of surprises like him. For someone who never seemed to open up to anyone.

For a shinigami like him.

She hadn't expected him to blurt out the truth like that. Wasn't he supposed to be one of those people who never looked to the past? Those people who care for power, for a new light? But here he was laid out in the open, no defences, no more armors.

"Where is he?"

The snowy wind hurled past them as she asked him this.

"She's gone."

It was simple, the way the words flowed out of his being. But Hinamori, despite the fact that she was still a little girl, a young duckling just yet, knew how the sadness flowed within his tone, hidden perfectly behind a veil of certainty and self assurance. She could almost feel his words nudging her insides, telling her there's so much more into it than just his dry, flat words in a series of heartrending rhymes. A secret he kept, or chose not to talk about.

It was then that she realized that they do share something in common.

She needed him as much as he needed her.

Hinamori held the paper in her hands, shaking. No. this wasn't happening.

"Taichou-"

Now she saw it. The worry in her captain's eyes. This must be more serious than she thought.

"Soul society's calling the red code now. Everybody should be on their guard. Every post, every squad is on the hunt for it. The ban on releasing one's zanpakutou has also been lifted. Hinamori-kun,"

"Taichou, when you said the red code, does that mean-"

"Yes, Hinamori-kun. The search party for Hitsugaya taichou has been called back."

"Are you cold?"

Hitsugaya asked.

"No."

"You really wanted to play on ice don't you?"

The little Hinamori looked at him. His tone was mocking, but she knew slight amusement was in there. He was teasing her.

"Yes."

Hitsugaya stopped kneeling down and walked towards her.

"Then that's not how you play on ice, baka."

Hinamori, wasn't expecting this kind of remark, looked up to him in bewilderement.

"What?"

"Give me your feet."

"Eh-?"

"Give me your feet, Momo."

Hinamori was absent minded for a while. He had called her Momo. Wonder when was the last time she heard anyone ever mentioning that name of hers. She felt like a new human being, all of a sudden.

"Oy, didn't you hear me?"

Hinamori looked to her feet, and then to the shinigami.

"No!"

"Fine."

For Hitsugaya, it was an easy thing to tackle a whole village of enraged shinigamis. But this time, merely handling a kid's wooden sandals was giving him a hard time. He had grabbed her tiny ankles and pointed his fingers on the bottom surface of her wooden sandals, and in an instant, ice, shaped almost like a blade sprang alive on the wooden geta, bringing a new touch to the slippers. He did the same thing with her other feet too. Which left her gawking with an 'o' on her lips.

"Shiro Nii-san, what – "

But Hitsugaya said nothing. He simply got up, and inched slowly to the edge of the lake, which was now a messy puddle of fresh snow mixed with a couple of ice shards.

Once he got there, he knelt down again, supporting his body weight on his left knee, and he reached out his hands, and gently dipping his index finger to the cold water.

Hiinamori didn't quite believe her eyes after what happened.

The moment Hitsugaya's finger entered the water, almost instantly, simultaneously, a vapor of ice swept through the entire surface of the lake, freezing it back into one big chunck of ice. The surface crickled and cracked as the misty vapor continues to unify the once scarred surface. Only this time it was completely frozen solid. Rock hard. All the way to the bottom.

"Come here."

Hitsugaya held out a hand.

From his shoulders, Hinamori glanced to look at the sparkling ice bedspreading the entire lake. No. Way. He had made them silky smooth in just one small dip. Just what kind of shinigami is he?

But then she looked down to her feet, with the two blades carved into it.

"Shiro Nii-san –

-I can't get up"

Hitsugaya stopped and sighed. Seriously, this Hinamori's so not far away from the Hinamori he knew. Always so clueless, always a mess, always hopeless. But there's one thing, one fact about her he kept hidden from everyone else.

Adorable. She has always been so adorable.

"Baka."

"Come here."

And he gently heaved her up, placing her placidly on his shoulders, letting her legs fall to his chest. With her safely tucked there, he walked to the edge of the lake.

"Shiro Nii-san, what are you –"

Hinamori was scared, if truth be told. She had no idea why on earth he put those blades in, and now seeing him bringing her all the way down to the lake, which – had nearly been her deathbed about forty minutes ago, she wasn't exactly ecstatic about it.

"Alright. You go here."

"Huh?"

"Let's get you off my shoulders."

Hinamori complied, and with the help of his hands, slowly lowered herself to the ground. But once she felt the tips of her blade touching down to the fluffy amount of snow, a strong urge of reluctance got hold of her. How was she supposed to stand on two equally thin blades?

"relax, Momo."

"Just stand the way you usually stand."

"I won't fall?"

"You won't."

And with a determined look on her face Hinamori did what she thought was impossible, clinging to his words, trusting everything of him.

And she stood, her knees wobbly, but she stood.

And when she looked up to him, she could've sworn he was laughing. It wasn't a guffaw, or an outward laugh like everybody else. It was only a flash of a chuckle.

"Hey!"

"What?"

"Stop laughing."

But Hitsugaya tugged on her arms, pulling her towards the lake.

"Shiro nii-san! No!"

She wriggled and pulled, but he was just impossible.

"No! I don't want to go anywhere! I just want to go back!"

"We've come this far, baka."

Hitsugaya's heart almost faltered when he glanced at her. He, the ice dragon captain, was threatened by the presence of her tears.

"K-kowai yo. Kowai…"

Without words, Hitsugaya yanked a small tug on her left arm, bringing her sliding closer to him. And without her consent, he leaned towards her, conveying his finger towards her lips, and stopping it there.

Hinamori's eyes widened for a split second, and she looked into his eyes.

He was shushing her. Simply shushing her. In his own way.

"I'm here."

Emerald green eyes burnt intently into hers.

"Trust me."

Hinamori stood there, rooted to the spot. She trusts him. More than anything. But this is just impossible.

"Trust me. Slide your feet forward."

"What?"

Standing had been difficult. Surely sliding would be impossible?

"Slide your right feet forward. Do it. Go on."

"How?"

"Slide it forward. Push yourself forward,"

"I don't get it."

"Look at me."

And he began to slide forwards, but was stopped dead by a single tug. Hinamori's free hand had grabbed a strong grip around his arms, refusing to let it go.

"No! Don't go."

Hitsugaya looked to his left, to her.

"I'm not gonna leave you, Momo. I'm just going to show you around, okay?"

"Eh?"

"Take my hand."

Hinamori did as she was told. She let go of his arms, and grabbed hold of his palms, the both of them. Hitsugaya took them, and faced his back into the vast spreading lake.

"Now what?"

"Now –"

But Hitsugaya didn't finish his sentence. He was already flying before he finished. He was flying on ice, taking her with him, into a world where dreams collide, into a dream where reality felt like illusion, into a reality so frail, so smooth that it took you off the grounds, and sent you soaring to eternity.

They were flying. She was flying with him, laughing with him, smiling with him.

Her hands in his. His body facing her, and her body facing his. Skating backwards, pulling her into his rhythm, drawing her into his realm, his world, his element. His self.

Hinamori could feel the wind kissing her cheeks, and pampering her hair as she glazed smoothly on the ice. What is this? How did he do it?

They were slowing near one of the lake edges now, breathing in the icy wind. Tiny mists of steam forming as they exhale.

"Alright. I'm gonna let go now, okay?"

"Eeeh? No! NO!"

Too late. Hitsugaya hands had freed themselves off of hers, leaving her sliding off balanced on her own.

"Shiro Nii saaan! No!"

"Now slide."

"Slide? I'll fall down. I'm losing balan-"

Hitsugaya chuckled. That little girl. Without her telling him he would know that she's losing balance already. Look at her, all wind up on her arms, stretching them everywhere, trying to obtain any kind of balance humanly possible to stay off the ground.

"Slide, Momo. Do it."

"I can't! I'll fall !"

" I'll catch you."

And he will. He always will. No matter when, no matter where, no matter how. He will always catch her. Always.

So Hinamori took one last tearful glance at him, and slowly slid her right feet forwards, saving all the force he gave her when they slid together.

Hitsugaya watched in amusement as Hinamori's body wavered here and there like a staggering jelly.

"Shiro Nii-san!"

"Baka! Slide !"

"Shiro Nii-san! Mite!"

Hitsugaya shook his head. He wouldn't call that, 'doing it'. Hinamori was barely balanced. She was highly unstable on her feet, her hands are not helping, and her remarks and occasional yelps are making it worse. But she was moving, sliding, slowly, but if anything, steadily.

And above all, she was smiling. That was all that mattered.

"Baaakaaaa…!"

"Ehh? Stop caling me that!"

"Baka Momo!"

"Shiro Nii-san!"

"I bet you can't catch me!"

"Yes I can!"

"No you can't."

"Yes I CAN! "

"Try."

And with that Hitsugaya slowly slid himself a bit further from her, trying to lure her into coming for him. Seriously, she was just so gullible.

But Hinamori was determined. She wasn't going to give up that easily. She will catch up to him.

And with an equally determined look on her face, she began striving forwards, sliding her feet one after another, trying to get the ice on the lake, and the one on her sandals to co operate with her.

"Idiot! No that fas-"

A yelp. And a crack.

Hinamori cracked one eye open.

What happened?

She cracked two eyes open.

And she saw him, holding her on her back, on her legs, supporting her body from the ice.

"I told you I'll catch you."

Hinamori gawked. What was –

"Arigatou, Shiro Nii-san. But you are wrong."

"Wrong?"

"You didn't catch me. I caught you. I win."

And for the first time since he arrived there, Hitsugaya laughed like he never did before.

No. They can' do that. The search party's existence, and their goal of finding him was her only shred of hope. And now hearing that soul society, preoccupied with a troublesome ehollow mater has decided to abandon one of their 13 captains.

"But, Aizen taichou, if the search party were to find him, and if he was finally found, he could help us more than any other squad members or captains. He had encountered the hollow himself and-"

"-died trying."

Hinamori froze at the presence of those two futile words. Something which has been eating her heart from the beginning swirled deep within her consciousness. Churning, gyrating her agitation and discomfort which she has kept buried for so long.

Her captain. The person she admired the most for his charisma, for his heart, for his opverwhelming presence, had spoken two most venomous, most wretched words ever made up. She didn't think such revelations would come to confront her in the eye. At least not from her taichou. Not from him.

"He's not dead."

She paused. Somehow she was surprised hearing her own voice. It didn't sound like her at all. There was no softness. No innocence. No nothing of her. What had been there was full bred hatred.

"Hinamori-kun. There's no use in make beliefs. Soul society doesn't have room for that right now."

"He's not dead, Aizen Taichou."

Hinamori's hands dug under the bedsheets, hiding the blood they shed for grasping her knuckles too hard. She was shaking.

The hell with soul society. The hell with that hollow.

He's still alive.

---------------------------------------------------

a/n: Omatase shimashitaaaa! Oh god…I'm SO SORRY for the wait…it's the stupid final exams goddammit. They kept me away from, my beloved fanfic for so long……sorry…….i'll try posting the next chapter faster….please continue reading guys…and again……thanks for all the reviews! I love you all with all my heart!