I do not own Bleach

Chapter 20 Left in the Cold

Hinata sat and watched Uncle Kisuke as he began to heal Ichigo. He had only been healing Ichigo for a few minutes when he gave a sigh and cast a look back at her. With that look Tessai's hand fell on her shoulder; he gave a small smile and nodded towards the door. She gave Ichigo's hand a small squeeze before standing and leaving.

Only when they were far enough away from Ichigo's room that he couldn't hear them if he had been awake did Tessai talk. "I'm sorry Hinata, but I'm afraid that the hollow spiritual pressure that your damaged gigai is leaking is preventing Ichigo from healing."

"What?" Hinata said in a small, startled voice as she took a step back.

"I'm afraid you will have to leave for the night and go back to Hueco Mundo. Don't worry; Ichigo will be at school tomorrow."

Her voice came out in a croak. "I'm hurting Ichigo." She saw the answer in his eyes before he could say anything. In that moment she dropped her gigai on the ground and sonidioed away with tears flowing down her face.

. . .

Aunt Kitty found her just as the sun began to rise.

"What are you doing here?" She purred.

Hinata cast her a sad, red-eyed look. "Watching the sun rise."

"You know that's not what I meant."

She gave a sigh before looking back at the rising sun. "You know Ichigo gave me my name. He tells me all the time that I'm his sunshine. That I brought light into his dark world." With that she fell forward on her knees as tears poured out of her eyes. Sobs took over again making it so she couldn't speak or talk. She felt Aunt Kitty reach over and began to draw small circles on her back. When the sobs slowed down enough, Hinata managed to choke out, "I. . . I couldn't. . . I couldn't help him! Then. . . when I wanted. . . to stay. . . by him, Tessai said I was hurting him!" She howled out.

"Tessai told me. Why didn't you go back to Hueco Mundo then?"

"I can't," she said in a barely audible voice.

"What was that?"

"I can't go back. Ulqui said it was dangerous and for the time I can't go home until he comes and gets me. I have nowhere to go." With that she felt her tears dry up; there were no more to shed.

"Those fools." Aunt Kitty said with a growl in her throat.

Hinata cast her a sad smile before Sonidoing away.

. . .

Hinata snuck into the shop as quietly as she could to grab her body before running away to school again. She had waited until she was sure Ichigo was on his way to school before entering. She was surprised to find Uncle Kisuke sitting over her gigai when she entered.

He sent a sideways look through his hair towards her before looking down at her gigai. "Hinata, I need to tell you a few things. First, you will have to use the gigai over there," he gestured to the corner where one of the older models sat. "When school gets out, come back here and pick up this one. I should have it done by then. Also, for the next ten or so days I will be training Ichigo here, and it is imperative that he not see you. I'm sorry, but you won't be able to come over for the next ten days until it is all done. Do you understand?"

Hinata felt her shoulders slump forward and tears began to prick her eyes again. "Yes." With that she grabbed the old gigai and left the shop.

Kisuke looked up at her when she had replied, but hadn't had time to stop her. He tracked her spiritual pressure as it left, his brows drawn together. Something was wrong, but he had other things to worry about right now, like making sure her brother didn't die.

. . .

When Hinata got to school, she was surprised to see a boy sitting in Rukia's place and, to top it off, no one remembered her either. She had given Ichigo a hug when he had come in and he had patted her on the head.

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine Hinata, don't worry about it. I'll get her back," he said softly.

"Can I help?"

With that he looked past her out the windows. "It won't be hard, Hinata. I won't need your help." With a final pat on her head he walked past her to his desk.

She watched him walk to his seat. He didn't want her help either. She could feel the sincerity through his spiritual pressure. She walked over to Uryu next; she was still a few feet away when his head shot up and he sent her a glare.

"Leave me alone you imposter!" His words seemed to echo around the room and the whole class went silent.

"What?" Her voice crooked out.

He stood and walked over to her, leaning in close so only she could hear. "So Ichigo's your brother, but that's not possible. What are you?"

She stumbled away from him. His eyes followed her movement and he even took a step so that she couldn't get away. "Have you been playing with me all this time?"

This could not be happening. She felt as Uryu's hand wrapped around her arm. He leaned in close again. "Was this all just a game to you?" He hissed.

She cast a look around the classroom and saw the whole class frozen as if they couldn't believe what was happening. She raised her arm to cover her eyes from the menacing figure of Uryu. She felt her breathing become fast and shallow. When she tried to speak, nothing came out. She watched as Ichigo finally unfroze and jumped from his desk and, yelling at Uryu to let her go, but his grip tightened. She felt the world tip and her body collapse as her world went black.

. . .

She awoke to Orihime and Chad looking down at her. When she tried to sit up they both pushed her down gently. "Where am I?" she asked in a small voice.

"Infirmary." Chad said.

"You hyperventilated in class. I don't know what Uryu was thinking, but that was just mean!" Orihime defended Hinata.

"Where's Ichigo?"

They both looked away, avoiding her eyes before Orihime finally replied. "He said he going to leave town for the next couple of days and he had to leave as soon as school was out."

Hinata felt tears prick her eyes again. Chad reached out and patted her head.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"What do you mean, silly?" Orihime said.

"I cannot go home, I have nowhere to go, and Ichigo and Uryu both hate me."

Orihime gave her a big hug. "They don't hate you. Let's find Tatsuki and see if you can stay with her."

Hinata was startled by this. "Why can't I stay with you?" Orihime was the kind of person who normally would not have hesitated to just take Hinata in.

Orihime sent a look towards Chad. "Sorry, I'm spending the break with Chad, so I won't be home to stay with you."

At that moment Hinata realized that they were going to help Ichigo and didn't want her there. No one wanted her. She ripped herself out of Orihime's arms and with eyes full of betrayal, she ran. She could hear them calling out for her from behind, but she didn't listen. She just ran and ran.

. . .

Tatsuki found her several hours later curled up in an alley way. Hinata had seen Aunt Kitty, Chad, Orihime, Jinta, Ururu, and even Uncle Tessai all look down the alley she was in, but they all seemed to look through her. She had been right; they didn't want her. She couldn't help anyone. Just like she had watched Ichigo being hurt and she hadn't been able to help him at all!

That was why Hinata was so surprised when Tatsuki found her.

"Hinata!" She yelled from the mouth of the alley before coming over. When Hinata didn't respond, she squatted down beside her. "Hey, what's wrong?" When no response came she tried another approach. "You know everyone has been looking for you and they are really worried about you."

"They don't care about me. I can't help them." Hinata whispered.

"Don't say that! They love you, Hinata." Hinata shook her head. Tatsuki gave a sigh. "Well, I'm going to call them and let them know that you are okay."

Tatsuki was surprised when Hinata's head shot up. "NO!"

"What?"

"Please," she replied in a quieter voice, "please don't tell them where I am."

Tatsuki looked a little shocked, but replied, "I won't." Then she moved further down the alley but close enough that she could still see Hinata. Hinata listened as Tatsuki told Orihime that she had found Hinata, but that she didn't want to see anyone else. She promised to take care of her until school started again. With that Tatsuki came back and gently pulled Hinata to her feet. "It's going to be okay, Hinata," she said, pushing back Hinata's hair. "I'm taking you to my house for summer break; it's going to be okay."

Hinata followed her but couldn't find it in herself to believe what Tatsuki said

. . .

Hinata was greeted by a woman at the door who took one look at her and told Tatsuki to go and warm up a bath. Hinata sat in the shower for almost an hour before Tatsuki knocked on the door, asking if she was okay. When she finally came out, Tatsuki gave her a pair of her old pajamas that where a little too short for Hinata's taller frame. Hinata found herself smile slightly.

At dinner, she was bombarded by a hundred questions from Tatsuki's younger brothers. She found as she sat with Tatsuki's family, her heart's light began to glow again. This was a family, a big warm family. By the end of dinner, she was laughing and teasing the younger boys. She missed the look that passed between Tatsuki and her mother that held gratitude and hope.

For the next six days, Hinata went everywhere with Tatsuki. She found that the closer she was to her, the better she felt. Tatsuki had even entered her in as many Karate tournaments as she could for the time that they would be together. Hinata was now the proud owner of ten 1st place metals and one silver medal, where Tatsuki had managed to trip her. Orihime had tried to stop by several times, but Hinata had always hidden.

"Hinata," Tatsuki sighed, "you are going to have to face them all when summer ends you know."

"I don't know if I can," Hinata said in a quiet voice.

Tatsuki sighed again. "Hinata, I don't really know what is happening, but from the little bits I have been able to piece together, I think that if they have hurt you in any way they are doing it to protect you. We all care about you a lot and want you to be happy."

"But Uryu hates me."

She rolled her eyes. "He will get over it. Hinata, you are so sweet no one could ever stay mad at you for long. You need to go and see them all and talk about it. If all you do is hold it inside, it will never solve anything."

Hinata was quiet for a moment as she thought that maybe that was the reason they hadn't told her what they were doing. They thought it was dangerous and didn't want to let her get hurt. If that was the case, she would just have to show them that she was strong too. "Thanks, Tatsuki."
. . .

And that was how Hinata found herself sneaking into Uncle Kisuke's shop. It was the middle of the night and she could feel that Tessai and her cousins where asleep, but Uncle Kisuke and Ichigo where downstairs fighting. She hesitantly made her way to the trap door that would lead to the basement. She smiled when she saw it was open. Taking a deep breath, she looked down into the training room. She watched for several minutes as Ichigo and Uncle Kisuke fought; she could tell that Uncle Kisuke had the upper hand. It was clearly a one-sided fight. Yet as she watched, she saw that Ichigo was indeed stronger than he had been before. Uncle Kisuke was right in that regard.

She looked up at the ceiling; she needed to become stronger. She couldn't fall behind. She felt eyes on her then. She looked down to see that Uncle Kisuke was looking up at her. As soon as he began to move though, she vanished once again into the night.

. . .

She found the same thing with Chad and Orihime. They were both training hard with Aunt Kitty. She felt their desire to protect and help. When she visited Uryu, she made sure to stand farther back. He seemed to be having the most trouble. It was like he wasn't able to focus. She needed to make it up to him the most, she realized.

Writing a small note, she told him how she was sorry and tried to explain the best she could without breaking her promise with Ulquiorra. She left the note at the door along with the silver chopsticks he had given her for her birthday before leaving.

As she walked away, she decided she was ready. Uncle Kisuke had said ten days; she still had three days to become stronger. She had told Tatsuki that she felt better and that she would be able to go home now. Three days, three days is all she had to make right what she had done wrong.

. . .

Sweat dripped down her back. She had never been more thankful for the fact that she was an arrancar until now. After taking off her gigai, she hadn't needed to sleep during the last three days. She had trained with both Masaki and Nikko nonstop. She looked up at the sky one last time as she swung Nikko over her shoulder the way that Ichigo did. As she had gotten older, the sword had lengthened over six inches. With her hair tied back in a ponytail and her quincy cross around her neck, she started out towards Uncle Kisuke's shop.

She knew deep down that they wouldn't let her go. It would be dangerous, but she had learned from Nikko that there was no way they would be able to stop her.

She had almost left the clearing when she felt a garganta open. She turned around with a raised eye brow that turned into a smile when she saw Ulquiorra come out. She ran to him, giving him a big hug. "Ulquiorra!"

He gave a smile and hugged her back. "You can come back now. It has died down enough that it is safe for now."

Her eyes went wide. "I can't go back with you now, Ulqui! I have to go and help my friends."

Ulquiorra looked her up and down; she looked ready for war. He wanted to stop her, to take her back with him, but he had a feeling in his heart that she needed to help her friends. She was looking for something that she needed, and if he stopped her she would never fully heal. "Be careful."

She flashed one of her renowned smiles before hugging him and running off. "I love you! I'll see you when I get back!"

. . .

Hinata hid in the corner of the training ground as she watched everyone arrive. She gave a smile when she saw Uryu arrive. Uncle Kisuke seemed to be giving a speech about what they were doing. When he opened the gate that would take them to the soul society, she ran up and slipped in with the others. As the door was closing, she let her cloak fall, allowing Uncle Kisuke to see her. She gave a wave and blew him a kiss. His eyes went wide as he went to take a step forward, calling for her to come back as the door closed, locking her inside with the others.

. . .

After the door closed behind Hinata, she looked back at the group. As they were all standing looking around, Hinata cast her eyes about and thought it looked rather gross compared to the inside of a garganta. It almost seemed to be . . . melting? Hinata turned to look at Orihime as she spoke, "This is. . ."

Ichigo answered, "Dangai!"

Hinata gave a small giggle at the look on Uryu's face, as if he didn't know what was happening.

"Move!" Aunt Kitty yelled out from the front. "Stop zoning out! Run! The Kourbyuu will close in!"

They had been running for several minutes. Well, Hinata was really skipping along in front of the group.

"It. . . it really caught up with us!" Uryu yelled. "The parts we've passed through are falling!"

"If you have time to look behind you, why not run faster! If you're caught by the kourbyuu, you're finished!" At Aunt Kitty's yell, Hinata stopped running, letting them all pass before grabbing Uryu's hand and pulling him forward. She felt a tug and he gave a cry as his coat was caught by the kourbyuu. She gave a hard yank and he cried out as it broke free. He looked confused at his hand as he seemed to be being pulled forward.

He gave another look back. "Guys, it looks like something is coming!"

Hinata turned back, still pulling Uryu and keeping him in the middle of the pack when she saw what looked like a light approaching. As she watched, she was surprised to see a massive boulder racing towards them.

"What. . . what is that?!" Uryu yelled.

"That's 'Seimichio'! He's the 'janitor' that comes out every 7 days. . . but, why today!?" Aunt Kitty yelled back. "Anyway, let's get out of here! He is really fast! Hurry! We're almost there!"

Hinata felt her heart skip a beat. If Aunt Kitty was worried it must be bad; she pulled Uryu closer to the front to make sure he was safe. She could see the light of the exit just ahead, but when she looked over her shoulder, she found that it was right behind them. Her eyes went wide when she saw Orihime stop in the middle of the path. She let go of Uryu, pushing him forward as she reached out to grab her.

"Himusaku, Umeigen, Ririi, Santenyuitate! I reject!" Orihime yelled out just as Hinata wrapped her arms around the girl. There was a blinding light before Hinata felt herself, along with Orihime, being thrown back.

Hinata felt herself land along with Orihime. When the smoke cleared, she found that they were floating on an orange triangle. As Hinata reached out to it, she found that it was made of the same spiritual pressure as Orihime. Looking up, she burst out laughing. Both Uryu and Ichigo had landed strangely and Aunt Kitty was completely spread out. Chad was the only one other than her and Orihime to have landed normally.

"You guys alright?" Orihime asked, then her eyes fell on Ichigo and she jumped up clapping her hands. "Hah! Kurosaki's landing pose is so awesome! Oh, did one of you grab me?"

They all looked confused at each other before Ichigo spoke up, "I didn't grab you."

Everyone else shook their heads as well.

"Did someone grab you, Orihime?" Uryu asked.

"Yeah!"

"I also felt that someone had grabbed me when we were running."

Orihime clapped her hands. "We must have a guardian angel!"

Hinata found herself smiling; she liked the sound of being a guardian angel.

The smoke finally cleared all the way, showing that they were in a town. While the others were looking around, Hinata faced north. She could feel Rukia's spiritual pressure, but it was far away. She could almost make out a tower in the distance that Rukia's spirit pressure seemed to be coming from. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked. There was something though that seemed to be blocking them from her. She was trying to place it when Ichigo shot past her, running.

Hinata heard Aunt Kitty yell out from behind her, "Idio. . . Idiot! You can't go near there! You could die!"

As Aunt Kitty spoke, Hinata had felt the feeling of danger descend on her, and she looked up towards it to see what appeared to be a wall falling down to the ground. In a heartbeat, Hinata was beside Ichigo, grabbing his robe and pulling him back, sending him skidding on the dirt. The wall came within a hair's breadth of her nose as it hit the ground with a thunderous sound.

Hinata gave a sigh of relief when she heard Ichigo coughing behind her; he was okay. She turned to see a large Shinigami standing in what looked to be a gate. "It's been such a long time since someone tried to go through Torureimon without a pass. Finally, I have something to do. I'll treat you nice, kid!"

Hinata watched for a little bit as they all fought the larger man, but she felt she didn't need to worry about them, that they would be fine. She was also distracted by the approach of a very sad soul. He was on the other side of the wall, but he seemed to be lost. She subconsciously dodged when a piece of an ax flew over her head. She put her hand out to the wall. The spirit seemed as if it was trying hard to hide something, but at the same time was hurting himself by doing so.

She turned to the side in surprise to see the big Shinigami lifting up the gate. As soon as it was tall enough to walk under, she quickly entered. There she was met with the owner of the sad spiritual pressure. It was a tall man that Hinata had to tilt her head back to look at. He had silver hair and his eyes looked to be closed. He was giving a small stretched smile that did nothing to show the eternal struggle he was facing.

"Who is this guy?" Ichigo asked.

The large Shinigami replied, "The third captain, Ichimaru . . .Gin . . ."

Hinata looked back at the man; so, his name is Gin. She felt a slight rise in his spiritual pressure. She took a step left, not sure why, when Gin spoke, "Ah, this is not allowed." With that, Hinata felt a brush of air across her face, she watched as a long sword extended until it cut off the arm of the large Shinigami. "That's too bad. You are a gatekeeper. Opening the door is not your duty."

Hinata looked back at Gin. She could feel that he found no pleasure in what he just did even though his face seemed to show that he enjoyed it a great deal. He took a step past her. She watched as he traded words with the gate keeper before Ichigo was charging in, clashing swords with Gin. She could tell that Ichigo at this moment was no match for Gin, but he didn't seem to have any desire to really hurt Ichigo, so she just watched them fight. It was all fine until Gin called Ichigo by his name. She felt an almost sigh fluctuate from Gin before he launched his sword at Ichigo, throwing him into the gatekeeper and slamming both of them outside.

Hinata looked up to hear the cries of her friends about Ichigo and that the gate was closing. Hinata dropped her cloak, waving good bye to them as Gin leaned over and did the same thing. She watched their eyes go wide. "Hinata!" They all yelled as the door finished closing.