Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
Hitsugaya slump weakly onto a chair in a dark fourth-division room. Hinamori laid on the bed in from of him, unmoving. Blood stained the white bandages covering her wound. The wound he made.
"Momo…" he whispered, trailing a quivering finger over her pale face. "I'm sorry. I couldn't- I couldn't…"
He gritted his teeth and grabbed the side of her bed. Despite his own will, his tears fell from his tightly shut eyes, splattering through his hakama and onto his hot skin. Noise like he was choking escaped from his throat, and his head felt like magma boiling in a volcano.
Outside, a certain blonde figure stopped at the door, intending to visit his friend. Upon seeing that she already had acquired a visitor, he prepared himself to withdraw from the room.
Hitsugaya slowly straightened himself. "Kira," he said.
The blonde let out a small noise of surprise at his name.
The captain stayed silent for a while, as if deciding. Then finally, he said, "Come in."
"Hai, Hitsugaya-taicho," Kira bowed as he timidly made his way next to Hinamori. The sight of the state the girl was in was unbearable. the lieutenant bit his lip and grunted, attempting to replace the sight of her boney cheeks and tired eyes with the memories of her healthy body and smiling face,
"Do not be afraid to cry," Hitsugaya instructed, not even looking at his new companion. "I am already doing so anyway."
As if on cue, Kira felt his body fall limp and dignity lost. Without fail, the first tear that slid down his cheek was followed by an army of its kind.
After moments of the two men sitting in silence, Hitsugaya spoke once again," Why do you cry Kira? It was not you who cause her this pain."
However, he did not need an answer. The captain already knew the reason behind the lieutenant's sorrow, for it was the same as his own.
"Do you love her?"
"Yes," the blonde dipped his head, fully aware of the other male's feelings.
"How much?"
Kira inhaled deeply and looked out into the clouded sky, sliding his hands up his thighs. "Enough… enough to be content with seeing her with another man as long as she is happy."
Expressions of shock and grief passed over turquoise eyes at these words. "Do you really believe that this man is worthy?"
Without hesitation, Kira answered, "Yes, more than I, regrettably, could ever be."
"How could you say that?!" Hitsugaya suddenly grabbed Kira's shoulders and shook him violently. "How could you leave her into the hands of someone like that? I stabbed her, Kira! ME! Because of me, she's half dead with blood gushing from a hole I made!"
Kira starred down at the captain, stunned by his sudden outburst. "It was an accident, Taicho. Do not hold it against yourself."
"But I should have know," Hitsugaya stared at his trembling hands, not believing that they were his own. "I was to protect her. I should've… I should've…"
"So what are you going to do about it?" snapped Kira, "Are you just going to give up?
Hitsugaya stared at the lieutenant, blankly.
"Hinamori-san is worth of someone who will never give up to protect her!" Kira continued, "But it seems to me now that you are not that kind of man, are you? And to think I sacrificed so many years for the two of you! Are you worthy of that sacrifice, Taicho?!"
Hitsugaya bit down o his teeth and gazed at Hinamori's frail body and nodded, "I am probably never going to worthy of anything, especially Momo, but I will give my best to her and never give up. I swear it."
"Good." Kira took the girl's hand and placed it into the captain's. With his gaze burning into the other male's, he left him with "the moment you ever let her go again, I will make sure there is nothing for you to grab a hold of again."
"Do not worry," the silver- haired said into Hinamori's hand with his eyes closed, "I will never, ever let go."
.
.
.
Thank you, Kira, for everything.