Genre: Romance/Tragedy
Spoilers: bits and pieces of the Arrancar Arc
Inspiration: Forgiven by Within Temptation
Call-outs: to all those people who reviewed/favourited the original story "Last Moments".
-OceanBlues08
-ShadowedDagger Rips Asunder
-demonalchemist5
-doorah
-kimono2007
-Kalow
-CallMeNicole
- Coffee Papers
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. If I did, all those wonderful HitsuHina moments everyone writes would be real episodes.
Time: started typing at 6:14PM
Finished at 11:45PM
Shattered
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
It was supposed to be another easy-going, almost casual, Hollow hunting mission.
Twelve Division had created a device that could follow Shinigami around on its own and videotape what happened, then sending the information on a flood of spirit particles headed to Soul Society onto a screen that would recreate what was happening as it happened. The Living would call it "live TV" if not for the fact that the device could walk on its own, stay out of danger and the Shinigami's way, and was invisible to human eyes. It was a useful invention that would allow Twelve Division researchers gain and analyze data with visuals faster than ever.
This was supposed to be a way to test it out.
Thus, they dispatched a Lieutenant and three unseated officers to deal with the Hollows while the device watched. Nearly all the Captains, with the exception of Zaraki, were there to see how it worked. One white haired Captain, though, was also there to keep an eye on his friend.
At first, all was well. The Shinigami patrolled the grounds and the device kept up with them easily, gathering information along the way.
Then came the Hollows.
The first few were easy. They had been small and weak.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, there was a swarm. Large, powerful Hollows appeared in large numbers, and the four fighters started to struggle. The fight began to go downhill when the first one fell.
He had his left arm blown off, and then he was stabbed from behind, the Hollow's blade emerging from his stomach. He slumped forward as his life ended.
The second man went. He had his head cut off, his body slumping to the ground with a sickening thud.
The Hollows were then quickly defeated by an upset Momo. It was easy to tell from the look on her face that she blamed their deaths on herself. People's morals and self-esteem normally dropped quickly when she was seen with so little herself.
Suddenly, there was a large crack in the surrounding area and the gate to Hueco Mundo was open. A Gillian stepped out onto the earth and let out a terrifying roar. The gate closed behind it.
Before Momo could stop her, the third Shinigami ran forward, screaming in rage and grief over the deaths of her lost brothers. Momo went after her, realising her Shikai as she ran. All in vain. The Gillian had created a Cero and released at the girl Shinigami, hitting her head on. Nothing was left of her. The device watched on in cold indifference.
Screaming in anger, Momo used her Shikai's power to create a pink ball which she sent hurtling towards the Gillian, exploding on impact. She then jumped in the air and, both hands on Tobiume, swung the sword down cutting the Gillian in half. A Hollow suddenly appeared behind. She turned to fight it, but was too slow and got a nasty slash across her stomach, sending her flying. Her body was parallel to the ground but Momo still managed to aim the tip of her sword at the Hollow and send a pink ball at it, destroying it. She then fell and hit the ground with a loud crash while kicking up dust. The device turned quickly to face a Hollow bringning down its claws before the screen went black.
The room went into a grim silence. Although he didn't show it, Hitsugaya was frantic. 'Please…..please be alright.'
Captain-Commander Yamamoto spoke. "Captain Hitsugaya, go down to the real world with your Lieutenant and recover the two bodies and Lieutenant Hinamori."
"Yes, sir!" he quickly left.
Running to his office, he ran into Renji. Renji had to run while he talked.
"Hey, Captain Hitsugaya, how'd it go?" As Hitsugaya answered, Renji's expression reflected shock, horror, and worry for his friend. He nodded his understanding.
"I'll tell the other guys." Hitsugaya kept running while Renji switched direction towards the Third Division. 'Stay alive Momo. He still has to confess you know.'
Arriving at his division, Hitsugaya quickly found Matsumoto (who had been asleep so he woke her with a whack over the head with Hyorinmaru) and ordered to come with him to the human world. He explained what had happened as they ran, picking up the pace dramatically as he finished.
They went through the gate and arrived in the world of the living. There they found Ichigo and Rukia fighting a huge swarm of Hollows. They were a bit surprised at the duo's sudden appearance.
"Rangiku-san! Toshiro! What's going on? Where'd all these Hollows come from?" Hitsugaya ignored the improper use of his name and brought down a nearby Hollow with his kidou.
Matsumoto cut down another Hollow and asked "Ichigo! Have you seen Hinamori-chan anywhere?"
"No! I haven't seen Momo-san at all!" Ichigo took down a few more Hollows with Zangetsu before asking "Did something happen to her?" The look on Matsumoto's face was enough of an answer.
"Captain Hitsugaya! Leave the Hollows to us; you need to go find Hinamori-san!" Rukia said after taking down her eleventh Hollow that hour. Hitsugaya nodded his head in thanks before leaving.
He found the place where the battle had taken place and didn't see her. He anxiously searched for her reiatsu, relaxing once he found it. He tensed up again when he felt how faint it was.
He followed it to the nearby park where it seems she had dragged herself. He trees began to thin and rather than being the green deciduous trees they were cherry blossoms. The sun had set long ago
The trees gave way to a clearing and there she was. The ground around her had been soaked in blood, a gaping hole in her stomach. Her hand, which had been raised, was falling to her side. Her reiatsu grew fainter….
Using flash step, he reached her side and caught her falling hand. He wrapped his left arm protectively around her shoulders and lifted her up. The dullness in her eyes frightened him.
"Momo!" he surprised himself by using her given name. At the moment, it didn't matter.
"Toshiro…" she spoke weakly, yet contently.
"Momo, hang on!" there went the first name again, yet it seemed to be the only thing he could say.
"Toshiro, you came for me. I'm glad…." Her eyes drooped a little, setting him on edge.
"Hey, stay with me! Come on, this isn't funny!" He remembered that. Once before, she had faked her death just to annoy him. She had evened out her breath which had slowed her heart, drooped her eyelids as she said her "last words", and gradually hidden her reiatsu to make it seem realistic. While Hitsugaya was in hysterics, she found the whole thing rather funny.
"You're here….everything will be ok. You'll protect me, just like you promised. You promised…."
"Momo!" That's what hurt the most right now. He had promised.
"I'm such a coward, leaving it until the last moment like this…but now…i'm not scared anymore…Toshiro….."
"Momo….no…." What was she talking about? Scared of what? Because it most certainly isn't death.
"Don't be sad….please accept me…..please….I'm sorry we'll never get a chance….Toshiro, I…..love you." Her eyes closed, a small content smile on her face. She stopped breathing. He could feel her heart thump one last time before giving out. It was almost like a final regret.
Ba-bump.
That's when it hit him.
She was dead.
As it slowly, painfully sank in, tears formed and spilled from his eyes for the first time ever. They fell and hit her face, but she didn't stir. They continued to fall, faster and faster. Before long, it was a waterfall that showed no sign of stopping.
Sure enough, though, they did stop. But only temporarily. He stopped because he had become aware of Matsumoto standing behind him, hands over mouth to stifle the sobs while the tears fell freely. How long had she been standing there? How much had she seen?
Without a word, Hitsugaya picked up the body of his only true friend, turned and walked right past Matsumoto. She hesitated for only a moment before following him with the brothers' corpses to Sereitei.
Hitsugaya felt numb during her funeral. He couldn't hear the whimpers of those around him, just his disbelief and regret. He was really only aware of his surroundings when he, Matsumoto, Shuuhei, Kira and Renji were left by the grave.
For a while, they just stood there.
Kira then quietly, slowly walked towards the grave. His hand was raised as if to touch it. A look of reconciliation and shock overcame his face and he turned and ran away.
Matsumoto couldn't take the emotion flooding through her and broke down and cried. Shuuhei had to gently guide her away, trying to spare her any more pain by hiding his emotions.
Renji just stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists before turning and speed walking away. To put it simply, he felt like trash for letting this happen.
Hitsugaya was left alone. He could only touch the stone and shiver. It was cold and unwelcoming, completely unlike the girl it stood for. She had been warm and gentle. Her now lifeless eyes had been animated and for the first time in a while, she was truly happy.
She had always been able to see past the walls and reveal the person he kept away from the world. Recently, it had become easier and easier for her to do so.
Water hit the grave. He smiled weakly. "It's raining."
Then, the carefully constructed walls shattered.
Water streamed through in torrents with seemingly no end. There were no walls to hold it back now. Although, everything must end. So it did end. The walls did not reconstruct themselves and no more water appeared. He had used it all up in that moment. All that was left was a dull ache in his heart. It felt oddly empty without the water.
He turned and started to walk away, then stopped. "I suppose you want an answer Momo. Truth is, I love you too."
He resumed walking, hoping beyond hope they would meet again, if not in this life, but the next.
End
A/N: Be glad I heard my inspirational music noted above, otherwise this would've taken a lot longer to post. Constructive Critsism welcomed. There will be a sequal. It's a continuing story so look for that. It will be called "Of tears and raindrops" so look for that in a week or so. R&R please.