Chapter 19. The Journey Back

I do not own Bleach.

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The light that would have signaled morning in Soul Society peered through the hole in the roof, rousing the two friends.

Hinamori blinked a few times, her eyelids heavy from lack of sleep the night before. Hitsugaya was no better; his eyes were also dreary and laden with sleep. As their eyes adjusted to the faint light, they began to become a bit more awake, although they were both still very tired.

Hitsugaya began to wonder if they should leave the next day, for if they did not make it the entire way today, then he did not fancy the thought of spending the night in the Hollow-infested desert. And he was sure that Hinamori would not either. But then he only came to realize that the more they waited, the weaker they became, every wasted second they became more and more exhausted, tired, and hungry.

They had to leave today, and he did not want to waste any more time then he had to. Hitsugaya raised his arms above his head again; similar to what he had done to awaken Hinamori the night before. As he stretched, Hinamori shifted so that she was kneeling and faced him, waiting obediently for him to tell her that they should get going.

Finally, Hitsugaya stood up slowly, his legs worn out from sleeping in such an awkward position, his muscles were tense and he found difficulty in trying to stand up straight. But he had to lean against the rock wall for support as to not fall over.

Hinamori giggled softly as she watched him, looking like a tired old cat who had just been woken from a heavy sleep to obtain his dinner. Hitsugaya shot her a half annoyed, half embarrassed look; he knew that he must look like a fool.

"Well you would be tired too if you had just been tossed around like a frizz-bee after running through a desert and almost passing out from dehydration!" He defended himself.

This only amused her more and caused her to laugh harder. Hitsugaya simply rolled his eyes and waited for her to catch her breath. Then he reached a hand down to her after witnessing her struggle to stand. Reluctantly, she grasped his hand and with a gentle, but firm yank, he pulled her up. She stumbled and leaned against the wall, and this time, he laughed at her clumsiness.

"Well you would be tired too if you had been kidnapped and thrown into the corner of a cave and put under a spell that stops you from breathing!" She had him there.

He could not imagine what it would be like to be breathing freely one moment, and then have your precious air supply cut off without warning. He said nothing more, silently telling her that she had won that argument, and, grasping her small hand, he led her through the faint shadows of the cave.

Her grip on his hand tightened as she stepped gingerly around the bloody corpses of the Arrancar, Hitsugaya could tell that she was sick to her stomach. She had seen far too much blood lately, something he never wanted her to witness in such a violent and brutal way.

As they stepped out into what was now considered sunlight, the two of them squinted at the sudden 'brightness'. Sand and dust buzzed around them, and Hitsugaya only prayed that there be no more sandstorms.

"We should hurry." Hitsugaya announced. "There are many other Hollow here, and if I'm correct, in no time they'll pick up the sent of those dead Arrancar and be swarming here like flies in a matter of time. We have to travel as fast as possible."

Hinamori nodded in agreement and understanding. Hitsugaya tried to keep pace with Hinamori, but she was so weak and tired that she was moving painfully slow, every wasted second she was becoming weaker, and every wasted second was a second that more Hollow could find them.

The look in her eyes, however, told Hitsugaya that she was doing the very best she could, and he feared that she would over-exert herself, and he did not want to push her too hard. Everyone has their own limitations, and at the time, Hinamori's were not among the highest. Their long journey back was taking its toll on her.

After about an hour of trekking through the scorching sand, the white-haired taichou noticed the girl begin to pant. Every step she took was slower than the previous and worry was beginning to overcome him. They had to stop many times; just so that she could catch her much needed breath.

At one of their standstills, Hitsugaya finally swept her off of her feet and carried her bridal style. Hinamori, being the thoughtful and good-natured girl that she was, objected, telling him that she was too heavy. But Hitsugaya had simply smirked and responded.

"Are you saying that you don't think I'm strong enough to carry someone as light as you?" He kidded.

Hinamori had fumbled for an answer to defend herself, but had wound up being carried away in the boy's arms anyway. They traveled this way for about an hour, and Hitsugaya was almost about to call forth Hyorinmaru to fly them the rest of the way, for he had saved as much of his energy as possible. Hopefully, the dragon could fly them there faster with the energy he had spare.

However, using all of that energy to fly would probably use all of his energy, thus the dragon would need much rest when they returned home. Soon, their surroundings began to look somewhat familiar to Hitsugaya, such as a large, wide mountain-like rock. Now he just needed to find where the portal had first opened…

"Hitsugaya-kun, look out!"

His thoughts were cut off by Hinamori's warning shout. He snapped back into reality and shifted his gaze to see a horde of large, distorted figures racing towards them; Hollow.

"Damn it!" He cursed, letting Hinamori slide from his arms. He reached for his Zanpakutou and drew his sword, standing in front of Hinamori protectively.

"Is there any way I can help, Hitsugaya-kun? I hate just standing here and not being able to do anything, I'm just a burden." Uselessness and apology laced her voice, and Hitsugaya, not taking his eyes off of the approaching Hollow, answered.

"Don't say that! You're not a burden so don't even think that! You don't have your Zanpakutou right now and your too exhausted to fight. Just stay back and promise me you won't get hurt." He told her, preparing to leap forward as the first Hollow neared. Out of the corner of his eye, the aqua-eyed boy saw her nod.

"Alright Hitsugaya-kun, I promise."

With that, Hinamori watched Hitsugaya leap onward and disappear in a blue light, as almost all of the Hollow disintegrated.

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A/N: Here it is! Let me just say this; its not over yet. There are going to be a few more things standing in their paths home...

Stay tuned for chapter 20! (lol it sounds like a TV show) Please review!!