Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights of this series goes to Tite Kubo.
Author's Note: Gah, so many reviews! So, many people to thank. Special thanks goes to AznInvasionGirl, BLEACHISAWESOMEANDIMAWESOME XP, serenity095, Mei-tan, KnowledgeandImagination, HiMeChAaAn, cool!, tanithhh, BreathexFreely, icyangel27, chibi-taicho, The Sweet Peach, chococat450, Kaye. Shirogane, athfdrizzle, applestoapples, Pieps XD, Neko-cheung, Samantha, WhitePrincessOfHope for your awesome support! xD Anyway, enough with all the delays, here is chapter two. Enjoy!
LEGEND
"Talking." "Thinking." Voice Message from Toshiro's Older Sister, Miyuki Hitsugaya.
The Healing Heart
Part I - Hope and Friendship
Chapter Two: Visitors
There is a knock on the door. Hinamori turned her attention to the side to see a familiar face. "Kira-kun, you came to visit," Momo said, watching the pale blond haired teenager close the door behind him.
He joined the peach girl by taking a seat at her bedside. The first thing he did is return her school bag she left behind at the school they attended together, Seireitei Junior High.
"Thanks for taking your time to come all the way here to see me and return my bag," Hinamori thanked.
"Yeah, it's no problem," the pale blond haired teenager replied. "So, how are you doing Hinamori-kun?"
"I'm alright. It's just a regular sprained ankle," she answered. "Obaa-san, who already came to visit me, told me a while ago to stay here for a few days. Apparently, Dr. Unohana wants to look after my rehabilitation. It will only take about a week at most."
"I see." Kira showed a content smile. "That's good to hear."
"Yeah..."
Remembering the other reason for him to be here, Kira opened his school bag, took out a thin green notebook, and handed it to her. "Here are the notes we copied down for today."
Momo took one look at the notebook and then raised her head to see her companion. "Are you sure it's okay?" she asked. "What if you need it for your homework?"
Kira shook his head and replied, "Don't worry; I don't need it. That's why I'm letting you borrow my notes."
The peach girl then smiled. She is lucky to have someone like him to look after her. "Thank you Kira-kun."
As the two friends are feeling content, the vibe is soon broken by the single interrupted voice coming from the other side of the room. "Shut up, you two are so noisy."
Heads turned to see Momo's snowy white haired roommate lying in bed with his cell phone at hand and glaring at the two teenagers. "Hitsugaya-kun," Hinamori thought. She has a pretty good idea what he is going to say next.
"How am I supposed to have some peace and quiet when you're always blabbing so loudly?" he complained. "One of these days, I hope your vocal cords get snapped or something. As a result, it would cause you to become mute."
Just as Kira stood up from his seat and is about to talk back at the rude child, Momo took a hold of his shoulder. When he was stopped, the pale blond haired teenager watched the peach girl shake her head back and forth. She wanted him to not act upon his behaviour. "Let's talk somewhere else, okay?"
"Um, yeah...I don't mind," he replied.
With that said Kira helped the raven haired girl get on her wheelchair and wheeled her out of the room, leaving Hitsugaya alone. Little did she know, the white haired boy was watching her every movement this whole time.
"Please pardon Hitsugaya-kun's behaviour," Momo said as they were moving through the hallway together. "He's currently going through...rough times."
"I could tell," he replied. "He looks like he's going to be staying here longer than you Hinamori-kun."
"That's not the only thing; he...doesn't want to get better. He's too depressed to concentrate on recovering. You see, he lost his family a while ago because of a major car accident."
"Oh, now that's unfortunate."
The peach girl slightly tilted her head forward to stare down her folded hands on her lap. "Yeah, I know."
There was a brief moment of silence. "If I were to lose my parents that way, I would have felt the same way. However, I wouldn't just sit and mope around all day long. It's not going to help bring my family back," Kira explained. "I guess what I'm trying to say is Hitsugaya has to learn how to cope with his loss. Besides, all of us will have to lose our parents one way or another. It's all a part of life."
"I could understand what you're trying to point out," Momo said, "but to lose a whole family in a day is still something that dramatically impacts one's life. His loss is worse than mine. I lost my parents at different times of my life, but I was too young to know what had been going on."
"What we could do right now is hope for the best, Hinamori-kun."
She slowly nodded with agreement. "I guess you're right..."
By the time the two friends and classmates arrived at the cafeteria, they found a table to sit at and continued their conversation together. For the next hour or so, they talked about various subjects, but mostly it's school related. Other than that, the pale blond haired teenager mentioned how her other friends at Seireitei Junior High School have been worried about her well-being. "You can tell them that I'm perfectly fine," Momo said. "My injury is considered minor."
Izuru nodded with agreement. "I'll be sure to forward the message when I go to school tomorrow," he said while taking a look at his wrist watch. "Oh man, I have to go home now. Sorry I can't stay here longer and keep you company."
The raven haired girl slowly shook her head back and forth. As she watched him leave his seat, Momo said, "Don't worry about it Kira-kun, we can always meet each other again some other time."
The pale blond haired teenager smiled. "Yeah, you're right about that. Um, are you sure it's okay to leave you like this?"
"I'm alright. I can wheelchair myself back to my room on my own."
"Oh, okay then. I'll see you again soon."
"Hai, ja ne Kira-kun!" Hinamori said, waving to his classmate a warm farewell as he left her side and leave the cafeteria. It is not too long after; the peach girl is left all alone. It is nice to see her companion visiting her. It goes to prove that someone cares and recognizes her existence.
Speaking of it, Momo wondered if any of Hitsugaya's friends have taken the time off their busy schedules to come and see him. What kind of people are they? What is the young white haired boy's behaviour when he's around them? But remembering what Isane has explained to her recently, the chances of that happening are unlikely.
As Momo is moving her wheelchair back to her room, she stopped and saw a tall teenager there. She has strawberry orange hair and pale gray-blue eyes. Seeing her dressed in a sailor uniform, Hinamori concluded that she attends West Rukon Junior High School. After watching her enter her room, she wondered what her purpose for going in there is. Suddenly, a conclusion came into mind. She followed the large breasted woman with strawberry orange hair into the room. The raven haired girl found her standing at her roommate's bedside. "Hey Hitsugaya! It has been a while since I last saw you!"
"I thought I told you there is no need to visit me," the white haired retorted while he is too busy looking at the scenery through the window. At the same time, held his cell phone with his right hand.
"Don't be stingy like that!" she replied. "You know it's not healthy for you to act this way. Besides, it is not your true nature."
Hitsugaya finally turned his attention to her. "If telling me what to do is the only reason you're here, then you can be my guest and leave the hospital. Just be sure to remember to never come back."
"Now, that's mean to say..."
After putting a tight grip onto his cell phone, Toshiro resumed his attention to the window. "Just go away already. You're pissing me off."
Letting out a sigh of defeat, the strawberry orange haired teenager turned around and began leaving the room until she stopped. She noticed the raven haired girl has been standing there and listening to their conversation this whole time. Placing a hand behind the back of her head, she apologized, "Oh, sorry you had to hear all that."
Momo then shook her head back and forth and smiled. "Iie, don't worry about it. By any chance, are you one of Hitsugaya-kun's friends?"
The fourteen year old teenager slowly nodded with agreement. "Ah yeah, I am and you are?"
"I'm Momo Hinamori, Hitsugaya-kun's roommate."
"So you're the person who has been sleeping in the bed next to him," she replied, looking at her bed beside her. Returning her attention to the raven haired girl, the taller girl placed a fist over her chest while the other is on her hip. Feeling proud, the fourteen year old teenager introduced herself. "I'm Rangiku Matsumoto."
Matsumoto leaned over to the peach girl sitting on the wheelchair with a finger held close to her face. She smiled.
"But please call me by my first name; it's a pleasure to meet you, Hinamori."
"Ah yeah, same here Rangiku-san..."
Glancing back to see her white haired friend has changed his focus of attention to staring down at his opened cell phone; Rangiku said to Momo, "Now that the introductions are over, let's get to know each other better, okay? This calls for a nice stroll through the garden outside."
The younger teenager blinked with confusion. "Bu-But Rangi--"
"Don't worry; just relax and sit back while we have a nice conversation with one another, okay?"
"Um...yeah."
"Alright, let's go!"
She watched the strawberry orange haired woman walk behind her and began pushing her wheelchair around. Eventually, the two girls headed out the door, leaving Toshiro behind in the white room.
Well, the both of us got grounded for causing unnecessary ruckus in the living room while guests are visiting us. What are the chances of that happening? Hehe, if only they were smart enough to take our cell phones away too. At least exchanging voice messages will quickly pass the time, don't you think Itoto-chan?
After pressing another button, another voice message is played from his cell phone.
Gah, I hate that lady downstairs. She's so snobby. She just thinks that she has the world in her fingertips. Bleh, it disgusts me to the bitter end! Ewww...How did Oto-san and Okaa-san got to know her anyway? She's one evil bitch! Oops, sorry Toshiro...I wasn't supposed to use foul language in your presence. My bad...
Hitsugaya just closed his eyes, holding back the tears that have been aching to come out. His sister's voice messages are the only things that could keep him sane. He would always be happy when she's around even if she irritates him sometimes. Those were the good old days. He loathes to hear her voice once more, but that could never happen now. Besides, she is not a part of this world anymore.
As they are outside walking through the garden of flowers and trees, Hinamori looked back at Matsumoto and asked, "Um, why did you make us leave Hitsugaya-kun alone?"
Stopping under a cherry blossom tree, she took a moment to look up at the flower petals above. She took a deep breath and exhaled. Looking down at the peach girl, she replied, "He needs some alone time."
"I don't get it."
Letting out a faint smile on the corner of her lips, Rangiku continued, "I'm sure you have noticed already; Hitsugaya has a tendency to check his cell phone all the time."
Momo slowly nodded with agreement recalling the moments he has done that. "Yeah, he does."
"Well, the reason he does that often is to listen to the voice messages that are sent from the person he will never hear from again."
"Who would that be?" Hinamori asked.
"His older sister, Miyuki."
"Miyuki?"
"I'm not sure if anyone here told you, but Hitsugaya was very close to his family. Despite having a close relationship with his parents, his bond with his sister was even closer," Matsumoto explained. "The two siblings would always spend time together. He never really cared about being made fun of, but that didn't stop him from being right next to the person he loves dearly. No one would have thought such a tragic accident would happen to them, but when it did, it completely changed him."
"Rangiku-san..."
The older girl then lowered her head. "I just hope that he realizes that moping around is not going to help him and decides to concentrate on recovering. At least, it's better than sitting around and wait for your lifespan to expire."
Hinamori remained silent for a moment before she asked, "You really look out for him."
With a glance at the raven haired girl, she smiled. "Of course I do, I grew up with him as his next door neighbour."
"Eh, you two are neighbours?"
Matsumoto nodded with agreement. "Yeah, we also used go to the same school. Obviously, that was back when I was still attending West Rukon Elementary three years ago."
"I see."
"Hinamori..."
"Ah yeah?"
"Even though we just met, can you do me a little favour?"
"Hn, what is it?" Momo asked.
"For as long as you're staying here, can you keep him company?"
"Me? But he doesn't like me."
Rangiku shook her head. "If you put aside that rude attitude of his, I'm sure he would like to be friends with you. The thing he needs most right now is a friend who he could share his feelings with."
"Why can't you do it, Rangiku-san?"
The strawberry orange haired woman took another glance at the cherry blossom trees above and watched the petals gently fall down. "Despite being pretty close friends, I don't have a lot of time to be at his side. Besides, I have school."
"Oh yeah..."
"Well, can you do it?" she asked.
Momo looked down and thought for a moment. Even though she wants to help, but what can she do? How can she bring someone out of depression just by being at his side? For now, she just have to act like herself. "Um, I guess so..."
Matsumoto smiled and immediately embraced the raven haired girl from behind. "Arigato Hinamori! You're the best!"
"Ah Rangiku-san! I-I can't breathe!"
Once she let her go, the strawberry orange haired girl placed her hands together behind her back. She glanced over to her right to look at the time on the public watch display nearby. Resuming her attention to the raven haired girl, she said, "Well, look at the time! I have to go home now."
"I see."
Placing her hands on the back wheelchair handles, she asked Momo, "Let's head back to your room, okay?"
She then nodded with agreement. "Hai..."
He recognize her voice from anywhere. Noticing the automatic door opening, Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes and waited for her to arrive. Once he caught a glimpse of the strawberry orange haired girl entering the room, the white haired boy turned his head in the other direction and faced towards the window. "Thanks for taking me around," Momo said.
"It's no problem," Matsumoto answered with a sweet smile on her face. She then turned to see Toshiro, who is obviously not willing to see her. "I have to go home now."
"Well, that's a relief," Hitsugaya said coldly.
She smiled. "I'll come back again soon. Don't be a brat while I'm away, okay?"
Without her noticing, the eleven year old boy rolled his eyes. "Whatever..."
Rangiku turned around to find her new companion already sitting on her bed. "Ja ne Hinamori."
"See you soon," she replied. With a nod of agreement, the strawberry orange haired woman picked up her belongings and left the two patients alone in their rooms. Momo is glad to have met with Hitsugaya's friend today. Now, she understands a little more about the young child who lost his family. She turned to him and said, "Rangiku-san's a nice person. You're lucky to have her as a friend."
But like always, he didn't bother to reply back.
Hinamori let out a small sigh of defeat. It's going to take a while before Toshiro could even consider her as one of his friends. However, the main question is: when is that going to happen? "Hitsugaya-kun..."
Japanese Word Translations
Obaa-san - Grandmother, Hai - Yes, Ja ne - Good Bye (informal/casual), Itoto-chan - Little Brother, Oto-san - Father, Okaa-san - Mother, Arigato - Thank You
Author's Note: Sigh, even Matsumoto couldn't get the sad boy out of depression. Poor little guy...anyway, please review! Thanks.