Drip drip drip
Slowly, steadily, blood seemed from the wound and collected on the dusty ground. Forming a sickening puddle of hot, red liquid. Hinata's lips quivered. Surprisingly, her eyes didn't grow wide as she expected them to. She didn't burst out crying or scream either. Rather she just froze, with the exception of her lips. Time appeared to stop as Hinata watched the blood pool out in front of her feet...and as Sora struggled to stand up right.
Sora had jumped in the way, and a claw was dug deep into her shoulder. The sharp edge of her asauchi was pressed against the hollow's arm, but it did little good. Pain was etched into Sora's features. Pain and terror. Pure and unmistakeable terror.
"S...Sora...-san..." Hinata's voice was faint. Oh so faint. Shock had numbed her senses, speech included.
The cat-hollow hissed in frustration. Why was this kit getting in the way? Did it not understand that she was hungry? That if she didn't eat now, her stomach would collapse on itself from hunger? With a howl of fury she flung Sora aside; she flipped in the air and smacked against the earth and rolled for several paces before finally coming to a complete stop. Her asauchi spun through the air and embedded itself a few metres away from Sora.
"Sora-san!" Hinata shrieked and alarm twisted in her belly.
The cat-hollow observed Sora's unmoving form for a few more seconds before letting out a purr of satisfaction. Now that was over, she could finally eat something. She turned back to Hinata and with a sinister smirk padded forward-
Smack!
The she-cat hollow twitched her ear and watched in obvious contempt as the rock clattered to the ground. Her red eyes flashed as Sora scrambled to her legs; they wobbled violently under her weight. Blood gushed from her wound. Her hair was caked with it; her sleeve was dyed red. Hinata drew a sharp breath.
"Sora-san! Please stop!" She begged. "You're going to kill yourself!" If she kept moving with such a deep gouge in her shoulder, she'd bleed out and die from blood loss. But Sora didn't heed Hinata's warning. She took a shaky step forward. And then another. She lifted her moderately uninjured arm and threw another stone; it bounced off the hollow's mask without leaving a mark of any kind.
The she-hollow hissed and turned away from it's prey slowly and Hinata leapt to her feet. The hollow spun back and let out a ferocious snarl, lashing out with glinting claws before Hinata had time to react; three deep gashes appeared in Hinata's leg and she fell with a scream as agony coursed through her.
The hollow started towards Sora. She stood her ground bravely, foolishly. Hinata clutched her leg but barely noticed the blood spurting between her fingers or the pain that brought tears to her eyes; all her thoughts for focused on Sora. She wanted to yell for her to run, to get away, but Hinata was smarter then that; she could see very well that Sora had no intention of running. No intention of leaving her comrades behind.
The hollow towered ominously over the human-sized spirit. Sora picked up another stone and threw it with every ounce of strength that she possessed and cussed when it simply rebounded off the she-hollow's leathery under belly. The hollow barred its yellowing fangs and brought then down in a heart beat; the ground exploded on impact. Dust swallowed the scene.
Hinata groped for asauchi. Where did it go? And then she saw it and her face fell. It was trapped under what looked like the side of a fallen support beam. She crawled over, wincing with every step, and reached out for the exposed guard. She grabbed it and tugged; it didn't move. She gave another strong pull and managed to get it move half an inch. But still it remained stubbornly trapped beneath the rubble.
Suddenly Hinata heard a scream and her head whipped round just in time to see Sora emerge from the cloud of dust, only now she was limping. Blood seeped through her uniform just above the left knee; she stumbled and only just caught herself on the side of a collapsed sky-scraper. Sweat glistened on her brow and her entire frame trembled. Her face was deathly pale.
And then the hollow appeared and charged towards Sora with a victorious shriek. Sora jumped into the air and the famished feline's fangs sunk into the hard wall; it wrenched them out with a howl of disgust. Sora's feet hit the ground with a thud and she took a few weary steps back before falling against a wall, panting hard.
Hinata cursed. She turned back to her asauchi and gripped it with two, doll-like hands and took a deep breath.
Then she summoned up all her physical power and gave a mighty heave; her reiatsu flushed into the sword and the stone trapping it shattered like broken glass and the katana came free. The force knocked Hinata onto her back but she was immediately climbing to her feet. Her leg throbbed with pain and she gritted her teeth together and touched a hand to it gently. She poured her reiatsu inside and the wound shrunk in size, but didn't disappear all together. The bleeding stopped, though. And Hinata sprinted forward.
She fired another Shakkoho once within range and hit the beast squarely on the shoulder, pushing onto its side. It squirmed onto its paws just as Hinata reached Sora and rocketed forward. Together they dived down into the dirt, out of reach of its fangs, and Hinata thrust her blade upwards, up into it throat.
"RAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
The she-hollow threw her back and screamed, screamed, screamed, blood spraying across the ground like rain. Hinata took Sora's hand and hulled her too her feet, urged her to run. Sora did so without a word and just stared forward, eyes wide with pain and fear. Hinata was very aware that she no longer had a weapon; her asauchi was firmly lodged in the she-hollow's throat and was, at the moment, twenty feet in the air.
Then Hinata spotted Sora's asauchi and hope bubbled in her chest. They were running towards it; it was directly in the path they were taking back to the shinigami. If she could tug it out of the gravel she'd have a weapon, a weapon that did nothing unless she was right next to the hollow, perhaps, but a weapon all the same-
Suddenly Sora stopped and swerved to the side.
"We need to get Shouta! He's unconscious!" She explained over her shoulder in a high and frantic voice. Hinata looked past her and saw the indeed unconscious body of Kamizuki Shouta pressed up against the wall with his head lolling to one side and his eyes slightly open, though they were dull and dark. With a terrified glance at the cat-hollow, Hinata changed direction and followed and silently prayed that the beast didn't see them take the detour.
Sora took Shouta in her arms like a mother did her son and held him tight. He was the picture of bliss; calm, peaceful, unafraid. And unaware of the danger his body faced. Shouta was off in dream land now, with no idea he could end up staying there permanently if things went wrong.
"Let's go!" Hinata pleaded and Sora nodded wordlessly. Then she noticed Shouta's asauchi lying by where is body had been and picked it up, slipping it into her scabbard. Then they were running again, scrambling up the slop, and when Hinata looked back for the cat-demon, she saw the hollow was in battle with someone else.
Her eyes widened as she recognized the fighter as a shinigami with bright orange hair and a black-and-white sword almost as long as himself. Kurosaki Ichigo! The cat fled off into the sky and the teenage samurai sped off in hot pursuit; he didn't even see Hinata and Sora and Shouta, battered and bruised and bloody, running amongst the ruins of the broken city.
They slowed down. The threat was gone. They were safe. Hinata leant against a wall and sucked in some shuddering breaths and realized she was trembling. She held her hands together in an attempt to calm herself. Sora let Shouta down beside a support beam and crumbled to her knees and suddenly began to sob. Her breaths were short and shaky. And her tears were many; they cascaded down her face like water falls and she did nothing to ease their flow. Hinata would've gone to comfort her, had she the energy. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more then to curl up in a ball and sleep.
Then Sora seemed to realize how foolish was was being. She sucked in her tears and slowly healed her shoulder. She was woozy from blood loss but managed to focus on the wound enough for it to stop bleeding and shrink the tiniest bit. Then she did the same to her leg and let out a sigh of relief when it vanished all together; the wound had been shallower and smaller then the others.
And then she stood and walked over to Hinata, leaving Shouta's body where it was, and placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder.
"Thank you." She said softly. "You saved me and Shouta, back there."
She was referring to when they'd frozen and Hinata had attacked the lizard-hollow. They'd come too and bolted. Hinata said nothing, instead stared at her feet. Sora squeezed her shoulder tighter.
"I mean it, Hinata-cha-I mean, Hinata-san." Hinata blinked. Did that mean Sora respected her more? "If you hadn't attacked, me and Shouta would've been eaten before we could realize the danger we were in. You saved us."
"...I...a-all I d-did was shot it..." Hinata protested meekly and her cheeks began to grow hot from praise. She found it strange she could blush at all, given the circumstances.
"Yeah, but you still saved us. And took the lead," She added with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "You got as moving again. Well, me. Shouta was a baka and got himself knocked out." They shared a brief, but dry giggle. Somehow it wasn't as funny as it should've been.
Then Hinata realized something. Shouta had been knocked out by the lizard-hollow. They'd run off and been confronted by the cat-hollow, who was now being chased across the sky. Probably already dead. But the lizard-hollow was still alive, wasn't it? It hadn't attacked because the cat-hollow was bigger then it, stronger looking with its larger frame and thick, rough fangs. It had stayed hidden in the side lines, watching wide-eyed, as the students waged battle against it. But now the cat-hollow was gone...
...What reason did it have to hide any longer?
"Run." Hinata commanded and Sora frowned in confusion. Her face paled with alarm as Hinata ducked away from her hand and darted over to Shouta. She shook him but he stayed lost in his deep sleep.
"Hinata-san?" Sora asked and her voice was tight. "What's wrong?"
"Th-the lizard-hollow," Hinata stuttered as she hopped to her feet and grabbed Sora's hand and dragged her over. "I-it wasn't k-killed. It just d-didn't c-come back to f-fight. It might still be-"
And before Hinata could finish the sentence, the very beast she'd been discussing soared into the air and came crashed down just behind Shouta's limp form. Dust coated its limps as the hollow threw its skull-covered face back and howled. It's disgusting reiatsu choked the air and for neither Sora or Hinata could breath for a few horrifying seconds. Sora had a small coughing fit while Hinata just gasped in air.
The hollow raised its paw high into the air and brought it down in a blindingly fast motion; the ground lurched beneath their feet and with a deafening crack the students were thrown in three separate directions. Shouta rolled under a bright red car and groaned, coming too and rubbing a bump on his head. Sora slapped against the ground and rolled for a bit before stopping and scrambling to her feet.
Hinata, however, wasn't as fortunate. She smashed right into a window and the power behind the blow caused it to shatter; glass shards buried themselves in Hinata flesh and she fell. When she hit the ground the wind was knocked out of her once again and she couldn't move an inch. The hollow realized the weakness and surged forward.
"HINATA-SAN!" Sora screamed and she tried to get up but tripped over her own toes. She fell head first into the dust, into the rocks, and for a moment her head spun. Tears sparkled in her eyes. "H-Hinata-san!"
"Hyuuga-kun!" Shouta yelled and he crawled out from beneath the crushed vehicle and raced forward as fast as his short legs could carry him-
The hollow opened its jaws wide and inhaled the scent of Hinata's freshly spilled blood before snapping its head down and diving forwards; as it did so spikes sprouted from its chest. Hinata screwed her eyes shut.
"Toshiro-kun!" She whispered and she waited for the blow to come-
"HYUUGA-KUN!"
Crunch!
Something wet and sticky splattered against Hinata's face. It was hot and ran down her face like streams. Her stomach did a flip. She knew what that was...
And Hinata peered up through her eye lashes and almost cried out then and there.
Shouta had somehow gotten his hands on Sora's discarded asauchi; and was ploughed into the lizard-hollow's throat, just below the mask. Blood bubbled in the gap between flesh and metal. And the spikes in the hollow's chest had cut through Shouta like a knife through butter, crushing his lungs and ripping apart his vital organs. Several had drilled all the way through and showed through the torn skin of his back.
The pain kicked in and the lizard propelled backwards with a blood-chilling screech. Shunk. The blades were ripped out of Shouta's body and he collapsed in a bloody heap of mangled flesh. Hinata wriggled to her knees, to her feet; a few glass shard came free and clapped against the ground. She staggered over to Shouta and gagged at the amount of blood gushing from his torso, his mid-drift, his back. There was so much blood. It was slick and shiny and pooled around his twitching form; the blood lapped against Hinata's knees and painted her fingers. She knelt beside him and held his head in her hands; his eyes were friendly and unafraid, despite his current condition.
"Sh-Sh-Shouta-k-k-kun!" She sobbed. Tears swept down her face. He barely knew her and yet he'd given his life to save her.
Shouta smiled. It was faint and pained and strained, but it was still a smile. "Ah damn...I d-died...o-oh w-well..." And then his eyes lost their brilliant gleam and turned dark as the night sky.
No...
"S-Shouta-kun..." Hinata breathed.
No, no...
"Sh-Shouta-kun...!"
No, no, no!
"Shouta-kun!"
And something inside Hinata snapped.
Power.
Raw and cold and merciless; it flooded Hinata's body and suddenly a pale purple glow illuminated her body. The ground around her and her dead team mate froze over and she gently laid down his head. Closed his eyes. The hollow stopped moving and stared as Hinata stood, Shouta's asauchi clasped firmly in her hands; over head the sky growled menacingly and dark black thunder clouds rolled over. The wind started to get faster and turned frosty, nipping at her arms and legs. The tears on her face dried up and vanished; her leg and back wounds suddenly stopped throbbing.
And she wore an expression like none she had ever worn before; it was hard and cold and battle-ready, and an unnatural lust for revenge burned in the depths of her lavender eyes.
Call my name! The five-tailed beast that was Ookami-san hollered in her mind. My name is-
Hinata raised her arm and her lips parted. All of a sudden she could hear Ookami-san's name as clear as day. She narrowed her eyes until she could see nothing else but the murderous hollow standing a few feet away.
"Freeze the world over...Fuyu no Tsuki!"
And the asauchi changed form in a incredible flash of white light. It became a nodachi, long as Hinata herself, with a pure white hilt and guard and magnificently silver blade. Snow and ice swirled around the blade. Waiting patiently for its chance to strike.
Hinata kicked off the ground and sailed high, high into the air and raised Fuyu no Tsuki over her head. She let out a cry as she brought the blade down and a torrent of snow and ice hurtled over her head and it devoured the hollow like a ravenous, icy-beast, swallowing it whole. Ice crept across the ground and it sparkled like a thousand diamonds. The moment Hinata's feet touched the ground the ice encasing the hollow shattered and it materialized into nothingness.
And with that, the seemingly impossible foe was destroyed.
Sora caught her breath. Everything around her seemed to glow in brilliance and in beauty; everything suddenly seemed so vibrant, frozen in Hinata's reiatsu. A fragment of ice hit her hand and it twitched, but she didn't even notice. Her eyes looked about ready to pop out of her head.
"Wow...amazing..."
And suddenly she heard the sound of running and a moment later several shinigami slowed to a stop at her side. Sora didn't even glance at them. Her eyes were focused on Hinata and the winter wonder land she'd created with her reiatsu alone.
Hinata didn't move. She was utterly still, utterly motionless. She was still glowing every so slightly...then suddenly the glow faded and Hinata started to collapse. A shinigami darted past Sora and caught Hinata before she hit the ground, holding her against his chest.
Hinata's sight was fading. Toshiro's pale face was a blurred image. But Hinata smiled all the same.
"T-Toshiro-kun..." She whispered hoarsely. "D-did you s-see? I-I got my Sh-Shikai..."
"I know." Toshiro confirmed. "I saw. You were amazing, Hyuuga."
And with that thought running through her mind, Hinata fainted.
0-0-0
Am I dead? Hinata wondered. She felt like she was floating. Her body was so...so warm. Every part of her tingled. She felt weightless, painless. The rest of the world didn't the exist; the horror and death and fighting was all gone, replaced by blissful slumber and limbs tingling with pleasure.
But all good things come to an end. Too soon Hinata was pulled from her dream and she became aware of the soft sheets she was lying on, the endless beeping of a heart monitor, the usual scuffle of attentive feet shuffling across the flood. Her eyes opened and yet again she found herself staring at the plain white roof of the Relief Station.
"Hyuuga?" Hinata's heart fluttered and the machine noticed, but to Hinata's embarrassment. It's speed increased and Hinata hurriedly took a breath to calm herself.
"Toshiro-kun?" She mumbled. She twisted her neck and saw Toshiro sitting bed with Hyourinmaru tossed over his shoulder and he leaned forward. He reached out and touched her forehead. Hinata's heart rate quickened. And so did the machine. Shut up!
"How do you feel?" He asked and Hinata muttered that she felt fine, great, even. Then she realized she was holding something in her hand and she sat up and raised her hand. Her eyes widened. She was holding Fuyu no Tsuki, her zunpaku-to, and it gleamed proudly in the mid-morning light. Hinata glanced at the window. The sun was high in the sky so she guessed it had been a couple of hours since...since the incident.
"Do you want me to get Unohana?" Toshiro asked worriedly when Hinata lapsed into silence. She shook her head.
"N-no...P-please d-don't go anywhere..." And suddenly she was sobbing. She remembered Shouta, his blood, his deep red blood, splashing over the concrete. Merging with the dust and scattered rock. Sprinkled across her cheeks...She reached out blindly for Toshiro and buried her head in his shoulder. He gently caressed back and held her tight. He said nothing as Hinata wept into his uniform.
After what seemed like a life time Hinata's crying eased to the point where she could speak, though her voice shook uncontrollably.
"I-it's my fault!" She gasped. "I-if I'd d-deafened mys-self better, Sh-Shouta-kun w-wouldn't be dead!"
"Thats not true." He breathed and his voice was calm and soothing. "You fought well. Kamizuki made his choice to fight for you. It's not your fault he died, Hyuuga."
"D-demo-demo- (but)"
"It's not your fault, Hyuuga." And there was a tone of finality in his voice and Hinata suddenly believed it truly wasn't her fault. She nuzzled closer to Toshiro, gripping tighter to his haori. He pulled her closer. Closed his arms around her. And Hinata had never felt so safe in her life.
"Hinata-san, are you-oh..." They voice pulled them out of their teary embrace and Hinata gasped when saw Hanatarou standing outside the door. He looked...shocked. Wide pale eyes wide and mouth slightly opened. But then he recovered and dipped his head and a false smile crept across his pale face.
"F-forgive me, I didn't mean to disturb you." His voice was dripping with fake politeness. The sadness and bitter tang of betrayal was easily seen behind the mask.
"H-Hanatarou-kun-" Hinata began but Hanatarou had retreated before she could get his name out. Her face fell and Toshiro stared sympathetically after the brunette boy. He understood his pain all too well.
"He'll be alright." He assured Hinata but she didn't look so sure. Sniffing the teen wiped her tears away and laid back down with an exhausted sigh.
"I-I'm so tired..."
"I know. Go back to sleep." Hinata nodded and Toshiro lifted the blankets up over her chin. She blushed and caught his hand before he managed to withdraw it fully.
"...s-stay?" Her cheeks darkened considerably. She didn't meet in his in fear she'd see mockery flickering in their depths. But instead Toshiro smiled.
"Okay."
0-0-0
Aizen tapped the hogyuku thoughtfully. It shimmered like a thousand suns and its intense, ever-chaning light filled the room. He heard the cry of a raven in the back of his mind and smiled.
"Gin." He said and the silver haired man tore his gaze away from they watery moon hovering in the inky black sky and grinning malevolently at his lord and master.
"Hai, Aizen-taichou~?"
"Remember the order I gave you?"
"Of course~" He hissed playfully.
Aizen closed his eyes and an image of a girl with short black hair and blazing lavender eyes trapped in a ring of fire flashed into his mind. He felt the hogyuku sizzle with excitement at the thought of meeting her again, at the thought of blending with the girl whose name they did not know; the girl who shared the shared its ability, as though she were a human counter part. The smile that lifted Aizen's cheeks was a rare genuine smile that did not hid his insane lust for power and blood and the burning desire in his eyes flared.
"It's time to carry that order out."
!I own neither Bleach nor Naruto!
Short-ish chapter, I guess. Grr, fighting scenes are hard. The fact someone died didn't make it any easier...I hope I didn't upset anyone with Shouta. He wasn't a main character and didn't get many lines, so I shouldn't think so. Originally, I planned to kill off Sora but she got lucky and survived XP
And so Hinata has a zunpaku-to. Fuyu no Tsuki = Winter Full Moon. I don't know the Japanese for 'Freeze the world over', though I wish I did -_-
Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you for all the kind comments. Please review! I'll write you a one-shot~
[sorry, I lie XD Rukia and Renji aren't in this chapter. Next one!]