Chapter 14:

"He thinks we're what?!"

"He… he thinks we're Hollows…"

"Are you kidding me?!" Rangiku stomped her foot on the ground. "Do I look anything like a Hollow to you?!"

"Maybe not to me, but to him you must."

"How insulting!"

"I'm sure it's nothing personal. He's still dreaming, remember. He has no idea what's going on!"

Hitsugaya gave a roar and lunged at them. They dove out of the way just in time. He swung his sword at them once again coming within inches of Rangiku's chest.

"Captain, it's me! Rangiku! Don't you know me?"

He growled and swung his sword at her again.

She ducked and took a few steps back. "Why's he only attacking me?"

"Maybe he thinks you're the Hollow?"

"What?! But why?"

"How should I know? It's his dream." Momo glanced up. "Duck!" She grabbed Rangiku and forced her to the ground just as Hitsugaya's blade sliced the air above her head.

He raised his sword again and brought it down. They rolled out of the way just as the blade came crashing down, slicing the carpet where they had been just moments ago. He turned to Rangiku and swung his sword again and again at her.

"Captain, please stop it! It's me! For crying out loud, you're dreaming! Wake up! Please stop!"

He either couldn't or wouldn't listen. He just kept on swinging. Thankfully, in this sleep-like state, Hitsugaya wasn't doing as well as he was normally capable of. If he had been performing to the best of his abilities, it was likely that Rangiku would have been cut up several times by down, if not dead. But he was coming very close to her body and nearly ended up cutting off a few locks of her long hair. All she could do right now was duck and weave out of the way of his swinging blade. She ran behind his desk, tossing the chair in his path to slow him down. That didn't work. He just jumped over it.

She turned to Momo who was hiding behind the couch. "Can't you do something?"

"Like what?"

"Calm him down!"

"How?"

"You tell me! You said that he's done this before!"

"Well, yeah, sleepwalking. But he's only had a fighting dream like this once before and that was before he became a Soul Reaper! I don't know how to stop him now!"

"How'd you stop him last time?!"

"He ended up settling down on his own. I didn't do anything."

"Well, now he's trying to KILL ME!"

"I know, but I- Duck!"

She ducked just as the sword came down on the arm of the couch and got stuck. Hitsugaya grunted as he tried to pull the sword out. Bringing his leg up onto the couch for better leverage, he managed to jerk the sword free and went after Rangiku again.

But she and Momo had fled the room while he was distracted and run down the hall. He clutched the sword tightly and went after them.

Halfway down the hall, Rangiku managed to catch her breath and turned to Momo. "Wait a minute. I thought that sleepwalkers were supposed to be slower than this. Aren't they supposed to have their arms out and shuffle around like zombies?"

Momo shook her head. "Not all the time. It depends on how vivid his dreams are and how deep a sleep he's in. Sometimes, yes. I've seen him shuffle around like that, but that's when he's… you know. I can't explain it." She gasped. "Oh! Wait a minute! We can't just leave him like that! We have to do something!"

"Are you kidding?! I'm not going back there!"

"But what if he-"

"Momo, it's like you said before. He has to be more relaxed, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So how do we do that?"

Momo thought. "Well… Uh, it's like I said before. If we can find a way to cool him down, he'll stop sleepwalking. Otherwise we wait for him to tire himself out and go back to sleep on his own."

"We don't have that kind of time in this situation! He's still trying to kill us and you say we shouldn't wake a sleepwalker, so what are we gonna do about this?!"

"We could-"

Suddenly there came a loud noise from behind. With a loud bang, Hitsugaya kicked the door off its hinges and sent it crashing into the opposite wall. He landed skillfully on the ground and started running.

"Hollow! I'll get you!"

Screaming her head off, Rangiku turned and bolted down the hall as fast as she could, dragging Momo behind. Hitsugaya chased after them, still swinging that sword of his.

"Get back here, Hollow!"

"I'm not a Hollow, Captain! Come on!"

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her and out the first door she saw. It led to a large porch. Of course she didn't stay there for long. She grabbed Momo in her arms and climbed onto the roof above them. Hitsugaya followed. He jumped onto the roof as well and bellowed the word 'Hollow' the second he saw Rangiku. He swung his sword and missed terribly. The girls took off running again.

"Can't you stop him?" Momo asked, out of breath.

"I would if I could!"

"No. I mean, can't you use your sword?"

She dodged another of her captain's blows. "No. I don't have my sword with me!"

Momo's eyes went wide. "Oh! That's right! And I left mine back in my room, too!"

Now they really were helpless. Without swords or any kind of defense, all they could do was run from him.

They jumped off the roof and onto another one. He followed. They jumped from that one and onto another. Still, he followed, never giving up the chase. They landed on top of another roof and stopped. This was the end of the line. Six stories up and nowhere to go, they turned around. Hitsugaya was standing right there holding that deadly blade.

"Little Shiro, please," Momo pleaded. "You're dreaming. You don't know what you're doing. It's us! Please stop this."

He just growled.

"Ohh..! I liked him a whole lot better when he was having cute dreams," Rangiku moaned. "So much better than this…"

Hitsugaya gripped his sword tightly and raised it above his head. "Reign over the frozen heavens…"

They gasped. "Run for it!"

"Hyorinmaru!" He swung the blade and out came his ice dragon. But this one was a little smaller than the usual one. His zanpakuto must have been much weaker when he was asleep. Though it was still dangerous and powerful, Hitsugaya was just mimicking the movements of the attack. There was no true power behind it at all. But he could still freeze them.

He brought his blade down and the dragon struck the ground in front of them, freezing the ground instantly. The ice dragon was gone in an instant, leaving behind a large three-foot thick bed of ice.

Having missed, Hitsugaya raised his sword again to finish off Rangiku, still convinced that she was a Hollow. He approached slowly walking past the ice on his left.

The girls turned away shutting their eyes in fear. Was he really going to freeze them just like that? Wouldn't he wake up soon? Was there a chance that they could be saved?

Rangiku felt a tug on her arm. Momo pointed. "Look."

She looked up.

Hitsugaya had stopped moving. He looked to his left… right at the bed of ice. He blinked. And blinked again. He dropped the sword with a clang and placed his hands up onto the frozen block of ice. It was cold. Ice cold. It felt good. Really good.

"…Cold..?"

He laid his hands flat on top of it. Then he pressed his face against the frozen surface. Boy, did that feel good on his hot, sweaty body. He finally found something cold. Something to cool him off at last. It felt great.

With a smile, he jumped up on the bed of ice and flattened his body against it. "Ah..! Cold! Mmm..! Cold…" He rested his head in his folded arms and closed his eyes. This bed of ice… yes, that's exactly what it was. A bed. A nice big bed of ice all for him. He stretched out over the ice and let out a long, deep contented sigh.

Cautiously, the girls approached. They leaned down over his body for a closer look. He was snoring with a huge smile on his face. He was in bliss.

Rangiku looked at Momo. Momo looked back.

She reached down and poked Hitsugaya's shoulder. "Um… Little Shiro..?"

He gave a sleepy moan and snuggled into his arms, refusing to get up. All he wanted to do now was sleep on his ice-bed.

Momo nudged him again.

He snorted and batted her hand away. He was out like a light. And not about to get up anytime soon.

They looked at each other.

"So that's it?"

Momo shrugged. "I… I guess so…"

"You mean, all we had to get him to do was make a bed of ice with his zanpakuto for him to sleep on and that's it?!"

"Well, he likes things cold. It makes sense if you think about it."

"He nearly killed me and now the problem's over?!"

Momo put a finger to her lips. "Shh! Don't wake him up!"

Rangiku covered her mouth and looked down at her captain. But he was still fast asleep on the ice snoring softly. He looked so comfortable and peaceful laying there like that. She had never seen him look so sweet and innocent before. That sleepy smile, those soft fluttering eyelashes, the soft snores escaping from those slightly parted lips of his. He looked so cute. He was like little white-haired angel.

Even if he did almost kill her, she just couldn't stay mad at him. Not when he looked so adorable.