Chapter Five
"Hello. My name is Momo Hinamori. I will be your kido instructor for the duration of your training. It's a pleasure to meet you." A sweet voice greeted her and the woman respectfully bowed.
No answer.
How rude! An embarrassed mother quickly nudged her little child on the side, prompting her daughter to quickly answer.
"Name's Masaki Kurosaki. Nice to meet you." The young toddler begrudgingly answered back. She haughtily folded up her arms and looked away.
Rukia sent an angry glare at her little one, but Masaki merely ignored it. She would have brought her child out for some parental lecturing, but that would make her look bad in front of the new kido instructor. So, she merely smiled and addressed Hinamori like nothing happened. "My daughter, Masaki, has shown excellent control in spiritual pressure in her previous training with Nii-sama. I'd predict she would excel well in kido."
Hinamori gave a small chuckle. "I'd expect something like that. Her mother is one of the best kido practitioners."
Rukia blushed a little from the flattering comment. She gently gave Masaki a little push closer to Hinamori. "Masaki. Momo Hinamori is going to be your kido instructor. She is a kido master and a kido professor. She is also the previous lieutenant before me. She has the experience so she is an ideal teacher for you."
"I hope you will learn a lot from me." Hinamori said.
"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever."
"Masaki!" Rukia exclaimed. "I'm terribly sorry for her behavior."
"It's okay." Hinamori replied. She didn't want her own feelings to mess up the mood. "I think she's a little nervous meeting her new teacher."
Rukia sighed, stood up, and brushed her pants. She wanted to stay a little longer but she had division duties to attend to. Ichigo was probably suffering under all his paperwork and she needed to be there to help. Besides, Hinamori was trained to be an instructor so she knew how to properly teach kido. Before her departure, Rukia bent down and gave a quick kiss on Masaki's forehead. "Be good honey."
"Okay Mommy."
Rukia nodded and left.
Once the mother left, the instructor and student merely sat there in awkward silence. Hinamori wanted to speak, but the young child's scowling behavior scared her from speaking. That scowl looked exactly like Ichigo's! It was scary! Hinamori was afraid of upsetting the little child, but if she didn't speak up now, this teacher-student relationship will never work.
"So, Masaki Kurosaki, how do you like it here so far?" Hinamori finally said.
"It's fine."
Such a short answer! Hinamori fumbled a little with her response, "Um. Are you hungry? Would you like some candy?"
"Do you know Auntie Nao?" Masaki suddenly cut in.
"Excuse me?"
"Naori Hibana. Do you know her?" Masaki bluntly asked with a serious stare.
Hinamori questionably blinked at her question. "Why yes. I know Naori Hibana. Why do you-"
"Do you know Uncle Hitsugaya?" Another demand came from the young child.
"Hitsugaya-kun? Of course I know him! He's one of my oldest friends."
That "kun" ending was enough to send Masaki over the edge. That meant that Hinamori was very, very close with Hitsugaya. Masaki cleared her throat, "Can I ask you to stay away from them?"
"Eh?"
"Let them be and don't interfere! I know you are going to disagree, but I think they are a wonderful couple. They are destined to be together! I'm not going to let you ruin my Auntie Nao's happiness!" Masaki angrily shouted back and in effect, completely confusing Hinamori.
"What? You think? Hitsugaya-kun and I are—Huh?" Hinamori rambled a little, but she suddenly smiled. She buckled down like a crouching tiger and shrills of laughter erupted out of her. "You thought I love Hitsugaya-kun like that! That's crazy! That's like falling in love with my own brother!"
"Huh?" Masaki gasped, her low wavy pigtails flying in the air. "But I thought-you and him-I mean-don't you?"
"No I don't, young child." Hinamori gently replied, patting little Masaki on the head. "I see you've been learning a lot. Well, I'm going to clarify that Hitsugaya-kun and I are just childhood friends. I love him very much, but he's only like a brother to me. I hope that answers your questions."
"Wait! So…you don't like him like that?"
"No, of course not." Hinamori cheekily smiled.
Masaki narrowed her eyes at this smiling woman. So she says she doesn't like him! She could be lying!
Luckily, Hinamori has senses like a hawk. She could feel the doubt rising out from this little child. She suddenly leaned forward and whispered into the young child's ear. "Do you want me to prove it? Do you want to know how he thinks of me?" She watched Masaki's eyes of suspicion turn to curiosity. "You know what I hear from him all the time? I hear: 'If you ever make Hinamori bleed a single drop of blood, I will kill you!' or some similar variant. Naori-chan? 'If you ever make her shed a single tear, I'll send you to the depths of Hell!' Romantic, isn't it?"
"Really?" Masaki asked, her spirits quickly rising. This meant that even Hinamori knew who was his special person! At first, she thought this woman was going to only be an obstacle. She thought that Hinamori would definitely not let her longtime love be taken away from her. She thought she had to pick a fight. But now, this woman before her was actually a really nice person. This woman understood her. She was even thinking the same things as her! Maybe she might even enjoy having this woman as her teacher! That simple thought sent happy shivers through Masaki's spine.
Hinamori nodded in response.
"That's good! I thought you were going to get in the way, but maybe not! I guess we're on the same page here." Masaki sheepishly replied in an attempt to cover up her prior outburst.
"Young child, do you mind if I call you 'Masaki-chan'?" Hinamori asked.
"No! Of course not!" Masaki exclaimed. "Everyone I know calls me Masaki-chan. My Auntie Nao was the first! But she's actually my godmother. She really hates it when I call her my aunt."
"Ah! That reminds me of somebody I know." Hinamori faintly replied and she reminisced those times long ago. "Masaki-chan. Do you know Hitsugaya-kun's full name?"
"Toushirou Hitsugaya!" What an enthusiastic reply!
"Do you know what name really gets on his nerves?"
"No. What is it?"
"Well, Hitsugaya-kun and I grew up together so we developed little nicknames for each other. I used to call him 'Shiro-chan' and he'd get so mad that he'll call me a bed-wetter." Hinamori chuckled at the faint memory. "But, of course, we were only kidding around and we don't really mean it. I've stopped calling him 'Shiro-chan' ever since he became a captain. Maybe you can pick it up for me?" She said with a wink.
"I'd love to!" Masaki gleefully replied, but she suddenly stopped when Naori came up on her mind. "Hey! I was wondering. Do you know what name he calls Auntie Nao?"
"Naori-chan? Hmm…" Hinamori pondered a bit on that one. "That's actually quite a long story. They've had quite a history together. More than you and I will ever know. But, in a short, he first called her 'Hibana' and that really ticked her off. After a little bit of convincing, he started calling her by her first name. Then, sometime along the way, he picked up a nickname for her and calls her a crybaby sometimes. That's how much I know."
Masaki paused. "I wonder if Auntie Nao has a nickname for him too."
"I'm not sure. She can't even call him by his first name." Hinamori commented. "But I'm sure she'll eventually come around to calling him a cutesy name. She is someone that Hitsugaya-kun really likes. In fact, I've known for a really long time that they'll become a couple. Both are just too stubborn to admit it."
Masaki confidently declared, "That's why I'm here! I'm going to make sure they get together!"
Hinamori laughed and patted the young child's head again. "You go do that, Masaki-chan."
She'll let this young child have her fun. She's known for a long time now that Hitsugaya and Naori loved each other and don't want to admit it. She attempted to interfere, but alas, she has failed. But this youngster here has brought them together once. Now, she was sure that she could do it again.
"Um…Miss?" Masaki softly said while looking away to avoid Hinamori's gaze. "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. I guess I made the wrong assumption about you."
"I remember Naori-chan saying something about that. That and you are very curious and you like to call people by nicknames."
"Well, usually, if I really, really like them! Hey! How about I call you 'Hinamori-sensei'? You are still my teacher!" Masaki replied.
"Hinamori-sensei…not bad. That reminds me. Kido training. We should get started." Hinamori stood up and picked Masaki up as well. "Are you excited? I've been told you really like kido."
Masaki enthusiastically nodded and clapped her hands in utter glee. "Yeah! I always see my mommy do it and I want to try!"
Hinamori headed off to her door and in one step, she flash-stepped far towards the academy. She and Masaki became a breeze for the many students lounging about on campus. Some students even recognized their teacher and waved hello. Occasionally, Masaki would point these students out and Hinamori responded accordingly, if she had time. Soon, the duo landed in a very wide entrance and a very long hall.
Masaki questionably stared at her new teacher. "Why are we at the academy?"
"Before I teach you kido one-on-one, you should sit through one of my classes just to get the feel of how I teach. And if you enroll into the Academy, you'll know how classes usually run here. Not to mention all the tricks up my sleeve! Think of it like a preview." Hinamori answered before opening the sliding door, revealing rows and rows of students.
A huge crowd of people chorused together, "Welcome Hinamori-sensei!" in respect of their teacher. But afterwards, there were disembodied noises of whispers and squeals such as: "Who's that kid?" or "Aw! She's so cute!" with a side order of "Is she yours?"
"Settle down." Hinamori commanded, walking up to her desk. "Masaki-chan, why don't you sit here in the front?"
"Okay! Hinamori-sensei!" An excited reply came out from the little girl, who promptly propped herself up on a chair right next to the desk.
Hinamori walked up to the center of the lecture hall and loudly clapped her hands, effectively quieting the class. "Today, we're going to review the basis and techniques of healing kido. I'm sure all of you have read the five hundred pages assigned two days ago. Can anyone tell me the general idea?"
One female student raised her hand. "Healing kido doesn't have any names, numbers, or incantations. The kido is used first by replenishing the target's spiritual pressure before… Oh wow! A captain!"
Soon, a loud murmur quickly spread throughout the lecture hall. Heads were turned. People gossiped to one another. Low whispers soared in the air about the new arrival. Hinamori had her class quieted down yet again before even noticing the newcomers. But their spiritual pressure was all she needed to know.
"Hinamori!" Her childhood best friend greeted as he walked across the lecture hall.
Masaki smiled at his new arrival and she felt that noticeable blush rising back up to her cheeks. But when she turned around, she noticed the significant change in classroom behavior. All students were sitting perfectly spaced out like a soldier line on chairs. They were paying full attention, probably not to make themselves look bad in front of a captain, and tried to make very little noise. But she also noticed a select majority, mostly females, were staring all dreamy-eyed and fawning at him. Their rosy-red cheeks glowed with their smiles. Even Masaki could faintly feel the nervous and tensed mood emitting out from them. Girls and their crushes!
"Shiro-chan!"
A noticeable change in his face noted that he was very pissed off. "Should I dock you points from this inspection?"
"Oh right! Sorry." Hinamori laughed, turning to her students. "Everyone! This is Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou of the Tenth Division. He is the inspector this year, so be on your best behavior! Also, this is…" She motioned the second person to come forward.
"Auntie Nao!"
Naori frowned, "Masaki-chan. Godmother." Knowing full well that the kid was shrugging her off, she finally faced her audience of the lecture hall. "Good afternoon. My name is Naori Hibana. I am the Fifth Seat officer under Captain Hitsugaya."
"Naori-chan? Why are you here?" Hinamori cocked her head in confusion. "Where's Rangiku-san? I thought it's usually the lieutenant who accompanies the captain."
"She got drunk all of a sudden." Hitsugaya quickly cut in before Naori even opened her mouth.
Hinamori placed a finger on her chin, her eyes rolling up to the ceiling in contemplation. "Rangiku-san drunk in the afternoon? That's a bit early…but she's Rangiku Matsumoto. It makes sense!" She suddenly made a gesture for Naori, raising her and Hitsugaya's suspicions. "It's good you came with Naori-chan. We're learning about healing kido and you've brought in an expert!"
"Captain?" Naori glanced at him.
He nodded.
Masaki's eyes darted mostly at the males in the class as Naori walked up to the center. She's seen this scenario plenty of times! Naori showed up and all the boys would go gaga for her. She absolutely hated it! But, as Naori approached the center stage, those boys interestingly did not act so perverted. They did not redden up like the girls. They were actually pretty serious and paying their full attention. The females, on the other hand, had their eyes diverted in a different direction twenty degrees north.
Naori cleared her throat. "Um…I guess your professor taught you the basics. But, in a quick review, you replenish the patient's spiritual pressure first and then you use that along with your own spiritual pressure to heal the wound. Using these fundamental ideas, you can perform much advanced healing or incorporate your own power into your healing." Naori reached to her waist and in one swift movement, she pulled out a curved blade. "For example, my zanpakuto can manipulate electricity. I essentially can use this to speed up my healing techniques."
One student raised his hand. "Can you demonstrate healing kido for us?"
Naori smirked and suggested, "How about you come down?"
Though weary at first, the student complied and steadily walked down the many steps of the lecture hall. Turning the corner and walking towards Naori, he noticed how short and young this shinigami was. She must be really talented to be this young and be an expert in the art of healing. He expected her hands to touch him and heal him or something. Instead…it was much, much more painful. With her drawn-out zanpakuto, she lunged right at him! In a flash, a cut appeared on his sleeve, followed by another cut on his inner clothing, and another cut right on the skin, finishing off with a red trail of fresh blood. The student yelped, grabbing his shoulder in pain with tears in his eyes. All the other students had their eyes bugged out and mouths dropped wide open.
"W-What the hell?" He loudly yelled.
"If you can't stand that, then you are not even close to prepared for Gotei 13. That cut is merely a scratch." Naori calmly replied, walking up to him and placing both her hands on his shoulder. Her hands started glowing a color of bright green and in mere seconds, that student's shoulder became clean and sparkling new. As if any sight of a cut has never been there to start. Naori did last minute touches to her work before smiling confidently, brushing her hands together, and giving herself a pat on the back for a job well done.
Scared out of his wits, the sweating student quickly clambered back into his seat and promptly sat down like a soldier. Even the girls of the class were too scared to chatter around. All their attention was paid fully to their professor and the two visiting officers.
"Well, that's how healing kido works. Any questions?" Hinamori asked, only to be met with silence. Wow…her class might get marks for being unproductive if this keeps up. "Since a captain is here, how about we talk about Gotei 13? You guys should start thinking about the different divisions to apply to. Any questions for Captain Hitsugaya?"
Instantly, a number of (female) hands shot up in the classroom. A now sweating Hitsugaya shot a glare at his childhood friend, only to be met with an oh-so-innocent smile. Looking for other means of escape, he glanced at Naori, only to be met with his subordinate spacing out somewhere far, far away. Useless.
A content Noari watched her captain answer to his newly found fan girls. This moment was very familiar to her and to watch her captain deal with the same exact thing was very satisfying indeed. But still… "I can't help but feel bad for them." She mumbled to the only person who could hear her.
Hinamori cocked her head to the side. "What does that mean?"
Masaki also wondered why her beloved godmother was not wreathing in jealousy. The same exact, but gender-reversed, scenario was presented on a platter to Hitsugaya before and even she could see the green-eyed monster evolving in him. Why was Naori standing there with such a pleased look on her face?
"Your students of course." Naori said. "Wait until they find out that he only enjoys tea if it is exactly ten degrees above room temperature. Or he likes to have precisely forty-five centimeter radius of personal space. They just think he has a cute face. That's how the new recruits look every year and every year, they break in less than a month. They simply don't understand and think of this as a fairytale."
"And you're the princess?"
Naori scowled, "I never said that."
Hinamori chuckled. "But you were a new recruit once. You were just lucky enough to become so close to Hitsugaya-kun."
Naori shot a glare at her friend. She would usually tolerate this type of teasing from Hinamori, but sometimes that girl took way too many steps out into her comfort zone. "Hinamori-san. You're starting to act like Masaki-chan."
"Except I know everything about you and Hitsugaya-kun." A mischievous twinkle came to Hinamori's eye. "I hear little Masaki-chan is very curious about her favorite aunt. Do you have something you want to say?"
"N-No!" Naori stammered with a light pink blush rising to her cheeks. "I've already told Masaki-chan everything she needs to know. She just likes snooping around in my personal life. She's been doing it ever since she learned how to talk. It sometimes gets pretty annoying."
Hinamori gently smiled. She saw how flustered her friend had gotten. It was point-blank obvious to her, to everyone, and to Hitsugaya if he decided to acknowledge it. No wonder Masaki got very curious and started snooping around. She just wanted to figure out what was wrong. For such a young child, she had an amazing sense of perception. Hinamori lightly patted her back. "I wouldn't worry much. I think she wants what's best for you."
"A little personal space would be nice."
"Oh Naori-chan!" Hinamori sighed. Playfully, she gave a little squeeze on her junior's cheek, eliciting a slight groan and a slap on the hand.
"Hinamori-san!" Naori whined.
Hinamori merely smiled, innocently holding out her hand. "I'm sorry. You make such a cute face whenever I do that. Even Hitsugaya-kun notices!"
Really? Her captain thinks she has a 'you're-so-adorable-when-you're-in-pain' face. He might enjoy the sight of her in pain, not think of it as attractive. Naori shifted her eyes to the right, just making sure about that person. Sure enough, her golden orbs connected with teal. Both of their faces turned red and both quickly turned away from each other.
Hinamori smugly stood there, watching her friend blush till no ends. "What'd I tell you?"
"Oh! Please be quiet!" Naori groaned, face palming her head. But when she glanced down, she saw a little orange wavy head walking right up to her and pulling on her black pants. "Masaki-chan? What is it?" She asked as she picked up the little child.
Masaki pointed right at Hitsugaya. "I think he's getting a little bit tired."
She had a point. Hitsugaya looked like he was going to break out sweating any minute. Naori and Hinamori wouldn't blame him though. He had to put up with Hinamori's class of rabid fan girls for a good fifteen minutes. He was probably bombarded with a load of questions that were likely not even about his division.
"I guess I should end class." Hinamori walked up to her childhood friend. "Okay class! I think that ends our time with our inspector! If you have any more questions about Gotei 13, you can ask any patrolling officer or me. Class dismissed."
"Thanks." Hitsugaya whispered to her as they watched students file out.
Naori walked up to the pair with Masaki in tow. She smirked and said, "I see you've gathered many admirers. I'd say about fifty percent are going to be our new recruits."
"Oh shut up!" Hitsugaya groaned, rolling his eyes.
Hinamori bent down till she was eye level with Masaki who was comfortably nestled in Naori's arms. "Did you think Hitsugaya-kun's division sounded interesting?"
Masaki nodded and cheered. "Yeah! I might join his! I get to be with him and Auntie Nao! But I still want to stay with my mommy and daddy… But I know which division I'm not joining and that's Uncle Byakuya's!" She stuck out her tongue in disgust.
"You've got a couple more years to make that happen." Naori sarcastically said and she plopped the young child into Hinamori's arms.
"Naori. We should be leaving now. We have to finish the rest of the inspection." He grabbed onto her hand and began to lead them out. "Sorry for barging into your class like that." He called back to Hinamori.
"Oh! Don't worry about that! Drop by any time." Hinamori waved off those worries. She playfully picked up Masaki's hand and made the young child wave them both good byes.
"Bye Masaki Kurosaki." He replied, giving the young child a slight nod before heading out.
"Masaki-chan? Aren't you going to say good bye?" Hinamori questioned.
"Bye Auntie Nao! Bye Uncle Shiro!" Masaki loudly yelled back.
Hitsugaya suddenly froze right where he was standing. Actually, it was more like what he was standing on froze into a sheet of ice. What…did she just call him? He could hear snickers coming from Naori and Hinamori. He chose to ignore that. What he was wondering was how in the hell did she find out about that? So what if she was only a little child who had no idea what she was doing. She still called him that! Unacceptable! Even if it was a five year old!
A very pissed of captain stormed right at the child and knelt down till he was face-to-face with her. "Look Masaki. I may be your godfather and I may be a bit more lenient with the logistics than your godmother. But when you are around me, you are to address me as 'Captain Hitsugaya'. Not 'Shiro'. Understand?"
Masaki beamed, clearly unaffected with the dangerous icy aura. "Okay Uncle Shiro!"
Shinigami Cup!
"So you see, when I finally woke up, there were two female officers with flowers, a dyed rabbit, and my shikai fully activated in my hands for some odd reason. That's how I started wearing this flower printed kimono." Renji finally finished his long tale, earning very wide-eyed gazes from his guests.
Ichigo gave a playful slap on the back for the red head. "Well Renji. I think Rukia and I got a pretty good drunk story too. And it's not even about us!"
Rukia started her talk, "We went on a family vacation once to the hot springs and we brought Naori along. At dinner, Naori only had about three drinks before she started acting a little tipsy. Poor girl. That was probably her first drink so she can't hold it very well."
"She started saying stuff about it being too hot. I told her to go to the hot springs to go clear her head or something." Ichigo continued on. "Who knows what happened? The next time I saw her, I was checking her up in her room and there was a small pool of blood next to her bed. The most surprising thing was that she was stark naked under the covers."
Rukia chuckled at that memory. "I remember walking in on him. He begged for my forgiveness for two days even though I knew exactly what happened the minute I walked in."
Renji howled in laughter as Ichigo's face turned a bright shade of red and he was mumbling Rukia's name. Little did they know, someone else had passed by the office and stopped outside to listen in. He had been outside for quite a while now. Just as he was silent enough to eavesdrop, he was silent enough to leave with no traces.
OoOoO
"Captain Hitsugaya. You didn't drink your tea." Naori said, picking up the unattended cup on his desk.
"I'm not thirsty. You can have it." He replied, being too busy with paperwork. Though, out of the corner of his eye, he snuck a couple glances at his subordinate.
How annoying! For him to put this tea, which she worked so hard on yelling at the cooks to make it exactly ten degrees above room temperature, to complete waste! How rude! Naori would have yelled back, but her throat became too parched. Well, if he's not going to drink it, then might as well not waste the perfectly brewed tea. She picked up the cup and slowly, her lips began to slightly touch the brim.
"Don't mind if I do!" Her busty lieutenant yanked the cup out of her hands and all that liquid was gulped down in a matter of seconds. Matsumoto licked her lips in satisfaction, savoring the taste, before slamming the cup back onto the desk. Then she fell right into the floor with a huge blush on her face.
Naori cocked her head to the side, not paying attention to the fact that her captain seemed to bury himself more into the paperwork. "Eh?"
Ah! Tsk! Tsk! Naughty captain's at it again.
Anyways, yes, I'm still continuing this story even though I got only one review last chapter…sigh… Well, on the bright note, Irene's done and over with… One review…sigh…*goes to mope in the corner…*
Review please?