Promise

She never woke up.

She died like that, pale and cold with the life draining out of her and like she was having a nightmare.

It was soon- too soon, especially to him, a child convinced of his own immortality because he had already died once, and unaccepting of that mortality in others.

She died without saying goodbye, she died and his last words to her was nothing of that he had never had the courage to say to her when she was alive and when he could pay her homage in his thoughts.

She's dead, dead and gone away from him forever, because he's a smart boy and he knows the chances of two souls ever meeting again is practically nil.

She was taken away from him, and he did was stand and watch, helpless.

She was stolen away from him, her voice, her laugh, her smile, her life. Aizen took it from her and treated it like it meant nothing at all. Like she had been worthless, just another damn pawn to use in his game, when she would have given him anything in the world. And Hitsugaya would have just stood by and watched, because he's never done anything to deserve anything of value and that's why he's never been allowed to keep them.

Aizen hadn't taken her from him. Aizen had taken her from herself, and bled her dry.

Hitsugaya had said what would happen once, if someone hurt Hinamori.

They cremated her with a bracelet he'd gotten her once and never had the courage to give her, because it was her birthday and when he'd tried to present it to her she'd already been in an euphoria over the much better gift she'd received from Aizen. He gave it to her this time in exchange for her hair ribbon, wrapped around Hyourinmaru's hilt like a lady's favor and the dead white color of her skin while she bled. Like a promise.

He promised himself that when he fought Aizen again, he would bleed Aizen's worthless blood dry into the ribbon, and onto the ground, and then he would burn it for her, and hope that it reached her, in whatever shadowy realms beyond soul society.

And then he would go follow her. He'd once promised himself he'd do that, too.

-end-