I wrote this story all in one night. I was pretty impressed with myself when I woke the next morning and read it.
And yes, the title is a song by Killswitch Engage in case you were wondering. I put it as the title for the heck of it and it just kind of stuck so I'm sorry if it doesn't make any sense.
Enjoy reading!
In the Arms of Sorrow
He was soaked to the bone with sweat and rain as his turquoise eyes pierced the cold night in search of something. Heart still pounding after his fight, the young man slowly walked amongst the rubble, eyes still in search of something on the ground. A few dead bodies could be seen in the wreckage which he glanced at, paying them the slightest bit of attention. An occasional burst of white light would illuminate his surroundings and made his blue-green eyes light up like an electrical charge. The others were still fighting but there was only one thing he cared about. He stopped walking to wipe away a drop of rain trickling down his forehead. Then as another flash of light lit up the darkness the corner of his eye caught what he was looking for.
Securing the grip on his zanpakuto, he slowly made his way to the object on the ground. As he drew nearer to it, the object began to take the shape of a small figure. A dim flash of red light illuminated the face of a young girl for a split second. The boy stared at the girl while ever so slowly walking towards her, his hand clenched tighter to his zanpakuto but his eyes were void of any emotion as they stared at her. He stopped a few feet from her when he spotted the large blood stain on the front of her robe. The young girl's hair had fallen out of its bun and was now swimming in a pool of rain and blood, her lips were partly open as if taking in her last breath, and her zanpakuto was just out of reach of her thin fingers. Taking a step forward, the boy's eyes caught sight of her unseeing ones as they stared blankly up to the heavens. Something in his face changed then and instead of bursting into a fury of anger, he let his zanpakuto slip through his fingers and clang to the ground. All that was left of his Ban Kai shattered into millions of tiny pieces, tinkling softly as they fell along with the rain.
"Momo…" he whispered. The young man quickly closed the distance between them and fell to the ground next to her, gently scooping her up into his arms. "Momo…" he whispered again as if trying to wake her. He carefully smoothed away the wet hair plastered to her pale face and stared into her lifeless eyes for some time.
"I'm so sorry Momo," came his small voice. Trying to keep control over his emotions and nearly failing, he took two of his fingers and very slowly closed her eyes. Closing his own eyes, he bent his head down and touched his lips to her forehead.
"I love you," he mumbled against her frozen skin.
He didn't know how long he stayed like that but he was surprised to suddenly feel warmth all around him. A dim light danced against his eyelids before they flew open, revealing a small dome of light around Momo and himself. Glancing around, he spotted none other than Orihime Inoue.
Tears and snot were running down her face as she gazed at him. "I…sniff…I know how it feels to lose someone close to you, and…sniff…I wanted to help you."
"But it's too late," the young man said quietly while his eyes returned to Momo's face, "she's already dead."
"She still has a little life left in her." The boy's eyes snapped to Inoue and she gave him a small smile. "I've gotten much better and I think I can help her." Her eyes dropped to Momo and he followed her gaze.
Watching and waiting in anticipation, his heart pounded against his chest. He wanted this to work but he didn't want his hopes too high if it didn't, yet his eyes never left her face. Suddenly he could feel warmth returning to her body and her chest began to slowly rise and fall. She coughed and a small trickle of blood escaped the corner of her mouth and the young man gently wiped it away with his thumb. At the feel of his touch, the girl's eyes flickered open.
"Momo?" the boy asked quietly, his eyes wide with surprise as they stared at her.
A weak smile spread across her lips. "Hi, Little Shiro, I thought that was you."
Tears clouded his eyes and he rapidly blinked to keep them from escaping. A drop of rain dripped from the tip of his hair onto her sad lips. Momo lifted trembling fingers to his cheek.
"What's wrong Toshiro?" she asked before her arm gave way and her fingers slid from his face.
All control over his emotions disappeared and he gave a quiet sob as he pulled her closer to him and buried his face in the crevasse of her neck. Surprised yet enjoying his closeness, Momo leaned her head against his and gently stroked his drenched hair. The sound of his weeping brought tears of her own in her eyes and she cried along with him. He didn't cry for long but he never loosened his grip around her.
"I'm sorry Momo," he mumbled; his face still buried against her neck, "I couldn't protect you."
"Don't be silly. Of course you protected me; you always protect me, from everything," she said gently with a smile.
Toshiro pulled away from her and said bluntly, "but you died." He stared down at her still cradled against him; his eyes meeting her brown ones.
"I wasn't dead." Her eyes danced when she said, "I could hear your voice and I wanted so bad to see you. I couldn't for some reason but I knew I was safe with you." A light blush tinted Toshiro's cheeks.
"You heard what I said?"
She giggled weakly and coughed again. "Yes I did, and if I heard the last part right…"
There were yells as the two of them were spotted with Inoue, and a group of three Soul Reapers came running towards them. Toshiro's mask was up in an instant, hiding any trace of what he had felt just moments earlier.
"Are you alright Captain Hitsugaya?" one asked in suspense.
"Yes, I'm fine but take Hinamori. She needs medical attention." Toshiro glanced down at Momo before she was taken from his arms and the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile as she smiled back. He stood up to watch her be carried away only to find Inoue leaning towards him. "Um… Thank you Inoue," he mumbled awkwardly.
"Oh! It was my pleasure!" she answered a little too cheerfully for his taste. "Don't worry," she whispered none too quietly, "I won't tell anyone what happened."
Toshiro rolled his eyes and began walking away but he couldn't help the grin from escaping his lips. Before Momo's words were drowned out by the shouting, he caught her quiet voice say:
"I love you too."
Daaaaaaw! I love Hitsugaya and Hinamori, they are too cute! I have a hard time imagining Histugaya crying but it could happen, right?
