~ Light Of Hope ~ (A Toushiro Hitsugaya Fanfic)

8. " To Soul Society "

Arriving at her house, Orihime guides Toushirou to her room where he gently lays Yuuki on the bed while Orihime covers her with a blanket. Toushirou gazes at the sleeping girl for a while as he somehow feels a certain familiarity towards her. His attention then turns to Orihime who was rummaging her closet.

"Hmm... I know I just put them here...... Ah! Found them! I'm sure my old clothes would fit her!", Orihime said as she holds some clothes then turns to Toushirou. "Umm... Toushiro-kun? Could you step outside for a moment please?", she asked politely.

Knowing what she's about to do, he steps outside without saying a word and wait. After Several minutes, Orihime steps outside the room carrying Yuuki's bloodstained clothes.

"Toushirou-kun, I bet you're tired. Why don't you sit down and rest for a moment while I make some tea.", she said.

"I'm fine... thanks.", Toushirou said and sits on the couch.

After dumping Yuuki's bloodstained clothes to the hamper, Orihime returns with some tea.

"Will Unohana-san arrive any time soon?", she asked.

"Yeah. I told them our location and they said they're on their way. They're about 10 minutes out."

"I see... that's good.", Orihime said and puts down some tea on the table in front of the young captain.

"Thanks.....", Toushirou said as he sips some tea, a pause. "What was she like?", he asked as he stares at the teacup in his hands.

Orihime sips some tea too and looks at him.

"Who? Yuuki-chan?", she asked in confirmation.

"Yeah."

"Hmmm...... she's kind, smart and always puts others first before herself. Despite her meekness she's also confident and shows great courage and determination. She might not know it but she has a tendency to attract people. She also has a keen intuition in determining good from bad people.", Orihime said, then a pause. "But underneath all those, there's a deep sadness within her that we're unable to reach. Kurosaki-kun and his dad tried their best to reach out to her but........ ah! S-Sorry I think I might have talked too much, but why do you want to know about her anyway?"

(Courage and determination... huh? No wonder...), Toushirou thought as he remembered how she looked at him in the eyes. ".... she looks like someone I used to know a long time ago.", he answered truthfully.

Orihime wanted to ask who to keep the conversation going but decided against it. She felt like she's prying because he doesn't seem to want to talk about it in much detail. Silence befell around the two for a while.

"What are we going to do now? When Unohana-san gets here then what?", she asked thus breaking the silence.

"We'll take her to Soul Society until she fully recovers.", Toushirou answered, then looks at her with a serious expression. "But Kurosaki must not know about her 'till then. You know about his situation right now."

"I understand...", Orihime sadly said. "Kurosaki-kun... I wonder how he's doing...", she mumbled with a concerned look on her face.

"If you're worried about him you can go. I'll watch over her for the time being and Unohana will be arriving any minute now so it'll be okay."

Orihime lightly smiles at him in appreciation.

"If you say so then, arigato Toushirou-kun. I'll be back as soon as I can.", Orihime said.

"Just be careful. It's already late."

"Hai."

******