Author's Notes: All right so I'm back with my second Bleach story. This time though, I'm going to attempt to write something darker. You'll see soon enough what I mean by that comment. Anyway, I don't want to give too much away but I thought it would be fair to warn all of you that I'm writing this without the aid of a beta AND not all of you may agree with the way I write the main characters of this ficlet. It's understandable though. This story is going to be slightly AU for obvious reasons. You'll see as you read the story. As always, italics will denote character thoughts and constructive criticisms are welcomed. Happy reading and thanks in advance for reading my story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or anything else associated with Bleach.

How could I have been so stupid!

He was currently running with all of his might to stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life. Given all of the time he spent with her, he should have known her better. Yet he managed to underestimate her as well as her abilities.

Putting her in a room designed to keep others out but not her? Pathetic! He should have seen the obvious flaw in his plan. But he was too caught up with trying to figure out Ichimaru's plan. He could only hope and pray that he made to the Central 46 Chambers before she did.

If he didn't, there would be hell to pay.


"Captain Aizen…" She asked with a slight tremble in her voice.

His eyes softened considerably as he held out his arms for her. Without missing a beat, she ran into his arms and hugged him. "You're really here! I just knew it couldn't be true! Everyone was so sure you were dead but I never stopped believing in you!"

Her tears were beginning to soak his shirt but he didn't seem to mind. He tightened his hold on her as she rested her head against his chest.

"Momo, I'm sorry I put you through so much misery. I never meant to hurt you but I couldn't let you find out about my plans. I don't know what I would have done had you gotten hurt but everything will be okay now. Thank you for everything Momo."

He roughly shoved her away, smiling manically as he grasped the hilt of his sword. Her eyes widened in fear as her lips began to part. Try as she might, she was frozen. Not a single muscle in her body would move. No sound would even come forth from her lips.

She barely had time to close her eyes as he thrust the sword towards her.

It seemed like an eternity before she finally opened her eyes. The sight that greeted her shocked her to her very core. Her breath caught in her throat as she struggled to understand what was happening.

"Shiro-chan…" She whispered in disbelief and fear.

He was standing directly in front of Momo with Aizen's sword protruding from his chest. Somehow he managed to turn his head back to look at her. Her breath caught in her throat as their eyes met.

His eyes were shimmering fiercely and yet she could have sworn she saw something else in his eyes.

Without warning, a primal scream pierced the air as Hitsugaya's body went limp. Blood gushed out of him as Aizen forcefully removed his sword from his prone figure. She could do nothing but watch in utter horror as his blood began to stain the floor.

"Oh how unfortunate. Let's try this again shall we Hinamori?" He asked huskily as he began to approach her.

Her heart was beating wildly as her eyes frantically darted around the place.

There must be some sort of exit! She screamed within her mind.

But she was completely paralyzed. No matter how much she wanted to scream for help, beg Aizen to stop this madness or even run for her life, her voice had seemingly disappeared as her feet remained stubbornly planted to the ground.

Am I going to die here? Is this really the end?

Their faces were merely inches apart as he leaned down to her ear. "And to think I had such high hopes for you my dear Hinamori. It's such a shame that you'll never live up to your full potential."

She wanted to believe that this was all a terrible nightmare. Shiro-chan wasn't dead, Ichimaru wasn't just standing by and letting all of this happen and her captain wasn't a murderer. Any minute now she would wake up and realize that this was all a horrible and miserable mistake.

When he stepped away from her and raised his sword yet again, she knew this was real. No one would save her. She was going to die all alone.

Bracing herself for the inevitable, she finally managed to find her voice. "If it has to end this way Captain Aizen… I have no regrets."

Whether he was able to hear the audible tremble in her voice or notice the way her entire body was shaking like a leaf, she didn't know. She just wanted this to be done and over with.

A mirthless chuckle escaped from him as he uttered, "You're even more foolish than I thought."

Without warning, she felt a burst of searing pain explode within her chest. Her vision began to swim as she fought to stay awake. If she really was going to die, she at least wanted to gaze upon his face one last time.

Blood trickled down the sides of her mouth as a few tears rolled down her cheeks. He, however, merely smiled again as he began to slowly remove his sword from her body.

"Captain Aizen…" She murmured before losing consciousness.