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

Author's Note: Hey, I'm back with another chapter of The Healing Heart! Special thanks goes to Lil'EyeCandy, Ryu Eiyuu, Ai Angel, icyangel27, King of Heroes, becomeafan, maili-chan, Rinka Tokmiya, (silver'ashes. butterfly,) MoonLightView, lil'sayuri-chan, k a y - t h i, WhitePrincessOfHope, j cloud xD, HyourinmaruIce, DestinedDuelist893, Epoch95 (x2), Annella (x4), SnowKoyuki13, HoneyFlower15, yumi-2121331, Samantha, chococat450, cool!, Neko-cheung, athfdrizzle, tanithhh, Rikku Deathberry aka Selkie Aquamarina, michi. hishiro, monkeywinz, KnowledgeandImagination, serenity095, SMILES208, Supreme cookieeater NANCY for your wonderful reviews! They're greatly appreciated. Without any further adieu, here is chapter twenty-four. Enjoy!

LEGEND

"Talking." "Thinking." Minor Flash Back. Flash Back, Dreaming, or Voice Message from Miyuki Hitsugaya.

The Healing Heart

Part II - Hardships and Love

Chapter Twenty-Four: I'll Wait

Seeing sunrises normally brighten up one's day, but for Toshiro, it didn't. Despite it looking pretty and everything, the sun could never calm the uneasiness that is currently in his heart. Momo's wake can only do that for him. He pulled up a chair right next to her bedside and took his seat. For a few moments, only the sound of Momo's heart monitor can be heard. Unohana has told him during his early morning check up about Hinamori. Though she is in a coma, there is a chance that she can hear everyone around her says. So, the doctor suggested that he talk to her whenever he needs someone to listen. "Ohayo..."

He then turned his head to the side and made a face.

"What the hell am I doing?" he thought. "Am I really going to listen to what Unohana-sensei suggested me to do despite Hinamori being unable to talk back to me?"

Toshiro took another look at her. Soon, he let out a sigh of defeat.

"Well...um, if you haven't already figured out, I survived the car crash as well," he said. "I-I had a really rough night. I barely had any sleep because too many things came into mind."

He tilted his head forward and began to play with his fingers.

"I-I'm glad you're...still here. I hope that you..."

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door. Toshiro looked over his right shoulder to see the tall gray haired woman entering the room. "Hey Hitsugaya..."

"Kotetsu."

"I brought you some breakfast," she said while carrying the tray filled with a plate of eggs and bacon, a glass of milk, some toasted bread slices, and a fork and a spoon. "Please eat up while it's still warm."

He silently nodded with agreement, giving her permission to place the food on the arm table next to his bed. Hitsugaya turned his seat around and began eating. After a few minutes, he stopped, leaving quite a bit of food still on the plate which Isane noticed.

"Is there something wrong Hitsugaya?"

"Sh-She was about to say something to me, but I never got to hear what it is because my mind was swinging in and out of consciousness," he suddenly said.

"Was it important?"

"No matter what happens to us...I-I just want to let you know that I lo-"

He slowly did a nod with his head. "It's most likely; if that woman never shot me, I would have listened to everything she had to say."

There was a brief pause.

"It could have been the las-"

"Don't say that Hitsugaya," Isane interrupted before trying to comfort him. "Hinamori will recover soon enough; you just have to hope."

"Hope, huh? It's not the first time I've heard that word."

She nodded and then picked up the tray of food. She suggested, "There's no point locking yourself in this room and blaming yourself; try to take a walk throughout the hospital and get your mind off of your worries. Don't worry; we'll look after her for you."

With that said, the nurse left the room, leaving Hitsugaya alone with Hinamori once more. He shifted his seating position all around and soon faced the girl. He extended a hand out and picked up hers. With his thumb, he began brushing the skin surface. He let out a soft sigh. "I won't go anywhere far away. I'll be here, waiting for you."

Just then, there was another knock on the door. Thinking that it is Isane again, he didn't budge from his spot until he heard a familiar voice, "So you're here too..."

He immediately glanced over his shoulder to see her at the door, holding a small bouquet of lily of the valley (1). "Hinamori's...grandmother."

She walked to his side and took a look at her granddaughter. For a moment, he had a short glimpse of her reaction. However, he couldn't tell if she's upset, mad, or even sad. Either way, he felt very guilty for being the cause of Momo's misfortune. He stood up, half turned to face the elderly woman, and quickly bowed to her. With his eyes shut, he started apologizing to her. "I-I'm terribly sorry! It's my fault for getting Hinamori hurt like this! I-If I knew this was going to happen, I-I would have never involved her with me in the first place!"

He deserved to be punished for his mischief. That way, it would teach him a lesson not to involve his friends with his problems. However, just when he thought he got what he deserved, Obaa-san placed a hand on his head and gently brushed his hair from side to side. He slowly raised his head to see a soft look on her face and a faint smile on the corner of her lips. "Doctor Unohana has explained to me the whole story of how you and Momo got involved in that car crash. The incident was unintentional, Toshiro. There was no way you could have known it would happen."

Hitsugaya then turned his gaze to the side, still quite surprised that she continued to act the way she normally does to him.

"I also give my regards to your recent loss."

Reminded of his deceased foster parent, he quietly replied, "I-It's alright; being an orphan isn't really a problem to me anymore."

"So ka?"

He slowly nodded with agreement. "...Hai."

There was a brief moment of silence. Noticing that the white haired teenager is not feeling any better than he is right now, the elderly Hinamori decided now is a good time to be giving him some hope. She reached her hand into her small bag, she took out a thin gift wrapped present and handed it out to him. "Take this."

He took a look at the light and dark blue wrapped present and then another one at the elder. Hitsugaya asked, "What is it?"

With a faint smile on her face, she answered his question. "It's a little something Momo would have given to you if she hasn't fallen into a coma. Today is your birthday, right?"

"Hey Shiro-chan, when is your birthday?" thirteen year old Momo asked the white haired boy, who is busy watching television.

A little irritated, Toshiro turned his head to the side and gave her a stern look. "If you would stop calling me by that ridiculous nickname, then I might tell you."

"Aw come on, I intend to tell you mine."

"And what good it would do if I know your birthday?"

"Well, you can always give me a present."

The eleven year old patient of Seireitei Hospital made a face before resuming his attention to the program on television. "I'll think about it..."

"Even if you don't give me one, I'm going to give you one."

"Hn, really now?"

"You're going to love it!"

"We'll see...when that happens."

"So, are you going to tell me when is your birthday?"

He finally sighed with defeat. "My birthday is on December 20th."

She smiled. "Mine is on June 3rd."

Toshiro lowered his head once more. "She remembered it..."

He slowly held out the palm of his hand so that she can place Hinamori's gift on it. "I'll be right back. I need to find a vase for these flowers," Momo's grandmother said.

With a short nod of agreement, the elderly woman temporarily made her leave, leaving the now fourteen year old teenager in the room with the unconscious patient. After spending a few moments watching the girl sleep, he looked down at the present she has put together and began to unwrap it. By the time he is finished, he held the birthday gift up in front of him. It is a thin blue phone strap with a soccer ball decoration attached to it. "Hinamori..."

"She put quite a bit of effort to making it for you."

Turning his attention to the elderly woman, who just returned to the room with a vase filled with lily of the valley flowers, he asked, "She did, huh?"

After she placed it on the small table between his and Hinamori's beds, Obaa-san turned to the white haired teenager and nodded with agreement. "Yes..."

"Thank you...for giving it to me on her behalf," he thanked. "I'll be sure to take good care of it."

She gave him a gentle smile. "I know you will, Toshiro."

Ten year old Hitsugaya let out a sigh of defeat. Waiting under the concrete cover deck of the school building, he watched the heavy rain pour onto the ground. During this time, students of West Rukon Elementary have all already went home for the day, leaving him to be one of the only ones left in the premises. Just then, he heard the sound of splashing headed toward his direction. Soon, twelve year old Miyuki Hitsugaya came into view running in the rain with a navy blue umbrella in her possession. Once she came up to him, the brown haired teenager took a moment to catch her breath. "Sorry for keeping you waiting Itoto-chan," she apologized, glancing at the slightly annoyed expression on his face.

It is not before long he let out a sigh of defeat. "Daijobou, you must have had something to do before coming to pick me up."

Miyuki first nodded with agreement before showing him a content smile. "Shall we get going now?"

After taking hold of her umbrella, he held it over their heads and replied, "Yes..."

Before long, Miyuki disappeared from his sights. Toshiro blinked and began looking around, searching for his older sibling. "Shiro-chan, you were here waiting for me?" asked a voice.

The suddenly turned thirteen year old teenager turned around to see the sixteen year old raven haired girl, standing behind him. He gave her a stern look and replied, "Baka, what makes you think that?"

Momo merely shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe it's because you knew I forgot to bring my umbrella that you decided to do something nice for me."

"Sure, whatever..."

He suddenly handed her the umbrella to use.

"...hold it for me."

"Mou..."

Toshiro draped his bag over his shoulder and took a few steps forward. Stopping for a moment, he glanced over his shoulder and said to the raven haired girl, "Well, don't just stand there and keep me waiting; let's go already."

With a smile on her face, she caught up to him, put the umbrella high above their heads, and walked side by side, safe from getting drenched by the heavy rainfall. Barely a minute has passed by before Hitsugaya realized that Hinamori is nowhere to be found. For some reason, he is all alone, soaking in the rain. Once again, he was left no other choice, but to wait.

When Hitsugaya opened his eyes after taking his afternoon nap, the first thing he heard is the sound of a gentle knock on the door. Slowly, he sat up in his bed and watched the door slowly open. Soon, a few familiar faces came into the room. "Yo Hitsugaya," Matsumoto greeted, giving him a short wave.

"Hey, we came by to visit," Kira added before Renji and Hisagi followed behind him.

"You don't have to visit me," Toshiro replied.

"We know that, we're here to visit Hinamori," Rangiku said. "Besides, you are not the only one who is injured."

Hitsugaya didn't say a thing after that. He just watched the others walk up to her bedside and started talking to her. "Hey Hinamori-kun, we all came to visit you," Izuru said.

"Actually, we're here to bring the party to you."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow. "Oi oi, what you mean by party you mean..."

Matsumoto turned to the white haired teenager and smiled with delight. "Bingo, you got it! We're celebrating your birthday in here!"

"You're serious?"

She nodded with agreement. "Hai! I'm sure Hinamori would love it!"

On normal cases like this, he would just retaliate and do whatever it takes to stop her, but this time, he decided to let it slide. Momo would have done something similar as well if she was awake. Hitsugaya let out a sigh of defeat.

"Here's the traditional cake for the birthday boy!"

There was a brief moment of silence. "Oi, where's the cake?" Toshiro asked.

Kira looked at Renji, who then turned to Hisagi. It is before long he turned to Matsumoto. She gave the boys a look. "I thought you guys had it," she said.

Izuru shook his head. "I thought Abarai-kun had it."

The red headed teenager put his hands up on the sides of his head. "I don't have it. I thought Hisagi-san was holding onto it."

"Rangiku, you were the one who told me to pass it to you," Shuhei explained. "You wanted to hold it."

The strawberry orange haired woman then folded her arms over her chest and large bosoms. She took a moment to think back what happened to Hitsugaya's cake. All of a sudden, she placed a fist on the palm of her hand. "I remember now!" She exclaimed. "That stupid Gin had it!"

"That's right!" Kira agreed. "We bumped into him a while ago while we were coming here."

"That idiot! He forgot to give it back to me after asking him to hold it for a few seconds."

"At the time, you were so attracted to the new clothing shop nearby that you went inside and totally forgot about it."

"Well, we better find Ichimaru or else who knows where he did with it," Hisagi pointed out.

With a nod of agreement from the others, they all began heading toward the door. Just as she is about to leave, Matsumoto stopped and turned to the injured birthday boy. She hesitantly laughed. "Sorry, we'll be right back with it. In the meantime, try to keep Hinamori company okay?"

Before he could say anything, everyone has already left. Toshiro sighed with defeat. "I don't need you to tell me that."

He then turned his attention to the sleeping girl resting in the bed next to him. He let out a snort. "Even though she has done a lot of crazy things that drive me nuts, they're not all like that. She probably did all this to remind me what it felt like to celebrate a birthday with my friends and...Family."

Hitsugaya picked up his cell phone from the small table, flipped it open, and started pressing a few buttons. Soon after, he played a voice message from Miyuki.

Happy Birthday Itoto-chan! Guess what you're going to get later in the day? If you guessed Okaa-san's custom made watermelon flavoured cake, then you got it! Anyway, sorry I couldn't say it in the morning. I had to leave for school classroom duties. Well, have a great day and be sure to be home on time for the party. Rangiku-san, Oto-san, Okaa-san, and I will be waiting. See you later! Love you always!

He placed the silvery device on his lap and resumed his focus on Momo, who has been doing nothing, but inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide with the use of the breathing mask. "Wake up soon, Hinamori..."

Japanese Word Translations and References

Ohayo - Good Morning, Sensei - Doctor/Teacher, Obaa-san - Grandmother, So ka - Really/Is that so, Hai - Yes, Itoto-chan - Younger Brother, Daijobou - It's Alright, Baka - Idiot/Stupid, Okaa-san - Mother, Oto-san - Father

(1) Lily of the Valley's flower meaning is purity, humility, and sweetness. In the Bleach series, it is also the Gotei 13's fifth division flower insignia.

Author's Note: A bittersweet birthday and a resolution to wait for her. Hitsugaya needs a hug. Anyway, please review! Thanks.