Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Tempests of the Heart ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

Title: Tempests of the Heart (3/?)

Author: blue_crystal_9

Rating: PG-13/T

Pairing: Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori, Kira/Hinamori
Spoilers: Anything up to episode 62 at this point.
Warnings: Innuendo, swearing.
Summary: It is years after the betrayal of Soul Society. Hinamori's finally beginning to move on with her life, and with that comes much change. Can Hitsugaya handle these changes?
Disclaimer: I do not own Beach; Tite Kubo does. I am not making any profit from this; it is for entertainment purposes only.
Author's Notes: Wahhh, I am so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I was extremely busy with school and extracurriculars, and everything only finally started to calm down in the last few days, so I finally had time to finish writing this. And here it is. :)

 

 

Tempests of the Heart

Chapter Three

 

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Hinamori sat on the roof of the fifth division barracks, watching the sun rise. It was rather an unorthodox place to sit, but you got the best view of Soul Society from the roof.

 

Suddenly, she saw a movement in the corner of her eye. In her surprise she shrieked and toppled over. Unfortunately, she was sitting near the edge of the roof so the ground was quickly titling toward her.

 

Someone gripped her wrist tightly and pulled her upright. She looked over to see the bemused face of Hitsugaya.

 

“Gah, you scared me!” She put a hand to her chest, her heart still thumping madly in her ears.

 

“Duly noted. Falling off the roof wasn't exactly subtle.” Amusement clearly shone in his eyes. “Besides, it's not like you would have fallen that far… twenty feet, maybe?”

 

“Hardy har har.” Hinamori said sarcastically, edging further away from the edge of the roof. “I can practically feel the broken bones that would have caused. And anyway, you snuck up on me again.”

 

He snorted. “It was your own fault; you should have sensed my reiatsu.”

 

“Hey!” Hinamori growled. “You were the one who used their crazy sneaky captain powers to scare me. And besides, I can't be expected to be concentrating that heavily this early in the morning. I haven't even had any tea yet.” She ignored his exasperated expression, “So, what are you doing here anyway?”

 

“I came to apologize actually, for being so snippy yesterday. I was in a bad mood and I took it out on you and it was uncalled for.”

 

She examined his face thoughtfully. His gaze was perfectly clear, no trace of the anger that had been there yesterday. She gave him a little smile, “Don't worry about it, Hitsugaya-kun. You just saved me from breaking several ribs, that's payment enough.” He smirked at her and she grinned back, “So are we good now?”

 

“Definitely.”

 

Hinamori bumped her shoulder against his playfully, “Good. So how did you find me up here?”

 

“Well, first of all I, unlike you, take the time to sense people's reiatsu-”

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Hinamori mumbled.

 

“I was on my way to the dining hall and I saw you up on the roof.”

 

Hinamori snorted, “Of course. Why were you getting breakfast so early?”

 

“I'm going in to get a head start on the paperwork-”

 

“What? It's like, an hour and half before we have to be at work. The only reason I'm not asleep right now was because I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

 

“Well, the pile was ridiculously large last night and I don't fancy having to do a ton of paperwork again this weekend. And Matsumoto is virtually no help.” He scoffed. “It's looks like I'm going to have to start threatening her again.”

 

Hinamori snickered, “Back to the usual, then?”

 

“Yes, unfortunately.”

 

The sat in companionable silence for a few moments until Hinamori spoke. “Hey, Hitsugaya-kun, can I ask you something?”

 

She looked slightly anxious, which made Hitsugaya curious. “Of course you can.”

 

“Um…” She started playing with a stray piece of her bangs, a nervous habit of hers. “What do you think of me being in a relationship with Kira, truthfully? I know you still don't exactly like Kira because of what happened years ago, but if you disregard that… what do you think?”

 

Hitsugaya blinked, a little more than surprised at her question. “Why are you asking me this?”

 

“Well, you're my friend and I want to know your opinion.”

 

“It shouldn't matter to you what others think, Hinamori.” Hitsugaya said quietly. “You should do what you want to do.”

 

“I know, and I try to be like that. But I'm not as successful as you are.” She gave him a small smile. “So, what do you think?”

 

Hitsugaya paused for a long moment before answering. “Well, Kira's a good person, from what I've seen. Disregarding his… previous actions, of course. He's kind, smart, clever.” He stared off into the horizon for a second before adding, “You two compliment each other well.” He sighed for a moment before standing up, “I should go, I have things to do. I'll see you later.”

 

“Sure. Bye, Hitsugaya-kun.” He nodded to her before shunpo-ing away.

 

She stared at the place where he had been sitting, thoughts elsewhere.

 

Was it just me or did he just subtly run away from the conversation?

 

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“You're not going out with us on Friday again?!” Renji sputtered.

 

Kira shrugged, “I have another date with Hinamori.”

 

“That's all you do lately!” Renji grumbled. “She's going to get sick of you.”

 

“No, she won't.” Kira frowned. “At least I hope not…”

 

“Don't worry about it, she's totally into you.” Hisagi patted Kira's shoulder, and he looked a little relieved.

 

“You're totally abandoning us. Bros before hoes, man.” Renji sighed.

 

“You've spent way to much time in the real world, Renji.” Hisagi rolled his eyes.

 

“Well, I can't hold my liquor as well as you two can anyway, so at least I won't be a burden anymore.” Kira shrugged.

 

“That's why we like having you around. We enjoy watching you make a complete fool of yourself; it's utter hilarity.” Renji smirked.

 

Kira scowled, his voice sarcastic. “Thanks.”

 

“No problem man.”

 

“I have to say, having you there does make the night more interesting.” Hisagi started to grin. “Like that time with the mop after you'd had a ton of shooters. We had to literally hide the thing to stop you from trying to make out with it-”

 

“Aw, shut up. Don't remind me!” Kira made a face as Renji laughed. “You joked about that for ages.”

 

“Of course we did. It was one of the funniest things that's happened in years.”

 

“So, does Hinamori know about your mop smooching ways?” Renji chortled. “Someone should warn her before she gets in too deep.”

 

“If you ever mention that to her, I swear I will hunt you down and-” Kira snarled, but was saved from finishing by the arrival of Iba.

 

“Hey.” He said, sitting down by Renji. “What's up?”

 

“Kira's abandoning us yet again.” Renji complained.

 

“Going out with Hinamori again, huh?” Iba glanced at Kira over his sunglasses and Kira nodded. “Man, what's it been? Four, five dates?”

 

“Five.”

 

Iba whistled. “And you haven't slept with her yet?”

 

Kira turned bright red. “No!”

 

“What are you, chicken or something?”

 

“That's what I was thinking.” Renji muttered.

 

“I'm not making her rush into anything. We're just going to take it slow.” Kira managed to sputter out.

 

“Unlike you two, Kira's a gentleman.” Hisagi grinned.

 

Iba snorted. “So are you courting her, or something?”

 

“Well, in a matter of speaking…” Kira trailed off,

 

Renji laughed. “Wow. Someone's behind on the times.”

 

“Sheesh. At least I've gotten past first base with a girl. You're going to have to do it sometime, Kira.” Iba smirked.

 

“Shut up.” Kira glowered, his face turning red as the other guys snickered.

 

They hadn't noticed a certain white haired captain who had been walking several feet away from where they had been sitting. He was far enough behind the group to not have been noticed, but close enough to hear their conversation.

 

He wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or apprehensive.

 

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Hitsugaya sat at his desk a while later, still contemplating their conversation.

 

Why was it that everyone decided to have conversations about things concerning Hinamori that he'd rather not hear about when he was in the vicinity? You'd swear they were doing it on purpose just to irritate him.

 

And he had not been eavesdropping. He had not. He had simply been passing by them and could he help it if his feet slowed a little when he discovered what they were talking about? No, he couldn't.

 

Hitsugaya pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. Oh for the love of God, he was going insane. He was getting all freaked out over nothing just because they'd been talking about Hinamori and Kira and their possible sex life.

 

And besides, Kira himself had said they hadn't slept together yet. At least he had that small comfort. At least he wouldn't have to conceive a plan to kill Kira without Hinamori finding out. Or Yamamoto, for that matter.

 

But Kira hadn't said they weren't going to sleep together either. They've been together for a few weeks now, and you can't deny that it could happen in the near future. A tiny part of his brain argued.

 

Hitsugaya growled under his breath, attempting to ignore those thoughts. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy.

 

His hand clenched into a fist, knuckles turning white with anger. He couldn't stand the thought of anyone daring to touch her, even if they had her consent. She was too… just no. And Kira… damn bastard. Eventually, they'd… arghh!

 

Bad thoughts. Bad, bad thoughts. Hitsugaya resisted the urge to bash his head off the desk, burying his face in his hands. Great, now he was so insane that he couldn't even think in proper sentences. He needed to stop worrying about Kira and Hinamori's possible sex life. It wasn't even any of his concern.

 

He needed a hobby, and badly.

 

“Taicho, is something wrong?”

 

He jumped in surprise, barely managing to hold back a shout. He hadn't even realized Matsumoto was asleep on the couch; he'd wondered where she had disappeared to. Her head was sticking up over the top of the sofa, chin resting on the surface. Her hair was tousled from sleep and she was blinking at him owlishly. He looked at her crossly, “I'm fine. And why are you asleep during work hours? Do your work, or I'm docking your pay.”

 

Matsumoto heaved a sigh before standing up and stretching, “Someone's cranky.”

 

He simply grunted at her and she went to sit at her desk, pulling her work towards her and picking up a quill. She didn't concentrate on it for long however, and decided to watch her captain out of the corner of her eye instead.

 

He was in a bad mood. Not a `I'm going to turn you into a popsicle' kind of bad mood, but a kind of bad mood where he was trying to hide the fact that he was cranky about something that he didn't want to talk about. Which meant he was pissed about something concerning Hinamori. And the `going out with Kira' thing.

 

But the subtle twitching of his right eyebrow was a definite tipoff that he was annoyed about something.

 

Matsumoto bit her lip. God, how she wanted to say something to him. But he would either brush her off or tell her to mind her own business. Her captain needed a guy friend, because if he kept bottling up all of his thoughts he was going to snap and go bankai on all of their asses. And it would be not be good.

 

“Matsumoto, paperwork.”

 

She whirled around to look at him. “Hey, I'm doing it.”

 

“Your pen hasn't moved for at least five minutes.”

 

Damn it. She picked up her quill again, simultaneously watching him with her peripheral vision. His scowl was more pronounced than usual, and every few seconds he would shake his head and mutter to himself. And there was some major twitching going on as well.

 

Yeah, that definitely wasn't normal.

 

Matsumoto tried to concentrate on her work, she really did. But eventually the muttering and the twitching got on her nerves. He'd even started tapping the desk irritably. How was a vice captain supposed to concentrate in such conditions?

 

She threw her quill down. “Taicho. Is there anything I can help you with?” Matsumoto asked, all fake syrupy sweetness.

 

“If you actually did your work it would be a great help, yes.” Hitsugaya replied mildly.

 

Arghh. “That's not what I meant.” She snapped.

 

“Then what did you mean?”

 

“I meant, can I help you with whatever it is that's making you twitch like you're on Prozac?”

 

His voice was abruptly indifferent. “I'm fine.”

 

“Ughh, you are so not!” Matsumoto was getting frustrated.

 

“I assure you Matsumoto, there is nothing the matter with me.”

 

She sent him a glare that would have scared small children and puppies. “Sir, I apologize for being so rude, but will you just do it already?”

 

“Do what?” He looked confused.

 

“Do what, he asks.” Matsumoto muttered to herself before rolling her eyes. “Duh. Tell Hinamori how you feel.”

 

Hitsugaya abruptly turned three shades of red, sputtering incomprehensibly. “I-I…That! You…B-but!” He suddenly seemed to deflate, his voice soft and laced with sadness. “I can't do that.”

 

“Why? You've been in far more frightening situations than telling a girl how you feel.” Matsumoto said, her voice almost scolding.

 

“Because she's happy with Kira.”

 

The tone of his voice made her freeze. She looked over at him, but his face was hidden in the shadows. She got up and walked over to his desk, saying tentatively, “Taicho?”

 

“She's with Kira now, she's happy. I'm not going to ruin that. She obviously doesn't feel the same way, so there's no point for me to tell her.”

 

“But she should know, Taicho. I mean, what if-“

 

“No.” He interrupted, his piercing green eyes suddenly locked on hers. “It would make her feel awkward. She does not need to know.” His words were final.

 

“But… you would rather her be in that dark about your feeling then for you to be happy?”

 

“No, I would rather for her to be happy, even if she's not with me. Her happiness is what matters, not mine.”

 

Matsumoto was silent for a moment, before gently placing a hand on her captain's shoulder. He let her stay like that for a moment before saying, “You know how you could help me, Matsumoto? You could do your work and not bother me about personal matters.” His voice slightly rough, interlaced with ice.

 

Matsumoto took her hand back with a heavy heart, sighing softly. “Yes, sir.”

 

She went back to her desk, and the tenth division office descended into a silence.

 

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End of chapter three.