Author's Note: I just finished my exams! Oh, I'm so relieved. I have returned with a new chapter! Unfortunately, it's probably not what you're all hoping for, but we're getting somewhere.

Thanks to all who reviewed! I don't know if any of you are still there, but I've continued for you guys, so thank you for staying with me. I can't guarantee any quick updates, but I'll get things done. I promise.

I realized after looking at my chapters again, that Fanfiction's ruined my separators! As such, I will just be using their lines to indicate sections, and for now, I'm too lazy to go back and fix all the chapters, so please bear with it.

Enjoy the chapter! (Edited, amazingly. I know, I'm shocked at myself too.)

Constructive criticism as well as feedback is always appreciated!


Perfect Timing by HawkofNavarre

Chapter 11 – Destined


"Again."

The blade swung past her as she dodged it stealthily. Hinamori launched herself forward, slicing at her opponent. Tobiume was blocked and the sword's wielder was kicked in the stomach. She slid back, sandals scraping against the turf and gasping as the wind was knocked out of her. There was no time to rest, another attacked falling straight onto her. Unable to regain her footing, she fell on her back, only having enough time to counter the attack by holding up Tobiume. She felt the pressure on her arms as her enemy pressed the strength out of her body.

Hinamori searched frantically for options, spotting the opponent's ankle wide open. Mustering all her power, she let out a scream of effort as she slammed her foot into his leg. The attacker grunted in pain and stumbled back, giving the vice-captain a few seconds to get to her feet. She flash-stepped to his side, ready to slash out his flank, but a hand gripped her arms and she was thrown to the ground roughly.

She was so sore, still forcing herself to try and get to her feet. Hinamori froze, cold metal against her neck, then winced when her hand was pressure open by the foot of her enemy. Tobiume fell out of her grasp and she knew she'd lost again.

The other shinigami let her up. She took a deep breath and weakly stood up. Exhaustion was taking over. Nevertheless, the bun-haired female picked up her zanpakutou and lowered herself into battle stance.

"Again."

With a flash-step, her opponent was behind her. Hinamori struck behind her, but was shocked when the other blade clashed against hers so hard that Tobiume flew from her hand. The tip of the other sword suddenly threatened the skin on her neck once again before it was taken away and sheathed.

"Hinamori, I think we should take a break. You're too tired," Renji suggested.

She shook her head, picking up Tobiume. "No, again."

The redhead groaned. "Don't push yourself. It's not doing you any good."

"I guess you're right…" Hinamori admitted, relaxing as she sunk to the ground. "I'm sorry for being so stubborn. I just want to get stronger so much."

"Hey, I'm happy to help. It's good to see you so alive again. After all, you're the one that helped me pass Kidou class," he told her gratefully, chuckling all the while as he sat down beside her.

Hinamori responded with a grin. "You always were the most amusing guy in the class, Renji."

"I didn't ask to be blown up."

"You didn't, but that never stopped you."

Renji sent her an innocuous glare and Hinamori burst out in a fit of giggles. Content washed over the short shinigami, glad that she was finally able to just talk or hang around with friends again. It had been such a long time. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd just sat down and talked with Renji or Kira. Trying to impress Aizen had really taken a chunk out of her life. Now, though, now she felt so free. There was nobody she needed to please. Besides, she could handle the division just fine on her own. Everything was looking good.

"Hey, Hinamori…" Renji began, breaking the silence.

"Hm?"

"You're…childhood friends with Hitsugaya-Taicho, right?" he asked softly, the boy fiddling with his hakama in distress.

"Yes, though I know I haven't been very good to him lately," the female told her companion with a sigh.

Renji nodded in comprehension. "Have you ever, uh, though of being more than just friends?" the hotheaded shinigami inquired nervously.

"Wha—what do you mean?" she shot back, unable to fully process exactly what he had asked.

"I mean have you ever thought about being together with him…?" he elaborated, gesturing lightly with his hand.

Hinamori considered this, finally realizing the question that had exited his mouth. The whole thing had actually caught her way off guard, really. The astonishment she'd felt when first hearing the question was well deserved, because not only had she never thought about her and Hitsugaya being "more than friends", but it had never even crossed her mind that her Shirou-chan might one day be dating. The thought was completely and utterly terrifying! Except…she wasn't sure what the terrifying part was—the idea of him dating girls or the idea of him dating her? It was possible that he was already dating even, seeing as she hadn't been able to visit him in the last two weeks, due to her cluttered schedule between training and getting the division in order. Hitsugaya certainly wouldn't have a hard time find a girl to go out with. He already had his own fan club and had been featured in the last issue of the Shinigami Monthly. In fact, it would be more shocking if girls weren't falling all over her childhood friend. Though still quite young, he was definitely easy on the eyes.

Her Shirou-chan was easy on the eyes? Oh Soutaicho, how was it even possible for her to be thinking about her childhood friend that way? Renji's question was so…well, she would have though it highly inappropriate if they weren't such close friends, but friends talked about this kind of stuff, which was less comforting than it should've been. Hinamori had never even gone close in thinking about her and Hitsugaya being a couple. She supposed she might have considered it, had she not been so obsessed with her captain before, or maybe not, as the silver-haired shinigami was so young still.

Then again, most girls her age (or what was the equivalent of her age in human years) were already fantasizing their dream wedding with some sort of perfect guy, and as creeped out as she was with thinking about it, Hitsugaya was probably the groom in the dreams of half of Seritei's female population. If she couldn't imagine her Shirou-chan with other girls, how could she imagine herself with him? It was virtually impossible.

"Hinamori?" Renji called, nudging her with his elbow.

"No, I actually haven't," she answered reluctantly, and then suddenly a change of thought hit her hard. "Is this about Kuchiki-san at all?"

"…Maybe." Hinamori shot him a look. "…Yes."

"You've always liked her, Renji-kun. I could tell. So why is this coming up now?" she interrogated him in curiosity.

"It's true, I've had feeling for her since we were kids," the tall male conceded. "I tried by best to get her attention all the time, but it's never worked. In fact, I'd given up entirely when she was adopted by the Kuchiki family. I mean, I especially couldn't court a noble—being from the lowest district—and I wanted her to be happy, so what could I do?"

The lieutenant nodded in understanding. She'd seen the longing in Renji's eyes whenever their group was around Rukia. There was no doubt that the small shinigami meant a great deal to him.

He continued. "I stayed away from Rukia and I could bury my feelings, but when the whole ryoka invasion and captain thing broke out, I felt close to her again, and everything I worked to cover just resurfaced. I'm pretty sure she has a thing for Kurosaki though." Renji paused, seeing her puzzled face. "He's the orange-haired ryoka. Anyway, since then, I can't stop myself from thinking, 'could we be together?' We're childhood friends. We know everything about each other, but despite all that's happened, do we have a chance?"

"Renji-kun, every couple has a chance, but does she feel the same way as you feel for her? I don't think a relationship can work if there's no mutual feeling," Hinamori explained sensibly.

He snickered and shook his head. "Bah, you're repeating the basics!"

"Are you insulting my knowledge?" she asked, mock taking offence.

"No, it's good advice, but I could've gone to anyone to get that answer!" the redhead teased lightly. "I'm not done yet. Rukia and I have always—or at least used to—be like brother and sister. Do you think that could ever change?"

Hinamori then understood why he had brought this topic up with her, specifically. She and Hitsugaya were childhood friends, just like Rukia and Renji. They had grown up like a brother and sister, siblings. She certain wasn't much for incestuous relationships, and that was for sure. Renji wasn't thinking about that, right? Was he thinking that growing up together would make the relationship he hoped for totally impossible? His train of thought wasn't completely off track. It would probably be too awkward for some to change the sibling connection into one lovers shared.

Finally, she decided on what to say. "I think it could change if both of you were attracted to each other. Feelings can change over time, and everybody feels differently. I don't think you should give up. Things could still work for you."

Renji looked as if he were about to laugh, but he didn't seem very happy. "Not with Kurosaki in the picture."

She blinked. "Well, you never know until you try."

"Nah, I won't get my hopes too high. Kurosaki's a pretty decent guy."

"So you wouldn't mind losing Kuchiki to this guy?" she inquired.

"I guess not, if I have to lose her," he replied, shrugging apathetically. "So how about you and Hitsugaya-Taicho? If he were taller, you two would really look like a couple.

Hinamori blushed at the comment, though slipped passed it slyly. "Mou, Hitsugaya-kun wouldn't be very happy if he heard you say that."

"You're changing the topic, so you must feel something for him."

"We've only just gotten past my problem with Aizen! That-that's not really something to be considered!"

The impulsive lieutenant laughed at his friend, poking at her. "Is it embarrassing to think about it?"

"Of course it is! I grew up with Hitsugaya-kun!" she answered stubbornly.

"That doesn't mean anything. Like you said, things can change," Renji retorted, using her advice to tease her.

"But neither of us have those feelings for each other!" the bun-haired female denied uncomfortably. Renji and Kuchiki were one thing. She didn't really like it when her own love life was in question.

"'Neither of us'?" Renji snickered. "Ha, with Hitsugaya-Taicho being as protective of you as he is, I really doubt that."

"A sibling bond!" Hinamori cried.

"Or a secret one-sided love," he shot back reasonably.

She shook her head, no way. "It's not like that."

"What if it is?" the taller shinigami questioned her. "The things he does for you can be read either way. Maybe you're right—you could be—but so could I."

Renji was shockingly correct, which was a little unusual for a guy whose mouth moved faster than his brain. This was about love too. He was the last guy in Soul Society Hinamori expected to know about these kinds of things. Then again, she hadn't had a real conversation with him or Kira in the longest time. Renji's words were a real possibility, one that she couldn't deny.

"When...exactly did you start thinking like a girl?" she joked lightly, and her training buddy suddenly looked like he'd sniffed a puddle of sour milk.

"I do not think like a girl!" Renji exploded defensively. "I think like a man! I am a man! I'm manly! Yeah, I like hot chicks and sex! Sex, sex, sex! Uh huh, that's all I think about 'cause I think like a man!"

"Mou, you don't have to worry about your reputation around me," she giggled at his frenetic outburst. "Besides, I was only kidding."

His back slumped in resignation. "I can't help it. It's a reflex. And I don't think like a girl."

"Okay, I believe you."

"Good, 'cause I'm not saying that again," the redhead told her rashly as he got to his feet. "Anyway, it's about time that I got back to the division. Time to yell at another bunch of newbies for Kuchiki-Taicho."

"I'll see you soon then?"

"Yeah, I couldn't let you train by yourself. Later," Renji waved as he left in a flash step.

She couldn't seem to shake the strange thoughts from her head. Renji and Rukia she could understand. It wasn't surprising or remotely shocking to hear that the sixth division's vice-captain was crushing on his childhood friend. On the other hand, Hinamori had never imagined that she and Hitsugaya could be together. The fact seemed to defy the rules of love so easily that it was almost scary.

But anyway, she had to set her mind straight. What exactly did she think about Hitsugaya Toushirou, captain of the tenth division and wielder of the most powerful ice zanpakutou in Soul Society?

Well, for starters, he was stubborn in that cute way that she learned to love when they were years younger. The young captain often had refused to be wrong over the most trivial things. Of course, being a genius, he wasn't wrong all that frequently. He also never gave up at something until he could no longer try to achieve it. Stubbornness was one of his best qualities.

Hitsugaya was also almost disgustingly over-protective. She knew it, he knew it, Matsumoto knew it, and so did everybody else in Seritei. As kids, he'd scare anyone that got too close so that if she ever tried to talk to one of his victims, they would run from her immediately. Since she'd joined the academy, the silver-haired shinigami had toned it down, though not as much as she liked. Hinamori knew he wouldn't become less protective until she actually proved herself to him and not Aizen. Needless to say, even if she did become significantly stronger, he would still feel the need to protect her.

He was quiet, which kind of tied in with shy and not good with people. Hitsugaya hated talking unless it was with a close friend, and even then he wouldn't share most of his thoughts. In a first impression, he would always seem cold-hearted and cruel, but it was just a facade, mostly used because while he wasn't good with people, he didn't like a lot of them either.

The one thing anyone could tell right away was that the short captain was deep and passionate. He never tried to show it, nor did he probably associate these qualities with his personality, but there was no doubt that he was these things. Whether it be at his job or fighting for a friend, there was so much emotion behind it that everyone could feel it. This was the part of him that brought people to him, though he was never slightly congenial to strangers or approachable at first sight.

Momo knew she loved her Shirou-chan, but maybe not in the way she thought she'd loved Aizen. The bun-haired girl didn't and wouldn't obsess over her childhood friend because these feelings were at least true. The real question lingered in her mind.

Aizen had left her. He was no longer in her life as he was before and she had survived it. He had been her vision of love, admittedly, and Hinamori had always believed that she would break down forever without him. Instead, she'd recovered, with a lot of help, so could she do the same if Hitsugaya were no longer present in her life?

She sat in the empty training ground for several minutes just thinking about her complicated mess of feelings, even while her body ached for a hot bath and a soft futon.

Life without Shirou-chan...

Maybe when she only had one person in mind, she could've done it, but that wasn't who she was or who she ever aspired to be. Hinamori had rediscovered herself, and this girl knew who was important for her.

So if she was being honest, imagining life without her Shirou-chan was impossible. She loved him, definitely. She just wasn't sure what kind it was.


He was finally able to escape his office, which had basically turned into a disturbingly large monument of paperwork while he'd been absent. Matsumoto had even done her share this time, and there were still never-ending stacks of due sheets that were piled high enough to almost double his height. Well, he was now nearing five feet tall. Just a few more inches would give him claim to another foot, and he was more excited about that than anything since obtaining Bankai (which was honestly a little depressing). Hitsugaya wasn't about to tell anyone that, but it really did make him feel better after sitting around and completing hundreds of sheets in six hours. People would stop thinking he was such a child after he grew!

At least my office is clean now...he thought to himself, except the thought sounded just as pathetic as it seemed to him.

The growing male sighed at himself and entered the only area on Tenth Division grounds that had a pond. He really loved this place. Nobody, except Matsumoto with an important issue, would disrupt his time in this peaceful sanctuary. Hyourinmaru seemed especially calm here as well.

Hitsugaya sat down in front of the pond and crossed his arms, closing his eyes in meditation. However, he found himself unable to clear his mind of his long-time companion. It wasn't something that was unusual, since everything about her kept appearing in his thoughts frequently. He had to concede, for a short while he had disliked her for what she'd let happen to herself, but he could never stop himself from caring for her. Hinamori had definitely caused him pain in the past, though his feelings for her always overruled whatever damage she had dealt him. He was just glad she'd returned to the Bed-Wetter that she was.

He loved her, and not just as his friend. Although he was young, it hadn't been hard to figure this out with him being a genius and all. He wasn't even sure when it had crossed the line of caring to best friends to real, heart-warming love. It seemed more like the feeling bad been there since forever.

Ugh, he sounded disgusting in his own head. He was teetering on the edge of actually feeling sick from his own crappy thoughts of feelings. Bah, sentiment. It was for—for...

The short (but now taller) captain didn't even have an end to that sentence. Emotions never made you weaker, and he knew that. Perhaps they could render a person quite useless in battle, but they certainly didn't weaken you. If anything, they made you stronger.

Emotion had helped Hitsugaya develop his powers, but there was a good and bad side to everything, and the bad side to being in love? It was with his childhood friend and it was hard to stop thinking about her. He didn't want to feel this way! He was too young for this. He almost held resentment toward her for being able to make him fall in love.

"So you are finally admitting it," the ice dragon regarded his thoughts.

"I didn't ask for this, but what happened, happened. I can't change that," Hitsugaya replied, arms crossed stubbornly. "She was in love with Aizen."

"It bothers you," Hyourinmaru deduced with ease.

"...Whatever. I'm not looking for something mutual," the captain said. "It's not something I expect."

"Yet you hope in the deepest parts of your soul that it is you she will choose in the future."

Stupid Hyourinmaru seriously knew him too well. "How much of a blessing would it be if I could control my own feelings?" Hitsugaya hissed in frustration.

"It appears that I say too much," the dragon mused apologetically. "Still, I would like to hear what you will do."

"Nothing! And I have done nothing for many years."

"You may lose her."

"She's better off without me."

"You do not believe that."

"I don't, but she can't be with me in that way."

"And why not? You are not the only one who feels."

"You're just speculating now," the boy huffed indignantly, knowing what his spirit was referring to. "Exactly how much proof do you have?"

His closest companion laughed, something that had been happening far too often lately, and it was specifically at him. "What proof do I need, Toushirou? You would easily take your own life if it would save her. There is no doubt that she would do the same for you."

Hitsugaya grimaced. Lately, he was being shown up by his zanpakutou in every fight—this one included. When had the truth started taking sides? It wasn't fair. He couldn't fight against something as undeniable as the truth.

"I don't see why you need to keep bothering me about this," he breathed, trying to be indifferent again.

"It is simple. The more you run away from your problems, the longer you will suffer. Running changes nothing, Toushirou," was the wise response.

"Yeah, but it certainly makes things easier," the captain muttered tiredly.

"Don't be a fool. You gain nothing from running. As time passes, you can only lose. I do not think that is what you want," Hyourinmaru stated logically.

"Why should it matter what I want?" the sword wielder sneered. "It never has."

"It matters, Toushirou, because you are one who deserves happiness, and I shall not remain idle while it slips away."

It was almost annoying that Hitsugaya's dragon was being so considerate, possibly because achieving happiness had something to do with Hinamori, who was basically the last person he wanted to deal with right now. The spirit kept pushing him when he didn't want to be pushed.

"I'd rather not talk about this anymore," Hitsugaya growled irritably. He dug through his mind for something to change the topic to and came up with something almost immediately. "Hey, when I was recovering at the Fourth Division, you were going to tell me something, but Matsumoto came in before you could finish. What was it?"

Apparently, the ice spirit was finally done torturing him with his love life and ran with the topic. "Ah, so you remember. What else do you recall of this?"

The shinigami captain paused to think about it before concluding, "It had something to do with my Bankai," he replied thoughtfully, "something to do with mastering it."

"Indeed," Hyourinmaru confirmed. "You are now at the stage where you are strong enough to master the Bankai. However, your body is too young and it is unable to harness the amount of reiatsu required for the final stages of this power."

"And? There must be some reason why you're telling me this," the silver-haired boy said, growing impatient with his zanpakutou's evasion.

"There is a way to master it now. You will not be able to use this form when you obtain it, but it will enhance your abilities further. It shall enable you to stay in your current Bankai form until you are out of reiatsu and everything will require less spiritual energy for you to use. Unfortunately, it will likely be at least five years before you are capable of using this form," the ice dragon explained.

"Good enough for me. How do I obtain the final form?" Hitsugaya asked, now back to his usual demeanour. He desperately wanted to be stronger because he'd been cut down so often in the last while. It made him feel incompetent and unfit for his position in the Gotei 13.

"Only one thing is needed," his friend began mysteriously, "and it is not easily found."

The genius resisted the urge to roll his closed eyes. "Get on with it already!"

"To obtain master form, you require the assistance of one with perfect control of their reiatsu."

It suddenly became clear to Hitsugaya why his spirit was only bringing this up now. The situation he was currently in only made it more convenient. In his ears rang the wicked cackling of his so-called companion, who the teenager now thought was more of a sadist than anything.

He opened his eyes and stood up, arms at his sides and fists clenched. As his temper rose, so did his reiatsu, and he could barely contain his anger as his surroundings developed a beautiful coating of frost.

That bastard...! There was only one person in all of Seritei with perfect control of reiatsu...

...and, damn it, he was in love with her.