Chapter 20. Sandstorm

I do not own Bleach.

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Sand flew around the spot where the large Hollow had fallen.

Blood dripped from Hyorinmaru, staining the dry desert dust. The creature let out one last roar of defiance as it disintegrated into the air, becoming one with the atmosphere just as all the others had.

Hitsugaya flicked the red liquid off of the blade of his sword. He slid the sword back into its sheath and walked over to Hinamori. She was clutching her left shoulder and blood flowed steadily from the gaping wound that a stealthy Hollow had managed to inflict.

"How's your shoulder?" The white-haired boy asked.

"I'm alright." Hinamori lied. "How's your shoulder?" She reflected the question.

His left shoulder also leaked the crimson liquid, but not nearly as much as hers.

"I'm fine." He stated matter-of-factly. "Now let me see your shoulder."

He insisted, gently removing her hand from the bleeding wound. She winced, trying to hide the pain, but he could plainly see how much suffering she was going through. Her eyes practically screamed that she was about to fall over from loss of blood. The crimson sand beneath her blew away as a gust of wind buffeted the desert. Scarlet stained the dusty ground, seeping into the countless layers of sand beneath it.

Hitsugaya examined the bloodstained gash, and placed his hand on the injury. Hinamori squeaked in pain and pulled away a little as more blood began to flow. Pain seared throughout her entire body, her heart was pounding with the effort of accepting Hitsugaya's touch.

"Hold still." He instructed.

Cold suddenly seeped onto Hinamori's shoulder, freezing the river of blood spilling from the cut. She tried her very best to stay still and not flinch away. After a moment of frost creeping along her raw skin, Hitsugaya lifted his hand from her shoulder and sighed.

"Unfortunately that's the best that I can do for you right now. The bleeding's stopped for now but I don't know how long the ice will keep it from re-opening. We'll have to get that seen too when we get back."

He sounded confident that they were indeed going to get back, whereas Hinamori was being filled with more and more doubt that they would ever return with every second that passed.

"We've got to keep moving. We can't afford to waste any more time here, I want to get back to Seireitei as soon as possible. I don't want to have to spend the night here." He glanced at the dusky sky, in Soul Society; it would probably be a little while before noon.

Hinamori staggered, as if she were going to collapse, and Hitsugaya quickly caught her; this was not good. She was becoming weaker and frailer by the second, and she greatly needed treatment.

Her eyes blinked repeatedly for a moment before she shook her head and tried to re-obtain her balance and prior stamina. But Hitsugaya could obviously tell that she was not going to last much longer. He was about to lift her up and continue on their way, when Hitsugaya froze. Worry and concern automatically clouded Hinamori's chestnut eyes.

"Hitsugaya-kun, what's wrong?" Her voice was scared and fragile, laced with fear and fretfulness.

Without warning, Hitsugaya jerked her arm firmly, causing her to gasp in surprise and be pulled to him. The sudden motion caused blood to drip from her re-opened wound as she fell forward and crashed into him. The next thing that she knew, his arms were tightly clasped around her body, his hands firmly holding her close to him.

"HOLD ON!" Was the only warning that her ears could decipherer.

Her ability to hear was suddenly cut off as a raging wind thrashed around them; hard granite and silt collided with her body. She squeezed her eyes shut and no longer could recognize one sense from another. Sand whipped her ears and managed to collect in her mouth, the corners of her eyes burned with the small pebbles and minerals. She coughed out a mouthful of sand, only for her mouth to be filled again with the dry silt.

Hitsugaya was in no better condition. His mouth too was filled, and when he opened his mouth to cough, more sand replaced the previous collection. Neither one could breath as the storm's full wrath was released on the two of them. Hinamori felt the boy's embrace falter, but he desperately tried to hold on to her.

Hitsugaya frantically attempted to keep his grip on her, but the harsh sandstorm showed them no mercy whatsoever. He was aware of the warm blood that seeped from her shoulder, as well as his own, but he dared not open his eyes. He felt his feet being tossed from under him. The two of them were being hurled throughout the desert of an unfamiliar world, steadily moving further and further away from their destination. It seemed as though the storm of sand would never cease, and Hitsugaya's grasp on his dear friend was loosening drastically.

Finally, there was nothing more that he could to obtain his grip. One moment, she was curled in his arms and the next she was gone. Her weight suddenly evaporated into thin air and Hitsugaya was thrust backwards into the hurricane of ruthless sand.

Hinamori fell away from her friend and plummeted through the rough pieces of sand, countless miles in any and every direction. And despite all of the willpower in her body, all of the sense and logical emotions in her entire being, Hinamori went against all of these senses and screamed.

Sand flooded her nose and mouth, filling her lungs and cutting off her breath. She no longer could make sense of anything, and she felt nothing now except for the grains of sand lashing against her skin.

She was oblivious to any and all sense of feeling until she smashed into the ground. She tumbled and was thrown forward, twisting over herself, until finally the wind stopped tossing her. She finished her fall in a final plunge; a sickening cracking noise sounded from her limp body as she finally lay still.

Her body was crumpled into a distorted form as she lay in the sand, the wind continuously blowing around her, but she did not move.

And somewhere far away, Hitsugaya too plummeted to the sandy ground, his body colliding with the sand beneath him.

And he too lay still, and unconscious, the two friends separated by miles and miles of desert and sand.

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A/N: It is not over yet! You did not think that they were going to get home that easily did you? Well to be perfectly honest with you all, I was never originally going to do this. The idea came to me at the last second.

Well anyway, please reivew and let me know what you think!!