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pinkhairedlily · 1 year

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the warmest place in the world

SUMMARY:

I have said I love you. You have said I love you too. The grand climax is over. The tumultuous journey is past and we have arrived in calm waters. It's mundane, ordinary, and silent. But between us, each day, in silent, smallest declarations, we still say, I love you. I love you. I love you.

(in which Hitsugaya and Hinamori are married)

gift for @ryomaunnie 🎁🎄 | @hitsuhina-week

a/n: sorry this got delayed so much!!! i hope i gave justice to your prompt of hh married/domestic life 🥺 belated happy holidays to the community. may you thrive and heal and live gently this 2023 🤍

Hinamori Momo was a winter bride.

One would think it was an inadequate choice; she was always bright and sunny, the very manifestation of a summer’s day.

But warmth has always been indispensable to the cold.

Like her to him. The love of his life. The fire to his ice. His red thread of fate.

She said I do to him under the curtain of snow, and Hitsugaya kissed his wife’s red button nose.

He kisses it all the same on slow mornings when the sun creeps on the Seiretei horizon, limbs all splayed out on the cotton covers, chasing shadows in the crook of each other’s embrace.

He touches it on nights he captures her lips and lets himself melt all over. Momo is my wife, he tells himself as she settles against his chest. Momo is my wife, he repeats again when he wakes up with her hair on his cheeks. Momo is my wife, like a prayer that came true.

— — —

“Which side of the bed do you want, Shiro?” Momo asks as she surveys the bare room. On one side, the window shares the view of the overgrowth. Rose vines and yellow bells fight for space on sparse earth while poison ivy rests comfortably on the concrete walls of the house. It will take some time to tame their backdoor wilderness, but Hitsugaya can see that it would be a beautiful garden in the care of her hands.

“I’ll take the one facing the wall Momo.”

A smile grows from his statement. “Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

"No take backs."

He smirks. "I don't do that."

"You'll roll me over!"

He holds up a pinky. She always made him do this when they were younger. "Promise. Stop being so insufferable. You're so cute when you're adamant."

"Ugh, so sappy all of a sudden." She giggles — that's all he wants to hear really — and laughter fills the crevices of the old house.

Under the futon that night, surrounded with boxes both closed and halfway open, Momo stares out the curtainless window to the unobstructed view of the full moon. She falls asleep after the fifth shooting star.

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya has the perfect perspective of her face; how she surrenders to the drowse, how her breathing evens out, and how she smiles in her dreams. Not all nights are like this.

Sometimes, the dreams are nightmares.

And he refuses to touch her in the aftermath.

He can vividly feel his hand — Hyourinmaru — go through her chest. His quickening pulse matches the spewing blood from her body. When it's emptied, there's a hollow instead of where her heart should be.

He goes frigid, his own pulse also frozen in shock, despair, some kind of indescribable grief. Then he jolts out of that plane when he feels her, the present her, draw his arm around her body. Calm and steady, her . In between the void and wakefulness, she forgives him.

Figures lost in crowd, that's what they look like on market days. She reaches out to him in the sea of bodies, intertwining his fingers with hers. It's a mindless gesture for Momo, but Hitsugaya feels tethered.

His hand in her. His soul is anchored.

———

"Tadaima."

10:07. Hitsugaya left Karakura around that time. Ichigo is boisterous, the usual, but even more so with the second addition to their family.

They broke the news over Orihime's okonamiyaki. A hefty dash of Ichigo's tears made it into the cooking. She made sure to pack portions for Hinamori.

Who happens to be burning her own okonamiyaki in the kitchen.

"Ah. I messed it up." She's near tears. "Did you have dinner yet, Shiro?"

He places the package on the counter and wounds his arm around her waist. She curls further into herself, sobs on the verge of escaping every limb, but he holds her close and whispers into her ear. "Yeah you burned it but I think it's still edible."

Still entangled with her, he samples a small part from the smoking brown concoction on the stove. Placid reaction gives way to strong grimace. "See, edible."

Momo groans. "I hate you Shiro."

"I love you Momo." His laughter resounds against her untangled hair. Smooth, flowing strands shaking as sobs transform into fits of amusement.

She faces him after a while. "Did you bring earth food?"

He nods. "It's not your favorite pizza, but Orihime's cooking is better than most."

"What did she cook?"

"Okonomiyaki." Her face falls flat from the sudden reminder of her failure. It disappears from his view when he pulls her in for a tight embrace.

Like earlier, his voice travels through her strands, wind to the leaves, water to sand, "Listen. You may not perfect every dish. You may mess up some things. You may not know how to repair the heater. Or keep planks straight when you hammer them in. Dogs may not like you. But you brew the best tea and coffee. You knit the warmest scarves. You sow the most beautiful flowers. The cats love to rub against you. You are my wife and I love you for all that you are."

"You talk so much," she groans against his shoulder. "I'm just hungry."

They laugh again, just as easily.

———

"Good... morning, taichou."

Normally, it would be Matsumoto slumped against Hitsugaya's shoulders, but on rare occasions that he would go drinking with Shinji (forced really) and his circle, Hitsugaya would always, always, return home intoxicated beyond his limits.

And her captain would always, always, bring this drunken stupor to her doorstep.

Even when they were still branding themselves as childhood best friends ("Of course, we would look out for each other.") When they were sidestepping the line that separates friendly concern to affection. A series of drunken declarations when he thought she was asleep, forgotten in the wake of the mornings as he casually slipped, unaffected, nonchalant, almost stoic from her quarters. ("Do you know, Momo, that I like you? I like you. I like you very, very, very much. I don't know what to do with these feelings. Momo, how do I tell you?") When they thought it was their best, well-kept secret in Soul Society. ("Way to announce you're mine, Shiro, banging on my door like that at 2 AM, calling me your darling?!") It was the best, well-shared secret.

"Hirako, you dumbassss. Why did you bring me to Momo? I'm a mess, look at me," Hitsugaya drawls over his words.

"Don't puke on her when you kiss, all right." Shinji winks at his lieutenant and bids adieu effectively in the dead silence of the night.

"I'm not gonna kisssss yew." Hitsugaya raises his palm and slaps it across his chest. "I am a good sssenpai. And a taichou. And I will not take advantage of yew."

"Shut up and go inside already."

He spots the gold band when she pulls his arm. He's sniffling by the time he makes it to their kitchen.

"Why did I wait so long?"

"Wait to come home?" Hinamori patiently goes through the same motions he does when she's drunk. Boil water. Brew some tea. Sober up.

"Wait to tell you I love you." His sniffles are louder, close to sobbing. "I've always wanted you to be my wife. Gods, I'm so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"I won't disagree with you on this." This happens every time, and each repeat just makes her fonder of him.

And yes, more annoyed.

But he's endearing when he's moping so he gets a pass.

He clutches her hand tightly. "Is he a good man? Does he love you more than I do? Are you happy?"

Hinamori leans in closer to his space. From this distance, she can smell the alcohol mingling with fresh pine and snow she associates him with. Her palms cup his drooping, tear-stricken face.

"He is a good man that loves me so much and makes me happy every day. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Then she kisses him as he does on nights she doubts his love. A seal of sorts, a magic touch that dispels the stormy clouds, a kiss.

"Momo, you're a married woman."

"And you're my husband, Hitsugaya-taichou."

———

The snipping of scissors molds with the hummingbirds perched on the blossoming dogwood.

Silver specks litter the hardwood floor. Momo's barefoot protrudes through the strands, his shoulders as her balance.

Her tongue peeks out in concentration as she trims the lengthened threads. It's easy to fall asleep on this cool, spring day while her fingers conduct an orchestra with his hair.

"Do you want an undercut?"

"Please don't make me look like Ichigo or Renji."

"Kira and Yumichika said it's fashionable."

"So why don't they say that to Byakuya?"

"Byakuya has a distinct style."

"And I don't? I'm offended."

"I think you look good in any hair."

"That's what wives say."

She brandishes a mirror in front of him. A relieved sigh leaves him when he sees no noticeable changes. "Great job, Ms. Hinamori. I'll give you a tip."

She kneels in front of him and rests her head on his lap. Her hair falls like waves on the side of his leg. Untangled in her braid, it's a shiny mane. They slip when he twirls his finger around them. "Cut my hair too, Shiro."

"Rukia-style? Or Yumichika?"

"Just don't shave me."

Cut hairs all gone and away and napes exposed to the blossom breeze, they spend the fading afternoon in the awning of the garden. Momo is asleep in his arms, her face dotted with pink petals, and the leaves playing across her features.

Hitsugaya mindlessly traces circles on her arm, navigating to her stomach where a shawl is splayed over. She knitted this some shinigami years ago and the fabric seems to call for his touch. To trace the same shape over and over until he feels the indentation. The slight slope he might miss in passing.

Adrift petals lay their rest right where his hand stopped orbiting.

"Momo?"

She only smiles and places her hand over his, flowers blooming in between the spaces of their fingertips.

"Shiro?"

His throat is heavy. "I'm gonna be a good father." He kisses the crown of her head, and they snuggle closer until twilight takes over the sky.

———

Fireflies are luminescent under the bridge. The river murmurs in the dark, continuing their voyage to the sea with the green attraction fading in their reflection, a memory drowned.

Momo wanted to rest. Rukia warned her about sore feet and wonky legs in the last few months of the pregnancy.

Hitsugaya would have wanted to carry her back home, if she let him. He's sulking from her stubbornness.

"It's peaceful tonight." Momo breathes in the changing summer air. Autumn has started to dispel its first notes.

"It's peaceful," Hitsugaya echoes. He embraces her from behind, his hands crossed like a prayer over her stomach. "I'm glad it's peaceful."

"But what if there's war again?"

It's not as if Hitsugaya hadn't thought of this already. It haunted his nights. It's a possibility on the back of his head when he attends council meetings, signs paperworks, reads reports. Always on the lookout for the first triggers.

It's a hard thing to keep — peace.

"Then there's another reason to fight for." But sometimes, it comes by easy. "For now, this is peace to me."

The fireflies steer towards their direction. Alight and luminous, their reflections are carried by the currents, a memory in voyage.

———

"Cold!!!!" Hanami bolts through the door. A child around five with brown hair covered in snow and teal irises that are so honest and bare and earnest. There's unbridled happiness in her eyes.

"Can you at least tone down that blush whenever you come home from Byakuya's estate?" Hitsugaya sighs.

"That's because of cold, Shiro," Momo reasons out from the kitchen.

"He made me tea, Papa!"

"As he does to all his guests?"

"No! It's the special tea!" She sticks out her tongue at her father while she quickly shrugs off her outerwear. Then her little feet urgently pad off to settle beside him in the kotetsu. "When I grow up, I'm gonna marry Uncle Byakuya!"

"He's old, Hana-chan."

"No, he's not! He's still handsome!"

"You have poor taste in men, my silly girl."

Momo sweeps into the room with a tray of tea. "That's too bad. You don't have room for Mama's special tea?"

"I have, Mama. The snow outside evaporated the tea earlier." She pats the little space beside her. "Sit Mama! It's cold!"

Lulled in drowse by tea, the family lies side by side on the floor, legs all tangled up under the kotatsu, as the snowstorm builds to a precipice outside.

"Did you enjoy painting with Byakuya?" Hitsugaya asks the growing babe on his shoulder.

Hanami nods. "He was worried I'd get snowed in."

Momo blows raspberries on Hanami's hair. "Was it cold, Hana-chan?"

"Very! He made me wear another coat. It was difficult to walk." She mimics shaking terribly but only ends up laughing. It's contagious, feeling the giggles travel the course of her skin and limbs, and unto her parents.

"Papa never gets cold, right Mama?" Hanami places her hand over their entangled fingers on her stomach.

"No, he never does."

"Are you cold right now, Hana-chan? Do you want me to move away?" Hitsugaya almost shifts out of their hold, but his daughter plants him to his side.

"Silly Papa! You're always so warm." Her button nose red from the cold, and her cheeks flushed pink, Hanami pulls her parents closer to her. "This is the warmest place in the world."

#hitsuhina #hitsugaya toushirou #hinamori momo #momo #hitsugaya #hinamori #bleach fic #bleach #hitsuhina gift exchange 2022 #fic!pinkhairedlily #fic!pseudolily

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darkroguescribe · 1 year

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Fireworks

Hitsuhina Week 2023 - Day 1: Academy Days / Fireworks

Rating: K

Summary: Hitsugaya is preparing to take his Captain's Exam. But doubts weigh heavy on his mind.

AN: Originally posted on AO3

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Eyes followed him everywhere he went. It wasn’t unusual for him, his white hair and turquoise eyes tended to draw attention whether he wanted it or not. But these days, the stares were more intensely judging him. It was no secret that Toshiro Hitsugaya had been working on mastering his bankai for the past few years. But since Captain Shiba had vanished, and the Tenth Division was in need of a captain, he’d begun to consider taking the Captain’s Exam to fill that vacancy. Once word got out that he’d take the exam, every soul reaper he’d pass would stare and whisper among one another. He’d learned to ignore most people talking about him but hearing it from within his own division was another thing.

He’d heard a few unranked members talk about transferring if he was made captain. Laughing at how ridiculous it would be for them to take orders from a kid. Fortunately, Lieutenant Matsumoto seemed to be in full support of him should he be made captain. After all, he’d practically been running the whole place since even before Captain Shiba left. His administrative skills were evident since the very beginning. The questions laid mostly in his maturity and leadership. Hitsugaya made it to his room after training after dodging most of the larger streets to avoid the stares. Entering his room, he began his nightly routine of polishing his zanpakuto and planning with the spirit for what to practice tomorrow. “My Sennen Hyoro could use work. The pillars are too thin. I’m sure there is a way to strengthen them without expending too much energy.” He said.

In his mind he heard Hyorinmaru rumble in agreement. “You think too much in preparation,” The dragon said. “Lay the trap. Then lead the enemy within.”

“That leaves too much up for chance.”

The dragon spoke quietly in an almost nurturing tone and said, “Not ready.”

Hitsugaya caught his reflection in the blade and simply held the sword where it was. Not ready meant too young. And as he looked at himself, he thought that perhaps the dragon is right. Not ready to perfect his bankai. And perhaps even too young to become captain. His face was still boyish and he was quite short even for his age. The idea that he could even achieve bankai wasn’t even taken seriously by most. Men in his own division had doubts. Maybe the entire division would be better off waiting for someone else to take over. He’d still be the 3rd seat and that would give him time to grow up and gain further mastery of his bankai.

“Lil’ Shiro!” A loud knock on his door pulled him from his thoughts as he looked at the shadow of the figure outside. “Lil’ Shiro you in there?”

Hitsugaya groaned, putting his zanpakuto away. “What is it Hinamori?” He asked as he slid open the door.

“Hello to you too, Lil’ Shiro,” She beamed at him, not even bothered by the annoyed tone of his voice.

“I thought you said you’d call me by my name once I became a soul reaper.”

She just smiled and shrugged, “I did. And I do, at least when on official business. But right now, we’re both off so, you’re Lil’ Shiro.”

He groaned, realizing he wasn’t likely to get her to stop at least not now anyway. “Can you at least drop the ‘Lil’’? I’m not that short anymore.”

Hinamori laughed, “Okay Lil’— I mean, Shiro.”

“What do you want anyway?”

“I wanted to know if you’d come with me back to my barracks.” Her voice dropped into a whisper as she cupped her hands as though it were some big secret. “We planned a special fireworks show for Captain Aizen’s birthday tonight.”

“You realize everyone already knows about that, right?”

“Come on it’ll be fun. Just like the ones we’d watch as kids.” She reached out and grabbed his arm and began tugging.

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and debated the option of going versus staying for a solid minute before agreeing. Outwardly, it looked as though he was reluctant to attend. But deep down he knew that his mind had been made up the moment she smiled at him.

Together, the two of them made their way in the direction of the Fifth Division. The closer they got, the more people seemed to already be crowding the street waiting for the fireworks. Hinamori had to elbow her way through, dragging him along behind her in order to get to the gate where guards stopped them. With a flash of her lieutenant’s badge, she got them both in without any further fuss and they made their way to the roof where a bunch of other officers gathered. They found a relatively quiet part and Hinamori sat down, her feet dangling over the edge while Hitsugaya remained standing.

“Hey I meant to congratulate you on getting a date for your Captain’s Exam,” She said.

“Hmm.”

“When’s it going to be?”

“Two weeks.”

Hinamori frowned. “I thought you’d be a little excited about it,” She said.

He turned his head towards the nearest pair of officers, feeling their eyes on the back of his head. When their eyes met, the pair just laughed and turned in on themselves.

She noticed this silent exchange and stood up. “Hey, I’ll take care of it.”

“Don’t,” Hitsugaya sighed.

“You’re going to be a captain. I can’t have members of my division not be respectful to the other captains.”

He was quiet and glanced around to make sure no one could hear him before he spoke again. “What if… what if I don’t become captain?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

He shrugged and bowed his head slightly, his shoulders rolled forward a little. “What if… I don’t get it? What if I fail?”

Hinamori moved around to step in front of him, looking down at her best friend who was one of the smartest, bravest people she knows show her how nervous he really is. Hitsugaya was not one to show weakness often and for him to do so right now, she had a feeling this had been eating away at him for awhile. “Here, come with me.” Taking his arm, she quickly brought him down into the barracks and then into her room shutting the door behind them. “Talk,” She said, pushing him to sit down on the futon and taking a seat right next to him.

Hitsugaya was quiet as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on bent knees. “There are some… doubts about my ability to become a captain,” He began. “Since Captain Shiba left, I thought I could be the next captain. He’d always say I was bound to be captain after him but… I never thought it’d be this soon.”

“He believed in you for a reason, Toshiro,” She said. “I’m sure he saw how your determination, intellect, and talents would do great things for the division. And between Shiba and Matsumoto, you’ve been captain in every capacity but in name.”

He scoffed and shook his head, “I don’t think I’ll become captain with administrative skills alone.”

“No, but you have mastered your bankai. That has to say something, right?”

Hitsugaya shrugged. “‘Mastered’ might be too strong a word,” He said. “I can use it for about eight minutes but after that…”

“That’s still more than most. I don’t even know my bank’s name.” She wasn’t getting through to him. She could see him curling further and further in on himself as his thoughts seemed to snowball. “Is this all because of what a couple people said?”

“A couple?” He scoffed, “Try just about everyone in the Soul Society. I’ve heard it all from ‘turning the 10th into a daycare’, to me ‘lying about having achieved my bankai’. Even members of my own division don’t want me as captain. How am I supposed to lead them, if they don’t want me?”

Hinamori scooted closer and wrapped her arms tightly around him like when they were kids. Normally, he’d just push her off and the fact that he didn’t spoke volumes to how much weight this exam was putting on him. She wished there was something she could do to get rid of everyones doubt about him because she believed so much in his ability, but she couldn’t. “Let’s go back to the 10th,” She said.

“Huh? But I thought you wanted to see the fireworks.”

She waved them off, “They’re just fireworks. And this is way more important.”

Rather than taking the long way back through roads that were now crowded, the two of them traveled by rooftop using shunpo to get there quickly. Making a quick stop at his quarters, he took his zanpakuto at her instruction before heading to the empty courtyard the division used for training. “What are we doing here?” He asked as she pushed him to stand in the middle of the yard before backing a good distance away and sitting down.

“Practicing your captain’s exam, of course,” She said.

“Huh?”

“You’re going to have three captains and the head captain you’ll have to demonstrate it to. So you’re going to pretend I’m the captains and show me what you can do.”

Hitsugaya’s face was vacant as he stared at her almost incredulous at the idea. “Do you even know how the exam works?” He knew of course but had been sworn to secrecy about the exam process.

“Nope. I’m just guessing.”

“This is ridiculous—“

“—No it’s not!”

“What if someone—“

“No one is here! They’re all at the fireworks.”

“But what about—“

“—Just show me already, Shiro!”

“Ugh! Fine,” He grumbled, drawing his zanpakuto. Looking at her across the yard, he suddenly felt a bit nervous having never shown anyone his bankai before. Taking a deep breath, he looked around to check that there was in fact no one around, before lowering himself into a fighting stance. “Bankai!”

The temperature dropped around them and ice crystalized across the yard as his reiatsu flowed evenly from his body. Ice formed across his shoulder into a pair of wings that spread wide, with a crystal tail at the base of the juncture where the two wings met and his legs and right arm were encased in ice. Hitsugaya stared across to the other end of the yard where Hinamori sat quietly taking it all in with a wide smile.

“Wow, you’re amazing, Shiro!” She said, standing and taking a few steps closer before stopping. “Um, can I come closer?”

He nodded and watched her smile broaden before she trotted over to him and circled around him. He felt her eyes on him and for the first time in a while didn’t mind the intensity of her stares. Maybe it was because she was one of the only ones to believe in him, or maybe it was just because it was her. Either way, he wouldn’t mind if she stared at him like that again.

Coming to stand back in front of him, she reached out and gently touched one of his wings. “It’s so cold,” she said.

“It’s ice, dummy,” He said with a roll of his eyes.

“It’s so amazing though.”

Overhead, the sound of the fireworks beginning drew both their attentions skyward. The bright colors illuminated the sky but from where they were they couldn’t see them. An idea popped into his head and he found himself speaking before properly thinking it through. “Um, you know these wings aren’t just for show. I actually can fly with them.” Hitsugaya felt his cheeks heat with the unspoken suggestion and turned his body sideways to avoid her laughter.

To his surprise, she took a sharp intake of breath and grabbed his shoulders. “We can watch the fireworks from the sky!” She said. Her excitement, too much for him to even consider denying.

Opening his arms, she gladly wrapped her arms about his neck and he held on tight to her before using his wings to thrust them skyward. She screamed at the sudden speed with which he took off and held on tighter before erupting into giggles as he reached a point in the sky where he was level with the fireworks taking place at the Fifth. He felt her head lean onto his shoulder as they watched and he felt himself smile. He paid the fireworks little attention, focused only on her, taking in her smile, her relaxed breaths, the small ‘ooh’s and ‘ahh’s she’d say after particularly interesting fireworks went off. Time faded into a single moment that he longed to stretch out as long as possible.

After the last of the fireworks had ended, Hitsugaya slowly brought them back to the ground and he released his bankai. “That was amazing, Shiro,” Hinamori said, hugging him tightly.

“I’ll say.”

The two friends broke apart and looked over to the entrance to see Captain Aizen standing there, his gentle smile easing them into a sense of calm.

“Captain Aizen! I thought you’d be at the party.” Hinamori said, torn between leaping to his side or staying at her friends side.

Aizen gently raised his hand in a calming gesture that made it clear there was nothing to worry about. “I was for awhile. But then I was wondering where my wonderful lieutenant who planned the whole thing had run off to.” He smiled as he walked closer to the two of them. “I wanted to thank you for all the effort you put into this day.”

Hinamori beamed under the praise and bowed respectfully to her superior. “It was nothing really. Everyone helped out. We all wanted to show our appreciation for you.”

Aizen placed his hand on her head affectionately, “Still, your passion and attention to detail are much appreciated by me personally.” He looked over to Hitsugaya and folded his hands in the sleeves of his shihakusho. “Third seat Hitsugaya.”

“Sir,” Hitsugaya bowed stiffly.

“Your bankai looks quite impressive.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Aizen leaned closer to him, “You know, I’m not supposed to tell you this, but I’ll be one of the captains observing you at the exam.” He stood back to his full height. “I look forward to seeing what you can do, future Captain of the Tenth Division.” With one final nod at the two of them, he took his leave, walking leisurely away from the barracks.

Once he was out of sight, Hinamori grabbed him by the shoulders and squeezed him tightly. “See? Even Captain Aizen thinks you’ll do great!” She said, smiling and laughing with joy.

Hitusgaya felt himself smile as he wrapped his arms around her as well. His nerves were still there but the doubts in his head had quieted. He was going to become the captain of the Tenth Division. And no matter what anyone says, he’ll work hard to prove he is worthy of that title.

#hitsuhina week 2023 #hitsuhina #toshiro hitsugaya #momo hinamori #Bleach #mywriting

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canariie · 3 years

Text

under the blue moon

Rating: K+

Synopsis: One of their first meetings at night: though they may have been on different paths in school, under the light of the blue moon, they found themselves coming back to a home they both didn’t know they needed.

Word Count: 3050 words

Setting: Shinigami Academy Days (post Bleach Chapter -16 & somewhere in between Bleach Drama CD Track 08 'Flashback')

Prompt: Hitsuhina Week 2021 Day 2 - Dream / On a Field of Ice

Authour’s Note: I’m here! I’m here! I know it’s been a while but I have been loving all of the posts that everyone has been doing for this weeks celeberation!! So lovely to see the hitsuhina community alive :)

Sorry this was late but this has been sitting in my wips for about a year? And I had most of it written but it was harder to finish since it had been so long! However, when I saw the themes for this year’s @hitsuhina-week, I knew I had to finish it up!

Special shout out to Aoi Tori & Still With You being the songs that I played continuously on repeat to finish this up :)

Enjoy!

—

Momo clutched the fabric of her uniform as she looked dejectedly at the final report. No matter the amount of times that she stared at the red marks on the paper, they didn’t disappear. Her vision blurred as an onslaught of tears pricked at her eyes, making her head hurt. For once this semester, Momo was glad she was alone so her roommate wouldn’t see her in such a sorry state.

At the end of the fifth year were the practical’s that determined what concentrations one would focus on in their last years of study before graduating from the Academy. Momo, Renjii and Izuru were all studying different paths to focus on: Renjii in physical swordmanship, and Momo and Izuru with the demon arts, hers in combat and his in healing. For the past couple weeks, the trio had been studying and practicing almost every waking hour that they were not in class. Also, as part of the advanced class, there was an expectation that one would pass all the practical’s in the first round before continuing on. If not, one had to wait until the next semester before taking the exam again.

Unfortunately, the brown-haired girl had pushed herself to the point of exhaustion. On top of the near sleepless nights, her anxiety had grown inside her, almost crippling her. Momo had usually preferred taking written tests over the physical tests since she could pull things easily from memory. However, the thought of failing the exam had left her mind at a blank when she tried to remember the incantations for the written portion of the exam. The fear of failure haunted her still to the physical component where they practiced different spells and she found herself missing the target—and almost singeing the hair off her professor’s head.

She didn’t wait a second longer after the dismissal and ran to her room, ignoring Renjii and Izuru’s concerned looks. Momo locked herself inside, hiding herself underneath all her many blankets. There was no need to look at the practical results posted outside the Grand Assembly Hall as she already knew it in her heart—she didn’t need to physically see it.

Momo sighed as she looked at the clock in her room, signaling it was way past the time she usually went to sleep. Even the sight of the blue moon illuminating a path on her bed couldn’t cheer her up, and Momo tucked her feet in, pulling her knees tight to her chest. She didn’t know how long she had cried but now she felt exhausted and spent. Skipping dinner didn’t really help her cause and it only left her to focus on the bitter thoughts that replayed and occupied her mind.

I’m so pathetic…how am I ever going to become a vice captain if I can’t even pass the practical’s.

The wind howled outside and she could hear the branch of the tree hitting her window, reminding her of windy nights in Junrinan.

I wish I were home now with Obaa-san…and Shiro-chan.

The tree rapped at her window persistently.

How can I face them with marks like this? What would they say?

Louder and louder the noise grew, competing with the roaring outside.

What a disappointment I am…

The noise grew louder and it as almost as if something knocking urgently at her window. Momo turned her head just as a white tuft of hair popped up, follow by the two scrawny arms of her childhood friend.

“Shiro-chan!” Momo gasped. “What are you doing? You can’t climb in through the window!”

“And why not?” Toushiro retorted as he pulled himself on the ledge. “There’s no one here to stop me.” He looked around, noticing the empty room. “Where’s your roommate?”

“She went home for the weekend,” she responded quickly, distracted by the way the boy was perched on the window sill. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you should have used the dorm entrance! You could have gotten hurt!”

“I climb trees all the time back home,” he replied offhandedly, “Climbing up to your window is no different.”

“That doesn’t matter Shiro-chan! You can still get hurt!” Momo could feel her anxiety pick up as she shook her head furiously, her pig tails whipping around.

Toushiro gave her a pointed look. “Hinamori, didn’t you say you would call me ‘Hitsugaya’ by now?”

She bit back a retort as she did realize, yes that she had agreed to that when he had entered the academy. “It’s still taking me a while to get used to,” Momo mumbled.

He scoffed and settled himself on the ledge. A part of Momo wanted to urgently grab him and pull him inside, for fear of him falling. However, what rooted her on her bed was the knowledge that her deeply inquisitive childhood friend would immediately notice her dried tear tracks—and she did not want him to see her in such a sorry state.

Though she seemed anxious of his safety on the outside, inside she was elated that he was here. It had been a while since they had properly seen each other, with the last time being when she introduced Toushiro to Izuru. The first year was extremely busy Momo remembered, and she had hardly seen Toushiro except for quick glimpses of his white hair moving through the hallways. Their lunch schedules were also different as she had practical’s during the first-year lunch slot—so even those moments were hard to come by. Now looking at him in his uniform, it was the first time that Momo realized how much he had grown into his clothes. It didn’t hang off his slender body, like his clothes in Jurinran did. Almost as if…

“You’ve gained weight,” Momo stated softly.

The boy turned his head sharply towards her. “What?”

Her eyebrows rose in shock, suddenly realizing the misimplications of what she just said. “No-no! I mean you look healthy! It’s a good thing!” Her warm brown eyes crinkled fondly. “I’m happy you’re able to eat more here.”

Toushiro’s eyes widened, before he narrowed them. “I had enough to eat at Obaa-san’s. Not that you would know.”

After he said it, he immediately regretted it when he saw her face fall. Momo grabbed her arms, tucking her them further into herself.

“You’re right,” Momo admitted. “I wasn’t there often for you and Obaa-san.” She sighed dejectedly. “I’m such a terrible person…”

A silence stretched in between them that no one wanted to fill. Toushiro didn’t know what he had planned that night—words of comfort weren’t really his forté and he didn’t want to get too close to her in case he hurt her. But he knew inside, he had to make sure she was alright.

“I saw the results posted outside the Assembly Hall.” He looked at her with his dark jade eyes. “…how are you?” It was just above a whisper, but something inside her broke.

Her eyes glimmered with tears and could feel a sob crawl into her throat. Though she had not wanted to alarm her dear friend, when she looked into his eyes, she found herself retelling everything. From the hours of study to the actual exam day, as Momo recounted everything she could visibly see Toushiro soften with a look of pity. “I’m so pathetic,” Momo commented as she picked a stray thread on her bed spread, “if I can’t pass the practical’s, how can I even think of becoming a vice captain?”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be here…” she turned her face into the pillow, refusing to look at the boy.

Toushiro remained rooted on the ledge, frozen and unsure what to do. He had never seen Momo this dejected before and yet, he didn’t know what he could offer for comfort.

Though it was a couple steps, it felt like a mile-wide gap. His shoulders tucked into himself and he could feel his resolve crumbling. The necessary distance to keep her safe was pushing her further away. Toushiro could see Momo receding back into a shell that was not the confident girl he knew—and it ached inside to see her in such a sorry state.

“And-and I could feel the anxiety in my stomach,” Momo lamented softly. “My mind blanked and I couldn’t remember anything…it was like I was paralyzed.” Even now thinking about it again made Momo want to curl back into a ball and hide away from the shame. Clutching her head, she moaned, “And now my head just hurts…”

All of a sudden Momo felt a cool touch on her forehead. Like a sigh of clarity, she could feel her mind slow down and the dull ache that was throbbing in the back began to dissipate. What felt like a tempest of anxiety inside her chest dulled to a breath of fresh winter air.

Momo looked up in wonderment. “…How?”

Just as quick, Toushiro pulled his hand back, almost as if he had burned himself. “I can’t control it well but that should help your headache for a bit.” His jade eyes flickered anxiously at the proximity. “However, I shouldn’t stay close,” he said as he began to move himself away.

“No!” Momo yelped as she scrambled to pull his hand in. “Please don’t go,” her voice broke at the last note. She couldn’t handle being by herself for another moment longer. Momo looked up and could see an inner storm inside the boy’s eyes. For as much as his body was stiff with shock, his eyes gave it away that he fought a battle within to bring himself to stand by her bedside.

He sighed in defeat and Momo could instantly feel a lightness in her chest. “I’ll stay…” he managed out weakly. “Just until you fall asleep.”

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely for even the hanging blue moon wouldn’t say what hour it was. What initially was an anguished long sleepless night became a comfortable quiet accompanied by the soft whistles of the wind. Her eyelids fell heavily though Momo struggled to remain awake, determined to be as present as she could now that her friend was here. However, she could not resist the quick falls of slumber, especially when she began to sense soft sapphire lights after she closed her eyes.

“Your reiatsu…I can start to see it now.” Momo sighed in content.

“Really?” He was shocked as he had just started to work on controlling it. The first years were required in their core classes to practice channeling their reiatsu before proceeding further in the rest of the Shinigami curriculum.

“I don’t think I ever realized before how…blue it was.” She smiled to herself. “It’s like snow—like the first day that I met you.” He too remembered that day well; it was the first one in his memories.

Toushiro was apprehensive as he laid the back of his hand on her forehead. “Does it…hurt?”

“No…It’s actually comforting.” She closed her eyes as she whispered. “It reminds me of home.”

At that point, Toushiro was glad that it was the dark of the night for his ears felt as if they were on fire–and he couldn’t imagine how red his face was. Momo’s breaths had evened and he could see her chest move up and down peacefully. He was glad to see her eyebrows relaxed and a peaceful expression of sleep on her face.

He trailed the back of his fingers down her cheek and could feel the dried tracks of her tears. “Stupid…” he muttered, “don’t keep everything to yourself.”

This was the first time since coming to school that he had tried channeling his rieatsu. Since he had almost unwillingly froze his grandmother to death, Toushiro isolated himself from the rest of his class— in case he had hurt anyone unintentionally. He couldn’t risk hurting anyone so he shied away from handshakes, familiar gestures and cornered himself in the back of the crowd—never close enough to touch another soul. Even now today, he second guessed coming here. It was only seeing the results pinned on the door that cleared his doubts and he took off in the night.

This was the first time that he was so physically close to someone.

It terrified him to be beside Momo.

It shocked him more that she was comforted by his reiatsu.

He hadn’t seen her for a long time since she was so busy studying. Even though they were now in the same school, he felt even more distant from her. A part of him resented that she had not come home more to visit him and Obaa-san. A small voice would coax in his ear that she had abandoned him and solely him by moving on to new friends. He knew it was irrational to think so but it was difficult to deny himself that bitterness. That being said, he couldn’t fight the feeling of making sure she okay—which as long as he was in school, he could do.

Toushiro wasn’t rushing to finish his studies; as long as he could control his rieatsu and powers, that was the main reason he would stay.

Well….He looked down as he felt Momo clutch his shirt in her hand.

Maybe that wasn’t the only reason.

The dreams had not stopped since he had entered the academy. From the moment he closed his eyes, he could feel himself falling back until he hit hard ground.

It was always the same world.

White plains stretching as far and wide to meet the sunless horizon. There was no sense of day and night. Only the dead spindly trees piercing the sky indicated that life couldn’t continue in this hopeless place. Toushiro always felt like these were the premonitions of his inevitable future, a feeling that knotted at the pit of his stomach.

However, he was never alone. A thundering noise always echoed in the distance but he could never place it. Though far, he could feel its intensity at the tip of his fingers, as if beckoning him to grab a hold of it.

It was only when a grand ice dragon appeared in front of him that it turned dark with a winter storm.

Toushiro had to draw his arms up against the torrid bursts of biting wind. Though it did not move, Toushiro could feel its ancient presence of powers from far before him, holding his stare and rooting him to ground. It was crushing him and embracing him—as if thunder was falling in his palms.

“Who are you!” But a loud burst of wind obscured the thunderous roar of the dragon. “I can’t hear you!” And again and again he would call out, wanting and yearning to learn of this beast—but never would he get far before waking up in a cold sweat.

Until tonight, when the storm receded and the quiet came.

The dragon stood, as if waiting for Toushiro to make the first move. Throwing back his head, he gazed up and stared into his blood red eyes. Maybe he should’ve been afraid of dying a cold death. But instead, he felt a kinship to this icy beast—almost as if they had the same soul. Looking into the beast’s eyes he could recognize loneliness.

And it ached inside him.

“There are things I want to protect with this borrowed strength…”

The desperation clawed from inside of his chest; a deep well of pent up feelings brimming to the surface so much so that he wanted no more than to fling it out as much as he could.

“I want to protect…”

A desire grew inside for the energy that thrummed inside, to take it and use it. To let it consume him and envelop him whole for a now clear goal.

A flash of warm brown eyes appeared in his mind.

“I want to protect her!”

The dragon roared again but this time Toushiro could feel its power resonate inside him, as if he were the one calling out to be named.

“My name is…Hyourinmaru!”

His eyes flew open in shock and his could see his breath appear in a puff of frost. Immediately, he turned his head trying to look at the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Mmhh…Shiro-chan.” He looked down to see Momo’s head against his chest, clutching his shirt tightly. Somehow, in the middle of the night, she had pulled herself onto his chest and tucked herself right under his chin. Toushiro’s visceral reaction was to push her off before she caught hypothermia from him. However, right as he grabbed her shoulders he felt immediate warmth flow into his hands. It traveled through his whole body, alleviating any anxiety that Toushiro had.

Is she countering my rieatsu with her’s?

He could sense a soft red orange glow and warmth emanating from Momo. As she breathed softly against his chest, the warmth grew in intensity, like a candle that flickers during a cold night. It reached inside him to his soul and sent welcome heat throughout his body. Toushiro closed his eyes in content and wrapped his arms around her instinctively.

What was that about?

As if frost had melted off a glass pane, his dream was clearer than ever before. Instead of the sound of thundering obscuring its name, Toushiro had been able to heed the voice of the dragon and even feel it resonate inside his soul. Hyourinmaru...even its name echoed immense power.

For now, many questions were running through his mind. However, a realization as clear as a bell in the night ran through his head.

Toushiro looked down at the sleeping form, blissfully unaware of all that had transpired. Though they were in complete darkness of the middle of the night, the blue moonlight only highlighted her features. Long thick lashes that were once spiked with tears rested gently against his chest. Her mouth slightly open as she sighed in content. Toushiro had never seen Momo look so at peace, which he realized, quelled the inner storm of his world.

This power, it’s meant to protect her…

In the back of his mind, he could hear the roar of the dragon, almost as if in assent.

And with that he closed his eyes—ready to face a new day with his resolution in his arms.

—

Authour’s Note: This was inspired by a post I had seen once talking about how Momo’s fire rieatsu counteracted Toushiro’s icy one -- which was one of the reasons that Obaa-san started to freeze after Momo left. (headcanon post by @alexiethymia) I loved the premise though, especially that I can totally see it as canon that their powers both balance each other out and they really are stronger together :)

I also definitely headcanon that through some revelation concerning Momo does Toushiro finally overcome whatever inner block he has and is able to learn the name of his zanpaktou. Definitely inspired by the drama CDs, I think there’s such rich material that expands on the hitsuhina relationship. In my mind, she’s kind of the like the defroster on his frosty glass that is his mind hahahaha

See you all in the next one :)

#hitsuhina #hitsuhina week 2021 #momo hinamori #Toshiro Hitsugaya #i realize i have a fic trope #it's writing hitsuhina at night #idk why #but i fully admit to it #SO MUCH POTENTIAL IN LATE NIGHT CONVERSATIONS #haha but definitely hinting at what the next one will also be of lolol #canariie: my fics #bleach fanfiction #hitsugaya x hinamori #Hitsugaya Toushiro #hinamori momo

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neko-bri · 3 years

Note

Hii!! Just want to say that I love your blog and that you are a sweetie! If I can ask, I would like to see your personal headcanons about hitsuhina or Hitsugaya (or both of them XD) , as I'm a huge fan from their bound Xxx

Hii!!!! OMG just fkfhfkfkfkw this ask message made me smile! Thank you so much for sending this!!! I just...am crying so bad! I thank you anon-san!!! I love your blog too!! I am sure of it since you love hitsuhina too!!! < 333 they are one of my favorite ships ever!! * 3 * I want to write more drabbles of these two precious babies of ours! < 333 I am sorry if this was late!! ; a ; you are so precious!! We all can be friends with our love for hitsuhina!! < 333 I did find my old headcanons too from my old momo rp tumblr as well! * 3 * I may have made this too long with some headcanons. sorry sorry!!

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Momo headcanon -- [ Growth ] For Momo as a headcanon I did have a few but one of them was I thought about how Momo looked at herself after Aizen's betrayal and her admiration for him was shattered. I thought that she wanted to become stronger with experience of that pain over what happened. To grow into someone who is mature and want to gain more experience but to also keep moving forward with time to gain new experiences. She is thankful for being able to look at herself with happiness and even the sadness, she could learn and cope with her feelings to learn to grow up. Her feelings for Aizen slowly diminish and her heart is set on new goals for growing stronger. As she met her new captain she wanted to share that strength to learn to be stronger so she can find the strength to never feel that again. Her Captain Hirako shares the pain of being betrayed and used like a pawn. Knowing Momo's pain and Toshiro knowing that Momo went through all that. His strength to protect Momo is what he strives for. I just thought Momo want to keep going and look back as a strength to see how far she has come. She is healing with time slowly but, will also open the door for her heart to trust again with all the bad experiences she faced and pain. She is such a strong woman to heal and also learn to walk forward.

____________________________ [Momo's headcanon] Hair cut || Headcanon

A new start. New life was beginning the day of all the heartache. The long hair had symbolized the time with a distant past. So long forgotten. Back then it also meant forgetting the love that was forged from becomming a fukutaichou within fifth division along with a dearest love that has for long betrayed deep within this very soul. Symbolize of change the brunette had thought about how hair change and the appearance over starting over. A new light had shown on her with the hair clip given from a very special friend dear to her own heart. Not mentioning the name—-she had thought of moving past all the pain and everything that caused the cheerful shinigami to frown. Fresh start on how childish, naive, and foolish the very girl thought change was in order.

A new light has shine upon me… That is why I wish to change, to become a better person. This is my time to shine. _______________________________________________ [Momo Headcanon ] Trust

—-ღ Trust has many ways of words through your mouth. It can be a trust that no longer alive. Or this trust has been broken by a deep wound to the heart. That trust…had always effected the brunette when a sword by her admirater had broke her in half. That pain lived through her each day. Still remembering the way he use to smile at her, teach her things, show her how to become stronger. Those days—-were now gone with that trust completely destroyed. After her coma; the trust that normally would be able to surround the ones easily. Had been slightly putting Momo in fear. Fear to approach others or even to love. If she ever found it again; it take her time to slowly sooth the wound that was gravely wounded by the one who she once trusted… Hinamori had troubles giving that trust to the ones who use to be near her. Or new ones. Once she opened her heart; fear began to consume her between being used again like a tool. That is what eats her alive each day until finally breaking into million pieces.

__________________________________________________

Hitsuhina [Bonds] [Headcanon]

—-ღ Bonds… This word meant a lot to the brunette who created many bonds with her friends. One of them was a child along side her which she never forget. That person had kept at her side since day one. Hinamori still remains beside him even after everything. Blaming herself for what little thing wasn’t her fault. Her childhood friend, Shiro-chan still forgives her and continue to do so. How Hinamori could not understand his reasoning in forgiveness. It was something she always want to keep their bonds strong. Holding hand in, hand they will fight against anything that would try to break them apart. Never again would she wish to point her blade at someone who never gave up on her. He was the most important person to her. Still remaining as her precious friend that never will die out. For his forgiveness that made her smile to herself in the mirror. It was something she will never mistaken from his words. His words that helped her through so much. She will keep a good grip on his hand and forever keeping the bond that the two have created.

Never again will let it break apart…

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hitsuhinahappiness · 3 years

Text

Scar Map - All Sewn Up Chapter 2

The halls of Shin’ō academy were noisy and filled with the voices of its students, socializing before class, grabbing their books, their pads, their swords, and their fighting equipment. Although the area was crowded and loud, one voice rang out louder than the rest, at least to Toshiro Hitsugaya.

He sat near the window, waiting for one of his Kido classes to begin. Hitsugaya watched his longtime-friend chat with a male student, one with dark brown hair and bright green eyes. He first felt something was off about him when he had snaked his way behind her storage locker and surprised her when she slammed it shut. Toshiro would have lost interest and assumed it was a friend of hers playing a prank, but then he heard her yelp in surprise. That peaked his attention. Hinamori was nice enough to the guy, but she didn’t seem like she wanted to engage him any longer, assuming she had a class of her own to go to or an instructor to see. The bold brown-haired boy didn’t seem to catch the hint.

“I’ll tell ya what, I’m throwing a party at my parents’ place. They’re off on some mission in the world of the living. Gonna have lots of sake! Eh? Whaddya say?”

“You know, that sounds like so much fun, but I’ve got a lot of studying to catch up on, so thank you for the invitation, but I’ll have to take a raincheck.” She responds politely, then attempts to walk to her next destination, but is once again halted in her tracks by the boy, who slid in front of her as she tried to step away.

“I don’t think you understand,” He says, narrowing his eyes. “My name is Tajima Yoshiyuki. Both of my parents are full-fledged soul reapers. I’m kind of a big deal around here.” He points his thumb towards his chest and continues.

“I’m gonna be the one carrying on their legacy. In fact, I even plan to surpass them both and become a full-fledged captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.” Yoshiyuki crosses his arms over his chest, closes his eyes and states smugly,

“You don’t just say "no" to me. What have you got to lose? So far, you’re a nobody--AGH--!”

The arrogant man was unable to finish before Toshiro grabbed him by the back of the neck and twisted his arm behind him. He slammed Tajima up against the wooden lockers with a solid ‘THUD’.

“I believe she politely declined your invitation,” Hitsugaya said to him in a low growl, pinning his arm further up against his back to force a sharp 'CRACK' from his bones.

“GAHAA--!” Tajima screams.

“Maybe you should learn how to take a hint!” The silver-haired boy exclaims as he pulls Yoshiyuki back by the collar of his uniform, spins him around, twists to the side to put all his weight on one foot, then pounds his other full force into the already regretful boy’s back, sending him flying into some chairs.

Toshiro is left holding his right fist out in front of him as Yoshiyuki stumbles and slips as he tries to get up onto his feet and finally scurry away.

“Same temper, same old Shiro.” Momo chimes in behind him. His shoulders relax from their tensed state and he glances back at her.

“It’s been a while! Look at how much you’ve grown!” The pig-tailed girl exclaimed.

He turns and before he’s able to reprimand her, she’s practically on top of him, her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He settles on letting her have this one and relaxes in her arms, after all, she did just get harassed by some strange, wolvish student in the hall.

I’ll have to have a chat with the headmaster about Mr. - … what did he say his name was?

Hitsugaya blushes as Momo buries her face into his shoulder.

“Thank you for coming to my rescue, Shiro, although,” Momo begins, as she lifts her head to meet his shining emerald eyes and places a palm on her hip, the other still slung around his shoulder.

“I could have handled him myself.” He smiles ever so slightly back at her.

“I know that, stupid. I just wanted the assholes here to know that you’ve got someone in your corner who isn’t as polite and kind as you manage to be. Don’t get me wrong, Momo, you’re strong, but you’re a pushover, same as always!” He begins to brush her off of him, and Hinamori pouts.

“You can’t let them treat you like that. You’re better than them. You know that. Can’t you feel the energy growing inside you?” He says to her, now holding her shoulders and staring into her chocolate eyes.

Hinamori sighs and nods.

“So… you’re going to be a soul reaper now, huh?” She says as a smirk creeps onto her lips.

“Kinda lame, don’tcha think?” She prods, elbowing him in the ribs. Toshiro crosses his arms and closes his eyes with a hmph.

“Yeah, yeah, I know…” He sighs.

She knows there’s something on his mind, so she waits patiently, even as others pass to get to class. Toshiro continues when all the students flood into their respective classrooms and the hall is vacant save for the two of them. His eyes are cast anywhere but her face to avoid showing emotion.

“Granny wasn’t doing well when I left her.” He admits. Momo’s eyes become wide and filled with worry.

“As it turns out, I’ve been… suffocating her with my… immense spiritual pressure. I wake up every morning and the room is just… coated in a layer of ice... I suppose I didn’t have any other choice than to come here and learn to control the powers inside me.” Hinamori nods, and once again, draws him back into a hug. Normally, he’d resist, but right about now, Hitsugaya realized she was just what he needed.

“You made the right decision.” She tells him before lowering her voice and saying, “I really missed you.” His eyes widened a bit, he had never heard her sound so… wanton. He shakes it off, just happy to be in her orbit once again, and rests his hand on her head, hugging her back.

“Yeah, I guess I kinda missed you too.”

They both chuckle softly, seemingly lost in a world of their own. Toshiro allows her to rest her head against him for a few more moments before slowly taking a step back and taking a hold of her shoulders again. He can tell she’s exhausted, that she’s been training extra hard lately in preparation for their final exams, which, unbeknownst to her, he’d be taking the exams alongside her as a prodigy student who was able to skip a few years due to his raw talent.

“You need to know,” He takes on a more earnest tone.

“If you’re ever in trouble, I’m going to do everything in my ability to help you. I won’t ever leave you alone or let anyone hurt you, okay?” Hitsugaya looks deep into her eyes, a serious and concerned expression on his face. She frowns at him a little and uses her thumbs to try and smooth out his eyebrows.

“Okay… the same goes for you, you know… you’re so serious, Shiro. Lighten up a little.”

I’m sure that’s what you’d tell me right about now.

“Lighten up, Toshiro.”

The things I’d do to hear your voice again… and yet, how am I supposed to face you? I’ve let you down. I wasn’t strong enough to protect you. How can I tell her that her idol and mentor has left for good? And that he is now our sworn enemy?

He walked out of the meeting hall to see Rangiku waiting for him, her back against the wall and her arms crossed over her chest. She looked up when she heard the doors open and her eyes glistened.

“Oh, Captaaaain~What took you so looong~” She sang, skipping towards him.

“Matsumoto,” He started, striding up to her.

“I need your help with something... “ He looked around and spoke to her quietly.

“Are you willing to break some rules?” He asked. Rangiku froze, narrowing her eyes at him. Her captain raised an eyebrow back at her.

“... Well?” He badgered when she didn’t answer.

“You? Break the rules?” Her serious expression couldn’t have held up another five seconds before she started to break down in hysterical laughter. Toshiro rolled his eyes.

“You--AHAHAHAHAHAH, y-you want me… to help YOU--” Before she could finish and incriminate the both of them, he slapped his hand over her mouth. She stopped laughing.

“Come on. Not here.” He said frigidly, flash-stepping out of sight.

Rangiku sighed.

“This damn boy..”

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the second chapter! As always, constructive criticism is never not welcome. Let me know what you all think so far!Sorry the italics are weird, I tried to only italicize one word at a time, but it won't let me! Strange. I know I'm doing this code things right! I think..

#HitsuHina #Toshiro Hitsugaya #Momo Hinamori #Bleach #Bleach Anime #Bleach Manga #fanfic

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rinusagitora · 3 years

Text

Another empty seat in the city of ghosts.

Fandom: BLEACH

Characters: Ichigo Kurosaki, Karin Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Orihime Inoue, Isshin Kurosaki, Kisuke Urahara, Ururu Tsumugiya, Toushirou Hitsugaya, Momo Hinamori

Pairings: HitsuKarin, others not mentioned

Words: 1.5k

Summary: Shinigami!Karin AU. Chapter 8/8. WARNINGS- mentions of suicide, dysfunctional families; Karin has taken her life. What follows is a maelstrom of emotion.

AO3

Karin sat in the corner of her brother's room. She was staring numbly at his silhouette, not at him, but into the distance.

The last couple of days made Karin numb. A blur of resentment, anxiety, and nothingness. Sometimes cyclical, other times concurrent. Was it her suicide driving her mad? Or the waiting? She killed herself to become a shinigami, after all, but Ichigo delayed it in the name of punishment. Like she wasn't in enough pain already.

He sat up around seven in the morning and said, "I'll take you downstairs while I get ready. Orihime is downstairs."

"Like I can't watch myself?" she asked, her lip curling.

"You killed yourself," he replied with an acerbic bite.

"I agreed to stay for the ceremony."

"You say a lot of things you don't mean.

"Like what?" she snapped, glaring at him. "Like I didn't mean I needed help protecting myself against hollows?" Karin was ready to swear, to fucking kick him. Ichigo always ignored her fear, and then blamed her, of all people, when shit hit the fan and she got hurt.

Ichigo replied, "I'm not going to argue with you." He grabbed her by her shoulder and opened his bedroom door. His grip was iron, and Karin grimaced as her collar popped. "Orihime! Are you awake?"

Karin heard Orihime jog up the stairs. When she stopped in front of Ichigo's room, Karin took note of her puffy face. She had to have been crying before. Like it was some great fucking loss that Karin was ready for greener pastures. Like they were friends, to begin with.

"Hi. I hope you slept," she told Karin.

Karin hummed. She was dead. She didn't sleep. She merely told Ichigo, Swatting Orihime's hand away from her own, "I'll see you downstairs."

"Fix your attitude while you're at it!" he called after Karin. She rolled her eyes.

Karin completely ignored Orihime and Rukia downstairs and took to standing in the corner, out of the way and away from the action. She liked it that way.

Ichigo came downstairs a few minutes later, dressed in an ugly suit she hadn't seen in years. He clapped to get everyone's attention. "Let's go. People will start arriving at the wake soon, we best be there before it reaches critical mass."

Karin gravitated to the back of the van. Ichigo sat with her, and she pressed herself as far as she could into the sideboard. She didn't want to be next to him. With him at all. She just wanted to go to the Seireitei, cuddle Toushirou, put the whole thing behind her.

He whispered to Karin a couple of minutes into the ride, "We're gonna stay in the back so you can watch all the people you hurt."

Karin snort. "Ironic, coming from you of all people."

"Guys... stop. Let's just have a quiet ride," Rukia said.

"No," he replied. "What Karin did was the epitome of selfishness. We're not gonna tiptoe around that."

She had enough. Enough of being called selfish, of being ignored. Karin screamed, "The epitome of selfishness? Me? You're the one who refused to teach me how to protect myself against hollows, Ichigo! You left me to the wolves, all of you!"

"That's not fair to us!" he snapped back.

"Fair? You wanna talk about fair?"

"Enough!" Rukia boomed. Karin's chest seized. "Both of you. You're fighting like children. You're adults. Warriors. This is unbecoming of both of you. If I hear anything above a whisper while we're in the goddamn temple, I'm going to choke both of you out!"

Karin followed Ichigo to the back after they came to the temple. She said, "I hate you. All this you're doing is complete bullshit."

"No one else is pointing out what an ass you are, so I gotta."

"Because no one thinks I'm an ass," she spat.

A young woman, unkempt, with a feral aura and a tracksuit, approached them. "I'm here on behalf of the Vizard."

Jinta told her about the Vizard. Shinigami experimented on and transformed into failed hollow experiments. A formidable and respected population due to their power. While half of them were restored as captains in the Gotei, the other half remained in Karakura.

Karin never met them before and hadn't expected a visit from them.

Ichigo smiled and bowed. "Thank you. Your representation means a great deal to our family, Sarugaki."

"Cute," she replied, before turning to Karin. Her heart thumped under Sarugaki's sharp, golden gaze. Karin was reminded of a wolf. "You're a spunky one."

Karin put on a brave face and folded her arms. "What's it to you?"

"Got a good head on your shoulders?"

"No. She killed herself," Ichigo said before Karin reply. She glared at him, but he seemed to ignore her. "Sarugaki, what's this about?"

Hiyori slammed against his mouth. Karin grinned. It was about time.

Sarugaki said, "Well? Do you?"

Karin said after a moment of hesitation,"... in Karakura, where we're hunted, I died by choice. No thug, no hollow, none of that." She frowned then. "I hunted hollows with no training, infrequent help... and won, many times. Enough that I know what I want now."

Hiyori looked Karin up and down before nodding. "You'll do fine, kid."

She smiled. "Thank you." She was genuinely flattered someone with the air of an apex predator thought so highly of her.

As Sarugaki left, Karin asked Ichigo, "A friend?"

"Yes. And comrade. She's competent, but... I pick and choose what to listen to from her."

"From me, too." It was a habit of his. No one's opinion seemed to matter to him.

Kisuke then approached. "Hey there," he said. Karin was grateful he was there. The Urahara part of her few allies. Everyone there was Ichigo's friends. She had no one. "How're you guys holding up?"

"My sister killed herself, so not well," Ichigo said in response.

"I'm right fucking here, asshole," Karin barked.

"I know it's a stressful time for both of you, but I hope you remember how much you love each other," Kisuke said, smiling.

"That's never been enough for her..." Ichigo mumbled.

She again snapped, "Stop talking about me like I'm not here! Everyone here knows about ghosts to some extent, there's no point in trynna be discreet! You're just ignoring me when you're not telling me what to do."

Ichigo folded his arms. "She's been like this for days," he said. Like she was the problem. Karin's eyes watered. She was so fucking frustrated!

Kisuke hugged them. Karin curled in on herself, trying to separate herself from Ichigo to no avail. Why was she so stuck? "Let's be kind for now," Kisuke said. "You're family. We're family. We'll get through this."

Ichigo pat Kisuke's back. "Thanks," he said.

Kisuke took a seat afterward. Ichigo didn't speak. She took the opportunity to.

"They helped every way they could. Perfect strangers, with no obligation to me," Karin said. Her eyes bore into the side of his head. Ichigo didn't look at her. "You did nothing but strand me."

"That's not fair to me. Everything I've done has been to protect you guys," he snarled back.

Ururu approached them. Karin felt sad seeing her. Jinta and Ururu were her best friends. More like family. Karin was sad she was leaving them. All those years of camaraderie down the drain.

She looked at her feet. It was too hard to meet Ururu's eyes.

A minute later, Ururu said, "I love you." And she nodded. She loved Ururu too, and couldn't manage to say it.

Maybe she was a coward. Maybe she was selfish.

She couldn't look up from her shoes during the ceremony. She didn't absorb a word of the ceremony. It was as if her spirit discarded her mind during those periods, and the world wasn't real. Only a film racing past her eyes.

And she knew she was being talked to. By Rukia, by Orihime, by Isshin, but heard none of it, as if they were in the distance.

She and Ichigo were under an aqueduct soon, and it was only when Karin felt Toushirou's reiatsu that she became grounded again.

He was with a woman. Was that Momo, his sister? She was more beautiful than Karin pictured. Despite her small body, she oozed dignity. Experience.

"Thank you for allowing us into your sister's service, Kurosaki-sama," Momo said, bowing.

Ichigo folded his arms. "It wasn't my choice."

Momo smiled. "Nonetheless, I'd like this to be done in an as expeditious manner as possible."

Karin flew to her feet and walked to Toushirou. "Let's go," she said.

Ichigo stopped her with his arm. He emitted resentment and glared at Toushirou. "Hang in. I want him to admit his fault in this."

Her nostrils flared. It was one thing insulting her, but Toushirou was her best friend, her lifeline.

"Jesus Christ!" Karin shrieked. "I killed myself because there's nothing for me here! Toushirou had nothing to fucking do with it."

"Bullshit!" Ichigo argued. "He had to have said something."

"It's your fault I killed myself, alright? It's all your fault! I got tired of getting steamrolled and gaslit by you so I killed myself to get the hell away from you!" Karin ducked his arm and ran over to Toushirou. "I'm going to the Seireitei. I'm becoming a shinigami... It's the only way I'll be happy. Fulfilled." As far away from him as she could be.

Karin clung to Toushirou. She felt his pride, and Ichigo's pain, as they left the World of the Living.

Left behind an existence of despondency.

#bleach #hitsukarin #shinigami karin au #karin kurosaki #ichigo kurosaki #ururu tsumugiya #toshiro hitsugaya #rukia kuchiki #orihime inoue #momo hinamori #isshin kurosaki #kisuke urahara

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bleachbleachbleach · 2 years

Text

Fic: Pygmalion

Okay, so like. This scene. I think it’s bananas that Yamamoto and Sasakibe were just... present for the entire thing? What is this, Soul Society Correctional, LOL. But seriously, I assume the initial report (about Aizen’s future machinations) required the Worm TV because it’s a private line, in ways that Denreishinki aren’t. Private line it may have been, though, this... wasn’t a private conversation. I was curious what this moment would look like to an outsider, and how it would feel to have this conversation with First Division watching.

^^ I mean, look at this! First Division, more like #1 Rubbernecking Division. 😂

Hitsuhina Weekend Day 2, for the prompt “transformation” (BUT VERY LATE). 1600 words.

Read below or Read on AO3.

It's not how these things are done: A written request, furnished by hand. Still, Vice Captain Hinamori waits for Sasakibe to open the letter she has proffered, standing prim and erect and quite certain she will not leave until he's done so. It doesn’t matter how dark the shadows beneath her eyes.

It's not how these things are done because access to the chambers of the Captain-Commander are not granted–at least, not to those below the rank of Captain.

Vice Captain Hinamori has invited herself. The look in her eyes suggests grace, but no apology, as though she understands that they both understand that all of this is mere formality.

He will give her what she wants.

The letter he opens is not in the style of a Gotei 13 missive, nor in the more gaudily poetic stylings of courtly epistles. There is no mention of the seasons, the weather, well-wishes for Sasakibe's health, nor other such sordid requirements. It offers a different sort of imagination.

I write to apply for an occasion to speak with Hitsugaya Toushirou, deployed in Karakura Town with the Advance Team. I've been notified that the Captain Commander will be making contact today on the matter of Captain Aizen's plans. Therefore, I propose to arrive shortly before 5PM and wait until the Captain Commanded has concluded his business. I request the opportunity to then forward my own.

The letter goes on, offering various rhetorical appeals to philosophy, politics, and law. It should be shocking, to receive so direct a request from one such as she, but Sasakibe recognizes the woman before him. A woman marching a pen across her societal shackles, wordplay and finishing school her weapons. She is from the Congreve, the Austen, the Woolf, and Lessing. The Shaw, perhaps. The prefects; the unmarriageable women of marriageable age; the duchesses.

"Where did you learn to speak like this?" Sasakibe asks her, and he watches her stumble.

They'd only been words on the page–less dangerous that way, or less hers. After all, she could never speak to anyone like that, least of all the Captain Commander. Perhaps not even Sasakibe, her equal in rank but over a thousand years her senior. Hinamori is far too young to refuse that gap between them, Sasakibe knows.

She bites her lip.

Then she says, "I learned it from someone." She swallows her misgivings. Asserts, "From a book."

Captain Aizen's library is quite extensive, she explains. All of the books she's read had belonged to him. But she'd been looking to branch out. "Your translations are quite good," she adds.

So she was counting on Sasakibe to recognize her. Well then. It appears Hinamori will get her audience.

To be clear: It is not because she knows his books, brought back with great tenderness and great expense from the Western continents of the Living Realm and housed in the Seireitei's officer's library, only to gather dust for decades, if not centuries. It is not because she has read his translations, reaped the fruits of his long seasons spent working and reworking their English into new idiom (though this is a welcome gratuity). It is not because she, too, may be a true bibliophile–hungry for tales of others, and not the same insipid poetry. Not more sakura, cypress, and chestnuts, year in and year out.

No. It is because she read something in a book–in a fiction–and thought it might apply. Vice Captain Hinamori marched into Sasakibe's office like a character out of a book, making fantasy real and possibility an action. She does not want more of the same.

Sasakibe cannot help but admire that.

–

This audience, of course, is not entirely a kindness. Nothing in this place ever truly is. The fact is, not every Captain within the Gotei 13 has expressed willingness to welcome the adjutants of the defectors back to their stations. Not without assurances. Gradually, Vice Captain Hisagi had been cleared, then Vice Captain Kira. Hinamori remains unproven. Officially, this is surveillance.

For the split-second Captain Hitsugaya's image materializes before their own, he looks nervous. Perhaps feels underdressed, in gigai and a polo, appropriate to Tokyo's fading summer heat but not to the halls of the First Division. His hands are overinterested in the pockets of his very human-styled slacks. But when the static finally gives way to an image of the Captain Commander, Hitsugaya tucks himself away, becomes all business.

He stays that way, all through this talk of Aizen's plans, the fate of 100,000 souls, the war to come. He is a Captain.

The Captain Commander steps aside to reveal Hinamori.

A thousand half-emotions dart across Hitsugaya's face then–minnows in a pond, scattered from their hiding place. Sun glinting. Anguish, concern, a little terror. A nakedness. He is a boy.

The only thing on Hitsugaya's mind is Hinamori, except she can't be. He knows Sasakibe and the Captain Commander are still in the room. Somewhere beyond the focus of the camera, hidden in the shadow and static, they are standing, listening. They will bear witness to all that's spoken here. Nothing is private.

"You're awake," says Hitsugaya, finally. He asks after her health, perfunctory.

He is the letter Hinamori had not sent, all weather and seasons and set phrases. It is almost as though he does not know who to be more careful with, Hinamori or their spectators. Should he be careful, so as not to harm her? Or careful, because they are not alone? What is he supposed to do, or say?

Captain Hitsugaya has nothing to hide, at least insofar as the business of Aizen and Soul Society and the Gotei 13 are concerned. He has no subterfuge to protect. He's already officially expressed his certainty that Hinamori has none, either. This isn't about that. There is only the matter of how much of his heart he should show.

This strikes Sasakibe as an incredibly young dilemma. To have things not yet expressed, emotions not yet known, and all the self-conscious dramas that come with mystery. To need to show, or assure, or promise.

Sasakibe has lived a thousand years and more, and he can no longer imagine anything he would need to tell the Captain Commander. Their bond has long since been written, in the privacy of the past.

Hitsugaya hesitates.

Sasakibe studies him, the furrow of his brow murky in the grain of the picture and its shuddering signal. It's hard to remember what it is to be so young.

In the meantime, Hinamori apologizes so entirely it is as though she is not certain if her remorse will be received, or if it will matter. Perhaps she isn't.

Sasakibe does not know Hinamori well, and perhaps Hitsugaya even less, but he knows devotion when he sees it. It tasks him to imagine that they can't.

(It is so hard to remember–)

"Dumbass," Hitsugaya interjects, having made his choice. They only have a minute, maybe two. He's decided he can't waste it worrying what the First will see in him. He can't waste her.

This room has not heard language such as this in quite some time. Idle chatter to break the tension–puerile, a little vapid. But there's only a handful of a hundred years between them, and all this talk still matters deeply. It matters enough that it no longer matters who is listening to these crass nothings, intended only for two ears and receiving six. That is how much they are still unwritten.

Sasakibe should pity them. The pain they are in, and the messiness of it all. The impossibility of having seen so little of life, of not even knowing what is worth being injured by. To pretend to be so brave. But here is the problem with having lived a thousand years or two: Sasakibe can know, like Hinamori, he does not want more of the same. But he also knows he'll never get it. He knows how he'll die, one day. He knows for whom. But Hinamori will have a new captain one day. Perhaps one day she'll fall in love. Or maybe she'll remain the duchess, but it will not be an act. She will be that proud, that sure. That is all to come.

Hitsugaya's concentration wavers. His gaze flits to the static, as though if he looks hard enough he'll see what lies beyond it. He's remembered time–time not his. This was not meant to be a personal call.

Then Hinamori says, "Can I ask you something?"

–

Sasakibe catches her body as the Captain Commander silences her mouth, her mind, and Hinamori slumps backward, limp as the dead.

She'd come to Sasakibe boldly, as if out of a bildungsroman. Writer of her story. But then, hadn't she been similarly ensorceled by a certain letter? Perhaps Hinamori is happy to become whatever has been written.

The screen catches Hitsugaya, crestfallen.

–

--about Captain Aizen?

–

She will be made and–

(she is in Hitsugaya's arms)

–unmade.

(This is a letter in Aizen's hand.)

–

"Hinamori says thank you for the books," Hitsugaya tells him.

This is the only time Hitsugaya and Sasakibe have ever spoken.

Hitsugaya came from 12th to 1st to carry this message, and all for someone else's vice captain. He has two books in hand; the others, she must still be reading. Perhaps he has other business here, though Sasakibe suspects he does not. Hinamori is a singular woman.

"Is she well?" Sasakibe asks, taking the books.

Hitsugaya studies him. "She's Hinamori," he says eventually. Sasakibe knows neither of them well enough to know if this is yes, or no, or maybe. He knows Hitsugaya has made a choice to offer nothing more.

"Of course," says Sasakibe.

There is nothing greater than to be as yet unwritten.

#sasakibe choujirou #hinamori momo #hitsugaya toushirou #advance team arc #hinamori is the only one who's read Sasakibe's translations of British Literature 1700-1919 and she knows it #bleach fanfic #hitsuhina weekend #belatedly

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rays-of-fire-and-ice · 2 years

Note

Happy anniversary and 1000+ followers!!! I would love to hear more about what it was like for Shinji and Hinamori settling into/creating a new version of the 5th Division together, after over a year of post-Aizen interim. (Maybe bonus Genji reference??) **Also, if you would like to do a trade I would be happy to see what I can do with a prompt, too! :D

As Months Go By, As Seasons Change - Part I

Rating: K+/Teen

Setting: the 17 months between the end of the Fake Karakura Town arc and the beginning of the Lost Agent arc.

Synopsis: Momo resumes her duties as lieutenant, Shinji returns to a role he was forced out of long ago. Both of them are not who they used to be, and neither is the division they must work together to rebuild.

AN: I finally get to write a fic for this brotp, and it shows! I didn't realise I had a lot to write about them until I started and just kept going and going and going, and now I have one of the longest fics I've ever written. Because of this, I decided this needed to be split in two, so here's part one with part two hopefully coming soon.

I decided to skip retelling their first meeting and other parts involving them from Death Save the Strawberry, but for context’s sake you can go read about it over at BLEACH’s wiki if you’re not familiar with it. Also, a some notes before we begin:

Genji, the Fifth Division’s third seat, only appears in ‘We do KNOT Always Love You’, so there isn’t much to go off about his character in terms of personality and how long he’s been with Fifth Division. We do know he graduated the same year as Izuru and was not in the same class as he, Renji, and Hinamori. In this fic, I’ll be writing him as someone who has served in Fifth for about five decades and he and Hinamori are good work-friends.

While Shinji kept his distance from Aizen 110 years ago, I don’t think this was the case for the rest of the division. He wasn’t friends with everyone or anything, but he got on well with his subordinates and had a genuine care for them and wanted the division to be a friendly place.

If you’re curious, the vinyl Genji pulls out is here (middle bottom row) and you can take a listen to it here. I imagine Shinji would be into a wide range of jazz music (from blues to fusion to soul) across the decades and not just from Japanese musicians and artists.

The plants talked about are Japanese maple trees (momiji), lily of the valley (suzuran), Japanese buttercups (Umanoahigata) and irises (Ayame). The meaning Aizen spouts for the latter I got from my [limited] research into Hanakotoba, the Japanese flower language.

This ended up feeling like three one-shots and a bunch of random moments all rolled into one, so sorry if the pacing is off.

With all of that out of the way, @whipplefilter, I hope this was worth the wait, that I did these two justice, and that you enjoy this!

Edit: you can read part 2 here.

________________________

Hinamori looks at the folded shihakusho on her bedside table. After a pause, she runs her hand over the obi that lay on top. She remembers how to tie it around her waist, like a reflex and without a second thought. It's irrational, but she's relieved she can still recall how to put on her uniform.

However, looking at her reflection in the window, dressed in the hospital robes with her hair tied over one shoulder, doubt creeps in again. She can put on a uniform just fine, but that didn’t mean she could do everything else. How can she wonder around the barracks and act as if nothing happened? What if she’s only reminded of Captain Aizen?

She cringes at the thought of him. Maybe this really was a mistake after all.

She shakes her head. No, everyone’s waiting for me. I can’t let them down.

It’s this thought that motivates her to dress out of her hospital robes and into her uniform. She thinks about Genji and the rest of the Fifth Division, about the other lieutenants and her friends in other divisions, about the Junrinan, and, with some hesitation, Hitsugaya. Finally, after she has completely changed into the shihakusho, she thinks about the new captain.

The chat they had a few days ago, it sparked something in her. Even if she had tried to, nothing she or anyone else could have said or done would have put the flames out. Shinji Hirako spoke of those waiting for her – correcting her in saying they hadn’t left or abandoned her, that they were waiting – and of how highly regarded she is among every Fifth Division members and other lieutenants.

She tries to imagine the reaction his appointment to captain must have gotten amongst the division. The older members probably knew him from over a hundred years ago. What must have they thought when they realised he hadn’t died or abandoned the Gotei Thirteen? The newer ones must have been irked or worried, some probably not even having heard of this man. As far as they’re concerned he’s new, someone who hadn’t been in touch with the Fifth Division let alone the Soul Society for decades. He’d come from the World of Living and didn’t have to do much to become a captain again.

And he was becoming their captain in a time when they’re all reeling from the lies they’ve been living under. Regardless of whether they were old or new, she imagined almost everyone in his division wouldn’t be too trusting of him right away. He would’ve had to earn just the most basic trust in the last week, who knew how long it would take before they could all trust him completely.

But then, did she trust him?

She is not her old self and never would be. She is not so far gone that she distrusts every new person she meets, and she was never so naïve as to believe everyone was good to their core; but now she knew just how cruel people could be, especially those who never showed their true weaknesses. Her life before Aizen’s betrayal had felt like a fantasy, carefully crafted for her to always be content and not question a thing about the world she lived in. She’d been blinded by him, and even now she criticizes herself, tries to understand how she never once thought to look for a fault in him.

Even so, with a longing that made her want to get back into her hospital bed and pretend she never recovered, she wanted to go back to that life. To live under an illusion she was familiar with, where life seemed so idyllic.

She bites the inside of her mouth, hard. Again she needs to remind herself: that life is gone now, and she’ll try to face whatever life she lives in now.

“Hinamori-san, are you ready?”

The question from behind the door startles her. “Oh, um…”

She quickly resumes folding up her hospital robes and then gathering the few things she has on the bedside table. “Yes, Kotetsu-san!” she says without stopping.

The door slides open, and when she looks over her shoulder, there stands Isane, her smile now not one of pity or sympathy. The lieutenant steps in and then to the side of the door. “If you’re ready to go, Captain Hirako is here.”

Before Hinamori can say anything and as if on cue, the new captain walks in. His smile is toothy and wide, and she gets the distinct impression it’s how he naturally smiles despite how strange it seems.

But that isn’t what gives her pause. Up until now she’d only seen him in two outfits: the World of the Living clothing when they first met, and then a few days later in a shihakusho before he went to his captain ceremony. She stares at his haori for longer than the necessary; it’s almost alien to her, as if it were one of the articles of clothing from the World of the Living he wore.

“Why do you look so surprised?” he asks, then gestures to the doorway. “You ready to go?”

Hinamori straightens and tilts her head to one side. She’d thought she would pack her things and make her own way back, getting a send-off from Isane at the Fourth Division’s entrance at most, but otherwise just slowly making her way back to the division.

But here Shinji is, ready to walk her back, to accompany her on what felt like a long road back. Of course he is, all the captains generally do so when their lieutenants are about to be discharged from Fourth Division.

Somehow though, she gets the sense this isn’t just out of obligation either. He seems genuinely happy to see her, and now it’s infectious because she’s a little happy to see him too. He's a little rough around the edges, but he’d been kind to her.

“Yes,” she says when she realises he’s waiting for a response. “I’m ready to go, Captain.”

It takes her far too much effort to get the title out, and if the way his smile falls is any indication, he can tell. She’s told herself repeatedly that this man will be her new captain, but somehow the title still hasn’t stuck to him in her mind yet.

However, his smile hadn’t gone entirely; it’s close-lipped and smaller, but no less genuine. As he closes the gap between them, he reaches into his left sleeve. “Well, actually, you’re almost ready to go.”

She frowns at that. “What do you mean?” She looks to Isane, who still stands at the door. “Did I forget something?”

Isane shakes her head with a knowing look. “You’ve signed all the paperwork you needed to.”

When she turns back to the captain, he pulls out something from his sleeve and holds it out to her. “Here.”

Hinamori blinks down at the lieutenant’s badge, as it’s the first time she’s ever been presented with it. Swallowing against the tightness building in her throat, she slowly takes it in both hands. She can’t look up, her head suddenly too heavy to lift. She presses her lips together and blinks against the threat of tears.

She’s really going back to the Fifth Division. Not just as a subordinate, but as it’s lieutenant.

It’s been months since she last walked in the hallways she knew like the back of her hand or slept in her quarters or tended the gardens in the courtyards or ate with her subordinates in the mess hall or sat on one of the verandas and did her paperwork on sunny days. None of it would be the same. She wasn’t the same.

She thinks to ask Shinji if he’s truly certain about this, that he really wanted her back on as lieutenant of the Fifth Division, but what she holds in her hands is answer enough. “Thank you.”

______________________________

Shinji watches her from the other side of the rambunctious hall. She gives everyone around her a startled smile, trying to talk to all of them at once while colour rushes up into her cheeks. She’d been stunned when he slid the door open for her and a chorus of cheers erupted from within. For a moment he thought she’d faint – it was probably too much considering she’d only just recovered – but she surprised him when tears welled up again and she smiled widely and bowed, thanking everyone.

Everyone wanted to see her, to quickly speak with her before she went to her quarters, but they also knew to give her space and wait for her to come to them.

He hates how it reminds him of Aizen. Was it the way his subordinates just gravitated to her? He got the impression that even if this wasn’t a welcome back celebration they’d still go to her, smile at her and greet her as she walked by.

No, it wasn’t just that. Maybe he still can’t get over what the other lieutenants and his division members had said about her. She was a hard worker, punctual, kind, compassionate, and she’d eventually gotten the moniker of ‘Tiger of Paperwork’. The latter brought the slightest smile back, but the other things, they hit a bit too close to home. She isn’t Aizen, he knows that, but he knows just how influential he was one her. Had he changed her from how she used to be? Was it a result of that blinding admiration she and others spoke about, or was she always like this?

“Sir?”

Shinji turns to Genji Isawa, his third seat. “Ah, sorry, spaced out there. You need something, Isawa?”

Genji shakes his head. “Nothing major. Just letting you know I’ve got everything ready for tomorrow.”

Shinji steps away from the wall he'd been leaning back on. “Good. My meeting shouldn’t take too long, but if you finish early, don't feel the need to wait for me. You should get to the training afterwards.”

“Of course.” Genji watches his lieutenant talk with everyone, his smile widening. “It’s good to see her in high spirits. While I visited her in the Fourth Division, I could tell she was trying to save face. There was a time when…” His smile falters. He looks back to Shinji, who’s a little caught off guard by how candid his third seat was being. “Sir, I’ve never thanked you for helping Lieutenant Hinamori.”

Shinji tries to wave it off. “Nah, it was nothing. She’s a strong one, you know?”

“She is, but it was because of you she got out of Fourth Division and is still our lieutenant. Whatever you said to her, it’s brought her back here.” As if realizing how impassioned he sounds, Genji pauses and bows his head. “Forgive me, Captain. I’ve known the Lieutenant for decades, and I and everyone else have been concerned for her. As you’re aware, when Captain Ai…When Aizen betrayed us, she took it the hardest out of all of us.” He raises his head. “We didn’t want to lose her, so thank you for choosing to reappoint her as our lieutenant.”

Shinji watches her again. Yes, in small aspects she reminds him of Aizen, but…

“I understand. Fifth Division’s always been a pretty chummy place, hasn’t it?” His smile gets a little wider. “At least she kept that going while I was gone.”

______________________________

Stepping back into her old room had been one thing, but stepping back into the office is something else entirely. At least in her room, Hinamori knew nothing was likely to be moved or touched, and if she cried no one would see her get emotional. Even though she returned to it far different than who she was before, she could call it her own space and knew what to expect. She knew to avoid looking at the upper shelves of her bookcase where she kept her sketchbooks and the few novels Aizen had gifted her, and she knew that she wouldn’t sleep well on her first night back, even surrounded by the things that had no memories attached to him.

This office, changed or no, it will surely make her remember the times before. She’ll either long for the way the office used to be, or wish the new captain had changed the setup, or maybe she’ll react in a way that even she can’t predict. She wishes she had Renji’s resilience, that attitude he used to exude at the Academy: sometimes you’ve got to do it, even if it’s painful. But isn't that what she's trying to do now?

With a trembling hand, she reaches out and clutches the handle.

“Lieutenant.”

Hinamori twists to her right. Genji approaches, his strides purposeful and wide as his smile. Despite the nerves thrumming through her, she can’t help but smile back. “Good morning, Isawa-kun.”

“I thought you’d still be in the mess hall,” he says, coming to a stop in front of the office doors. “I was going to set everything up before you came.”

“Ah, well, I didn’t think I should stay too long.” She gestures to the stack of documents he carries under his arm. “You must have a lot to update me on.”

His smile falls and a concerned frown takes its place. “It would have been fine if you wanted to talk with everyone for a little while longer.”

Hinamori raises her hands defensively. “Oh, don’t get me wrong! It was great to eat breakfast with everyone, I really enjoyed talking with them and finding out what’s been happening around here.” She sighs, lowering her hands. “But while talking with everyone, it just made me want to get back to my duties all the more. Our division…it’s going to be different from now on, whether we like it or not, and I need to know where things stand for us.”

Genji nods. “It’s true. Must admit, it’s taken some getting used to with Captain Hirako.”

Hinamori chews on the inside of her lip. Then, after some hesitation. “How do you find him?”

“The Captain?” Genji raises a brow and his gaze in thought. “I think he’s a good man. He’s not like Capt – Aizen.” The effect the name has passes between for a moment before the third seat continues. “He’s got some interesting…interests. I think that’s mainly a result of his time in the World of the Living. This morning he was wearing something called a 'tie' around his neck, you’ll probably see him wearing it when he comes back.

“I’m sure you’ve seen while speaking him that he gets to the point. It might come across as blunt, but he means well. It also helps he already knows what the role entails, so he doesn’t have to brought up to speed.” He chuckles weakly. “Must admit, I thought because of how long he had been in the World of the Living, he’d have forgotten. He showed me, that's for sure.”

Hinamori only nods in response, unsure how to react to Genji’s observations. So far, it matched with her own experiences with him, right down to his strange choice in clothes from the World of the Living.

He grins. “I knew for sure he was a good person when he reinstated you as lieutenant. There’s no one else who can do this job better than you.”

That tugs at her heart. “A-And you thought I could? Even when I was bedridden?”

“We all did. We just knew you had to take your time, but whenever you came around, we’d all be there to help you and each other. It’s the Fifth Division way, right?”

She looks at her third seat, really looks at him for the first time in a while. She’s worked with him for decades; no one is as fast as he is in combat and he’s a diligent worker when it comes to the desk job side of things. She knew only bits and pieces of his personal life: he came from one of the higher districts in the south, has two adoptive parents and a younger brother he looks after and visits on days off, and he likes spicy foods. She knows he took over her duties – writing reports, going to lieutenant meetings, overseeing training – but he would have had to take over some captain duties too. A lot had been put on his shoulders, and despite the faintest bags under his eyes and his shoulders not being as pushed back as they normally are, he still manages to smile and carry on like his usual optimistic self.

Hinamori fixes him with a solemn gaze. “You’ve done a lot for the division, Isawa-kun. More than a third seat should ever do.” She bows her head. “I’ll never forget it, and I will make it up to you and everyone else. I promise I will work hard to show your belief in me wasn’t wasted.”

“Ah, that’s not necessary!”

She straightens. “Things are going to be different from now on, but you’ve kept the division’s spirit going through this time. You made sure that didn’t change.” She thinks to apologies, but somehow, despite the guilt welled up in her, it doesn’t feel right. No, instead she finds herself saying, “Thank you, Isawa-kun.”

Genji stands a little taller; then after a beat, he bows. “Welcome back, Lieutenant. It is truly good to have you back with us.”

She smiles in return, and somehow manages to stop yet another barrage of emotions from surfacing as tears. “And it’s good to be back.” She glances back at the office door. “We should get started with the updates you need to give me.”

“Yes, of course. It won’t take too long I hope. I need to oversee the flash-step training.”

Her smile widens at that. “Still the fastest in the division, then?”

“I have a reputation to keep!” he says with a laugh, and Hinamori join ins. If there was anyone who could keep the division buoyant during these troubling times without leadership, it’s Genji with his infectious smiles and laughs.

But the laughter dies down and there’s a pause. Hinamori realises he’s waiting for her to open the door. She takes in a breath, holds it for a second longer, and as she breathes out as quietly and naturally as she can, slides the door aside.

Genji walks past her while she is stunned, unable to move.

“I probably should have warned you,” he says ruefully, back still turned to her as he goes to the captain’s desk. “Captain Hirako rearranging the office a little. I made your desk stay where it was, I wasn’t sure if you wanted it changed or not.”

Hinamori stares into the office not with anxiety or dread or guilt, but in bewilderment.

As Genji had said, her desk remained - save for the fresh flowers in the small vase she kept in the right-hand corner – but the captain’s desk was no longer opposite hers on the left side of the room. It’s now close to the back wall with all sorts of strange accoutrements and objects along the front, and next it is a strange box on a stand with a wheel at the end of each leg. Behind the desk are the two bookcases which are mostly stocked with tomes of Soul Society laws and division records.

She points to the glossy, colourful assortment of whatever lines the middle shelf of one bookcase. “What…are those?” But before Genji could provide an answer, she also points at the box next to the captain’s desk. “And what’s that?”

“Those are Captain Hirako’s.” Genji sets the documents aside on the captain’s desk, goes to the closest bookcase, and pulls out one of the things from a shelf. “He calls them 'vinyls', or 'records' sometimes. They have music on them.” From what Hinamori realises is a cover, Genji pulls out a large disc. “Apparently the older members remember these from when he was captain a century years ago. I don’t really know how to set it up, but he plays it using the record player over there. You’ll see him do it at some point. He brought all of these with him from the World of the Living.”

Hinamori looks between the vinyl record and its cover. The latter had a strange red and blue visual, it almost reminds her of the inside of the Twelfth Division’s labs. On the left side it reads ‘Made Up City - Casiopea’. She purses her lips. “He plays music while he works?”

Genji slips the vinyl record back into its cover and puts it back on the shelf. “Not all the time, but he does seem to like it every now then.” Genji chuckles. “It’s strange music if you ask me, I don’t really understand it. You can talk to him if you don’t want to have music playing, he seems to be relaxed about it.” He throws an arm around the room. “I think he’d even be open to changing anything here if you wanted.”

Hinamori nods slowly. He didn’t sound like he was strict or wanted things a certain way without argument. Even when she talked with him for the first time, she got that sense about him. Even so, perhaps this was going to be harder than she thought. She prefers quiet while working, but it seems the new captain liked background noise – or music, in his case.

“I’ll talk with him when he’s done with his meeting.” She conjures up what she hopes is a convincing smile. “In the meantime, we should get to your updates and notes.”

They sit at her desk and Genji shows her everything he wrote at the lieutenants meetings he attended, the updates from the districts they oversaw in the Rukongai and the regions in the World of the Living under their protection, and the finances and admin of the division.

At some point, Hinamori’s mind, and eventually her gaze drift to the bookcases. Aizen never kept many things in the office, but he did have three things on the shelf the vinyls currently occupy: a small stack of the latest books he was planning to read, a digital clock from the Twelfth Division, and a vase, identical to the one she has. The latter had been a gift from her back in the early days of being appointed a lieutenant. She’d had some girlish hope that he’d put on his desk, just as she was going to do with hers. She pushed down and denied her disappointment when she saw him put it on the shelf instead. After that, he only ever looked at it when she was putting new flowers in it.

Who had removed his things? When had they removed them? Were they in storage? Thrown away? Broken to pieces or burned to ashes?

Maybe serving under Aizen all these decade has given her enough practice on how to bury things that would harm her gilded image of him, or maybe she was sick and a tired of receiving pity when she was emotional. Regardless, when she focuses back on Genji, she doesn’t know how she manages to keep the smile in place when the familiar ache in her chest flares to life and the backs of her eyes burn with the threat of tears, but she does.

______________________________

After Genji had left to oversee flash-step training, Hinamori decides to wait for Shinj in the courtyard outside the office. It’s one of the smaller courtyards on their premises, meant for division members to come and rest for a little while amongst the trees and flowers, or for them to wait in before they’re called into the office.

Hinamori comes down the steps and slows to a stop on the path that winds through most of the garden. She can’t quite put her finger on what had changed at first. The shrubs are just as she remembered, rounded and trimmed, as are the momiji, one taller than the other and casting shade over a corner of the veranda that surrounded the courtyard. The patches of suzuran that are scattered on either side of the path sway to and fro in the spring breeze. The other flowers do too, and that’s when it hits her.

There had only been small lines of them dotted along one side of the path, but the ayame is gone.

Footsteps stop her train of thought, and she looks up in time to see Shinji walking around the corner on the second-floor balcony of the smaller barracks. He was studying something she couldn’t see, and he wore something white - perhaps the 'tie' Genji mentioned - around his neck.

Taking a breath to settle herself, she waves at him and forces out, “Captain!”

Shinji raises his head and tucks whatever he holds into his sleeve. “Hey!" he shouts with a wave. "Stay there.”

He gives the balcony railing a look that Hinamori knows all too well, but then steps away and heads to the stairs in the corridor between the two barracks. It doesn’t surprise her that Shinji is someone who would contemplate whether he should take the long way down or just jump over the railing and get to the ground floor quicker. She’d seen Renji, Hisagi, and many others have the same expression, and many of them jumped if there wasn’t a captain or lieutenant around to catch them.

She keeps to the unspoken rule: unless it’s an emergency, while in combat, or it’s wartime, all Shinigami must refrain from jumping from balconies, on to or from rooftops, and from the walls that surrounded the Seireitei when the gates were brought down. It didn’t mean she hadn’t done it herself though – a small memory of her rushing to meeting, jumping from balcony to balcony, just to make it a few minutes early. The fact such a rule had been created and is quietly enforced was a little funny to her now that she thought about it.

“What’re you smiling about?”

Hinamori blinks at the approaching captain, not realising he’d already made it down. “Nothing, Captain.”

Shinji steps down into the garden and crosses over to her. “Sorry to keep you waiting, I was chatting with the new captains. How did it go with Isawa? He bring you up to date with everything?”

He doesn’t stop, instead going past her and up the steps. Was she to follow him? “Yes, I think I’, across everything ,” she says, taking a few tentative steps after him.

“Good.” He stops on the veranda and turns to her, causing her to stop in her tracks. “Anything you want to go over right now or can it wait until later?”

Hinamori cocks her head to one side. “Was there something else you needed to do?”

“Nah, just wondering if you wanted to talk about it after lunch.”

He’s quite causal, she realises, not just in how he speaks but his approach to work too. He's not strict, but he doesn't seem to have a structured approach either. She tries to breathe out the unease that jitters through her. How can she make this work? “Not everything, but…could we go over the finances and concerning district reports after a short break?”

He nods. “Yeah, they’re good places to start.” She thinks he's about to turn back into the office, but instead he looks out into the courtyard. Something she can’t name passes through his eyes, and after a beat he sits on the veranda’s edge. “Must admit, it’s different from how I remember. Used to be a lot less plants and those trees were a lot shorter. It’s not bad though.”

She too turns back to the garden. “When I started, there were a few plants, like the suzuran. Over time we just kept adding more plants.” Then before she can stop herself. “There used to be ayame too.”

She heard the melancholy in her own voice, and she knows Shinji did too when he turns to her with a frown. “Yeah? What happened to them?”

She shrugs stiffly. “I’m not sure. I think someone dug them up because… they were Captain Aizen’s favourite.”

She expects a silence to hang over the garden, and for her and Shinji to quietly contemplate, but the captain sniffs as his frown deepens. “That bastard had a favourite flower?”

Hinamori whips around, her mouth agape, but Shinji isn’t facing her to see it.

“If that even was his favourite,” he continues with a snort. “Thought he’d go for something more regal or something with a double meaning, knowing the way he worked.” He finally sees her reaction and chuckles nervously. “Hey, what’s with the look?”

“I-I, uh…” How is able to talk about him like that? Without an ounce of sorrow or anger. He’s nonchalant, calm, even able to insult him without an ounce of misery or vitriol. She turns away from him and sits on the steps. “I guess I just didn’t expect you to say that.”

The awkward silence she’d expected before now passes between them. Was he able to speak about Aizen like this because it’d been over a hundred years ago? He had time to think about it, to let it pass. But then she remembers what she was told about the battle, about how the captain almost lost one of his friends – Hiyori, she remembers - to Aizen. Although Hiyori is still alive, she wouldn’t blame him for holding some anger towards Aizen, but the way he spoke just now, it's as if he feels only slightly annoyed.

She tries to look at the captain, but struggles to even lift her gaze from the ground. She can’t just keep sitting here like this, she needs to go over those updates with him and to make this new partnership work. How can she make the latter work though? It feels like they’re from different worlds.

“Hey, listen, if you’re not a fan of the office the way it is, we can discuss it, you know?”

Hinamori’s eyes widen. “Huh?”

“Isawa came to me before. He left training for a bit and told me you were shocked when you saw it.” Shinji sighs. “Look, I probably shouldn’t have just changed it all on you like that before you came back. I got carried away with it. It’s your workspace too, so you obviously get a say in how it should be.”

“It’s not that,” she's too quick to answer. She sighs through her nose. “More than that, I was just surprised. I thought everything would be the same as before.” She looks out into the gardens. “That was a silly of me. Time passed while I was in Fourth Division, but I think it’s only hitting me now just how much. Besides, it’s…It’s your desk. Why would I have say over where it goes?”

Shinji shrugs. “Maybe you have a point, it’s the captain’s desk. I arranged it that way because it’s what I’m used to, back when I was doing my first stint at this job.” He grins. “Maybe I could use a change too, you know? Like I said, you’re working in there too, so if you wanted your desk where mine is or somewhere else, do it. We’ll arrange it whatever way works.”

Why is he going out of his way to be accommodating? Is he always this relaxed? Did he pity her?

No, he doesn’t. From the moment she met him, he never pitied her. Somehow, he believes in her.

He didn’t choose one of his friends from the World of the Living to be his lieutenant or one of the other seated officer in Fifth Division; after just one conversation, he wanted her to come back as his lieutenant.

It’s then a few memories surface, of times when Aizen gave her choices, more smaller ones with no consequence to the division. It was while recovering she thought back on such memories, on how he presented her with choices. He always had a way with words:

“What do you think we should plant, Hinamori-kun?”

“Oh, um…maybe umanoahigata? I’ve seen them in the Junrinan forests and they’re a really sweet. They’d look nice next to the suzuran”

“Ah, I think I know which flower you’re talking about. They are beautiful…I was thinking ayame would be a good choice too. Correct me if I’m wrong, but they can convey ‘good tidings’ and ‘loyalty’, can they not? I think it’s something we’d want for the division, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course. If that’s the case, then…let’s plant those!”

No, she realises, Shinji isn’t going out of his way at all.

She swallows against the tightness in her throat and manages a tepid smile. “I don’t mind the layout of the office, really. I-I must admit, I like to work in silence, but…The music you listen to, what’s it like?”

The captain grins widely and stands. “Come on, I’ll show ya!”

_______________________________

Her new haircut caught Shinji off guard at first. They’d only known each other for nearly two weeks now, but he was used to seeing her with her hair in a ponytail and resting on her shoulder.

His surprise must have shown because Hinamori had brought a hand up tentatively touches the ends of her much shorter hair, explaining, “My hair was getting too long, and I thought it would be a nice change to have something shorter.”

He couldn’t help himself; he’d turned his head up and to the side and flicked his hair. “Did I provide you with some inspiration?” he’d teased.

She gave a nervous laugh and dismissed his question. He could see the indignation that wanted to bubble up from her, but she kept it in. She’s polite and someone who doesn’t want to offend others. However, he got the feeling she wasn’t always like this, that she had a more expressive side to her. He’d already seen some of it, if her reaction to him asking if Aizen really had a favourite flower was any indication.

His only concern was whether this politeness was something she’d always had or was something Aizen fostered in her. He shakes his head, leaving that train of thought for later.

Now they walk from the mess hall to the main office. It’d become a small routine for them. He’s a late riser, always waking up after hitting the snooze button several times. It meant he had to rush breakfast – if he even remembered to have it in the first place - and then saunter his way down to the mess hall, where Hinamori – an early riser he understood very quickly – would eat with their subordinates. He’d stroll in, usually when she was done, and then they’d head to the office.

“So today I’m thinking we could do a bit of cleaning,” he says when he slides the office door open. “Think we need a bit more space and not as much old stuff.”

“What do you mean?” she asks.

He gestures to the bookcases. “I’m thinking we don’t need records dating back to a hundred years ago. I thought stuff from forty years ago onwards should suffice. Besides, most things have basically been the same for the last hundred years.”

“Oh.”

“What? Surprised that I actually read through these?” he teases with a grin. “They’re dry as wallpaper but a captain’s gotta get up to date with everything.”

Hinamori shakes her head vigorously. “No, that’s not it.” She lightly steps into the room, as if afraid she will make the floorboard creak. “What exactly are you referring to when you say ‘most things’?”

He walks around his desk to the tomes. “Standard lower rank orientation and schedules, procedures for dealing with Hollows attacks in the different districts, rotations for seated officers patrolling the districts and World of the Living, basically everything. Must admit, I didn’t read every volume, but that’s only because it was all pretty standard and the same for several decades.” He scoffs. “Hardly surprising it’s barely changed through, Seireitei is always slow to change things…unless Twelfth Division comes up with some new gizmo that gets the higher ups all huffed up, or someone really crosses Central Forty-Six. Every division has the same protocols with some variation or flair of their own, right? Well, except for Fourth and Twelfth…maybe Eleventh, if those guys even know what the word ‘protocol’ means.”

“Is there something wrong with what’s been set in place?”

The question practically burst out of her, as if she’d been struggling to keep it in as he spoke. He can’t tell if she’s nervous about either him critiquing something she came up with or if he wants to dramatically change something that’s set in place.

He takes out a tome, one dated from twenty years ago and opens it, skimming through. “I ain’t saying there is or that we need to upend everything. What you did wasn’t bad. In fact, it’s been effective, especially when it comes to subordinates’ morale and our relations with Souls in the Rukongai.” He stops when a heading catches his eye. “However, sometimes things need a bit of shake up. You strike me as someone who’s a stickler for the rules and the established, but doing the same thing for a while can become stale, yeah?”

He turns to her, watches as a frown catches in her brow and she considers his words. She hooks her hair on the left side of her face behind her ear. “I agree change is needed, but only when something is not being as effective as it used to be.” She goes over to him. “You’ll see we’ve made smaller changes along the way, particularly in the rotations of officers on duty and how barracks duties are designated. Captain Aizen thought…”

Not for the first time, Shinji has to resist the urge to apologise to her - for not seeing through Aizen and stopping him when he could, for using Sakanade on her at the battle, and for being partly responsible for how the division is now. Her eyes and shoulders are downcast, and the tone of her voice when she says his name and former title, with melancholy and a longing for what was, it reminds him of why he hates that bastard as much as he does. He shirks the emotions to deal with later.

“Yeah, I did notice, and those were good changes too.” He lays the tome on his desk and points to a section. “Like I said, I’m not looking to undo your good work or change everything. A change in certain protocols and routines is something subordinates expect when a new captain takes charge. While I was a seated officer, I went through two different captains. They each changed things up when they started, and then when I became captain for the first time, I changed things too. Now granted, you’ve only worked for the same captain this whole time, so not much was gonna change and it shows in the records.

"Then there was your concerns from the other day about reorientating yourself and realising time had passed while you were recovering. I can understand being apprehensive to change what you’ve known for that long of a time.” He doesn’t say it aloud, but he wouldn’t be surprised if Aizen having more or less the same routines in place the whole time he was captain was somehow part of his plan too. It made everyone comfortable, make them think nothing needed to be changed and that Aizen knew best. He’d done well in picking Hinamori as lieutenant; she’d work hard to maintain things as he wanted and keep the harmony in the division.

Hinamori looks down at the tome. “I think I understand.”

Shinji waits as different emotions war across her face: uncertainty, longing, regret, acceptance. She keeps her head bowed as she speaks. “When Captain Shiiba went missing and Hitsu – I mean, Captain Hitsugaya was appointed, Rangiku-san told me about changes that were going to be made in their division. It was based on things they both saw needed to be changed, things that Captain Shiiba didn’t see or didn’t work on changing at the time. They were small things mostly, tweaks I guess you could say. There were a few big changes though too, like the conversion of a courtyard into a training ground.”

She looks at him, and he’s almost taken aback by the determination set in her eyes. “We’re not the same division we used to be, and you think we need to show this through changing things in certain areas. If that’s the case and you’re not looking to rewrite every protocol and I can have a say in it, then…I agree. We can’t do it all at once though, it might not sit well with the others.”

He’d only known for less than two weeks, had met her when she was at her most vulnerable, and she’d only been back at the job for just over a week. He doesn’t know where this sense of pride in her comes from, but he allows it make him grin. “You got it. Glad we’re on the same page.” Then, half-jokingly. “And what’d take me for? I wasn’t going to make all the changes at once, of course. With the way things are, it’d be a bad move.”

Her knowing gaze tells him the way their subordinates regard and treat him hasn’t escaped her either. Like this morning when they were on their way to the office, he didn’t miss the way others greet them, some smiling and bowing as they pass by, other only focusing on Hinamori and barely casting their eyes to meet his.

Trust is always the hardest part, especially after what Aizen did. He knows the distrust doesn’t come from a fear of betrayal or deceit, but from suddenly showing up again, the rumors that had spread about his Hollow powers, and the cynicism of some who think things can’t go back to how they were.

“So, I’m thinking big speeches and good sentiments can only get me so far. I’m going to have to do this the old-fashioned way and do a bit of showing off. It’ll be the same with Captain Otoribashi. You reckon you could write up a training proposal to Third Division?”

It takes a moment, but it dawns on Hinamori what he means. “Yes, I can do that.”

_______________________________

Hinamori knows people have different ways of expressing themselves. The first to come to mind are Rangiku with her scarf and necklace, then Renji with the bandanas and goggles. She did it herself, with the new clip keeping the hair off the left side of her face.

However, when it comes to her captain’s new fringe, she can’t tell.

Had he tried to cut it himself and failed? Had he gone to the barber and suddenly moved, resulting in the scissors chopping off his hair at an awkward angle? If that were the case, she can understand why he wouldn't want to correct it; one side was so short cutting the rest to match that length would make his hair look even stranger.

Hinamori leaves the office and heads over to Fifth Division’s main entrance, where Shinji is waiting for her. Just like before, she tries not to stare at his hair - what if it had been an accident? She knows she wouldn’t want everyone staring at her. “I have the proposal, sir.”

Shinji nods and brushes his forehead, his asymmetrical fringe slowly falling over hand. “It’s starting to get hot out here. Let’s head over.”

Hinamori almost lets her mouth fall open as the realisation hits her. It’s been three weeks since they first started working together, she knows his sense of style can be eccentric, but this haircut was by choice…

What she can’t tell if he wants her to comment on it or tease her because he knows she thinks it was an accident. Instead, she spins on her heel and starts to walk away. “Yes, let’s go!”

She says nothing, and Shinji continues to grin all the way to Third Division.

________________________________

Shinji doesn’t let go of Genji until he’s sitting on the ground. “It really does a whammy on you, huh?”

“You did warn me,” the third seat chuckles. “I think it went well though.”

Judging from the stunned looks of some of the subordinates from the Third and Fifth Divisions, he’d have to agree. He’d used the majority of Sakanade’s abilities on Genji, but he’d also used his zanpakuto on everyone to invert his words – that one really made all their eyes widen and he couldn’t help but grin in response. However, the officers he knew from his first stint as captain must have seen it coming, because most of them laughed when it happened.

Several look at Sakanade, still in released state, half in wonder and the other in confusion. Above all though, some look him in the eye for the first time. As usual, when one shows their ability, it’s like baring a part of themselves for all to see, and from there trust starts to develop.

“Look after our third seat,” he calls out to Hinamori, who he knows without looking is already rushing to them. Then, to Genji, “Thanks for agreeing to this.”

“It’s not a problem, sir.”

Shinji straightens as Hinamori kneels at Genji’s side. She offers him a smile, but there’s a nervous edge to it.

Without having to watch him use Sakanade’s shikai on Genji, she already knows what it’s like to be under his zanapukto’s influence. She knows that attack wasn’t meant for her, but even so, he can understand her unease; it's still too fresh in her mind.

He walks back to the training square, where he’s joined by Rose. “You ready?” he asks, voice only loud enough him to hear.

The fellow captain smiles as he unsheathes his zanpakuto. “I’ll try to not correct your fringe.”

Shinji smirks. “It’s called having style, idiot.”

Rose turns to the Third and Fifth’s subordinates, raises Kinshara, and begins explaining his zanpakuto’s abilities. Shinji backs away a few steps and puts Sakanade into the sealed state.

Eyeing the onlookers, he wonders how many of them want to see their Hollow abilities. He knows if he were them he’d be curious, suspicious even. So long as desperate times didn't called for desperate measures, they’d never see them. One of the conditions for he, Rose, and Kensei to all get reappointed was they could never, under any circumstances, use their Hollow abilities. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, considering all they had to do to harness and control those abilities, but he understands.

When Rose turns to him, Shinji raises his zanpakuto. As discussed, they engage in a fight, swords clashing or dodging each other. Now the officers will know how the other fights in combat, from their footwork to the weight they put behind attacks. They’ll see their weaknesses and strengths, what they avoid and what they take head on.

After a few minutes of sparring, Rose calls out Kinshara’s release command, and the zanpakuto transforms into the golden whip. Shinji almost snorts when Rose pauses to allow the onlookers to ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at his zanpakuto’s shikai. He gives Shinji a knowing smile.

Show off. Though he likely thought the same when Shinji showed off Sakanade’s released state before using his powers.

Shinji uses this as a chance to flash step to the edge of the training square. Done with everyone admiring his zanpakuto, Rose whips Kinshara towards Shinji, who dodges the attack with ease. Rose speaks while attacking Shinji, explaining the extension capability of his zanpakuto and then, without warning, the whip wraps around Sakanade and is forced out of Shinji’s hands with a forceful tug.

Shinji allows a few seconds to pass after his sword clattered on the ground before going to his zanpakuto and unwrapping the whip from the blade, internally apologising when he senses the seething coming from Sakanade. Rose turns his attention to the log set up in the middle of the training square.

Knowing what is coming next, Shinji flash-steps back to Hinamori and Genji on the sidelines. Rose demonstrates Kinshara Sokyoku Dai Juichiban - Izayoi Bara, obliterating the log and sending a shockwave through the area. The nearby trees bend slightly and their leaves rustle or break off, and the onlookers all make a commotion as their sleeves and hair is forced back.

In the wake of the dying shockwave, the upturned dirt, and the lack of a demonstration log, claps and cheers erupted from everyone.

Rose nods to Shinji, who nods back. It worked.

_________________________

Rain pelts over the Fifth Division, thrumming on the rooftop and windows. Hinamori takes cover under the awning of the veranda as she walks speedily to the training halls. The humid air reminds her that spring is well and truly coming to an end. Some things had changed in a month and a half, but there were still things that needed to be done.

Such as the documents tucked under her arm, which Shinji needs sign off on. That had been one of several new things she had noticed about her captain's work ethic in the past month: he hated paperwork. He was slow to complete it, reluctant to get to work on it, and when he could, he’d do it at the last minute. She huffs, speeding up her walk even more.

Once at the training hall, she looks in to see her captain and a large group of their subordinates gathered around a blackboard. Shinji points to the diagram - which she had drawn up earlier this morning - explaining how they were going to patrol a section of the forty-third west district. Hinamori forgets her exasperation after a few of the officers nod to what their captain says.

Ever since he demonstrated his abilities, things had been slowly changing on the trust front. There was still a ways to go, but at least subordinates who previously didn’t even look their captain in the eye now greeted him on his way to the office or when he ate with them in the mess hall.

That was another thing she noticed about her new captain while working with him: he made an effort to engage with everyone. In one of the several times she had to go looking for him for seemingly skipping on his duties, she found him putting out laundry with some of the officers, talking with them and finding out about their lives. It got to a point where they were joking about and laughing. He gave the impression he always had time for them, that he wanted them to know who he was, with a roughened honesty that she was starting to find refreshing.

Even now, when one of the officers, seventeenth seat Tomoko Suzuki, speaks up and ask why they aren’t patrolling another area nearby in case Hollows attack there, she can see he’s listening.

“Suppose it’s a fair point,” Shinji replies to Suzuki. “Hollows could decide to try out the surrounding area once they get bored here or realize Shinigami are there.” He gestures back to the board. “However, why do you think they’re attacking this area rather than the others?”

Suzuki thinks for a moment before she answers. “There’s less infrastructure compared to surrounding areas, and maybe because of the concentration of Souls in the area? It’s the most densely populated part of that district.”

He grins. “It’s what I’m thinking too.”

“So, you think the higher concentration is distracting them from other areas? And that even with us there, they would continue to lurk there?”

“Mostly, but also…”He taps a finger on where Hinamori had drawn the forest that surrounded half of the area. “I think they’re using this to conceal themselves. It’s a classic Hollow tactic, especially for Hollows who don’t have much power or who hunt in groups.”

Suzuki nods, and Hinamori sees something shift in her subordinate. Her shoulders lower a few centimeters, and there’s the faintest hint of a smile. It’s something she’d seen most of the officer do at some point or another while speaking with their new captain. Others she could see the corners of their eyes loosen, the posture get straighter, and their voice became stronger when speaking to him.

An unseated officer, Kobe Abiko, raises his hand. “Sir?”

Shinji’s response is half a tease and half an order. “Geez, what’ve I told you? No need to raise your hand, just speak up. I’m not the formal type.”

“Uh, right, apologises, Captain!”

“No need to. What’d want to say?”

“Just, um… when will this new deployment take place?”

“Well, I was thinking tonight.” Shinji looks to Suzuki. “Reckon you can manage that?”

“Yes, Captain.”

They go on to discuss another topic related to the case of the Hollow activity in the area, but Hinamori finds herself stuck on Abiko. He’d had always been a nervous officer, ever since he came to the division almost a year ago. She suspects his nerves stemmed from a lack of confidence, and compared to the peers he’d come to the Fifth Division with, he was among the youngest of the then-new recruits. He reminded Hinamori of herself when she first started, particularly with how she acted around Aizen. All the nervous energy she had pent up while speaking to him, and wondering how, with all her fumbling and stumbling, she managed to make him smile.

It’d been an act, all of it.

The only one who felt anything in those encounters was herself, and she’d worked hard to become the lieutenant to a façade. He felt nothing towards her rise in the ranks. There was only ever that smile, almost always present on his face, and she’d thought she had provoked it out of him. It was a prepared response, one to make her feel one way or another about whatever they spoke about. At least for Abiko she can see his nerves were from a lack of confidence, but herself, it was because of something that never existed. She was still getting to know her new captain, but she already knew Abiko would not go through what she did, not with an honest captain like Shinji.

“All right. Suzuki, stay behind for a moment. Rest of you, I suggest you all get ready. You’ll meet Suzuki at the main gates at five this evening.” Shinji jerks his chin towards the exit without looking away from the group. “You’re free to go.”

All the officers stand and bow before turning the exit. Hinamori throws back the darker thoughts threatening to cloud her mind and smiles at her officers, who greet her as they pass by. “Good luck tonight,” she says to them in response. “I know you’ll do well.”

By the time she comes over, Shinji hands Suzuki a document. “Here’s my suggestions for who does which patrol rotations, but feel free to alter them how you like. You know your team better than I do.”

Suzuki raises a brow. However, after reading the first few lines of the document, she nods with a determined frown. “Thank you, Captain.”

Shinji looks to Hinamori, acting as if she had been there the whole time. “It was Hinamori’s idea in the first place.”

Suzuki blinks at Hinamori, who is just as surprised. “Oh, Lieutenant.”

Hinamori comes to stand next to Shinji. “Good luck with the patrol tonight, Suzuki-san. I know you’ll do well.”

She bows to both of them. “Thank you both. I’ll report back tomorrow morning.”

Shinji doesn’t speak until their seventeenth seat has left the hall. “Sensed your reiatsu all the way from the main entrance, you need to work on concealing if you wanna surprise me.”

Hinamori ignores the comment, instead saying, “Letting Suzuki-san decide was mainly your idea, sir.”

He smiles. “You’re the one who said ‘Suzuki-san knows her team, she can arrange them however she sees fit.’ So, it was basically your idea. All I did was change the routes, which’ll hopefully either get those Hollows to come out because they’re feeling daring or for our officers to find them.” He turns to the board. “It’s shame I gotta get rid of this. Don’t usually care about art or drawing, but this is good.”

She waves her hand, dismissive. “It’s just a diagram.” She shuffles the papers to hold in both arms, hoping he will notice. “It sounds like that went well.”

“I thought so too.” He takes the eraser and starts wiping away the chalk. “Next order of business though, we gotta talk about the training scheduled for next week.”

Hinamori blinks. She presses her lips together and has to force herself to not thrust the papers at him. “You mean the kido training?”

“Yeah. How do you wanna run it?”

“I…What do you mean?”

“I haven’t seen you in action yet, but I know you’re good at kido, and I need a refresher. I figured I ain’t in a position to organise training I don’t have a good skillset in. So, if you’re up for it, do want to organise what should be taught? Or do you have any suggestions?” Diagram now gone, he twists to her. “Only if you want to, though. I’m not gonna pressure you.”

She’s never been given the lead for a training schedule, or at least, not to the degree he is suggesting. Aizen would say she can schedule it, but he always had to be over her shoulder to change certain things, and by the end only a few of her suggestions made it to the final draft.

“I’d have to think about it,” she says demurely. “But if I had to make a suggestion…I think the officers need to be taught about binding kido.”

He raises a brow. “Why’s that? Academy usually covers that pretty well.”

“Yes, but there’s more to learn.” An old frustration builds up in her, one she hadn’t felt for many decades. If she could, she’d show just exactly why more needed to be taught about binding spells by casting a few right here and now. Instead, she takes up a piece of chalk and write the names of a few kido: Bakudo 4: Hainawa, Bakudo 9: Horin, and Hado 11: Tsuzuri Raiden. Then, as she speaks, she write her keys points under each spell name.

“In the Academy, we’re taught to use binding kido as a way of detaining an opponent or stopping them from attacking. There’s more to it though. Hainawa is used opponents that are strong or have multiple limbs, but because it’s one of the first recruits learn, they often use it at the cost of their energy. It also has a slight weakness, in that most Shinigami require both hands to activate it, leaving them defenseless while casting it.

“Horin can be a good substitute depending on how good a Shinigami is at kido. It’s better for opponents who are far away, but also who aren’t too heavy so they can be pull towards you if need be. However, that can be dangerous, especially for unseated officers. Horin can be more effective when combining it with certain spells.” She draws a line from Horin to Tsuzuri Raiden. “I’ve been working on it for a while now, but I found a way to combine these two. While using one hand for Horin, and with Tobiume in my other hand, I can use my zanpakuto as a conductor while casting Tsuzuri Raiden. When you strike Horin while using Tsuzuri Raiden on the zanpakuto, it can electrocute the opponent, thus hopefully weakening them enough to neutralise them.

“I wished I’d know about this as an unseated officer when I first joined. It took me years to figure out how to properly use binding spells on opponents effectively, and also to discover it’s other uses. If I can impart some knowledge about kido to new recruits and all of the officers, this would be a part of it.”

It’s not until she stops that she takes in her captain’s surprised expression, or the thumping of her heart. The eagerness drains from her; she’d let her emotions get the better of her. How could she have been so rude? Embarrassment flushes through her, and she almost apologises, but stops at her captain’s grin and then his chuckle.

“Look at you lecturing me and writing on the board. You should’ve been an instructor at the Academy!”

Her cheeks flush when she glances over at her writing. “I-I meant no -”

“Nothing to be embarrassed about! Sounds like this has been a point of contention for you for a while.” He gives a firm nod to the board. “All right, done. We’ll set the lesson to be on binding kido.” His grin widens. “Heck, why don’t you lead it? You sound like you’ve got a lot to teach. I’ll even join in at the back!”

Hinamori is caught between gaping and laughing, and in the end, she makes a strange sound that’s like a strangled laugh. “What?”

“You’ve taught training lessons before, right?”

“Yes, of course, I’ve taught several. It’s just…you’d join in?”

There’s a small ‘crack’ when he rolls his wrists for emphasis. “Like I said, I’m rusty. I need a refresher. Although, I suspect not many will be able to get the Horin combined with Tsuzuri Raiden on their first try. Might take them a few times, but everything else should be accessible for them.” Then, teasingly. “How lucky am I to have a lieutenant who’s one of the best at kido to teach me? It’s only time you get to order me around, it’ll be a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

She laughs, out of confusion and mirth. He didn’t think it rude of her to assert how she thought the lesson should be ran? No, he’d asked for her opinion, and now to lead the training. She hadn't been rude, she realises.

Now she notices something else about her new captain: she didn’t hold back with him. It was as if she were with Renji or Kira, both of whom she rarely hid her annoyance or exasperation from when they brought it up in her. His lacking punctuality is a slight annoyance, and his honesty is still taking some getting used to, but he never expected her to be anyone she wasn’t. He allows her to express herself freely, perhaps with some argument, but never for the way she felt or thought.

And it’s not just her. Perhaps it’s his casual demeanour or his relaxed work ethic, but their subordinates were friendly with him in a way that they weren’t with Aizen. Like her, the they held their previous captain as something above reproach, as something to aspire to. With Shinji, they’re more relaxed. She recalls the jokes he made and how he deliberately hung the washing in an obscure manner, with most of them unsure if they were allowed until he encouraged them to. And just now, he didn’t already have a prepared answer or will immediately dismiss their subordinates insight. None of them feel the need to be hesitant with something they’ve observed or think that whatever they have to say is childish or naïve. They’re encouraged to speak their mind, and any debate doesn’t get gently swept away with carefully laden words.

Using the burst of confidence in her, Hinamori raises her chin slightly. “All right, I will lead the lesson.” But before Shinji can say anything, she holds up the papers with a smile. “But speaking of pressing matters. Sir, if you would approve these, please.”

_________________________________

Continues in part 2

#momo hinamori #shinji hirako #sousuke aizen #genji isawa #genji #fifth division #brotp: the fifth divsion #bleach #fanfiction #blog anniversary requests #asks #whipplefilter

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pinkhairedlily · 3 years

Text

Blue Fire Tree

Prompt: Everlasting (last day omgggg) | Gift for @tinaillustrations ! Hope you like this fluffy piece! I enjoyed writing this one. 🤗| Happy HitsuHina Week! @hitsuhina-week 💛💙

“Fire trees should be blue not red,” Ichika mumbles while filling in the traced pattern of the tree on the canvass as Hinamori gathers her unruly red mane into a semblance of a bun. Her charge was a Shinigami apprentice and had the hodgepodge attitude of both of her parents. She was sarcastic, blunt, inquisitive, passionate, and kind.

Renji thought she was the best person to teach his daughter common spells to start off her training. Not that Hinamori disliked being the resident kido expert. She particularly loved the monicker, but there were times she felt she didn’t deserve the title. Like today when, for some other reason, Ichika and her was blindsided by arts and crafts.

“Wouldn’t you like the flowers to resemble your hair?” Hinamori clips the last of the strands and looks over the child’s shoulder. The colors spill out of the lines and the scenery seems to change from summer to winter.

“But blue is the hottest color. Imagine trees blooming with the brightest flames, the most intense warmth, and the most lasting flowers.” Ichika finishes the piece with a last dash of blue paint. The apprentice turns to her and asks, “Does it look so desolate?”

“No, not really. To me, winter has always been warm.“

Someone coughs behind them to get their attention. Hitsugaya Toushiro, captain of the 10th Division, stands awkwardly at the entrance of the dojo with a tray of tea and pot of biscuits. It doesn’t escape her notice that he used the tea set she gave last Christmas, and this observation makes her feel giddy inside.

Maybe I’m just appreciative of people who use my gifts, Hinamori justifies to herself.

“Hello, Captain Hitsugaya. Is that for us or for Vice-Captain Momo?” Ichika greets him as she takes the tray off his hands.

The blush creeps on the captain’s face just as quickly as his brows furrow in annoyance. He quickly glares at the mischievous remark of Ichika and redirects his gaze to his equally flustered childhood best friend. “This was not of my own good will. I was threatened by Byakuya to take good care of his precious niece, and it just so happens that this space is under my jurisdiction.”

Hinamori tilts her head in a slight apology. “I hope we don’t bother you too much. Would you like to join us for some art session? Ichika loves to paint today.”

He almost says something, but he stops himself. His stance goes from alert to rigid, and tension fills the air. “Maybe some other time.” Ichika glances from her current teacher to the captain and back to her teacher again.

“Oh, sorry for taking up your time.” Hinamori slightly bows, unsure of what transpired just now, and Hitsugaya nods in return. Before he is completely out of her sight, she calls out to him again.

“Shiro-chan?” He glances back at the sound of his nickname. “Thanks for the tea.”

He smiles in mild annoyance before he flash-steps out of their sight. “It’s Captain Hitsugaya to you.”

--------------------------

“Something’s bothering you,” Rangiku says to Hinamori as she slides beside her in the ramen booth. “Your treat in exchange for my wisdom.” She proceeds to order her usual ramen and sake combo.

“How was your trip to the Land of the Living?” Hinamori asks, obviously skirting the issue she wishes to raise.

“Kazui is subdued and gentle like his mother, but somehow, he manages to get into fights with bullies on the street. It’s his Ichigo genes.” The combo meal arrives along with two shot glasses. “How are you doing with the chaotic devil spawn Ichika?”

“She’s progressing really fast with the kido, but she gets so distracted easily. It’s cute though that Renji and Rukia are not pressuring her. Great parents. How nice it must be.”

Rangiku side-eyes her while slurping the thick noodles. “How nice what now – “

Hinamori plays with her empty bowl and fidgets with her chopsticks. “To not be alone.”

She chokes on her noodles and quickly downs half of the sake bottle. “Oh, this is great news! I have someone on my mind who would like to be in your company forever.”

Hinamori gives no response and instead continues fiddling with her bowl. “How nice it is to be also like Shiro-chan, content and busy enough to be single. How do I become like your captain, Rangiku?”

The smile fades from the woman’s face and is replaced by a bustling vein near her temple. “I’m sorry what did that short man do or say to you?”

“I asked him if he would like to do some art with us, you know, help me with babysitting for a few minutes, but he literally stiffened like a stick. Seems like he doesn’t want to waste time with kids or do any family-related activities. Or maybe he’s just too busy, captain duties and all.”

And yet he took the time to bring you tea, a voice screams inside her mind.

“That’s….rude,” an exasperated Rangiku remarks. She pours a glass for Hinamori and decides on a plan. “Unless you’re seeing him as….?”

“Huh? Oh no no no.” Hinamori downs the liquid in one gulp, suddenly embarrassed by her friend’s insinuation. “We’re just friends, childhood friends. I…don’t see Shiro-chan that way.”

“Sure, whatever you say Momo. Do you want me to introduce you to some people?”

Hinamori looks up at her, doe-eyed.

“I guess that’s a yes.”

--------------------------

Hinamori actually forgot about her request to Rangiku as she and her student started to settle in a rather serious kido training. The plan apparently was set to happen after a week when she came across a bulletin announcing her quest for a perfect match through a one-day interview application. This was the first time Hinamori wanted to be swallowed by the void and never return to Seiretei.

She finds herself visiting Division 10 HQ every afternoon but to no avail since coincidentally, Rangiku has some errands to do in Karakura, and won’t be back until the date of the interview. Or maybe it has also something to do with Hinamori avoiding Hitsugaya and having to do all the explaining. And so she had no choice but to wait for the inevitable day.

“Uhhh Vice-Captain Matsumoto, you said introduce, not organize a whole dating screening process!” Hinamori’s voice goes a pitch higher for each word, but Rangiku is too busy arranging the people lining up to notice her.

Her current captain, Shinji Hirako, chuckles beside the blondie, amused by the growing line of eligible Shinigami singles in their HQ. “You are quite the eye candy in our division, huh. Didn’t expect you’d have this many suitors.” He squeezes his vice-captain’s shoulder as form of reassurance. “You should have told me, Hinamori. I could have set you up in an arranged marriage.”

“Captain, that’s atrocious!” Hinamori protests. She walks over to Rangiku to disperse the line, but Yumichika and Ikkaku move to her side and grabs her midway through her litany of objections. They lead her to a makeshift container with two chairs facing each other and a table in between.

“This is ridiculous,” Hinamori mumbles her breath, her energy already defeated by the two dumbasses in front of her.

“Well to be fair, Hinamori, this is a long time coming,” Yumichika says.

“And the result necessitates this kind of method so stop mumbling and screen your admirers, babe,” Ikkaku supplies. Irritated, Hinamori chases them off with two fireballs.

The first ten Shinigami ‘applicants’ were too insufferable as they were clearly aiming for the prestige of her position.

“If dating a vice-captain would give me a higher seat in Gotei 13 then why am I still single?” she bats the question to the 11th person who sat across her. When they didn’t give her an answer, she sighs, “Next please.”

“Would you know what’s my favorite brand of tea?”

“Uhh, Robusta.”

“I believe that’s coffee. Next please.”

“Hello, vice-captain Hinamori, I brought you peaches. They’re my favorite.”

“I’m allergic to them. I’m sorry. Next please?”

“What are your strengths?”

“Well, I can do shunpo.”

“That’s basic Shinigami skills.”

“…………..”

“I’ll see myself out. Thank you for your time, vice-captain.”

“I know you’re traumatized by Aizen-“

The container collapses as Hinamori summons Tobiume.

--------------------------

“I think I will be forever alone.” Hinamori looks on as her fellow vice-captains clean up the mess she incurred over the unfinished statement earlier.

“I’m really sorry if I did the whole thing over the top,” Rangiku tells her sincerely. She hugs the raven-haired girl and waits in silent for the commotion to die down. “Though the last one was really foul, and you were valid to be angry.”

“I was afraid I’d burn down Captain Shinji’s quarters.”

“You can, just to piss him off. The whole process is so draining, huh?” Hinamori nods at the observation. Rangiku continues, seemingly voicing her own thoughts, “It’s hard to put yourself out there especially when they don’t know batshit about you. Would be easier if you have common interests or when they’re already your friend.”

The last phrase is said so pointedly that Hinamori’s mind automatically pictures Hitsugaya. She runs along with her imagination. How easy it would be indeed to spend the rest of her life with him. And as if her mind conjured him, the 10th Division Captain comes into view alongside Ichika. It looks like her student dragged him to the unfortunate event.

There’s an angry glint in his eyes that Hinamori noticed. It was the torn expression he wore when she wounded her knees back when they were kids, the same frown when she told him she would kill for the traitor, the same worried eyes when she almost died. But his eyes refuse to meet hers.

“You missed all the fun, Captain.” Rangiku stretches out her arms as she stands up. She gestures for the rest of their friends to come nearer so they could re-group and go home. “It was a bad plan, and I owe Hinamori one. So we’re kinda ready for your scolding.”

Hitsugaya stays silent throughout the shuffling of his fellow Shinigami, in fact he remains frozen for too long that Ichika elbows him to get a response out of him. “Come on, you ruminated one week for this, and I had to physically stop you from harassing the interested applicants.”

“Shut up, Ichika,” the silver-haired captain mutters.

“I’ll tell on you to Uncle Byakuya!” the redhead sticks out her tongue and runs over to the side of Rangiku.

More annoyed than ever, Hitsugaya grunts and storms off towards Hinamori. “I’m not here to scold anyone. I’m here for the….dating application,” he gulps amid the collective gasps that ran through the group and the muffled laughter of Rangiku who clearly foresaw this.

“Well, what can I say, but fucking finally!” The blonde swigs a new bottle of wine from inside her robes and goes to do a little crowd control.

Hinamori’s eyes get a little bit bigger, and she stares at him with mouth agape, but she lets him grab her hand, in a gentle manner that he usually does, and brings her to the farthest fire tree in the area.

“Shiro-chan, what did you mean……” She continues to stare at his hand who somehow refuses to let go of her yet.

Ironically, he is also staring at the same hand, unsure whether to let go right now before he can actually say something. “I don’t know why you had to go through all of that.”

“I’m..I’m still confused, to be honest. It was just a passing feeling of loneliness, and I rambled to Rangiku which she took seriously….” Hinamori knows she is starting to word vomit out of nervousness, but she halts when he finally lets her go. Maybe she has misunderstood his presence again.

Hitsugaya raises his palm to her. “Would you let me…uhhh…word vomit this time?”

She slowly nods, rather shocked at his insistence, and even more so when he chooses to ramble.

“Momo, I have a cold reiatsu. My touch is never warm. But I know you like green tea, steeped in warm water for exactly 10 minutes, and that you don’t put sugar. You are afraid of storms, and you need a blanket around you to calm down. You like watermelon, but I think it’s because I subjected you to multiple summers of conditioning. You’re my childhood best friend. You’re hardworking. You are a kido expert. You earned your right to be a vice-captain, and you’ll do greater things.

And I know it’s not enough to say that I know you, I’ve always known you, but will it be enough for you to allow me to stay beside you?”

Hinamori leans against the trunk of the fire tree, breathless from his train of words. “Oh my god, this is too overwhelming. I thought you hated being not single.”

“What?” Hitsugaya looks at her with a puzzled expression.

“You don’t like Ichika. Or doing art…with kids.”

“Well, Ichika is a brat to me, but she’s a good student and will be a good Shinigami like her parents.” He nurses his temples for the growing headache. “Momo, listen to me.” He steps closer to her and makes sure she’s only looking at him. “I panicked because I visualized you and me….and you know. It wasn’t right when I haven’t even told you anything yet.”

“Oh.” The moment of realization dawns on her. “Oh, that’s great.”

“So we can finally go back to how we were.” Hitsugaya lets out a shaky breath as he sits on the grass and watches as the red petals of the fire tree shower them lightly.

A blushing Hinamori crouches down to his level. “Well, not quite. You should know, Shiro-chan, your reiatsu has always been warm and comforting to me.” She reaches out to take his hand and intertwines their fingers.

Hitsugaya smiles as he silently thanks himself that he outgrew her by two inches so he could easily slip a kiss on her forehead. “It’s Captain Hitsugaya.”

--------------------------

Ichika tries to see beyond the wall of spectators but Rangiku is not letting anyone through. She huffs indignantly, wanting to know whether her incessant prodding and pestering of the oblivious Hitsugaya bore some fruit. She has no choice but to juice out all the details later on from her uncle.

On second thought, maybe she won’t have to. Blue petals swayed with the light breeze of the wind, and on the far edge of the Fifth Division’s HQ is a lone blue fire tree.

#hitsuhina week #hitsuhina day 14 #hitsuhina #toshiro hitsugaya #momo hinamori #hitsugaya #hinamori #bleach couples #anime fanfiction #this is my first time participating in a gift exchange im so happy

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kuronanox · 4 years

Text

Different views - Kensei Muguruma

"Stop being so shy and tell him!" Matsumoto encourages (Your Name) as she sighs and grabs a fistful of her hair. "I HATE MEN!" She screams as Kira nods in agreement and Shuhei sit across from them awkwardly.

"GO GO GO OR ELSE ILL TELL MUGURUMA TAICHO MYSELF!" Kira's flush face offers as he slams his hands on the table causing the sake to spill. "Oi! The drinks is expensive you know!" Shuhei lectures catching the small shot glasses in mid air. "WHAT ABOUT YOU KIRA?!" Matsumoto shouts grabbing his shirt and tugging him towards her. "Everyone knows how you feel about Hinamori!"

"Ya ya ya! NOO I don't want my death bed by Hitsugaya Taicho." He crosses his arms as Shuhei attempts to help a very drunk Kira sit up after. (Your Name) just watches the scene and sulks in the corner this night was suppose to be fun but the only ones having fun is Kira and Matsumoto. She sighs and thinks about how her and Kensei relationship turned to friends with benefit rather than a couple as she hoped for.

It was about a year and a half ago, it was the New Years Festival (Your Name) drank to much alcohol on a empty stomach not realizing how fast it was going to hit her. She was lit though, dancing with everyone and making new friends. She was so drunk she attempt to kiss Yumichika and he allowed his cheek since he was probably gay anyways. That's what her problem was, she was so open and lusty when she was drunk.

"Kiss?" She asks Matsumoto as she gave a kiss to her and Hinamori even snatching one from Renji. Of course his face got so red he had to walk away. "(Your Name) you can't go around and keep asking people for kisses." Kensei lectures her and sighs as she pouts and crossed her arms. "You are just upset that I didn't ask one from you." She jokes and he lightly hits her head. "No stupid, I'm not trying to catch anything."

"MY MOUTH IS CLEAN!" She shouted and joined Ikkaku in another round of a drinking game. By the end of the night everyone was pretty sauced and making their ways back to their barracks. (Your Name) saw that everyone was slowly going home and she decided that she needed to head back home or else she was going to black out.

"God damn I can barely stand." She whines using the wall for support looking around for help because everything was blurry. Kensei sets Shuhei and Mashiro in their rooms and goes back to the party to help other members of his squad just in case they were to drunk to get back. As he expected he catches (Your Name) trying to walk back home. "Come on." He offers his hand as she looks up at her captain and takes it. "Captain, I don't think I can walk." She slurs as he clicks his teeth and picks her up so she was on his back. "I guess this is how Yachiru feels everytime she's on Zaraki Taichos back." She half jokes and silently falls asleep on his back.

"Oi don't fall asleep, I don't know where you live." He says and looks to see she is fast asleep, he sighs and takes her back to his place. After placing her on a extra futon he had Kensei makes his own a little further from her.

After a few hours of deep slumber (Your Name) wakes up and looks at her surroundings, it was unfamiliar to her. She turns to her side and sees Kensei fast asleep. "Huh? I guess I blacked out. Awe Captain is going to kill me when I'm in better shape." She shrinks still kinda drunk from a couple hours ago.

'The moon is still high.'

Laying down she scoots closer to Kensei attempting to warm herself from the cold winter night. After a few attempts she couldn't get comfortable and sits up. Going through his cabinets she saw there was extra blankets. "How can Captain sleep in this cold weather!" She says and grabs two. One for her and one for Kensei.

Placing the heavy comforter on him he awakens by shifting around him and he grabs her arms rather roughly. "Ow!" She shouts as his eyes widen. "(Your Name)?" Kensei questions as she rubs her armed that was grabbed from him in his sleep. "Sorry Captain it was cold so I got more blankets."

"Are you still drunk?" He asks because her face was still red and her words still a bit slurred. "Yes, but I am able to function again." She admits, hugging herself from the cold breeze that flew in. Noticing her gesture for warmth he looks to see he only gave her a thin sheet to sleep in.

"Are you cold?"

"No shit Captain!" She rolls her eyes as he knits his brows and clicks his teeth. "Sassy." Kensei says while opening up his spot next to him. (Your Name) stares at it hesitantly before climbing in the cover with him. At first it was awkward because he wrapped his body around hers to warm them up. She was still wide awake and turned to face him.

They stared at each other for a fat minute till she leaned in and placed her lips onto Kensei's rough ones. It was a small kiss till he pulled in and kissed her back in a more aggressive and needy way. Flipping (Your Name) onto her back and climbing on top of her he caressed her sides as her breath hitched from his touch. "Mhn." She moaned into his mouth as he separates their lips and gave her neck some attention. Grabbing a fistful of his hair she moaned in pure bliss as Kensei bit onto her neck as she squirmed by the rough gesture but he held her in place as he sucks the rough patch he bit. "K-ken-Kensei." She moaned out as he groaned in her ear.

"I'm sorry (Your Name)." He says then letting her go as she felt rejected from his warmth and kisses. "Why did you stop?"

"I don't take advantage of drunk women." He says as she shakes her head. "I'm not that drunk."

Kensei looks at her she was beautifully flushed and he couldn't tell if she was lying or just embarrassed. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

(Your Name) cringed thinking about the first night they had sex, after that night they made it official that everything they did was just for their own benefit and they had no relationship status. The first year was fine, they act like nothing happen and it wasn't awkward or anything between them.

Slowly Kensei started opening up to her and even sleeping with her after those sessions they had instead of leaving like he usually did. On some occasion he would invite her over and they wouldn't have sex but just for some company. A few times they cooked together at his place and watched a few movies he really liked back when he was living in the human world.

It fell apart for (Your Name) when she realize that she was catching feelings for Kensei her captain and the worse part of it was that he didn't return them. He already made it known when they first started that this thing they were doing was for their own individual pleasure.

As time passed by they started learning what each individual liked in bed, luckily for her they both were into rough sex. But recently he was not as rough but more slow and passionate. It confused (Your Name).

"Ugh stop it!" She says walking back with Shuhei back to the barracks. She was on his back as he looked up and questioned what was wrong.

"Nothing! I'm fine!" She reassured as she looks up to see Kensei waiting outside infront of their barracks. "Taicho?" Shuhei says as Kensei sighs and shakes his head.

"(Your Name) how many times I told you to pace yourself when you drink?"

She looks down as Shuhei apologizes because he was also tipsy and not sober. Kensei walks them both home and drops off Shuhei first then (Your Name), she knew he was angry but tried not to show it. "Are you mad at me?" She asks him as he places her onto her bed. "It's fine (Your Name)." He says before leaving her. She sighs and falls down before sleeping.

The next week she didn't talk to Kensei much, he avoided her sometimes and didn't acknowledge her presence half the time. He only called her for training and paperwork but either then that they didn't speak. She was getting upset that he was acting the way he was to her. She wasn't dating him so why was he so upset?

"Can we talk?" She says to him as he went through papers on his office. "About?" Kensei asks raising a brow and crossing his arms now. "You are mad at me." She simply stated as he gave her a straight answer. "Yes I am."

"Well why are you mad at me?" She says staying the obvious slapping her hands into the air looking for answers.

"(Your Name) you realiz-" he started but was interrupted when a squad member barged into the room to say there is a emergency meeting for all captains and vice captains. He dismisses and tells (Your Name) to meet him at his place tonight.

"Ahh!" She moans as he roughly held onto her neck for support as he thrust into her. He came back stressed and upset but before she could ask what was wrong he slammed her against the wall and claimed her mouth with his. Now they were on the bed as he aggressively took out his anger into each thrust as she held on for dear life screaming his name. "Fuck." He says and flips her onto all fours.

"Ken-" (Your Name) says but he ignores her and places one arm around her neck to secure her from moving and pulls her hair with the other free hand he had so she was staring at him as he thrust into her. The sound of clapping turned him on each time their skin slapped as he groaned and she screamed. "Damn." He says as (Your Name) was left with her back arched all the way and her mouth was parted and she looked at him with lustful eyes. 'So fucking beautiful.' Kensei says in his thoughts and chokes her harder as she pleas under him.

"Ke-Kensei I can't." She says as a safe word and he realizes that he was choking her kinda hard as she holds her throat and coughs a little bit. "I'm sorry did I hurt you?" He worriedly asks as she faces him with tears in her eyes.

"You've never been this rough before, what's wrong?" She asks as he felt bad for making her tear up. "I don't know." He admits.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore?" (Your Name) tells him as he sits next to her and places a blanket around her naked body. "What's wrong? Am I being to rough?"

"It's not that, it just.... I've had feelings for you the last few months and I don't wanna keep sleeping with you knowing you don't return the feelings and me ending up with a cold bed every night." She shamelessly admits hugging her two legs towards her.

Kensei doesn't saw a word for a while and says "I was angry at you because you were drunk and Shuhei was tipsy."

(Your Name) looks up confused and tilts her head. "But I-"

"I know you tend to get really touchy with people when you are drunk and Shuhei was also not sober so the thought of you guys doing something made me angry because I also.... I also like you." Kensei admits as she widens her eyes and he looks away from her.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I didn't know how, I thought you were in it for the sex only, but I started to open up to you and you genuinely were interested and was there for me. Even when I showed my hollow mask I thought you were going to run away from this monster I have in me but you didn't.... I realized then that this was the girl I wanted to be with."

She sighs and leans against Kensei, relief and a smile on her face. "You idiot."

Kensei hugs her bare body and smiles back. "Now that we know how we feel about each other you don't have to feel down anymore." He reassures and gives a small peck on the lips.

"I agree." (Your Name) says and straddles his hips. "So let's continue where we left off at."

"Oh?" Kensei smirks and holds her hips firmly, getting ready for a night filled with adventures.

#Bleach #bleachbravesouls #kensei #kensei muguruma #Shuhei Hisagi #kira izuru #Matsumoto Rangiku #anime #bleach oneshot #bleach oneshots #bleach x reader #bleach one shots

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photorose11 · 4 years

Text

An Unbreakable Bond Ch. 7

I am back and finally here with chapter seven. Hopefully this chapter will make up for how short chapter six is. lol Hopefully not many typo’s in this, I spent forever going over it just to make sure. A few more characters enter this fic, starting here. :) Also for some clarification on the ages in this story:

Karin & Yuzu Kurosaki = 15.

Ichigo Kurosaki = 19.

I know it is told in the story that Ichigo is a senior, let’s just say him and his friends all graduate at 19. I mean they seriously missed a lot of school in the manga, maybe they all got held back a grade? LOL Just go with me here. lol Also, did anyone else know Toshiro Hitsugaya’s age is 80 and he is supposed to appear 10? I always figured he was ‘younger’ then Rukia. So let’s say in this (since its been like three years) he’s more 83 looking like he’s 15. LOL

Disclaimer: I don’t own Bleach. (just my love for writing fics)

Chapter 7. Connections

Rukia's eyes fluttered open at the sound of birds chirping outside the window. She blinked a few times before looking over towards her right, where Ichigo was still asleep. She couldn't help giving a smile, seeing his face buried in the pillow. She went to sit up, as he moved to lay on his back, clearly still asleep. An idea popped into her head.

Leaning forward, face hovering over his. She watched as his eyes started to flicker open before she bent down, pressing her lips to his. She heard him make a sound in the back of throat, obviously surprised. He responded back slowly, hand reaching to entangle in her hair. She pulled back after a moment, opening her eyes and gazing down at him.

He was blushing slightly, before giving her a smirk and leaning up to lay back on his elbows. She sat back, giving him a coy smile back.

"Morning to you too, Midget."

Her eyebrow twitched at his words, before she stuck her leg out, pushing her foot into his side. He fell onto the floor, wrapped up in his bed sheets. She couldn't help but smirk as she looked over the bed to see him tangled in the bed sheets; glaring up at her.

"Don't you think you should be calling me something else now?" He squinted at her, trying to see where she was going with this.

"Such as?" She laid sideways on the bed, head poking out over the bed to look at him still on the floor; elbows propped up and her head in her hands.

"I don't know.. like 'dear' or 'hunny' or even 'bunny'" Her eyes lit up at the last one, as he cringed. He could not imagine calling her that. Plus he hated bunnies.

"I would rather jump off my roof in human form then call you that." He muttered, still cringing. She rolled her eyes at his exaggeration.

"Plus, no matter what I call you you're still a midget so I might as well-"

Before he could finish his face was being smothered by his pillow as she straddled his waist. He flailed his arms before reaching for her wrists, trying to get the pillow off. She laughed above him before pulling the pillow off, his face was red as he panted for air.

"Why you-" he sputtered before he realized she was on top of him. His face then became red for a different reason. All she could do was smile in accomplishment.

"Ichigo, you are a fool." She said sweetly to him before getting out of his lap and going to grab some clothes from the dresser drawer. He untangled himself out of the sheets with a huff before laying them back on the bed where they belonged. He watched her walk to the bedroom door and open it as he walked behind her, shutting it before she could walk out. She turned around, willing to throw another pillow in his face until he leaned down to kiss her. He put his hands on her waist, gently pushing her back into the door and slightly pulling away to look at her with a smile on his face.

"Still a fool." She whispered out before leaning up and kissing him back.

An hour later the pair were dressed and ready for the new day; cooking breakfast. Isshin sat at the kitchen table with them, sipping his coffee. Once done they sat down at the table in silence and ate before Rukia spoke up. "When will your sisters be home?" she asked, as she finished off her eggs with vigor. She could get used to his cooking.

"Should be another hour I think?" Ichigo said, looking at the clock. It was an hour before noon. Rukia nodded her head before sipping her coffee.

"Do you have any plans today Isshin?" She asked, turning her head to looking over at him. He looked up from his newspaper givng her a smile before replying.

"Just clinic work today my dear third daughter! It's usually pretty busy in the summer." He got up to put his empty coffee cup in the sink before walking over to Ichigo and ruffling his hair. Ichigo batted his hand away in annoyance. Rukia laughed.

"Alright kids, I'll be in the clinic. If it's not busy I'll be back in an hour to see my two lovely daughters reunite with their wonderful third!" He exclaimed loudly before running over to the poster of Masaki with tears streaming down his face talking about how happy he was to know his daughters will be reunited soon.

Ichigo ignored him while he finished his breakfast. Rukia watched on in amusement before looking over to Ichigo, who rolled his eyes in response muttering 'crazy old man' under his breath as Isshin left to head to the clinic,

Rukia got up as Ichigo finished and cleared the plates off the table. She began washing them as he stood beside her grabbing a clean towel to dry them with.

"You know you don't have to do that, right? You're on vacation." He said before grabbing the clean plate from her hands and beginning to dry it before setting it in the rack.

"I actually enjoy washing dishes. I don't get to do stuff like this while living in the Kuchiki Estate."

She didn't get to do any chores living with her brother. Then again she was always busy with paperwork and the duties that come with being a Lieutenant.

But she still enjoyed the simple things. Ichigo nodded in understanding while he continued to dry the washed dishes.

"I thought you'd be moved out of the Estate to be honest, since you're a Lieutenant now." He said, while he finished drying the last dish. Rukia turned the water off, mulling over his words. She went to dry her hands before leaning her back on the kitchen counter.

"I thought about it.. I was given the option once I was promoted. Lieutenants and Captains have their own corridors in their Division. But after the war with Aizen.. It wouldn't have felt right to leave the Estate. Nii-sama was very worried about me." She said softly, before looking at the ground. Ichigo couldn't help but be a little surprised hearing that her brother was very worried. He knew that Byakuya cared for his adopted sister. He was just never very good at showing it. Noticing her declining mood, he grabbed her hand and led her to the living room sofa. They sat down next to one another as he waited for her to continue.

"He has been pushing for awhile about me taking some time off to relax. He knew how hard it was for me after returning to Soul Society. I really think he knew I missed you."

She glanced over at him then as he gave her an understanding look back. He would always understand. She gave a smile leaning back on the sofa as he did the same. She curled her legs up on the sofa, still holding onto his hand. "I've been thinking the last few months about moving into my own corridors now though. I wont be to far away from the Estate. Ukitake will be in the next corridor over and his illness has been acting up so I think it will be good to be close to him."

Ichigo sat back and though about her words. He was sad to hear about Ukitake not doing too well, the Captain had always been very kind to him. He was happy for Rukia, if she decided to move out of the Estate. He supported her no matter what decision she made on the matter. He couldn't help but to think about his friends in Soul Society.

"How's everyone been doing since the war?" he asked gently. He knew the war with Aizen was a sensitive subject for both of them. He glanced at her, as she looked down at their intertwined hands before leaning into his shoulder.

"It was hard for everyone at first. Renji was okay.. but was worried about everyone else. Rangiku was heartbroken about Gin's death, and she was worried about Captain Hitsugaya.. who still blames himself for what happened to Momo.." she trailed off, feeling a little breathless after saying what she had. She held onto his hand tighter before continuing.

"We all became a lot closer once we returned. We took turns seeing Momo in the hospital, Hitsugaya was there every night and was training every day for months afterwards. It was his way of coping with what had happened. Rangiku made sure to never be too far away. I decided to train with him weekly."

She couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes. She had never been very close to Hinamori but she cared for her just like she cared for every single one of her comrades and friends. It broke her heart to see Rangiku heart broken over the death of Gin, and Hitsugaya heart broken over what happened to his best friend. The times she did train with the 10th Division Captain, the look in his eyes made it very obvious how much he was hurting. Rukia looked up to see Ichigo giving her a concerned look.

"Is Momo still..." he really didn't want to ask the full question. He remembered what had happened to Hinamori very vividly. It was something he had had a few nightmares about. He may not be her friend but she was still his comrade and it hurt to remember. Rukia nodded her head before clearing her throat to explain.

"She is still alive. She's still in a coma though. They don't know if she will ever wake up. Unohana has tried everything she can think of to help her, but nothing has worked. Rukia leaned more into him, giving a shaky sigh before continuing.

"Hitsugaya still trains, not as much as before but still pushes himself when he does. He still visits with Momo almost every night." Rukia then remembered a conversation her and the 10th Division Captain had had a few days before Ichigo had gotten his powers back.

"He's actually been wanting to take a day and get clearance to come to The World of The Living to visit Karin. But he's afraid if he leaves and the worst happens to Momo.. he will not be able to live with himself."

Rukia could feel a migraine coming on, she knew it was from her holding back her tears but she could not let them fall. She had cried enough the last two years. She felt her breathing calm down as she took deep breaths; when she felt Ichigo stroke his thumb over the top of her hand; a silent comfort she was very grateful for.

"After dad told Karin and Yuzu everything, he said Karin asked him if Hitsugaya was still alive. Apparently, she got pretty emotional when he told her that he had gotten injured but he was going to be okay. Karin never gets emotional.. not since after mom died."

Rukia's eyes widened at that. She knew the Captain was friends with Karin but did not realize how much he meant to her. She watched Ichigo as he scrunched up his eyebrows, squinting at nothing in particular. Rukia could only imagine where his mind was going.

"You don't need to worry, Ichigo. Karin may be friends with a Shinigami but no harm is going to come to her. I wish he would visit though.. he needs some time away. I really think it would make him feel better if he saw a friend." Ichigo sighed at her words, while hanging his head. He knew she was right. As Karin's brother, it was just weird to think about.

"Ah, I know. It just kind of weirds me out. I mean, Karin is the same age as I was when I met you!" He said while rubbing his neck. Rukia leaned forward and smirked at him, waiting for him to realize what he had just said. A moment later he whipped his head around, looking at her with wide panicked eyes as his mouth fell open.

"You don't think.. I mean, she's fifteen!" He exclaimed loudly. He suddenly felt sick thinking about it. Rukia held back her laugh, not wanting to insult him but it was kiind of funny to see his reaction to the possibility of "feelings" being involved between his sister and Hitsugaya.

"Do you think you loved me the first year you knew me, Ichigo?" she asks with a smile. He looked at her thoughtfully, before he took his hand out of hers and wrapping it around her shoulders.

"I'm positive I did, yeah."

"That first year would you say you protected me with your life?" She asked, leaning more into his chest. He laid his chin on the top of her head, knowing the answer to her question without hesitation.

"I'd say I protected you since the first day I met you, Rukia." she smiled warmly at his response.

"Then you have nothing to worry about. Plus they're just friends." He sighed again before looking up at the ceiling.

"I mean how old even if he? Is he around your age.. does he still look like he's twelve?"

Rukia couldn't help but laugh out loud at that before playfully slapping him upside the head.

"Hey, It was an honest question."

He rubbed his head before grinning at her, he knew she thought it was hilarious.

"He's gotten a little taller."

"Unlike you?"

"OW! Rukia, that one actually hurt!"

Half an hour later, Rukia is anxiously waiting for Yuzu and Karin to arrive home. She couldn't hide her excitement.

"You're really excited, aren't you?" Ichigo sat on the sofa watching his girlfriend pace the living room floor. Without hearing a response, he got up and stopped her pacing; placing his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him right as they heard the front door unlocking. Her eyes widened and an excited grin broke out on her face.

"Go hide in the kitchen while I greet them." He whispered before giving her a short kiss. She skipped to the kitchen as Ichigo went to greet his sisters at the door.

"Ichigo, we're home! OH! You're right there." Yuzu laughed, seeing her brother right by the door. Which was very odd for him to do. Karin followed in behind her sister, giving her brother a strange look before her eyes went wide. Ichigo gave a puzzled look back. Karin was looking him like she knew..

'shit, she can sense my spiritual pressure.'

He had completely forgotten that Kain's abilities had grown stronger over the last two years. It seemed after Ichigo's powers were gone, hers grew. Unlike Ichigo, she was very good at sensing reiatsu. It was a good thing Rukia was in a Gigai and had better control over her reiatsu then he did.

"I'm going to put our bags upstairs, Karin. Then let's have a snack." Karin nodded watching her sister go up the stairs before turning back to her brother, an eyebrow raised in question; silently demanding answers. He wondered if he should just play stupid.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why are you leaking reiatsu everywhere?! I thought your powers were gone." She whispered, even though she knew no one could hear her.

"Let's just say, it's been an eventful weekend." She squinted her eyes at him, urging him to give more information. Thankfully, Yuzu came down the stairs then.

"How was your weekend, Ichigo?" Yuzu asked while heading to the kitchen, Ichigo and Karin trailing behind her.

"I was actually pretty good." He said, with a growing grin on his face. They were very close to finding out why.

"Oh, why's tha-" Yuzu stopped in her tracks. Eyes wide, looking at the raven haired Shinigami standing in their kitchen.

"Hi Yuzu, Karin."

"RUKIA!!" The girls rushed over to her enveloping her in a hug. Ichigo could tell Yuzu was crying, even Karin looked a little teary eyed. Ichigo watched the happy reunion before he glanced over seeing his father behind him, watching as well.

"So son!" Isshin said, slapping his son on the back. Ichigo lurched forward, but caught himself and gave his father an irriated look.

"When should I expect grandchildren?!"

The teens face turned red, scowling at his fathers question before wrestling him to the ground.

"YOU CAN'T JUST ASK SOMETHING LIKE THAT YOU OLD MAN, AND IM ONLY NINETEEN." He screamed at his father while putting him in a head lock. The girls broke a part from their embrace, watching the dramatic scene unfold in front of them.

"BUT IMAGINE HOW BEAUTIFUL THEY WILL BE, SON." Isshin had happy tears streaming down his face as he broke out of Ichigo's head lock. Rukia realizing what the conversation was about, blushes before walking to the dramatic men before grabbing Ichigo by the ear and dragging him away from his overly enthusiastic father.

"OW, OW, DAMMIT RUKIA, you're gonna tear my ear off!" Rolling her eyes, she let go before walking back over to the girls who looked highly amused at the scene that just unfolded in front of them. Shortly after, they sat down at the table; as Ichigo and Isshin brushed themselves off before sitting down as well.

"Rukia, how are you here?! Did Ichigo get his powers back?!" Yuzu asked excitedly as she looked between Rukia and Ichigo.

"Yes, he did. Kisuke developed a sword that I was able to draw my spiritual energy into and I was able to give him half of mine." she stated softly, a growing grin on her face. Yuzu teared up again before getting up and giving Rukia another hug.

"Thank you so much! He's been so sad since you've been gone!" She stated tearfully into Rukia's shoulder. Rukia softly patted her on the back before Yuzu pulled away and sat back down.

"I understand. I was very sad too." she confessed, her gaze turning to Ichigo. In moments like this it hit her all at once that she was the opposite of sad now. She went from being incredily depressed to incredibly happy in three weeks time.

"How long are you staying?" Karin questioned.

"I have twelve more days here before I have to head back. I was able to request two weeks off once Ichigo got his powers back." The girls smiled happily at her before Rukia turned her gaze to the center of the table, her face turning somber.

"I want to apologize to you both. I should have explained what had happened before I left. It was unfair to you both for me to leave without saying why." The twins eyes widened at her words, realizing she was blaming herself. To everyone's surprise, Karin spoke before Yuzu could.

"You don't need to apologize, Rukia. Dad told us everything. I will admit.. I was angry at first because I didn't understand. But I get it now." Rukia met Karin's eyes, seeing complete understanding in them.

"Karin is right. It's nothing you need to be sorry about. We know it was very hard for you to go back after Ichigo lost his powers." Yuzu said softly, before reaching a hand out over the table to grab Rukia's.

"You're so strong, Rukia.You and Ichigo both." Yuzu said smiling, feeling the tears in the back of her eyes. Rukia felt her own tears in the corners of her eyes.

She knew they were her family. She couldn't imagine them not in her life. Her connection to Ichigo was life altering, in a way she had never experienced before with anyone else. She felt so lucky to be able to have a connection with his family as well.

For the next hour the Kurosaki family sat around the kitchen table catching up. Yuzu made tea and brought out some chips and cookies for everyone to much on as they all chatted.

"So how have things been for you, Rukia?" Yuzu asked sweetly before grabbing another cookie.

"Things have been good. I was promoted to Lieutenant." She said proudly. They all grinned and congratulated her.

"Thank you. Aside from that it's been.. busy. But things have calmed down since the war. Things have gotten a lot better over the weekend as well, since Ichigo got his powers back." she turned her gaze to Ichigo who was trying not to blush, realizing what exactly she was tallking about. She met his eyes and couldn't help but smirk.

"What was THAT?" Karin questioned rather bluntly, eyebrows raised at her brother and the Shinigami.

"Hmm? What was what?" Ichigo asked, breaking his eye contact with Rukia who in turn stifled a laugh behind her hand.

"Ohhhh! I saw it too, Karin!" Yuzu said excitedly, leaning forward on the kitchen table while looking between the two. Rukia felt her face heat up at their realization.

"Something happened between you two! I can feel it! Do you guys even realize what your reiatsu does when you're near each other now?" Karin questioned them, while leaning on the kitchen table as well. She was obviously smirking, waiting for them to fess up what she already knew.

"Wha-? What are you talking about?" Rukia was rather confused. She knew she was good at hiding her reiatsu, Ichigo not so much. Was her reiatsu coming out when she was near Ichigo and didn't even realize it?

"You haven't noticed? It's like.." Karin then made a weird swirling motion with her hands.

"It's like.. swirling together? Or more like recognizing each other and meeting? It's kind of cool, I've never seen anything like it before." Karin said with a grin on her face, patiently waiting for them to confess. Yuzu squinted at the pair, as if she was trying to see their spiritual pressure too. Rukia's eyes met Ichigo's again, waiting for him to say something. Ichigo realized they were all looking at him, even his father was with his elbow propped up on the table and holding his head in his hand.

"Please, do tell son." Isshin said with a huge grin on his face, which only made Ichigo turn more red. He scowled before throwing his hands up in defeat.

"Fine! You guys figured it out. I shouldn't really be surprised. Me and Rukia.. are together now."

Their were gasps around the table, even from his father. Ichigo glared at him, laying his hand on the table.

"Why are you sounding so surprised? You found out the night she came back!" He stated with clear agitation in his voice. The girls laughed before speaking up with excitement.

"I'm so happy for you both!" Yuzu squealed excitedly, practically bouncing out of her chair.

"Me too. It's about time." Karin said while leaning back in her chair, a smirk still present on her face. The new couple blushed, looking down at the table.

"Thank you both. And I agree, it was about time." Rukia said, laughing in her voice. The girls laughed at her remark before laughing even harder at seeing how red their brothers face was.

Once they were calmed down, Rukia glanced over at Karin. She knew she wanted to talk to her about something and felt now was the time.

"Karin. Would it be okay if you talked with me upstairs for a minute?" Karin looked over at Rukia, confusion in her eyes.

"Sure." She got up, and Rukia followed. She passed Ichigo, giving him a kiss on the cheek before following Karin up the stairs. She heard Yuzu squeal and Ichigo mutter 'oh, shut it' before making it all the way up the stairs. Karin went to her room, Rukia right behind her. Once inside she shut the door behind her. Karin went to sit on her bed and Rukia went to sit on Yuzu's. Karin had her back to the wall, her lehs cross crossed as she looked back at Rukia.

"So what did you want to talk about?" She was rather curious about what her shinigami friend had to say. Rukia gave a sigh before looking up, meeting the young girls eyes.

"I want to talk to you about Tōshirō Hitsugaya." Karin's eyes widened at her reply. She hadn't heard his name in a long time.

"I know he's your friend. I also know your father talked to both you and Yuzu and told you everything, and he told you Hitsugaya did survive the war." Rukia looked down at her hands resting in her lap. Karin felt her heart race up and Rukia talked about her friend.

"He has told me himself that he's been wanting to visit you the last two years, but there is a reason why he hasn't been able to." Rukia looked up at Karin. Her eyes were wide and Rukia could tell she was slightly shaking. Rukia slowly stood up from Yuzu's bed and went to sit next to Karin. She sat cross legged next to Karin before continuing.

"During the war.. his best friend Hinamori Momo was severely injured, because of Aizen." Rukia heard the young girls breath hitch. Rukia instinctively took a hold of one of her hands in hers and held it between them. She didn't think Karin even noticed.

"He.. he told me about her. How he grew up with her. She's like a sister to him." Karin blinked back tears, feeling the pain in her chest knowing her white haired friend has been hurting all these years.

"What exactly happened to her?" She asked hesitantly. She wanted to know but she was scared. She knew the war with Aizen was awful, with many people injured and dead. She was furious Aizen had done this to her loved ones.

"I feel it is not my place to tell you, it's Tōshirō's. The only reason he has not visited is because Momo is in a coma, and has been since the war. He's afraid to leave Soul Society, even for a day. Because he is scared the worst will happen to her. He will never be able to live with himself if the worst does happen and he isn't there by her side."

Rukia took a deep breath, trying not to become emotional. This was a very hard conversation to have with Ichigo's little sister. She knew it was effecting Karin, because her hold on Rukia's hand tightened as she bowed her head and held back her tears.

"I know.. this is hard to hear. But I know you needed to know. Tōshirō is also my friend and means a great deal to me. I want to help him, just as I'm sure you want to as well." Rukia scooted closer to Karin as the younger girl trembled.

"He didn't deserve this, neither did Momo. He is a good person, Rukia." Karin looked up then, a few tears leaking out as she looked at her friend that she saw as an older sister.

"I know, you are right. I don't understand why bad things happen to good people." Rukia said softly, through her own tears that she was holding back. Rukia thought about what she could do to help her friends. Then an idea came to her. She jumped out of the bed, motioning for Karin to follow her. She entered Ichigo's room and went to his desk where she had laid out a few of her things. Seeing the Soul Candy, she showed it to Karin and explained what it was for.

"I'm going to use this and enter my Soul Reaper form." She went to lay on Ichigo's bed, so her Gigai would not fall on the floor.

"Once I do, I'm going to summon a Hell Butterfly. They can be used to send messages to Soul Reapers in Soul Society. I can send a message to Tōshirō. What would you like me to tell him?"

Karin gaped at her, realizing what Rukia was telling her. She sat next to Rukia on the bed, her mind blank for a moment. As she thought, Rukia popped the Soul Candy in her mouth beside her in Soul Reaper form, sitting beside her on the bed.

"Can you tell him.. I understand why he hasn't visited. Tell him my father told me everything about Ichigo and about the war with Aizen. And that I don't know what exactly happened to Momo, but I'm sorry. And he's not alone." Rukia smiled at her, before nodding her head. She went to summon the Hell Butterfly before Karin stopped her, laying a hand on her wrist.

"And also that I miss him too." She whispered. Rukia looked into the young girls eyes, understanding.

"Ofcourse, Karin."

Karin watched as she summoned the Hell Butterfly. It landed on Rukia's finger, and she watched as Rukia closed her eyes and silently communicated the message. Once she was done, it flew off her finger and went out the bedroom window, heading towards it's destination.

"Thank you, Rukia."

"Anytime, Karin."

In the tenth Division, Captain Hitsugaya sat at his desk trying to focus on paperwork. It had been hours and as hard as he tried, he couldn't focus. His Lieutenant was nowhere to be seen and he sighed in aggravation at the thought of that. He considered going out to train for a few hours but knew he shouldn't. He had recently gotten word Momo's health was starting to rapidly decline. He felt it was best not to stray too far from her, just in case. He looked up and sighed again, before he noticed a Hell Butterfly heading towards him. Confused, he lifted up his finger as it lands at it's destination.

His eyes widen in shock at hearing Rukia's voice but even more so at what she has to say. Once the message has ended, the Hell Butterfly vanishes and he leans back into his chair before looking out the window; a small smile on his face. Karin may not be someone he has known for decades, yet it still felt like they had known each other that long; if not longer. He had felt a connection to her in a way that he really had only ever had with a few people. He was happy to hear from Karin Kurosaki. It was the best thing to happen to him in a long time. But his eyes grew sad, thinking back to Momo. Knowing what was surely to happen soon.

"I am sure you will see me soon, Karin Kurosaki."

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