"Feel better?"
"H-h-h-hai..."
Hinata lifted the tea to her mouth with shaky hands and relished in the warmth that bathed over her lips. Sweet, hot liquid tickled her tongue. A shudder of pleasure rippled through her body and she took another grateful sip. Hanatarou watched her for a moment and then took a swig of his own tea and his eyes momentarily closed.
Hinata and Hanatarou were sitting outside of Hanatarou's room on the veranda. Hours had passed since Hinata was overcome by sadness and tears and the moon had long since risen, huge and silver and washing watery light over the Seireitei. There was a small herb garden out the front of his room and the different herbs sparkled shades of grey and silver in the moonlight.
Hanatarou hadn't left Hinata's side, except for when he gotten some tea. But Hinata was always in seeing-range. He was terrified she'd do something to herself, as shaken up and teary as she was. He didn't want to come back and find her smashing furniture or burying her nails into her skin. Doctor or not, he'd panic first before composing himself and getting on with treatment.
Hinata drank some more tea. It was so warm, she could feel it travelling down her throat. And it felt wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. She tugged the blanket that was draped over her shoulders closer to her body, covering her about hairless neck, her knees and her exposed legs.
She wasn't wearing her school uniform anymore. Seeing as she probably wouldn't be going back in a bit she'd requested not long ago for nothing else to wear; Hanatarou hadn't come in with her, of course, but he'd remained close by the door with his hands together. She wore a dark purple kimono with a pretty red rose pattern sown into the hem and the sash around her waist was a pale pink.
"...Ha-Hanatarou-kun...y-you w-won't tell a-a-anyone, w-will you?" Hinata said so softly her voice was just barely a whisper.
Hanatarou shook his head. "I-I promise I won't tell anyone."
Hinata smiled. A small, sad smile, yes, but a smile all the same.
Hinata's protective walls had crumbled. In her hysteria, she'd told Hanatarou everything about the Academy, about her life, about her Inner World-and about the evil presence that attacked her at random times without reason. And thus she told him about Miyuki and Bunko and their savage beating, how she'd had no control over her body as she battled with the darkness and had surfaced only to find her hands slick with blood.
"D-do..." Hinata breathed. "Do you b-b-believe me?"
"H-Hinata-san doesn't seem like the kind of person who would lie." Hanatarou replied with a slight smile and lifted the cup to his lips. Hinata did the same. The warmth flooded her body and she let out a sigh of relief, of bliss; it felt so good.
"Hinata-san, where will you go now?" Hanatarou asked and Hinata blinked. She hadn't thought about going anywhere. The moon was up, the stars were out; the Academy would be on lock down. They wouldn't let anyone but a shinigami in till the sun had risen, and said shinigami had to have a written permission slip from their captain. And Unohana believed Hinata had already gone home, hours ago.
She shrugged. "I-I don't know."
"You can stay here." Hanatarou offered. "I-I'll sleep on the floor."
Hinata's cheeks brightened and she looked at him and saw he was flashing a genuine smile. Hinata's eyes widened ever so slightly. "H-Hanatarou-kun..."
"It's fine." He insisted and his eyes closed as the smile grew wider.
Hinata giggled quietly, briefly. "T-thanks."
0-0-0
"Feel better?"
"Uh-huh."
Hinamori pulled the cup to her lips. Cold, icy water washed over her tongue; and a tiny white pill bounced across it. She swallowed the pill down with a sigh and sat the glass beside her bed. She would finally be able to sleep without worrying about seeing him. Toshiro gave Hinamori a quick look-over glance before walking to the candle and blowing it out; darkness engulfed the room.
"Oyosumi, Hinamori." The young captain said and he started towards the door only to be stopped by Hinamori's outstretched hand gripping his own. He froze and looked over his shoulder.
"Hinamori?"
He couldn't see her face in the darkness, and the fact she'd pulled the blanket up over her mouth didn't help. He only saw her chocolate-brown eyes twinkled in the near non-existent light and felt her smooth skin of her hand rubbing against his own.
"...Please...please stay with me, Shiro-chan." She whispered. "Until I fall asleep."
He stared at her for a moment. Then, willingly, he nodded.
"Alright."
0-0-0
A day later, and Hinata gathered her things and forced herself to leave for the Academy.
She needed to get back. She'd been gone for far too long and had undoubtedly fallen behind in her studies. And she was positive if she spent anymore time avoiding departure, either Unohana or Toshiro would come and collect or or she'd be expelled. She wanted neither, especially expulsion.
Hanatarou walked her to the Academy. He explained to the people at the gate that Hinata had remained at the hospital for longer then previously thought and he apologized for keeping her. The guard simply rolled his eyes and kicked the gate open and it was quite care he didn't give a damn why Hinata was late back after being attacked by a hollow. Hinata rolled her shoulders before picking up her stuff. It was good to be out a sling.
"A-are you sure I can k-keep this?" Hinata asked and she indicated the purple kimono folded up against her chest.
Hanatarou nodded. "Yeah. Unohana-taichou said it was fine."
Of course, Unohana had figured out Hinata wasn't at school and had scolded her for it but when Hanatarou said she'd started crying, the motherly captain had let the subject slid, for which Hinata was grateful. Hanatarou wouldn't tell anyone about her 'problem' but Unohana would. She was a captain, after all, and she had duties to for fill.
"O-okay. Um, bye, Hanatarou-kun." Hinata bowed and then turned on heel and darted off into the Academy walls.
Hanatarou waved. "I'll visit!" He promised.
Hinata laughed and waved back. "Okay!"
And the guard slammed the door shut. Hinata vanished inside the main building and Hanatarou turned back down the path with a goofy smile on his lips.
0-0-0
The principal's reaction to Hinata's late return was far from favourable. In fact, it was down right unpleasant. He lectured her on the importance of education and how she would end up scrubbing toilets if she didn't buckle down and get learning. He said she had no right to skip a day of school just because she was 'hysterical'. He eventually stopped screaming at her when he saw he'd made the poor girl cry. He sent her off to class with a gentle pat on the back and a warning.
It was around ten thirty and classes had already started. Hinata's first class was Kido and Theory and she wasn't surprised to find the class already chock-full of students and that they were half-way through the lesson. The sensei had Hinata sit next to a girl she didn't recognize and she read over her notes. According to the girl's book, Hinata was very far behind. She didn't particularly mind, though. Toshiro had taught her how to use kido and that made theory about pointless. She was confident she'd catch up in no time.
Her next class, combat, wasn't as easy. They'd advanced past what Toshiro had taught her, the basics, and Hinata was desperately behind. Osuka-sensei kept a close eye on her as she sparred with a girl twice her size and struggled to keep up with her rapid series of swings. By the time the fight was over, Hinata was covered in bruises and sticky with sweat. She wiped some perspiration off her forehead. She needed to train harder.
"Hyuuga-san," Osuka-sensei called as the class ended and everyone begun filing out. Hinata saw him standing by the bokutou closest with his hand raised, beckoning her over. Hinata walked over and fidgeted nervously under his gaze.
"H-hai, sensei?"
"It appears you've fallen behind." He dead-panned.
"U-um, I was-"
"Hospitalized, I know. I want you to spent your free periods studying and practising these." He handed her some sheets that listed sword and fighting techniques and she realized that several resembled the moves her sparring partner had used. "You're a natural with yours hands and good enough with a katana. It shouldn't take long for you to master these if you concentrate. But," He added and his voice was suddenly cold. "If I catch you slacking off, I'll have you here from dawn till dusk practising. Understood?"
"H-hai!"
"Good. Now go to your next class."
Hinata nodded before racing out the door and down the hall.
The following classes passed moderately quickly. Hinata was glad the sensei was ordering students to share notes with her and not leaving her to her own devices; she wouldn't have learnt a thing that way. She jotted down the notes about Zaraki Kenpachi and his incredible reiatsu and fighting styles while the teacher droned on about the Stealth Force (Onmitsukido) and its five branches and the Kido Corps (Kidoshu). Hinata kept her ears peeled for every drip of information and absorbed it like a sponge.
Like promised, during her free periods she studied and executed the swords moves with a bokutou, though she found them all complicated and difficult. She soared through the Hakuda (hand-to-hand combat) in a heart beat, though. Hakuda came as a second nature to Hinata, while zanjutsu (swordsmanship) was hard and frustrating.
Before she knew it the day was over and Hinata was wriggling into her futon, clad in sleeping gear. She snuggled up against the pillow with an exhausted sigh. Her muscles ached from over exertion and she had a punishing headache, but she was back. She was learning and thoroughly enjoying herself despite the fact hardly anyone talked to her besides the teachers. She still had Hanatarou and-
Hinata's grip on the blankets tightened. Toshiro. She hadn't spoken to him since she'd run from him and Hinamori and Hinata's mouth dropped a little as the image of him hugging the said vice-captain popped into her mind. She brutally pounded it away. Whether Hinamori was his girlfriend or not, Toshiro was still her friend and she'd have to face him sooner or later. He'd saved her in so many ways.
And with that thought in mind, Hinata let her mind go blank and she was carried away by sleep's current.
0-0-0
Toshiro felt dead, he was so tired.
He literally collapsed onto his bed and groaned when he realized Hyourinmaru was still on his back and was now digging into his flesh. He threw the troublesome sword across the room and numbly he felt Hyourinmaru roar angrily in his head.
"Sorry..." The exhausted boy muttered.
As you should be! Hmph!Hyourinmaru growled. ...Master...
Yeah?
When will you face the Hyuuga girl again?
Toshiro coughed. He didn't want to think about that, so he concentrated on summoning the strength to sit up and pull his shoes off.
Master, you know as well as I do that you're not in love with Hinamori.
No response.
You'll have to face her eventually, like a man.
Toshiro pushed himself up and undid the shoe laces. We wriggled his toes as the sandal came free.
Master...
He threw the shoe away and then fell back onto his bed and pulled the covers right up over his ears as though he was trying to block out the sound of the outside world.
...You know you're in love with Hyuuga.
I'm not, Hyourinmaru! Toshiro snapped. I just...I just worry about her, that's all.
You coward. Face your feelings. You'll tear yourself apart, not talking to her. She must have some sort of feelings for you, too, if she ran when she saw you hugging Hinamori! The icy dragon snarled.
Toshiro buried himself deeper into the sheets. ...What about Hinamori?
That's your problem, not mine.
Gee, thanks.
Don't mention it.
Ugh. I hate you sometimes.
You took the words right out of my jaw.
Tch...Oyosumi, Hyourinmaru.
Promise me you'll talk to her, he insisted.
Toshiro sighed. Fine. I swear I'll talk to Hyuuga, eventually.
Alright. Satisfied, the dragon yawned and stretched his wings before folding them into his sides. Oyosuminasai, Master.
0-0-0
Three months.
Three long, punishing months drawled by. Hinata trained till her hands bled rivers and Toshiro lost himself in mountains of paperwork. Neither child made a huge effort to get in contact. Both feared the outcome of the to-be talk, for reasons neither quite understood.
But as Hinata trained harder and harder everyday, she soon excelled beyond her class mates and those of the Second Grade. Osuka-sensei was astonished by her progress, as were many of her teachers. And all of a sudden a messenger appeared at Hinata's bedroom door and delivered a letter; she'd been moved up two grades, into Grade Three.
Hinata couldn't believe it. She'd gone from Grade One to Grade Three in three months! Her sleepless nights and horrific training exercisers had paid off after all; she was closer to graduating, closer to getting out of the Academy. The thought filled her with hope and drove her forward.
It was almost the end of April now. The weather was getting warm. Hinata stopped a moment to bask in the sunlight streaming through the open window before sucking in a deep, shuddering breath and walking to her first class as a Third Grader.
She knocked softly on the door and instantly it was wrenched open by a furious looking male teacher with huge glasses and a gigantic gut. Hinata almost squealed out loud, his sudden appearance had startled her so much.
His beady black eyes flashed up and down her body and he frowned. "Are you Hyuuga Hinata, now?" He demanded.
"H-h-hai," Hinata stammered and she held out a note the principal had instructed her to give to all her new teachers. He quickly skimmed it and ushered her inside.
Immediately all eyes fell on her. Curious, hostile, board, jealous. So many different glares and stares; Hinata wasn't sure where to look. It was like Grade One all over again; she felt self-conscious and examined her feet and chose where she placed them carefully. The sensei told her to sit next to a boy up the back that Hinata couldn't see properly; Hinata hurried up the steps and was shocked by how big everyone looked. The men had thick necks and broad shoulders; the women curvy hips and potent breasts. Hinata suddenly felt more like a child then she ever had.
Hinata silently took her seat beside the boy and began to unload her books onto her desk while the teacher resumed his rant about the importance of gokon tekko (devices that forced shinigami souls of out their fake bodies). It took her a minute to notice the boy was staring at her.
Blushing, Hinata met his gaze with a forced smile. The boy sitting beside her had the wildest hair she'd ever seen; it stuck up in all different directions like some sort of prickle bush and the colour was a bizarre bright orange. His eyes were big and brown. And his grin spread across his round face, ear-to-ear. He looked very young.
"U-um...hi." Hinata mumbled and she risked a glance at the teacher. His back was to her and he was speaking to loudly to pick up some stray whispers.
"Hello!" The boy chirped. "I'm Watanabe Jun! Who're you?"
"H-Hyuuga H-Hinata."
"Nice to meetcha!"
"Oi, you two! Concentrate!" The teacher growled.
"Sorry!" Hinata gasped and she quickly turned her attention back to the board and flipped her book open. The teacher had drawn a diagram of gokon tablets on the board, 'Soul Candy' was its official name, and was explaining its effects-
"Ne, ne, ne, Hyu-chan," Jun hissed and Hinata twitched. Why was he talking to her? Didn't her age or eye colour freak him out? "You wanna sit with me at lunch?"
"U-um..."
"Oh, not just me! So-so-chan, Junichi, Ri-kun and Na-chan will be there! I'm sure they'll like you. They're all in Grade Three, too."
Please stop talking to me, Hinata begged but Jun heard nothing of her voiceless plea.
"So? So? So? Will you?" He prompted. Hinata sighed and gave in. If Jun didn't stop talking soon Hinata was going to spend the entire lesson trying to tune him out.
"O-okay." She promised and Jun punched the air.
"Watanabe! Stop annoying the new student and concentrate!"
"Hai~!"
Hinata giggled. Jun had his annoying faults, but he was funny. Jun heard her giggle and punched the air yet again, and earned himself an afternoon detention, to which he responded to with a gleeful "WOOT!". The class burst out laughing and the teacher simply sighed.
Hinata smiled. Grade Three didn't seem so bad.
0-0-0
"This way, Hyu-chan!" Jun announced and he snatched Hinata hand and dragged her forward. The cafeteria was rapidly filling with hungry students as Jun steered Hinata towards a ground of people sitting by a window. Their trays were already full but there was a spare one just sitting idly at the end of the table.
It was lunch and Hinata had held up her end of the one-sided agreement; she promised to go to lunch with Jun, and so she did. Usually she spent all lunch reading and eating very little so she was nervous about the 'talking' bit; she knew of nothing that was going on around the school, apart from the fact there were still guards at the gates and patrolling the grounds.
Jun pushed Hinata onto the seat and grinned. "Hey, guys! This is Hyu-chan!" Hinata blushed and dipped her head respectfully. "She's a genius!"
"Ah, so you're the girl everyone's talking about!" Hinata searched for the owner of the voice and found it in the form of a girl with the appearance of around sixteen, with short purple hair and big green eyes and a friendly smile lifting her cheeks. She was sitting on the table rather then on a chair and had ripped parts of the uniform's sleeves away. "Nice to meetcha. I'm Takahashi Sora."
"N-nice to meet you. I-I'm Hyuuga H-Hinata."
"I'm Watanabe Junichi." Said the boy standing next to Sora...and Hinata's just dropped. Junichi was a giant. He was like a living sky scraper! She'd never seen such a tall boy in her life. His hair was the same as Jun's, as were his eyes and round face. He was slim and lanky. He lacked the thick neck and bulging muscles most shinigami men had at his age. He looked a lot like Jun, height excluded (compared to his brother, Jun was a midget)
"Nice to meet you. A-are you Jun-kun's o-older brother?" She asked.
Junichi shook his head. "No. I'm his younger brother."
"...Seriously?"
"I know, I know. Actually, Jun's three years older then me."
Hinata had nothing to say to that.
"This is Tsubokura Ritsuka," Junichi continued and he pointed to a boy sitting at the very end of the table with his nose in a book. His hair was oily, short and black and a thick lock of it hid his right eye from view. His eye was emerald green and his skin was almost as pale as Hinata's. He was averaged size, a head or so taller then Jun and tiny beside Junichi, and appeared about 15 years old.
"And this is Hanabishi Natsuko." Junichi finished. Natsuko was standing beside the window and she was hugging herself. Her hair was short and curly and golden, shimmering in the sunlight. Her eyes were sky blue and there were freckles on her cheeks. She caught Hinata's gaze and blushed and looked away. Hinata blinked in confusion.
"Don't mind Natsuko-san," Junichi comforted her. "She's just shy. She likes you, really. She's this way with everyone."
As Junichi spoke, his older brother Jun slid into his seat and pulled the spare tray towards him and started wolfing down some rice. Sora squeaked, then roared in anger when Jun flicked some food onto her pants in his haste and she swiftly smacked him over the head. Ritsuka twitched and asked them to be quite, but neither child was listening. Jun sucked up some juice and spat it at Sora's feet. She squealed and bounced away. This time Ritsuka hit him over the head. Natsuko's blush darkened and she ducked down into a chair as Ritsuka and Jun started yelling at each other. Junichi sighed and walked calmly over to put a stop to the pointless squabble.
And Hinata chortled. She'd forgotten how funny friends can be- Hinata stopped short. Friends? What friends? These were the first students who had talked to her since her enlistment! She'd been quite nearly friendless for three months. Why had that suddenly changed? Because she was in a different year?
"Does it matter?" Ookami-san asked suddenly. "Enjoy yourself, Hime!"
Hmm...why not?
"Ne, Hinata-chan, you want something to eat?" Sora asked and she held out some sushi rolls for Hinata to consume. Hinata considered protesting but decided against it; she was starving and all the tasty food had been taken. She said thank you as she took the sushi and she began nibbling on the edge. Sora laughed.
"You look like a mouse!" She giggled.
Hinata blushed but kept eating. Her stomach gave a mighty growl and she quickly stuffed the whole thing inside her gob and swallowed it. Her belly approved.
Yeah...She thought. Why not?
!I own neither Bleach nor Naruto!
WOOT! Chapter ten! Jun's here! I love Jun. He's a spaz, like seriously. And I have no idea if Ritsuka is an actually name; I liked the sound of it so I used it.
Hinata and Toshiro WILL meet again eventually. Also...I'd like to apologize if Hinata, Toshiro or Hanatarou seem out of character. I've forgotten how Hanatarou acts, he hasn't been around for a while. I watched some shorts after I wrote this (-_-) and hopefully he'll be more like himself next chapter.
In chap eleven...something important will happen! And, no, I haven't forgotten that Aizen asked Gin to do something! I purposely stopped talking about it because what he was asked to do was like what Aizen got Ulquiorra to do: told him the order, then made him execute it twenty chaps later X3 Ulquiorra will turn up soon, too.
Thanks for reading! Please review!