A/N: Hello again. DreamStar14 is back with a revised version of The Parent Trap.
Summary: "Even now, even after everything had fallen apart, their hearts were still connected, even if only by a single thread. All they had to do was mend, and the girls would help. HitsuHina, Post-Anime"
Disclaimer: Tite Kubo-sensei owns Bleach. I only own the twins mentioned in this chapter.
Note: Rei and Yuki's new looks are presented in the preview image above. Go on and take a look.
~B~L~E~A~C~H~
From Dawn to Dusk
Parent Trap ~ Re-write
Chapter 1: Her Reasons
Hinamori Momo, filled with enthusiasm today, knocks on the Tenth Division door. Her dark brown, shoulder length hair is down, with her bangs in place to her left with her fancy hairclip.
Knock, knock, knock-knock, knock!
When she hears a quiet, yet stern and stoic voice call out, "enter," she does exactly what the voice tells her to do, but she still carries the same enthusiasm.
Sure enough, there sits the person she has come here to see. His spiky, white hair, in his new style, with a teal-colored scarf around his neck make him stand out, not that she minds. She will always recognize her dear childhood friend no matter what's going on.
Hitsugaya Toushirou.
He's at his desk, doing paperwork, his own and Rangiku-san's.
He glances up from his work to see who just walked in. Once he lays eyes on her, his face turns a bit red, and he looks back down at his work, but greets her friendly, in his usual stoic, icy personality. "Hinamori," he acknowledges her.
"Ohayo~, Hitsugaya-kun!" At least she didn't call him 'Shirou-chan', not that he minds.
In fact, he never did. He just wants her to acknowledge him as a great Shinigami, the Juubantai Taichou, not just as the boy she grew up with. Not anymore.
They've both grown up quite considerably, and they are now the same height. At least, it looks like it.
Seeing that he's not going to talk back to her, she goes on.
"I heard about the Xcution and your fight with Yukio," she says. "Did you sustain any injuries?"
"No. Didn't even break a sweat," is his curt reply. But he somehow knows that wasn't all she wanted to ask him about, so he waits, and he continues on. "Hinamori, I appreciate your concern for my welfare, but I am a Taichou. I'll be fine. Besides, it was mainly a battle of wits more than actual sword-fighting."
She giggles, and his heart skips a beat. "And I bet he was nothing compared to the famous prodigy Hitsugaya Toushirou!"
Leave it to Momo to go around and praise him. He isn't like that, proclaiming his self-worth. He is too humble, but he doesn't mind Momo doing it for him. Actually, it feels really good when she does it.
This is it, Tobiume tells her. Tell him, you dope. It's now or never.
Though she keeps a smile on her face, behind her back, her hands are fidgeting. Should she tell him?
She should. Would she tell him?
Possibly. Could she tell him?
"Well, I, uh...I'll see you around, Hitsugaya-kun. Hirako-taichou probably has some work for me to get done."
And he can only watch her as she leaves, wondering what she really wanted to say.
No, she couldn't.
~B~L~E~A~C~H~D~A~W~N~D~U~S~K~H~I~T~S~U~G~A~Y~A~H~I~N~A~M~O~R~I~
'It seems hard,' Kurosaki Ichigo had told her not even twenty-four hours ago, when he had come here to talk to the Taichous, 'but it's really not. All you have to do is tell him. I'm sure he'll understand.'
'What if he rejects me?'
'You two are childhood friends, right? I know for a fact that, behind that icy exterior of his, he holds a soft spot for you, Momo. If he does reject you, he'll let you down gently. I know Toushirou. He's not that cruel.'
She knows she should tell him, but she can't gather enough courage to do so. She can literally hear Tobiume mentally screaming at her.
What the hell was that?! You call that courage?!
Tobiume is right. She can do better than this.
"Hinamori?"
It's Matsumoto Rangiku. She's stayed pretty much the same, besides her haircut to her shoulders.
"I-I'm sorry, Rangiku-san. I can't do it."
"Do what?" What the two girls were talking about for the past eighteen months flooded her mind. "Oh, that." Momo is sitting down, leaning against the wall. Rangiku kneels in front of her. "Why not? What are you so afraid of?"
"T-T-That he actually l-loves someone else..."
"Hinamori, honey, let me give you the cold, hard facts. Taichou may be rough around the edges and the ice may be hard to crack, but behind that mask of his is a very big, very warm heart. I know this. You know this. All he ever thinks about is you."
'I know for a fact that, behind that icy exterior of his, he holds a soft spot for you, Momo.'
And Rangiku left the Fifth Division Lieutenant to her thoughts.
Her real fear is guilt. She hurt him, by neglecting him, by focusing all her attention on Aizen, but not comforting him when he needed it the most.
She's not even worthy enough to talk to him.
~B~L~E~A~C~H~D~A~W~N~D~U~S~K~H~I~T~S~U~G~A~Y~A~H~I~N~A~M~O~R~I~
Okay, Master, he can hear Hyourinmaru say, I think you've waited long enough. Go on and tell her.
He couldn't. He just couldn't.
He had hurt her, way too many times, more than he can count. He stabbed her in the back, literally, two years ago. He was cruel with her when he should have been there to comfort her, especially when she needed it the most. Not mention, he fell for Aizen's trap and he hurt her. Kami, he hurt her, injured her, made her bleed!
He just couldn't.
He can't protect her. He's the dirt she tramples over every day. No.
He's below that. He's worse than dirt.
Apologizing is the first step towards redemption, Master, Hyourinmaru states firmly, but gently.
And he can't contain it anymore. He gets up from his seat and races toward the door, where he literally runs into Momo.
"H-Hinamori..."
"Hitsugaya-kun..."
They both say "I need to tell you something!" at the same exact times.
"You go first, Hinamori."
"No, let's say it together. One, two, three."
"I'm sorry," is the first both of them say. They two seem surprised at what the other has just said, but they continue on, speaking simultaneously. "And I love you."
This is when both of their faces turn completely red, especially since they can individually hear their zanpaktous cheering them on.
Did he just hear that right? She loves him?
Does he really love her? Does he really forgive her for all the pain she's caused him?
She looks up from the ground and back into his sea green eyes, and she is mildly surprised to see them so soft. He has a gentle smile across his face, as if he had been waiting for her to confirm his feelings.
"I'm so glad you're okay..." he softly whispers to her, before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
They both tell each other, "I love you, too," before sealing it off with their first kiss.
~B~L~E~A~C~H~D~A~W~N~D~U~S~K~H~I~T~S~U~G~A~Y~A~H~I~N~A~M~O~R~I~
23 Years Later...
Over the past few years, Momo has learned that family and work are two completely different things.
Her long, mid-back length dark down hair is a testimony of her long years as Toushirou's wife. They got married about two decades ago, when they both were old enough, and now for the past eleven years, the two have also become parents.
They are twins, two girls.
Rei is the oldest. Her hair is turning out to be more like her mother's, dark brown, almost black, and she appears to have naturally red highlights, with big, round brown eyes. Despite her being only eleven, she is the outspoken one, but she is also the muscles. Not to say she isn't smart, but she has more muscle than her sister. Despite her being a bit larger than her sister, Rei is also the fastest. Not to mention, she's definitely a fighter.
Toushirou and Momo both know that she will turn out to be like her mother.
Yuki is the youngest. Her hair appears to be white, more like her father's, with naturally blue highlights and big teal eyes, shaped in such a way that suggests 'stoic'. Like her eyes suggest, she is the silent one, being stoic, choosing not to say her problems or her complaints aloud. She is the brains of the two, not to say she isn't weak, but she has more room for more knowledge and intellect than her sister, and Yuki is definitely the healer.
Toushirou and Momo both know that she will turn out to be like her father.
But lately, Yuki has gotten very ill. She has a fever that hardly calms down at all, and she appears to hate the heat, because she's always whimpering. She's in pain. Both her parents can see that, even if she tries to hide it.
But since a Shinigami cannot take more than a day off, unless they're on a mission or in Division Four, Toushirou and Momo take turns watching over her.
The funny part is that whenever her father watches over her, she appears to get better, but when her mother watches over her the next day, she gets worse. The cycle repeats, and that's what deeply worries them both.
Not to mention, Toushirou has a terribly hard time trying to juggle both his work life and his family, and the fact that Yuki is sick and Rangiku procrastinates all the freaking time does not help him at all.
Momo has the better odds. Hirako-taichou is a hard worker, does not procrastinate, and he also understands Momo's position, even if he is not a parent himself. He does all he can to make Momo's life as easy as he can. That and he does not mind babysitting Rei. She is a quick finder and always eager to help him with whatever he needs. Actually, Rei makes his job a bit easier on him. Since she is strong and fast, she can deliver stacks of paperwork in as little five minutes. Well, keep in mind, please, that the Sereitei is a really big place, but Rei knows the Sereitei like the back of her little hand.
Momo is aware of the fact that Yuki always seems to get worse whenever it is her taking care of her daughter.
If it wasn't for her, Toushirou would have better odds.
Besides, she knows that he still suffers because of her.
And she feels so much guilt, she doesn't know what to do with it.
So that very day, she asks the Soutaichou for a mission in the World of the Living, time undetermined. To her surprise, he gives it to her, as if knowing what she is feeling.
She informs her Taichou of what's going down currently, and he lets her go, and he painfully, reluctantly, allos her to take Rei with him, understanding that at least one of her girls deserves to know who her mother is.
She carries this out that very night, while Toushirou and Yuki are both sleeping. Trying not to wake them, she kisses the two on the forehead.
And her final words that night are "I love you both. Someday you'll understand why I left you. I'm sorry."
Fourteen years apart. Two different lives. Two different parents.
Yet, all destined to be together again.
~B~L~E~A~C~H~
Next Chapter: Urahara, Ichigo and the Advanced Squad help Momo and Rei try to adjust to normal life, while Hitsugaya's life gets even worse as the Soutaichou gives him bad news about Yuki.
A/N: So? What did you think? Any mistakes I may have made? Tell me. Don't be afraid to tell me and tell me how I can fix them. I am open-minded. I'll listen to anyone's opinions. Review, please.
Also, a little warning, if you do not like the pairings of IchiHime and RenRuki, please turn back now. If you feel a little daring, you may continue on, and the romance between these two pairings will be brief and will not be that much. I do not hate IchiRuki or IshiHime. Actually, I agree with both of those pairings, and I do ship them. I just would like to point out that IchiHime and RenRuki, in my opinion, work better in this story.