With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
The problem with being a shinigami lapdog, as Hinata would have put it before she joined them, was the amount of paperwork required to make a trip like this. And just to humor Ningai, if the man could indeed be humored, Hinata actually sat down to do it. Presently she stood outside of the building that once housed her apartment, and she wondered if the landlord had taken possession of her nearly empty home or not. She hoped not - it would have left Tsuki homeless. The poor girl was clueless, likely unable to really fend for herself.
"Now that I think about it, this place is a total dump," Hinata laughed, putting her hands on her hips. She wasn't wearing a gigai, but she had come in clothes like the ones she used to wear. They didn't feel as comfortable after her time running around in hakama and kosode. Her scarf hung around her neck, and her hair hung freely around her face. She wondered if Tsuku would recognize her.
"Come on, annoying brat," she murmured, staring at the building. She couldn't bring herself to enter, so she hoped that Tsuki would see her or hear her or be coming home. "I'm right here...just tackle me and get it over with."
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
A tree twitched for a brief moment as something...wait, someone flew from it. Tree after tree twitched as the being moved swifter and swifter, barely touching the plant with her sandals as she moved with a killer intent. She searched with her eyes, far beyond the trees to locate her target.
Hinata.
Her eyes instantaneously turned into tracking radars upon glancing at Hinata-kun. Using her Shunpo she stalked quietly, gracefully, ...deadly. Her silver hair gleamed, for the brief moments that it showed, as she moved faster and faster. Finally she stopped as she was only a few yards to the right of her best friend. Her breathe hitched and she doubled back for a few steps. And then, Tsuki was off.
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINATA-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN" she roared as she gained momentum and got in the position to take the other woman down. She had been desiring this moment for what had seemed like an eternity! Nothing would stand in her way, NOTHING. And if anything or anyone did, then she would have to annihilate them.
Hinata had anticipated Tsuki to come rushing through the window or from just behind her. But instead, the insane vizard was nowhere to be seen. The older woman glanced around, certain that the silver-haired demon was around somewhere, and caught movement in the direction of a tree. Either that's Tsuki, or a huge bird.
She turned to face the tree, sternly placing her hands on her hips. "Yeah that's right, dumbass, I'm right here!"
She looked around, still unable to quite see Tsuki. But then...
"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINATA-KUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"
"There you a--" Hinata snapped, turning around and motioning as if she would punch Tsuki. Instead of striking the girl, however, she stumbled forward, and Tsuki nailed her right in the chest. Maybe she should have looked before she punched. "Damn it, Tsuki! Are you always gonna do that?"
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Hehehehe! Mission successful, the target has been captured! She grinned like a maniac as her bestest friend, Hinata, had been taken down by the powerful, almighty-- was that a squirrel?
Anyway, she attempted to pin the older woman's wrists to the "ground". She smiled as her silver hair fluttered over her shoulders and into the space that seperated their heads.
"Only every time I see you Hinata-kun! I missed you so much! Where have you been? The house is so alone, I missed you so much, what were you doing, was it fun? I had fun at the park yesterday..."she chattered on and on without even stopping to take a breath.
What was wrong with the woman? As soon as she was ready for Hinata's answers she leaned down to plant a big, wet kiss on the woman's cheeks.
Once again, Tsuki tackled Hinata. The woman didn't think to fight, too busy growling and hissing like an angry cat. "Let go of me, damn it!"
"Only every time I see you, Hinata-kun!" Tsuki said gleefully. Hinata pushed upwards, nearly pressing her forehead against Tsuki's. Not quite a headbutt, more of an angry shove that she could manage without the use of her hands. And really, she could have picked her hands up at any moment. Tsuki was much weaker than she was. "I missed you so much!"
That calmed her down a bit. Her glare softened, and her frown vanished. Instead, she watched Tsuki in a sort of bemusement.
"The house is so alone, I missed you so much, what were you doing? Was it fun? I had fun at the park yesterday..."
"So you still have the house? You're not having trouble paying rent, are you? I could leave you some money," Hinata offered. Once again, Tsuki bent over to plant a kiss on Hinata's cheek, and at that the latter drew the line. "No! Off!"
She stood up, despite the other vizard.
"If you'd get off of me, I'll tell you all about it. We'll go get ice cream or something," Hinata said. She was a little hungry. And while giving Tsuki any sort of junk food was akin to conversing with a tiger, Hinata couldn't bring herself to mind. She really was glad to see Tsuki alright.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"NEVER!" She cried playfully as she clung to her Hinata.
She really did enjoy hugging her, she was her only friend, after all. The woman shoved her and Tsuki finally let her go, but with a mischievous frown. She would tackle hug her soon enough, she just needed to do it slyly.
When Hinata asked her about the house, she scratched her head and gave her a confused look.
"I was supposed to pay for the house? Oh...maybe that's what that short, bald man was talking about with this paper..." she said, and preceeded to pull out an eviction notice. She still didn't know what it meant, but surely Hinata would!
She truly was the boss, and she was just so much smarter than Tsuki. And more talented, and a better fighter. But it didn't matter, because no matter what they would be there for eachother.
"...blah blah blah ice cream bla-" the older Vizard said.
Wait, did she just say ice cream? The silver haired woman's eyes bulged and she leaped up into the air, and on her descent, aimed to land in Hinata's arms.
It figured that Tsuki had forgotten to pay for the rent. Or, rather, was too dumb to realize it was necessary. Hinata's eye twitched - had all of their stuff been thrown out? She had a few nice things lying around that house and some of them she actually would have liked to keep. She took the sheet of paper and frowned.
"So have you been out on the street?" she murmured. She crumpled up the piece of paper and tossed it over her shoulder, folding her arms and tapping her foot impatiently. "You have to find some place to stay or I'll kick your ass."
At the mention of ice cream, Tsuki's eyes widened and bulged, and the tiny woman leaped high into the air. Hinata held out her arms, looking away boredly. Of course Tsuki was trying to perform a circus act. When wasn't she? The woman landed in Hinata's arms, and then Hinata said, "Don't make me regret it," and dropped her.
She crossed her arms and held her head high as she walked, knowing very well that Tsuki would not leave her alone. That little pest would follow her no matter where she went. Which was for the best, after all, Hinata was trying to help take care of Tsuki, not just leave her to rot. With luck, the little vizard would be able to return without much fuss - at least if Ningai would consent.
Nevermind if Tsuki would consent.
But then again, did Hinata really want Tsuki back in Sereitei? Where she could find her? And assault her with hugs?
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"So have you been out on the street?" the older woman asked, sounding a bit irritated.
She looked confused again, but only for a brief moment. "No! I live in the trees, not the street, silly!" she said, giggling. Wasn't Hinata-kun supposed to be the smart one?
As she landed in her best friend's arms, she giggled and leaned for another smooch on her cheek, before she was dropped. It didn't hurt of course, but she still said "Ow!" and preceded to frown.
She sat down, and hugged her knees to her chest. She wasn't really upset, but still, she loved Hinata-kun's attention. When she started to walk away, she had debated whether or not to tackle her, again. However, Honesenshi had chimed in and advised her that if she did, she would lose the ice cream.
Shocked, she hurried and ran like a cat on all fours, to catch up with her. She smiled, and then began to skip as they traveled to their destination.
"No! I live in the trees, not the street, silly," giggled Tsuki, moving to kiss Hinata before she was dropped. The silver-haired girl sat in the fetal position, and Hinata knew better than to indulge her when she was like this. Instead, the older woman kept walking, nonchalant as she could manage. Her brow twitched, her lips curled into a stern frown.
"You can't live on the damn street," Hinata hissed, like a cat who'd been doused in water. Coming back to find that the apartment no longer belonged to her was irritating, but coming back to find Tsuki so gleeful about being homeless was worse. And with that Szayel guy running around, she didn't want Tsuki living on the streets. "And do you have a gigai and everything?"
There was a good reason she didn't want to tell Tsuki about the man - though it might have been a better plan. That man was insane enough in public. What about his lair in Hueco Mundo? Hinata assumed it must have been a dark and dreary place...like Utah. Exactly like Utah. And with a big old pipe organ.
"Shit, I don't even remember where the place is," Hinata swore, slipping her hands into her pockets.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Ah, shit. Hinata frowned and Tsuki made the best puppy dog face she could manage. She knew that she had did something that made her upset, or angry.
"You can't live on the damn street," she nearly screamed at her.
Her lip quivered and a few drops of tears began to drip from her eyes. Why was she so mad? What had she done? She hated disappointed her only friend, she felt crushed inside.
Blinded by the momentary sadness she barely heard Hinata's next question. After a few moments of sniffling, and replaying the words in her head, she answered in a sad, subdued tone.
"No, I have no gigai. I just walk around like I normally would..." her voice barely audible through the sniffles.
Hearing that the older Vizard couldn't find the ice cream parlor, made Tsuki lose all hope in humanity. She dropped on the floor and sat there pouting, with her tears now drying.