I am SOOO sorry that it is taking so long to update. I have so much work and school, but this is the first story I will work on during any free time! But hey! I know some people who do not update for over 2 months sometimes. And one person in particular coughcoughRanTsukicough who once took over 7 months to update one chapter! (Sorry, RanTsuki, but we both know its true, but I still love you!!)
Special thanks to my good old friend TakaraShiro.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Songfic song by Do.
Chapter 12. Angel By My Side
Sunlight was filtering through the windows and gave pale light to the whole of Soul Society.
Hitsugaya stood outside of the 5th division building and waited for his friend to emerge. When she finally arrived at the door, she invited him in and he followed her inside. She sat down at her desk and he remained standing.
"I see that you're getting used to things quickly." He commented.
"Why? You're not?" She looked up from her papers to glance at him.
"Well, let's just say that it's not as easy as it might seem." He sighed.
The two of them had come so far.
After his grandmother had passed away, Hitsugaya agreed to Hinamori's terms, and joined the Shinigami Academy, where he was accepted immediately because of his surprisingly intense reiatsu. Because of his superior powers, he had only attended the Academy for a short time, until he was summoned to join the Gotei 13 in advance, and been automatically moved to the position of taichou.
Hinamori had secretly thought it unfair, because she had started so much earlier than him, and she was not yet guaranteed a position in the Guard Squads yet. But she congratulated her friend and wished him luck, hoping that she would get to see him again one day. He had only been in the same school as her for less than two years.
Soon afterwards, Rukia had been adopted by the Kuchiki family and gotten a position on Squad 13. And then, finally, Hinamori had received her own shihakushou and she, Kira and Renji had all been accepted into division 5. However, eventually, Renji was moved to division 11 and later, became lieutenant of division 6. Kira was appointed as lieutenant of Squad 3, and Hinamori was kept in the 5th division and was made fukuutaichou and stayed by the side of the one and only Aizen Souske.
And of course, Hitsugaya was assigned to take on the roll of taichou of Squad 10. He had not been too thrilled with it at first, he was excited, but he did not fancy the thought of taking on so much responsibility and work. And apparently, no one else in Squad 10 had thought much of their young, short captain. But he had quickly proven himself, as the second they sensed his icy reiatsu; they knew that he was no ordinary boy.
And then, there was his lieutenant. The second he had layed eyes on her for the first time, he almost burst out in protest to have her dispatched to another squad. Her annoying attitude and voice were obvious from the aura that floated around her, which seemed to bubble with irritating nonsense. And there were a few other…characteristics about her that were not all that appealing to the aqua-eyed boy. But after a while of working with her, he found out that despite her bad drinking habits, she could be a very responsible, caring and wise person. She was almost like an older sister that lived to aggravate him.
Now, as Hinamori let out a sigh, she straightened her papers and blinked her eyes sleepily.
She had always known that she had had feelings for the boy that she grew up with, but now that they were on different squads, she did not get to see him much anymore.
But from the second that she had re-opened her eyes and found herself in Seireitei, he was the first thing that she had seen, staring down into her eyes with concern, and then asking her if she was alright. She had blushed and nodded, and then he had asked her name, and after that small exchange of words, she knew that she had found someone precious and she did not ever want to let him go.
In this life, we all search for something
Something good, and something oh so pure
Well I believe, if you find that one thing
You must fight, for then you will be sure
She remembered the comforting feelings that had surrounded her whenever she was around him, and the fact that simply his presence was enough to make her shoulders relax.
She wanted to be with him always, and she did not intend to let being on different squads stop them seeing each other.
They were all they had now, all other ties to their old families gone, and not coming back.
Could it be, that I have found an angel?
I can see, heaven in your eyes
In my soul, I never will be lonely
For there will be, an angel by my side
Not only had they been there for one another when their Obaa-san had died, but they had also helped each other though much more; thick and thin.
So many battles had been fought since they had joined the Gotei 13, so much blood meaninglessly spilled, and so many friends lost to time and combat. Hinamori and Hitsugaya had eventually learned to accept the price of death, but every time they witnessed a comrade fall, a pang of grief would shoot throughout their bodies.
Things went terribly wrong at the Academy as well. More than once, a mission had encountered issues, and more than one person went out and never cam back. But no matter what the problem, they were always there to support one another, just like a sister and brother, only much closer.
There were times, I'd never thought I'll make it
Never dreamed I'd find someone like you
Who'd be there, when days were at their darkest
Watching over everything I do
Could it be, that I have found an angel?
I can see, heaven in your eyes
In my soul, I never will be lonely
For there will be, an angel by my side
Hinamori sighed as she signed her signature at the bottom of one of the thousands of pieces of paper.
"I hate paperwork." She mumbled.
"Don't we all?" Hitsugaya smirked. She giggled softly but her grin quickly faded into a sad smile and her eyes were lost in memories.
She remembered when they had been told that they had been accepted into the Gotei 13, and the day where they had stood outside the gates to Seireitei together, wearing their new shihakushous.
"I-I'm scared Toshiro." She had whispered as the gates slowly opened up in front of them.
"What's there to be scared about baka? You'll be fine, trust me."
"B-But what if they don't like me?" She sounded like a younger sister than a friend that was the same age as him.
"Stop worrying. If anything happens we'll find a way to sort it out."
She had been comforted by the fact that he had said 'we' and not 'you'.
"I'll always be here to help you." He said, and she smiled.
But that had all been a long time ago, about 20 years, and even though they had not aged much since then, it had still been a pretty long time. Hinamori was beginning to wonder if he would keep his promise.
"Hinamori, are you okay?" His voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she jolted back into reality to look up at his questioning face.
"H-Hai, I'm fine." She tried to reassure the two of them.
"Really? Because you don't look fine to me." He offered his hand to her and pulled her up from the desk.
He saw a worried look on her face, and concern for her filled him. "Come on, you can tell me. Remember what I said? "If anything happens we'll find a way to sort it out." Her eyes widened at the words he had spoken long before.
She sighed, knowing that she had no other choice but to give in to him.
"Its not much, its just that…Aizen taichou has been acting strange lately. He's always disappearing and never tells me what he's doing." Hitsugaya felt a pang of jealousy. Ever since the time when she had told him about Aizen saving her, Kira and Renji, almost every other thing out of her mouth was Aizen.
He did not like that man, there was just something about him that told him to keep away, but he was Hinamori's captain and it seemed that Hitsugaya would just have to deal with it. Nonetheless, he did not want the girl to worry over such a silly thing.
"That's it?" He asked jokingly. "Hinamori, taichous have a lot of things to do and its normal that we have to rush away sometimes. Don't worry, I'm sure Aizen's fine, probably just has some business to attend to."
She relaxed a little bit at his words, but Hitsugaya knew that she was right to be worried. Nothing was ever as it seemed in Soul Society, and it was never a bad thing to be cautious.
He remembered what he had been told in the Academy, about the ambush and all the lives that had been taken. And the one he could never forget, the one time that Hinamori had almost died while trying to help Hisagi. The only reason that she was alive now was because Aizen had saved her, and the boy guessed that he should thank him for that much.
But still, no one knew what dangers could be lurking about, it would not be the first time that a taichou would do something regrettable. A while back, almost all of the taichous and fukuutaichous in the Gotei 13 had been banished and soon afterwards became Vizard. And of course there was the case of Urahara Kisuke and Shihoin Yuroichi, making illegal experiments and then just fleeing.
But Hitsugaya shook his head free of such treacherous thoughts, for he knew that Aizen would never do anything like that.
Hinamori had been thinking all the while and finally decided that he was right and there was nothing to worry about.
"You're right." She told Hitsugaya, waking him up from his daydreaming.
"I'll be here for you whenever you need me." He told her.
She looked into his eyes, as she had done many times before. She saw the same emotions there, and she read him like a map by his aqua eyes alone. There was truth in his eyes, the protection that only a true friend could offer, and the vow to give that protection whenever it was required. There was something else there too, mixed in with the blue-green color of his irises, but Hinamori could not quite put her finger on it.
But it was something that he could only give to her and no one else, and little did she know, that her own chestnut eyes hid the same thing for him.
Could it be, that I have found an angel?
I can see, heaven in your eyes
In my soul I never will be lonely
For there will be, an angel by my side
"Well, I have to go." He announced, looking away and breaking their eye contact. Hinamori blushed slightly and stepped away, then led the way to the door and slid it open for him.
"It was great seeing you again." Her blush deepened a few shades as she opened her mouth to say what she had wanted to for so long. But before she could bring herself to tell him, she decided that now was not the right time either, and she closed her mouth. Instead she asked, "Mata ashita?"
He smiled and replied. "Mata ashita." Then he walked out the door and that was the last that she saw of him that day.
But by the way he had said it, she knew for sure that she would see him tomorrow as well.
In my soul, I never will be lonely
For there will be, an angel by my side.
A/N: Again, so sorry it took so long, school and homework and projects RAWR!
FYI: "Mata ashita" means 'see you tomorrow'
And just for the people who have not read the Bleach manga to a certain point, Aizen played a big roll in the whole Vizard/Captain/Lieutenant thing. Any questions ask me! Unless you do not want spoilers.
Please review!!