"Taichou? Where are you going?"

Toshiro paused mid-way through the door and turned to face his beautiful vice-captain, Matsumoto Rangiku. Matsumoto was probably the most beautiful (and sexiest) woman in the Soul Society, with her wavy blond hair, piercing blue eyes and impressive figure, namely her bosom. But she was also probably the laziest woman in the Soul Society as she continuous found ways to get out of doing her work and always managed to thrust it upon poor Toshiro.

"Rukongai." He said flatly. He wasn't lying...exactly.

"Why?"

"To visit Granny." Now he was lying.

Matsumoto rolled her icy eyes. "Taichou, it's almost four! Granny's probably asleep!"

"I'm still going. I'll be out for a while, so get started on some paper work."

"But-"

"Not buts, Matsumoto! I expect to see at least half of that pile completed when I returned."

Matsumoto's bottom lip trembled and she looked as though she wanted to say more, but a stern look from her captain destroyed whatever protest she'd had planned and she gloomily turned to the desk. She took one look at the mountain of paper work and exclaimed: "I need a drink~"

"Later, Matsumoto. Now start." He waited till Matsumoto was seated and selecting a report to begin before darting out the door.

In the fleeting few seconds in which her reiatsu had flared, the young captain had been able to pin-point it's location and planned to find her. She couldn't wander around with that kind of power bubbling inside her. She'd end up hurting someone or maybe killing someone and though he had seen her but once he knew she wouldn't be able to bare taking another person's life. Especially by accident.

What was her name again...? Toshiro's thin eye brows met in a furrow of concentration. Haru? Hanabi? Hanako? Hinata...Hinata was it. Hyuuga Hinata.

0-0-0

"My name is Ahiko, and I've lived here for as long as I could remember."

The room was no longer in a state of chaos. Hinata had cleaned it up quite thoroughly, and now that table sat upright and the food was packed away and the front door sat properly on its hinge. Hinata could do little about the destroyed doors that lead from one part of the small house to the next, so she'd settled for clearing the space and leaving a gap in the door's place. And now all three women were sitting around the table, spilling tea and chewing sushi, both made by Hinata. Ahiko, the old lady which had attacked the said Hyuuga, had begun to explain her situation.

"It was a mere hour before you two arrived...A gang of the most unruly, disgraceful youths banged down my door and stormed my house. They just knocked me aside and ignored me, treated me like dirt!" And she pounded her fist again the wooden table. Both Kimi and Hinata flinched at the sound. "I could do nothing to stop them. They took as much food and money as their filthy hands could carry and then disappeared into the trees. I hope they stay there!"

"Toshimori was part of a gang," Kimi said and Hinata shivered at the memory of the filthy, black haired man that had bought Kimi from Eye-patch and Dirty-blond. Hinata still liked to think of him as Black-hair, because giving him a name meant giving him personality and making him human, and Hinata didn't like to think that there were humans as bad as here in heaven. "They steal from people all the time!"

"Do they? Well, I hope he doesn't come looking for you." And as Ahiko took a long slip of her tea, Hinata swallowed down a gasp of fear. What if Toshimori did come looking for Kimi, the red-haired woman whom he claimed to have ownership of. Hinata had managed to easily defeat two of his men and outrun his woman, but could she protect these two from a whole gang?

But she was getting ahead of herself. There was no actually proof that suggested Toshimori belonged to the gang that had attacked Ahiko and stolen her belongings. Just because Toshimori was a bandit and stole from numerous peoples, didn't mean he'd stolen from Ahiko. Still, Hinata couldn't control the anxiety boiling within her so she took a hasty bite of her sushi and washed it down with a gulp of tea.

"It is getting late." Ahiko commented as she gazed at the sky.

Hinata looked, too, and saw with mild surprise the sky was beginning to darken. "Wh-what time is it?" She wondered aloud.

"About fifteen past four." Ahiko answered. Then she turned to the two youths and smiled. "You two can stay for as long as you wish. I get lonely here, all by myself. And a lonely old lady always means trouble."

So Ahiko told the two where the futons were supposed to be, and Hinata and Kimi reluctantly moved from their comfortable positions to fetch them. Finding them relatively undamaged, the girls moved them to the pain room and spread them out randomly in whatever space they could find. Hinata prodded them all and once she found the softest one, she led Ahiko to it. Then she took Kimi to the second softest and then took the uncomfortably stiff on for herself. Or perhaps it wasn't stiff. As Hinata's Hyuuga Clan was rich among the rich she had always had a beautifully soft bed to snuggle up in with silk sheets and a mattress like velvet. Perhaps she was being too picky when she called the futon 'stiff'.

Exhaustion took her quickly. Hinata hadn't realized how tired she was and she welcomed sleep with open arms.

0-0-0

"Hime."

Hinata's eyes popped open and she found herself standing on the plain of ice and snow. She was bare foot and clad in a simple kimono that was ridiculously thin and made for sleeping purposes only, but she didn't shiver at all. A few feet away the she-wolf sat, her beautiful silver fur rippling in the gentle breeze and her eyes blazing like blue suns.

"Ookami-san!" Hinata exclaimed, suddenly over-joyed. She hadn't seen hide nor tail of the pretty she-wolf since her death. Not that she'd really stopped to think about her because of everything that had been happening, but now Hinata realized just how strongly she'd missed her four legged friend. "I-I m-missed you so m-much!"

"And I you, child. It's good to see you again, and smiling, too, after everything that's happened." Her face dropped slightly. "I'm glad you're alright."

Hinata tried to smile but failed miserably. That day, the day that she had died, seemed so long ago. But in reality it had only been a few hours since her death, and already so much had happened. She hadn't thought about it, just as she hadn't thought about the she-wolf, but now the memories came flooding back like a tidal wave. She remembered Kiba and Shino and Akamaru, her precious comrades. She remembered Sakura and Ino and Tenten, her precious friends. And she remembered Naruto, her precious crush.

Hinata sniffed loudly and held back tears and balled her fists. She sucked in as much icy air she could, struggling to contain herself. Ookami-san watched her with sympathetic eyes.

"Look around, Hime." She instructed.

Hinata blinked the tears out of her eyes and nodded before obeying. She allowed her eyes to wander...and then gasped in surprise.

Her featureless world of ice as not as featureless as she remembered. There trees had sprouted leaves but they were like no other she had seen. They were a icy blue colour and shimmered in the dim light. Flowers, small but determined, were popping up here and there and growing stronger even as Hinata watched. Either a small lake or a large puddle had formed not three metres from where the she-wolf sat and the water gleamed and sparkled like diamonds. Hinata forget her tears and stared, startled by the beauty. Everything seemed so much more...brighter.

Ookami-san chuckled. "Beautiful, isn't it? This is what your Inner World is supposed to look like. Or it's getting there, at least. The only reason it was so featureless before it because you were, well, alive."

"B-but why?"

"That will be explained in due time, Hime." She promised. And suddenly she was serious. "But there is a more important matter we need to address."

"...Wh-what is it?"

"Someone it trying to break into your Inner World."

Hinata wasn't really sure what this Inner World that the she-wolf kept talking about was, but she was bright enough to understand that someone trying to force their way into it wasn't a good thing. "Wh-who...?"

"I don't know, but I can hear their voice. It's faint and whispery, but I can hear it all the same. It speaks of horrible things, Hime, and I fear for you. I need your help to keep it away!"

Hinata nodded and though she was a little frightened of this unknown intruder she was determined to help. "Wh-what do you want me t-to do, O-Ookami-san?"

"I want you to-"

A glass-shattering scream sliced through Hinata dreams like a sharp knife, and all too quickly Ookami-san and her icy world vanished without a trace.

0-0-0

Hinata was jolted out of sleep by a hard kick to the gut. She gritted her teeth against the pain and forced herself to look up, up into the twisted face of a man she had seen before...the face of Eye-patch!

Hinata saw the short-sword glinting in the moonlight and only just managed to roll aside in time to avoid having her throat cut. Eye-patch howled in fury and sped forward, hands flying, aiming to hurt with the knife, to kill with the knife.

Hinata jumped backwards to put space between them, only to find herself backed up against the wall. She muttered a swift curse then dropped down as Eye-patch thrusted the knife towards her head. The blade slid into the wood but stayed there no matter how hard the man pulled, and his mistake gave Hinata time to kick his feet out from under him. He collapsed to the ground and before he could rise Hinata's foot made contact with his gut several times, then her hand snaked under his scarf and jabbed the pressure point at his neck. The man's eyes glazed over and he fell unconscious.

With that over, Hinata took a deep breath and looked around. It was about midnight, if the sky was anything to go with. The room was trashed again, and Kimi and Ahiko were no where to be seen. Two people lay unconscious on the ground, one guy with a bleeding head and one girl with a knife in her side. Hinata's stomach churned uncomfortably but she bit down her disgust. These people had attacked them. They had every right to fight back!

And suddenly someone was wailing, and Hinata immediately recognized the voice as Kimi's. Then she heard Ahiko screeching protest, only to be cut off with the sound of a slap. Hinata cringed. Her father had slapped her many a times and she knew how painful it could be especially if the slapper was bigger then you. And Ahiko was a small woman, and an old one at that.

Hinata darted to the door but didn't leap out, no, she crouched in the shadows and stared in horror at what she saw before her.

Ahiko was being restrained by some evil looking woman with wild black hair and crazy green eyes. Another plump lady with stumpy purple hair and muddy browns eyes had slapped Ahiko, and Ahiko's nose was gushing blood and her eyes were glazed slightly. Not far away a man was holding down Kimi, who was screaming thrashing like mad, and Toshimori stood over her with a smug look on his sickly face.

Hinata could hardly believe what she was seeing. Toshimori had been a member of the gang that had attacked Ahiko! The Bad-woman must've realized where Kimi and she had been heading, and had run back to tell Toshimori, Dirty-blond and Eye-patch about it! That was why they ere here now, why Ahiko was bleeding badly and Kimi was being subjected to cruelty once again...

What am I going to do? Hinata thought desperately. Aside from Toshimori, the two women knew Ahiko and the guy holding Kimi, there were several others just standing close by. Several other strong looking men and women. Several other mercilessly men and women. Altogether there was about eleven. And they had hostages. All they needed to do was put a knife to someone's throat and yell 'Freeze, or she dies!' and Hinata would be at their mercy.

Urg! What am I going to do!

"Let me go!" Kimi shrieked. She tried to punch her captor in the nose but he held her arms steady. "I said let me go!"

"A repulsive, persistent little brat as always, Kimi-chan." Toshimori said, and he and his gang laughed in earnest. Hinata didn't see the humour.

Suddenly Toshimori stopped laughing and immediately the rest of his gang fell silent. His beady black eyes focused on Kimi's, but she refused to meet his gaze. Out of fear or defiance, Hinata wasn't sure. "Where is she?" Toshimori asked icily. "Where is that ugly little brat that beat up Koji and Tsuaka? Where is she!" And she kicked Kimi hard in the face and the red-head let out a squeal of pain.

Hinata could take it no longer. She jumped from her hiding place and sped forward, activating her byukugan as she went. The plump woman with Ahiko saw her first and dived at her, drawing a hand blade in the process. Hinata drew a kunai from her sleeve and the two weapon met with a silver sparkle and the metallic hiss of clashing metal. The two pushed the weapon close a split second then with drew apace, and then attacked again.

Plump-woman aimed a kick at Hinata's head but she ducked to the side and flashed forward, her byukugan searching for the best pressure points. The woman growled in a most dog-like fashion then started on a seemingly endless assault of punches, but Hinata skilfully grabbed her arm mid-punch and the woman let out a gasp of pain. Then Hinata hit her middle, her stomach, and moved onto the next opponent as the woman fell to the ground.

Two men attacked her simultaneously. One with a curved hunting knife aimed for her head, while the other with a long, thin blade headed for her legs. Hinata propelled herself off the ground and slid through the gap with speed and skill she hadn't realized she possessed. The men staggered to a halt but Hinata was already lunching in for another attack, and hit the man with a hunting knife in the back of the head, knocking him out immediately, and jumped back to avoiding the long, sharp blade of the other man.

"You stupid gaki (brat)!" He snarled savagely. Hinata curled her lips in disgust when she saw his slimy yellow teeth.

Yellow-teeth darted forward and began a series of powerful but somewhat awkward attacks that Hinata blocked with her black kunai. The awkwardness of the blows made them easy to block, but the power they held made it hard to keep her hand in place. She found herself wishing she had a sword. Then she could use two hands, one against the hilt and one against the dull side of the black. Then her arms wouldn't shake or her hands ache with the effort of keeping the weapon steady.

Hinata's byukugan searched his body for pressure points. She found several that would cause him little pain but knock him out instantly, and just as she began to form a plan arms wrapped around her neck and she was pulled backwards against some guy. His thick, muscular arm restricted her wind pipe and for a moment she couldn't breath. The kunai slipped from her hand and Yellow-teeth slashed her arm with his blade. Hinata would've screamed in pain had she the air to do so.

"Ah, so the gaki decided to reveal herself." Toshimori said, a little to late. Hinata clawed desperately at the arms choking her, but they only moved when Toshimori gave the signal. Well, they didn't move. The pressure just lessened and Hinata could breath again.

Hinata risked a glance at her captor and saw he was the guy she'd seen unconscious in the room, the guy with the bloody head. Ahiko had probably smacked the said body part with a cooking pan or something, and knocked him out momentarily. There was a little tried blood and a painful looking bump on his forehead, but that aside he looked completely fine.

"Welcome back, Junichi." Toshimori said pleasantly.

"I apologize for falling unconscious." Junichi, the man holding Hinata, said in the most emotionless voice Hinata had ever heard in her short life.

Toshimori waved a hand to say it did not matter before grinning slyly at a very helpless Hinata. Her byukugan had deactivated itself when Hinata's air had been restricted, but the Hyuuga didn't need it to see the man's greedy eyes travel up and down her body. Slowly. Like he wanted her to notice. And Hinata was sure after she pulled a face of disgust and fear that he had accomplished what he set out to do.

"You little bitch, you're a lot stronger then you look. It's a pity we'll have to kill you." And Yellow-teeth grinned crazily beside her and Hinata couldn't help but glance at his bloody blade. "But before we do that, you will watch us kill this old bag," He pointed at Ahiko, "and this little slut," He pointed at Kimi, who whimpered. "and you will listen to them scream. I do hope you enjoy yourself." And then he gestured for the woman holding Ahiko to set things in motion.

The said lady threw Ahiko onto the ground with a gleam of excitement in her green eyes. She then drew a blade from god knows where, and drove it into Ahiko's arm. The old lady screamed in pain but did not resist. She was too weak and had lost too much blood to even try. Hinata's eyes grew wide.

"Stop it!" She shrieked and she started to struggle again Junichi's grip, but the man was built like stone. He refused to budge even the slightest inch. "Stop it!"

Crazy-lady didn't listen. She just laughed cruelly and pulled out the knife and then slashed Ahiko's arm again. It wasn't a deep cut but it would've hurt like hell all the same. Then Hinata heard Kimi scream and saw the guy holding her was running a knife along her shoulder. Tears slid down her cheeks like rivers and she was begging them to stop. Hinata started to cry, too, and she kept struggling and she kept screaming for them to stop, but she knew it was meaningless. It was over and she knew it. They could win, not against so many...

And suddenly something shifted in Hinata and her heart skipped a beat as Junichi hissed in pain. Hinata glanced down to see ice forming on his arms and legs and on the grass they stood on. And then she realized she was doing it. There was a power inside her, and that power wanted to be released...was it Ookami-san? The beautiful she-wolf that ruled the glittering land of snow and ice? It had to be!

Hinata was sure she saw the other bandits flinch but before she could confirm it, something evil and dark seeped into her...and pain came with it. The feeling of power vanished to be replaced by something sticky and evil and cruel. Hinata screamed and suddenly she wasn't aware of the world around her, only the horror that was seeping into her, and she started to thrash again. She kept screaming but not for the bandits to stop but for the evil to go away, to leave her alone...

"Get away from her!"

Suddenly Hinata snapped into reality as the temperature dropped several degrees. Junichi abruptly released her and was sent flying by a swift kick to the face, and he hit the ground, hard, a good ten metres away. He didn't rise.

Hinata let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and crumbled to her knees. She was shaking all over. The evil presence was gone but the memory of it and the pain it brought still remained. What the hell had she felt? She didn't want to know. She just never wanted it to come back again...then she felt a reassuring hand clench her shoulder and she looked up...

...into the face of Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Her lavender eyes widened. "T-Toshiro-kun?" She whispered.

"Are you alright, Hyuuga?" He asked seriously.

She just nodded. And then he was gone.

Hinata wasn't even able to follow his movements, but within seconds the seemingly all-might army of dagger wielding bandits had been destroyed. They all lay together on the ground, groaning and moaning, some adoring several cuts, others just severe bruises. Their seemingly horrible weapons now lay snapped and shattered in a pile not far away.

Kimi had fainted, so Toshiro picked her up and...disappeared and reappeared inside the house. He laid her down on a futon and quickly healed her wound. It wasn't deep, and even with his limited knowledge of healing kido, he was able to fix her easily. Then he saw to Ahiko. The slashes were easy to fix but the hole in her arm was more difficult, and he informed Hinata he would have to continue healing it tomorrow. He was able to heal Hinata's wound, but it was deeper then Kimi's and took a little more time.

As he lead a trembling Hinata to her futon (which had changed from the stiffest to the softest, though she didn't realize at the time) she suddenly realized something. "Y-you're st-staying the night?"

"Of course." Toshiro said simply. "I can't leave Ahiko alone with a wound like that. And there might still be more near by. If I leave, they'll come and kill you."

Hinata shivered. She couldn't argue with that. So she let her exhausted body drop like a stone onto the futon. "Wh-where will y-you sleep...?" She asked sheepishly. She was already drifting into the world of dreams.

"That doesn't matter." Toshiro said, and though Hinata would've liked to argue, she was too tired to care. A moment later she was slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

0-0-0

"What's wrong, Aizen-taichou~"

The room in which Ichimaru Gin entered was completely void of light save for the tiny, palm-sized ball that shimmered as brightly as a sun. The light was a mixture of purples and pinks and whites and blues and greens and the glow it gave off could change from pretty to sickly in a heart beat. In front of the glowing ball stood a tall, fit man with a head of silky brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. One curly strand of hair fell between his eyes.

"Nothing, Gin." Aizen Souske said as he stared greedily at the glowing ball. Below its surface a face swam, faded and flickering, but a face all the same. Lavender eyes met his brown ones. "Everything is absolutely perfect."

!I own neither Bleach or Naruto!

Hello again! Ultra quick update! Enjoy it~!

So, Aizen finally makes his appearance. You knew, right? That Aizen was gonna have to pop up somewhere, other wise who would the bad guy be? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter~ Because I know I did. Hinata kicks butt!

Thanks for reading :]