Chapter 8

He woke early the next morning to find he was alone. He sat up, stretching and sighed. Her futon was so soft, he hadn't realized that his wasn't anymore. He looked down to discover the top of his outfit was missing, and looked down, glad the hakama was still in place. He stood and walked over to the door. "Aoi-Taicho, Where's my haori?"

"It's being cleaned. There was an accident." He frowned. She'd woken up drunk and puked on it, he knew it. "What kind of accident?" He walked out and she smiled at him from the stove. "I got a little cut, and it needed cleaned before the blood set in." He looked at her, frowning. "Where did you get cut?"

She put her hand on her arm and Kira walked over, looking at the wound. It was a gash, something had dug into her arm. "What happened?"

"I woke up too quick. There's a nail, well there WAS a nail that stuck out from beside the bed. I had to dig it out after that." Kira frowned. "Let me help bandage that." She smiled and nodded. He went into the bathroom and looked for the bandages, finding the kimono she'd been wearing in the rubbish bin. He noticed the crimson and pulled it out, noticing the blood streaking all the way down. She'd pulled the nail out through the fabric.

He looked down, seeing the nail. It was longer than he'd thought it would be, about three inches. It was disturbing, almost the whole nail was covered in blood, save the small, sharp edge. He looked around and found the bandages, finally leaving the room.

He had her sit, but lifting the sleeve of the kimono wouldn't work, so she had to remove the sleeve, holding the front up with her hand and looking the other way, wincing as he set to work cleaning the injury.

"Why were you so adamant about me staying last night?" She frowned, laying her head on the back of the chair, which she just happened to be sitting backwards in. "Please, don't ask me that." He looked up and nodded. "Fair enough. I heard you were having a hard time with something, and that you had a reason to hate all men. I was just curious to see if you just didn't see me as a man." He sighed and frowned, looking at the depth he didn't realize was in the mark. "Brace yourself, this is going to hurt."

She gasped, wincing as he dug into her arm, pulling out the gunk that had been stuck to the nail. "Almost done with this part..." He went again, pulling out the last of the debris before patting her back. "The hard part's done. I'll have to clean it with witch hazel, but after that you should be good. Just bandaging." She nodded turning over to him. She looked really depressed and Kira sighed. "I'm sorry if asking you that bothered you. I didn't mean to."

"It's not you. Don't think that you had anything to do with my depression this morning. It'll pass." He looked over. She dealt with this all alone for as long as she could remember. It's no wonder she didn't want him to leave, she just didn't want to be alone. "Aoi-Taicho, If you want me to be here for you, ever, just let me know. I'm right next door, alright?" She looked over and then down at the ground, keeping her eyes averted. "Thank you."

He could tell from her expression that she was taking it less personally than he'd intended. "Brace yourself again, it's going to sting." She nodded and gripped onto the chair.

He reached out and opened the wound with his finger before pouring the witch hazel in.

She nearly screamed, biting into the chair, tears in the corner of her eyes. He sighed, trying to hurry as he swabbed it with a cotton ball. "It's done." She kept her grip and teeth on the back of the chair. He patted her on the back, trying to be comforting as she finally unclenched her jaw. "This is part of the reason I don't tell anyone when I get injured. I can't deal with this!" She gasped out as Kira pulled out the bandages. "This is the easy part. You're almost done, alright?" His voice was so soft, if Aoi wasn't in such pain she'd have glanced over, making sure he was talking to her. He bandaged her arm carefully, making sure that the gauze was even and wouldn't stick out under her haori.

After a moment she was able to open her eyes and looked over, watching his hands as he pulled the bandaging taught. He noticed her and looked up, locking eyes with her. "Does it hurt?" Aoi shook her head, unable to break eye contact or speak. She felt his breath on her arm as he went back to work and frowned, knowing she was getting goose pimples.

Kira noticed and sighed. "I'll have Unohana-Taicho check you for blood poisoning. You're breaking out in goose bumps." Aoi put her head down in the crook of her other arm, trying to hide her blush. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine." Kira looked up at her, seeing a light reddening around her neck and reached up, feeling the skin at her neck. Aoi's eyes shot over to him.

"Taicho, please calm down. I'm taking you to Unohana. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but it's better than to end up living in the fourth squad for the next month." She looked down and sighed. She'd rather tell Unohana than him. She couldn't.

"Before we go, do you want breakfast?" She asked, her eyes on the chair. "I made begniets." Kira looked up as he wrapped the last of the gauze around her arm. "What's a begniet?"

"It's a kind of donut." Kira smiled and sighed. "Alright." He tried to keep from laughing, remembering her love of sweets.

He liked them more than he thought he would. She was right, stuff like this was so much better fresh. He ate and stood, stretching before looking over at her. She looked up as he stretched, noticing how even though she'd thought he'd be so thin he was stronger than she thought, he had such definition. She looked back down and quickly shoved half of a begniet in her mouth.

"We better get to work. If I go to the office, do you promise me you'll go to Unohana and get checked out?"

"Yeah." Aoi frowned. She was going to make another stop, but she couldn't tell him.

"Oh, and Aoi-Taicho?" She looked up and he sighed, his hands on his hips. "I'll get my haori back later. I'll go ahead and get one from my room. Come and let me know when you're done, alright?" She nodded, catching his smile.

He turned and left, seeming oddly happy.

Aoi promised him so she sighed as she stood, walking to the other room and grabbed her uniform.

Unohana looked at the wound, poking and looking after she unwrapped the wound. "This was well cared for. You don't have blood poisoning, so you're ready to go!" She smiled. Aoi nodded and stood. "Why do you seem so depressed?" Unohana asked and Aoi shook her head. "No offense, but I don't know you well enough for that. I'm planning another trip to help with that. Do me a favor, if Kira asks, I was here for about another half hour." Unohana smiled and nodded.

She came to the door and knocked. She was expecting Hitsugaya to open the door, but was surprised when Matsumoto opened it instead. "Oh! I thought you'd be asleep! I was going to tell you to come 'visit' me later!"

"Now you don't have to!" The busty redhead spoke. "What's up?"

"I don't know! I need your help!" Rangiku turned, watching as Aoi flowed into the room. "It's never happened before, I'm so scared! All the time I'm so terrified!" Hitsugaya looked up, half curious, half knowing he didn't really want to know.

"Every time he looks at me I panic! I'm scared to death!" She sat on the couch, Matsumoto walked over, laying her arm across Aoi's back. "Like last night?" She nodded. "It's crazy, I know he won't do that, he won't hurt me like that, but still, every time he looks at me I see his eyes!" She started trembling. Rangiku hugged her close and at that Hitsugaya walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "I've known Kira for a long time, he would never do that. You're safe with him." Aoi nodded, trying to let their words sink in. "I couldn't even tell him. Kira asked about the people I used to be around and I couldn't do anything except tell him about the restaurant guy. I couldn't bring myself to mention him."

"It's a painful memory. You have to feel comfortable enough with someone before you tell them about things like that." Aoi nodded. "I didn't let him go to his place last night. I pleaded with him to stay there with me." She laughed sadly, looking over at Matsumoto. "It's not normal to be like this. It's insane. There's something wrong with me."

"No there's not!" Matsumoto contested. Aoi jumped from the couch and shook her head. "It's normal to have feelings, to want to be with someone who reminds you of someone who did such things?" Matsumoto froze. Now that she mentioned it that way, it really was odd. "Love can be an odd and confusing thing sometimes. His appearance may remind you of someone who hurt you, but you can tell that in his heart he's not like that. You've warmed up to him faster than anyone else here."

"I woke up this morning and saw him. It wasn't Kira, It was him. He was there beside me. I freaked out so badly I tried to run and fell on a nail." Matsumoto jumped up. "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I bled all over Kira's uniform. I had to tell him about the injury and he cleaned and bandaged it for me." Matsumoto sighed and nodded. She knew he'd been in the fourth squad, he could easily bandage such a would.

But why would he, considering he could more easily heal the wound completely...

"He noticed that I'd gotten goose pimples on my arm from his breath. I blushed and he told me to go to Unohana to get checked for blood poisoning!" Matsumoto looked up at her, curious. "Did you?" Aoi nodded. "Even though you knew you didn't have blood poisoning, you went?" Aoi nodded. "Why?"

"Because I gave him my word that I would. I can't go against him. He's making me want to be what I've never been before. I actually like it when some of the other men flirt with me because he looks. I like doing my job, being a Taicho, because I want him to be proud of me! I woke up this morning and realized I don't even know what kind of food he eats, except he likes begniets."

"He likes what?" Hitsugaya stared at her as she sighed.

"It's a French donut. I don't know anything about his past except he's been betrayed."

"Maybe that's all you need to know. You both know how it feels. You're kindred spirits." Matsumoto said looking at her dreamily. Aoi sighed as she turned, walking back to the door. "I'm sorry for busting in here this early with such awful drama. I just needed to get some of it off of my chest, I guess."

"Before you go," Hitsugaya stopped her and she turned, taking in everything about him. "What is it that you want most from Kira right now? Do you want him near, or are you more afraid of him?" Aoi smiled at him, shaking her head. "It's Kira. It's not him. More than anything, I want his attention. I want to catch his eye." She smiled innocently, causing a smile from the younger captain. "Now you know what you really want. Now you know what to work for." Aoi grinned and turned, running.

"It's sad." Matsumoto sighed and Hitsugaya looked down at her, sitting relaxed on the couch. "What is?"

"If she paid more attention to his attention, she'd realize that all he sees is her." Hitsugaya sighed and nodded. "That's why I don't have those feeling." He said coldly before headed back to his desk. "Matsumoto." She looked over at him with a slight smile. "Hn?"

"Go by there at about three and check up on her." Matsumoto grinned at him. "Hai, Taicho."

It was a few minutes later that Aoi reached the area. She walked into the office, seeing a gathering of people in the room. "Excuse me." She tried to get through to her desk, to find that whatever was happening was drawing so much attention that no one noticed who was trying to push through. "Pardon me." She said a little louder, tapping the man before her, who completely ignored her.

"EVERYBODY MOVE!!" She yelled and they all turned, realizing who was talking and cleared a path. Kira looked up at her, a startled expression on his face. "Oh, thank Kami you're here! We've been ordered to keep an eye across the third squad area. There's been an attack, at least fifteen hollows in Seireitei. They're small, but they're apparently really strong. We should set up a perimeter around the area and see what they can find."

"Seventy five percent. Send half of them to stand on top of the buildings and the other half patrol the streets. A perimeter only works if it's seen going in. If it's small then it may be overlooked. The other twenty five percent, go see if squad four needs any assistance." She looked for Kira's approval, and was disappointed when he sighed. "Why are we sending a quarter of the squad to the fourth squad grounds?"

"We're the largest squad. We have the most people, and they currently have less. The ones that they do have will be busy helping with any injuries, therefore they'll need more man power. It's not about squads, this is about the safety of everyone." Kira nodded, frowning.

He ran through the papers and pulled out names quickly, nodding. "If you're skill level is in the middle twenty percent, please go to Unohana-Taicho and see if they need any assistance. Everyone else, please web out across the city. If you're an even number, watch the rooftops. If you're odd, watch the roadways. The top two percent, please come to me." Everyone dispatched, save four of the shinigami. "You watch the north gate. Keep a lamp lit. You know what to do." They nodded and ran. Aoi watched as they left. "Did you not like my thoughts? You seemed reluctant."

"It's odd, but there are so many things you do, I know it's just your personality and thought process, but you keep reminding me of Amagai." Aoi frowned. "You remind me of someone as well. It's odd that we remind each other of people that have betrayed us." Kira looked at her, surprised. With her sweet disposition and caring nature he couldn't imagine someone betraying her. "Interesting." His eyes narrowed at her. She flinched at the action and turned. "I better head out." She took off before he could protest.

What had just happened? Did she just flinch at him? He sighed, hanging his head down. So he reminded her of someone who betrayed her. That would explain why she kept putting up a barrier against him. It was instinct, to protect herself.

He remembered his instincts from the previous night, his arm curling around her shoulder and sighed, looking down.

He shook his head. It wasn't time for this. It was time to work. There were lives as stake.