A/N: I'm BACKK! From China. AND I'm almost finished with the epilogue so expect more updates more often!XD Without any further ado.... ENJOY!

Figure Five:

Buckle

//A buckle is a great addition to an old shoe –Henry Ward Beecher\\

For the next week or so, I tried to help out as much as I can around the 4th Division. It's been two whole seeks since the battle, and bodies are still being found around Seireitei. Reconstruction was going on everywhere, and people were always bustling around. Workload has increased tenfold for those Captains that were alive, and Soutaichou has yet to choose replacements for Soifon-taichou and Nanao-fukutaichou. It was a bit odd when I thought about it. He hadn't thought up replacements for the other missing Taichou spots either. But Shinigami reasoning was far beyond my own, so I didn't even want to try and fathom the depths of that old man's judgment.

I hadn't seen Kyouraku-taichou since the altar, and I was growing more and more anxious by the day. Ukitake-taichou was a lot quieter than usual too. I think that the recent battle had weakened him even more than he was, and I worried for his well-being. I'd gone to visit him a few times, but most of the time, he was asleep. On the occasions when he was actually awake, the conversations had been short, and provided close to no information on Kyouraku-taichou, or his own health. He refused to let me know more than the fact that 'We're fine! Really! You just need to worry about yourself and Hitsugaya-taichou.'

I tried asking Hitsugaya about it too, but so far as I know, he hasn't seen Kyouraku-taichou around either. Matsumoto says the same thing. I felt so out of the loop that I didn't even know there was a loop. It was happening again. No one was telling me anything, and I was just expected to sit there and take it. Well, there was nothing I could do this time. I couldn't yell and scream at all the Captains of the Gotei 13. By all normal standards, they ought to not have even let me stay for this long. The fact that they did was already stretching the limits. On top of that, they'd let me attend several of their meetings, and they have now confided in me their speculations on Aizen's next move. I should feel privileged, but instead, I felt burdened. I knew I had something to do with all this. I knew I did. But what?

There seemed to be a dim air surrounding everything, keeping everyone down and to their jobs. Seireitei seemed quieter, despite the amount of noise everywhere, what with people shouting orders, and the like. It seemed emptier, although people were constantly on the move, shunpo-ing here and there, moving things. It was just... different. I didn't like it.

"Ah... it's finally lunchtime!" I was pooped. I'd been running around the 4th Division all day, bringing medical supplies, and helping tend to the wounded. It made no logical sense. Some of the wounds that should have healed by now, are still bleeding fresh. The Investigation Department is going crazy, researching, trying to find a cure for all this. For the time being, 2nd Division has currently been taken over by their 3rd seat, who's name I can't recall at the moment, and 10th Division has so kindly taken over the paperwork of their division. Hitsugaya was really too nice for his own good. Really.

What I didn't expect was for Matsumoto to be working just as hard as Hitsugaya. She was actually doing her share of the paperwork, and, to my surprise, was more efficient than I thought. I guess she can get work done if she put her mind to it. I hadn't seen them since morning, when I woke up, and quite frankly, I was looking forward to having lunch with them. This thought in mind, I skipped cheerily into the lunch hall. Glancing around, I found them sitting at their usual places at the 10th Division table, food already in front of them.

I hurried over, plopping down next to Hitsugaya.

"Hey!"

"Konnichiwa." Hitsugaya greeted, looking up from his food.

"Konnichiwa, Minako-chan!" sang Matsumoto, grinning through a bite of unagi.

"Konnichiwa, Toushirou-san, Rangiku-chan." I was about to call Hitsugaya 'Toushirou' but decided against it. I don't know why, but the small gaps in my memory still made me feel uncomfortable. It still felt like there was something missing. Something big, that I need to know before I could fully understand our relationship as if was before. Sure I always called him by just his given name when it was just the two of us, but when in public, and given the circumstances, I thought adding an honorific would be proper. As it stands, I'm still unsure about how he felt at this point, and my own feelings were tangled as they are. On top of that, there were the restrictions. The rules. The strict 'guidelines' that Yamamoto-soutaichou so stubbornly stands by. No Captain – non-shinigami relationships allowed. Actually, it was more like no Captain relationships at all, period. Apparently, emotions evoke weakness, which affects their decision-making during battle.

I wouldn't admit it for my life, but it was true. For example, I would gladly sacrifice 100 unknown people if it meant keeping my friends alive. But for a Captain, that wasn't allowed. Every life mattered, as it should be. Personal relations just make things more complicated. You must have no ties. No feelings.

I don't understand how they could ask of this of a human being, or what is the spirit of a human being. It's natural for the mind and heart to love, to hate, to feel kindness, and anger. It's only natural for one to develop bonds of friendship and love over time. But being a Captain and even a Vice means having that privilege of being human taken away.

'With power comes possibilities, but in exchange for that power, there has to be sacrifice.'

That's what Hitsugaya told me when I asked him about this 'no feelings allowed' rule. The sacrifice for being a Captain and having this awesome power and control, is to give up all human feelings and to submit completely to the orders and ways of the Gotei 13. I found that stupid. I didn't tell him that of course, but I was thinking it, and for some reason, I felt that he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"How's the paperwork going?" I asked, filling my plate with food and digging in.

Matsumoto groaned. "Terrible."

"Is it really that bad?" I looked at Hitsugaya. He paused in taking a bite of vegetable and gave me a look.

"Would you like to try?" his voice was perfectly flat and calm, but I caught the sarcastic and daring edge to it. I grinned sweetly.

"No thanks, Taichou. I think I'll stick with helping the 4th Division. It's good exercise, I think I've lost a few pounds."

"Really?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Are you implying something?"

"Iie, betsuni."

"Liar." He raised an eyebrow, daring me to go on. "You liar," I said, smirking.

"And what evidence do you have to back that up?" he challenged.

"I..." my mind whirled furiously, trying to think up a snarky comeback, but he had me cornered. Huffing angrily, I returned to my meal. He stared at me for a few moments before he began to laugh. I looked up, surprised. It's not every day you hear the oh-so-serious Captain Grumpypants laugh.

"Don't make a contradiction without backup evidence, Takamori," he said.

"Thanks for the lesson, Hitsugaya-taichou," I replied, somewhat acidly. He only chuckled and went on eating. The rest of lunch went by faster than I thought it would, along with light conversations, and some good-natured bantering. Sooner than I would have liked, I was back to bustling about the 4th Division, which I had memorized better than the back of my hand.

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto had both gone back to the 10th Division to work on that evil paperwork. It wasn't until I spotted a certain, pink-clad Captain walking passed the 4th Divison grounds that I paused in my endless train of errands.

"Kyouraku-taichou!"

He paused and turned towards me. I hurried over to him. I huge smile on my face. I didn't realize it until now, but I missed the laid back, fatherly man more than I thought I would.

"O-hisashiburi desu ne?"

"Hisashiburi, hisashiburi." He smiled gently, and patted my head. I grinned. It was all so nostalgic.

"So, what have you been up to?" I asked as he began to walk. He shrugged, clearly trying to avoid the subject. I waited patiently, shifting the pile of bed sheets in my arms.

"You know, this and that..." he said vaguely. I stayed quiet, waiting. He paused and looked down at me. It was a different kind of look than the ones he usually gave. He actually looked serious. I knew he was a mastermind underneath that carefree alcoholic mask, but he'd never actually pulled it on me before. This was the first time, and it was scary. I was used to laughing, joking Kyouraku-taichou, as opposed to this new Kyouraku-taichou that was quiet and avoided the subject.

"How are you doing?" It seemed like a perfectly normal question, but I knew that he understood what I was trying to ask. He looked at me for a moment, as if sizing me up. Wondering what to say, or how much to say.

"Well... I've been better..."

"Yeah... I think we've all been better than we are now. But hey, almost everyone else is alive. I mean, I'm really sorry about Nanao-fukutaichou..." I paused. The moment Nanao-fukutaichou's name left my mouth, I saw his face fall. But then, it hit me.

"You love her."

It was a statement, not a question. He looked at me. It wasn't a look of surprise, but of realization, and contentment. As if I'd said the thing that he himself had been trying to tell himself, but wasn't able to accept it.

Silence. He looked down at his hands, then up at me again. I just smiled. He reciprocated it. He raised a hand and patted my head firmly. I felt the warmth from his large, calloused hand spread from the top of my head down my body, all the way to my toes. It was such a nice feeling.

"You're a smart kid. Maybe you should consider joining the Academy and becoming a Shinigami," he said. I shrugged, laughing good-naturedly. For some reason, the air had changed. It was lighter, and more bearable than before. The old Kyouraku-taichou was here again.

"Hm... that's an interesting idea. Maybe..." I thought about it. Being in the Gotei 13, working with the people I love, getting to know about their world, and seeing it all in action. That was a tempting idea. But first, I'd have to finish at Ximax. Although my powers are near useless here, they still could be of some use in the human world, whenever I go there. The flow of spirit particles here makes it difficult for me to use magic, and I'm not even sure if I have enough reiatsu to qualify as a student at the Academy. So many things were still unstable, and I was still unsure of what the future is going to be. For now though, I could consider that idea.

"It could mean... forever and a day with Hitsugaya-taichou," he whispered. I blushed furiously, lowering my head so that he couldn't see the rapidly rising colors in my face. Everything suddenly felt hot, and uncomfortable. I couldn't help a shy grin creeping onto my face. I bit my lip.

"Y-yeah..."

He laughed, ruffling my hair and patting it down again.

"That's only if you get placed in the 10th Division, but I'm pretty sure that if you did graduate, Hitsugaya-taichou would recruit you immediately. He wouldn't be able to stand it without you by his side every moment of the day." I blushed again. Yeah, right. Like that was really true. It would be the other way around. It was me that needed to see him. It was me that would apply and make sure I get into the 10th Division. And it would be me working my ass off just to impress him.

"Right," I said, but he caught the sarcastic tone.

"Take it from me, Takamori-chan. He cares about you. I've never seen him act as he does around you, with anyone else, not even Hinamori. Ukitake-taichou and I have been suspecting for some time now, that he's slowly falling in love with you. You just have to believe it yourself."

"But... I don't really know how he feels about me. I think... I know how I feel about him..." I sighed. "I'm just... confused..."

"About what?" I whipped around. And there he was. Leaning against the side of a building. Hitsugaya Toushirou.

"N-nothing!" I squeaked, turning around before he could see my face, which was still considerably red from all this talk about... feelings and such. I had a nasty feeling that he'd heard everything we were talking about, but I didn't have any way to confirm it. Knowing him, he probably won't admit that he was eavesdropping for his life.

"Kyouraku-taichou. O-hisashiburi," Hitsugaya greeted, making his over to us.

"Hisashiburi, Hitsugaya-taichou. And how have you been fairing?"

"Fine. Paperwork. Matsumoto's actually being productive. And you?" there was a knowing edge to his voice. I stepped back, fading from the conversation, hoping they wouldn't notice if I just sneaked away quietly, but no such luck. Just as I was about run off, Hitsugaya stopped me.

"Where are you going?"

"To deliver these. Unohana-taichou told me to do them ages ago, but I got caught up in talking to Kyouraku-taichou and all. I really have to be going -" Hitsugaya walked over to me, and took half the bed sheets off my hands before heading off towards the other end of the 4th Division. I stared after him, shocked.

"What are you doing? We don't have all day you know. I thought Unohana-taichou told you to get them done quickly," he called over his shoulder. Shaking my head as if to get rid of a fly, I jogged to catch up with him. I smiled to myself. This guy... you never know with him.

For a while, we walked in comfortable silence, neither saying anything about the conversation that we both know he overheard. But as we walked, I began to think about everything that I could remember, which, by now, was a great deal more than before. I could remember the times Hitsugaya and I spent together in the human world, and some parts of being in Hueco Mundo, though I don't remember anything about getting back to Seireitei. From what Matsumoto told me, there had been a fight, though she didn't go into great detail, and Hitsugaya had refused, point blank, to tell me anything about that incident, even after I bugged him for an hour on a Sunday morning, which is when he had the most time to himself. Generally, he took Sunday mornings off, to have some tea and such.

"Ne, Toushirou-san... did I hurt you when we fought in Hueco Mundo?" I tried to make it sound like flyaway question, something that didn't matter greatly, but I don't think I managed to pull it off the way I wanted. He didn't reply, only scowled.

I sighed. It looks like asking him really is useless. I'd have to remember for myself, though I currently had no clue of how to do that. When I did though, I had a feeling that everything would make sense, more than it does now, at least. It was like I was missing the final piece to a puzzle, and I had no way of seeing what the complete image was without that piece. It was the vital piece, the last piece... and I still couldn't find it.

"Does it hurt for you to talk about?" I asked. He stayed silent for a moment before giving a swift nod. I almost missed it, but knowing that he was willing to admit a weakness as this to me was comforting. It proved that he trusted me to a degree. I almost smiled, but caught myself.

"It'll be ok once I remember, right?"

"Hn. Maybe."

I nodded, trying to assure myself more than anyone else. I didn't think I'd be able to stand much more of this limbo-state. I kept telling myself that sooner or later, things will be fine, and I'll be able to remember everything. I'll remember it soon...

'I love you'

I froze, eyes wide. Hitsugaya paused and looked back. The previous frown on his face was now replaced with a genuine look of concern.

"What is it?"

"I... just..."

"Are you alright?" He turned around and walked towards me. Inspecting me closely, he frowned. "Aren't you feeling well? Did you catching something in the 4th Division?"

I shook my head, trying to clear it enough to function correctly.

"No no... I'm fine. Just a bit... er... tired I guess," I said, making things up off the top of my head. In truth, I felt no tiredness whatsoever, just confusion at the phrase that had popped up in my head. He'd said it. I know he had. But... was it a dream?

"Here." Hitsugaya proceeded to take all the sheets from my arms, and before I could protest he had shunpo-ed off. In a mere few seconds though, he was back by my side, leading me to the ever so familiar 10th Division grounds.

"I'll speak to Unohana-taichou about it. You need rest." He opened the door to his office and ushered me into my room. Upon entering, I immediately felt sleepy. It made no sense. It was only a little passed noon, and yet I felt tired. Maybe running around 4th Division really did take its toll on me. A nap seemed like such a good idea right now.

"Erm... I don't think sleeping in here is such a good idea. You probably won't be able to wake me up. I'll just have a little nap on the couch. That way, you can wake me up in half an hour. A little rest is all I need, nothing big," I said, walking out the door again. He followed me through, looking anxious.

"Are you sure?" I nodded, forcing a smile. I slumped down on the couch and closed my eyes. I heard him sit down at his desk, and the sound of his pen scratching against the paper. It calmed me more than anything to know that he was sitting right there with me. I let a small smile slip onto my face before I let go of all conscious thought and fell into the ever-inviting arms of sleep.

Snow. White. Pure white snow, falling gently, and steadily from the gray sky. It was... beautiful.

"I love you." The murmur was soft, but definite. I heard it, as sure as I could see the never-ending snow.

"Toushirou?" I called. I stepped forward, looking around, trying to find the source of the voice. It was his voice. I was sure of that now.

"I... love... you..." the snow echoed each word. Suddenly, everything didn't seem so beautiful, but rather eerie. The light was beginning to fade, and my vision was blackening. Frantically, I called out his name again, reaching out, searching...

"Toushirou!"

"Minako! Wake up! I'm right here!" I shot up, gasping, looking around. Hitsugaya was sitting on the sofa next to me, a worried look on his face. I could feel cold sweat sticking my hair to my face. I was panting slightly, and everything was too hot to be normal.

"Toushirou..." I looked at him. He reached over and put a hand on my forehead. It was cold. I shuddered. He retrieved his hand, frowning worse than before.

"You're sick." He said. I shook my head, laying back down again.

"No I'm not. I'm just a bit tired. Not sick." I said determinedly. He scowled down at me, placing his hand on my cheek.

"Even if I'm an ice Shinigami, you're too warm to be normal. Wait here, I'll find the thermometer." He said, sliding off the couch and going to search for the thermometer. A few moments later, he returned with it. Obediently opening my mouth, he placed the tip under my tongue. I clamped my mouth shut. Rolling my eyes as if to say it's a mote point, I sighed.

"You're sick. 102°," he said, checking the temperature. I groaned, trying to push my way off of the sofa, but Hitsugaya pinned me down.

"No. You're not going anywhere until you're better." There was a note of finality in his voice that the usual me would have known better than to disobey. But right now, I just wanted to be up and about. Lying here and doing nothing was agitating beyond belief for me.

"Why? I don't feel sick. I'm perfectly fine-" I tried once more to push his hands off me, but to no avail. He was much too strong for me.

"You are not." No matter how hard I struggled, his iron grip kept me clamped to the sofa. I glared at him and stopped squirming. He didn't loosen his grip like I thought he would. I mentally cursed. Damn. This boy knew me way too well. I'd once thought the same thing when we'd just met, back in the human world, what seemed to be ages ago. He could read me like an opened book, and that hasn't changed. One of the many things I loved about him.

"You are going to stay right here until I say otherwise. That's an order," he said. I rolled my eyes again and glared in the opposite direction. It's not fair. I didn't feel sick at all. So what if my temperature's a little high. Everyone gets sick once in a while. I don't need to be babied liked this. I can still function. Somewhat.

"Fine," I said shortly, and closed my eyes, ignoring him. His grip loosened slightly, but he didn't remove his hands completely.

"Stupid girl..." he got up and sat back down behind his desk. I cracked an eye open and looked at him. He was staring intensely at his paperwork, deliberately bringing the brush through its smooth strokes. He didn't seem to notice.

"If you're going to keep staring at me like that, you might as well do it with both eyes," he said, not looking up from his paperwork. I blushed and squeezed my eyes shut again. Bastard...

"Hmph."

He laughed. I buried my face in the blanket and grinned. He was laughing again.

Natsukashii na... Toushirou...

A/N: Ok, again, apologies for not updating sooner. China was kinda.... yeah.... and I had jetlag and stuff happened... Well anyways! I'm back now and I am happy to announce that I am very nearly finished with the epilogue of this story. After which I will start working on my NEXT big story. Details of which will come sooner than you think. -wink-

Well, 18 reviews! Thanks everyone! XD Here are the ones that made my day:

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A HUGE thank you to EVERYONE up there, and to everyone that put me on fav/alert. You guys are awesome. You're the reason I keep on writing. Thank you all again. Now go and REVIEW and make my day! I promise I'll update real soon! THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE.

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