Hello my KobaHitsu family! I hope that everyone is enjoying the story, as well as the drabbles on the side :)

So, looking for a new beta for the next few chapters. If anyone wants to do it, please shoot me a message :)

In the meantime, my thanks goes out to everyone who's favorited, followed and especially to those who've reviewed! Reviews make me write faster :)

Finally, here's some food for thought:

I love a great conspiracy story. Who doesn't?
- Homaro Cantu

Enjoy!

Chapter 22: Pieces of the puzzle

Hinagiku stood completely still.

Actually, she sat. She had made herself at home in one of the abandoned houses of the Rukongai where they were executing their three-day mission. She had sat crisscross and allowed for her mind to completely empty of everything. That was just what she needed, after all. Her back and forth with Captain Hitsugaya had her brain turned into a complete worry machine. Now, she was empty. She had let everything simply flow to the back and she was thinking of nothing. That was the only way she could keep track of them, after all.

With her position perfectly in the center of her team and after they'd fanned out she could feel every single one of them. Each flare of their reiatsu was like a movement of the map in her head. She could feel their slices when they killed Hollows. She could feel their sloppy Shunpo steps when they headed for the next one. She knew every single movement, as if it were only a shogi game in front of her. And, so far, she was quite happy with how it was going, seeing as it was the last day of their extermination.

Nothing unexpected had happened.

And, she'd been waiting for it. Hinagiku hadn't forgotten Nakajima Hideki after his apparition had left her. No. She'd poured over the reports in the Seireishokairō even more. Giant Hollows weren't a common occurrence in regular missions. Most of the time, scouts brought back the reports of their massive reiatsu easily and Seated members of the Divisions dealt with them. She hadn't forgotten the incident from just a few months ago.

How could she?

The bloody massacre of their team still haunted her nightmares. While she didn't have a constant replay of Hideki dying right in front of her, she dreamt of other things. Her Zanpakutō flying into a separate direction. The wound on her leg being split apart by an unseen attack from the same Giant Hollow. The weight of Saji's body on her shoulders as she dragged him to safety.

There was no getting rid of those.

It had taken her weeks to admit to Captain Unohana that she had nightmares. Normal, the healer had called them. Completely normal. How could dreaming of something like that be normal? But, Hinagiku was a logical person. She'd processed the information given, listened to the advice of long meditation, and they were getting better. More than often she dreamt of unfinished reports rather than gruesome battles. She was on the road to recovery.

But not on the road to forgetting.

Rationalizing was her way of coping. And, that was what she'd done. Her search for answers had taken her through various Captains' reports, which was a punishable penalty in Seireitei. It didn't stop her. Simply, it had made her more careful. She'd noticed a pattern of Divisions having those sorts of incidents occur and, this time, she had staged it so perfectly. If someone was out there, planning those attacks, she would confirm the pattern today. And then, she would hunt down the mastermind.

The Zaraki Kenpachi Squad shied from nothing.

Hence, Hinagiku had settled herself in the center of the operation, waiting. This time, she wouldn't be a deer caught in headlights. This time, she would fight back. This time, she would have no losses on her hands. She was ready. Yet, nothing out of the ordinary had happened yet. Maybe she'd made a mistake in the pattern. Maybe joint missions weren't the target. Maybe there was something else.

Biting her lip, her palm on her Zanpakutō which lay across her lap completely still and cold from anxiety. She was terrified. What if it showed? What if she wasn't strong enough? The giant reiatsu of Matsumoto fukutaicho sat calm and content in the makeshift base of operations. They were safe. If anything, the fukutaicho could jump in.

Hitsugaya-taicho had actually lent her his second-in-command. Didn't he trust in Hinagiku's abilities? Didn't he believe that she'd gotten stronger? Were all of those words of praise just that, empty words of praise and encouragement? Regardless, Hinagiku was grateful. If anything, she had a behemoth backing her up against a Giant Hollow.

A reiatsu signature to her left flared and then slowly mellowed out. Tanaka Jirō's team was having trouble. Hinagiku focused in on their area, but it was only four Hollows which surrounded them. Four normal Hollows. Regardless, she stood. If they were having trouble, she would lend a hand.

With a Shunpo, she was up in the air. The rain outside of the old home was pelting down hard. Her shihakushō was soaked before she even took her second Shunpo step. With the next one, she was careful, so that she wouldn't slip off the roof. It broke from the force of her reiatsu, but she was already flying once more. She reached the group in trouble in mere seconds.

Tanaka was struggling with one of the four Hollows, fending off its attacks, with the rest of the team behind him, trying to stay safe. One of them had a nasty slash across their leg and another cradled an arm in a telltale way. It was definitely broken. They weren't using any Kidō or Bakudō but trying to win with pure Kenjutsu. It was the weakness of their Division, Hinagiku supposed. She would have to work on that with them, despite her own lack of skill.

Her next Shunpo took her right behind the attacking Hollow. She expected it to turn and lash out at her, but it didn't. With a small frown, she executed a simple draw and re-sheathe technique, killing it with one attack. The Hollow didn't even notice her. It sprouted out blood from the three wounds the katana slice had inflicted and fell forward in a heap. Tanaka didn't even have shock on his face, just relief. Hinagiku didn't spare him another glance, but turned the other way, towards three more enemies.

This time, they came at her together. With a Shunpo step, she was in between them. She bent her knees, positioned her katana parallel to the ground and focused some of her reiatsu into the sword.

Iai: One slice.

The Hollows fell to the ground, blood pooling around Hinagiku's feet. They had been slow. Slow, stupid and hadn't even gotten a scratch on her. Were they getting weaker? What had she been so afraid of? Why had she worried? Why had Tanaka almost gotten his team killed? But, those were the questions she could mull over later. She pushed them to the back of her mind.

"Call for medical support, Tanaka-dono." She told him in a low and even voice, slowly turning. Tanaka was now supporting the Shinigami with a wound on his leg. He looked angry. She hadn't doubted his skill. She hadn't doubted him at all. He had nothing to be angry about. Why was he angry?

Hinagiku allowed her mind to empty once more, focusing on the other teams. They were mostly finishing up their Hollows and returning to base. No Giant Hollows had appeared. Though, there was a group of smaller ones gathering to the South. And, she hadn't sent out any Shinigami there. She would have to take care of them on her own.

"Stay safe." And she took another Shunpo step, heading South.

By the time Hinagiku returned to their makeshift camp she was out of breath and completely soaked. She pulled the opening of the tent to the side and entered. Inside, there were Uehara Shō and Matsumoto fukutaicho. When Hinagiku entered, they stopped chatting and looked at her. Matsumoto was lounging on one of the chairs they'd brought with them and Shō had made himself comfortable on the table where the map was positioned.

"All done?" He asked her, grabbing one of the towels and tossing it at her. Hinagiku caught it, rubbing her hair with it quickly and making it even messier.

"There was a group to the South I needed to exterminate." She told him and he positioned pins on the map accordingly. Then, he noted the fight in a ledger, as well. "Eight regular Hollows, all exterminated."

"Well, I believe that we're done here?" Matsumoto noted in an easygoing tone and stood. She blew some nail dust off of her shihakushō and offered the two Shinigami a smile. "I'll be off if you don't need me anymore?"

"Thank you very much for coming, Matsumoto-fukutaicho." Hinagiku bowed formally, towel clutched in her hands. Matsumoto ruffled her hair as she passed, leaving the tent.

"It wasn't a hassle, little Hinagiku." The fukutaicho grinned. "I enjoyed swapping stories with Shō-kun here." She pulled the tent opening to leave. "Who knew the 11th had so much gossip to share!" And then, she vanished with a Shunpo. Hinagiku took a deep breath and then plopped down into Matsumoto's chair. She pushed her hair back and took another deep breath.

"Everyone returned safely?"

"Jirō called for med support on the field. His team was taken to the 4th immediately." Shō replied, looking over the ledger. "Otherwise, everyone else finished nicely and without major injuries. I sent them to pack and head home."

"Good." Hinagiku said, then she relaxed, head lolling back to the headrest. "Good." She whispered to herself.

"How is your Grandmother doing, Kobashigawa-san?" Shō asked conversationally, packing up the map slowly. "Driving you crazy with the eligibility party?"

Hinagiku groaned. "Please don't ever call it that." Shō laughed. An eligibility coming out event was made as a gathering of nobles. It was organized whenever a member of the aristocracy came of marrying age or was decided ready for courting and it was the perfect event for husband and wife hunting. All the important, unattached people would attend, looking for their future spouse. Hinagiku's Grandmother had actually met her husband during one of them. And, now that Hinagiku was of marrying age, she was expected to host one and attend all the other available ones. A hassle, in her eyes, since she didn't plan on marrying for a long time to come.

"I remember mine." Shō kept talking in a lighthearted manner. "I was so nervous that I managed to spill a drink all over the first Lady to approach me." He laughed. Eligibility parties were well-known for the shenanigans which ensued during them. Most of the time, it was the host who embarrassed themselves thoroughly during it. And, Shō's experience was nothing new and quite mellow. Hinagiku had heard stories which made her more than nervous about her own. "I'm certain that you have nothing to worry about, Kobashigawa-san. You're the most graceful person I know."

Hingiku laughed, her mind giving her a hazy flashback to hurling on Captain Hitsugaya's shoes. "I wouldn't be so certain, Uehara-dono." But, she wasn't about to tell him of her blunder. No, that story would go no further than the two unlucky participants if she had anything to say about it. Before she could add anything, however, a flare of reiatsu caught her attention. "Did you feel that, Uehara-dono?" She asked, turning her head towards the source and focusing. There was a flicker of residue power, but nothing else. It had vanished.

"Feel what?" The man asked, turning as well. He narrowed his eyes, focusing. "Doesn't seem like anything, Kobashigawa-san." They both stood still, waiting, for a few more moments. "Shall we go check regardless? I'd feel bad if we missed a Hollow or two on our cleanup." He reached for his katana on the table and strapped it to his waist. Hinagiku didn't move. There had been something there. Something familiar, yet, foreign.

"Stay here and erect a barrier around the tent." She chose to put safety first. "If I don't return in the next fifteen minutes, call Matsumoto-fukutaicho back." Her eyes narrowed and reiatsu seeping out in nervous waves Hinagiku stepped out of the tent. It was still pouring outside. The clouds were dark, making the small lights lit in each home her only way of seeing. Despite the low visibility, Hinagiku walked forward. She'd never been one to shy away from darkness in a fight. That had been one of Kenpachi's first lessons for new recruits. She could still remember it as if it had happened yesterday.

Their new Captain had gathered them all, about twenty or so recruits, into the dōjō. Then, he'd commanded all lights be turned off and all windows shut tight. In a pitch black room he'd slightly flared his reiatsu and told them to come at him. Hinagiku could still remember the way he hadn't drawn his katana, but slammed her against one of the other recruits knocking them both out. She'd woken up in the comfortable bed of the 4th Division a few hours later with a nasty concussion and a bruise across her face. At least, she'd been lucky. There had been plenty of broken bones and pulled muscles that day.

Though, the lesson had been clear enough. A Shinigami had to adapt to their surroundings and never falter. So, faced with rain and dark, Hinagiku was a seasoned warrior without fear. She quickly found the spot of the reiatsu flare. It was a dead-end street with abandoned houses. With a sigh, she set out to search them all. One after the other, they proved empty. Finally, she stood for a moment longer in the street. Nothing but the sound of drops on the dirt road could be heard.

A false alarm, then.

Hinagiku turned, heading back for the small headquarters they'd set up. She sensed it before she felt it. Something which wanted her blood splattered across the alley was coming her way. Her Zanpakutō sang as she drew it, without turning, in a quick motion and re-sheathed once again. An inhuman screech resounded the area.

She'd been right.

Whirling around, ready for battle, Hinagiku came face to face with the source of the reiatsu. It was a Giant Hollow with a translucent body, only its large claws visible. They glinted in the dim lights, showing her the way. She followed the trail of blood her previous slash had inflicted, slicing again from her sheath. Once, twice, three times before the beast vanished with a scream.

Hinagiku stood still, katana in sheath and hand ready at the hilt. This one wasn't getting away. She wouldn't let it leave alive. And, she'd been right. The set of circumstances were just as she'd guessed them to be. The Giant Hollow was targeting small groups of Shinigami with high social standing on joint missions. Where it had gotten the information of their formation and their movements, she didn't know. But, she'd worry about that later. Now, she had fifteen minutes to kill the beast and return to camp.

As the claws glinted once again Hinagiku drew her Zanpakutō.

"What is this?" The petite Shinigami asked, finally dry and in her office. There were a number of papers, almost like billing requests, on her desk. She flipped through them, seeing that they all designated the paperwork which had to be completed at a certain due date.

"Just a bit of work." Rini grinned from Hinagiku's chair, arms behind her head. The office had cleared almost suspiciously quick when the petite Shinigami had entered, leaving only her and Rini there. While Hinagiku's colleagues had come to terms that she was good friends with the upper Seat, they still weren't comfortable with the fact that two girls would hang out at the office, chatting casually about this and that. And, since Babyface had been present for Rini's mischief during Hinagiku's absence, the word had spread like wildfire. Hence, they all expected one form of blowup or another.

"These are receipts for finishing Division paperwork?" Hinagiku again asked. Her hands hurt from gripping her Zanpakutō earlier in battle. Her head was pounding where she'd slammed it against the floor in a moment of carelessness. Her legs hurt from all the Shunpo she'd been using. She just wanted to jot down the basics of the mission and finish the paperwork tomorrow. But, she apparently had a mountain of work more.

"Indeed, they are." Rini confirmed.

"While I was on a mission… you've been… charging people for my paperwork writing skills?" She was in shock, to be honest. If she'd expected this from someone it would be Babyface. Or, maybe Suzuki or Tanaka. She expected this kind of thing from someone who wasn't her friend. From someone she had her guard up against. But, for Rini, there was only soft flesh to strike, which she had.

"October seventh, eleven thirty." Rini said in an aloof tone. But, when Hinagiku looked up from the papers she saw those fammiliar eyes narrowed at her, fixing her with a predator's glare. The reiatsu in the room didn't rise. The killing intent did. If she got the answer to Rini's question wrong, she would die, there and then. "October twentieth, noon. November third, five forty-five. And so on." Rini's voice gave nothing away. "I have twenty dates and times, right here." She pointed at the side of her head. "Twenty dates and times which are an anomaly to my entry schedule to the Daiseireishokairō." Hinagiku felt her heartbeat speed up and her hands go cold. "What the fuck were you doing using my code to enter, Kobashigawa Hinagiku?"

Rini didn't yell. She didn't shout or growl. Her voice was perfectly cool, calm with nothing to go together with the feeling in the room. Yet, from the way she sat, from the way she narrowed her eyes and the way her Zanpakutō leaned casually onto the desk, Hinagiku knew that Rini was ready to pounce at any second. The petite Shinigami let out a sigh and moved away from her desk. She noticed that Rini seemed to be surprised by that behavior, but didn't offer any further explanation. She needed to get her thoughts in order.

Hinagiku checked that nobody was in front of the door, listening, or at the window, before she walked to Babyface's desk and hopped up, relieving her sore legs. She tossed the receipts to the side, smoothing her hair back in a tired motion.

She had to tell Rini.

"I was afraid to tell you." Hinagiku looked up to see Rini's face pensive. She was waiting for more information. "I didn't believe that you were involved, but I think that whoever is, is of noble blood." Rini's eyes widened in shock. "Someone's been using common, everyday cleanup missions as covers for assassination."

"What?" Rini hissed. She had jumped up from Hinagiku's chair and rushed for the door, then the window. With a hand held up to stop her friend from talking the redhead formed a few handseals to focus her reiatsu. Then, she chanted the long version of the enchantment for the Box Cage, a defensive technique of Kidō. Hinagiku saw the small, blue box-like shape form in front of Rini and then expand across the room, enveloping all the items inside, Hinagiku and finally settled along the walls. "Now, tell me more." Rini's face was serious when she turned. Her voice resounded in the room, as if it were getting bounced back by the blue box along the walls.

"Is it soundproof?" Hinagiku asked.

"Used for top secret information meetings if you haven't got a got spot." Rini nodded.

"I never knew." The petite Shinigami frowned. Perhaps she should've paid more attention to her Kidō lessons. She'd always thought them unnecessary. Rini waved her hand.

"Forget the box, I'll tell you all about it later." She hopped onto Hinagiku's table, facing the other girl. "Tell me about these missions."

Telling Rini had been nothing like telling Tomoka. While both had been impulsive, definitely unwise decisions, Hinagiku could feel the difference. Tomoka had been outraged and shocked, but hadn't had a single thought to act against the hidden plot. Rini, on the other hand, had listened carefully to the story, hands on her face and elbows on her knees, completely focused in silence. Hinagiku had told her about her initial suspicion that the mission which she'd been on in the summer had been an assassination attempt of the 10th Division's 7th Seat. And, she'd spilled more from there.

Hinagiku spoke of her silent investigation, careful not to ruffle any feathers or set off any red lights. How her closeness to Captain Hitsugaya had allowed her a few moments alone in the Captain's section of the Seireishokairō. How she'd found multiple reports of missions gone awry and Shinigami dying of Giant Hollow attacks. How she'd managed to get all of this without crossing lines. And, in the end, how she needed the information of all the missions, which could only be obtained at the Daiseireishokairō. She'd used their Captain's code, and after realizing that he would never visit the place in his right mind, she'd switched to using Rini's, the only other familiar to her. She apologized, profusely, but Rini's face was impassive. The upper Seat motioned for her to continue. So, Hinagiku talked more. She told her of the list of names of the deceased officers she'd accumulated. Of comparing Divisions and joint missions and realizing that most incidents occurred during 10th and 11th Squad's cooperation. Of staging a similar expedition and being correct. Of the Giant Hollow which had tried to kill both her and Uehara. And finally, her conclusion that whoever was staging these faulty missions was aiming for nobles in the Gosei 13 witch significant power to their name.

Rini stayed quiet for a long time after Hinagiku finished explaining. Their talk had taken a few hours out of the night and the sun was peeking above the horizon when Rini finally looked up, her face basked in a golden glow. She shook her head, huffed and then pushed the few strands which had gotten loose from her ponytail back. The golden rays played on her skin, still, unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

"You did well changing the code to mine." Rini finally said. "If anyone asks, it was my work which you had been completing for me, understood?" It was an order with no room for friendly disobedience. An order from her upper Seat.

"Yes, Rini-dono." Hinagiku nodded.

"These nobles… do you have a list of potential targets?" The Seated Officer asked, her tone still grave, almost tired.

"I only managed to assume correctly that either me, through the work of my Grandmother, or Uehara-dono, due to his father's high social standing, would be possible targets." Hinagiku explained. "It was a lucky guess, truth be told."

"And a lucky win." Rini told her, whipping her with a glare. "What would you have done if the Giant Hollow had been too strong? If it had killed both you and Uehara? What about your Squad?" Rini hopped up from the table, going towards Hinagiku. "What were you thinking, Hina?" The redhead whispered harshly, her hands coming to Hinagiku's shoulders. "Huh?!"

"I arranged for letters to be sent out to the people I trust upon my death, explaining my suspicions." Hinagiku fixed Rini with a glare of her own. "You were among those names."

"Oh, by the Spirit King, I can't handle you sometimes!" Rini threw her arms up, walking away. She began pacing around the office. "None of this would matter if you were dead, you imbecile!" Hinagiku's eyes opened wide and she bit her lip to keep from laughing. Being called an imbecile was a definite first and it brought an onslaught of giggles from her stomach which she struggled to keep at bay. Perhaps the stress of the conversation and the exhaustion from the mission had impaired her mind. "Now, we need to figure out how to get to the bottom of this fucker." Rini turned to her friend. "Are you laughing?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

And Hinagiku couldn't help it.

She erupted in a fit of giggles, explaining Rini about their cause through uncontrollable laughter. The upper Seat merely shrugged, told her friend that she was crazy, and went back to the chair behind Hinagiku's desk. She sank down in it, waiting for her friend to finish laughing.

"If we're going to solve this, whatever the fuck it is, you're going to share all the info you've got with me." Rini demanded. Hinagiku agreed with a nod, lighthearted for the first time since she'd begun her investigation. "Does anyone else know?"

"Tsutsui Tomoka of the 10th Division knows that I'm suspicious about the accident on my mission, but no other details." Hinagiku replied.

"Let's aim not to involve her for as long as possible." Rini decided. She then pointed to the receipts. "And this is your punishment for not trusting me." She grinned. "I'll lend you a hand and maybe even share the cash 30-70 if you're good."

"I demand at least 60-40 as I will be doing most of the work." Hinagiku hopped down from the desk, gathering the receipts and stuffing them in her first drawer. She would get to them tomorrow.

"40-60 my favor." Rini argued as she followed her friend out of the office, the Kidō vanishing in a myriad of translucent blue pieces, like glass, as they exited.

"70-30 then." Hinagiku deadpanned.

"Like hell!" Rini argued back. The whole way to their joint room was filled with debates regarding their cash split.

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Here is my favorite part:
Reviews!

akagami hime chan: Hello and thank you very much for the feedback! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story :D
Well, the 11th is pretty much a boys' club, isn't it? Hinagiku is going to have to do some serious fighting in order to get them to respect her, no?
Women are mysterious creatures, aren't they? :P
Soon enough, there will be plenty of drama with proposals hahahaha Fight Tōshirō! Fight! xD
Hope you enjoyed the update :D

Most Mouse: Dude, your reviews make me cry tears of joy xD So nice and looooong! :D I lay in my bed squealing when I get them hahahaha
Tōshirō is totally the stalker-piner type, no? I totally imagine him wracking his brain about what the hell it is with his new obsession with Hina and solving it by stalking the poor girl hahahahaha
Now, now, I'm not promising anything about these anonymous secret admirers… Keep in mind that Hina's Grandma is trying to set her up with a good husband, too xD
Rangiku, poor Rangiku… At least she got a mission instead of being forced to do paperwork xD Babysitting, but hey, better than reports hahahaha Tōshirō is being cautious… Is it with good reason, though?
Oh yeah, the 11th Division is full of boys just waiting to fight their way to the top :D Hina is going to have to do some major show-off battles in order to get some respect there hahahaha We'll see how her 'saving their butts' goes over, right? :P
Hohohohoho~ Rini is up to no good, as always :D Hope that you enjoyed what she was doing on her own sly time hahahaha Teasing, most definitely… Though, can Rini decipher the messages in the flowers? Hmmm…
Poor Shin, he's the new guy hahahha Luckily for him, the 10 day mission ended up a 3 day one xD He should've been able to survive it well hahahha He won't be getting any help, for sure. Maybe an 'I told you so' or 'You should know better, newbie' hahahhaha Kenpachi sure has made an odd bunch of loyal sharks in there xD
OMG the 'no you cross' I just keep imagining Hina and Tōshirō as those goats from Brother Bear that shout 'no you shut up' and keep hearing the echo xD Yes, they are totally those two xD
Well, we'll see what finally pushes them over… On the other hand, check out the other Daisy story, it's a drabbles fic about our favorite two idiots xD I kinda had to let the steam out somewhere… This slowburn is killing me, too hahahaha
I'm a slut for Tōshirō 100% too. Seriously, have you seen those eyes? Urgh. I hope that you enjoyed the new chapter :D

katiewinchester87: Hope that you didn't have to wait too long for this update! I kinda go in and out with my inspiration, though I'm not giving up xD Glad that you aren't going away! I'm always afraid that I'm going to lose readers because of my hectic updates :')
Hope you enjoyed the new chapter :D

MayaHikari: Hiii! Thank you for the lovely review and welcome to the family! I'm glad that you're enjoying the show :D
Indeed, the 11th Division is all about power, in the end xD We'll see how Hina plays the brawn, shall we? :D

Hybrid301: Hello and thanks so much for the lovely feedback! It always makes my day to see a new review :D
Tōshirō is a horrible worrywart xD He's like 'oh, you need a gun? Here's a tank!' xD Matsumoto is definitely going to be meddling… Let's see how and where? Hahahaha
I hope that Hina's mission lived up to the hype :D
I'll be looking forward to hearing from you again :D

Momochan77: Oh, man, I enjoy your reviews sooo much! Thank you very much for the feedback :D
Oh, yeah, Hina's having a two-way conversation there :P We'll see where that leads hahahha
The 11th division is a boys' club, no? I mean, we don't really see any female members, aside from Yashiru… So, I'm looking forward to seeing Hina fight for her spot in the food chain hahahah
Matsumoto is definitely going to make a mess out of things xD At what scale and when… I make no promises xD
I hope you enjoyed the update!

: Hey there and thanks for the wonderful feedback! I'm glad that you've been enjoying the show :D I'm honestly not making any promises about secret admirers… We will see how it turns out, okei? :D
As for her subordinates, I promise more to come up on the topic :) For now, Hina will certainly need to bulldoze her way through them with some awesome battle skills hahaha
I hope that you enjoyed reading the new chapter :D I promise more overprotective Tōshirō coming up soon xD We'll see how that goes with Hina, though… :P

Guest: Thank you very much for your review! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story :)
I promise more things happening with Tōshirō soon enough :D And true, while he is impatient, we'll see what he'll do about that :D He is a bit obsessive, but I kinda see him as that stalkerish shy type xD I can't help it! He won't be that creepy in the future, I promise xD
Hina definitely needs some more development to go through in order to get her emotions in order… She kinda has her plate full, no? hahaha More drama to come there, I promise :D
I'm glad that you're enjoying the story and that you don't mind the giant nature of it xD I'm expecting a bit over a hundred chapters or so? But no promises xD

Guest: Here is another update and I hope that you didn't have to wait long :D

Kristina'sMyName: Hello there homie! I'm lkejfjkfbsfsjak over the moon to have a Serbian reader xD I never expected this story to be as popular as it got xD
I'm so glad that you're enjoying the show :) The slow burn is kinda essential here for me. Tōshirō doesn't strike me as a guy who would dive into a relationship, after all. So, I'm going a bit slow, having them be friends in the beginning, before anything develops. I want to give you guys a whole picture of their relationship :D
Rini is epic, no? She is definitely one of my favorite OCs in this fic :) You go ahead and flaunt that pervyness, just like Rini does :D
Oh, man, I'm so glad that you enjoy the OCs! I spend a loooot of time making each of my OCs as recognizable as possible xD I don't like leaving them 2D, like most authors end up making side OCs.. which is a pity, in my opinion :(
Hina is definitely a favorite among her Division peers for her paperwork skills hahahahaha
Kenpachi giving the shovel talk? Oh that's one priceless image! I can imagine him going all 'you see I like my paperwork being turned in on time… but I also like fighting. So, let's have a battle for each week you're with my precious Paper Pusher' or something like that hahahaha
Oooooh, I'm not giving any info about the secret admirer :P We will see if it's Tōshirō or not… And if he'll have some competition or not… hehehehe
Happy to have someone from back home reading and enjoying the KobaHitsu show :)
Nadam se da ti se svidelo novo poglavlje :D Pozz!

NeoFireKitten: Hello and thank you very much for the lovely review! Happy to welcome you to the KobaHitsu family :D I completely feel the in and out of the fandom xD I haven't been reading any Bleach stuff in a while, even though I'm writing xD But, I'm glad to give you a story that you enjoy! :D
I'm just akfjhkfjewefkjbk so flattered that you binge-read this! I binge read and urghhhh makes me so happy to have someone tell me I'm one of those authors who get you hooked xD Blushing horribly xD
I hope that you enjoyed the update and I'll be looking forward to more of your feedback :D
On the other hand, if you're looking for a few more Tōshirō fics, you have my Daisy drabbles, and I'd also suggest Herald (Rene Miashi), Curtain Call (SneakAttack29) and Kitai (mellmel). Cheers!

Omake:

A letter, she'd told him. She'd told him that the girl liked letters. He'd never been too good at writing. He knew how to choose the best poems and enjoy them. He knew how to appreciate the artistry in words. But, he'd never been good at writing any himself. So, he chose the coward's way. He chose a poem which reminded him of her. And he wrote:

I admire from afar
Your charm and your grace
Only from afar, I will admire
For we have not shared but two words
I do not know you and you do not know I
Though I feel like I know you in some indescribable way
A way in which is unspoken
A way in only admirers may know
It will go no further than admiring
But, sometimes I like to dream
Dream that one day, we should meet
Dream that one day, I may admire
Not from afar but up close
Not only admire the beauty I see
But the faults I know you have
I want to admire all of you
But that is only a dream
So, for now
I will admire from afar
I will see what I see
And dream what I dream.

Hinagiku-san, I humbly hope to have a chance of speaking with you in person during your eligibility celebrations.
Your admirer

He then closed the envelope and placed it carefully onto the string which came with the bouquet of white and lavender heathers. With her upbringing he was certain that she would know of his wishes from the flowers. That she would know he thought her a person most worthy of his admiration and his hopes for the fulfillment of his dreams. With reluctant hands, the man took the bouquet from the table and stood.

It was a time to gamble everything he had.

Now, I'm done. The poem in the end is by Rosie Wisniewski. I hope that you guys enjoyed and I'll be looking forward to your feedback on the chapter!

Again, if anyone wants to beta for Daisy, let me know :)