Hello and welcome!

Have you guys read the new chapter (670) of the manga? I swear that the last scan broke my brain xD I've been giggling whenever I thought of Bleach ever since xD I'm pretty sure that we just witnessed Hitsugaya getting Neville Longbottomed!

Anyways, back to focus xD I would like to thank Shaybo27 and avtorSola for PMing with me about Daisy! I hope that you guys are still following :) Also, I would really like to thank pika-78 for PMing with me as well :D

P.S.: Please don't hold my lousy attempt at an accent against me! xD

List of OCs appearing in the chapter:

Kobashigawa Hinagiku (11th Division)

Nakajima Hideki (10th)

Saji Daichi (10th)

This story was inspired by a short poem by Julie Martinez:

and if you don't
like me, as i do you;
i understand.

because who would
really choose
a daisy, in a field
of roses?
-Julie Martinez

Chapter 4: Dyed crimson

It is dark. I live in the darkness. I thrive there. In the smells, the touches and the tastes. I thrive without sight. Yet, I wish to have it. I long for the day when a light will appear. A star to shine and show me my way. To take me out of the darkness.

In the pitch black, I wait and fold. One crane. Two cranes. I fold many, many cranes. I fold all the time. Folding can be done blindly. You don't need light to use paper. Paper can be felt.

A thousand cranes.

That much is how a wish costs here. So, I fold in the dark, waiting. Waiting for the star. For the light. One crane. Two cranes. I fold many, many cranes.

She had been too naïve.

Promising to protect another, when she couldn't even protect herself. She didn't know how this had happened. It had been a routine Hollow extermination mission. In the closer parts of Rukongai no less. Yet, she had been naïve. Her Captain said almost every day that there is always a good fight just waiting to happen nearby. But, this hadn't been a fight.

It had been a massacre.

Hinagiku ran. Her heart was beating like crazy and her leg was bleeding profusely. Judging by the amount of liquid, she wouldn't be able to move soon. She needed a strategy. But, she couldn't clear her mind. No, she could only feel the weight of the body on her shoulder as she attempted to Shunpo away, which wasn't working. She couldn't focus her reiatsu. There was a thick, warm liquid running down her forehead, painting her vision red. She didn't bother to wipe it. There was no strength for that. It entered her mouth through her clenched teeth. Blood. She didn't know where her Asauchi had flown off to. She could only hear her own heart beating in her ears.

She was going to die.

It had been going so well. They had separated into their groups, chosen leaders among the three of them and proceeded to the outbreak point to exterminate the invading Hollow. There had been only a couple, smaller ones there. Hardly a job for a joint Division operation. Hardly a job for a 7th Seat. So, Hinagiku had stayed on alert. She and Nakajima Hideki, a fellow Shinigami and their group leader, had agreed to help their greenhorn, Saji Daichi, gain some experience. They would allow him to enter battle, only providing support.

And then, it had all gone to Hell.

Hinagiku stopped, taking short, ragged breaths. She was at her limit. Saji, as lanky as he was, was at least two times her size and weight. She couldn't carry him any longer. Not on this leg. The girl slumped to the ground, the dead weight of the body of her comrade landing right next to her. She looked over at him, the screams and roars in the background slowly coming into focus in her ears. There were three long, jagged gashes across his chest, bleeding.

He was going to die.

Hinagiku wasn't sure when it had happened, but one second, she was laughing with Hideki and planning to meet up later that week for dinner and next, blood had sprouted out of his mouth and neck, splattering all over her face and chest. Slowly, the warm, red drops had slid down her cheeks, mixing with the sweat that was beginning to appear, as her body kicked into overdrive. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his face, frozen in a smile, his dead eyes focused on her. Hinagiku had never seen someone die before.

At least, not like this.

Her heart was still pounding, her stomach doing loops and jumps. She needed to puke. A couple of seconds later, the Shinigami wiped her mouth on the ripped sleeve of her shihakushō and dry heaved. There was nothing more to spit out. She noticed the blood on her pale flesh and remembered.

Hideki. He was so young. He had just been promoted. He wanted to become a seated officer. He had dreams. He had been alive.

The clear picture of Hideki's laughing face flashed in her mind, speared through with a set of wicked, sharp claws. His blood everywhere. The smell. The taste. The sound. Hinagiku dry heaved once more, as her stomach couldn't really push anything else out. She coughed and then looked behind her.

Her ears still weren't working right. They were both ringing with an annoying buzz, like they were full of determined mosquitos, and silenced at the same time, like she was in a vacuum. But, she could hear some things properly. Her terrified heart, beating wildly in her chest, pumping blood and adrenaline all over her system. The terrified screams, as the people of Rukongai ran around, attempting to hide from the rampaging Hollow.

She had to do something.

The battle had begun so fast and it had been so much unlike the usual spar that she had with 3rd Seat Ikkaku or the quick dispatching of an occasional Hollow. No. This had been a nervous, bloody and shaky battle between her, the clawed Hollow and her own grip on her sword. She had been a mess.

Saji had screamed in terror somewhere to her right, as he had noticed their surrounded state, along with Hideki's body on the ground. Then, he had proceeded to yell out, stumbling backwards and falling on his back.

Hinagiku had been unable to help him.

The clawed Hollow, still covered in the blood of his previous victim, had flung her to the side with one swipe of its powerful, lanky limb, sending her flying and her Asauchi somewhere out of her sight. Then, when she didn't get up fast enough, it had switched its target. After all, a squealing, crying and floundering about Shinigami was much more fun than the limp and still one.

Hinagiku had watched in her sideways, blurry vision as Saji, the greenhorn whom she had promised to protect, was being mangled by the claws which had just moments ago slain their comrade. With unknown strength, the girl had managed to extend her hands and fire off a Hadō #31 Shakkahō from her position on the ground. It had hit the clawed Hollow and given her just enough time to use a clumsy Shunpo to get both her and Saji away.

Hinagiku looked away from the fire and destruction behind her, focusing on her fellow Shinigami instead. She took off her kosode and placed it over the man's chest as a makeshift bandage. Then, she proceeded to tie it with shaky fingers as tightly as possible, to stop the bleeding. After her slick with blood fingers slipped for the fifth time, she yelled out.

"Come on, dang it!" Hinagiku then raised her hands to her hips, quickly brushing the liquid off on the material there and took a deep breath. She reached out, tying a secure, tight knot. "Tha's how ya' do it, dang it." She murmured to herself, her Kyoto dialect coming out in the mayhem.

Then, once that job was done, the girl took another deep breath and with shaky fingers took a look at her leg. The gash was deep, but straight and clean. If she bandaged it properly, it could heal rather quickly with the help of the 4th Division. Hinagiku ripped the sleeve of her shitagi, and then tied it to stop the bleeding. She would be fine for a while. Her head wasn't spinning and she could hear everything properly now.

"Ya' jus' sit there, wontcha." She murmured to the unconscious Saji, before struggling to her feet. Her head spun a bit, the scenery in front of her swimming. She touched the side of her head, feeling the wet and already swollen bump. She had hit it pretty hard. It felt like her whole brain was pumping in the rhythm of her heart, pounding, heavy, like her head would fall off and roll away any second, still jumping as the heart dictated. Her blood was burning, though.

She had never felt this way.

Hinagiku took a step forward, staggering. She knew vaguely where her katana had flown off. She needed that. She needed a weapon. Her feet seemed light, like she was walking in a constant Shunpo. Her arms didn't have any weight either. She was floating. There was nothing. Her head swum, the scenery in front of her coming in and out of focus.

She had lost too much blood.

The gash on her leg had already colored the white, makeshift bandage a deep crimson shade. She wouldn't last long. Hinagiku bit her lip, the pain in it becoming greater than the one in her leg. She felt her face come out of the cold numbness that her whole body had been enveloped into. She could hear the screams for help, calling a Shinigami to come and save them, sounding from the direction of the large, clawed Hollow.

She was no good at finding things on her own. Hinagiku knew that. It had been when she had gotten her Asauchi. It was her katana that was her lucky charm for finding things. And now, it was gone.

Hinagiku closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing. She could find it by reiatsu. Every day, she meditated with her katana, attempting to learn its name. The constant pouring of her reiatsu into the sword had left a faint trace, like a thin line of smoke, which rose from the sheath. She could find it if she just looked for that.

Her violet eyes opened, searching. She ignored the panicking people running around her, away from the Hollow. She tuned out the slicing sounds which more than often hit their mark, resulting in a sickening squelching and ripping song of battle. She couldn't listen right now. She needed to focus. She could cry later.

She could see it.

A thin line of purple, willowy, smoke-like reiatsu rising steadily in the chaos, like it didn't have a care in the world. It didn't exist in the battle. It existed in her. Hinagiku grit her teeth, hearing them scrape against one another, before she stepped forward. It seemed like ages, the journey which she took to her sword. She was vaguely aware of screaming Souls running by her, some looking at her in horror because of all the blood and some smiling in relief, at the sight of a Shinigami. Regardless, she didn't have the strength to stop or reassure them. She was doing all she could to stay on her feet.

Her Asauchi was a sight for sore eyes.

Hinagiku dropped on her knees beside it, her trembling, cold hand grasping it in relief. Her breathing was out of control again. She attempted to steady it, inhaling large breaths and then holding them for a while. As soon as her vision cleared of the small stars which appeared from lack of oxygen, Hinagiku forced herself to her feet once more, using her Asauchi as a cane.

Then, she turned.

Hideki's face was still there, right in front of her eyes, playing on a loop. Smiling, freezing, bleeding. Smiling, freezing, bleeding. Smiling. This time, it was Hinagiku that froze the image.

"Tis fer 'im." She murmured to herself, positioning her blade at her hip, where it was supposed to go. "This is fer 'im." She opened her eyes, her vision focusing once more. It was easy to find the Hollow. It was the biggest of the bunch, slashing left and right, devouring screaming Souls with gusto, ripping them apart. It was covered in grime and blood of the battle and it seemed to love it. "Yer gonna pay."

Keep calm. Breathe.

And then, she stepped forward. Her body flew in a Shunpo, reaching the Hollow in two steps. Her Asauchi flashed from its sheath, slicing in a perfect, practice-like motion. Blood gushed from the wound, splattering all over the short Shinigami and the ground around her. The Hollow howled in pain, staggering backwards.

Hinagiku didn't give it the time to recover. Breathe. She took one more ragged breath and stepped forward, her Shunpo sending her flying. She was behind the Hollow in a second. Another perfect slash across its back, to bleed it out and render it weak. Then, her left hand came to her sword, switching its position and she sliced across, the blade going through the soft back of the monster's knees with little resistance. It couldn't move any longer.

"That's fer 'im, ya' damned creature." She cursed, her eyes cold as the Hollow writhed on the bloodied ground. Then, it turned, its glowing eyes focusing on her with as much malice as possible. The crack in its mask, where the teeth were opened and it spoke.

"Sh-Shinigami." It gurgled from the blood filling its mouth. "M-mercy." It begged.

Hinagiku readied her Asauchi, feeling the heat of reiatsu on her fingers. The katana was tingling, begging to be used on the vile creature in front of her. Breathe. She took a deep breath and tightened her grip. The blade slid back into the sheath and the Hollow began rising from the ground, the number of Souls which it had devoured speeding up its healing.

"I will give ya' mercy." Her accent as present as ever. Her head was clearing. She was strangely calm. "Jus' like ya' gave it to him." Her knees bent in a move which she had practiced days and days on end, but never showed to Ikkaku during their spars. Breathe. "Iai: One slice."

And she stepped.

She was cold. Numb. Short.

Wait, short?

True, Hinagiku didn't have the height of an average person, but she wasn't this short. The girl looked around, turning. Everything loomed over her like tall, stern giants. Either she had become small or she was in giantville. Her bets were on giantville.

She didn't know where she was.

The young Shinigami looked around, turning. Tall, dark trees stood around her, their green leaves olive in the night. She could smell the sweet scent of gardenias, her mother's favorite flowers. Her Grandmother had barely allowed for them to be planted in the garden. Something about color and shape and form of the yard, which Hinagiku hadn't understood too well back then, when she had been just a small child.

Hinagiku sought out the sweet and gentle scent from her childhood. The comforting aroma became stronger and stronger as she neared the small bush of pure white, delicate flowers. This was how her mother had smelled. She could remember it. Gardenia. The sweet, silky aroma which lingered in the room even when the gentle woman left it. Yes, Hinagiku could remember this well.

She wandered around the bush, trying to figure out what she was doing here, in her Grandmother's gardens. As far as she remembered, she had become a Shinigami. She was working in the 11th Division, much to her Grandmother's displeasure. She tried to remember why exactly she had decided to become a Shinigami, because living with her family in her Grandmother's house was as close to paradise as she could get.

"Hello there." Spoke a gentle, silky tone to her softly. Hinagiku looked up to find a familiar figure. Her eyes filled with tears which she didn't have the strength to push away. She didn't know why, but she was simply sad at the sight of that face. No, not the hysterical unexplained crying that sometimes happened. No, her gut was tearing apart in her body with pure sorrow and her throat was closing up and her eyes stung and her nose had undoubtedly gone red. She was devastated at the sight of her mother. "Now, now, no need to cry. Come here, my little daisy." And the woman bent down, scooping her easily into her arms. The comforting, warm smell of gardenias enveloped Hinagiku and she was immediately lulled into a sense of security. Yet, her tears kept coming at a steady pace, despite the fact that her gut had stopped wrenching. "Shall we make some cranes?"

And her mother pulled out some colorful origami paper out of her kimono sleeve, sitting down with her child in her lap. She handed them to Hinagiku, who began folding with her small, stubby fingers. Her mother had always had these. Ever since she had discovered Hinagiku's passion for the art of paper folding and cutting, the woman had begun carrying them around, to be able to soothe her child at any time.

"There you go." Smiled the gentle woman. "Nothing to cry about, is it?" And then she let out a short, melodic laugh, before she began humming a song under her breath. Her mother had definitely inherited the Kobashigawa genes to their fullest potential. She was tall, pale with long, sleek hair as black as night and dark violet eyes. The picture of beauty and her mother's greatest treasure. Oh, how Grandma had been excited at the prospect of marrying her perfect daughter off to a rich noble.

It was then when she heard it. The screaming and screeching of a Hollow coming closer and closer. And then, all she could see were the bright stars in the sky on the warm summer night and origami paper with pictures of pale pink cherry blossoms and ponds being panted crimson with drops of liquid. The scent of gardenias became muddled with the familiar coppery aroma of fresh blood and Hinagiku couldn't hold her tears once more.

She searched out her mother with her eyes, but she didn't find the woman. Instead, all she could see was a fairly young man with a dark, short ponytail tied at the nape of his neck, his soft eyes gently looking at her as he smiled. But, there was something wrong with the picture. The man in the black shihakusho froze and then three, menacing long claws impaled him from behind, sending blood all over Hinagiku.

"Hideki!" The scream tore from her throat, hurting it and she jumped up from the grassy earth, only to see that the man was gone. She could still smell the gardenias. But, there was no copper. There was no blood. That didn't stop her heart from pounding like she had just run a marathon, though.

The young Shinigami looked around, her head pounding from the motion. Her throat was dry. She was going to be sick. Hinagiku grabbed the closest thing and puked into it. Well, more like dry heaved above it. She was vaguely aware of the tears streaming down her face and the sobs that were coming from her small body, shaking her frame. She felt frail. Broken. Small.

"Easy, Kobashigawa-san." A gentle female voice spoke to her and the woman's hands came around her head, pulling her dark hair back. One cool palm rested on her forehead and Hinagiku immediately felt better. She's using Kaidō. Realized Hinagiku through her muddled thoughts. She leaned back when her coughing stopped and allowed the gentle woman to wipe her face and help her back into bed. She didn't have the strength to do it on her own. "Drink this, please." A glass came to her lips and Hinagiku drank.

"Unohana-dono." The girl's mind finally caught up with her and she attempted to bow in respect, but the healer stopped her.

"Now is not the time for that, Kobashigawa-san. You must rest." And the healer made sure that her patient was tucked in properly. "If my assumptions are correct, you will be able to head to your barracks in no time." The woman smiled at her. "The only problematic wound was the one on your leg, and it is healing nicely."

That's right. The Hollow extermination mission. Hideki. The clawed Hollow. There had been too many. Saji. Where is Saji? Did he make it?

"Unohana-dono, forgive my impatience, but did Saji Daichi of the 10th Division survive the mission?" Hinagiku asked politely, her voice cracking only once from the lack of use.

"Saji-san is just fine." Unohana told her. "He was lucky enough that you acted quickly and brought him off the battlefield. He has been asking about you almost every day since he woke."

Since he woke? Wait, how long have I been here? By the state of my hair, at least a week. Hinagiku deduced, her hand tremblingly going to her short, messy bob. It was oily. Dirty. Her Grandmother would probably have a fit if she saw her right now.

Hinagiku couldn't suppress the laughter which bubbled in her chest and then came out. Unohana gave her a soft smile at the giggle, but didn't comment on it. Hinagiku wondered if the Captain of the 4th Division thought her to be mad.

"Could I trouble you to tell me the today's date, Unohana-dono?" Asked Hinagiku. It wasn't unusual for a Shinigami to end up in the 4th Squad Healing Houses. Not at all. Especially if you were from the 11th Division. Hinagiku herself had frequented the place even during her years at the Academy. She had accompanied their 3rd and 5th Seat quite a few times as well, usually being the one to take care of the paperwork which the two men loathed. She had come a number of times to get stitches when their 7th Seat, Matsushita Koichi, had been too rough with her in a practice session. Not to mention the amount of times she had visited the 4th Division to finish their 15th Seat's, Kida Rini's, leftover paperwork, after the woman had run off. But, she had never been treated by Captain Unohana herself.

"Today is Friday, the first day of July." Captain Unohana offered a gentle smile. "You have been in the 4th Division for exactly ten days now." Of course the Captain realized what she was asking. After all, the leader of the 4th Division had been around for a long time and she was famous for her wisdom. "I have had quite a bit of trouble with your Division members, though." The woman seemed amused at Hinagiku's shocked expression. "3rd Seat Madarame-san was quite adamant to feed you some hot pepper and 5th Seat Ayasegawa-san made sure to tidy you up every day." When the woman noticed the mortified, blushing face of the girl, she chuckled. "I never allowed their attentions to go too far."

"What about N-Nakajima?"

"I had quite bit of trouble with 15th Seat Kida-san, though." Captain Unohana spoke after a moment of silence. However, that brief moment told the petite Shinigami everything she needed to know. He was dead, just like she thought. Nakajima Hideki was dead. As the beautiful Captain began telling Hinagiku the numerous stories of how her comrades from the 11th Division and even some members of the 10th Squad had come to see her, getting into all sorts of trouble, the girl's mind wandered.

She couldn't forget those eyes. Saji's terrified green ones. Hideki's dark ones, widening in shock, face going from a smile to a numb mask of pain. Then, the blank stare. The dead stare. Those eyes haunted her the most. The Shinigami smiling, freezing and then being slowly covered in droplets of red.

Captain Unohana left a little later, saying that she will be sending someone to help her to the bathroom. She was good to walk and bathe on her own. It was after her painful, one-legged shower, with the aid of a sweet girl named Kaede, that Hinagiku settled back into her bed. The sheets were new, pure white and clean. She slowly dragged her fingers over them, enjoying the scent. It was clean.

The warm summer breeze blew in through the window, carrying the scent of gardenias with it. Someone had brought them. She didn't doubt that they had caused her dreams to be about her mother. It had been years since she had dreamt of her last. She missed her mother, yes, but she wasn't devastated by her death any longer. The pain had ebbed away with time, now only a dull ache when she thought back on that day.

Hinagiku's re-dressed fingers reached for the left side of her neck, where a jagged scar lay. She hated that mark. It was her only reminder of that day. She hadn't noticed the passage of time. It had been in July, as well, when her mother had died. Her gardenias had been in full bloom. She had forgotten the anniversary of her mother's death.

A knock came from the door, breaking Hinagiku out of her thoughts. "Come in, please." She called out and an unexpected visitor entered.

That's all folks!

Here are my replies to the reviews:

MidnightDusk2104: Thank you very much for the review!

I'm glad that you enjoyed my little cliffhanger, as bad as I am with them xD Hopefully you will enjoy the rest of the story :)

I'll elaborate on the choice a little bit later more… Though, I hope that I made it clear that she way pretty much in love with the 11th Division, despite all the weirdness xD

Hope to hear from you again!

War Charger: Thank you so much for the review! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter :)

Thank you all for reading!

All the best :D