Wow! I posted only a day after my didn't receive many reviews -cries- but, as an optimist, I will look on the bright side. Exactly what bright side, well, I do not know xD Any who, this chapter includes some action, and it's somewhat long. Beware though, I've never been good at the fighting scenes xD Still, I hope you guys like it! Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own bleach or any of it's characters. (Aww man!)

'Lovely' =thinking in their minds

"Lovely"= speaking out loud/directly to someone


It had been a few days since Hinamori's "moment" and everything seemed to be falling back into place. But still, many questioned the bags under her and Matsumoto's eyes. Hinamori, nervously replied with , "My medicine gave me some horrid stomachaches and I had trouble sleeping." Of course, everyone knew it was a lie, but dared not to question her. As for Matsumoto, her answer was more... believable."Oh, you should have seen it! The biggest bottle of sake I've ever seen!! And it was on sale too! I simply couldn't resist!"

So the days flew by, without much trouble. Hinamori now sat in her desk, finishing the last of her papers. As she finished organizing her papers, she let out a long sigh. "So much work... Why can't there be a day without so much paperwork!" She relaxed, and sank into her seat. 'I wonder if Matsumoto's sleeping right now' she thought. Throughout the years, her relationship with Matsumoto had grown, and the two had become much closer. After Hitsugaya's disappearance, it was Matsumoto who kept her company. She didn't stay with her in the infirmary as long as Hitsugaya did, but she always made sure to stop by. She always used to ask her about her work, and Matsumoto, being the way she was, told her she 'bribed' her drinking buddies with one of the her most treasured and expensive Sake. Hinamori giggled at the memory. Matsumoto was like a sister to her now. She always listened to her problems, and always gave her great advice. And to top that off, she was the one who helped her get over Aizen. Traitor. "I hate him." she stated coldly to no one in particular as the image of her former captain came into her mind.

Suddenly a big eruption interrupted her thoughts. Hinamori was taken off guard, and had fallen of her chair and onto the hard floor. She rubbed the spot she hit as she scolded herself for dozing off. "I wonder what could have caused that. It sounded almost like an...explosion"

"Hinamori-fukutaichou!!"

Hinamori looked up to find one of her assistants at the front door, his face covered in sweat. Hinamori could tell the young boy had ran over as quick as possible. "What is it Haru?" The boy, still exhausted from his little sprint, could not form any words. "T..he....res...a....oll..train...." Hinamori rushed to his side, telling him to calm down and catch his breath. It took a minute before he could breath again. "Hinamori-fukutaichou! A Hollow has been spotted in the 5th quarter's training grounds!" Hinamori eyes widened a bit. 'Hollows? Here? How strange' she thought to herself. She told the young boy to stay behind as she flashed-stepped towards the training grounds. It did not take her long to arrive, but surely, there was was a hollow there. It was a rather big one, but what caught her attention the most, was the fact that it was attacking the newly recruited assistants.'They don't stand a chance against the hollow!' She ran towards them, her hands gripping the hilt of the Tobiume. The hollow was approaching the recruits, who were frozen, unable to move from their place. The hollow raised it's spiked arm... and.... "MOVE!"

CLANG! The terrified recruits opened their eyes to find, Hinamori Momo, blocking the hollow with her katana. "Move." She said through clenched teeth. The recruits quickly scampered off. With the recruits out of danger, Hinamori pushed the hollow back. It roared in anger. It turned it's head towards the recruits who were now a couple of feet away. It's eyes glowed a bright red, it's mouth hanged open It licked it's sharp teeth, as if savoring them. 'What?! Why is it after them?' She striked. The hollow dodged, and ran at the direction where the recruits were standing. Hinamori quickly flashed stepped, and countered with her katana, striking it in it's arm. The hollow fell back. "Quickly! Get out of here!" The recruits could sense the fear in her voice, and ran off into the distance. Hinamori returned her attention to the hollow. It stared at her for a moment, before looking back at the spot where the recruits used to be. It roared with more intensity, as if angry at her for taking his 'lunch' away. Fortunately for her, the hollow's speed slowed down due to it's injury. Without wasting much time she quickly used her kido-skills to produce a fireball. It hit directly at the mask, cracking it, and successfully killing the hollow.

Hinamori placed Tobiume back in it's sheath. She sat down on the ground, trying to catch her breath. 'What a workout' she thought. "Hinamori-fukutaichou! Hinamori-fukutaichou!" she turned to see who was calling her. Her assistant, Hiro, was waving at her with a huge grin on his face, and behind him, were all the recruits yelling excitedly. She smiled. They slowly made their way towards her. "Thank you so much!" yelled one. "Yes, you saved us all!" yelled another. Hinamori was filled with pride. "You guys are just lucky I was near by" she said while standing up. She dusted the dirt off her outer robe. "Next time, you guys should listen to your orders. You could've gotten eaten by that hollow!" The recruits faced the floor in shame. Hinamori couldn't help but feel a little sorry. "Well, you are new, so I guess is understandable." she said while giving them a small smile. They soon cheered up, and started thanking Hinamori once more until Renji appeared.

"Yo! Hinamori! You okay?" she turned her attention from the recruits to Renji. She nodded with that same smile on her face. "I got it all under control. After all, I am a vice-captain Renji!" she giggled out. "Yeah! She was so awesome! She sure showed that hollow!" yelled one of the new recruits. Renji, laughed at the young recruit's comment. "Well, speaking about vice-captains...we have an emergency meeting. The captains are also attending their own meeting at this very moment." Hinamori frowned. She wondered about the hollow she just recently destroyed. She glanced at the spot where it had dissipated, and then back at Renji. She called for Hiro, and he swiftly came to her side. "Please take care of the recruits. I don't want them running into another hollow." He responded with a "Yes Ma'am" and immediately went and started gathering all the recruits. "Well, then, let's go!" Renji shot Hinamori a quick smile and then they both made their ways to the room where the meeting was taking place.

~o0o~~o0o~~o0o~

"It's not that strange."

The whole group of people agreed with Kira's statement. He was right. It wasn't uncommon for a few hollows to be spotted inside the walls of Seiretei, though the number was slightly larger, it wasn't enough to intimidate anyone. Nanao stood up from her seat, "Yes. The number of hollows spotted was in the normal range, but doesn't it seem strange that they appeared so suddenly? We hadn't had an attack in a while, and the appearance of these hollows may be a sign of ….."

"There's nothing to worry about! Just a few hollows more than usual. What's the big deal?!" yelled out Hisagi from across the room. Nanao shot him a dirty look, not only did she take his comment as offensive, but she was irritated that someone had cut her off. "I think Nanao makes a good point" The room turned towards the read headed men. "The hollows were different." Everyone seemed confused by Renji's last statement. "What do you mean different?" inquired Isane. "I don't know, but I just have a bad feeling in my gut" Hisagi laughed at his last comment, resulting in an angry Renji. While they squabbled on, Hinamori thought to herself. The hollow she fought that afternoon wasdifferent. "Renji's right." Everyone silenced at the sound of someone speaking. "This is not normal." Matsumoto stared strangely at her friend. "What do you mean?" Hinamori frowned as she recollected the memories from the recent fight. "The hollow I fought today was no ordinary hollow. It was...different. Instead of targeting me, it went straight for the new recruits. It kept trying to attack them, even though their reiatsu wasn't very strong." She frowned as the image of the hollow licking it's lips came into mind. "I could sense that something was wrong, but I didn't know what." Everyone contemplated at Hinamori's words.

Just as they were starting to think more deeply, Yachiru yelled out, scaring everyone in the process. "Dangit! Watch where you're yelling squirt!" yelled Renji. Yachiru simply giggled at his comment, and pointed towards the window. "Silly! Look, a hell butterfly!" Nanao was the first to respond. She swiftly picked the butterfly and brought it to her hear. Everyone stared silently as Nanao's expression became more serious. As soon as it finished it's message, it disappeared. Nanao cleared her throat. "It seems the captain's meeting is over. They found some very serious information from todays hollow attack. Not only were we attacked, but there also seemed to be some kind of explosion somewhere in Rugonkai. There was also reports that the effects of this explosion reached the Human World. Details are still not revealed, but Captain Yamamoto and the rest of the captains advise us to keep an eye out for any suspicious activities." Seeing as no one had anything else to say, Nanao proceeded towards the door, soon followed by the rest of the vice-captains. Hinamori, remained in her seat until the room was nearly completely empty. "Hey, you alright?" asked a worried Matsumoto. Hinamori nodded. "Don't worry about it! There's plenty of skilled warriors here to keep the peace" grinned Matsumoto. 'That's not what I'm worried about...' thought Hinamori..

"Hey, listen, how about we go out to eat!"asked Matsumoto as she clapped her hands together. Hinamori, who had not gotten a bite since lunch, was quick to reply. Matsumoto, happy to see her friend in good spirits, smiled. As they stepped outside the meeting room, a cold breeze blew by. "Brrr. It sure is getting chilly out here!" Hinamori looked up to the already darkening sky. She couldn't stop herself from worrying. "Come on now! I thought you were hungry! " Hinamori snapped out of her thoughts and smiled at the older women who was already heading out. "Hey, wait!" Leaving behind the one thought that had been hanging in her mind.

Hitsugaya, please be safe.

~o0o~~o0o~~o0o~

He sat on top of the hard-tiled roof, breathing in the cold air, his face crumpled into a small frown.

"If you keep frowning like that, you'll end up looking like that other idiot"

It seemed that lately, him and the other idiot, as he usually referred to, seemed to be battling each other for 'Who-has-the-scariest-scowl" award. The young girl approached quietly, and sat a few feet away from him. He let out a long sigh, and watched as his breath condensed in the cool night air. His fingers traced down the small particles of ice that were beginning to form on the tiles. "Who'd figure you'd be just as stubborn and hardheaded as that idiot. Every time one of you guys mess up you come up here and sulk about it." He shot a cold glare at the young girl. "Hey, I'm not the one with emotional problems kid" she said while raising her hands in defense. His glared intensified when she referred to him as a "kid". "You know, that's the great thing about both of you. You always worry too much. No matter how small your mistakes are, you always end up beating your selfs about it."

"Hmph."

She pulled her knees together as a gust of cold wind blew by. "You're going to get sick." he stated. She looked up to where he was sitting. His face was facing the sky. To some people, it may have appeared rather cold, the way he acted, but she was used to it. After all, who wouldn't when they lived with an "Ice Prince" most of their life. "There was nothing you could do about it. You had no choice but to stay." She heard him grumble as she spoke about the day's earlier events. "I'm sure she wanted to do the same." He turned his head towards her. Her head laid on her knees, and on her face had that usual know-it-all smirk. He couldn't help but feel a little better.

"Yo."

Both individuals turned to find the orange-headed Ichigo, and the strangely calm Rukia, both in their shinigami uniforms. "Got a message for you!" yelled Ichigo as he threw a small envelope across the roof. The young man quickly read it. A small and rare smile appeared on his face. 'Finally' He quickly rose from where he was sitting, he then proceeded to help the girl next to him. He felt guilty for what he was about to do. After 2 and ½ years, he had grown accustomed to the young girl, hes sister, her home, and dared he say, even her arrogant and perverted father. It almost pained him to leave. Almost. "Karin..." The girl gave him that same smug look she gave him the first day she saw him. "Cut the crap. Go already. I'm sure she's waiting anxiously for you on the other side." If it wasn't for the fact that he had been living with her family for over 2 years, he would of showed her who's boss. But he didn't. "Don't mess up like my idiot brother." she grinned. It always did surprise him, how a girl could be so tough. He gave her a small handshake. "Like I would ever make such a mistake like that fool." She laughed. "Until next time" he said. And then he was ready to go.

"Yo, Whitey! Move it!" yelled an impatient Ichigo.

The young boy turned, leaving a somewhat-melancholy Karin behind. He stopped in front of Ichigo, and stared at him with his cold icy glare. "What?" Within a second, the young white-haired boy had Ichigo's left arm frozen onto his back. "It's Hitsugaya-taichou!" He then threw him down the roof, making him land face-first onto the concrete. "WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT?! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!!" Rukia, who had gracefully landed onto the ground simply told to Ichigo to 'Shut up' and proceeded to dragging him by the collar to Urahara's shop. Hitsugaya soon followed.

"Please be safe Hinamori."

~o0o~o0o~o0o~

The new recruits watched intensely at their teacher, as she showed them how to use different types of Kidou spells, while maintaining speed, and balance. They jotted notes down, when they deemed it necessary, but otherwise, they're attention was fully focused onto the training grounds. They watched carefully. The way she swayed her arms, and the way her fingers curled to make the right signs. And how she maintained that sense of gracefulness after each spell. After she finished her demonstration, Hinamori made her way towards them. "Now that I showed you, try practicing those moves on your own." The recruits quickly scrambled onto the training field and positioned themselves, trying out the new "moves" Hinamori had just demonstrated. Though most of them had some kind of exposure to Kidou, they're skills still needed much improvement. 'Such as the people who are in the fourth division' she joked to herself. She decided to sit in a nearby bench, and simply watch the recruits practice, but as usual, her mind was wandering off into space.

'It's so peaceful today. I'm glad there wasn't any more attacks.' she thought to herself. She was still bothered by the hollow she had destroyed two days ago, and seeing as there were no more attacks, she was able to relax just a little. She then recalled Nanao's words. "...the effects of this explosion reached the Human World." She wondered about Hitsugaya. Was he alright? Was he hurt? Thousands of questions soon flooded her mind. 'No, He's fine. I know it' she tried to assure herself. But, that still didn't change the fact that she was worried about him and that she couldn't stop thinking about him. 'I'm so hopeless!' she mentally scolded herself.

"Hinamori-fukutaichou! Hinamori-fukutaichou! Look!"

She was quickly brought back to the real world, by the sound of yelling from one of her recruits. She spotted the one who was calling out to her. "Yes, Ryuu?" The young boy took his position before showing her the technique she had demonstrated not so long ago. She watched closely, as he performed the technique almost perfectly. "Wow! Great job Ryuu! You definitely have improved! I'm really proud of you!"Hinamori exclaimed as she sent him one of her signature smiles. The boy blushed at her kind words. "You have great skills Ryuu. You should consider helping out the rest of your companions." Ryuu beamed with pride. "You really think so?" he asked tentatively. "Of course! With a little more practice, that is." She was about to demonstrate where his flaws were, but she then saw Kira heading her way. "Oh, sorry Ryuu, but do you mind practicing with the rest of the recruits?" The young boy's smile faltered a little, but he nodded and soon ran off and joined the rest of his comrades.

"Hello there Kira! What's bring you here?"

Kira being as moodyas usual replied with a simple "Just stopping by" Hinamori didn't seem to care though. As one of her closest friends, she was already accustomed to his personality. They both sat together in the bench where she had sat recently, idly talking away, telling each other bits about their day. "That kid..I don't like him." Kira said, as he pointed to a young boy, with dark brown hair, in the center of the training field. Hinamori blinked twice at his comment. "Ryuu? Why, he's such a nice boy Kira! He's very talented too!" Kira kept staring at the boy. "I don't like the way he acts around you." Hinamori was confused. She did not understand what Kira was talking about. "Flirting and all this whatnot. He's lucky. If Hits..." Kira cut himself off before he finished his sentence. 'Damn it' He silently cursed at himself for almost bringing up that person. Hinamori looked at him with blank expression. "Uhh, what I was trying to say, is that... uhhh, that he needs to..uhh...keep is act straight!Yeah. That's all." Hinamori, still a bit confused only said an 'oh'. Kira, still angry at himself, was about to apologize for confusing Hinamori when the ground started shaking. Hinamori, scared of what was happening, quickly grabbed on to her friend's arms. "What's going on Kira?" He was about to speak when suddenly, the sound of shrill screams where heard.

There in the middle of the training grounds, stood a hollow. Below it, was the recruits, frozen-stiff. She noticed they were looking not at the hollow, but above him. Her eyes widened. There in the sky, a dark ridge was forming, and dozens of hollows were appearing from it. In the background, a siren was going off. Danger! Danger! We're Under Attack!" As the images of what was going on finally clicked Hinamori quickly ran towards the recruits in the training field. "Kira! We have to help the recruits!" she yelled. Dozens of recruits were laying on the field injured. Hinamori was quick to react. "Kira! Keep the hollow busy while I help the recruits get out of here!" Kira nodded, and and in a second was battling the hollow. Meanwhile Hinamori, with the help of the recruits who were not harmed, carried the injured recruits. "Someone please go take these to the fourth division, and bring help!" Many of the recruits, ran, carrying many of their injured friends. Hinamori went back in the field for the rest. There was a lot left unconscious, and it didn't help that they were all heavy, thankfully, the recruits she had sent to the fourth division, came back quickly, and with more help. She was sweating by the time they came to aid her. As she made her way back to look for any more injured recruits, she looked towards Kira. He was also sweating, and seemed to have trouble defeating the Hollow.

'Curse this Hollow! Why can't I kill it!' Kira was already reaching his limit, but the hollow seemed unaffected. He quickly dodged one of his attacks. 'Damn. My attacks are not working! If I don't finish this quickly the remaining recruits may be killed!' Kira was to busy thinking to himself, that he failed to see the hollow coming towards him. When he noticed, he was barely able to escape it's attack. Kira fell onto the ground on his knees, clutching his bleeding arm. "You puny man. Did you think you could defeat me?!" He was about to attack again, when he was suddenly attacked by a handful of fire blasts, knocking him out. "Kira!! Are you okay!" Kira looked up to see Hinamori running towards him, zanpakuto in hand. Once she reached him she saw his injured arm, and she dropped her katana next to him "Kira! You're hurt!" "I'm fine." he replied. "Did you get all the recruits out?" Hinamori could clearly see that he was in pain. She turned to see the unconscious hollow on the ground. 'I have to help Kira before the hollow attacks again!' she thought. She helped Kira get up, and slung his arms over her shoulder.

"Come on Kira! We have to get out of here!" She tried to walk as fast as she could, without hurting Kira, or alarming the hollow. Ryuu saw them, and ran towards them. "Are you okay Hinamori-fukutaichou?" he asked worriedly. "Yes, please help me with my friend." He obeyed her commands, and swung Kira's other arm onto his shoulder. They were only a couple of feet away when Hinamori realized something. "Tobiume! I left Tobiume back in the field!" Ryuu hearing this, dropped Kira's arm and ran back towards where the hollow laid. Hinamori almost tripped as Kira's weight was pressed onto her. "Ryuu!! Come back!! It's too dangerous!" But Ryuu was already making his way towards her katana. Hinamori adjusted Kira's body onto her back. "Come on Kira! Just a little more." He was already losing consciousness, and Hinamori was having trouble carrying him. His weight was putting a strain on her back. Once she finally reached the recruits, assistants from the fourth division helped her get Kira off her back. "Please, take him back to the infirmary." she said in between breaths. The assistants nodded, and took her friend away. Hinamori then turned, and ran back towards the direction that Ryuu had run towards.

Ryuu had finally reached his destination. He wiped the sweat that had formed on his face. He looked, and right beyond the hollow laid her sword. 'Tobiume' He ran, without a second thought, towards the abandoned zanpakuto. He failed to see the rising hollow behind him.

Hinamori, using her speed, ran, desperately trying to reach Ryuu before the hollow awakened. As she grew nearer to the spot where she had left Tobiume, she could sense his reiatsu. Once she was close enough, she was able to make out his apparently, running form. She sighed to see that he was unharmed, but stopped instantly In her tracks as she saw the dark, rising form behind him. "Ryuu!!!!"

Ryuu picked up the small katana, careful not to hurt himself. "Hehehe. What are you doing here all by yourself, boy?" His body stiffened at the sound of a dark voice. He turned slowly to find the once unconscious hollow, standing before him. He narrowed his eyes. He could faintly hear the voice of his commander in the background. "Heh. Don't try to be brave boy. I can sense your fear." He stayed in his position, not moving an inch. "Insolent boy. I will teach you to fear me!"

Hinamori's heart dropped as she saw Ryuu facing the hollow. Unmoving. "Ryuu!! Ryuu!!" she yelled. He seemed to not hear her. 'What's wrong with him?' As she got closer, she could see him putting Tobiume back onto the ground, and unsheathing his own sword. "Ryuu!! No!! Run Ryuu!!"

Ryuu could now hear Hinamori's voice, but decided to ignore it for the moment as he laid her katana down, and unsheathed his own. "What?! A measly boy like you trying to put up a fight with me?!" The hollow laughed maniacally. Ryuu glared. 'I'll show you!" He quickly took his position. "Kidou Arts! Spell #??" Just as he was about to perform the last sign, the ground trembled, and knocked him down. He raised his body into a sitting position, and try to reach for his weapon,when a dark, giant foot blocked his way. He looked up to find the hollow, with an evil-smirk on his face. Suddenly he felt afraid. He stared wide-eyed, at the hollow. His body frozen into place. "Ryuu!! Run!" He tried. But his body would not obey. His body, trapped under the hollow's gaze.

Hinamori saw as Ryuu laid on the ground, frozen, unmoving. "Ryuu!! Run!!" Nothing. She saw, as his eyes slowly widened. She looked up at the hollow. It was hovering over him, with it's clawed hand, raised in mid-air. "You're mine now Boy!!" "Nooooooo!!" screeched Hinamori. She flash stepped, as fast as her abilities would allow her. She stopped right in front of Ryuu, and covered him protectively with her arms. The clawed hand came down, with incredible speed.

Then, a sharp cry filled the air.


(A/N):Wow. 4,513 words! I wrote much more than last time! *proud of herself*-I hoped you liked it! Please review, or message, or something! *feels unappreciated*I really want to know what you guys think!! Remember! I accept constructive criticism and ideas as well! Until next time!

Oh, and for those who did not understand the "Kidou Arts! Spell #??"Well, I don't really know what spell was appropriate for a new shinigami so I just put the little question marks in there xD Any who, review please. Help and advice is always appreciated.