Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights of this series goes to Tite Kubo.

Author's Note: I'm back with another update! Special thanks goes to yumi2121331, michiHitsugaya, King of Heroes, Epoch95, icyangel27, monkeywinz, Mei-tan (via profile message), Samantha, j cloud xD, AIG -d e a d, tanithhh, cool!, Kaye. Shirogane, chococat450, KnowledgeandImagination, Neko-cheung, athfdrizzle, applestoapples, Rinka Tokmiya, (and Little riding hood xD) for your awesome reviews! It's greatly appreciated. Here is chapter sixteen. Enjoy!

LEGEND

"Talking." "Thinking." Flash Back.

The Healing Heart

Part II - Hardships and Love

Chapter Sixteen: Binding Ties

Silence. It is the only sound that he hears in his surroundings. It is a good sound. It's peaceful and relaxing. He let out a content sigh before turning his body to the side, getting comfortable under the soft blanket. Suddenly, his bedroom door slammed open. "Morning little brother!" greeted a voice. "It's time to wake up!"

The ten year old boy groaned, stirring a bit under the covers. He muttered, "It's Saturday today, Onee-chan. Now, leave me alone so that I can get some sleep."

However, Miyuki is not going to let him rest. Without any warning, she jumped onto the bed and began bouncing on it. "Sleeping more than nine hours is not healthy for you! It makes you even more tired than you are now."

"Hn..."

"Oi Toshiro, are you even listening?"

"...yeah, I am."

The brown haired girl frowned for a moment before taking hold of his blanket. As she is pulling it away from the young sibling, Hitsugaya retaliated back by pulling it back. "Come on, wake up!"

"No way, I don't want to!" he yelled.

"Ito-to-chan!"

"O-nee-chan, let go!"

Unfortunately for her, Toshiro is too strong for her. Eventually letting go, Miyuki crossed her arms over her chest. If she wants to win, she has to outsmart her little brother. However, there is one problem with that: he's a very bright child for his age. The older sibling grumbled a bit before she came up with an idea. She got off of bed and began walking towards the door, saying loudly, "Fine then, since you didn't want to get out of bed today, I might as well help myself to all the watermelon slices that are in the fridge downstairs."

In response, Hitsugaya immediately shoved his blanket aside and sat up. "What, no way!"

Looking over her shoulder, she grinned at the younger sibling. Despite caring about her brother, there are times she just wants to pick on him for fun. "Come and stop me if you don't want it all gone."

With that said, Miyuki waltz out of the bedroom. Though he knew she was only teasing him, it didn't take long for Toshiro to run after her. "Onee-chan!"

The Hitsugaya parents are in the living room, having their daily dosage of coffee and tea when their daughter and son came running in. As they are in circles around the sofa, their mother said, "Miyuki-chan, Toshiro-chan, don't run so fast. You're only going to get hurt!"

The older sister laughed at her little brother's failure to keep up with her. However, the white haired boy is not going to give up. He knows he still has a chance to catch up. With a burst of speed, Toshiro started running faster. Eventually, he is only a meters away from stopping the twelve year old. Miyuki took a short glance back and became surprised. He's seriously tailing her. A smile crept up on her face. He's applying his soccer training into the mix. With a little more effort, Hitsugaya jumped and grabbed his sister by the legs. As a result, the two siblings came crashing onto the floor together.

All of a sudden, their mother stood up from her seat, turned around, and exclaimed, "Toshiro-chan! Miyuki-chan!"

However, neither of her children was listening. They were too busy laughing. Hitsugaya let go of her and rolled onto his back so that he can sit. At the same time, Miyuki did the same. With a glance at their mother, she said, "We're only playing around, Okaa-san."

She let out a sigh of defeat and then turned her attention to her husband, seeking some parental support. "It's still a dangerous thing to do," he said. "You two could have gotten hurt."

"Hai Oto-san, we'll be more careful next time."

"Now Toshiro-chan, go run along and take a shower," Okaa-san said. "In the meantime, Miyuki-chan, go find something to eat in the kitchen."

The son and daughter of the Hitsugaya family stood up and brushed some dirt off their clothes. Soon, they went to their respected destinations to do what they need to do. When the young female came back into the living room with a slice of raisin bread in her mouth, she sat down on the small couch and ate. Once she is done, Miyuki turned to her father, who is taking a sip from his cup of coffee, and asked, "So, what are we going to do today?"

"Well, your mother and I have to get things ready for the visit of a close friend of ours."

"Oh..."

"In the meantime, you and Toshiro are going to be playing treasure hunt."

"Treasure hunt?" Miyuki asked. "Oto-san, you do understand that we're not that childish."

Letting a cracked smile, Oto-san leaned back against the couch. Picking up a newspaper from the side, he opened it and began reading its contents. All of a sudden, he said, "I think your mind will change once I tell you what the hidden treasure is."

She folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Try me..."

By that time, Toshiro returned to the living room, all dressed in a pale green T-shirt, a pair of dark blue shorts, and a white towel draped over his shoulders. As he is drying the side of his head with it, the head of the household replied, "It's something you've always wanted since you graduated from elementary school."

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what Oto-san has meant. Before he could ask, Miyuki suddenly grabbed him by the wrist and began dragging him along with her. "Oi Onee-chan, where are you taking me?"

However, she didn't listen to what he said and continue pulling him all the way to her bedroom. Once they entered, she slammed the door shut. Watching her down on her knees and hands, Toshiro wondered what in the world is she doing.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on Itoto-chan," Miyuki finally said. "Help me find it."

The ten year old boy then let out a sigh of defeat. Going down into crawling position, he further asked, "What are we finding exactly?"

With one look at him, she replied, "We're finding the cell phone that Oto-san promised to buy for me."

"A cell phone?"

"Yeah, on the day when I graduated from West Rukon Elementary, I got Oto-san to promise me to buy one."

"Why do you want it?"

"Because I'm in junior high now, I'm going to need it."

"I see; it's to let them know where you are."

She nodded with agreement. "Yup."

At that moment, Toshiro felt a bit depressed. Time is moving too quickly. One moment, his sister would always be at his side and the next thing he knew, she is somewhere far away. He is worried if those things were to continue at the pace its going, then their close bond would eventually fade away. He could not imagine the both of them without one another.

"Itoto-chan, are you even listening?"

He snapped back into reality and slowly nodded with agreement. Miyuki gave him a strange look.

"You're obviously lying," she commented. "Something's bugging you."

Hitsugaya shook his head. This time, the twelve year old girl shot a glare at him. Knowing his sister too well, it's most likely that she won't stop until her point has been proven. After letting out a sigh of defeat, he turned his head to the side and admitted, "It's about you getting a cell phone. Since you technically have one now, you're going to spend less time in the house."

Upon hearing his confession, Miyuki let out a gentle smile. Her younger brother is worried about being lonely. She put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. "You're so cute, Toshiro."

The ten year old frowned. "Onee-chan, I don't like it when you call me that."

She giggled. "I'm sorry, but I can't resist. Either way, don't concern too much about the status of our relationship. Even if we are physically farther apart, we'll always be brother and sister; there's no denying that, right?"

"I-I suppose..."

"Now, let's continue searching okay?"

He slowly nodded with agreement. "Hai."

"You start checking under the bed while I look in the closet."

Toshiro crawled his way to her bed and glanced under. He found nothing in particular from there. So, he resumed his attention to his sister and said, "There's nothing under the bed."

All of a sudden, Miyuki started pulling out different articles of clothing and tossing them over her head and shoulders. She didn't care where they landed. As long as she finds her cell phone, she can clean up later.

"Oi Onee-chan!" Hitsugaya exclaimed. By the time she stopped and turned around, she spotted her younger brother giving her a stern look. Noticing that one of her thrown washed underwear has landed on his head, Miyuki hesitantly laughed. "Hehe, oops..."

"What what you throw out of there," Toshiro said as he removed the pink lingerie and held it out to her. She took it away from his fingers as Hitsugaya turned his head to the side, hiding a blush on his face. "Besides, seeing a girl's undergarments is the last thing I want to see."

Miyuki giggled. "I'm sorry you had to see that. At least you didn't get to see my bra."

Toshiro turned a few shades darker. "Onee-chan!"

She laughed. "Oops, I did it again."

"That's not funny!"

"Okay, I'll stop talking about stuff like that."

"That's good to hear," he said. "I don't want you to turn into Matsumoto."

"Come to think of it, she has been saying comments like that ever since she started puberty."

"Tell me about it; she makes it sound natural."

"Well, it is; it's all a part of an organism's natural cycle."

Hitsugaya let out a sigh of defeat. "Even though I understand the whole concept and everything, I still don't want to hear about it."

"Alright then, I can see the topic embarrasses you."

"Of course..."

She smiled. "Let's try looking through your room after we finish searching here."

If he doesn't help her find it soon, this whole searching business is going to take a long while.

"If I were Oto-san, where would I find it?" Miyuki wondered. The Hitsugaya siblings are sitting on the couch in the living room, thinking carefully of all the possible places where the cell phone could be hidden. During this time, their parents have already left the house, leaving them alone at home together. "We have checked my room, your room, Oto-san's and Okaa-san's room the kitchen, and here in the living room."

"Isn't that practically the whole house?" he asked.

"Where else could it be?"

He let out a sigh of defeat. When Miyuki is in deep thought, she stays that way for a while because her focus is at its peak. "I know you're in the middle of a deep concentration, but you have to listen to me Onee-chan. Have we looked through everything?"

Just as he predicted, his sister is too busy to respond back. Shuffling in his seat, Hitsugaya tried to get comfortable, but he couldn't for some reason. Suddenly letting out a short growl of frustration, he stood up from his seat. He turned around and removed the bottom cushion to check what is under it. "What's wrong Itoto-chan?" the twelve year old girl asked.

"About the cell phone, I think I have found it."

The brown haired girl leaned over and saw the box. She slapped a hand on her forehead. "I feel so stupid!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't I check under it before?"

Toshiro shrugged his shoulders. "How am I supposed to know?"

Picking up the box with her hands, Miyuki moved it to the low coffee table. Going on her knees, she stood in front of it. Unable to wait any longer, the Hitsugaya female began unpacking the box until she is able to find it. Holding the thin pink cell phone in her hands, she exclaimed, "It's finally here and it's in pink too!"

The younger brother took a seat on the couch and let out a smile, happy for his older sister. "Congratulations Onee-chan."

She turned to him and smiled back. "Arigato Itoto-chan."

As Miyuki is checking out her new portable electronic device, Toshiro decided to check the rest of the contents inside the box. He took out two manuals, two earphones, two chargers, and...

"Why is there another cell phone inside here?" he asked, holding up a thin silver device in his hand.

The female Hitsugaya glanced over to verify his words. "Oto-san must have decided to get you one as well. Now, this calls for a celebration. Let's eat some watermelon in the fridge."

Feeling content about the situation, Hitsugaya nodded with agreement. Together with their cell phones at hand, the siblings went to the kitchen to eat their favourite treat.

"Now let's see...It says here that we're allowed a total sixty minutes of dialed phone calls a month or else our parents have to pay the extra fee," Miyuki said as she is reading the phone plan that came with their phones. "We have unlimited minutes whenever we're calling through each other's phones and unlimited voice mail messages."

All of a sudden, the twelve year old girl slapped the sheets of paper onto the counter. "Aw, Oto-san made a mistake! He was supposed to give us unlimited text messages!"

"What's wrong with voice messages?" Hitsugaya asked after finishing his fifth slice of watermelon.

She gave him a look. "You really need to be a little more aware. People nowadays use text messages to communicate with one another. Besides, studies show that using a cell phone to talk to one another damages your ears when you grow older."

Toshiro picked up another slice and took a bite out of it. "Hn..."

"Are you even listening, Itoto-chan?"

"Yeah, I'm listening," he replied. "What I don't understand is that voice messages are practically the same as text messages. The only difference between them is that one of them is verbal while the other is not."

Miyuki gave him another stern look. "You just had to say it that way, didn't you?"

Hitsugaya shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just stating the facts."

She let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine, we'll make use of it somehow. If by any chance it doesn't work, we're both going to plead to Oto-san to change the phone plan, got it?"

He smiled; content things are going his way once more. "Hai Onee-chan."

The school bell rang telling the students of West Rukon Elementary that classes are over for today. Just as he is packing his books and writing utensils, he felt his cell phone vibrate from his pants pocket. Stuffing his hand into it and taking it out, he flipped the electronic device open and pressed a few buttons. Eventually, a voice message is played back.

Hey Itoto-chan, it's me! I'll be there in a few minutes. So, wait for me at the usual spot, okay? See you later!

He cracked a smile on his face as he closed his phone and putting it back into his pocket. "And she said that using the voice message feature stinks; this is the seventh message I received from her today."

With that said he finished packing his belongings into his school bag and stood up from his seat. After draping it over his shoulder, the white haired boy began leaving the soon to be empty classroom, looking forward to see his older sister. Together, they will walk home much like the old times.

Hitsugaya stirred a bit before opening his emerald-teal eyes. He slowly raised his head and looked around. He is not in his apartment, but his friend's bedroom. "I must have accidentally fallen asleep while trying to study..."

The white haired teenager turned his attention to the side to see the raven haired girl with her chin buried in her arms, sleeping next to him. A faint smile crept up on his face, amused at the way she is resting. To him, she looked childish, but cute at the same time. She too must have fallen asleep around the same time as he did. Putting his right hand into his pants pocket, he took out his cell phone and flipped it open. After pressing a few buttons, the LCD screen displayed the picture of the young peach girl he took three years ago.

Taking another look at the sleeping Momo, he put his cell phone down on the table, grabbed the small blanket from her bed, and draped it on her shoulders. She responded by stirring a bit before allowing her body to relax once more. "Mhm, ice cream..."

He let out an almost suppressed laugh. Again, he has found another excuse to poke fun at the girl later on. Toshiro then turned his head to see the weather outside only to find out that it has started snowing. It made him recall the moments whenever his older sister sees it. She would always say it's beautiful just like the both of them because their names together represent this type of weather: white snow.

"Kirei, it's so beautiful!"

The young prodigy turned his body to the side to see Hinamori suddenly awake. Seeing her happy made him feel the same way. He looked at the window once more, watching the new snow fall. "Yeah, it is..."

There was a moment of silence.

"Anyway, it's time to get back to studying."

Hinamori blinked. "Eh, already?"

He gave her a stern look. "Of course, you practically fell asleep. So, we have to make up for that lost time."

"Y-You fell asleep too!"

"I'm going home," he said while getting ready to stand up from his seat. "I can see that there is no point in me coming here to help you."

"Okay okay! I'll study!" Momo exclaimed, ushering him to sit down again. "Mou, you're so strict when it comes to stuff like this."

Toshiro let out a sigh of defeat and turned his attention to the raven haired girl. "I have to be strict or else you won't do well on the mid-term."

With that said, the thirteen and the sixteen year old teenagers resumed their study session. As she is answering questions from the textbook, Hitsugaya took another look at her and let out a faint smile. "Why are you smiling, Shiro-chan?"

"Oi, don't call me that and I'm not smiling," he retorted. "Get back to work, Bed-Wetter."

"Mou..."

Though he won't say it out loud, moments like these are the precious treasures he will keep in his heart much like the ones with Miyuki in it. It is what keeps his binding ties with them together.

Japanese Word Translations

Onee-chan - Older Sister, Itoto-chan - Younger Brother, Okaa-san - Mother, Oto-san - Father, Hai - Yes, Arigato - Thank You, Kirei - How Beautiful

Author's Note: Yeah, nothing really much has happened in this chapter except for the fact that I explained the origins of Toshiro's bond with his sister, Miyuki through receiving and sending voice messages to one another and a short write up of HitsuHina fluff in the end. The storyline will pick up in the next chapter with the revelation of the major conflict. In the meantime, please review! Thanks.