Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, if I do, it would be HitsuHina 24/7.

Warmth

The newest and the youngest captain of the 10th squad turned on his futon for what it looks like the 20th time that night. He cannot seem to find the perfect position to sleep, which is actually strange since he just came from a 72 hour mission (excluding sleep and proper meals) and he could feel his muscles from nonstop patrolling and fighting, severely aching. And yet no matter how often he change his position or angle his head left or right to catch some sleep, he is still wide awake.

Hitsugaya Toushiro turned again on his left, his eyes open. He could see the furniture in his room, his table, lamp shade, and his tea set all ready for him to use within an easy reach. He closed his eyes and sighed, lines adorned his young features as he tried to relieve and forget something at the same time.

"Taichou!" his vice captain Matsumoto Rangiku shouted out of urgency as she appeared in front of him using her shunpo.

"Matsumoto, how are the guards in the north?" he asked, doing his best to be calm and collected, it is the last day of their patrol mission on district 70, where reports of hollow appearances are continuously increasing. They suspect it is also the reason why the population of the said district is declining fast.

"Our men are fine taichou, but Sagara-san who is incharge told me that the hollows are appearing so fast they may not be able to control them if they keep on popping out of nowhere"

"Stay here Matsumoto, I can sense a trace of unusual reiatsu. It would be better if I will personally see what is going on Sagara's place"

"Hai"

He appeared on the Northern part of district 70, his men which is composed about 20 shinigamis are obviously outnumbered by the hundreds of hollows of all shapes and sizes that are surrounding them. In his relief, there are no citizens present at the said district making it easy to move and to kill all the hollows since they could attack without holding back. 'This must be their doing', he thought. He cannot help but feel satisfied with what was done, after all, it is his first mission as captain and they followed all of his orders so far.

To aid his subordinates, he used his katana to slice the hollows nearest to him in half without hesitation, killing as much as he could to get the job done. The faster they wipe this place clean, the better for the residents residing here.

Then he heard a voice.

"ONII-SAN HELP ME!" a child came running towards his direction, a huge hollow trailing behind him. The child is running as fast as he could without any idea where his thin match stick like legs could carry him. Without any sandals or slippers, his feet already numb from all the stones scattered on the road that is pricking the soles of his feet. But long as he survives this hellish race then there is nothing that he could ask for.

As he heard the voice, he quickly sliced the hollow that jumped towards him.

"KODOMO!" another hollow again jumped on Hitsugaya blocking his vision for almost a millisecond.

He used his shunpo to get to the side of the child as fast as possible, but the hollow was too near, too huge and too fast.

"NO!"

"Onii-san!"

Everything went in slow motion as the huge hollow ate the kid shouting for Hitsugaya's aid.

"Ahhh…." Hitsugaya's eyes widened, he could still hear the faint echoing of the child's voice as he was swallowed whole by the monster.

He went numb, and then a range of fury lit up in his eyes.

"Sit upon the frozen heavens, HYOURINMARU!"

He closed his eyes in desperation; deep wrinkles present on his brow. No matter how hard he tries to suppress the awful memory, he could still hear the child's voice crying for help, calling him to save him from the clutches of that monster. He cannot help but think that somehow, even with the praises he received from his mission, he actually failed.

In frustration, he threw his pillow across the room, creating a loud 'THUD' sound.

"Hitsugaya-kun?" came a familiar voice.

His eyes widened at the voice of his unexpected visitor. "Hinamori?" he immediately sat up from his futon.

"Hitsugaya-kun? Are you alright? I heard a loud sound, can I come in?" her voice slightly muffled through his sliding doors.

He sighed in resignation, even if he say that she cannot come inside she would still insist anyway so what's the point?

"Go to bed Hinamori"

As expected, Hinamori Momo still opened the sliding doors to his room loudly. Her eyes full of worry as she scanned the captain's room to find where he is. When she saw the sitting figure of his childhood friend in the dark room, she immediately made her way to be on his side.

THUD!

"Itai!" she exclaimed in pain.

"Hinamori!" Hitsugaya is immediately on her side. His eyes are already well adjusted to the darkness of the room, thus he was able to find her in no time.

He saw Momo sprawled on the floor, trying to get up using her arms as leverage.

"Aww…"

His frustration got another level higher.

"What happened baka? How hard is it to walk from my door towards my futon?" he said, his voice a bit louder than the usual. His senses get more scrambled whenever something bad happens to Momo. He helped her to sit down, muttered a 'just stay there' to her then turned on the nearby lamp.

He could now see the bruise forming on her arm, forming an ugly brownish color on her fair skin. Her nose and cheekbones are also a little red from her fall thus Hitsugaya suspected that she fell face first.

Hinamori being Hinamori she smiled sheepishly. "I'm alright Hitsugaya-kun"

"Yeah obviously",he formed a small chunk of ice on his palm then pressed it on her nose and cheeks intermittently.

With Momo sitting on the floor, and Hitsugaya kneeling beside her giving her a improvised cold compress, the 5th division vice captain could see her friend's features clearly with the aid of the lamp that Hitsugaya turned on.

"Hitsugaya-kun…"

"Hitsugaya-taichou" he corrected her while paying attention on his small task of cold compress. His eyes focused on her left cheek.

"Hitsugaya-kun, the truth is that I came here to ask how you have been, because it is your first field work right?" her lips formed into a smile. "I am really worried and excited for you actually, but then when I met Rangiku-san in the hallway, she said that you and your subordinates were given high marks! I am really happy for you" she hugged him out of excitement, enveloping Hitsugaya's torso with her arms.

Hitsugaya blushed, and he is thankful that she cannot see his face at the moment. He wiped his wet hands on his white robe and then slowly hugged her back, his chin resting at the top of her head.

"I want every little detail ok? I bet it's exciting!" she happily requested.

His face again contorted into a frown, he was about to say no but then a part of him cannot say such thing to her. It seems that he cannot refuse this woman anything.

"Please?"

Lying on the futon, the two childhood friends are side by side facing each other. Momo tried to extract all the information she thinks is important, questions such as how they ate with their busy schedule (and when Hitsugaya answered the question, she got upset "Why didn't you eat well?"), how they slept ("What? One hour of sleep? Oh Hitsugaya-kun, that's not good!"). Deep inside Hitsugaya is secretly moved by how much she cares, but then as a captain it is his duty and obligation to sacrifice small things like these for the sake of the citizens' safety.

"Yeah, bed-wetter. Don't worry I wouldn't die from lack of sleep." He commented sarcastically while playing with Momo's loose hair strands that is now free from the usual bun.

She pouted her lips because of frustration.

They stayed like that for a while, Hitsugaya playing with her hair absentmindedly and Momo staring at his handsome face.

"Ah, how about the hollows Hitsugaya-kun, is it hard to fight them?" her simple inquiry put Hitsugaya's mood and answers to be guarded, trying to keep something from slipping from his own mouth.

"No, they die easily"

"Really? Are they huge?"

"Yes, most of them are pretty big"

Momo smiled. Her eyes shining in admiration, "Just what I would expect from Hitsugaya-kun"

A pang of guilt burned on his chest painfully. He knows what Momo is trying to say; that he is a young genius who will not permit any mistakes especially if he is on the battlefield. But what she doesn't know is that for a while, he became careless and it cost the life of an innocent child. His brows again creased, and his frown more evident than before. He tried to act as if nothing is affecting him, and continued playing with the strands of her hair.

"Expect from me?" he asked, hoping to divert the conversation away from the sensitive topic that he is avoiding, perhaps he could tease her instead.

Momo nodded and inched her face a little closer, "I know how serious you are with your job, how you want to protect the people from things that could cause them harm. That is the reason why everyone feels safe when you are around"

Guilt made his insides churn. 'That is not true'

"I think Soul Society is really lucky to have you as a captain" her eyes softened, her heart swelling of pride.

He closed his eyes, he cannot take all of this anymore. He doesn't deserve any of this.

Stop

"Sometimes I envy you, you are so strong, so intelligent…you could protect anyone and anything you want to protect…"

Stop it

"Someday, I would like to be as strong as you"

"Stop it" came his reply. Cold, void of any kind of emotion.

Momo looked at her with questioning eyes, "Hitsugaya-kun?"

He turned his back on her, "Stop showering me with praises that I don't deserve." Guilt evident on his voice, which is also getting a bit cracked. He cleared his throat to mask the sadness he is feeling.

Momo sat up and tried to peek at his friend's side "What do you mean?"

Hitsugaya followed after Momo and faced her, "Because of me someone got killed, and all of you call me strong? I cannot even save a child form those stupid hollows, how could you say that I am STRONG?" he spat the last word, as if he is saying an enemy's name.

His friend is at loss for words, his small outburst giving Momo a clear picture of what happened in district 70.

"He is crying for my help, he called me…" his voice again broke, his eyes now on his lap. He needs to get it off his chest, or else this memory might haunt him until his death.

"He appeared out of nowhere, and he called me" a tear rolled on his cheek.

Seeing him like this, Momo's heart was shattered into pieces.

'Shiro-chan'

"The hollow ate him, and I would never forget that sight. It's all because I am weak!..." his frustration now slowly showing, he punched the floor. His knuckles felt numb but he doesn't care.

"So stop clapping your hands for me because I DON'T DESERVE IT!" with his fist shaking, he closed his eyes, burying the horrible moment on the deepest parts of his sub consciousness. Another tear drop rolled on his cheek but unlike the one before, it didn't roll down his chin because Momo wiped it gently with her thumb.

She cupped his cheeks with both of her hands and lifted it slowly until their eyes met.

"It's alright Hitsugaya-kun"

She rested Hitsugaya's head on her chest, her breasts serving as his pillow. With all the emotions swimming on his head, he cannot help but still blush, even just a little.

"I am here" she whispered.

He doesn't know if she knew it but the place where his ear settled was the exact place where her heartbeat is the loudest. It's not fast, just the normal rhythmic beating of his bedwetter's heart, she stroked his scalp gently, his eyes closing in the comfort that it is bringing him. They have done this a lot of times when they were children, and just like before, she is able to console his guilt infested heart.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better" he grinned, his voice well than a before.

She smiled.

Momo and Hitsugaya are again lying on the futon (for Momo believed that he should also rest his whole body), side by side facing each other. She again stroked his cheek, her eyes never leaving his own.

"Hitsugaya-kun?"

"Hn?"

"I know that you gave your all," she said, her voice full of certainty.

Hitsugaya frowned, "You are not even there"

"I may not be there, but I know you", her attitude towards the conversation not changing. Her fingers then went to his forehead where she started tracing stars. He felt a little ticklish.

"You would go out of your way, and even risk your own life just to protect the people around you"

"He died because I am weak" he retorted back. The stubborn side of him cannot seem to accept that someone died because of his 'incompetence'.

"It is true, that on our job we cannot afford to make mistakes. But you gave your all, that's what matters. You cannot give what you don't have Hitsugaya-kun".

Hitsugaya stayed silent, having no idea what to say.

"I think the proper thing to do is to enhance our skills, and to improve our powers. So that it won't happen again"

She scooted closer, wrapping an arm around Hitsugaya's torso.

"We will get stronger together, and protect the people around us."

She hugged him tight, slowly releasing him out of his self made prison. "Don't worry Hitsugaya-kun, I bet that that child also knows that you gave your best"

He hugged her tightly. Everything she said makes sense. He is devastated that he was there but he wasn't able to save the kid, that he was there and he saw how that hollow swallowed that child whole in front of him. The captain's resolve is now firm, he would make himself better, stronger, more powerful to protect anyone around him.

"Right Hitsugaya-kun?"

'Especially you', he mentally added as he hugged the raven-haired girl beside him.

"Yes" he replied.

To be honest, he doesn't know what would happen to him if Hinamori is not around. Sure, he has his other friends, but Hinamori is different. Her words caress his wounded soul, and heal his broken heart. He mentally shuddered at the thought of a life without Hinamori, he unconsciously hugged her more tightly.

While enjoying the smell of peaches on her hair, she suddenly spoke. "I will sleep here again tomorrow"

Yes, that's a good idea.

"Are you sure? I'm ok" he said, but deep inside he is happy that she said such thing.

"No wound heals overnight" she casually replied, as if it is as simple as sunrise and sunset.

Deeply touched, he smiled and hugged her tighter on another degree. Hinamori, on the other hand didn't really mind. She is fine sleeping with the scent of mint around her.

"Even if I say 'you don't have to' you would still stay come here wouldn't you?"

"Uh-huh!" she giddily replied.

He thanked Kami-sama, or whoever is responsible that made their paths to cross. As the night went deeper, and her breathing became steady because of sleep, he imagined a life without her and feeling of dread engulfed him in just a matter of seconds.

Hitsugaya slowly planted his lips on her forehead making sure not to stir her awake.

'Don't ever leave my side'

He closed his eyes, ready for to sleep.

'I need you here Hinamori'

Please read and review, and watch out for chapter 3. :) thank you!