"War?" Rangiku said with surprise, looking at Hitsugaya sharply. She didn't know that things had got so bad. "The last thing I remember is driking with Kira and Shuuhei." She frowned pensively. "This timeline thing is bizarre." So her captain obviously came from much further along. Hinamori had still been in her coma with no signs of waking from what Rangiku remembered.

"Unfortunately," she continued dryly. "Lots of things don't wait until we have the luxury of time. This is probably one of them." Things like that had a habit of cropping up and paralysing you at the worst moment possible. What if she'd held onto him for just a second or two longer?