Again I apoligize for the wait, but please enjoy! And remember, chapter's lengths will vary!
I do not own Bleach. Cries.
Chapter 3. Rain
The hot Summer sun beat down cruelly on the two friends that sat side-by-side on the steps of their small home.
A large pile of fresh watermelons lay in a mound next to them, each one held a small half in their hands and they gazed out over the view. The house was on top of a small hill so when the two friends looked out, they had a clear view of the sunset. There was also a very small garden near where they sat, with a small pond and a birdbath, where Hinamori always kept watch for birds.
Now, they both buried their noses into the cold fruits, Hinamori took small, dainty bites, whereas Hitsugaya plunged his face into the melon as if he were going to receive a prize from it. The sun was far from setting, and the sky was still blue and sunny, but the two had not been in the mood for playing much that day so they decided to relax.
Things were back to the way that they had used to be, for the most part. Aside from the fact that they had more limits on where to go now. Hinamori had only taken one small bite from her first watermelon while Hitsugaya was well on his way to his 5th.
Hinamori stared at the small, white birdbath as a sparrow perched there and began to drink. This brought the memory of the sparrow that the monster had eaten right in front of her, and then all of the horrible memories of that night came back to her.
She was so lost in her thoughts of the past that she seemed to forget the present. She began to shake, and she stared ahead of her at the bird, but her eyes were blank and distant, focusing on something that only she could see. Hitsugaya noticed her silence and glanced at her to find her shivering. He reached his hand over to her and grasped her arm gently then he shook her softly but firmly.
"Momo-chan, daijobu desu ka?" He asked her.
Her eyes blinked sharply and she jumped at the sound of his voice, and the touch of his hand. He only called her by her real name rather her pet name when he was serious.
"H-Hai." She stammered. It was not a very re-assuring answer, but he just shrugged and went back to burying his face into the fruit. But Hinamori on the other hand had lost her appetite and she set her watermelon down beside her.
"Shiro-chan." Her voice was so quiet he hardly heard. But he looked up at her with a questioning look on his face and she took it as a sign to continue. "I-I think that we should…become Shinigami." As she forced out the last words, Hitsugaya's aqua eyes doubled in size.
"Why would you say that Momo-chan?! You know we could never do that! I hate Shinigami! They killed Ojii-san!" Anger flared in his eyes, and he spat out the sentence although tears filled his eyes.
"Toshiro-kun you know that's not true. Ojii-san was killed by one of those monster things, like the one we saw." She said gently. But kind words could no longer help Hitsugaya now.
"No! It was their fault! They could have come to save him and if they did he wouldn't be dead right now! They didn't do anything! This was supposed to be a peaceful world where souls could relax and pass on, and the Shinigami are supposed to protect us! But they didn't do anything! They just don't care!" He was shouting at her now, and she shied away and withdrew, hating herself for even mentioning such a horrible possibility.
Although she was almost family to Hitsugaya now, she did not know what it had been like for him in the Living World, before they had died and came to Soul Society. She could never know the pain he had been through.
Hitsugaya suddenly realized what had happened and what he had said. He lowered his eyes, ashamed, and turned away from her.
"Gomenasai, Momo-chan." He apologized. She was about to argue and tell him that she was sorry, but she knew that it would not have much effect on him. So instead, she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, and without a moment's hesitation, he was crying like a little kid.
"It rained that day." He whimpered, and Hinamori knew that he was going back to that time...that awful day.
He went on. "It was raining, when Ojii-san died. But we cried more then it rained. That's why I hate the rain, to me it means bad things and death…"
He trailed off yet continued to cry, and all Hinamori could do for him, was hold him close, and cry with him.
But what neither of them knew, was that an elderly woman had overheard every word, and in her mind, she made a decision that would change all of their lives forever.
Everything was dark.
Darker than a nighttime shadow.
Hitsugaya could see nothing, make sense of nothing.
He did not know where he was, nor why he was there, nor which way was up.
His eyes flickered around frantically, searching for something or someone that looked familiar, or a ray of light.
But he saw nothing.
However, he did hear something, something that he never wanted to hear again. It was a howl.
A howl that not of a wolf, nor any other known or unknown creature.
It was distraught and distorted, as if every animal ever known were screeching all together at once. I was warped, like they were underwater, with bubbling cries that would cause even the strongest beings to wince or flee simply be hearing it.
Then, Hitsugaya could see, but the second he could, he wished he could not.
A massive shape towered in the distance, looming like a shadow, as large as the moon. It roared again, a bellow that was all too familiar to his ears for him to forget.
That sound.
It was forever engraved in his memory, the sound of thousands of beast drowning and screaming. Then, he smelt the sharp tang of what he could only call blood, but it was really the entire life, flowing blissfully out of some poor soul.
And only then did he know just who that soul was.
With a loud cry of desperation, the little boy shouted so powerfully that he thought he would burst.
"OJII-SAN!"
But the blood was already flowing, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Then, the echoes of his cry faded into an overlapping jumble of phrases, even though it was only one word.
And everything was silent and dark once again.
The next morning, Hinamori was awakened by the smell of something salty.
Her eyes blinked open and she found herself staring at her best friend, whose pillow was damp and stained. His eyes were red and his cheeks were drenched with the residue trails of dried tears. She hated seeing him like this, she hated more than anything else.
Soon, just by seeing her friend in so much pain, she too began to cry, splashing the sheets and pillows with a new coat of salty liquid.
Hitsugaya's grandmother had gone out shopping that morning, not only to gather food and ingredients, but for other reasons as well.
The Summer sky was thick with white clouds, some darker than others, but the sun still shone down like it always did. She was now speaking with a younger man; he was dressed in black robes with a white obi tied around his waist.
"Of course ma'am." He was saying. "Whenever they're ready. Well be waiting."
And with that he leapt away into the crowd, and the woman smiled sadly to herself, and started the walk home.
Hitsugaya and Hinamori had crawled out of bed by this time, and both were solemnly making their ways into the kitchen.
The two of them were already dressed, but it was still quite obvious that they had woken up only moments ago.
They found out that their grandmother was not at home, but she had left breakfast for them and kept it warm and heated. They both sat down at the kotatsu and slowly nibbled at their rice, too sad to speak to the other. Neither Hinamori nor Hitsugaya finished their meals that morning, so they put them away to keep them fresh.
Neither felt up to going outside to play either, it was as if they were sick, but they did not know why.
Just then, their grandmother slid open the door and greeted them each in turn with an un-readable smile. They both knew immediately, something was wrong, or at least different. She took a seat on the couch and motioned for them to come near her.
"Now, I have something very important to tell you two."
She spoke in a kindly way that a grandmother does.
Hinamori felt uncomfortable, like her stomach had been twisted, and Hitsugaya stared intently at his Obaa-san, desperately wanting to know what her story was.
But it was not a story that she had to tell, rather, it was a sentence.
"You two are going to become Shinigami."
Cold silence followed, and the first of many raindrops splattered onto the world outside.
A/N: Again sorry for the wait and for any spelling or grammar mistakes! Hope you guys liked it!
Please review!!