Farewell to Bliss
For the first bit this story seems like another fluffy slice of Soul Society life. But I promise, after the initial setting you are going to get some action of the awesome kind in chapter two. Also a lot of the things in this story will not make sense unless you read my first story Tea and Tails, which is entirely fluff but has important plot points.
If you decide not to read the first one, here is a spoiler for context:
Hinamori was removed from her vice-captain position and made 3rd seat to seventh squad where she is the assistant and friend to Captain Komamura.
Chapter One
Whispering, she heard whispering, many tiny voices were talking to her. Just as she was about to call out to them, her eyes opened.
Sunlight assaulted Momo's tired eyes. She sat up slowly, her brown hair falling back. Captain Sajin Komamura had kept her up late last night because of a sudden deadline for paperwork.
It is his own fault anyway; he should have kept track of the date. She silently grumbled. Then she remembered Sajin's tired but victorious smile after they finished the work. She smiled at the memory, no one but herself, and maybe Iba knew that Komamura could smile, and that when he smiled he looked like a puppy. Moreover, of course, Momo could not be angry at the big wolf-man when he looks so adorable at those moments.
She sighed heavily, Oh well; I guess I start another day.
She looked in the mirror as she fixed her hair. She did not pull it up into a bun anymore. Now she folds her hair up behind her head, a much more grown up look. Which was actually very good now, as she had grown three inches since the end of the Winter War.? She noticed this when her eye-line was now at his diaphragm and no longer at upper stomach level.
These past few years life had been peaceful in the Seiterei. Some people such as Ikkaku complained that there was no point to being a Shinigami any more if there was nothing to do. However, Momo liked the peace. She liked working in the paperwork, walking through the garden, and occasionally going on a hollow hunt. Most of all, she could do it all with him, her captain. She was at home, and her only wish was that it would go on forever.
After securing her hair with the clip that Sajin had given her two new years back, she began to stand, but stopped when she noticed something in the mirror.
"What's that?" she asked as she touched the small coin sized white speck at the corner of her forehead. It was perfectly smooth and hard. "Odd, must be some sort of welt." she decided to head over to Squad Four later and have it checked out.
She walked over to the captain's office and prepared a pot of tea. She always got up early, before Sajin woke. Though the wolf-captain was not a late-riser, he did not get going easily, and if he did not have his tea, he would not get going at all.
Hearing footsteps from behind, Momo turned to see Lieu. Iba. "Oh, good morning Tetsuzaemon,"
"Oh good morning Hinamori, is the captain up?"
She shook her head, "No, not yet. Why, what do you need?"
"Oh, well I forgot to remind him yesterday that there is the quarterly meeting this morning." Iba said, scratching his head nervously.
Momo gave a half smile, and said, "Iba-san, put that pot over the stove."
The moustached man gave an odd look, but did what she requested. Within a few moments, the pot was screaming. She calmly walked up, removed the kettle and poured it into the teapot. A sliding door from the left slammed open and the captain emerged from his bedchamber and stretched stiffly.
Momo sat at the table and poured out three cups of tea. The captain followed suite and sat beside her, accepting the hot cup of tea. The two drank in silence as Iba looked on.
Not a single word was said, but when the captain lowered his empty cup Hinamori would fill it. Then after a while, she handing him a brush and the canine accepted it wordlessly and began ordering his dishevelled fur.
Iba was quite stunned. The two of them acted as if they had done this a thousand times. Neither of them was missing a beat, as they seemed to go through a daily ceremony. It ended with both of them rising simultaneously and walking to the office. The vice-captain followed and saw Hinamori take down all the things the two of them had left undone from the previous night and put them in order.
After a few moments of silent work, Komamura spoke up, "Do you have something to tell me Iba?"
The vice-captain rapidly stood at attention, "Y-y-yes captain, Head captain Yamamoto has ordered the quarterly meeting to be held today."
"Very well," Komamura replied, then turned his attention to his third seat, "Hinamori-san, file this stack and take this report to Squad 10, after that, you have the day to yourself until I am finished with the meeting."
"Yes Saji-" she stopped and made a quick glance at Iba, "-Captain Komamura."
With that, Komamura left with Iba trailing behind, glancing strangely between his captain and the young woman.
"I hope I'm not intruding!" Hinamori spoke up as she entered the Tenth Squad's captain's office.
Matsumoto turned and greeted her, "Oh hello Hinamori!"
"Hi, I had this report to deliver from captain Komamura." she explained.
"Oh well that's nice," the busty redhead replied, taking the papers absentmindedly.
"I guess I'll be going." Hinamori bowed politely.
"No no! Wait Hinamori!" she grabbed the younger girl's arm, "I have some good news, I made a proposal that Toshiro-kun will be bringing to the quarterly meeting. I need you to express your support for it to your captain as well. It is for a pool and onsen get together for all the shinigami ranked third seat and higher. I'm hoping Squad One will be hosting it, but the more captains who are for it the better!"
"Uh," Momo twiddled her fingers nervously, "I think that would be kind of an awkward thing to just ask my captain out of the blue."
"Oh come on what do you have to loose, after all, in the last few years you've now got a figure that's something to be proud of. There's already hoards of men who think you are the cutest shinigami, now you just have to show that you can be sexy too and you will be almost as popular as me!" Rangiku exclaimed patting Momo on the back.
Momo shook her head furiously, "Th-that's not something I'm just going to flaunt. I get embarrassed easily, I've only been to an onsen once, and then I had a partitioned area to myself."
A dangerous glint appeared in the redhead's eyes, "Then what about your captain?"
"Huh?" Momo's face was the picture of confusion.
"There will be public swimming, so we might get a peak at his ever elusive figure." Rangiku replied mischievously.
"I'm leaving," Hinamori, replied flatly, "you're getting weird."
"But we might find out if he has a tail or not."
When Momo stopped in her tracks Rangiku knew she had laid the right bait.
Rangiku continued, "I know you, of all people, have been incredibly curious. For all we know, he might have a cute and curly husky tail,"
Momo flinched.
"Or perhaps a luscious fox tail,"
Momo turned back towards Rangiku slightly.
"Or maybe a long luxuriously soft wolf's tail."
Momo bit her lip.
Rangiku smiled in victory. "So, will you suggest it?"
After a long pause, "No," Momo replied, "If he has a tail then so be it. Whether he does or does not, if he has not shown it to us he must have his reasons. It's just like I don't like to show off either."
"Humph," Rangiku pouted, "you're no fun."
Momo waited patiently outside the meeting-room; oddly, her mind was still back on her conversation with Rangiku. She turned and made some glamour poses. The she shook her head. "I certainly don't want to run around dressed like that, besides, I'm sure all I would have to do is ask Sajin whether he has a-,"
Just then at the worst of moments the captains emerged and Sajin's sharp ears turned towards her attentively. "Ask me about what?" he inquired, walking over to his third-seat.
Suddenly Momo realised how awkward it would be to ask her friend such a potentially personal question. "Ah… er… Well I was just wondering what things were passed, Rangiku asked me to find out."
Komamura grunted and the name of the obnoxious redhead and started walking, Hinamori falling into step next to him. "I know why she wanted to know. She proposed some silly thing of having a pool and onsen event. It irritates me how such mundane things should be covered in a captain's meeting when we have so many more important matters to discuss."
"Umm, well since Rangiku is going to hound me later, did it pass?" Momo asked, pretending to be disinterested.
"Almost unanimously, Genryusai-dono liked it; he has a weakness to such things. Soifon accepted, on the condition that Yoruichi would be invited. Unohana, who I thought was more sensible, liked it. So I looked to Kuchiki as the voice of reason but he too went for it. Shinsui, at the hint of women in swimsuits offered to sponsor it. Hitsugaya thankfully was on my side, I always knew he was sensible, hot-headed in battle, but a sensible man," Komamura looked down at his shorter companion and said with the hint of a grin, "he will be very good for you."
Momo blushed as she glared angrily at her captain.
"No where was I?" Komamura asked himself, "Oh yeah, Kenpachi, though he acted completely disinterested, in the end voted for it, I suspect a certain pink haired vice-captain we all know as the reason. Kurotsuchi was for it, he liked the 'research' potential. And Ukitake thought it would be good for everyone's health."
She had been keeping it in, but finally Momo burst forth in laughter. Komamura smiled and his ears twitched joyfully at the melodic sound until he too let in a few chuckles.
After their laughter died down Momo sighed heavily, "Oh well, I guess this means Rangiku is going to drag me along. I don't like these things much, they were fine when I was younger, sort of, but the thought of being mostly naked, around all those mostly naked people is, kind of, frightening." she looked up at Komamura, "I know it's so silly."
He gave a small sympathetic smile, "No, it's not silly, I always swim and such alone. I guess I'll finally have to wear those swimming trunks Iba got me as a gag gift."
"What? Really?" Momo asked, "I didn't take Iba as a joke kind of guy."
"He is always trying to get me to come along to these events, something about representing our squad's honour and other such nonsense."
Hinamori sighed, "I guess I will have to go buy a new swimsuit, my old one certainly wouldn't fit anymore."
"Why?" Komamura asked innocently, "You've only grown up about three inches."
Hinamori looked up at her captain, wondering if she should explain her reasons… she decided against it and gave the frivolous reply of, "You know us women, we can't wear the same swimsuit twice, it would be humiliating. Besides, Rangiku would be on my case."
"Ah, makes sense." Komamura nodded. "I understand not wanting to be the odd one."
Hinamori stopped in her tracks; Komamura looked back at her in confusion. "Is something the matter Momo?"
"I- I don't think you would be the odd one out." Momo said sincerely.
Komamura looked perplexed, then smiled and said, "Well, I guess we will be the two odd ones, how about that?"
Momo nodded.
"This is humiliating." Momo said to herself and she plopped into the hot water, disappearing up to her neck.
She was at least glad the girl's area was partitioned from the boys. However, unfortunately, the pool was not. So now, she had to stay in here surrounded by uncomfortably hot water. She looked onto the crystal surface and looked at her face. But something was wrong, the small white spot was a lot larger now, covering half of her forehead and moving down to her right eye. She reached up and touched it and the next thing the world around her vanished.
She found herself in a row of blooming plum trees in the midst of a vast orchard and wearing her shinigami uniform. Petals fell down all around her.
"Such a pretty world you have here." an all too familiar voice stated from behind her.
She whirled around, "Aizen!"
"Hello Hinamori-kun." he waved cheerfully.
"What are you doing here, and where is Tobiume?" she demanding, noticing the absence of her zanpakuto within her inner world.
"She had to step out for a while, don't worry, she's not harmed. My, you have become quite bold in the past few years." He chuckled nostalgically. "And you have bloomed, in more ways then one." he said, giving her the classical once-over.
She glared, "Get out, this isn't where you belong. I thought your powers were sealed."
He laughed and shook his head patronisingly, "The Central Forty-six did seal me, but I still have enough power to give myself a moment's amusement."
A shiver ran down Hinamori's spine, "Wh-what have you done?" she yelled.
"I just activated a little souvenir I left behind. You see, that white speck you noticed, is the beginnings of a hollowfication. As it spreads across your face, you will become less like a shinigami, and more like a hollow."
"No!" she uttered. "Why, why go after me, again! What do you have to gain?"
"Oh you are still always the naïve one," he shook his head patronisingly, "if it was just to mess with you that would be so petty. No, you see, your hollowfication is special, I have made it so your hollow self does not contain a personality, and instead, you will simply blow up when you loose consciousness of yourself. Moreover, the resulting explosion will misbalance all the reiatsu of Soul Society, therefore releasing me.
"Now, I think it is time for our farewells, we will speak later."
Her eyes closed as if falling asleep and then heard voices all around her.
"Hinamori!" she was being shaken. She opened her eyes to see a very worried Nanao. "What happened Hinamori?"
"I, I just fell asleep." What? That's not the truth.
"Well, maybe you need to go out and cool off." Nanao suggested.
"Alright," No, I'm not fine; Aizen is making me see things! She looked at the water and saw her reflection, the beginnings of a hollow mask plain in sight, "Hinamori, what's wrong?"
"Th-the mask, don't you see it?" She looked up at Nanao and pointed at the mask.
"Ok," Rangiku chimed in, "you need to cool off. To the pool we go!"
Hinamori just kept wondering, Why couldn't they see it? Is it Aizen's total hypnosis? Then, is he just hypnotising me? Or all of them?
She was so deep in thought that she had forgotten that they were headed to the public pool… where everyone else was!
Sajin walked wearily away from the pool area grumbling to himself about Iba being an idiot.
As he walked down the hall to the dressing room, he attempted to dry all of the water out of his soaked fur, which was proving to be in vain with such a small towel. His fur was laying flat on his body making him feel like a sponge, and he must have been carrying five or six gallons. He heard a commotion up ahead and saw the scantily clad Matsumoto pushing a very reluctant Hinamori to the pool area.
Hinamori was pleading with the redhead anxiously, "Listen, I'm really shy, there's going to be people there! I've been trying to keep up an image!"
Nanao was following behind anxiously, and wanted to help, but she had a personal fear of the red head as well and simply stared apologetically had her younger friend. She looked past the two women and saw Komamura likewise watching with a disinterested expression. She was trying to telepathically ask him to help his subordinate, but to no avail.
Rangiku stopped a moment and looked at Momo's violet one-piece swimsuit that ran from her knees to just below her collarbone. "Well of course that outfit could ruin anyone's reputation, if you don't get in a bikini everyone will see you as a little girl, and the only guys you'll attract are loli fans."
"Matsumoto-san! Don't talk like that! I, I just need some rest, I'm feeling strange, I was seeing things just a little while ago. And what is a loli?"
"Then some cold water will do you good!" Rangiku insisted, pulling her closer to the pool entrance.
Komamura hadn't said a thing during the entire exchange. In reality, he had to get past them to leave, so he decided to just wait quietly. He considered rescuing his third-seat from her flamboyant captor. Nevertheless, he figured if Momo really wanted to be left, alone she could easily defend herself. He suddenly felt the demanding urge to shake, and though he tried to stop himself in the end, he lost to his primal demands.
Water sprayed in all direction, and Nanao, Matsumoto, and the victimised Hinamori all found themselves in a torrent of lukewarm water.
For the first time Rangiku noticed the large captain, she waved pleasantly and dived into the pool.
"Oh dear," Nanao said, embarrassed, and she likewise followed suit.
Momo wiped her eyes and before her stood a not so formally attired captain.
Komamura wondered a moment why Momo looked horrified. Then he remembered that all her was wearing were shorts and a wet towel over his shoulders.
Momo's face turned a shade almost as dark as her swimsuit.
This is, uncomfortable, was all that Komamura could think at that moment.
The third seat looked around. She realised that she had three options, jump into the pool, the same place she had mere seconds ago tried to avoid, and currently was where Rangiku was winking while giving her a thumbs up for reasons she couldn't comprehend. Second, she could run off back to the onsen, or third, she could say something that would alleviate this awkward situation.
"Uh, I guess I need to dry off now." she said while scolding herself internally, I am such an idiot, idiot, idiot. I'm standing here, barely dressed, in front of a similarly barely dressed captain who not in a million years did I imagine outside of his shinigami robes.
Sajin's ears fell back as he scratched neck awkwardly, "Sorry about that, Hinamori-san."
Normally Hinamori would have been amused by how expressive his ears could be, but right now, all she could do was bow, cover her face, and hurry out of view while yelling back, "Sorry for the intrusion!"
Good going Sajin, he grumbled at himself. You scare here then embarrass her. Evening paperwork is going to be fun.
"Captain!" Iba yelled, "We're starting water polo and Captain Ukitake wants you to be the goalie!" Iba shrank back from the wrathful expression his superior shot at him.
"This," Komamura said irritated through gritted fangs, "was a terrible idea." He looked over at the pool just as Rangiku dunked hurriedly under the water.
"That… was humiliating; I am never speaking to that woman again! And I embarrassed Sajin; he probably thinks I'm scared of him now. Stupid, stupid, stupid! There must have been something I could have said!" Momo ranted as she finished getting back in normal attire.
She buried her face in her hands, and then felt a hard solid surface. She looked in the mirror frantically. Half of her forehead and one of her eyes had been encased in the beginnings of a hollow mask. One of her eyes was now just a violet glow behind a narrow, trapezoid shaped hole. As she watched, the mask climbed another few millimetres down her face.
Komamura finally gathered up the courage and was about to knock on Hinamori's door; when it slammed open in front of him and Hinamori stopped just in time before she ran right into him. She looked up at his face with a terrified expression.
Something's wrong, he thought to himself.
"Sajin," she began.
He was momentarily relieved at her use of his first name, as if to confirm that they were still friends.
"Take me to Squad Twelve." she demanded.
"What? Why?" he asked.
"Just please, I need to have some tests run."
"Because I'm," Going to become a hollow and explode! To her surprise, her voice was forcefully cut off, as if someone stole the breath from her throat.
"What?" Sajin asked, honestly worried.
"Be-be-because I have to talk to Mayuri about something." she found that as soon as she decided to lie, she could speak.
Komamura's brow knotted up. He knew something was not right, but the anxious look in her brown eyes was too strong for him to not comply.
Tobiume looked around at the plum trees of her world. One by one, their blossoms died and the trees withered into grey skeletons. The only colour left in the world was her pink kimono.
"Momo!" She cried, "Why can't I hear you?"
She heard sinister laughing and turned. There stood a woman with pitch very long, pitch-black hair wearing a white Kimono with the design of falling black crows. Her face was covered in a white mask with two trapezoid shaped eyes, the right one had a violet line running down it, like a trail of tears down her cheek to the corner of the mouth, which gaped open showing a row of cat like teeth.
"Hello." the woman's metallic voice said.
"Who-who are you?" Tobiume cried out.
"I'm the better version of you." though the zanpakuto couldn't see it, she could hear the evil grin. The woman's hair suddenly shot forward, expanding and then engulfing Tobiume. "Now I shall devour you, and we will be more powerful than before!"
In Hinamori's bedroom, the hilt of her sword turned a pure white, and the blade became a dark iridescent violet.
"There really isn't anything different with you since the last time I examined you." The purple faced Mayuri said through his golden teeth as he leaned forward. "But since you are so anxious to be thoroughly examined, I have a few harmless tests that I would like a specimen such as you to assist with."
Komamura placed a protected palm on Hinamori's shoulder. "I think that will be all."
Momo looked down at the ground, feeling humiliated, especially because of Sajin's concerned gaze. She let herself be guided out of the lab area and walk alongside her captain, his comforting hand still resting on her shoulder.
"Well, glad we were able to get out of there before Mayuri decided to do something obscene." he said, trying to put as much cheer in his voice as possible.
"I haven't been able to contact my zanpakuto." Momo said mournfully.
"You know Momo, sometimes zanpakuto do that, they have temperamental periods, it just happens sometimes." he said reassuringly. "Even Tekken hasn't spoken to me for months on end."
Crack!
A sudden pain overwhelmed Hinamori, and the world disappeared to her.
"Nemu!" Mayuri beckoned his 'daughter.' "Come here, it seems we have an interesting specimen. We need to be ready to study it closely as Momo-kun goes through her change. This will be entertaining and so very informative." He rubbed his hands eagerly together.
Komamura watched Momo bend over in pain. "What's the matter!" he asked.
He helped her back up and she smiled at him with a strange grin that immediately made him feel uncomfortable.
"Oh nothing Sajin."
His eyes widened. At the moment, they had been in a very crowded courtyard, and she had just called him so intimately without a title. Several faces turned in surprise.
She continued, still speaking in that strange voice, "I just wanted to say, bakudo number sixty, six point star." Six blades of light rammed into the captain, trapping him. Then Momo vanished from the area in a flash step.
After a moment, he shattered the binding spell. And yelled, "Restrain third-seat Hinamori!"
Genryusai felt a present so he turned and found Hinamori standing behind him.
"Hinamori-kun, what are you doing here?" he asked pleasantly.
She glared at him, "Set Aizen-sama free!" then she flash stepped forward, blade ready to strike.
The head captain realised that her flash step was faster then natural, and wasn't in a ready position to stop it. But just as the blade was about to enter his abdomen the attacker slow enough for him to grab the hilt.
Momo's eyes unclouded. She stood stunned at the current situation. She had her katana drawn and she was in the middle of attacking her superior. She released her hold of her sword and stumbled backwards.
She turned when she felt a familiar reiatsu enter the office. She shook her head pleadingly at Sajin. He looked back at her with a troubled expression.
"How long," Yamamoto asked, "have you been hiding your true loyalties?"
"I, I haven't!" she yelled earnestly. "I don't know what's going on; I've been normal, tell him Captain Komamura!"
Komamura remained silent, he was trying to assess her actions, and why she had suddenly changed. "Genryu-"
The head captain shook his ancient head, "Komamura, it seems you have been played the fool."
Komamura looked down, even though he thought she was innocent, the head captain seemed to have the power to instil guilt into anyone.
"Komamura!" Momo cried out, "Tell him! I don't know what's going on."
The head captain shook his head. "Even if what you claim was true, you are obviously in a mental state of distress. I know now that I made the call having you stripped of your rank. But it seems I was too lenient to place you in the care of someone too naive and caring. Someone who makes bonds too easily." He turned to his vice-captain and said, "Get Unohana, and have Hinamori confined securely."
"No!" Hinamori screamed. "It wasn't me, Aizen is making me into a-" hollow! Again, her voice was snapped from her.
"Aizen, again?" Yamamoto shook his head wearily, "You really are a lost case."
Tears rolled down her face, she turned her eyes to Komamura, but he turned away. She had bindings placed on her and a seal to block her powers. Her eyes never left Sajin's back as she was escorted away.
She whispered, knowing only Sajin's sensitive ears would hear, "You're leaving me too?"
I know, evil place to leave off. Second chapter should be coming along in a week or two. It's going to be my first attempt at real, Bleach style action. So be looking forward to it!
And for those who are wondering where on earth Hitsugaya is, I promise he is going to be in the next chapter.
Critiques and complements are very welcome so please review!