So it started raining, because apparently we're having a thunderstorm. And I'm alone at home, so I got really bored, and then my imagination started running and this appeared. WARNING: the girl in the story is some OC I came up with for the purpose of the story. I couldn't decide which Bleach girl would suit the story, so I came up with one. Don't hate her, please. This is told from her point of view.

It was raining outside. Wait, no – scratch that. It was pouring outside. And we were stuck inside. Alone. But that wasn't so bad, really. I mean, we are friends and all, so it's not like it's uncomfortable or awkward. Maybe just a little unnerving, but all in all not that bad.

I sat on the windowsill, watching the rain pour down from the sky. We were in the World of the Living on some stupid mission in some stupid town for some stupid reason I couldn't even remember. I don't even know why I, the lieutenant of the 2nd, was chosen to go with Toshiro, the captain of the 10th. Yeah, I take it back now. It was awkward. We didn't say anything to each other; instead we chose to sit in silence in the small apartment that had been rented for our use.

It was okay, for the first hour. But after a while, the steady dropping of the rain falling was starting to get on my nerves. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and I started pacing the length of the room, desperately trying to distract myself from the horrid noise. From my peripheral vision, I could tell the rain was starting to get to Captain Hitsugaya too. He was gritting his teeth and had a slightly pained expression with his eyes squeezed shut. I took the moment to study him, just for something to do. In all honesty, I'd never had a chance to examine him this closely before. Whenever we met it was for some mission or battle, never just for fun. Well, it's not like this was for fun, but the time we were spending together with absolutely no reason could fall under that 'fun' category.

And while I was lost in my musings about having 'fun,' I realized I had begun to stare at him. Thankfully his eyes were still shut, so he hadn't noticed, but I quickly averted my gaze to the floor anyways, slightly embarrassed for my actions. I stopped pacing when a thought flitted through my head. Why would I be embarrassed? I was never embarrassed, ever. I was the calm, collected, emotionless lieutenant of the 2nd. I know what people say about me, being aloof and alone, not able to understand what others feel because I myself have no emotions. That I'm a cold-blooded killer, part of the assassination squad of the Onmitsukido.

Angry at letting my emotions get the better of me, I lashed out at the wall, accidentally making quite a large dent in the process. I let out a small yelp at the sharp sting of my hand making contact with the wall, though it was out of surprise more than pain. But nevertheless, Captain Hitsugaya heard it and opened one of his eyes, his eyebrow arching with confusion. Shaking my head I continued pacing. Captain Hitsugaya closed his eye when he realized I wasn't going to say anything and lounged back into his previous position on the couch.

"You know, we should try to keep ourselves occupied. It might make the day go by a little faster if we're distracted," he said suddenly, startling me enough to make me jump slightly when he spoke. He must've noticed it, even though his eyes were closed, because his lips twitched up slightly in a smirk. My eyes narrowed as I replied.

"And what did you have in mind, Captain?" I practically snapped. I immediately felt angered again because I had let my emotions get the better of me again. I almost screamed when he shrugged his shoulders carelessly.

"I don't know. I just figured anything would be better than punching a wall," he replied. His voice was starting to get on my nerve, the way he talked sarcastically to me. I didn't respond to him, instead continuing to pace around the room. By now I had the room memorized, so I closed my eyes in hopes of finding more peace within the confines of my mind.

My eyes flew open when I heard the couch groan, a sign the captain was moving. I watched him as he got up and went to the closet and began rummaging around inside. Deciding I could care less about what he was doing, I closed my eyes again and began pacing around the room again. There was a sudden clang as something heavy slammed onto the coffee table in front of the couch. I opened my eyes again, annoyed because he was making such a racket. With surprise I stopped and watched him. He had pulled out some kind of board game and was setting it up. He looked up at me when he noticed me watching him.

"Do you want to play with me? I figured if anything it would keep us occupied for some time," he said, sorting the pieces by color into their designated areas. I didn't really want to play the childish human game, but I had nothing better to do, so with great reluctance, I sat down opposite him and grabbed the box to read the instructions.

"I don't think we'll need all of the pieces, seeing as there are only two of us," I said, pointing to a section of the instructions. He looked at them closely and then at the pieces before pushing two sets back into the box.

"Okay then, I'll be the blue and you can be the red," he said, now shuffling the cards that would tell us how many spaces to move our pieces. I watched his hands as he shuffled the cards, surprised at the ease with which he maneuvered the cards. When he finished he placed them on the designated spot. We paused for a moment, unsure of who was supposed to go first. After a moment, he said, "Ladies first," before gesturing for me to draw a card. Sighing, I drew the top card and looked at it.

5

I moved one of my pieces out of the circle and onto the part of the board where they would be moving around on. "Your turn," I said. He nodded and drew a card.

8

Because it was his first turn, he could only pull a piece out. Taking my next turn, I drew another card.

12

Grinning at my luck, I moved my piece twelve spaces, advancing to the next color section on the board. Frowning slightly, he drew a card, and after looking at it he frowned even more.

2

As he moved two spaces I mentally laughed at his luck. He was the one who wanted to play in the first place, so he shouldn't get too mad when he loses. Besides, I'm just naturally this good at everything. I drew my next card and grinned at the number.

12

He let out an exasperated sigh when I advanced my piece to the next color section, which just happened to be his. Because his piece had barely moved anywhere, I was now almost caught up to him. He glared at my pieces, and after he drew his next card, he glared at it too.

4

Because it was a four, he had to move his piece backwards four spaces, moving his piece behind mine.

~ several moves later ~

"You're cheating," he complained. It wasn't my fault I just happened to get all the good cards. Right now I had three of my pieces in 'home,' while he only had one. His other three pieces were scattered about the board, in various stages of getting 'home.'

I drew my next card, and with a sweet smile, said, "Sorry," as I switched my last piece with his piece closest to my home. A few turns later, he was banging his head on the table at his loss. I had managed to get all four of my pieces home before he'd even gotten two.

"I'm not playing with you anymore. You cheat," he said adamantly. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Nuh uh, you're just a sore loser, Captain," I responded childishly. He made a face at me before getting up and sitting back down on the couch. I stayed at the table, staring at the pieces. After a while I went and put them up, placing the game back in the closet before returning to the room. Sighing, I sat down on the opposite side of the couch as Captain Hitsugaya. A brief glance at the clock told me it was only 5pm. Quickly growing bored, I got up and walked to the kitchen to make something to eat. I didn't notice Captain Hitsugaya had followed me until I almost bumped into him while carrying my ingredients.

"Watch it," he growled out. Rolling my eyes, I placed the food I'd had in my arms on the counter and began making myself a sandwich. Captain Hitsugaya was looking in the fridge when he growled out, "What the heck is this?" In his hand was a can of some liquid.

"Let me see," I said, holding out my hand for the can. He tossed it to me and I barely managed to catch it after fumbling around with it for a moment. Annoyed, I examined the can, turning it every which way. On the top, I noticed a tab and pulled on that. The moment I did the can exploded in a shower of soda that sprayed all over my face. Captain Hitsugaya turned suddenly at the surprising noise, but once he found me covered in soda, he immediately burst out laughing. Angry, I threw the remains of the can at his head, though he swiftly dodged it.

I stomped off to the bathroom to wipe off my face. Once I had gotten rid of all the sticky substance in my hair I walked to my room to change. To my dismay, the only clothes I had left were a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, since all my other clothes were dirty. Scowling, I put them on and walked back out to the kitchen. I stopped short when I saw Captain Hitsugaya sitting on the couch, eating my sandwich. I growled but ignored him, instead making another sandwich. Bastard could have it if he wanted, like I cared.

Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Startled, I yelped a little and dropped the plate I was carrying with my sandwich, causing Captain Hitsugaya to turn around. Sheepishly, and a little red, I mumbled 'sorry' as I picked up the plate fragments and went back to the kitchen. There was another flash of lightning and clap of thunder, and without thinking I backed up quickly, accidentally bumping into Captain Hitsugaya who was right behind me. He had grabbed my arm to keep from tripping and was looking at me with a concerned expression.

"Are you alright?" he asked, the concern clear in his voice. Something about it annoyed me, because I yanked my arm from his grasp and walked back to the couch, sitting down.

"Yes, I'm fine. It just startled me," I replied, though from his narrowed eyes I could tell he didn't believe me. Thankfully though, he said nothing more on the topic. We sat there quietly, neither moving at all as we waited out the storm. Each time the thunder and lightning struck, though, I visibly flinched, and I could tell Captain Hitsugaya noticed because he kept shooting me concerned glances. Finally I'd had enough, and I stood up and began walking back to my room.

"Where are you going?" he asked, watching me. I stopped and turned back.

"What, do I need permission to go to my room to sleep? Because I'm quite tired right now," I replied sarcastically. He frowned and nodded, giving silent permission. I was walking back when there was a sudden flash of lightning and thunder, causing me to rush into my room and slam the door, loudly. I heard Captain Hitsugaya jump up and rush over to my door, banging on it and asking if I was alright. I said nothing, sitting on the floor in front of the door while leaning on it, trying to control the shaking that was wracking my body. It got worse as the thunder and lightning got louder as the storm got closer.

There was one extremely large clap that caught me off guard. I screamed out and jumped up, hearing Captain Hitsugaya do the same on the other side, minus the screaming. "Hotaru are you alright?!" he shouted, banging on the door. Silently I opened the door a bit, catching him in the act of banging on my door. His fist dropped to his side as he took in my tear streaked face. He reached up to touch the tears I didn't even realize I was shedding. Another clap of thunder and I was rushing into him, hugging him tightly as I buried my face in his neck. I didn't want to see the lights anymore. Sighing, he picked me up bridal style and walked over to my bed, depositing me there. I buried my face in my pillow, partly because I didn't want to see the lightning, and partly because I didn't want Captain Hitsugaya to see my tears, a sign of my weakness. I felt him sit down on my bed next to me as he started rubbing my back in an attempt to soothe me. When he thought I was asleep he got up and began walking out the door, though he paused and returned for a moment. I briefly wondered why when I felt my hair being brushed away before he kissed me, right on my temple.

Quickly reaching out, I grabbed his hand, causing him to stiffen up. "Please, stay with me," I whispered. He didn't move for a moment, making me think he wasn't going to, but he surprised me when he walked to the other side and climbed in beside me, laying down on his back right next to me, his head resting on his hands. I rolled over so I was facing him, scooting closer in the process so I was practically pressed up against him, though not really touching him. After a sudden clap I flinched, curling more into a fetal position.

I was curling more and more into a fetal position when I felt strong hands rubbing my shoulders. Soon I loosened up and was almost straightened along the length of the bed. Hitsugaya stopped rubbing my shoulders after a while, but he didn't move his hand. Another clap of thunder made me flinch again, but this time I didn't curl up; I couldn't because I was suddenly pressed against a hard body that wouldn't allow it. Instead of fighting him I rested my head on his shoulder, using it as a pillow while my hand rested on his chest, clutching the fabric of his shirt.

After a while the lightning and thunder stopped, instead receding back to heavy rains. Still awake, I looked up at Hitsugaya's face, surprised to see him gazing down at me. I immediately blushed and looked back down, causing him to chuckle a bit. I felt it through his chest, since I was still using it as a pillow.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked, still studying my face even though I was turned away partially.

"I'm doing much better now. Thank you, Captain," I added, blushing slightly.

"You're welcome. No one should have to face their fears alone," he replied. I didn't know how to respond to that, so I stayed silent, hoping he would think I had fallen asleep again. "Hotaru, are you still awake?" I paused a moment, unsure of how to answer, but eventually I nodded, knowing he felt it on his chest. He let out a puff of breath that he'd been holding, and it looked like he wanted say something. Finally he settled on, "I had fun today, with you, playing that game."

Confused, I looked up at him to see him gazing at me. I was about to say something in response, but before I could his hand tipped my face up even further and his lips met mine in a kiss. At first I was shocked and was about to break the kiss, but something stopped me. Instead, I moved into a better position, propping myself up with an elbow while I faced him, deepening the kiss slightly. Eventually I pulled back, a little out of breath, both of our chests heaving.

"Sorry," he said. He looked like he was about to say more but I shushed him with a small kiss, though it quickly changed to something more. He pulled away again, then muttered a quick 'sorry' again. I laughed, but another clap of thunder sounded and I froze before latching onto Toshiro, my head again buried in his neck. This time he wrapped his arms around me, securely holding me there as I fell asleep for real, and I didn't wake up anymore that night.

This turned out longer than I had originally planned. FYI, I wrote this while there was an actual thunderstorm going on outside. Each of the thunder claps in the story coincides with a clap of thunder I heard here. And that last one, the one that really surprised Hotaru, actually happened. It startled me, making me jump about a foot in the air, almost dropping my computer and definitely disturbing my cat, who had been sitting next to me. You know, it's amazing what the rain does to the imagination.

I wonder if you've noticed, but at the beginning of the story she calls Toshiro 'Captain Hitsugaya,' but towards the end of the story, she goes from calling him 'Captain Hitsugaya' to just 'Hitsugaya' or 'Captain,' and then that last time she finally called him 'Toshiro.'

Oh, and did you figure out what game they're playing? It's Sorry. My family plays that too when it rains sometimes. And about that episode with the soda; I figured since Rukia didn't know about a juice box they wouldn't know about soda cans, and how not to shake them.

Please let me know what you thought, even if you didn't like it. I don't really care (flamers will promptly be ignored).