Welcome to another chapter of Daisy!

Thank you everybody who favorited and followed Daisy in the meantime (I promise to get back to my PMs after this!)
If you have any ideas for spin-offs which you would like to see explored – do tell me about them! I'm always there on the PM :D

Thank you Sassifrass for being a wonderful Beta and bearing with my insane writing habits xD

OCs appearing:

Couple of unknown, relatively new Shinigami (no specific Division mentioned)

Mentioned:

Kobashigawa Hinagiku

Matsushita Koichi

I know it's long, but I couldn't resist:

A question:
So girls wonder how boys feel when they're in love? Do they get butterflies? Do they have you on their mind 24/7? Do they wait for you to come online for hours? Do they smile at random times at the thought of you? Do they miss you all the time? Do they think about the smallest things you say?

We boys don't get butterflies, we get fireworks. We don't have you on our mind 24/7, but we do have you on our hearts. Often, yes we wait for you to go online, sometimes simply even just being online makes our heart skip a beat, even if we don't talk. Whenever you talk to us, our face forms that half-smile; it means we are happy but are trying our hardest to not show it, and fail at hiding it. We do miss you all the time; granted, we'd spend all our time with you if possible. We don't think of the smallest things you say, we think of every word you say, panicking at every single word, trying to define what it really means, to read between the lines. But wait there's more.

We would love you in a million ways. And once we start loving you there is no going back for us. No matter how hard we try we will always love a girl that has touched us. Us boys when in love will think of that girl first thing in the morning, and think of that girl last before we sleep at night. Whenever we see a couple, our thoughts immediately jump to that girl, and imagine that the couple was us. Every single detail about her is loved; the way she walks, talks, speaks. The sound of her voice. Her laughter. The sparkle in her eyes. Her shy smile. The way she dresses. That cute face she makes when she's asleep. And the way she says our name that our hearts just explode with mirth, a simple act that no-one else can replicate.

A boy in love with a girl is no simple thing, though ladies stereotype us guys as simple. A man in love is not simple. No. He will be unpredictable. He will be persistent, stubborn, and given the circumstances, if it means carrying you from one side of the world to the other to win your heart, a man in love would. He will be a martyr, giving his all and asking for almost none. He will show you how to appreciate the beauty of the world in a thousand ways, and then he will tell you how much he appreciates your beauty in a million ways.

A man in love is no simple thing.

Chapter 14: Tournament IV: Absent

It is cold.

My world is frozen. I thrive in the cold. It is cool, calm and deadly, like me. It is mine. Mine to own. Mine to possess. Mine to rule. I like to wait in the frozen landscape, stalking the prey. They stand no chance against me. I know that. But, the hunt is the part of the game.

I am impatient.

It is a strange mixture of the two which I feel often. Perhaps it is the other part of my soul calling to me.

He is impatient.

He thinks that he is not, but he is. I would know. I know him inside and out. He, too, likes to wait and stalk the prey. Perhaps that it me… I do not know where he ends and I begin.

We are one.

But this time, I hope that he will wait and enjoy his hunt.

The Court of Pure Souls, more commonly known as Seireitei, the capital of the World of Souls, was known as the epitome of prosperity, grace, and order. Shinigami were looked at as prodigies, special Souls, and the best among the best of the inhabitants of Soul Society. It was inside the Seireitei that everything had a procedure, a rule and a proper way of being done.

You've misplaced your waraji? They have a procedure! You are to report it to your Squad superior, one of the twenty officers with numbers assigned to their names: The so-called Seated Officers. They would have you fill out paperwork for that. Then, after they've signed it, the paperwork gets passed on further up, to the Lieutenant of the Captain, so that the top of the Division is aware of the lost item. After that, with their signature, there is a form given to the shoeless Shinigami, who fills it out with information on his feet and his identity. That way, a new set of waraji gets ordered. How? Well, this same paperwork needs to go with the Shinigami's sign to his superior Seated Officer. After that, it goes to the Lieutenant or Captain, who needs to approve the expense and sign the report for the accounting Squad. And then, that order is sent to the appropriate Rukongai district, where the item is made.

But, this isn't the end of this road of paper. After the waraji are made, they need to be sent into the Division and given to the appropriate Shinigami. The paperwork is pretty much the same here, as well. Many signatures later, the Shinigami will have his footwear once more. And just imagine, what if the waraji aren't the right size?

Well, now that you have a clear picture of just how much paperwork there is in a Captain's everyday life, it really shouldn't surprise you that Hitsugaya Tōshirō, the prodigy of the last century, was in his office, again, reading over a humongous pile of papers. Now, if you asked him, at any given time, to summarize the job of a Captain to you, his answer would probably be something along the lines of: 'There's some bankai and a lot of paperwork. Also, finding and disposing of sake.' Though, if you asked him what a job of a 3rd Seat in his Division was, he'd probably give you an answer such as: 'Some shikai and a lot of paperwork. Also, finding and disposing of sake.' Hence, we're safe to assume that not all of the Captains in the Gotei 13 had such an adventurous everyday life, like Hitsugaya Tōshirō.

"Ahhh." Sighed the white haired Captain, leaning back in his chair a bit. His head hit the back perfectly, as the standard issue seat was a bit too tall for his short stature. He'd never think of complaining about it, though. He wasn't short for Kami's sake. He was simply… himself.

Tōshirō glared at the large stack of papers, his eyes falling onto the other two piles on the desk in the middle of the room. His Lieutenant, Matsumoto Rangiku, had vanished once again. Then again, he thought to himself, it is the Tournament. As useless as Matsumoto was at times, she was invaluable to the Division. She was not only smart but had a certain air about her which made everyone in their Squad want to please her. Tōshirō supposed that that was good, as she was the other side of his cold and collected coin. She was the charisma to his authority. That way, there was balance.

Except in paperwork.

Even a few decades ago, when he'd managed to climb the ladder up to the 3rd Seat of the 10th Division, Matsumoto had been known for her carelessness. And, really, Captain Shiba had never reminded her to do her paperwork either. Rather, he'd given it all to Tōshirō, his own included. The white haired Captain was rather thankful now for that, even though it had almost killed him a couple of times in the past, as he had been more than ready to assume the vacant position of the head of the Division a decade or so ago.

Tōshirō sipped his tea, glancing back at the pile on his desk. The Division barracks were empty. The offices as well. He had allowed leave to all of the members of his Division who had requested it. After all, there was a Tournament going on. At that thought, Tōshirō felt his ears heat up and then, his cheeks redden. He couldn't believe that he had been so careless. True, he'd had a lot on his mind yesterday. But, not that much. And, he had already been affected by the weather since the morning, but, still, not that much. He should've noticed the heat. The sun. He should've known.

And he'd allowed himself to be taken care of by an unseated Shinigami of another Division.

Frankly, that didn't bother him that much. He liked Kobashigawa Hinagiku as much as he liked any of his other subordinates. But, what bothered him was that he'd shown his weakness to anyone who'd been paying attention, and so freely. Captain Commander Yamamoto had taken him aside when Tōshirō had made Captain and told him to be careful when and how he exposes his Zanpakutō and its abilities. It was already well-known that he had the most powerful ice-water type Zanpakutō. He'd freely released it a number of times during his years in the 10th Division. But, now he was a Captain. And, a Captain behaved with a certain amount of restraint and respect. He was to be looked up to.

And he'd gone and almost fainted because of a little sun.

The fact that it had been Kobashigawa Hinagiku that had taken care of him during that time of hazy thoughts and numb fingers didn't bother him at all. No, it didn't. It was a matter of pride. He had lost face as a Captain.

Tōshirō sighed and dropped his head into his hands, elbows leaning on his desk. Who was he kidding? He had been so embarrassed that Matsumoto had dared to call him out on it. He could still recall the mortifying scene when she'd come to pick him up. She'd wandered into the tent, reeking of sake, where he was laying down on a futon, inspecting his hands curiously. She'd wobbled over, smelling like men's aftershave, a clear sign that she'd been hanging out with Hisagi Shūhei, as he was the only Lieutenant that smelled like that, and attempted to encourage him to get up.

Then, he had to go and make a fool of himself.

He'd showed her his hand, mind hazy, and asked if she noticed anything different. Matsumoto, of course, had shaken her head in a cute, drunken way, sending her perfectly styled locks flying everywhere, and then grabbed his hand, saying how it was so small. That had been an intro to his trouble. He'd laughed along with her, saying how hers was smaller.

A short, drunken, debate later, Matsumoto had managed to connect that he wasn't talking about her hand, but another woman's hand, which had, as you can probably predict, escalated the madness and somehow turned his evening into a very explicit conversation about sexual relations. Not the first attempt at the 'birds and the bees' which she'd given him, and obviously not the last. Tōshirō was, frankly, quite glad that his thoughts had been so hazy, because he couldn't recall all the details.

Unfortunately, he knew that Matsumoto could. She'd made sure that he did, just that morning.

"Damn." Cursed the Captain as his eyes landed on the clock on his wall, which was telling him that it was well past noon. He'd told himself that he would be done with his work at noon, so that he could finish Matsumoto's by the afternoon, so that he could go and get some amanattō at the Tournament camp. He was pretty sure he'd seen a stall there the day before. It was a pretty rare opportunity, after all, as the only store that sold amanattō was more than a little outside of his daily routine.

Tōshirō's eyes landed on his hand, which had grabbed his pen once more, and he inspected his fingers for a moment. He didn't have particularly strong or big hands. If you compared him to someone like Zaraki, he resembled a child a bit too much for his liking. If you compared him to Kuchiki, he was a bit too small, once more, and had too much meat on his hands. If compared to- no. Why was he comparing himself to other Captains?

He could still remember how his hands looked compared to hers.

That was memory very vivid in his mind. It had haunted him through his morning routine, and every time he'd looked at his hands, he'd remembered her small, pale ones, soft, gently touching his fingers, like she was terrified that he'd smite her at any given moment. Her touch was like a touch of silk on one's skin, merely a brush, and he'd found himself wondering, why? Was she that scared? Truly, he was her superior, her better, but wasn't he some form of an acquaintance, as well? And yet, she seemed so scared.

Her hand had been cool.

Matsumoto was always warm. He'd grown used to the temperature of the boisterous woman, as she'd hugged him numerous times, touched him whenever she liked and pulled him here and there, when she desired. Her touch was gentle, yes, and soft, truly, but always warm. And Kobashigawa's… Hers was cool. He'd found himself deciding that he liked Kobashigawa's touch better.

Better than Momo's even. Though, he preferred Rangiku touching him over Momo touching him. Momo's touch had always made him self-conscious. Aware of the fact that she was a girl and that he was, quite painfully obviously, a man. But, as gentle, hesitant and lady-like as Momo's brush of her fingers on his shoulder or on his hair was, it was so different from Kobashigawa's. Kobashigawa's was like a soft flutter of a butterfly's wings, almost making him reach out and seek more contact.

Which he disliked. He didn't enjoy physical contact all that much and he didn't plan on changing his ways anytime soon.

With another sigh, Tōshirō grabbed his pen, his eyes going to the clock for the last time. It was well past two in the afternoon.

She was fighting.

The door to his office slammed open in a telltale way, causing Tōshirō to give a small frown. He hadn't even felt his Lieutenant approach. Either he had been too caught up in his thoughts or she was getting better at controlling her reiatsu.

"Matsumoto." He greeted her in a flat tone, taking in her flushed cheeks and rather disheveled appearance. He hoped that she'd simply need using Shunpo to get to the offices.

"Taicho!" Remarked the woman as if she'd noticed him just then. She grinned, her perfect teeth shining. Obviously, she'd done something wrong. "I didn't notice you there." She mumbled, shuffling into the office. As she passed him, Tōshirō caught a whiff of her perfume. It had a distinct smell of strawberries coupled with something overly sweet, causing him to wiggle his nose in hopes of getting rid of the smell. No such luck, as always. Matsumoto, in the meantime, rather predictably, plopped down on the lone couch in the office, ignoring the humongous pile of work on her desk. "How come you aren't watching the matches, taicho?" Asked the woman once she settled down.

Tōshirō, who'd resumed his work, answered without looking up from the report in front of him. "Not interested." He said, his eyes skimming through the names and actions of different Shinigami under his command.

"Oh?~" Cooed Matsumoto, turning on the couch so that she wasn't looking at him upside-down any longer. "You didn't want to see Hina-chan fighting?"

"Hina-chan?" Tōshirō raised an eyebrow. Matsumoto's smile grew.

"Yep! Isn't that a cute nickname?" His Lieutenant proved once again to him why her Zanpakutō was a feline. She looked like a cat who'd drunk her milk, eaten the fish and was now thinking of grabbing the canary from the cage as well. "I get why you'd think that she wouldn't like it, Hina-chan is very shy, after all."

"I guess." Damn. Tōshirō immediately thought. Matsumoto's smile had reached impossible proportions now, still looking strangely attractive on her beautiful face. She'd gotten him to answer to her. He knew, from experience, that this wasn't going to end well. He hated it when Matsumoto got like this.

"Ooho!~" Replied the Lieutenant, getting up and going to her desk in silence. Tōshirō kept writing his name on the documents from the 8th Division, certain that Ise Nanao had been as meticulous as always in her work. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Though, nothing happened. Matsumoto got to her desk, flipping the first document over and reading it over in her usual, leisurely pace.

For the next few hours, no one spoke. Tōshirō would be lying if he told you that he'd been comfortable that day. Usually, he enjoyed working in peace and quiet. Yes, even during those unbearably hot days in the summer. And he liked them even more if Matsumoto was there with him, obviously feeling like doing a good deed, finishing her own work. Tōshirō had learned a long time ago that his Lieutenant was a peculiar woman, and he wouldn't have her any other way. If you asked him to explain why, and wouldn't he like someone less chatty and more hardworking, Tōshirō'd tell you that Matsumoto was perfect for the 10th Division, even when she was attempting to write her name on the wrong piece of paper, completely drunk.

It was well in the evening, somewhere past eight o'clock, that Tōshirō finally closed his final folder. With a sigh, he looked up, noticing that, once again, Matsumoto's desk was empty. He smiled, a rare thing indeed, and placed his elbow on the desk, resting his cheek in his hand. Truly, he would never be bored with that woman. Just when he thought that he had her all figured out, she'd go and surprise him.

He'd had trouble concentrating that afternoon. His mind had kept going to the fights currently happening at the 13th Division training grounds and he couldn't help but flare his reiatsu from time to time, just to feel out the current status of the participants. He didn't know too many members of the Division in question, but, he could tell exactly how strong who was and just how well they were doing in the match from his seat at the office desk.

Strangely, he'd kept glancing at those purple peonies right outside his window as well.

Tōshirō got up, stretching his neck as he did, and hearing it pop. Obviously, all the sitting behind his desk wasn't doing him any good. He needed to find a mission to onto and fast. He'd never doubted his own skill with the sword, but he knew that it was an art to be practiced, not a relic to be kept in a drawer. He rolled his shoulders back, hoping to relieve some of the tension in his back, as well, but he didn't have any luck there, as usual. He would have to visit Unohana again. Or visit the 11th Division's dojo. They would have the same effect.

With another sigh, the young Captain grabbed his katana and the single folder which he would be taking home and stepped out of his office, shutting the door. He normally wasn't one for taking his work home, but this was an exception. He simply had no idea who to hand this mission over to. It was too important to be done by someone unseated, and yet, too simple to be done by a Shinigami of status.

The halls of the 10th Division offices and barracks were deserted. The night was warm and the stars were bright, making it simple for Tōshirō to find his way, not that he needed them, really. Back when he'd arrived at the Division, decades ago, Isshin had made him play that game. The Captain would blindfold him and then force him to do his duties that way, without his eyes. Tōshirō could still remember the laughter of the Division members watching him slam into walls and then attempt to collect his dignity while picking up the dropped folders. He'd progressed quickly back then. Perhaps, Isshin had pushed him because he'd known just how much further Tōshirō could go.

The young Captain smiled to himself, sitting on the wooden patio and grabbing his waraji. He missed his old Captain at times. All things considered, the crazy Shiba had been a legendary leader. Tōshirō hoped to someday reach the same level of respect in his Division. The young Captain walked slowly down the path, heading out of his Division and towards the quarters which he'd been able to acquire a decade or so ago, when he'd been promoted. It was nice, being able to leave his job behind at the office. And then again, it was lonely, leaving his subordinates in the barracks. Sometimes, he even missed the snoring.

As Tōshirō walked, letting his thoughts wander, an unfamiliar reiatsu flared to his right. He zoned in on it, on pure instinct, attempting to identify it. Quickly, he realized that it was just two Shinigami patrolling their section. A sudden mischievousness overcame him and he smirked to himself, quickly shrugging off his Captain's haori and folding it. His back felt cold somehow, without it, bare.

But, his curiosity was simply too much.

Placing the folder on top of his haori in his arms, the young Captain rounded the corner, almost colliding with the two tall men who were casually chatting.

"And did you see that guy? That was nuts, what he did!" One of them exclaimed, face a little flushed from all the sake he'd drunk. The other guy was nodding enthusiastically. Tōshirō tried to place the faces, but for the love of the Soul King, he couldn't even guess their Division, much less position. He supposed that that was the bane of Seireitei: there were simply too many Shinigami.

"I always knew that those brutes from the 11th were crazy… But to use Kidō to heat your Asauchi is unheard of." Commented the second speaker with considerably less slur.

"Hey, sorry." Tōshirō addressed the men, making his tone as unimposing as possible, an incredibly difficult feat after his years as a high ranked officer. "I couldn't make it to the match, too much paperwork to do. Was it any good?" He asked as soon as the Shinigami looked at him. Obviously, he'd made the correct kind of hopeful face, as the first, obviously drunk, speaker grinned happily at him.

"I know how that feels, bro." Said the man, nodding. Tōshirō had to actually bite his tongue not to correct him about the informal way of addressing a Captain. "Our Captain's a slave driver, as well. Saitō, finish that report. Saitō, bring me some tea. Saitō, check on the new recruits! He should have more respect for us who've been here a long time, don't you agree?"

Tōshirō didn't react to that, except a small nod, as he wondered who exactly was this officer's Captain. Thankfully, the small nod was just enough for the drunken Shinigami. He launched into his latest tale of trouble, as his Captain tasked him with an unfair mission. For a moment, Tōshirō wondered if his own officers thought the same when he sent them a mission through paperwork channels.

"Geez, Saito, you're boring the poor recruit half to death." Exclaimed the other Shinigami, pushing his comrade's shoulder lightly. "There was a good relay of the game on the radio, didn't you pick it up?" Asked the man, trying to focus on the shorter Captain's face through his inebriated state. Tōshirō shook his head lightly, filing away the information for later. He hadn't known that they even had a Shinigami radio. Then again, he wasn't really involved in the whole 'socializing' part. Matsumoto would know. Soul King knew that she had read every single issue of the Seireitei Communication Monthly and probably owned them, as well. Tōshirō wasn't a big fan of the Seireitei Tsūshin, though. No matter how much his Lieutenant tried to get him to read it or write a column for it. He didn't have the time for that nonsense.

"Man, your Captain must really be a slave driver if he won't even let you listen to the matches…" Commented the drunker of the two, shaking his head. Tōshirō nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"Can't really argue with him." He commented slyly, smirking. He truly couldn't argue with himself, after all. He had learned a long time ago that his will was pretty much set in stone. When he decided on something, he would do it, no matter the cost. Maybe that had something to do with the dragon in his Zanpakutō? He wasn't sure…

"No worries, mate." Commented the drunken one, causing Tōshirō to raise a single eyebrow at the overly-familiar manner of speech. "You can listen to the repeat broadcast tonight. Get your fill of the action." He kept nodding and then took a swig from the bottle in his hands.

"Apparently the Shinigami who couldn't attend or listen to the match petitioned the 9th Division to allow two broadcasts." Explained the more sober one. "It's on channel 11.5 and it will start at 10pm tonight. It's the short version, but you can get the gist if the action. That guy, Matsuhito, I think, from the 11th, did a pretty good job with the relay. Damn funny."

"Matsushita?" Wondered the Captain.

"Yeah, difficult name to remember." Said the more sober Shinigami, nodding. "He is pretty good at analyzing the match, though. Broke down all the abilities and the moves for the new recruits. He was commenting at more than four fights at once!"

"I see." Nodded Tōshirō, intrigued. He knew Matsushita Koichi, the 7th Seat of the 11th Division mostly from paperwork. The man was efficient with his missions and did a great job keeping up with all the paperwork. The ten people underneath him always did their work meticulously well. Then again, that might have something to do with the fact that Kobashigawa Hinagiku was directly under him. Tōshirō tuned out the Shinigami in front of him, as the man rambled on about the amazing fights which he'd seen that day, his mind instead spinning around the fact that Hinagiku, in fact, influenced all the good paperwork that passed his desk.

"Interesting." He commented with a small smile on his face.

"Right?" Added the drunk guy, grinning. "To be able to use a sword like that?! It's nuts!"

"Thank you for your help." Tōshirō finally said, breaking from his thoughts and gave a nod to the two men. As he was turning, he heard a small gasp behind him.

"Hey, little dude, wher' you're going?" The drunken guy kept talking. "I'm just getting to the best- ooof!"

"Shut up, Saito!" Shushed the more sober of the two. "Tha- that katana is!"

"What?" Asked the drunken Shinigami, and Tōshirō could practically feel him squinting.

"It's Hyorinmaru! The most powerful ice-water Zanpakutō in the Seireitei!" So, they'd studied up on Zanpakutōs, like good students, mused Tōshirō with a grin. He'd been flattered when his katana had made the 'Unique Zanpakutōs and their abilities' handbook. It was a teaching tool at the Shin'ō Academy and one should be honored to hold place on the list. Though, he must admit that he hadn't been entirely honest during his interview about the abilities of his sword. Those were a battle secret, after all.

"The Hyo-what?"

"Captain Hitsugaya Tōshirō's katana!" Finally exclaimed the less inebriated Shinigami, causing the other to gasp and then cough in absolute shock. But, by the time they'd both recovered, Tōshirō was long gone with a single Shunpo step.

He had a match to listen to, after all.

All for now folks!

How did you like it? :D

Onto the reviews:

Booom BaBy:
I'm sorry about the cliffhanger xD It was unintentional xD

As Darkness Takes Over:
I'm glad that you like the beginning quotes and poems!
As for the play by play, I understand, really xD I mostly try not to do it, but if I have a whole scene in my mind, I almost see it in episodes, and then I kinda feel like I need to do a play by play xD Thanks, though!

Cute-but-psycho824:
I'm glad that I'm keeping you guessing! Hahahahaha :D Hope that you enjoyed the chapter

Just Sandy:
Thank you so much for the wonderful review!
I find Tōshirō pretty difficult to write, don't worry xD I find myself re-watching every episode which he's in when I have a doubt hahahaha
I'm sorry about the cliffhanger, it wasn't intentional xD

Girl-luvs-manga:
Hmmmmmm weeeeeell… We'll see about surprises :D

Vorazlov28:
Thank you so much for the review! I'm asjhkhkjghskjfdalghjk So happy! Someone's binge reading my work… That's what I do all the time! xD
I'm glad that you enjoy my OCs and their perspectives on the stuff which is happening :)
Oh, I'm excited to reveal the Zanpakutō, as well :D So much planned! You noticed my little implications in the beginning! And you found them in the text! Sobbing with joy here xD
I hope that you enjoyed the chapter :D

Mintchocolat:
Thank you so much for the lovely review! I'm really glad that you're enjoying my story :D (Honestly, I never thought that it would become this popular xD)

Musicisalifestyle:
I feel terrible for ending it there now… xD I thought that I would update much sooner with the rest of the thing hahahahaha

Rainy-Round:
Thank you for the lovely review! I'm so happy that you're enjoying my story and, let me tell you, I'm looking forward to the Zanpakutō reveal, as well! As for some spin-off, they'll be coming, as well :D

akagami hime chan:
Awwwwe, I'm sorry for the cliffhanger… It wasn't planned xD I promise to give some insight into what happened soon :D
Hina and Tomoka confrontation? Hmmmmmmm We'll see :D No promises!

PAVeY14:
Merry Christmas (a little late) to you as well! I hope that you had fun during holidays :D
Thank you for the lovely review :) I promise that the Zanpakutō reveal is coming soon and I hope that you'll enjoy it :D

LD-2015:
Thank you soooo much for the long review! Those are my favorite :D I really enjoyed reading it (numerous times).
Gem of a story… Gem of a story… I'm dying here xD Really am… I never thought that Daisy would become even remotely popular when I started publishing it… In fact, I was only writing it for kicks… Askjfhkfljhakjfahafrkb still dying of joy xD (You left me the kind of review that I leave when I'm in love with a story :P)
I'm glad that you enjoyed my Zanpakutō in front idea! I was seeing a lot of quoting and song lyrics in other fics and wanted to do something original… So, I ended up with introducing the Zanpakutō. After all, it's the one thing who can properly introduce Hina, yeah? :)
I'm sooo happy that I can't even express it because you like Hinagiku! I worry when creating OCs if they are going to be likeable and/or recognizable etc. Not to mention that I'm using a difficult name and last name for my main OC (took me a while to remember it xD). I will do my best and keep showing just how awkward she is, with a dose of 11th Division pride :P
As for the other OCs… Well, you can tell by now that OCs are my passion :D Maybe I'm just selfish in how I want to experience the world of Bleach and let my readers do the same with me.. But, I feel like Kubo didn't give us enough characters which weren't 'hot shots', so I went and created some :) I go insane with thinking about OCs, their backstories, personalities, looks everything! I love 'em xD I even have like a ten page essay on each of 'em xD I'm so happy that you like my work :'D (tears of joy)
Hinagiku and Hinamori…. I'm waiting for this too! (in other words, I have no idea how it will look like in the final version xD) I have, like, ten or so options for now… Gah xD
Hinagiku and Hanatarō – YES! I created her and began writing and I was like, who would this person be friends with? Then, I was re-watching some Bleach and Hanatarō popped up and I was like – YES!
If you have any questions, do tell :) It's really the questions that sometimes inspire what will come next in the story – because I don't think about the same things as you :P
Thank you once more for the long and lovely review!

MiyukiNoMai:
I'm so sorry! Please don't kill me about the cliffhanger xD I promise that the good stuff will come in the next chapter :D Thank you for the lovely review! Feel free to write a long review anytime – they are my favorite kind :D
I'm really glad that you like my story and OCs! I put an insane amount of thought into all of them and into their characterization and I have re-watched Bleach almost before and during writing every single chapter (in order to see the canons' interaction)
I promise that more Tōshirō/Hinagiku time is coming. At this point, she is too much 'in awe' of him and he is a bit too much 'Her grandmother made me kill my friend, but, the girl's interesting'. And, I don't want her to be too dependent on him, either… We'll see how it all clicks together, yeah? :D
We will definitely see more fighting – especially with Rukia's execution coming soon, and I promise that I will show you exactly why Hinagiku is a member of Kenpachi Squad :P (Even if he exploits her for her paperwork magic)
I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!

Marie:
Thank you for the lovely review! I promise that there are some spin-off coming soon :D

EVA-Saiyajin:
Thank you so much for the lovely reviews and I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story so far!
I get what you're talking about – and hopefully I'll avoid the 'boring' part of the rehashes. I know how annoying re-telling every single part of a battle can be, so I will try and avoid that, for sure. I definitely want to explore another side of everything that is happening in Bleach, so, while I won't promise an alternate timeline, I can promise a Hinagiku timeline :)
Thank you once more for the reviews!

Stay tuned for the next chapter!