I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo-sama does...and I am not him.
Chapter 4. Good Night
The little white haired boy stared up at his grandmother in astonishment and disbelief.
"Nani?" He said softly. Anger was almost starting to boil up inside of him that his grandma would enroll him in the Shinigami Academy without even asking. The old woman sighed and repeated.
"You're going to become Shinigami." But before she could go on, the boy stood to his feet, infuriated.
"Why? Why Obaa-san? You didn't even ask. They killed Ojii-san…" He trailed off, tears filling his eyes, the whole time Hinamori stayed silent, shivering.
"Toshiro." The gentle old voice was comforting compared to the harsh pattern of the rain that brought back so many memories, so he slowly sat back down next to Hinamori again.
"It's not safe here." Their grandma went on. "Remember that big monster you both saw the other day?" She asked.
Both of them nodded. "That was what the Shinigami call a Hollow. They never usually get into the first district, but it happens, and if one can get in, more can too. Momo-chan, you said that it had eaten a bird?" She inquired the little girl.
She slowly nodded her head, tears filling her eyes and Hitsugaya nudged comfortingly closer to her.
"Well that was just a tiny amount of spirit energy in that bird. I asked the Shinigami that I talked to and he said that it was because there are more Hollow now, and less to eat, so they'll eat anything, as long as it has reiatsu. They've gotten this far into Soul Society, what if you two are next?"
Neither one spoke for a moment after that, but then Hinamori's small voice was heard.
"But what about you, Obaa-san? Can you go to the Academy with us?" She posed the question that was on the boy's mind as well.
Much to their dislike, their grandmother sighed.
"I cannot. I have lived here ever since I came to Soul Society and I am not leaving now. I will miss you both, but maybe, if you ever get a day off, come and visit."
"Hold on Obaa-san! I never said I was going!" Hitsugaya shouted softly, confusion and wrath filled his voice at the thought of leaving her. She sighed.
"No Toshiro, don't be like that. This is the way it has to be." The firmness in her voice was absolute, telling him that her decision was final. He opened his mouth to say more, but then just stayed silent. Finally, Hinamori spoke up again.
"I don't want to leave you either Obaa-san, but I want to go." She admitted a shameful look on her face as she glanced at Hitsugaya.
"Fine, I'll go." He said shockingly. "But only when I want to. Momo-chan can go and if I want to go I'll go, but first I'll stay here with you Obaa-san." The elder woman knew that he would not leave so easily, but that was as close as she would get to convince him, she knew that.
"Okay, Toshiro." She smiled. "But you can't go in any later than a year after Momo-chan." She affirmed.
He said nothing, but then nodded willingly.
"W-W-Wait! I don't want to go alone!" Hinamori cried out. Hitsugaya flicked her gently on her forehead.
"Come on grow up Bed-Wetter! You can handle school!"
"B-But I'm too young to go to the Academy!" She protested.
"So? You'll be a bit younger, you can handle it." He tried to reassure her.
"Momo-chan," Hitsugaya's grandmother spoke up. "You'll be fine, trust me. And Toshiro will be joining soon after you."
"Maybe." The boy snorted.
"Well, when will I be going?" Hinamori asked, still nervous.
"The man said that the school starts in Autumn, so you have about a month left. Then you'll take the entrance exams and if you pass you'll stay in the dorms."
"E-Exams?!" She squeaked. "I can't do that! I don't know anything! What if I don't pass? Then what do I do?" She panicked.
"Calm down, you'll do fine, I'm sure of it." Her 'grandma' told her. "Now, both of you, off to bed." She instructed.
They each nodded and slowly left the room, the rain still splashing into puddles outside.
After the two of them got changed, they crawled into bed and shivered under the cool sheets, and they nuzzled closer together to keep warm. It was dark and the rain still pattered the house, dripping off the edges of the roof and running down the windows.
Hinamori tried to fall asleep, but the thoughts of enrolling in the Academy kept her awake, and when she ever did manage to slumber, she would just wake up a few moments later with a start.
Usually, the sound of the rain comforted her and lulled her to sleep, but tonight it was just a perpetual drumming, each second a raindrop made a sound, and that only told her that she was one second closer to leaving this place, and the people she loved. Eventually she became so uncomfortable that she turned towards Hitsugaya and prodded him softly.
"Shiro-chan? Are you awake?" She whispered.
It was such a quiet whisper that Hitsugaya thought that he was dreaming, but something told him to turn around to her and open his eyes. So he did so, and found himself face-to-face with a traumatized little girl.
"Nani?" His voice was not annoyed, nor impatient, but understanding and comforting. She was on the verge of tears as she spoke.
"I-I don't want to l-leave. I don't want t-to g-go to the Academy all by myself and leave you and Obaa-san." She stuttered and sniffled. He laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled gently.
"Hey, don't worry about it. You're gonna be fine, and I'll be joining the Academy too." He tried to comfort her, but she only cried more.
"But not at the same time! I'll be all alone without you! I'm scared, and what will they do to me if I don't pass the entrance exams?"
"I don't know." He replied honestly. "But just do your best, I know you'll make it on your first try." He promised her. "And you still have the whole rest of the Summer to spend here. Just enjoy it and don't think about the exams, or that stupid Academy. Just focus on now and not later."
For a moment, she did not respond, her sniffling was starting to die down and then she locked her chestnut eyes with his aqua ones.
"Okay Shiro-chan, just promise you'll be right behind me all of the way." He smiled and nodded.
"I promise."
Unfortunately, the remainder of that Summer flew by as fast as a rushed breeze.
Hitsugaya and Hinamori had spent the rest of their time together, playing and reminiscing, until finally, there was only one day left until Hinamori's departure. She was to go to the Academy, where she would be given the written exams, and if she passed, then she would be given a school uniform and her class schedule.
Hitsugaya's grandmother was fussing about how she looked, telling her that she wanted her to look presentable when she stood in front of the Shinigami. Hitsugaya had never seen his Obaa-san so excited over anything in his entire life. She was just thrilled that Hinamori had somewhere to go and that she would be living a better, safer life; or at least, that is what she thought.
Hinamori was to show up at the Academy very early the following morning and there she would be shown the room where her and many other students would take the written tests. She was still extremely nervous, but the fact that she was going to be with about 200 other people made her feel the slightest bit better. But she really wanted Hitsugaya to be there with her when she left, he was her only actual friend, like a brother.
Presently, she was in her room, staring out the window and gazing into the endless horizon, the clouds leisurely shifting and changing their shades to darker and darker colors.
Loneliness filled her heart simply at the thought of leaving the next day. She knew that she was going to have a very hard time getting used to the new school, she would have to make new friends and learn everyone's personality, such as who to avoid, and who was alright to be aquatinted with.
Everyone in the small house had woken up late that day, and Hinamori was unusually tired and wanted to just go back to sleep then and there. Ever since she had known that she would be leaving alone, she began to get tired easier, and had lost her appetite.
She had just finished folding her white robe that she would be taking with her when she left. Then, she picked up her sleeping clothes and changed into them, leaving her other clothes folded at the base of her bed.
She was going to inform Hitsugaya that she was going to bed early again, but her head felt as though it was filled with cotton and she just wanted to lay down.
She felt sick to her stomach, uneasiness swirled around inside of her, and her limbs went numb as she curled up under the sheets.
Her eyes fell closed and she drifted into an uneasy sleep, and was awakened again about an hour later when a certain white haired boy laid down beside her.
Chestnut eyes fluttered open as he faced her and pulled the sheets up to her shoulders.
He wrapped his arms soothingly around her, her head buried in his arms; his presence calmed her.
"Oyasuminasai." He told her, for what might be that last time.
A/N: Chapter 4 finished!
I hope that you liked it! Please review!!