Author's note: Many thanks to Yumichi for reviewing chapter 2! I'm still working on chapter 4, so I can't promise that it'll be up soon, but I'll try! Also, from this point in my fic, I was planning on spending more time writing about events within the school… if there's any other kind of event you guys would like to see me write, let me know and I'll see if I can write it! I'm hoping that the chapters in this fic will all be in chronological order, but we'll see.
And yes, there are slight changes from when I uploaded chapter 3 on livejournal some time ago, for those who were wondering.
Please take the time to review! They are very much appreciated! And do not hesitate to point out any errors I made!
Disclaimer- Bleach isn't mine.
Chapter 3- Stepping Onto Another Path
It was weird without Hinamori, Hitsugaya admitted. She had left for the Academy a week ago and it'd be a few months before she'd be able to visit Rukongai. Hinamori had also been his only friend, so he was bored more than anything else. But considering Hitsugaya's personality, that's something he would probably never admit.
Of course, he had been given the opportunity to make new friends; Hinamori had taken him around the town to introduce him to other children, but Hitsugaya's cold, grumpy personality wasn't very appealing to everyone who met him, both young and old. He remembered Hinamori putting her hands on her hips exasperatedly after one such time.
Flashback"Mou, Shiro-chan! Why do you have to be so unfriendly to everybody? I don't want to hear that you're spending all your time alone after I leave," she had said one winter afternoon as they walked back to Hitsugaya's home.
Hitsugaya looked at her crossly. "Then don't become a shinigami," he replied flatly. Hinamori opened her right hand, focused her sight on her palm, and seconds later, a ball of spiritual energy formed.
"Not everyone has reiatsu; such a rare gift should not be wasted, right?"
Hitsugaya let out a grunt, which Hinamori took as a yes.
End FlashbackAll he had left was grandmother, but Hitsugaya feared that her life would soon come to its end. True, Hinamori would be able to visit Rukongai during school vacations, but once she graduated and became an actual shinigami, then she'd probably never be able to visit. From the current circumstances, Hitsugaya knew his future would be a lonely one. Even though Hinamori had helped him before, perhaps he should find something to do.
"I'm going out for a walk," he informed grandmother, who had been sitting next to him on the porch of their home.
Grandmother smiled. "Toushirou, you miss Hinamori-chan that much, don't you?"
Hitsugaya hopped off the porch and looked at her.
"What does that have to do with me wanting to go out for a walk?"
"But doesn't it feel different without your best friend?" grandmother asked knowingly.
Hitsugaya immediately shook his head. "Not particularly."
He wandered to the outskirts of town where there was a large grassy field and a river in which children liked to try and catch fish. Yes, that's what he would do for the rest of the day. He would catch as many fish as possible. Oh boy. With a bored expression on his face, Hitsugaya waded into the bitterly cold water.
As he looked down and around for fish, some shadowy figures in the distance spotted him from a distance.
"I know for a fact that scrawny kid has no reiatsu. If he catches any fish, I'm taking it all," one of the shadowy figures said with a scornful laugh.
Three hours later, Hitsugaya looked at the dozens of fish he had tossed into a couple of buckets he found nearby. Most of the fishes were a particular type that Hinamori really liked to eat. He didn't get why Hinamori ate food; Hitsugaya and everyone else in the town was doing just fine without it.
"Now, what is a scrawny kid like you doing with all that fish when you don't have reiatsu?" a scathing voice spoke from above.
Sensing danger, Hitsugaya tensed up. "These fishes are not for you," he said coldly.
He heard a rustle from a nearby tree and a few seconds later, saw an older boy standing in front of him, looking extremely pissed off. "What did you say?"
Hitsugaya looked at him coolly. "I have no need to repeat what I said."
His attitude made the older boy even more furious. "You ought to respect your elders. Now, hand me all that fish you caught," he said haughtily, his eyes angrily flashing at the small Hitsugaya.
Hitsugaya turned from the older boy and turned to the buckets of fish he had earlier put off to the side. He took hold of one of the wriggling fish and tossed it to the elder boy.
He looked at the fish in disdain. It was rather small and he could have sworn that the fish was staring at him. He threw the fish onto the ground and menacingly advanced towards Hitsugaya, who was looking rather unfazed.
"Nobody treats Hayashi Akira like a fool!" the older boy roared. He raised his right arm and swung it with all his might, aiming it for the skinny boy's stomach. But that's what happened to him instead.
Hayashi looked up from the dusty ground at Hitsugaya, who was trying to hide how pleased he was with himself as he examined his fist.
"Impossible," Hayashi thought, with nothing but fear in his eyes and a throbbing pain in his abdomen.
Hitsugaya managed to get the fish to his home, only to be met with genuine surprise from grandmother.
"Toushirou! Why so much fish?" she exclaimed.
Hitsugaya looked at her passively. "I was bored, obaa-san." He couldn't think of anything else to cover the truth. He really had been bored, as much as he hated to admit it.
"That's besides the point, Toushirou. Neither you or I have reiatsu, so there's no need for us to have food here with Hinamori away at school," grandmother reasoned.
"So? We can send it to her."
Grandmother had a sudden image of a pile of fish in Hinamori's dormitory room.
"I'll talk to the town leader and see what he can do."
The sun was just beginning to set as Hinamori waved a goodbye to some of her classmates and entered her dormitory room. After classes, there had been a meeting for all the first-years about the various opportunities they would have upon graduating from the Academy. Hinamori was dizzy from all the information the dean and other important guests had thrown at them. She was initially quite sure that she wanted to go into the Gotei 13, but now she wasn't quite so sure. She wasn't as good at swordwork as well as she hoped she was, but at least her kidou skills made up for that. Hinamori placed her books on her desk and plopped onto her bed. Her room was much nicer than the one she had back in Rukongai, but she missed the atmosphere where it was all about spending time with friends rather than schoolwork.
And she missed her Shiro-chan, that was for sure. As she rested her head on her pillow, she thought back on the last time she had seen him. She had ruffled his hair right before she left; it was quite a comical sight, really. And then when he had told her not to come back to Rukongai… of course he didn't mean it, right? If she didn't go back, then who would Hinamori have as a friend? Yes, Hinamori made many friends at school, but she felt that the friendship she and Hitsugaya was one of those that would genuinely last.
Somebody knocked on her door, causing Hinamori to sit up straight. "Who is it?"
The door opened and one of Hinamori's female classmates poked her head through the opening. "Hinamori-chan, you should see what's going on outside! Come on!" she exclaimed.
Hinamori curiously got up on her feet and followed her classmate out to the hallway. A bunch of the other girls in her year were also there and sticking their heads out of the windows to have a better look at what was going on.
"No need to guess what we're having for dinner tonight."
"Are you crazy? That's not even enough to feed all the first years!"
"Hmph…I was never a fan of seafood anyway.'
Wanting to see what everyone else was seeing, Hinamori made her way through the swarm of other girls to get to the front and poked her head outside the window.
Heading for the entrance of school escorted by some sixth years and teachers, she saw a man whom she recognized as the leader of her village. The sixth years were carrying what seemed to be a few baskets of fish preserved with ice cubes.
Then a gruff,male voice sounded through the PA.
"Would Hinamori Momo please come to the front entrance of the Academy? Hinamori Momo to the front entrance."
Many of the girls turned towards her, curious for an explanation. Hinamori's eyes widened! She had no idea herself why this was all going on! Before the girls could see her turn bright red, she made a dash towards the closest stairway.
Hinamori bowed as the group reached the front entrance. "Kobayashi-san! I'm surprised to see you here!" she said with a smile, trying to hide the fact that she was still in a state of embarrassment from what happened in the dormitories.
The elderly town leader smiled at Hinamori. "A generous gift from Hitsugaya-kun," he said, pointing to the baskets of fish the sixth years were still holding. "but there was a lot more before. If only Hitsugaya-kun hadn't gotten so hungry and decided to eat some of it."
Hinamori laughed. 'Well of course it's okay if he eats!"
Then it hit her.
Did her Shiro-chan have reiatsu?
"Hinamori-chan? Are you alright?" Kobayashi asked. The girl looked like her birthday had just come a few months early.
Hinamori snapped out of her thoughts and nodded. One of her teachers stepped forward.
"Hinamori, perhaps we should have these fishes sent to the kitchen? Then perhaps they can be ready by dinnertime."
As she ate fish with some friends later on that evening, she thought of her white-haired friend happily. Perhaps he would be able to enter the Academy next year!