Hinamori wandered around the hospital with her eyes focused ahead. She looked at no-one, spoke to no-one. She moved silently amongst the doctors and nurses without making a single sound. She was invisible, unnoticeable. Protected from detection by her calm aura and delicate foot steps.
She was on a mission. She hunted the halls of the Relief Station for on specific herb. On that slowly drained a powerful shinigami of his life, like a steadily waxing candle, drip drip drip...
Hinamori smiled. No...she smirked. A grim, inhuman smirk, merciless and cruel. So, so cruel. And as she soundlessly approached her destination, all she could think about was the herb and the loving man with his beautiful smile that had requested this simple service of her. The man that appeared in her dreams daily, clad in white and surrounded by fire. Hot, sweltering fire. Always smiling, just like she remembered.
And like always, she was his senselessly obedient dog, padding softly through the path of destruction and hurt that he left in his wake.
0-0-0
Hinata looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing that gorgeous kimono Hanatarou had given her not long ago, purple in colour with that cute pink sash wrapped around her waist. Socks adorned her feet. A lovely bright red flower had been tucked behind her ear. And then Toshiro came up behind her and tied something around her neck. Hinata blushed.
"D-did you make this?" Hinata wondered aloud as she gracefully ran her fingers over the necklace. Pale blue pebbles were threaded onto the string; they resembled pearls, only prettier, in Hinata's opinion. A purple crystal was tied at the end and the colour inside seemed to swirl like mist, giving the stone a mysterious but alluring appearance. It was beautiful.
"No." Toshiro answered. "My Granny have it too me. She said it was my mother's."
"Y-you d-don't have to g-give this to me..." Hinata breathed, touched.
"I want you to have it."
Hinata's blush darkened and she turned around to face him and smiled timidly. Toshiro returned the smile with one of his own and then held out a hand. Hinata took it and he lead her out of the spare room.
Today would mark Hinata's fifth day of living at the Relief Station. And unlike last time, she wasn't finding it boring at all. Toshiro was constantly with her and she adored his company and was sure if it wasn't for him, she would've simply sulked in her room and grieved for Shouta in the comforting darkness of night.
Hinata finally knew why she'd run from Hinamori hugging Toshiro; she liked him. Maybe even more, but she couldn't be sure. Electric sparks fell up her arm whenever he touched her and Hinata yearned to be close to him all the time. She didn't mind in the lest when he felt her hand or rested his head on her shoulder. It made her feel as blissful and free as she had during that deep sleep of hers, after the hollow attack. Sora hadn't been in to see her, nor had Jun, Junichi, Ritsuka or Natsuko, but Hinata guessed they were just busy. Unlike her, none of the others had been attacked by hollows and had no reason to take time off to recover. As to whether Sora was confined to quarters or not, Hinata wasn't sure.
But Hinata knew she'd have to go back sooner or later. Isane and Unohana seemed to enjoy her company but Hinata knew that they'd urge her to return eventually. So as she sat down in the cafeteria with Toshiro to eat, she voiced her decision and deflated a little when Toshiro frowned.
"W-what's wrong?" She asked in a hurt tone.
"It's nothing." He dead panned and went back to eating his lunch. Hinata pouted. Sometimes Toshiro's mysteriousness was annoying or hurtful but she knew he had a good reason for it. Still...they were sort of together now, weren't they? She realized then and there that he hadn't once called her his 'girlfriend' or spoken of Hinamori, his current partner. Though they were a lot closer then they had been and a bit more touchy, Toshiro still hadn't announced he'd broken up with Hinamori and was ready for a serious relationship.
She must've been staring before Toshiro stopped eating and met her gaze. "What?" He asked.
"..." Hinata didn't answer.
"Hyuuga?"
"Toshiro-kun..." Her eyes narrowed. "H-have you t-talked to H-Hinamori-fuku-taichou?"
Toshiro's face darkened dramatically and Hinata flinched. She was trodding on dangerous ground. Then Toshiro abruptly sighed and fell back against the chair. He looked defeated.
"I haven't spoken to her in a while." He confessed. "She's been sleeping a lot lately. And she's high on pills most of the time. I've probably had the chance to break up with her, but I haven't as of yet."
Hinata was surprised by how quickly he'd confessed to not speaking with Hinamori and was glad it hadn't been difficult. She nodded in understanding...then titled her head to the side in that cute way she did when confused. "W-why is Hinamori-fuku-taichou on p-pills?" She questioned.
Toshiro shrugged. "Dreams. Hinamori never truly got over Aizen abandoning his post. She was a wreck for weeks after his disappearance; she hardly left the Infirmary."
Hinata's breath caught in her throat. She had had no idea Hinamori was so physically (and perhaps mentally) unstable. The idea occurred to Hinata that Hinamori may very well have been in love with her captain. She didn't find that hard to believe. According to Isane, he'd been a kind and caring and almost fatherly individual who'd earned the respect and trust of his comrades through hard work and good leadership skills. It wasn't hard to image someone falling for a man with such characteristics; many women wanted men like that, someone who had a back bone and could stand up for himself but was still warm and charming. Aizen fit the bill perfectly.
"Oi, Toshiro!" Hinata looked up to see a tall, orange haired youth standing over them. His eyes were narrow and amber but warm and friendly and he was smiling down at the white haired captain.
Toshiro twitched. "Kurosaki...How many times do I have to tell you? It's not 'Toshiro', it's Hitsugaya-taichou!" He snapped.
"Right, right-urgh!" Suddenly the short, black haired shinigami standing beside him elbowed his rip cage and as he gasped for breath she dipped her head to Toshiro.
"My apologizes, Hitsugaya-taichou." Kuchiki Rukia said. "I'll talk to him later."
"Why, you-"
Rukia kicked him hard in the shin and the orange haired shinigami collapsed to the floor with a howl of pain and Rukia's violet eyes shone with amusement. A smirk appeared on Toshiro's lips and Hinata looked from one to the other with shock written all over her face. Rukia noticed and smiled comfortingly.
"Don't worry, Hinata-dono. He's fine."
"No, I'm not-"
Rukia slapped him over the head and he fell silent.
"You guys want something to eat?" Toshiro offered and Rukia nodded and quickly heaved Ichigo off the ground. He glared reproachfully at the black haired shinigami but she paid him no attention as she took one of the sushi rolls Toshiro offered her and popped it into her mouth. With an annoying sigh, Ichigo took one too and chewed on it thoughtfully.
"Ne, Hinata-dono, would you like to spar with me?" Rukia asked suddenly and Hinata blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected that. "Or are you returning to the Academy?"
"I-I was planning too..." She said awkwardly. It would be fun to spar with Rukia, to use her Fuyu no Tsuki in something less then a life-and-death situation. Ookami-san (Fuyu no Tsuki was her name, but Hinata still called her by her old nick-name) had given little insight into what she was capable of doing and Hinata was desperate to begin training with her Shikai.
"Ah. Perhaps you could spar with me before you leave?" Rukia suggested and Hinata nodded.
"Sure!"
"Great. I'll tell Ukitake-taichou."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Prepare to be knocked down again and again, Hinata-san. Rukia is ruthless-"
And Rukia elbowed him in the guts and Ichigo almost choked on his sushi roll due to surprise and pain. Toshiro closed his eyes so he looked like he was sleeping, though the amusement was clear on his face. Hinata giggled despite her better judgement and Rukia smirked smugly down at Ichigo, who looked about ready to strangle her.
0-0-0
From across the room, Hanatarou watched Hinata giggle, her rosy cheeks and upturned lips, and smiled. She was really, really cute, even if she didn't think that true herself.
Hanatarou had avoided Hinata during the first two days of her stay and had only started talking to her again while he'd been delivering her food and he'd been genuinely surprised at how concerned she was about him and his easily hurt feelings. Touched, he'd forgiven her instantly even though she hadn't done anything wrong. They'd become close friends again and he'd even shared some words with Hitsugaya-taichou, which he hadn't done since Toshiro had been in Fourth Squad himself (after graduating, the Fourth was the only one with the grace to enlist him despite his young age).
He considered going over but decided against it. He didn't want to butt in. He turned around to return to his daily duties but paused when he noticed Hinamori-fuku-taichou walking out of one of the many store rooms in the Relief Station and frowned. It struck him as odd. She was allowed to access storage rooms because of her need for pills but she wouldn't find pills in there no matter how hard she searched, and Hanatarou doubted Unohana-taichou would've given her permission to enter the herb store room. There were plants in there that could prove fatal if taken in an overdose.
So he ran after her, oblivious to the danger he was walking into.
0-0-0
Clang!
The metallic ring of steel against steel rang through the clearing. Rukia gave a mighty heave and Hinata stumbled backwards and, seizing the chance, Rukia sprung forward. She cut through the air with her blade, aiming for Hinata's head, but the girl ducked just in time and the blade whistled over her head. Hinata balanced herself on one foot and kicked out harshly with the other, knocking Rukia's legs out from under her. The shinigami fell to the ground with a pained "oof!" and went to get up but before she could, the tip of Fuyu no Tsuki was resting threateningly against her throat.
Rukia smiled and she actually looked impressed. "You're very good, Hinata-dono."
"Th-thanks," Hinata mumbled and she withdrew her blade and offered Rukia a hand. Rukia took it and Hinata helped her off the ground. The girls sheathed their zunpaku-to and started towards the hill that over looked the training ground, where their obento boxes and drink bottles awaited them. As did two powerful looking men with swords clinging to their belts.
"Konnichiwa, Ukitake-taichou." Rukia dipped her head respectfully to the elderly white haired man, who beamed back.
"Hello, Kuchiki. Please, sit and eat. You both look tired." The kind captain advised and the girls obliged. The red haired man with narrow amber eyes and a face and torso utterly covered in tattoos smirked.
"You're losing your touch, Rukia! Losing a student!" Abarai Renji teased and Rukia resisted the urge to throw something at him.
"Urusai, Renji! (shut up, Renji!)" She snarled. "Hinata-dono is stronger then she looks. Why, I bet she could kick your ass, too!"
"As if!" Renji huffed. "I'm not scared of little girls!"
"Is that supposed to be an insult, fool? You seriously believe you would get a raise from something a pitiful as that? How pathetic."
"O-oi, listen you little-"
"Now, now, Kuchiki, Abarai-kun. Please calm down." Ukitake urged and the squabbling pair fell silent, though they continued to glare daggers at one another even as Rukia chewed on her onigiri.
With a sigh, Ukitake turned to Hinata with that fatherly grin of his and saw she too was watching Rukia and Renji with troubled eyes. Her long zunpaku-to was lying at her side and she hadn't even touched her food.
"There's so need to worry, Hinata-chan." Ukitake told her and Hinata's eyes twitched to his face. "They're childhood friends. They bicker a lot, but it's all in food fun."
Hinata didn't look thoroughly convinced but swallowed down the explanation along with a mouth full of rice. In truth Rukia and Renji reminded her of Ino and Sakura, though a bit more of Naruto and Sasuke. They're seemingly hostile but friendly jests used to frightened Hinata when she'd witnessed them. She'd always feared Naruto's temper would boil over and he'd attack Sasuke, or Sasuke would simply grow tired of Naruto constantly annoying him and just stop communicating with the blond all together. Hinata wondered what they were doing now. Had Sakura confessed her feelings to Sasuke? Had Naruto confessed his to Sakura? Had Kiba and Shino moved past her death? Had Naruto moved past her death?
Hinata realized she was particularly concerned with what Naruto thought and that surprised her. She'd been in love with Naruto not four months ago. She'd loved his confidence and persistence and resilience, three key factors to his character which she had all but lacked. She'd been so weak, so timid. It occurred to her that she had changed quite a bit during her shot time in the after life. She'd become a stronger, more confident girl on her way to becoming a full-fledged shinigami.
Just as Hinata began to feel proud a messenger suddenly appeared kneeling beside Renji and Rukia, whose faces immediately became serious and business-like. Hinata didn't bother to hide her anxiety as Renji addressed the man.
"What's happened?" He demanded and the messenger surveyed him with grave eyes.
"This is more of a message for Hyuuga Hinata, but it is also a concern for us all. Yamada Hanatarou, Yonbantai Nanaseki (Seventh Seat) was found unconscious outside the barracks. He is in a critical condition and is being treated as we speak."
"Hanatarou-kun!" Hinata cried and she leapt off her feet. "Who-who hurt him!"
"That information is not yet known." The messenger said emotionlessly. "Unohana-taichou, however, believes him to have been poisoned. There were also severe burns on the left side of his body."
Hinata's eyes grew wide with terror and disbelief. Hanatarou was being operated on as she stood there mulling over her past. Who could have done something so horrible to someone as kind and sweet as Yamada Hanatarou? Hinata found it hard to believe someone from Eleventh Division would injury someone from Fourth so seriously, even if they weren't on the best of terms. A shudder travelled down her spin.
Rukia was next to speak. "Will he be alright?" She demanded.
"Unohana-taichou cannot know until the operation is over." The messenger replied coolly.
Rukia stood up and looked to Hinata. "Come on." She said and Hinata nodded and the two women took off, leaving Renji and Ukitake to discuss Hanatarou's condition with the seemingly emotionally deprived messenger. Hinata didn't know how to shunpo yet so Rukia snatched her hand and dragged her along behind her and Hinata was over joyed when the frightening, blink-of-an-eye journey came to a sudden end.
They hurried into the Relief Station and immediately Hinata saw Toshiro waiting beside the reception desk. He must've known they would come. She darted over to him and he took her hand.
"W-where is he?" She whispered.
"Room A-13." Toshiro replied and he tilted his head towards the wall way. "Unohana is still operating. She will be for a while."
"Oh..."
"He'll recover." Toshiro said firmly. "Unohana is the best healer there is. She can fit anything."
Though Hinata knew that wasn't true and that Toshiro was saying it simply to make her feel better, she was glad he said it and allowed herself a tentative smile. Unohana truly was the greatest healer in the Seireitei; if anyone could save him, Unohana could.
"Would you like some tea?" Toshiro asked and Hinata nodded before looking to Rukia for her answer, but saw that the raven-haired girl had retreated to the door, where Renji had just appeared. They were talking urgently to one another.
Toshiro got the tea for Hinata and as she sat down, he offered some to Rukia and Renji, who both accepted them graciously. Slipping his own cup with uncanny calm, he and Hinata waited for operation to finish. It took a long time. At one point, Hinata dozed off and rested her head on Toshiro's shoulder; a little while later Toshiro fell asleep, too, and rested his head on her hair. She woke up to find him still snoozing and blushed.
And after what felt like a thousand years Unohana Retsu emerged from room A-13 and she looked exhausted. She spotted them and slowly walked over as Hinata and Toshiro both shook themselves awake and stood up.
"He's going to be alright." The moment Hinata heard those words, she felt like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she let out a sigh of relief. "He'll be shaky on his feet for a few days, but he'll live."
"Thank goodness..." Hinata said wistfully. "I-I was so afraid that..."
"Fear not. He will be perfectly fine." Unohana smiled. "He's asleep, now, but you're welcome to visit him whenever you see fit. Although..." And suddenly her tone formed an edge and Hinata fidgeted nervously. "I do think you should be getting back to the Academy. You've missed quite a bit of school."
Hinata played with her sleeve. She didn't want to go back to school now! Hanatarou was hurt! There's no way she'd be able to concentrate knowing he was here, barely clinging to life in the cold and empty hospital ward, his eyes forever closed and his face forever drained of colour...
"I'll watch over him while you're at school, so don't look so worried." Toshiro promised and Hinata's spirits soared.
"Th-thanks." She said sweetly and flashed him a smile. He turned his head away so she didn't notice his minuscule blush.
"Then it's settled. Hinata-san, please go fetch you're things. Hitsugaya-taichou, am I right to assume you'll walk her there?"
"No!" Hinata blurted and both captains looked to her in surprise. She flushed. "S-sorry, but p-please stay with Hanatarou-kun..."
Understanding dawned in his eyes and he nodded. "Alright. Kuchiki!" He called and Rukia looked up from the magazine she was reading and bounced over. "Mind walking Hyuuga to the Academy?"
"Not at all, sir."
"Good. Now, go get your stuff."
0-0-0
"Welcome back," Sora's voice was faint.
"Thanks." Hinata replied. "So...h-have I m-missed anything?"
Sora shook her head. "Nothing important. Is that your zunpaku-to?" She pointed to the sword strapped to Hinata's waist and she nodded. Sora's eyes lit up. "What's its name?"
"F-Fuyu no Tsuki." Hinata said and she liked the way the name sounded on her tongue.
The two girls were sitting at the back of a kido class, waiting for their teacher to arrive. They were going to run through some kido exercises and like usual the chatter coming from the other students was deafening. Beside Sora sat Ritsuka, and he was watching the two with sad, compassionate eyes that Hinata wouldn't have expected from him. He wasn't as icy and heartless as he pretended to be, apparently.
"Why not leave it in your room?" Ritsuka asked quietly.
Hinata touched the hilt. "I...I d-don't really f-feel safe without her."
"Her?"
"Fuyu no Tsuki's a girl." She explained. Ritsuka nodded and went back to staring stonily forward.
Then the teacher arrived and he separated then into groups and ran them through the training course. Hinata hit the target every single time and impressed the teacher to no end. Ritsuka only missed once or twice but Sora hardly ever hit the target and she sat down with her head hung in humiliation. Ritsuka rolled his eyes and Hinata patted her back encouragingly.
The bell rang and she hurried off to history, where she met Jun, and the two gossiped extensively about the last five days; or really, Jun's month ran like a motor and Hinata listened. He didn't ask her once about either the hollow attack or Fuyu no Tsuki, for which she was grateful for. Though he didn't seem like it, Jun was actually very aware of peoples feeling and talked mostly to distract them from their troubles.
History was boring and uneventful as usually and Hinata was immensely relived when the bell rang once again signalling the end of another boring periods. She bid Jun good bye and then walked down the hall to meet Junichi, and after sharing a brief hello they headed off for combat class. Unlike his older brother, Junichi wasn't sure what to say to Hinata and they ended up mostly sitting in an awkward silence. Hinata didn't blame him. Had their positions been reversed, she would've reacted the same way.
When their teacher came in however, he started talking about hollows and Hinata's throat tightened as memories flooded back. Then he did the unthinkable: he asked Hinata to come in front of the class and talk about her experience. Hinata wanted to sink into the floor as she forced herself onto her feet and out in front of the class. Eyes fell onto her zunpaku-to and many mouths gapped to form perfect 'O's. Hinata told the class the short version of what happened; that it had been extremely scary and that she never wanted to feel so helpless again. One of the bitchy noble girls up the back snorted and said she didn't believe a word of what Hinata said, and that Shouta was probably at home crying to him mummy-
Hinata snapped. She picked up the nearest object-the black board eraser, thankfully-and hurtled it at her head. She flung herself to the side with a shameful squeal.
"Don't you dare talk about Shouta-kun like that!" Hinata seethed. "He-he died saving me! His blood was everywhere! It soaked the ground and splashed on my face and...and..." Hinata voice trailed off and the room held its breath. Then Hinata bolted.
She stayed huddled in her room until one of the kinder teachers came and coaxed her out into the open. The bitchy girl who'd doubted her story was there and she apologized for her rudeness. Hinata didn't think much of it but grudgingly forgave her anyway.
Hinata was excused from the after noon classes and she decided to spend the remainder of the day outside in the cool, fresh air. She looked up at the sky and sighed. She hoped Hanatarou was okay and that Toshiro was keeping his promise, though she didn't doubt him in the least. Then she wondered who could have possibly attacked the near defenceless boy and came up with nothing other then a cloaked figure standing eerily in an ally way.
"It's a beautiful day." Hinata remarked to herself.
"Yeah, it is."
Hinata flinched in surprise and whirled round, her hand flashing to the hilt of her sword as she dropped into battle-mode. Her tense muscles relaxed, though, when she saw it was just Ritsuka, with his greasy black hair pulled into a pony tail and his emerald green eyes narrowed in concern.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He apologized and Hinata straightened.
"I-it's okay. Wh-what's up?" She knew Ritsuka wasn't a threat. But her hand stayed on Fuyu no Tsuki anyway.
Ritsuka was silent for a moment; he stared the ground and seemed to struggle over what he was going to say. And when he finally spoke, Hinata could hear the reluctance in his voice. "...Junichi and I are, well, worried about you."
Hinata simply blinked and waited for him to continue.
"Junichi's back there," He said and he pointed over his shoulder and sure enough, Hinata spotted the fiery mane of Junichi poking around the bend. "He was too nervous to come over. He told me about what happened in combat class...and he wants to help. He does. He hates seeing his friends like this. So do I, frankly. So...so if you ever need, I don't know..." He shrugged. "just someone to glare at, we're here for you."
"...Ritsuka-kun-" Hinata began-
BOOM!
Suddenly the near by school building exploded; rock, fire and ash rose upwards in a furious wave, as though reaching for the sky. Shock waves riddled the earth and zapped up Hinata's spin and she almost fell over right then and there. And then the air was choked with the blackest, most sickening presence Hinata had ever felt in her entire life and somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard Ookami-san howl in fury.
"Wh-what are they!" She heard Ritsuka breath and she strained her neck and looked up, up into the sky. It had been torn open by a pale hand, a gaping black hole carved into the sea of blue. And in the hole stood two men, one averaged size, the other of monstrous proportions, and slowly they both stepped out of the hole and walked through the sky, held up by nothing but their reiatsu alone.
Dazzling emerald eyes found lavender ones; and in their depths she saw nothing, nothing but hell-bent desire to for fill his master's wishes. And Hinata knew in that moment that the two monstrous being hovering over the Academy weren't leaving till their hands were sticky with blood.
!I own neither Bleach nor Naruto!
Done ^^ Finally, the Academy-battle (sorta) begins X3 I've been looking forward to this. And what comes after.
Thank you for all the nice comments. Seriously, you guys are amazing :D You make me so happy. I'll try to let all the Espada have some time in the spotlight, so Espada fans, be happy X3
Thanks for reading! Please review~!