Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Bleach characters mentioned in this series. All characters belong to the original author Tite Kubo.

However: I do own Haruka Kaenbyo and Umeko Fujiwara.

Warning: Spoilers may be present.

Hitsugaya walked around aimlessly. It was already dark out but he wasn't in the mood to go to bed. He felt like if he did go to sleep at that moment he would end up freezing half the room over. He headed toward the 5th squad's barracks hoping that Hinamori might still be away so that he would have someone to talk to take his mind off of things. But he doubted she would be awake at that hour. Talking to her usually helped distract him from his troubles because she had so many of her own to talk about that Toshiro would never get a chance to mention his. And whenever he did she would try to help him out with them. In a way her warmth cooled off his temper.

For some odd reason if Hitsugaya got too upset and didn't release his reiatsu to create a wintery surrounding or calm down in time he would end up with a terrible fever and fall sick. It had happened many times in the past, but had grown quite rapid within the last year. Ever since Captain Kaenbyo showed up his semi-annual visits to Unohana turned into monthly ones. She ticked him off so much that he didn't understand why he cared so damn much about her. She had stolen his title, his fame. Her zanpakuto Hikourimaru was known as the rarest and strongest of all for it was a dragon made of ice crystals that radiated intense heat and fire. Hikourimaru's sword was two identical katanas with a chain that connected the two of them. The dual blades could be put together to make one sword. And her reiatsu was strong enough to even control the weather, changing it from hot to cold and vice-versa in seconds.

Hitsugaya turned a corner and headed towards Hinamori's room. He could feel a fever coming on already for beads of sweat gathered at his brow. He didn't dare release his reiatsu because he didn't know if he would be able to control it if he did. And he didn't want to alert half the city that he was upset by freezing it over because he knew if he did he would end up in a load of trouble the next day and would have to explain why he did such a reckless thing.

Hitsugaya slid open the door to the squad's barracks. He walked along a narrow hallway towards the back of the building, where the captain and lieutenant's rooms were. He stood outside Hinamori's door for a good couple of minutes before he decided to knock. Hitsugaya didn't know why he hesitated but he figured it had something to do with him being lost in his thoughts. He knocked softly on her door.

"Huh, who is it?" Hinamori asked as she opened the door. "Oh, Toshiro-kun, what are you doing out so late? It's nearly midnight. Shouldn't you be in bed? I bet Matsumoto-san is wondering where you are. Come in, come in."

Hitsugaya did as she said and entered her room. It was warm inside for her gentle reiatsu radiated within the entire area.

Hitsugaya laughed. "I doubt Matsumoto is worried about me. She's probably out somewhere getting drunk like always. And because of it I bet she'll be a hassle to deal with tomorrow. I'm not exactly in the mood for sleeping right now."

Hinamori lead the two of them to a table she had on one side of the room. "Would you like some tea, Toshiro-kun? I have green, chrysanthemum, and oolong." She got up and walked to the stove, getting out a tea pot and filling it with water.

"Anything's fine, Hinamori-chan," Hitsugaya replied. He unlatched the cord that held his zanpakuto to his back and set his sword on the floor next to him. "Make whichever one you feel like drinking. I won't be long anyways."

Hinamori opened a container of tea leaves and began to brew a pot of tea. "So why don't you feel like sleeping? You're usually in bed by this hour."

Hitsugaya shrugged. "I'm just not tired, that's all. And why aren't you in bed Hinamori-chan? Usually I'd never be able to find you awake past ten."

"I just got back from finishing up some paperwork," Hinamori answered. "I was about to go to bed when you showed up. Oh, but don't feel like you're keeping me up, I haven't got to talk to you in so long so I don't mind staying up at all."

"Yeah, I've been stuffed up in my office for too long I guess, so I never get a chance to see you. All I ever do nowadays is fill out paperwork because Matsumoto refuses to do her share of the work. I rarely get out of there except for meetings, food, and sleep," Hitsugaya replied. "And sometimes I don't even get out of there to sleep but instead end up crashing on the couch."

Hinamori laughed. "That must suck. I don't know what I'd do if I were stuck inside all day for months on end. I think I'd go crazy. Being out there and fighting the hollows, that's where the real excitement of being a shinigami is. I would miss it so much if Captain Aizen dumped all his paperwork on me so I could never go on missions."

"I can't even remember the last mission I went on," Hitsugaya said. "It's been so long."

"Wasn't the last mission you went on the one you went on with Captain Kaenbyo?" Hinamori asked as she poured them each a cup of tea. She carefully set one in front of each of their seats. "Where you two had to visit that town in northern Japan during winter and Captain Kaenbyo ended up falling sick? And you two ended up in a lot of trouble for staying in the human world for such an extended period of time?"

"I believe it was," Hitsugaya replied, memories of the mission flooding his mind.

The icy landscape filled his mind. He could almost feel the snow falling on his cheeks again.

He took a sip of his tea to try to warm himself up. Instantly he realized it was melon oolong. Hinamori knew that he loved melon. She always knew exactly what to do to cheer him up, whether that is remembering what was his favorite food to talking to him for hours on end to get his mind off things.

"How is Captain Kaenbyo? I haven't seen her around in a while," Hinamori asked. "She isn't still sick is she?"

"Of course she's not still sick. I doubt even Ukitake could be sick for that long. She's completely fine. Sour as ever though," Hitsugaya replied. "I saw her today. I had to deliver some reports to her. She's been stuck in the lab for the past three months working on some big project. She got mad at me for hanging around in her lab for too long."

Hinamori laughed. "She's probably just bitter from being stuck in the lab for too long. I bet she's just like you and misses going on missions. I'm almost sure that her last mission was the one you two went on together."

"It probably was," Hitsugaya said.

He recalled that mission perfectly, every last detail of it. It was the first mission he had been assigned to with Captain Kaenbyo as his partner. They were sent to Sapporo in northern Japan to eliminate a large gathering of hollows that had manifested in the area. The soul society was worried that a menos might appear due to the amount of hollows that had crossed over.

On their first day in the human world it was snowing. Hitsugaya remembered the smile on Captain Kaenbyo's face as she began to play in the snow. She even threw a snow ball at him. Although the fun ended quickly when they received order that a group of hollows were gather.

Although the snow was fun at first, it had been the dead of winter when they'd been sent. Both of their zanpakutos had ice powers so the weather intensified their power by making it easier for them to chill the word around them. But the weather also turned out to be a terrible drawback.

Due to the near endless amount of hollows that had appeared, and the manifestation of six menos, they ended up stuck in the human world for close to the limit a shinigami could stay. They had been sleeping in a shed and were using gigai to blend-in in the world of the living. During that time Captain Kaenbyo fell sick with a bad case of bronchitis and could hardly move.

One night, the night he remembers the most, Captain Kaenbyo was extremely ill and weakened. She hadn't left her bed the entire day. Hitsugaya could feel her reiatsu was doing little to help heal her. Kaenbyo was shivering under her covers and Hitsugaya could tell from the other side of the room. Her reiatsu flared up in heat that did little to warm up the room. Hitsugaya doubted it even raised the temperature one degree. Hitsugaya grabbed his blanket and laid it over his fellow captain in attempts to keep her warm. He didn't care if he froze half to death that night, he just wanted her safe. That night was the first time he wished that his power wasn't of ice, but instead fire so that he might have some way to warm her up.

She looked up at him with wary eyes and said, "You need your blanket more than I do. You'll get sick if you try to sleep without it. You always get sick. I see you in Unohana's office nearly every month for something."

Hitsugaya smiled. "And what about you? You're already sick. Do you expect me to just sit around all warm and cozy while you freeze half to death over here? As if I'd let that happen. Besides as you said I get sick all the time so I'm used to it by now."

"You're such an idiot at times. You shouldn't allow yourself to get sick just to protect me. Besides it'd be warmer for the both of us if we shared a blanket," she lifted the covers.

Hitsugaya hesitated, but took her invitation. He couldn't deny the fact that he himself was freezing too and he knew what she was saying about sharing body heat was true. She had fallen asleep the moment he had pulled the covers over the two of them. He laid next to her in silence and watched as she slept. He listened to her breath which was ragged from her illness. Eventually he too fell into a peaceful slumber, completely content to be sleeping next to the girl he liked.

That night was the first night he dreamt without a dream of Hyourinmaru. It was a night he would never forget.

"Toshiro-kun?" Hinamori asked. "Toshiro-kun, are you alright?"

"Huh?" Hitsugaya replied. "I'm fine. I'm sorry, I got lost in my thoughts. It's getting late and I'm getting tired. I think I should be getting back to my room by now."

Hinamori smiled. "Okay then, goodnight, Toshiro-kun. I hope you get a good night's sleep. You look like you haven't gotten one in a while and I think you deserve one."

Hitsugaya picked up his zanpakuto and headed for the door. He said goodnight to Hinamori before heading outside to walk back to his barracks. He stared at the night sky and all the stars. He was amazed at how bright they were that night. He didn't know how long he stood there watching the sky, but he suddenly felt tired. He noticed his fever was gone and that he would probably be able to go to sleep without freezing over his squads barracks. Hinamori was right; he really did need a good night's sleep.

It had been about three months since he had one. And that was the first time he had ever had one.

Arigato. Reviews welcome.

- Haruka Shinigami