Sorry about the wait! This last month was full of things outside of my control but I will not bore you with details! The chapter!
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Chapter Five
Demon magic had never quiet been used to such an end before, she would know, because she was a master at it. There had always been stories about recruits using their new abilities to hide from their captain to avoid a well deserved lecture. They were true stories she knew, as she was the one who had hunted them down to deliver the lecture, even if it was a bit nicer than the captain in question.
Demon magic was something she had excelled at. It had come naturally and easily to her. One of the reasons she had made it as far as being vice-captain. She was not a hard-core fighter like some of her fellows, but she knew things.
This of course, aided her now.
Hinamori had never been a recruit that got herself into trouble. She hated to fight, hated getting herself a demerit, and hated someone else's displeasure being directed at her. She was taking the time honored escape routes to heart. Officially going as far as to use: duck and weave, diving and hiding, hide from the corners, and many recruits personal favorite, 'I have a fever and must see Unohana'. She was, in fact, taking it to a whole new level.
Of course the fact that she was a vice-captain added credibility to her comments. There was also the bonus that she was a master of demon magic. Where a recruit would stumble or let his magic flutter at points she held it with an iron will. Where they would wobble at the sight of the Captain they were hiding from because they weren't quite sure the Captain couldn't see through the spell; she would remain perfectly still and calm.
Recon was one of her strong points. And it was one she had been using quite effectively over the past week. She had not turned up the information she had been hoping for but she had been learning other things during her elaborate game of hide and seek.
For instance she had been spending much more time in the Fourth Division plagued with her 'headaches'. Of course Unohana knew from the start that she was not having headaches but the kind healer had not sent her on her way. Instead she had simply put Hinamori to work with the other fourth division members who were tending the injured.
She had no healing skills to speak of but she could learn how to correctly tie and bandage a wound, what healing ointment worked well on what, and when the situation called for it how to stitch a straight line, something she had despised. She had also learned the art of setting bones, and how to make the all important healing ointments.
Of course some of the work she had not learned during her time in the fourth division. But her curiosity had been peeked on the many workings within the all important healing division and so she had hunted down several friends she had made over the years that were in the fourth division and pestered them with questions for several hours one more than one night.
While she was not confident she could make the healing ointments she knew what went in them now. And she knew what should not be mixed together and what was poisonous. She had also made plans to continue her visits to the division to further increase her knowledge as no one seemed all that annoyed with her constant visits and headaches. She could count on that as always being a good escape route. One full of knowledge for her, which was added bonus.
She had also finished perfecting an illusion spell that Aizen had shown her once. It was not up to the same caliber that he had mastered it and as much as she hated to use any of the information he had passed onto her, he had been a master at what he did. Unfortunately his genius was coupled with hatred, lying, murder, an attempt to destroy soul society, and his sword through her stomach.
Once she had gotten passed that she was able to discern what she could use and what she would just be better off leaving alone. The spell to make her seem to blend in with her surroundings was a rather interesting spell, and one she had worked at developing it to her full potential. Thus far it had helped keep her out of several rough spots while she was moving along in her recon and one particular spot with Matsumoto.
She had also resorted to less amusing means of avoiding the tenth Captain and Vice-Captain. Blatantly lying to them on a couple of occasions and once the most amusing of them all, pretending she was taking a nap at her desk. While she had almost fallen asleep by the time their conversation with her Captain was over she had not been plagued with questions by Matsumoto, or one of those looks from Hitsugaya that would have her blushing. Her Captain had just given her an amused glance before returning to his own paperwork without comment.
She knew he had to be aware of what was going on. He never once mentioned her sudden 'headaches' or disappearances which amused and worried her. He was actually being rather laid back about the whole thing which. Knew territory with her captain, and she wasn't sure she liked it.
And of course there was Hitsugaya himself. She had not come to any conclusions with her observations that made sense to her, but conclusions had been made. It was a step. Most of them left her red faced with that fluttery feeling in her tummy while others had her staring out her window and wondering if she was right after all, or if Rukia had hit it on the nail.
He was obviously aware of what she was doing because he did nothing to hide his actions from her. It was a simple where she was he was. If she was down or feeling slightly off for the day she saw him more and would receive one or more of the delightful pink flowers. She had finally given up trying to tell herself that it wasn't him. They were quite beautiful and once she started to allow herself to enjoy them her cheeks were pink a lot more.
And of course there was the constant reassurance of his presence. Earlier in the week she had been forced to dress down a recruit, something she loathed. She was a vice-captain and she knew she was supposed to be a strong force in her group who kept the order and helped the captain keep an eye on things but she hated to get onto anyone. She preferred to correct them in other ways than full fledged lectures. They had to respect her she knew, and she had to be stern with them when the time came, but otherwise she preferred to be the one they came to when they needed to talk or something was bothering them. She was not the only vice-captain to play that role in their divisions as for the most part Captains seemed untouchable to their divisions.
When she was done she had been shaking with the effort she had put into it. The recruit in question had broken several rules with his antics and had incurred the wrath of several other divisions as well. Her captain had been every bit as furious with him as the others so she had taken the responsibility of lecturing him to save him some face. She could remember other recruits she had grown up with doing the same thing and at least with her lecturing him he would not be demoralized. He was shamefaced and as upset as she was when she finished so she had sent him on his way with a slight smile before moving off to find her own place of rest and recuperation.
He had surprised her with his sudden appearance. She had to her credit not jumped. It had been the cup of tea in his hands that had her brows rising in surprise. He was handing it to her and she was accepting it before she had had enough time to process what was going on. And then the feel of his knuckles brushing over her cheek and he was on his way. His easy steps leading him down the path while she stared at his back holding the cup of tea. She had only remembered to stop gaping and move when he was no longer in sight.
It was that moment that she realized that what ever it was that he was doing it was working. The butterflies had increased ten fold in her stomach and the blush stained her cheeks every time she thought of his gentle touch on her cheek; which had been many times over the course of the next couple of days.
She had also started daydreaming about him again. This time however her brain had started to take her in directions she was not quite sure she was prepared to travel along. Especially when it started revisiting the night had almost kissed her with something she was sure bordered along obsession. When her brain started imagining what it would have been like to kiss him, she had moved into what she called evasive maneuvers.
It was not working.
No matter how much she dodged she found herself watching him when he was near. If he was speaking to her she found herself wanting to close her eyes and get lost in the sound of his voice. When she was hiding in the fourth division the unoccupied corner of her brain was dreaming about what it would be like to be held by him, to be kissed by him, and most embarrassing what it would be like for her to belong to him and him to her.
She had been forced to retreat more than once from the division office to collect her wayward dreams.
They were still dreams because she was not quite sure she could move past her own mistakes. Oh sure it would be so easy to fall into the spell that he was weaving. She could to, very easily, all she was positive it would take was to let the last wall fall and it was all over.
If nothing else all of her observations of him had shown her several things about herself.
The walls were cracking so fast that for every brick she put back up two more feel down. Every look, every spoken word, and every daydream was taking down the wall so fast her head was spinning with it.
But even that was not what had her uptight and her stomach in knots today. She had been just around the corner from her division when she had spotted Matsumoto walking out of their office. It was far to early in the morning for Hitsugaya to send his Vice-Captain out on an errand already, and the fact that the woman was running had her own eyes narrowing in thought and her stomach clenching into knots.
Had she gotten her captain to agree to something?
She hesitated. She was quite sure that today was supposed to be good. She had woken early that morning with a quiet sense of satisfaction. Not only that but she had a full schedule of things to take care of for her Captain, none of them would any unexpected visits. Her mind was not clear of worry but she at least had a somewhat better understanding of what was going on. After her hours of observation, reflection and note taking she had narrowed it down to two options:
Option A: She was going absolutely nuts.
Option B: Rukia was right and Hitsugaya was 'courting' her.
Option C: Sit down and talk to Hitsugaya about this.
She was not sure which one was right. She was even less certain she wanted to know. But she did know that today was supposed to be a good day.
Her morning ritual of a quick bath had been accompanied by humming while breakfast had been a relished ritual. She had for once been excited by the idea of heading off towards her morning rounds.
She peeked around and made sure no one had seen her stop and turned her attention back towards her office. Slow deliberate steps took her where she needed to go. She paused outside the door for a moment before grasping the doorknob and turning it.
She walked into the office.
The first thing that she noticed was the smell; it was a gentle sent that had her closing her eyes in appreciation. She turned towards her desk, opened her eyes and froze.
Her desk was covered in pink flowers.
Some were in delicate bunches tied together with colored pieces of string. Others were in single strands, while even more of them were free petals that seemed to have rained down on her corner of the office.
In fact she stood there staring at the flowers in a state of such shock; her mind far enough beyond rational thought that she didn't realize that anyone was in the office with her until he was speaking.
"I had wondered if you had a secret admirer or not."
She remained in her shocked position for several more moments before turning her head in his direction, "Secret Admirer?"
Her captain smiled at her. It was not an expression that she was used to seeing from him, not unpleasant; just different.
"You have been rather distracted lately. And I have seen you pull those pink flowers out of your desk with a look of confusion on your face, more than once." He turned and headed to his desk. "I almost thought it might be Captain Hitsugaya, as you always seem more distracted when you come to the office from that direction and even more so when I give you paperwork to take to him. But as the flowers do tend to show up when I am certain I have sent you no where near his office, I have decided that it must be my imagination."
She was gaping at him. She couldn't seem to stop herself.
"That and I can not see him contemplating the exact placing of such… pink flowers." He looked up with an almost too innocent expression on his face. "So you have aroused my curiosity, do you have a secret admirer?"
"I…" she stammered, before turning a dark shade of pink. "I…I …" she paused taking a deep breath. "I am quite sure that I don't know."
"Ah, well then," there was that smile again. "I am sure it will revel itself in time, though I do ask that the flowers on the floor be cleaned up. They add to the effect I am sure. But I would not want to find them attaching themselves to my person."
"Of… course!" She watched as he turned to the paperwork which had already piled up for the morning.
She scuttled to the corner where she kept a broom and dust pan and then back to her desk to clean up the petals. Her mind was in a whirl again. She hated her new clumsy streak that made her drop the pan more than once, she loathed how her hands shook, and even more so the pink tinge that was still coloring her cheeks.
If she had ever had a doubt before that Hitsugaya was behind this her suspicious were now very much confirmed. Matsumoto, her humming… she swallowed.
'Rational thoughts Hinamori! Rational thoughts!' she finished putting the flowers in a ornament bowl she had on her desk and sat down hard in her chair. 'Normal routine things…do normal routine things and ignore that amused look your captain is sending you!'
It was no use. She tried to organize her work into neat piles to see what needed to be attended to immediately and what didn't but her hands were shaking and her brain was so aflutter with all the emotions running through her she couldn't figure it out.
'Hinamori Momo this is not a big deal! You have gotten flowers before!' And she had. She was a vice-captain. All vice-captains were liked by at least someone in their division and every now and then she would receive flowers from someone for something. Once in her early days she had had several admirers and had received such tokens on a regular basis.
She had once suspected Kira of being the one to constantly send her the little tokens. But when he had never shown any inclination of anything of the sort she had simply shrugged it off and handed out the pretty things to other girls in her division; who the pretty things might mean something to.
But this… she looked at the crystal bowel that held her flowers and tried to identify them for the millionth time. They were not from anywhere around the city and in all her walks outside of their protected walls she had never encountered them.
Where was he getting them?
She didn't know how long she sat there starring at her paperwork. Long enough that the sun was rising rapidly in the sky and her captain was more than slightly amused with her. She could tell. He kept giving her those amused glances.
"Hinamori?"
She looked up slightly startled. "Yes Captain?"
"Can you deliver these papers for me?"
She scooted her chair backwards and nodded. "Yes of course!"
He handed her the stack of papers. "Thank you."
She nodded. His always polite appreciation of her work for him was one of the things that endured him to her. It was one of the traits that he shared with Aizen, yet it was something that she appreciated. He always thanked her. Then there were captains like Hitsugaya who simply just ordered their vice-captain on their way. While she knew that was how he and Matsumoto proffered things she didn't really understand how the other women handled such things. She personally would been tempted to throw something at him.
It was after she had delivered several packets to different divisions that she realized where one report was going. She stopped and stared at it in confusion for a moment before the name registered in her brain, Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou, 10th division.
She glanced up at the sun. It was noon, which meant that there was a very high chance that he would be off eating something and no one would be in the office. She nodded her head, yes that was it. If she was going to go, she needed to go now while he was out and she could slip in and then just as easily slip out.
The walk after that was peaceful. People had split into groups along the paths but the ones she saw were carrying their lunch and generally had no interest in stopping her to chat. It was lunch time around the city and that meant a much needed break from the daily chores.
She was looking forward to her own lunch. Her steps quickened. She was hungry. It didn't take her long to reach her destination after that. She knocked carefully on the door and was not surprised when there was no answer. She almost smiled. Instead she opened the door and walked in carefully.
And stopped.
Hitsugaya was locked into what was appeared to be a very heated argument with Matsumoto. His brows were pursed as he watched his vice-captain who was standing with one hand propped on her face and her head tilted up to meet his gaze; her expression furious. Hinamori watched them in something akin to stunned fascination having never seen such an expression on either of their faces before. Hitsugaya looked up before the closet thing that she had ever seen to shock slide across his features. It disappeared just as quickly. Matsumoto on the other hand was not able to conceal her expression as well as her Captain.
She looked startled for a moment before she smirked; which then changed to an expression of glee.
And Hinamori, realizing that she was three to many steps away from the door, took a step back at the woman's expression. "Um," she paused. "I can bring this bye later, I apologize for interrupting."
Hinamori really wasn't sure what happened next. One second she was two steps from freedom, and away from what was obviously a very dangerous situation to be around, and then she was alone in the room with Hitsugaya. She had a vague memory of a blond whirlwind sliding past her and the door slamming as she left in a rush.
Hinamori turned around to make sure that the girl was actually gone and the door was in fact shut behind her, it was. It was the sound of rustling robes behind her that had her turning around.
Hitsugaya was suddenly much closer than he had been before.
"Would you like to join me for a cup of tea?" She almost gapped at him in her paused attempt to discover a way out. He had shut off whatever emotion Matsumoto had brought out and was now regarding her with an entirely different expression.
His expression was neutral. His gaze calm but she could still sense the tension in the room. He expected her to run away again, she realized. The self-preservation instinct had kicked in, and she wouldn't deny her immediate 'fly away' thoughts, but even as was thinking of strategies she knew it wasn't worth it.
This dancing around him was wearing her out. She was falling into bed exhausted at night and waking up just as tired. While it was great practice for her demon arts, in the end it was simply not doing her any good.
So she surprised herself and nodded. Again, surprise filtered across his expression and she realized that he had expected her to run from him, again. She managed a tentative smile and his lips curled up at the corners.
First move: Hinamori Momo.
So when he motioned for her to have a seat, she settled carefully onto the couch that Matsumoto loved so much and waited. Tea was a rather uncomplicated thing to make. But those moments seemed to take eons. When he finally finished his preparations he brought her a steaming cup. His fingers curled slightly around hers as he handed her the cup and she looked down refusing to meet his gaze. He disappeared for a moment before returning with a plate of sandwiches. She was glad as her stomach was threatening her with rumbling noises. If she didn't feed it soon, she knew, it would start in on her in the most unwelcome of manners.
She waited for him to take a sandwich first and then followed suit. They sat in comfortable silence and she was more than surprised at how nice the tea was. A smile quirked her lips, she could still very vividly remember the first cup of tea he had made. This was a far cry from the bitter brew he had handed her to try so many years ago.
It was not until she finished off the last of the sandwiches that his poster changed that she knew it was time to talk. Her stomach tightened and danced in protest at the idea. She couldn't stop the nervous breath she took. To cover it she took a long drink of her tea before setting the empty cup on the table and turning to look at him.
She had faced dangers far worse than this: she had fought for her life against hollows; she had been betrayed by her captain, fought Allankar and survived in a very vicious war. She could do this!
"Why did you ask me to leave?" Her head snapped back in his direction in surprise. That was not what she had been expecting him to start the conversation off with. A nice hello, maybe, or how is the whether? Jumping into the conversation like this left her caught completely off guard. If anything she thought this discussion would have been about what had transpired during the ball not the mistakes of the past.
She was not prepared to answer that question. "What?"
He did not appear surprised by her reaction. If anything his eyes had narrowed and a mist slid over his gaze in an expression of determination she had seen on him many times. It had never been directed at her before and she couldn't stop another nervous intake of air.
His lips twisted in a self-depreciating expression that had the hair on the back of her neck standing up in warning. "When you asked me to leave it was the last thing that I wanted to do. I did what you wanted so I would not impede your recovery. I gave you space. I followed your wishes. I have found, Hinamori, that I am tired of following your rules." His eyes bored into hers, "and so now you are going to tell me about that night."
She was determined to not run this time and to actually hold a conversation with him. But her eyes widened in a mixture of outrage and surprise at his commanding tone. "You… you… you what?" She stood then, her outrage sending her limbs into motion. Tired of following her rules! Now he was telling her what she was going to do? He stood with her forcing her to look up at him as she continued to glare.
The rational part of her brain was yelling at her. She had come into this not to argue, to figure this thing out that was between them. She was tired of the constant second guessing of herself, and even more of second guessing him. She needed to control her temper and her desire to run from him or this would blow up in her face.
Yet there were clearly placed boundaries here. He had to know that! He did know that because in all the years since she had told him to leave her life he had not once broached the subject. Yet, here he was moving on ground and territory that had clearly been marked as a big no.
She was not prepared for this!
"We are going to have this discussion Hinamori." His tone was firm as he reached out and caught her hand to hold off any desire she might have to run.
She glanced at the hand holding hers and her shoulders slumped. "Why this now?"
His tone gentled. "Because something scares you, some past mistake or some new fear of me I do not know. But I intend to find out Hinamori. I will answer any question you have of me but in return but we will resolve this."
"I have work to do."
"Matsumoto has already agreed to take care of any of your duties that were left unfinished and your Captain is aware that we are meeting this afternoon." Her eyes widened as he motioned for her to sit. "Take a seat Hinamori."
She searched his gaze and found only determination and that icy gaze that promised he was going to be stubborn. She could not physically struggle against him and hope to win, he was stronger than her. His grip on her hand remained gentle as he tugged her gently back into a sitting position on the couch. "Sit with me Hinamori, we need to talk."
It was the remaining ice in his eyes that warned her he would not tolerate her attempts to fight him. She sat.
He settled on the couch next to her. It was strangely reminiscent of the last time he has sat so close. Only this time she was certain that fleeing was not an option. His eyes were not soft and full of emotion but hard and determined. The grip on her wrist was loose and relaxed but she had no doubt the second she tried to move from him grip he would tighten his hold.
She was stuck, and she couldn't stop the nervous fluttering in her stomach. She was still not certain if she was fully prepared for this or not but one glance up into his face and she knew she had better prepare herself quickly. It was now or never.
"What do you want to know?" She found no comfort in the timid sound of her voice.
He reacted by releasing her wrist and then placing his hands her shoulders he turned her in his direction before he took both of her hands in his. "I am not holding you prisoner, Momo." She looked up, startled by the use of her first name, and he offered her that slight lifting of his lips. "But we are long overdue for this conversation."
"What do you want to know?" She repeated. She was not comforted by his words, though she knew he was doing her best to help her relax. Every word and look was reinforcing how much he had grown in the last several decades and she felt very small in comparison to him.
She forced herself to take a mental step back and ignore the raging emotions that were still coursing through her system. This was Hitsugaya: her childhood best friend, the man she had fallen in love with. Right now he was a total stranger. She did not know this man. And she only vaguely had an understanding of the person sitting in front of her.
"I want to know what happened." He paused a moment as her brows quirked together. "I want to know where you went that day Hinamori. One moment you were my best friend and we trusted each other. The next and you were lost and trapped in your own world and no matter how hard we reached for you we could not bring you back. And then you asked me to leave and to stop reaching. I need to know why. What was going through your head that night and were the woman I had known all my life fled to."
She was certain her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "Oh."
This time he did smile, and she felt that slow tinge start into her cheeks. "What happened?"
She sighed, not entirely comfortable with telling him anything. His hands tightened gently around her hands and she looked back at him. "Tell me Momo." His tone was gentle and she peeked up at his eyes and was surprise at the gentle look reflecting down at her.
She sighed, "I was lost during those days." She mused, words spilling out of her mouth unbidden. "Aizen was my world and when he betrayed us all… I couldn't cope." Her eyes closed at the memory. The feel of giddiness at the knowledge that he was still alive, the joy at seeing him how everything else seemed to be perfectly all right in the world, the feeling of cold steel sliding through her, "It was the worst kind of betrayal."
His fingers threaded through hers anchoring her away from the depths of pain that still threatened her world if she lingered on them to long. "When I woke, I couldn't ignore it. I tried. But that made things worse. My nightmares controlled my life for so long and nothing seemed to pull me out of them." Now that she had started, the words continued to tumble out of their own violation, and she wasn't quite sure she could stop.
"And then there was the knowledge that I had attacked you." her voice fell to a whisper. "That haunted me just as strongly. Not only was I betrayed but I had betrayed myself." His fingers tightened but she barely felt it trapped in her memories. "That night was particularly hard. I was still trying to decide if I should stay or go as a death god, and that was the day that I learned that you had almost been killed by Aizen as well."
She was startled by the feeling of his fingers sliding gently over her cheeks. She opened her eyes then, and was startled at the moister that shone from his fingertips. She was crying? She slide her eyes closed again. "The idea of you giving your life for my own horrified me. It was something I could neither wrap my mind around nor understand. I had already doomed myself to an eternity of regret; I could not have survived accept the blight that that would have brought me." She took a deep breath as the pain of that night threatened to overwhelm her once again.
She had pushed him away and that knowledge still haunted her, still echoed in her footsteps. "With that understanding came the knowledge that you were stronger than me." Her voice dropped again and she wondered if he was even able to understand what she was saying. "And that meant that you would regret your decision one day, would no longer need any aspect of me in your life, and would leave." She swallowed, while unbidden tears continued to slide down her cheeks. "That combined with everything else… so I made the decision for you." The last words were choked and she squeaked in surprise when her hands were suddenly free and then she was being tugged forward… straight into his lap.
Her cheek pressed against his chest, her arms caught between their bodies has he tugged her to him before he wrapped her close. Tears that she wasn't completely aware of crying pushed passed her defensiveness and her shoulders shook as she let go of the last draughts of pain and confusion that had continued to cloud her world.
As her tears slowed she became aware of several things at once. The most obvious change was the gentle crooning that she could hear echoing up from his chest; it was a gentle rumble that had her curling closer for comfort. His arms tightened as he obligingly tucked her further into his embrace. She knew she was supposed to pull away but he was warm and safe and for once she couldn't think of anything to make her move.
He was running a hand up and down her back soothingly and she was content to stay put. Once her tears settled down to simply sniffles he shifted her so that she could look up at him.
"Feel better?" the gentle croon transferred to his voice and she shivered at the sound.
"Yes." She burrowed closer to hide the flush that was spreading across her cheeks. He chuckled at her movement and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"Thank you for telling me, but I think you should know something."
"What?" her voice was slightly muffled as she stayed hidden in his shoulder. Gentle fingers disentangled her from him as he helped her into a sitting position. She peeked up at him shyly as he kept her from sliding off his lap, continuing to hold her close.
"I can not say I understand your methods, but I do understand your means, even if I do not agree with them. You are wrong, however, in believing that I would move on without you Hinamori." Her breath caught at the expression in his gaze as she watched him. His moved his hand upwards and gently tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "To do such a thing is inconceivable to me. I promised myself I would protect you and while I have not always been successful in my means to do so I could never stop."
"If you do not believe my words," he continued at her dubious expression, "then the last fifty years of watching and waiting for you to notice me should tell you a different story Hinamori." He watched her for a moment; and must have found what he was looking for because he continued.
"Along this path of life I have found many things in my life worth protecting. My division, Matsumoto, my friends, but always first and foremost there was you." She looked away to process the information and gentle fingers tilted her face back towards his. "You were the first person to befriend me here in the afterworld and you were the first to leave. So I followed you. Somewhere along the way you went from being my closest friend and someone to protect to being someone I would give my soul to keep safe."
A gentle kiss was pressed to her cheek. "What you have to understand Momo, is that I will do anything for you. I gave you space and time so that you could heal and grow and you have healed but you have not let yourself grow. And now you have a decision to make. Will you let me show you the paths of life you have kept yourself from? Will you spend the next several centuries growing with me or will you continue to run?"
She swallowed at the intensity of his expression and licked her suddenly dry lips. "What do you mean?"
"I am no longer interested in mere friendship Hinamori. And while you might not be ready for everything that I would tell you now, I am a patient man and I will wait. But I need an answer as to your intentions in this as well."
"What?" she whispered. She was nervous.
He smiled. Her breath caught in her throat.
"I am going to kiss you." His fingers plucked at the ribbon in her hair and she felt the heavy weight settle around her shoulders, before his hand buried into the soft mass. "If you don't want me to, if you are going to run from me again after this, or if this is too soon for you, you should speak up now."
She couldn't breath, she couldn't think, all she could do was watch in avid fascination. That softening of his gaze, the feel of his fingers in her hair… if an Allankar walked through that door right then she was certain she still would not have been able to move.
A heartbeat, another breath his eyes darkened with emotion and then his other hand was moving forward to cradle her cheek; her eyes slid shut with the contact while her hands moved forward to catch the front of his captain cloak. She could feel his breath fanning across her face.
And then her world shattered.
His lips were soft and insistent. Her world spun at the feel of his mouth against her own, the touch of his hand on her cheek; buried in her hair. And then he was pulling away. She managed to open her eyes and barely had time to register to look in his before he was moving forward again.
He kissed her until her muscles were nothing but a warm mass pressed against his chest. And he continued to kiss her until her breath was coming in soft pants and she had one hand buried in his cloak and another fisted in his hair holding him close. Until there was simply no doubt in her mind of his intentions, until not even she could question her surrender to his touch as the rational side of her brain fell silent.
When he pulled back it was a force of will to open her eyes. When she managed found herself caught by his gaze and blushed at his expression. His eyes were full of the warmth that was still running rampant through her. The gentle was accompanied by the darker green of his eyes that sent the gentle pink of her cheeks into full red. This time when that strange expression ran across his eyes she knew what it meant.
He leaned forward and buried his nose in her hair as she realized how breathless she was. She could feel the pounding of his pulse beneath her fingers. She moved to shift away and his hold tightened. "Stay," the words were whisper soft but she stilled before relaxing against him again. Her head settling against his chest and she was calmed by the sound of heart beat.
She wasn't sure how long they sat there, content to just sit and hold each other. He was running a hand through her hair and for once she just allowed herself to enjoy the moment. There would be no running from this now. But he was willing to give her space and time and she was willing to let him show her what she had forgotten. For now that was enough.
"Why the flowers?" she mused.
"To get your attention."
She pulled back then her eyes wide with questions. She could feel the blush spread across her cheeks at the look that lingered in his eyes. Instead of being confused and intimidated she felt small and feminine; she liked that feeling. That knowledge only made her blush harder. She liked her lips nervously and almost jerked away from him the moment she realized the taste of him still lingered on her lips. There was a slight curve of his lips and she realized he must have caught her surprise and ducked her eyes, shyly.
He placed a gentle kiss on her nose. "I tried everything else. The flowers seemed to work and so I kept using them."
"How did they keep appearing everywhere?" her curiosity pushed past her sudden shy streak.
"That perhaps is a secret for another time. I might want to use such a trick again."
"Oh…" she met his gaze in confusion. "My whole desk?" she demanded, and this time he laughed. She gaped at him forgetting her shyness entirely and glaring. "What?"
He brushed his knuckles along her cheek. "That was Matsumoto's idea." He gave her a moment to process the information; and then he was kissing her again.
Matsumoto felt a smile twist across her lips at the sound of her Captains laughter. It was such a rare thing indeed to hear, which could only mean that things were going positively inside the office.
She cast a glance at the growing pile of paperwork at her side and felt her small smile turn into a beaming grin. No more paperwork!
She settled against the wall and adjusted the hilt of her sword. She had not yet been forced to use force on anyone wanting to enter her captain's office but she would no more let anyone pass through those doors than she would have let Hinamori walk out.
She was sick and tired of doing paperwork! Hitsugaya had been certain to make sure that she had been forced to do paperwork every single day. 'In punishment for your act of stupidity during the night of the ball' was his reasoning, but she personally felt he was just being vindictive. If she ran out of paperwork he found her more, once or twice he had even volunteered her to do other captains work. Her eyes narrowed.
She was sick and tired of doing paperwork!
If the only way that she was going to get from doing such things was to sit and threaten everyone who wanted to interrupt her captain and his lady, she would do so! It would only be fitting. He got his lady; she was freed from paper work.
She glared at the poor person who was walking in her direction with a stack of paper work with a confused expression at her sitting outside of the office in a guard position. She tightened her grip on her sword.
Not another one.
All right ya! The story is done! Well sort of. Do you all want an Epilogue? I will leave this one up to you. I was thinking of doing some short stories to go along with the story to explain many things later on in their lives, but if you all would like an epilogue instead I can do that!
I NEED A BETA! cough
I am writing a new story called Awakenings: Hinamori took 1 year, 7 months, three days, and 6 hours to wake. When she did no one could have expected the changes needed to bring her back, or the sacrifices one Captain would make to show her the path to redemption.
And I am going to need a (msn messenger and email) or DavanTrask (aol). That and as you all know, someone who can pick out my grammar mistakes and help me with several things like that! Thanks!
Moving on! Let me know what you all want and thanks for reading!
To my Reviewers:
Night-Owl123 - salutes here is your chapter!
anGeL Hinaningyou - blushes again thank you! I like the idea of him courting her as well, grins it all comes to play in this chapter. This one is pretty longs itself, falls over it took forever for me to get around to writing this! Hard scene at the end, HARD.
AznSapphire – Here is your chapter, sorry it took me so long to get it to you!
Holofernes – Why thank you! And that scene was a particular favorite of mine! I am so glad you like my Hitsugaya!
Kittyblah – why thank you!
Starbee – thank you! I try really hard to write the characters at least close to character. It can be rather difficult, I am glad you like my interpretation of them all! And chapter three was me totally giving into my fangirlism!
TwilightHack – thank you! And I am sorry this one took so long. It was such a hard chapter to write!
Lacus-chan – thank you!
Waffles01 – thank you! And I like to think that once he has grown up he will go after he wants with no holding back. So that is what I wrote in this story. And I don't really think she had a chance! grins
Lleaves - ya those fics bother me to. I like to think she is more of a very tortured soul who has a lot of uses to get through.. Not completely helpless just very tortured. Though I will admit that my next fic is a lot more angsty. This one was me giving into fangirlism! And when they put their heads together two against one equals bad for her… did that help?
Heheangel kisses- bows to the long review you're my hero! And he had to distract her somehow! But for his defense it wasn't him! And well someone suspiciously was found very dazed and confused later on! chuckles I LOVE Yachiru! I can not expresses this enough, she is totally one of my favorite characters, glad you like her!
I tried to give Hinamori some background so that it didn't seem like she was completely nutty for not wanting to go straight back to him. A little history and a little depth go a long way for a story, I am glad you liked my flashback. It was very hard to write. And Rukia and her expressions are amazingly fun to write! And no one can be completely oblivious to him that long can they?
Dove-chan- um do I still get points? The chapter did come out! Here it is!
Ice illuser – yes I moved! Glad you found it though!
Kirby – thanks, I HATE long boring stuff. Glad to know you don't think so! And here is the update. Sorry it took so long!
Kaeru Soyokaze – it resembled Hitsugaya at that moment which means SMUSHING! And thanks, gotta build characters somehow! Glad that it didn't bore you! And I like to think that as a man he has the ability to fluster her!
Noc and NC – long reviewer! Ya, I give you serious brownie points, SERIOUS. Hitsugaya is a serious badass. A very hot bad ass at that! And I LOVE Matsumoto, she is perhaps my second favorite female. And thanks, I never did think she could just bounce back from something like her beloved captains betrayal, I would have gone mad for sure. And your like on my hero reviewer list!
Erebrandir – yes he is courting her! And its so much fun to write! Rukia is the best to write, because she is such a fiery character. And her innocence of things make me laugh. I tried to bring that into that scene. In all the anime/manga he was shiro-chan. So I figured it would translate into Histugaya and not Toushiro, that and there is that whole last name thing in Japanese culture… (I believe). And I always figure he would get the last word in an argument with her!
Betas are like the air we breath, you can't do much without one successfully. (points to her plug futher up the page)Gotta have one! And thank you, I am trying hard to improve my skills.
Chibirebel and Idybookiie – well I think I will write some shorter stories to accompany little things still left in the fic. That and maybe an epilogue, I have decided yet. I tried to make it where this could stand and then maybe some shorter stories…
Imaginator – Thank you, and here you go!
Gina – I am glad, I am always worried when I write long chapters that people are going to get bored and quiet halfway through. Here is your kiss!
falls over the end! For now anyway!