"No!" Hinamori yelled as the darkness overtook him. She took two steps forward without thinking, stopping only when she found herself behind Hitsugaya's back. Hinamori looked down, startled by his very presence. He was standing there still as ice, his only focus on Frau. When had he stepped in front of her?

Hitsugaya's stillness calmed her, so she turned her gaze back to the creature too, watching, waiting. Her face remained wrinkled with worry, tears still glossy on her cheeks. Her voice, when it came out, was quiet, compassionate; not directed at anyone in particular but rather—as usual—an expression of her own emotions: "Can't we—can't we do something?"