A week later, Hinamori sat back and stretched in one of two new, modern, wheeled; and above all, adjustable - chairs in her office. The cut-price garage sale of Sosuke Aizen's, Ichimaru Gin's and Kaname Tosen's old items had gone well. Their clothing, furniture and other personal effects were now scattered among dozens of outer South Rukongai households, far from the eyes of their troubled former vice-captains. The giant desk was last seen disappearing into the distance in the back of an oxcart. Hanatarou did not keep any of the loot for himself, but he did save one particular item for a special friend of his.
That night, as he lay drinking on the veranda outside his room, the 8th Division's Captain Kyouraku Shunsui heard a loud, porcine grunt and looked up. He glimpsed the dim figure of a stout man around the same height as Aizen wearing a bandana, goggles and the uniform of the 5th Division's captain riding away in the moonlight on the back of an HUGE pig. Shunsui turned to his sake bottle with intense suspicion. That had to be some bloody strong stuff…
As the days went by, Hanatarou and Hinamori drifted closer together. Hanatarou soon learnt to run inside the boundaries of the 5th Division's turf when being pursued by 11th Division bullies - Tobiume; Hinamori's zanpakutou, would settle the rest. For her part, Hinamori often sought out Hanatarou for solace whenever she was troubled by memories of Aizen. Yet neither really seemed to admit their growing affection for the other. Finally, Hanatarou managed to arrange to go with a detachment of his own squad to accompany Hinamori's team on a hollow-hunting expedition. After watching Hanatarou and no less than three other 4th Division shinigami struggle comically to slay a single hollow; Hinamori vowed to train the healer to be a better swordsman herself. He enthusiastically accepted the offer, and began regular lessons at her division.
Hanatarou breathed deeply and focused on the angle of his zanpakutou as Hinamori guided him from behind, her arms holding his. He loved the feel of Hinamori's hands against his skin. They were warm and gentle, and yet possessed the firm muscle and grip of an accomplished fighter. Back when he was an Academy student, sword practice had been a time of confusion and acute embarrassment for him; but here, Hinamori's soft words of encouragement and good-natured laughs of reproach allowed him to relax and pay attention to his lessons. This continued for a couple of months until he was able to spar with her with sealed swords. Though Hinamori nearly always won, for the first time in decades, Hanatarou actually believed he was improving.
One day, Hanatarou arrived for his regular training session only to find a third person there. Izuru Kira was standing next to Hinamori, his arms folded in doubt.
"So you are sure you want me to fight Hanatarou?" he drawled, addressing the other vice-captain. She turned to him and whispered her reply so that Hanatarou could not hear. Behind the healer, the single gate to the walled exercise compound clanged shut. As he spun around in alarm, all he saw was Abarai Renji grinning wordlessly at him, a totally effective barrier between himself and all possible escape. The moment he turned back, Kira pounced.
"EEEK!" Hanatarou screamed and dashed to one side, not having had enough time to draw Hisagomaru. Kira landed where he was standing milliseconds before, with Wabisuke in hand, fortunately still sealed. But Hanatarou kept running and did not turn around until he managed to draw his zanpakutou in mid-stride. He spun around clumsily only to find Kira directly behind him, bringing his sword down to strike. Somehow, Hisagomaru flew upward and blocked the attack, though the impact sent Hanatarou reeling.
"Your stance must be stable in order to block effectively!" Hinamori shouted at Hanatarou from the centre of the square. The healer was too busy to respond as he rolled away from Kira. He managed to steady himself; and in defiance of his own sanity, he went on the offensive. Kira's eyebrows raised in puzzlement as Hanatarou came at him. Although he was able to block Hanatarou's swings easily, he realised that the smaller shinigami possessed a wiry strength and stamina born from many years of menial labour. He sensed that his opponent was still not really at ease with wielding a katana, and Hanatarou fought with exaggerated movements that were theoretically correct but exhaustingly inefficient. Then Kira attacked. Hanatarou parried a couple of times before fleeing again, but now Kira flash-stepped and appeared directly in front of him.
"Duck when you parry. You can't shunpo yet so that's the best you can do to evade!" Hinamori called out. This time Hanatarou twisted aside when he blocked, a motion Hinamori had trained him to do; and Kira had to adjust to follow his movement. The normally sad-faced man smiled; Hanatarou had been trained well, and he writhed to and fro as Kira increased the pace and difficulty of his attacks. The vice-captain held back, wanting to push Hanatarou to his limit, but not so hard that it ended the fight too soon. So when his opponent made a wrong move or was too slow to block (and there weren't actually that many instances), Kira would shake his head and growl with displeasure instead of finishing him off.
This torture went on for three more intolerable minutes for Hanatarou, who was beginning to tire and stumble. Then suddenly Kira withdrew. Hanatarou was swinging his katana forcefully at that time and simply slashed thin air. He watched in horror as a nimbus of light surrounded Kira's blade.
"Omote wo agero…Wabisuke," Kira uttered, activating his initial release. The blade of his zanpakutou bent at right angles twice. Hanatarou was instantly cornered, and when he raised Hisagomaru to block, he found the weight of his zanpakutou doubling, and then quadrupling… Just when he was desperately contemplating how he could obtain his own shikai and shrink his zanpakutou, Hanatarou found himself heaving his forty-eight pound katana forward to attack again, but Kira simply deflected the strike and turned aside. Hisagomaru now weighed ninety-six pounds, and Hanatarou gave a hoarse yelp as its weight and his own momentum carried him forward and into the ground. The cool blade of Kira's sword pressed lightly into the base of his neck.
"Urrgh…" was the only sound he could manage. Now Hanatarou was too tired to stand as well. But he found himself being lifted off the ground and onto somebody's muscular shoulders. Hanatarou stared into the tattooed arms of Renji, and then at Hinamori. She was cheering. Izuru Kira walked in front of him, and Hanatarou strained to lift his head for a better look. One slender hand slid under his chin and raised it for him. Hanatarou was amazed at how different Kira looked when he grinned. Kira's free hand rose to gently tousle his hair, and he turned to Hinamori.
"Hanatarou's session normally ends much later than this. So I guess we all have time for a celebratory drink right?" Hanatarou remembered that Kira was supposed to be off alcohol and tried to voice his disapproval; but he was abruptly cut off by a vicious glare from the same man.
"I've been abstaining for two bloody months, Hanatarou. Your drinks are on me, and until the mass-doubling effect of my zanpakutou wears off, we'll just have to carry you to the pub." Kira put Hanatarou's head down and bent to retrieve the healer's sword. He grunted with exertion as he did so, and the gang exited the square with Hanatarou slung over Renji's back like a heavy sack of rice.
Later that evening they were joined by Shuuhei, and the 'boys' (as Hinamori liked to call them) were slumped either on the table or the floor and incoherently trying to discuss each other's sex lives. Hinamori herself sat propped against a cushion while Hanatarou lay in her lap. Both were barely conscious. But even in her inebriated state, Hinamori couldn't help thinking how beautiful Hanatarou looked in the warm glow of the firelight, and how incredibly lucky she was to have met a man like him. When she was done telling him how proud she was of him, Hinamori bent to kiss him on the forehead and got a barely audible gasp in response.
The healer had never been so drunk before. His addled mind detachedly noted the effect the alcohol had on his own perceptions. Maybe he would regret everything in the morning. But whatever the outcome of the earlier battle; just for tonight, he could imagine that she was his champion, and the one who would love him and guide him for always. Hanatarou stirred and gazed upwards at the angel above. He raised his hand limply to caress her face.
"Thank you, Hinamori-kun… I love you." As the world faded around him, Hanatarou couldn't help but sigh as those gentle, strong hands embraced him closer; and he fell asleep in her arms.