THIS MARRIED LIFE

CHAPTER FOUR: Introduction to Proposing 101

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Author's Notes:

I'm completely confused with the whole age thing so just go along with it.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of Bleach, anime or manga.

150 years later

"Ah! Happy 100th Anniversary Rukia-chan!" congratulated Hinamori.

"Gomen, I was going to tell you yesterday but I couldn't find you anywhere or taichou as a matter of fact." Rukia gleamed happily.

"Thanks! I still can't believe that we got married a hundred years yesterday," she gushed as she fiddled with her wedding band autonomously. Matsumoto eyed her weirdly. If a hundred years isn't long enough to let the whole marriage thing sink in then I wonder how long it'd actually take. Her eyes travelled down to the wedding band that Rukia was playing with.

"How does the whole 'rings' thing work again?" she asked curiously. Rukia had explained it to them before but that was over a hundred years ago so, typical of Rangiku, she had already forgotten its meaning. It wasn't as if she was going to get married. Ever.

Rukia wasted no time to explain. She straightened a little and a familiar expression spread across her face. It was the "time to educate these unknowing friends of mine about the trivialities of the living world" expression.

Matsumoto sighed inwardly as she watched Rukia take out her drawing pad and markers. Why did I have to ask? She berated herself as she sighed inwardly again. Rangiku glanced across to observe Hinamori. What she saw caused a sly smile to spread on her face. It looks as though Momo is eager to learn she reflected as she watched her in an amused manner. With that new revelation in her mind, Rangiku leaned back comfortably and watched Rukia draw her picture.

After she finished her drawing, Rukia flipped the pad over and held it up for her newfound students to see. Hinamori examined the drawing for a moment; a confused expression clouded her features.

"An execution?" Hinamori guessed lamely. She looked to Matsumoto for support.

"No, no. See how there's a person standing there with a weird weapon pointed at that person who is kneeling down with their arms up?" She asked Hinamori as she pointed to the picture, "well the person standing up is about to finish off the person kneeling down, see, and the person kneeling down is either putting their hands up in defence or pleading with the opponent to spare his or her life." Rangiku explained with an air of pride before she was scorched by the flames that Rukia was emanating. Kuchiki balled her fist and protested.

"It's has nothing to do with fighting – it's a freaking proposal!" she seethed as she willed herself to calm down. It's okay Kuchiki Rukia; it's not your fault that they don't know how to appreciate fine art. She cleared her throat and continued on in a calm and collected manner.

"See, the person kneeling down is holding out a diamond ring to the person standing up. It's clearly a proposal."

"Does the person proposing have to kneel down?" Hinamori asked. Rukia shook her head.

"No, it's the ring that actually matters. They can propose in any way. Anyway, the diamond ring is worn to show that the wearer is betrothed to someone. When you get married, you exchange wedding bands such as this one. Traditionally it's just a plain gold band."

"Does the male wear a diamond ring too?" Hinamori asked.

"A male's engagement ring is quite different to a woman's," Rukia recounted thoughtfully, "It's very similar to a wedding ring in that it's quite plain. Usually it's just a band with a small diamond embedded into it somewhere but generally, men don't usually wear engagement rings. Well, Ichigo didn't anyway." Hinamori absorbed all this.

"You seem very interested, Hinamori-chan," stated Matsumoto slyly. Hinamori blushed.

"Well, I'm just curious, that's all," she explained. Rukia examined her.

"You know, you're just the right age to get married," she commented. Matsumoto smiled.

"I guess it's time to give taichou a heads-up. What do you say, Momo?"

Hinamori's face sported a deep red now and she was flushing uncontrollably.

"I…I didn't mean…I…" Her words failed her miserably so she decided to stay silent and settled with staring sheepishly at her friends.

Hitsugaya looked up from his papers and glanced at Matsumoto as she entered and plonked down onto the sofa with a stifled giggle. He returned his attention back to his papers once more only to hear yet another giggle coming out of his vice-captain. Hitsugaya put his pen down and took a sip of tea.

"What's so funny, Matsumoto?" he asked, not out of interest or concern for that matter but for the sake of his own sanity. Matsumoto turned in the sofa to face her captain.

"Well, since you asked – it's nothing really. It was Rukia and Ichigo's 100th anniversary yesterday and Hinamori and I were talking about it with her this morning and we kind of got into a conversation about engagement and marriage." Rangiku paused for her words to sink in and smiled when she saw Hitsugaya choke a little out of the corner of her eye.

"And?" he asked calmly as he placed his drink on the desk – he had decided it was much safer that way. Rangiku shook her head.

"The rest is girl talk."

"Did Hinamori hint anything, Matsumoto?" Hitsugaya asked as smoothly as he could in hopes that Rangiku hadn't caught the almost inaudible tremor in his voice. However, judging from the slight curl of her lips, he'd say he'd failed in that aspect. Nonetheless he looked expectantly at her with his arms folded comfortably at his chest.

Matsumoto threw her captain a teasing glance before taking a moment to think.

"Hmm, not really, though you might want to consider asking Ichigo about modern style proposals," she advised.

"Modern style proposals," Hitsugaya repeated after her to himself.

Hitsugaya shifted uncomfortably in the guest chair of the fifth division headquarters. Of all the things he had done this had got to be the most embarrassing one yet. Though, he was sure, that there would be more in the very near future. Hitsugaya sighed inwardly, the pride I have to swallow for this girl.

"Well? What do you want to know?" asked Ichigo curiously. He noticed the tiny beads of sweat on Toshiro's forehead and raised an eyebrow.

"I need you to tell me," Hitsugaya took in a silent deep breath before blurting out, "I need you to tell me about the modern way of proposing." As soon as the words left his mouth he stared impatiently at Ichigo for an answer. However, Ichigo seemed to be occupied with other things – such as shock followed by a bout of rolling laughter. Hitsugaya glared at his friend and crossed his arms.

"Oi Ichigo!" He warned in a frustrated and impatient manner.

Ichigo punched Hitsugaya playfully on the arm.

"You're finally proposing! About damn time as well," he added, ignoring the glare he was receiving from his silver-haired friend.

"So?" Hitsugaya asked with increasing impatience. The topic was a little…unnerving for him. Ichigo shot Hitsugaya a smug smile before scanning the room to see if a certain vice-captain was around. Seeing that it was safe, Ichigo leaned in and began to educate Toshiro on the basics of 'contemporary' proposals.

Hinamori walked out of her office and into Ichigo's to find her captain and her boyfriend in a seemingly deep conversation. In fact, Hitsugaya seemed like he was constantly taking mental notes with all the nodding he was doing. Nonetheless she approached them casually. Ichigo looked up just in time to cue to Hitsugaya that Hinamori was approaching them.

"Sorry for interrupting taichou, Hitsugaya-kun. Are you two going for lunch soon?"

Ichigo glanced at Hitsugaya then looked at Hinamori again.

"Actually, Momo-san, there's a captain thing that Toshiro and I have to deal with so we won't be able to have lunch together today. Would you be able to explain to Rukia what's happening as well?"

"Oh, okay then, I'll tell her taichou. Make sure the two of you eat lunch though," she looked at the two captains curiously before leaving the room. Once they made sure that she was out, Hitsugaya and Ichigo both let out a sigh of relief.

Hinamori placed the last report down on the finished pile and stretched. She turned to look out the window. Mou, it's dark already – I wonder when Shiro-chan is going to finish. She reached out and grabbed her teacup and brought it to her lips but didn't get a chance to drink it due to Hitsugaya walking in abruptly.

"Hitsugaya-kun," she exclaimed, "have you finished your duty?" Hitsugaya scratched his head and looked away.

"Yeah," he replied, "Umm, Hinamori, do you want to come and watch me train?"

Hinamori was a little taken aback with the question. It had been such a long time since he had asked her to watch him train. She smiled sweetly at him and nodded.

"Do you remember the last time you asked me if I wanted to come and watch you train?" she asked. Hitsugaya nodded.

"You were upset then," he remembered.

"So you tried to cheer me up by sending Hyourinmaru over to me with a flower in his mouth."

"Hyourinmaru…was not happy about that," Hitsugaya recalled.

"How did you manage to get him to do it in the first place?" she asked curiously.

"We made a deal."

"What deal did you make?" Hinamori inquired further in a hopeful manner. She pouted when Hitsugaya answered her with an expression she had long identified as the 'you will never know' expression.

It never failed to amaze Hinamori how one moment it was night and the next it seemed like daytime whenever she entered the training grounds. Of course, she scarcely came here. The training ground were specifically for those who were either very close to their bankai and wanted to achieve it or those who have already achieved it and wished to practice more to master it.

She scanned amongst the precipices to see if there was a ridge that she could sit on. She found one that was not so high from the ground; about three metres up and leapt onto it.

Hitsugaya took a side glance at Hinamori to make sure that she was seated comfortably with a good view. As soon as he saw that this was appeased he wasted no more time in summoning Hyourinmaru.

A bright electric blue emanated from Hitsugaya's body and surrounded him as he slowly lifted his soul slayer to one side with a hand. A stream of sapphire blue energy encircled the sword before soaring in the sky to reveal the ice dragon Hyourinmaru.

Hinamori watched in awe as Hitsugaya trained. It never ceased to amaze her every time she saw it. A sense of pride for Hitsugaya filled her as she continued watching. A moment later she noticed that the dragon was gliding towards her. A smile broke out on her face when Hyourinmaru reached her and opened its jaws like it did so very long ago. A small sound of confusion escaped her lips when she looked into its jaws and saw a small box sitting on its sapphire blue tongue instead of the flower she had expected. She took the box and graciously thanked the dragon before opening it ever so slowly to reveal a diamond ring.

Hinamori's eyes widened, her hands moved up to loosely cover her open mouth. Is Hitsugaya proposing! She looked up at Hyourinmaru who hovered in front of her just a while longer before dissipating. The training grounds suddenly returned to its normal day-like atmosphere. Hinamori looked down to see Hitsugaya looking up at her from the bottom. She slowly shifted her gaze from his eyes to the diamond ring again. Suddenly an intense feeling of excitement mixed with happiness took over her shock as the realization dawned on her. Hitsugaya just proposed! Hinamori let out a laugh and squealed ecstatically as she jumped off the ridge into Hitsugaya's unexpecting arm who after catching her was met with a deep kiss on the lips. They broke apart a moment later, both quite out of breath.

"Is that a yes?" Hitsugaya breathed with a rare smile reserved only for her.

"You haven't asked a question yet so I don't know," Hinamori teased.

"It's a yes," Hitsugaya stated in a direct manner. He took the box from her and removed the ring. Hinamori laughed.

"What kind of person answers their own proposal?" she asked in a playful disbelief.

Hitsugaya placed a hand on her lower back and pulled her closer to him. He leaned closer, took a deep breath and lowered his eyes as he exhaled.

"Marry me?"

Hinamori's heart quickened. He was watching her so intently, drawing her into the aqua-blue depths of his stare. Slowly she gave a nod. Hitsugaya let out a torrent of air that he didn't even realise he was holding. Hinamori watched as he slid the ring on her finger.

The newly engaged couple looked at each other for a moment before he took her into his arms. Hinamori rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes in a state of blissful contentment.

The following day, the entire length of the vice-captain meeting was filled with excited chatter, laughter and a few outbursts of "about damn time" and "congratulations". Hinamori had walked in casually this morning expecting the meeting to proceed in its usual boring way and had, unsurprisingly, leapt up in shock when she was bombarded with confetti-happy or intoxicated fellow vices. One glance at her orange-haired friend though and the truth was revealed to her.

After the rather eventful meeting that had everything to do with her engagement and nothing to do with shinigami duty, Hinamori took off to find Hitsugaya. Following a long and fruitless search throughout the main buildings of Seireitai, Hinamori decided that Hitsugaya was probably training instead and so she headed off to the training grounds.

She was walking towards his usual training spot when she was suddenly overwhelmed by an immensely powerful outpour of spiritual energy. She faltered, this spiritual pressure was not Hitsugaya's but it was not unfamiliar either. She quickly turned in the direction that the reiatsu was coming from. A screech rang out from above her. Hinamori shot her head up and stumbled backwards at the sight. Takahashi's fire phoenix…that's impossible, how did I not notice it was right above me? A million questions ran through her mind as she stared up in disbelief and horror. Panic built up in her. The bird set its fiery gaze on her and the two held eye contact for what seemed like eternity. Then slowly the phoenix began to dissipate until nothing remained; leaving not even the slightest hint that it was there a moment ago. Hinamori released her breath and sighed in relief as she brought a hand up to wipe the sweat off her forehead.

"It's okay," assured a voice behind her. Hinamori turned around to see Kaemon standing there proudly with the blade of his zanpakuto resting on his broad shoulder. "I've being able to control phoenix for a long time now."

The two friends sat down on a grassy hilltop just outside the entrance to the training grounds.

"I can't believe you came back," Hinamori exclaimed happily for the twentieth time in the last thirty minutes.

"Well special ops weren't really my thing," he explained casually. Hinamori raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you said that the Gotei-13 weren't really what you…" Kaemon cut her off.

"That was then, I have a goal now," He turned to face her and looked her seriously in the eye, "I've changed Hinamori, I'm no longer that boy who sits back and takes everything as it is. Now if I want it then I'll do anything in my power to get it." He was staring at her so intently and for a fleeting moment, Hinamori felt somewhat drawn to the darkness in his eyes. In that instant her heart quickened in fear and she quickly lowered her eyes to break off eye contact.

When she was sure that he wasn't looking at her anymore, Hinamori dared herself to observe his expressions and to examine his eyes. There was simply something about him that was unsettling though she could not grasp what it was. Perhaps it was the darkness in his eyes, or the way he conducted himself in a cold and distant manner regardless of the words that were coming out of his mouth. Whatever it was that unnerved her, Hinamori could not seem to identify what made her so.

"So," she started with an awkward lightness, "what is your goal?"

"I've challenged the ninth division captain for his captaincy," he stated bluntly, "my goal is to become a captain first." Hinamori was taken aback.

"What is your next goal?" she asked curiously. Kaemon looked at her with a serious expression.

"To marry you and make you my wife," he declared with a straight face. Hinamori faltered and he broke out in laughter. A moment later he became serious again.

"Are you nervous?" Hinamori asked.

"Hmm?"

"Are you nervous about challenging the ninth captain?" She asked. Kaemon shook his head.

"I am quite confident that I will win," he answered with poise, he smiled at Hinamori's raised eyebrow.

"I have a secret side of me," he added ambiguously as he stared distantly into the moonlit darkness. Hinamori looked at him. Kaemon sighed.

"About seventy five years ago I was attacked by one of the remaining hollows that Aizen had created. It defeated me and I was about to become a hollow but then…" Hinamori's eyes widened.

"You became a vaizard," she finished for him. Was that the darkness in him, being half shinigami half hollow? But taichou doesn't have that darkness in him.

"Sort of but not really," Hinamori looked at him with a confused expression. He shifted so that he was sitting facing her.

"You see, there have been these lapses," he began, "if I wanted something bad enough but I couldn't get it no matter what I tried then whatever it is inside me will take over for a while. Like when I achieved my bankai, the thing inside me took over for a while and by the time I regained control I had achieved it."

"That must be scary," Hinamori comment softly, "to loose control like that."

"No," Hinamori was surprised by his response, and by his increasing enthusiasm of the subject. "It's not scary, it's quite convenient actually. To get what I want without doing much so easily."

"But do you remember what happened during the time you were not in control?" She asked.

"It comes back eventually, perhaps a day later or a week later but usually it comes back," Kaemon shrugged and Hinamori looked at him with a serious and incredulous expression. How could he take this so lightly? Does he not know how dangerous it is, to him and to people around him? Is he so entrapped by the power that the demon inside him deceivingly provides?

"I think you should be careful, Kaemon-kun," Hinamori advised slowly. The smile on his face vanished as his lips tightened. Hinamori faltered a little under his austere look but kept her stare. Kaemon averted his gaze to something behind her and she followed his gaze. She turned around to see Hitsugaya standing there with his arms crossed and one eyebrow arched. Hinamori let out an inward sigh of relief and stood up. Kaemon stood with her while Hitsugaya approached them.

"Hitsugaya-taichou," Kaemon greeted. Hitsugaya nodded in acknowledgement.

"Well, I am going to resume my training," he informed the two before leaving for the training grounds. Once he was out of sight Hinamori looked at Hitsugaya and exhaled. Hitsugaya chuckled.

Hitsugaya stared back at her. After listening to what she said about Kaemon, he was starting to think that it would be best he didn't become captain. He was too unstable if he couldn't control the hollow within him, and the captain rank allowed too much flexibility and power. He must remember to bring it up in the captain's meeting tomorrow. But right now,

"Be careful of him Hinamori," Hitsugaya warned.

"Are you worried?" Hinamori teased.

"I'm serious," Hitsugaya responded in a stern tone.

"I will," she assured him.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE

Later Hinamori and Hitsugaya will go through the more traditional form of formal engagement (Yui-no) and wedding. There would be a lot of alteration though because they don't really have a family and some other details don't match up.

Please review.This chapter hasn't been read through and edited yet.

I've been updating a little slower then usual because I'm currently in assignment nearing exam period.