You could practically hear the chaos outside the barracks of the Fifth Division and every other division for that matter. A few had gone to investigate, just to make sure it wasn't a hollow attacking them. But the few who had been brave enough to check out the situation had regretted it instantly. Men and women were fighting amongst themselves, some were screaming, some were crying, and there were others that were in between.
Momo couldn't help but sigh and run one hand through her hair. The day had only just begun, but she already has a headache. Today was Valentine's Day; a human tradition that had made it's way over into the Soul Society. There were a few traditions that had been adopted after spending so much time with the substitute Shinigami but today seemed to be the most people were most excited about. For days everyone had been talking about chocolate, what to buy, who to give it to, and how to properly spend the holiday with the one they care for. Sadly the captain of the Twelfth Division had decided this would be the perfect day to test out his newest creation and gather results from the chaos. His squad had been offering up chocolate to give, and unfortunately, the newest recruits had yet to learn the ways of the mad scientist captain.
Captain-Commander Kyōraku had sent out Hell Butterflies to all the barracks, telling everyone to stay inside while the stealth force dealt with the mess outside. They were skilled enough to get the job done without being seen and adding more to the violence. After speaking with Captain Kurotsuchi and threatening to shut down his research department for an entire day the Division Twelve captain finally confessed that the chocolate is a stimulant. It makes the emotions run high depending on the person they see. Whether that person is someone they love or hate they will act out. The message had included that Captain Kurotsuchi had felt bad about causing such a mess, but everyone knew that what he was really sorry about was that the experiment didn't have its desired effects. As punishment, his research team was shut down for half a day.
"Man, this is such a drag!" Shinji Hirako, the captain of the Fifth Division, groaned out. He fell back on the soft floor of the office, arms going behind his head to support it as he stared up at the ceiling. "It's so boring. We finished all of our paperwork in under an hour, and now there's nothing to do." He mumbled, moving one hand out from his head as he played with his hair. He was desperate for something to do.
Momo couldn't blame him for being bored. Today was such a beautiful day; it would have been perfect for training or going out to see their friends. "I bet the sky tonight will look really pretty." Her heart gave a painful twinge as she thought of the upcoming sunset. Letting out a groan herself she laid her head on her desk and contemplated what she should do. "Shiro-chan…" she was currently experiencing an inner turmoil between her heart and her mind and her childhood friend was the cause.
Shinji looked over at his Lieutenant, somewhat surprised to see her looking so down and depressed. Typically she's very upbeat and always smiling. He had been expecting her to try and cheer him up by offering to pay a game with him. But it looks like she has her own issues to deal with. He thought about it for only a minute before getting up and taking the three easy strides it takes to walk across the room and sat down in front of her desk. "What's got you all down in the dumps?" he prompted his elbow on the desk and rested his chin in the palm of his hand as he leaned over the raven-haired girl.
She sighed, appreciating his concern for her but she really didn't feel like getting into too much detail with him. "It's nothing…"
Shinji rolled his eyes, why do girls always have to be so annoying when it comes to their feelings? "Hey, I'm your captain. If something is going on with one of the people from my squad, then it's my responsibility to help them get through it. Now would you just tell me what's going on, I ain't a mind reader, you know?"
His attempt at trying to help her was crude, but it was still sweet nonetheless. Lifting her head, she couldn't stop herself as another sigh left her lips. "It all started a couple of days ago…" her mind took her back to what happened on that fateful day. While not much time had passed to her, it felt like centuries since it happened and that's what made it so hard.
~X~
Momo couldn't stop the happy hum that was emanating from her as she walked. Today was just like all of the others, a day of peace and providence in the Soul Society. After weeks of planning it, she and Hitsugaya had left to visit their grandmother. It was the perfect day. With some bribing on her part she was able to convince Rangiku to get as much as her work done as possible so that Hitsugaya and her could leave early. They had departed around midday and had stayed there until the sun had set. Both smiled when they saw the plate of watermelon had been left for them on the back porch. Just like old times they ate their favorite snack and watch the setting sun, basking in its warmth as the cool night breeze started to blow through. For them this was the best time of day, it wasn't too hot or too cold. It was perfect.
"You seem to be in a good mood," Hitsugaya commented, looking at her from the corner of his eye. Whether she was aware of it or not she had been humming since they left their grandmother's house. Not that it had bothered him. He hadn't seen her this happy in years, and it made his heart flutter.
"Can you blame me?" She giggled, pushing a few stray hairs that had fallen out of place behind her ear. Their grandmother had commented on their new looks and how they both have grown since she last saw them. It was the truth, both had matured throughout the years, and even Hitsugaya had started to grow. If only a little. When their grandmother had mentioned his height, he had brushed it off, stating he didn't care, but Momo had caught him looking at the old craving in the back of their home. Neither her or their grandmother ever said anything, but they both knew he had used it to keep track of his height. With a swift cut from his Zanpakuto, he left a new mark in the wood and seemed quite proud of the distance between the two markings. She had to stifle her laughter to keep from cracking up as she thought back to it. There was no way she was going to tell him that she saw that. "Today was such a great day. You and I hardly ever get to visit granny, and it's rare for the both of us to go together. Being able to talk with her and do all the stuff we used to do was nice. Today really was a perfect day." She placed her hands behind her back, resuming her humming as they continued their walk back to her sleeping quarters. Night had fallen by the time they returned to the Seireitei, and he had insisted on walking her back to her chambers. Not that she minded, it meant they could spend more time together.
Hitsugaya nodded, letting out a soft grunt of agreement as he walked alongside her. Today indeed had been a good day. A day like this didn't come often, and it seemed too good to waste.
They had finally reached her room, and she stopped in her humming, with a smile plastered on her face she was ready to ask her childhood friend to come in for snacks when she saw his expression. He seemed deep in thought, his eyes focused but glazed over as he thought about whatever it was that had consumed his mind. His was bitting his lower lip, teeth gleaming in the moonlight as they moved about, chewing on the soft flesh. Looking down she saw his hands clenching and unclenching. It was strange to say, but she swore he almost seemed nervous. "Hitsugaya?" she placed a hand on his shoulder and the way his body went rigid shocked both of them. "What's wrong?" something was bothering him, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Teal eyes locked on with her chocolate brown ones and Hinamori was astonished to see the uncertainty that seemed to be shining in them. "Shiro-chan?" she reached out to hold him, trying to offer him some comfort and help him work through whatever it was that was that was causing him to act like this. But the surprises just kept coming. He grabbed hold of her hand, his thumb slowly started to caress her soft skin, and it brought her back to her days spent in the hospital. Her body had suffered a lot of damage, and her mind seemed to be even worst. There had been many days when all she wanted to do was welcome the darkness that seemed to follow her and finally give up. She had been fighting for so long, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep going. But in her darkest hours, he had been there for her. He never said anything; instead, he held her hand just like he was now and it was her guiding light out of the darkness.
Taking a deep breath, he released her hand and stood up straight, once more his eyes locking onto hers. "I love you."
Three simple words were all it took to make time stop. Hinamori stood there, too stunned to say anything. Her eyes widen as she took in his words and looked over at his form. He was always serious, rarely did he ever joke around and he would never make a joke over a matter like this. He was confessing his real feelings to her.
"As you said today was a perfect day, one that I have been waiting for, for a long time. But I don't want to waste any more time. I'm in love with you Momo."
Was this real? Could all of this be a dream and she was going to wake up anymore? Never before had she thought this would happen? There had been many jokes about the two of them being so close. Their colleagues seemed to love teasing them about being childhood friends and about the high rates of old friends who always end up falling in love. She had never given the matter much thought, and he would scold those who joked about it. Back then her mind had been so focused on Aizen that she hadn't thought about anyone else. She had been like a mindless puppy, obediently following after its master. She sucked in a harsh breath, her face tightening up as a sudden realization. She could see it in his eyes, the relief that came to him from finally being able to out his feelings. All these years he's loved her but had never noticed. Instead, her attention had been on another. Meanwhile, he had been forced to watch as she blindly followed after Aizen, listen to every story she ever said about the man and so much more. There was so much that had happened between them because of Aizen. They drew their blades at one another, harming the other because of him and now she knew just much it must have hurt him. To harm the one, you love is devastating. Suddenly she was overcome with such shame and embarrassment.
She wasn't sure what her expression must be, but his face softened. "You don't need to give me an answer. I wasn't expecting one. I just wanted you to know."
He left her with that. A slight bow as he excused himself and headed towards the Tenth Division barracks. She fell to her knees, her face burning as hot as her Zanpakuto.
"Hitsugaya…loves me..."
~X~
Her cheeks resembled cherries as she finished telling her story to her captain. She was embarrassed to tell him everything, but maybe he could help her. He was older and more experienced. Ever since that night, Histugaya hadn't been around as much and when they did meet he would only offer her a small smile, nodding his head in greeting before walking along. Not that she had been much better. Every time she saw him, it felt like her heart was about to pop out of her chest, and her face burned so much that she was too embarrassed to have him look at her. She was a coward who avoided his gaze and no doubt she was hurting him. If she was in his shoes and the person she confessed to was acting the same way she was she would be bothered by it. But no matter how many times she scolded herself she always turned away whenever he was passing by.
"So the little guy finally told you how he felt?" Shinji commented, slightly amused that this was what she was fussing about. He grinned, thinking about how the white-haired captain had been acting lately. He had thought he was behaving strangely, but he never thought he would confess to the girl so soon. "Looks like I lost my bet with Matsumoto." He grumbled, his tongue clicked to let it be known his annoyance on the matter.
"You knew?!" Momo didn't think it was possible for her face to get even redder but it had proved her wrong.
Shinji just stared at her, a blank expression on his face. "Well yeah, practically everyone in the Seireitei knew how he felt about you. He made it kind of obvious." He dug his pinky into his ear, still mulling over the fact that he had lost his bet with the busty strawberry blonde woman. He had thought for sure that the young captain would have waited until he had grown taller before confessing.
Her face resembled more of a tomato with every passing second. Is what he told her the truth? Did everyone but her realize how Hitsugaya felt about her? He said that her friend had made his feelings obvious but never once had she picked up on them. She groaned, slamming her head back on the desk and let out a low whine. "Captain Hirako, what do I do?"
"Hey now, don't you dare start crying. I don't need that getting back to the kid." He rubbed her head, trying to calm her down.
Momo sniffled, lifting her head so that only her chin rested on her desk. "What do you mean?"
He felt one of his eyes twitch. "Man, you really are dense." He sighed, running his hand through his dirty blonde hair. "I'm saying with how protective he is of you he would no doubt threaten to freeze me over if he learned I made you cry. It's how I and everyone else in the Seireitei figured out how he feels about you. No way would someone who is just a "friend" be that overly protective of someone else unless they were in love with that person." He told her the truth. Now that the Tenth Division captain had confessed his feelings he might as well tell her everything. It's not like it will cause any harm.
Momo felt her face burn that she was sure it would never go back to its natural color. Steam seemed to come out of her ears, and her lip was pulled back tightly, in a strange combination of a half frown half smile. She didn't know if she should be happy with how strongly he felt about her or be upset that even with that obvious sign she still didn't notice his feelings.
Shinji stared at his lieutenant; maybe it had been a mistake to tell her that. But what's done is done, and there's no going back now. "Come on," he stood up with a grunt, dusting off the imaginary dust as he waited for her to follow. "You've done enough moping around. It's time you two have a talk and sort things out." When it comes to matters like this, it was never a good idea to let it go for too long. Things can take an ugly turn rather quickly. Plus it would be something interesting to do.
Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of talking to Hitsugaya. She hasn't properly spoken to him in days, and she misses her closest friend. "He had the courage to tell me his feelings. The least I can do is talk to him." She had seen how hard he worked to tell her his feelings. The look in his eyes that night had expressed just how hard it was for him to speak his feelings but he had done so anyway. With a hesitant nod, she stood up and followed her captain out of the office and towards her best friend's office. "But how are we going to get past the officers that have been affected by the Twelfth Division's chocolate?"
Shinji grinned, giving her a thumbs up. "Just leave it to me!"
"You see, I told you to leave it all to me. It pays to have a captain who's older. I bet I know things about this place that you never even dreamed of." He boasted about proudly as they walked with ease through the Tenth Division. Because of what was going on outside there was no one blocking the halls or trying to stop them.
Momo felt her lip twitch; he had taken her through the underground tunnels that Ichigo and his friends had used when they first entered their world. She was trying to hold back the urge to tell him that practically everyone knew about those tunnels and just let him have his moment. After all, he was doing this to help her, besides he always gets so depressed when his efforts to show off fail.
Shaking her head she followed silently behind her captain. She had more important matters to think about than this. She didn't even know what she was going to say to Hitsugaya when she saw him. She never imagined she would be in this situation. Sure she had always admired him and could admit that he was good looking but did that mean she was attracted to him? She had always hoped that they could spend the rest of their days together, but she never thought too much on the subject. The two of them have been together since the beginning, and she had wanted that to continue. She would think about the subject a few times, about how nice it would be if they could spend the rest of their life together but she never divulged further on those fantasies. She preferred to focus on the present then think about the future. After everything, she went through she never knew when a new enemy could strike and take away their peace. That was why she wanted to focus on the present and enjoy the happiness they had worked so hard to achieve. She really was more like a kid now that she thinks about it and Hitsugaya was much more mature than her. His confession said that he was thinking about the future, a future where he too wanted them to be together but in a more intimate setting than just childhood friends.
The closer they got to the office of her childhood friend the more her heart began to race. She could hear it ringing out in her ears, making her head pound and she felt a little dizzy. She's never been this nervous to visit her old friend, and she hated how she was acting. For as long as she's known him she knew of his issues fitting in. Their early days spent in Junrinan she had tried effortlessly and failed to get the others in their area to see that they didn't need to fear him. As a child, she never understood what it was that made others so wary of him and even to this day she still can't understand. They had speculated that it was possible because of the powerful reiatsu that made everyone stay away from him. He always claimed it never bothered him, but she knew that deep down it had. She didn't know how many lonely days he spent by himself before the two of them met, but she swore that he would never have to experience such a thing ever again. But here she was, acting just like all those ignorant villages they had grown up around. Avoiding his gaze and causing him harm.
"You need to relax, Hinamori." Shinji lightly scolded her. He could feel her reiastu leaking out because of her nerves. "The kid would probably hate himself if he knew his confession was causing you this much stress."
His words struck a nerve because they were right. Hitsugaya had always scolded her for putting others before herself, but he was the same. He was always placing her needs above his own, and if he learned that she was fretting over this matter so much, it would only cause him more pain. "You're right," she took in a deep breath, doing her best to calm her nerves and beating heart. There was no point in getting so worked up. This was something they had to do, and while in the beginning, it may be awkward and weird she knew that nothing could break their bond. "Thank you, Captain Hirako." She was still nervous, but that didn't matter to her. To her, all that was on her mind was her best friend and the talk they needed to have.
He was glad to help and to see that she was feeling better. It wouldn't do her any good to go in there worrying about this. Regardless of her answer, the two needed to talk. "Hey, we're coming in." without even so much as a knock he opened the doors to the office.
Both members of the Fifth Division were disappointed to see that the only resident in the office was Rangiku, snoring away on the couch with bottles of sake lining the floor. Her captain nowhere in sight.
"Oh boy," Shinji scratched the back of his head. He certainly hadn't been expecting this, well actually he had been expecting the busty lieutenant to be drinking but not to this extent. "By how much booze she's consumed I can only assume Hitsugaya hasn't been in his office much today." The two stepped inside, closing the door behind them and looked around the room.
Momo nodded, frowning slightly. "But if he's not here then where could he be?" they had their orders to stay in their barracks until the stealth force took out everyone who was affected by the chocolate. Hitsugaya never disobeyed an order unless it was absolutely necessary. Even on a typical day, you could find him sitting at his desk with mountains of paperwork surrounding him.
Standing in the middle of the room Shinji focused on finding the white-haired boy's reiastu. It was stronger in this room than anywhere else, but its presence was faint. "Well he doesn't appear to be anywhere in the barracks, and I'm pretty sure we would have seen a blizzard by now if he was outside dealing with this nonsense?" looking down he eyed the sleeping lieutenant. She must have consumed a lot more alcohol then they originally thought if she still had yet to detect their arrival in the room. That or she was even more carefree than he originally pegged her for. "Hey Matsumoto!" he called, slowly shaking the woman to try and wake her.
"Hmm…not so rough." Rangiku all but purred, turning on her side with a sly smile on her face. She giggled softly, snuggling deeper into the soft cushion of the couch.
A wide grin spread across his face as his cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He could only imagine what she was dreaming about and started to chuckle to himself. "Captain…" he gulped, from his peripheral, he could see the pointed look Hinamori was giving him. While she was always sweet and smiling, he's witnessed a few bouts of her anger, and he wasn't in the mood to be at the end of one today.
Clearing his throat he straightened himself out, thinking of the different ways they could wake up the woman. It was evident that she was in a very deep sleep and if left uncheck she probably wouldn't be waking up until tomorrow morning at the latest. "It'll take a lot to wake her up." He thought, already knowing the perfect way to get her up. Taking in a deep breath, he blurted out, "Hitsugaya confessed to Hinamori!" and watched with glee as the busty blonde all but jumped awake, her limbs flying out in different directions as she straightened herself out to sit up, her eyes scanning all around until she landed on him.
"For real?" she jumped to her feet, her face only a couple of inches away from the Fifth Division captain, trying to see if what he told her the truth or made it all up.
But he kept a straight face, eyes only looking down once to stare at her open cleavage. "Yep, the little brat finally did it." He gestured over to Hinamori who was standing in the corner, faced flush and nodding shyly to confirm what her captain said was the truth.
In a burst of shrills and cheers, Rangiku all but danced around the room, making the other two cover up their ears. "I can't believe this? When did he do it? How did he do it? I can't believe he actually has a romantic bone in his tiny little body and chose to confess on Valentine's Day!" she clasped her two hands together, already thinking of the endless scenarios that possibly played out. "Take that you old fart, I win the bet!" she grinned from ear to ear and didn't pay any mind to the annoyed look he was giving her. Instead, her crystal blue eyes were set on Hinamori. With a quick flash step, she was right in front of the girl, hands on her shoulders and eyes wide and shining. "Come on, Momo, you have to give me all the juicy details. How did the captain confess to you? Did he give you chocolate? Did he spell it out with his ice? Did he freeze all of the men and proclaim, "she's mine!" to everyone?!" she was so excited that steam had come out of her nose, her body all but jumping with excitement.
"He didn't do any of that!" Momo cried out, waving her hands in front of her best friend. She wasn't sure what she would do if Hitsugaya had professed his love to her in such a fashion. "He didn't do a big gesture; he told me how he felt the night we returned from visiting our grandmother." While everything Rangiku said sounded romantic, she couldn't see the stoic boy doing any of those acts. It would be out of character for him. Not to mention, the simple way he confessed his feelings to her, how straightforward he was as he looked deep into her eyes and happily stated that he was in love with her was the most romantic thing she has ever experienced.
Rangiku frowned; she has been telling her captain for years that when he does finally gather the courage to confess he needs to make it big and grand. Girls go crazy for that stuff. "Wait a minute, you two visited your grandmother a couple of days ago," she leaned back, removing her hands from the girl's shoulders to cross her arms underneath her chest. It bounced as she did so. "But the captain hasn't really been acting any different from usual. He's still grouchy and stern, although lately, he has been a bit more serious. It's not at all how I imagined him to be after you two got together."
"That's because they're not together," his words caused both girls to tense up. Shinji had cleared away the empty bottles of sake and took a seat on the couch. "Hinamori never gave Hitsugaya an answer."
"What!?" Rangiku's shrill cries could be heard throughout the barracks. "How could you not?" her mouth was left hanging out, gaping at the girl as her mind tried to process what was just said. "Momo, how come you haven't given him an answer? Is it because…?" she bit her lip, stopping herself from saying what they were all thinking. Was the reason why she hadn't returned his feelings because of Aizen?
Momo already knew that they would speculate this but even knowing it didn't stop the painful twinge in her heart. While it had been over ten years since his betrayal, everyone was still careful about how they spoke to her when it came to her former captain. Not that she blamed them. Even to this day, she couldn't say his name without wanting to add the word captain before it. It had taken her a long time to accept the reality of the situation and even longer to get over it. There was a part of that was still healing from the mental scaring the man had left, but she swore that one day she would be able to say his name without the need to add the word captain in front of it. "It's not that. I already know that what I feel for him and Hitsugaya are completely different." She clenched her hands to her chest; beneath the fabric of her uniform, she could feel her heart beating in her chest. Her hands came to rest in between her breasts, directly above the two scars that marred her body. One by a man who simply saw her as a pawn and the other by someone who's broken cries still haunt her to this day. "I'll admit that when Hitsugaya confessed to me, it caught me off guard, but that's only part of the reason why I haven't answered him." Slowly tears began to well up in her eyes. She shook her head, mentally criticizing herself for crying right now. Why did she always have to be such a crybaby? If Hitsugaya were here, he probably would have scoffed at her for getting so upset over something he deemed stupid but would still offer up his shoulder to cry on. "Hitsugaya is an amazing person, and I can't imagine my life without him but what if I'm not worth it? He's already done so much for me that I don't think I'll ever be able to repay him. He was so sure of himself when he told me how he felt but I don't even really know how I feel. I don't want to hurt Shiro-chan anymore!" she wept, the tears freely flowing as she fell to her knees. She hated how weak she must appear to them, but she couldn't halt the onslaught of tears that continued to fall.
Long slender arms wrapped around her small body, bringing her head to rest on soft mounds of flesh. "If you feel this strongly about it then I think you have your answer," Rangiku told her, telling the young girl didn't need to worry any longer. If she felt this strongly about her dear captain, then she didn't need to worry about causing him any harm.
"Sheesh," Shinji was next, placing a comforting hand on her head and rubbing it softly in gentle strokes. "You are such a hassle." His words made have seemed in poor taste, but Hinamori could hear the lighthearted nature that they carried. Wiping her eyes, she smiled at two people who were very important to her.
"Thank you." She was grateful to have them both in her life and knew with their strength she could convey her feelings to Hitsugaya.
Shinji smiled, glad that she had calmed down. He would never admit it out loud, but he was rather protective of the girl himself. She experienced more of Aizen's cruelty than any of them, and he wanted to help her rise above it. He was glad to see that she was starting too. "Now that the waterworks have stopped I think it's time to tell the chibi captain how you feel about him." He stood back up, reaching out his hand for her to take.
Sniffing away the last of the tears she took her captain's hand and together they were all back on their feet. "You're right," she looked back at her best friend's lieutenant. "Rangiku, please tell me where Hitsugaya is." Her eyes burned with determination. She was going to tell him how she felt today and nothing was going to stop her.
Seeing that look in her eyes made Rangiku smile. "I'm afraid the captain isn't anywhere in the Soul Society. He had to go to the human world and deal with the sudden appearance of many Hollows in our sector since the chocolate affected quite a few of our men. He left me in charge of the barracks while he handled the issues in the human world."
"Yeah, I can see you had everything under control." Shinji spotted the pile of empty bottles of sake that lined the floor. He regretted his words instantly as a fist came flying out and sent him flying across the room. His face rammed into the wall, leaving a good size dent and an imprint behind.
Scoffing at his idiocy, she turned back to Hinamori. "Don't give up, Momo. Let's you and I go to the human world and track him down."
While she was grateful to both her best friend and captain she knew that she had to do this herself. "Thank you, but this is something I need to do alone." She knew how private Hitsugaya was; he preferred to keep his business just that, his and his alone. He was always respectful of her feelings, and she would do the same. "I'll see you both later." She rushed out of the office, heading straight back for the Fifth Division. Before she left for the human world, there was a specific matter she had to handle first.
Watching her go made Rangiku get a little misty-eyed. After all this time her captain was finally going to get the happiness he deserved, and she wasn't going to sit around and miss out on it. Grinning from ear to ear she pulled out a camera and was ready to shadow the two childhood friends. Shinji calling out to her stopped her from following after the girl. "Yo," He was sitting back on the couch, waving her over. "Leave them be. They don't need us hanging around them to complicate things."
She pouted, sticking out her lower lip in a dramatic fashion. "But…!" she really wanted to follow after them and see everything for herself.
Sighing in annoyance, he rolled his eyes and gestured behind him. "You know, I doubt even Hinamori telling him how she feels will get Hitsugaya to forgive you for not doing any work." He was talking about the four large stakes of paper that had yet to be touched.
Rangiku paled at the sight. She had forgotten entirely about that. The work had been easy, all it needed was the seal of the Tenth Division before being approved and sent off. She had waved it off after he told her to sign off on everything before leaving early that morning. She had thought it was an easy task and had gone to sleep without even batting an eye. But now it was midday, and some of those reports were due in a couple of hours. Crystal blue eyes set their sights on the other resident in the room, and she grinned. "Oh, Captain Hirako!" she sang out, all but skipping her way over to him and made sure to emphasize her breasts as she did so.
"No way in hell." He already knew what she wanted of him before she even made her way over to him.
"I'll make it worth your while," her voice was high, trying to be as flirty as possible as she sat next to him. The smile plastered on her face. "If you help me finish my work then you won't have to pay me for winning the bet."
He thought it over. The wager they had set was rather high; both knew the ice-wielding captain would confess his feelings to the girl, that much they had been sure of. It had only been a matter of when he would confess. He had bet that the boy would wait until he had grown taller than Hinamori while she had wagered he would do it before. "Thanks, but no thanks." As tempting as it was he was rather looking forward to having the rest of the day off.
She glared at him, her smile twisting in a deep frown. "Do it, or I'm telling the captain the reason why you're face is imprinted on our wall is because you made Momo cry." She threatened, pointing at the wall that showed the distinct outline of his face.
His body went still at the threat, his teeth kissing his lips, making a soft tsk noise. She had played dirty, and he hated it. "Fine." He grumbled, knowing there was no point in fighting. "Hinamori so owes me one."
Momo panted as she ran all around the world of the living. It took her no more than an hour to prepare everything she needed. She glanced down at the white bag that she clenched tightly to her chest. Since it was Valentine's Day, she felt it was only appropriate to return his feelings while giving him chocolate. After all, that's what this day was all about. Being with your loved ones and using chocolate to help you express how much you cared for them. She had known exactly what to make, dark-chocolate flavored snowflakes. The flavoring of the chocolate wasn't too sweet so it would match his taste and the snowflakes would be perfect for his elemental type Zanpakuto.
After she arrived in Urahara's shop and explained that she was looking for Hitsugaya the former captain of the Twelfth Division had offered his assistance. He had given her a gigai to use and even offered her some cute clothes. When she asked how she could repay him, he said a box of sweets was all he needed. Promising him a whole boatload of sweets she took off running, searching for any signs of Hitsugaya's reiatsu.
She had only been to the world of the living a few times, but every time she was always amazed at how big it was. There were so many people, all dressed in so many different types of clothing doing all sorts of things. She apologized to a few that she had bumped into, not yet used to the shoes that came with her outfit. She wore a long-sleeved white sweater with a blue skirt and dark gray tights. The boots were black, knee length and a little higher in the heel that she was used to wearing but she wasn't going to let that deter her.
Finding his reiastu hadn't been too hard. His powers were still strong even when scaled down to their bare minimum. The limiter sealed off more than 80% of his power but she could still feel its strong familiar presence easily. For once she was going to be the one to sneak up on him. Using her kido, she hid her reiastu from the very moment she entered the world of the living. She didn't want him to find her and spoil the surprise. This time it was her turn to sneak up on him
Finally, she had found him. She was somewhat surprised that the trail had led her to an open field with humans nearby playing a game of soccer, but she didn't give it much thought. She looked around, trying to see if she saw any signs of white-hair or ice in the skies or sending a lost soul off to the soul society.
"Toshiro!" her focus flew towards the field, her brown eyes widening when she caught sight of white hair blowing in the wind as he ran along, kicking a soccer ball along, dodging the humans who didn't even realize who they were really up against. He zoomed past them, making goal after goal with the grace and ability only a captain could possess. It was enchanting to watch, but at the same time, it made her chest ache. "Pass it here." A girl called out to him, running alongside him. Her dark hair was tied back in a ponytail; a few strands fell against her forehead and ran alongside her face. Her attire was a simple plain white t-shirt that helped accent her chest and a light jacket. On her lower half was a skirt that flowed in the wind, a few of the male bystanders groaned in disappointment when they saw the shorts that were underneath when the fabric would lift up. With a swift kick, she sent the soccer ball soaring, pass the group of men that tried in vain to stop her and right into the net. A loud ringing echoed through the field and cheering came next, the girl threw her arms up in the air in triumph while those she had been facing groaned in despair and slowly began to exit the field. The game had ended, and it was clear who the winning team was.
Momo moved in closer, trying her best to blend in with the crowd and remain out of sight. She was still confused about what was going on, but that wasn't going to deter her. She was a girl on a mission, and she would do what she came here to do.
"We did it, Toshiro!" the girl cheered, raising her hand towards the white-haired boy with a wide grin plastered on her face.
"Yeah, whatever." Hitsugaya raised his right hand, accepting the high-five and started to walk off the field himself.
This action caused Momo to stop in her tracks. "That girl…" brown eyes looked at the pair, their conversation couldn't reach her ears, but their body language told her enough. They knew each other and were friendly with one another. They had to be, why else would Hitsugaya be here in the human world playing a game of soccer. But that wasn't what surprised her the most. "She called him Toshiro." In all the years she's known him the one thing that always bothered her childhood friend was the way people addressed him. He didn't care who it was, enemy, subordinate, even her, he was always scolding them to address him as Captain Hitsugaya. But this girl, she had called him by his first name, and he didn't even bat an eye. What did that mean for her? Biting her lip, she quickly hid behind a tree before either one of them noticed her and continued to observe the two. It was a cowardly move, but she couldn't stop herself from doing it.
"Way to go!"
"Karin, that last shot was amazing!"
"You two are the king and queen of soccer!"
Members of their team all ran over to praise them. Just like all of the other times they were always amazed at the skills these two possessed.
"We really do make a pretty good team. Thanks again for filling in." Every word was like a stab in her heart. She was so familiar with him, speaking to him like they were the closest of friends and showed no signs of being wary of his appearance or power.
"Like I said it's no big deal." Hitsugaya sighed, bringing one hand up to scratch the back of his head. He cast a sideways glance, looking away from her and seemingly uninterested but Momo still saw it. The light tint of pink dusting his face. It was faint and faded quickly, but she knew better. He would never admit it and fought hard not to show it, but he was happy with her praise. Another painful twinge rang out in her chest.
"You say that about everything," she laughed him off, walking over to a bench and taking a long sip of her water. "But seriously, it's Valentine's Day. I would never have thought you would have so much free time. I thought for sure you would have plans for today." She fiddled with the cap of her water, turning it back and forth as she spoke. Her eyes were shifting from it to the white-haired soul reaper.
Hitsugaya took a moment to answer, his teal eyes looking up at the sky. "No, not really." His voice was low but heavy; there was more meaning in his words then he was letting on.
Momo took in his reaction; she could detect the difference in his voice that he tried to keep his sounding normal. She could be imagining it but she swore that was disappointment she heard.
"Is that so?" Karin said, a thoughtful look on her face. It was evident that she didn't fully understand what he meant.
But Momo did.
She had a very good idea of why he might be this way. Today was a day for lovers, and not too long ago he confessed his love for her. So did that disappointment in his voice mean that he was upset she hadn't made any plans to spend the day with him? But if that was true then why was he with this girl? She clenched her eyes tight, trying to shake away these negative thoughts. Hitsugaya was too loyal; he would never betray her trust by sneaking around with another woman. Whoever is this is she couldn't have been more than a friend...right?
Her heart was beating loudly in her chest. What is the matter with her? She should be happy for him. After years of people running in fear of him, he had made a friend other than her who wasn't put off by his appearance or power. There was someone else besides her that he could relax and enjoy himself with. There was someone else in his life that made him feel welcomed. But she wasn't feeling any of those things. Instead, she felt resentful towards the girl. Jealous that she was able to experience a side of him that before only she had the pleasure of seeing.
"If that's the case then do you maybe want to stay for dinner? I'm sure Ichigo will be happy to see one of his old friends."
That caught Momo off guard. She had said the name of the man that had saved their world over and over again. Peeking out from behind the tree she looked over the girl, taking in every inch of her before doing a quick scan. She could slap herself for not detecting her spiritual abilities sooner. While they were nowhere as strong as her brother's, she was still very capable and held an impressive amount of power. At least she has some kind of explanation as to how Hitsugaya and her met. Possibly through Ichigo or during his visit to this world when they were still fighting against Aizen.
"Sorry, but I have to get going. I've left Rangiku alone in the office far too long, and I need to finish off the work that she no doubt hasn't even started." His one eye twitched, already thinking of the mess that was probably waiting for him and the all-nighter he would no doubt be pulling just to catch up on work. "See ya." He waved off his departure, already turning to leave.
"Hold it," Karin stopped him, quickly moving about to grab her bag and after some shuffling around of its contents pulled out a small red box. Her cheeks took on a pink hue, and she seemed a little nervous. "I don't know if you guys celebrate it or not but today is Valentine's Day in this world, and you usually give chocolates to the people you like," her voice took a high pitch at the word like, and she gulped, looking embarrassed at it. "I ran to get this during the last break of the game. It's to show my appreciation for all you've done for my brother and for me." She looked up at him shyly, trying to convey her feelings through her awkward paraphrasing.
Hitsugaya for his part did well not to portray the shock that he was currently experiencing. He never thought she would be offering his chocolates on a day like this. "I'm well aware of what holiday this is and what it represents," shoving his hands in his pockets, he clenched the inside of his jacket and looked back at the girl he had grown fond of over the years. She had developed and matured into an attractive young woman, and he always found himself enjoying her company. "But I'm afraid I can't accept them." But there was only one person he would ever accept chocolates from.
"Oh, I see." Karin gave him an awkward smile, pulling the box of candy close to her chest. "That's okay. I just figured I should offer them to be polite. You've done a lot for our family so I figured I should show my gratitude."
Momo couldn't take any more of this. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes, her hand going up to cover her mouth to block out the soft cries that wanted to escape her. The girl looked like she was trying desperately to fight back the pain of being rejected and she was doing a good job. To anyone passing by you would think she was only slightly annoyed that he wouldn't take the chocolate she had offered him. But she could see it, the pain that shined in her eyes was as clear as the blue sky. She really was just like her brother, strong in every aspect and nothing like Momo. She was crying for the girl being rejected when she was the very reason why her feelings weren't returned. And what made this situation even worst was that she felt happy about it.
Disgusted with herself she fled the scene. She couldn't handle any more of this. She hated herself. What kind of person feels happy when someone else gets their feelings hurt? Since when did she become someone who sighed in relief when Hitsugaya rejected another person and chose her instead? When did she become this person? Fighting back the tears she raced through the old shop of Urahara, letting out soft sobs as she excused herself and all but ran back to the portal. She didn't stop to apologize for barging in on them nor explain the reason for her tears.
Urahara fanned himself slowly; he had witnessed not too long ago lieutenant Momo Hinamori come racing through his shop and back to the Soul Society with tears in her eyes. His nose had detected the scent of chocolate both times she had passed through and he could only imagine why she hadn't given them to the white-haired captain and instead returned crying.
"Young love, it can be such a cruel thing." He was sitting at the small round table of his, accepting the cup of tea Ururu had given him. He and the rest of the residents at the shop were all seated for dinner and discussing what had just happened.
"I never would have imagined Captain Hitsugaya would break her heart so cruelly." Yoruichi took a bite of her food, enjoying the delicious meal that had been offered to her.
Urahara pulled his fan up to cover his, letting only his eyes be seen. "I wonder what the young captain did that had the poor girl in such a state?" he and his old friend locked eyes, amusement flashing in both of them.
"Well it is Valentine's Day and the boy is pretty cute. Not too mention he's here in the human world but never told anyone what business he has to take care of. Sounds pretty suspicious to me." Yoruichi leaned back on her hands, enjoying this new game as they tried coming up with all sorts of reasons of what Hitsugaya could have done to Hinamori.
"The poor girl," Urahara placed his hand on his forehead for dramatic effect as he spoke. "She had been so happy to see him and ran all the way to find him to deliver her chocolates made of love only to receive a broken heart instead."
Jinta sat there, eating his dinner with one eye twitching the whole time. "If you guys are that bored maybe you should get out more," he mumbled, a mouth full of food. He never understood why two of the most powerful people in all of Soul Society preferred to sit at home and gossip.
Hitsugaya walked through the shop of Urahara, rubbing the back of his neck. He had a long day and would like to relax but he had a strong suspicion that wouldn't be the case when he returned to his office. With quick reflexes he was able to dodge the flying body of Jinta, who landed outside in the front yard, two large lumps on his head forming as he rolled around in the dirt in pain. Hitsugaya would never understand what took place in this shop and honestly, he never really wanted to know. Turning his attention back to the former captain he was ready to give his thanks for allowing him to borrow a gigai when the young Ururu stepped in front of him. Slowly she raised one arm and pointed a finger in his face. "Cheater." Hitsugaya staggered, taken back by that comment.
Shinji let out a low groan, extending his arms above his head as he stretched out his sore muscles. At long last, he was almost finished with the paperwork that seemed go on forever. "No wonder Hitsugaya is always in a sour mood." he sighed, feeling pity towards the young captain. At many points during the day, he found himself feeling grateful for Hinamori and how diligent she was with her workflow. Never in all his years of being a soul reaper did he ever think he would spend the whole day doing paperwork. Cracking his neck, he looked across from him to see Rangiku with her head down, her wrist making soft but subtle movements. While she wasn't as going as quickly as he hoped he was glad that she was at least still working. Besides it wasn't like he could blame her, even he was pretty tired after all they had done today. "Hey, let's take a break. It feels like my arm is about to fall off." If he had to pick between this and fighting Hollows, he would choose the latter. Fighting those monsters was a lot easier than doing this amount of work day in and day out.
He was surprised that he didn't hear anything from the woman. Instead, she continued what she was doing, her hands moving in a slow, sluggish motion as they picked up a new sheet of paper and began to write on it. She was still doing her work despite him just saying for them to take a break. "Something's not right." His eyes narrowed, his lips pursed together as he stared at her. She was seated on the couch opposite of him, for once working instead of goofing off. He found this very suspicious and slowly tilted his head to the side, looking past the strawberry-blonde locks that blocked his few of her face. Her mouth was slightly open, her breathing coming in slow and steady and her eyes were shut. He growled at the completely asleep lieutenant. "Wake up!" he all but cried out, slamming his hands on the table and causing her to jolt awake.
Rangiku screamed, her hands instantly dropping the brush and making the piles of paper that were around her fly about. Her two arms shot up to cover her chest. "Hey, just what is the big idea? You scared me so bad I almost popped out of my uniform!"
"I could be asking you the same thing. How dare you fall asleep on me when you were the one who asked me for help!" He pointed an accusing finger in her face.
She returned his allegation with one of her own. "Please, I bet you loved it. You were probably drooling over me and scared me on purpose to see if my boobs really would pop out." She gave him an accusing look, hands tightly covering her chest.
"Do you even hear yourself? How obsessed with yourself can you be?!" he cried, hands gripping the ends of his hair.
"What's wrong, upset at being caught, you pervert?!" she taunted him, sticking her tongue out at him.
The two glared at each other, teeth bared and both their reiastu flaring up as they readied themselves for battle. It was going to be a fight of insults and wits, and neither one of them was going to back down. Standing to their feet, they prepared themselves, quickly looking over their opponent, making a mental checklist of all the things they would use to insult and annoy them. But before they could begin their battle the crying form of Momo Hinamori stopped them.
She stood in the doorway, her gigai and human world attire gone and replaced with her formal wear. Her breath came out in short gasps as she panted, one gripping the wood frame of the door. Brown eyes red from all the crying she was doing. In a shaking hand, she still held the bag of chocolate that she had planned to give to Hitsugaya. "Rangiku…" she whimpered to the older woman, crossing the room and flung herself into the warm embrace of her best friend. Crying out her frustration her body shook as she sobbed to her friend and captain.
Both were taken back by her sudden appearance and even more by her behavior, but neither said anything. They gave each other a look, forgetting what they had just been fighting about and placed all their attention on the crying Hinamori. "It's alright, let it all out." Rangiku held her, whispering soothing words to the young girl that she thought of as a younger sister.
Momo hated herself for being so weak, but she couldn't stop it. She wasn't strong enough to deal with this on her own. She needed the people who cared about her the most to help her get through this. Moments passed, and soon her crying had died down to sniffling, and from there all that was left was the sound of her blowing her nose and the few hiccups that followed as she tried to catch her breath. As she fought to regain her composure she told them what had happened after she arrived in the human world. Giving them every detail of she from when she found Hitsugaya with Ichigo's younger sister, how he seemed to enjoy the time he spent with her, the box of chocolate that had been offered to him and her reaction to the entire scene.
"I see…" Rangiku couldn't help but sigh, running one hand through her long locks of hair. She could only shake her head and frown at what she had just been told. "I'm so sorry, Momo. If only I had gone with you or called the Captain back. Maybe we could have avoided all of this." She knew the captain was close to the younger sister of Ichigo, but she never imagined he would spend his free time with her. Just what was he thinking? Only a few days ago he was confessing his love to Momo, but today he was spending this day, that was explicitly meant for lovers, with another woman. She was going to have to give him a stern talking too.
"No, it's alright," Momo shook her head, her eyes downcast on the bag of chocolates that rested in her lap. This day had been an emotional rollercoaster, and these chocolates were only a bitter reminder of it. "I'm glad I was there to witness it because this only goes to show that I'm really not worthy of his love. I had the audacity to be happy when he rejected that poor girl!" she bit her lower lip; her teeth slicing open the delicate flesh and spots of blood drip out. "If this was before cap…him, I would have been happy there was someone else who loved Hitsugaya as much as I do. But look at me, I'm relieved that he so coldly rejected her," she wrapped her arms around herself; she didn't even realize she was shaking until she did so. "I'm too broken, and I don't think I'll be fixed for a very long time. Hitsugaya should just forget about me and move on." A single tear fell from her eye as she curled up into herself. She hadn't thought she had any more tears left to shed, but she had enough for one more. She smiled bitterly at the sight of the speck of water on her pants. It was just another example of how weak she really was.
Shinji's brown pinched together in a deep frown; his lip curled upwards in disgust. Not at her but for the person responsible for her inner turmoil. "Aizen, you bastard." Ten years may have passed since his defeat, but Hinamori was still fighting her battle against him. He doesn't know too much about what had taken place between the two, and he hadn't bothered to ask. All he knew was that she had been completely devoted to the man and he had groomed her to not be able to live her life without him. But the bastard hadn't expected how strong her will was, with the help of those around her and with an amazing show of willpower she had been able to move on. For the most part at least. He can see now that there were still some aspect of his grip on the poor girl that were still coming loose. It would take time, and he vowed as a captain he would help her move past it. He was the one who placed Aizen as a lieutenant; in a failed attempt to keep a close eye on him he had allowed the man to progress further in his plans. If he had caught on sooner then maybe this poor girl wouldn't be sitting here crying like she was. "Enough with the crying, that's an order." He grunted out, crossing his legs and spread his arms out up on top of the couch.
Rangiku sneered at the man. She couldn't believe he just did that. "What the hell is your problem? Can't you see how upset she is?"
Shinji wasn't fazed by her behavior towards him. He had expected as much anyways. "Yeah, I can, but I'm telling her to stop because it's stupid. Everyone gets jealous from time to time, so there's no reason to get so worked up about it. It's perfectly normal, and there's nothing wrong with you." He looked at his lieutenant, hoping that despite his harsh words she could get what he was trying to say. She didn't need to be so hard on herself because she wasn't as broken as she thought she was. What she was feeling wasn't the work of Aizen, and it was a perfectly normal emotion. "You are right about one thing. You probably would have felt differently if this had been ten years ago but that only goes to show how much you've grown. You've told me so yourself that you hated how naïve you were back then. You feeling jealous is a sign of your maturity as a person instead of being the same little girl who smiled at everything and was just trying to please everyone," he didn't care about her past or who she was back then or what mistakes she had made. When the war had ended, and she was still recovering, he had personally asked her to remain in her lieutenant position. He needed someone like her to help build the division back up. She may have doubts in her abilities, but he knew she was stronger than she was giving herself credit for. "I bet if the little guy had confessed to you back then and you saw the same display you would have told him to go be with that girl. In doing so, you probably would have hurt him even worst then if you had rejected his feelings." He gave her a soft grin, a proud glint in his eyes when he saw that his words were already starting to have an effect on her. Her shaking had come to a stop and she was no longer curled up, instead she was sitting up straight and taking in everything he said. The process was indeed a slow one, but she was healing.
While she didn't agree with how coarse he was about it, Rangiku had to agree with him. "He's right," she sighed, reaching out to push away a few strands of hair from Momo's face. "I'm positive if you had told the captain that he should be with another girl instead of you it would have broken his heart more than if you had just simply rejected him," though he had an icy exterior and was one of the strongest warriors in the Soul Society his heart was still very fragile. "No one likes to feel jealous, but it's normal when it comes to relationships. What matters the most is what you do with that jealousy. Most people aren't mature enough to handle it and will act out, harming not only others around them but the person they care about the most. You, however, recognized that what you were feeling wasn't in the best interest of anyone and left before you did something you might regret." She smiled down at the young girl, pride filling her heart as she thought of how far she had come. It was true that Aizen still had a hold of her, but she was fighting hard to be free of it and find the happiness she deserved. There would be many bumps along the way, but she was sure that with the captain by her side Momo would come out as an even stronger person.
Momo wasn't sure if she deserved these kind words, but she was grateful for them and for her friends. "Thank you." She sniffled, looking down once more at the bag of chocolate in her hands. Night had already darkened the sky, the day was nearly over, and she wasn't sure if they had become stale or not but she wanted to give them to Hitsugaya. She was still unsure of her worth but if he was willing to give her time she was sure that she would become a person that is worthy of receiving his love.
Proud of how far his young lieutenant had come in such a short span of one day Shinji reached out and playfully pinched her cheek. "Now come on, that's enough. I gave you an order to stop your crying. You wouldn't happen to be disobeying your beloved captain, now would you?" he teased, lightly pulling at the skin and chuckling to himself.
"Captain Hirako!" Momo winced, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes for a whole other reason.
Shaking her head, Rangiku stood up and pulled out a bottle of sake that she kept hidden in a secret compartment of Hitsugaya's desk. It had initially been used to hide the sweets of the former Captain Shiba, but she had taken to using it to store her alcohol. Pouring herself a cup she leaned against the desk, watching the playful manner of the two Fifth Division offers. "Hey, you might want to knock it off before –!"
The room turned deadly silent when Hitsugaya stepped through the doors; his eyes had been downcast in thought before they shifted upwards and took in everything that was going on in his office. Rangiku drinking, papers were scattered all over the floor, and Shinji pinching Hinamori's cheeks who still had tears in her eyes. All three of them grew pale. Instantly Rangiku threw the bottle away while at the same time both Hinamori and Shinji stood up on their feet, his hand releasing her cheek and the bag of chocolate that had been on her lap fell to the ground. "What the hell is going on?" he all but growled out, his teal eyes glaring daggers at the flesh of Momo's cheek that had turned pink from being pinched.
Shinji gulped when he saw what held the young's captain attention. "It's not what you think, I swear!" he all but cried out, trying desperately to think of what to say that would spare him the onslaught of his wrath.
Hitsugaya frowned, nostrils flaring slightly as he closed the door to his office and stepped further inside. "I want an explanation, and I want one now."
Both Shinji and Rangiku gulped, the two going to hide behind Momo and making the girl backup with them. Hitsugaya's temper was famous, and they knew so long as they had her with them he wouldn't do anything too rash. They just hoped once they explained themselves they would be free of any threats of being frozen over. "Well you see…" they both started, not quite sure where to begin and where to end. It's wasn't exactly a simple matter, and it really was one that Momo should explain herself, but one look at the poor girl's flushed face told them that she was trying to find her own words.
While the three of them were backing up Hitsugaya was marching towards, eyes locked on the two that were using his childhood friend like she was some kind of shield. The sight bothered him immensely, and he wouldn't allow it to continue. As he took another step forward, he heard a soft crunch and felt something underneath his foot. Curiosity he looked down he saw a white bag had been carelessly left on the floor of his office. The small parcel didn't appear to be bigger than his palm and was wrapped by a light blue ribbon. "What the hell is this?" he sneered in annoyance at the bag. He had instantly assumed it was something Matsumoto had left behind. Looking back up at the group he was surprised to see the horrified looks on both Rangiku and Shinji's faces while Momo held a distant and far off look on hers.
"Those were…" Hinamori had finally found her voice, but it was low and seemed almost defeated. "…chocolates that I made for you." She looked off to the side, sighing softly as she did so.
Instantly Hitsugaya's face matched that of the other two. "I…I…" he was stuttering, not even sure of what he wanted to say. His face was tight as he looked at the damaged bag, damage that he had caused. He was at a cross between anger and resentment. All directed at him.
"I think that's our cue to leave." Rangiku gave an awkward laugh, waving off the two childhood friends as she and Shinji all but flash stepped out of the room.
With just the two of them in the room things had grown quiet, neither one of them saying anything. Not that either of them knew what to say. After everything that had happened, it wasn't like they could just casually start talking about subjects they usually discuss. They had moved past childhood friends and were now in a gray area of their relationship.
Momo chewed on her bottom lip, the blood from her previous treatment of it had dried up and left a faint metallic taste in her mouth. This was not how she thought this day would turn out. "I give up," she ran her hands through her hair and sat down on the couch. "I swear this day must be crushed." Between the poisoned chocolate the Twelfth Division had given out and the craziness she had experienced trying to come to terms with her feelings she was sure this holiday had it out for her. Sighing once more she felt bad for her previous statement. There was no way Hitsugaya could know what she was talking about and would no doubt think it was all somehow his fault. She opened her mouth to start explaining herself but stopped when she heard the faint rustling of fabric. She watched as he sat down on the couch opposite of her, his focus on the bag in his hand. With careful hands, he undid the string that held it together to reveal the pieces of broken chocolate that it contained. "You said you made these for me right?" he eyes moving away from the bag of sweets to stare at her. He could feel her gaze on him the moment he opened the parcel. She said nothing, only giving him a low nod. The corners of his mouth lifted upwards, and he felt a jolt of excitement rush through him. "Thank you. I happily accept them." Without even a moment of hesitance, he started to eat them, not caring that it had been broken or was on the ground and was stepped on. She had gone through the effort to make these for him, and he was going to show her his gratitude. A part of him was worried that he sounded too formal and wondered if she would laugh at him but he didn't let those thoughts bother him for very long. There were other matters on his mind. He was well aware of what today was and what these chocolates could possibly represent, but he wasn't going to get his hopes up until he heard the words directly from her. So, for now, he settled for eating every last bite before he questioned her about their meaning.
Momo's heart skipped a beat at the sight. Even though they were broken and no longer resembled snowflakes, now looking just like broken pieces of chocolate, he still happily ate them all. His attention was only on them, appearing to be savoring every bite he took. She smiled softly at the sight. A long time ago he wouldn't have eaten them so calmly. Instead, he probably would have inhaled them while demanding her to give him watermelon the next time. "He was such a brat back then." She thought fondly of his old childish self. She could still see some aspects of his previous self now and then with how he acts. Usually, it was when he lost his temper, but his new demeanor just proved how much he had grown. For years he had been trying to act like an adult, and he was slowly starting to appear that way to her.
Her eyes looked over his frame. When had her Shiro-chan turned into a man? His face was still sharp, but his growth and maturity made those characteristics fit him better. His hands were now twice as big as her own, and the power he held in them was even more. His feet were even more prominent, a sure sign that his small frame would grow into a taller one. She had told him that once as a child and she had been delighted at the way his eyes seemed to sparkle with this new piece of information. His shoulders were broader, accenting the muscles he developed over the years. Training every day to control his powers and grow stronger as not only a captain but as someone who swore to protect her. His eyes were the biggest contradiction to her though. They had still maintained their sharp gaze and could make his enemies freeze up on sight, but whenever his gaze met hers, it would instantly soften. As a child they held uncertainty, but now they glowed with knowledge and determination. His eyes looked at her with the love that he's always had for her. There were still traces of the Shiro-chan she had grown up with, but right now she didn't see the little boy she had grown up with but the man he grew up to be.
Licking his lips he neatly folded the white parcel and placed it on the table. He had eaten every single piece of chocolate that had been in there. While he wasn't the biggest fan of the sweets, he had loved every bite because it had come from her. Clearing his throat, he mentally thought over once more what he wanted to ask her. His breath hitched when he finally noticed the look she was giving him. "Hinamori?" he felt his face flush at her gaze and had to look away. She's never given him that look before, and he wasn't sure what to make of it
At the sound of her name, she was brought out of her daze and saw the flustered appearance he had taken on. Finally deciding that enough was enough she stood up and moved to sit next to him on the couch. Brown met teal, and both had to look away for a brief moment. Neither was quite sure where to go from here. They had taken one step forward, but their relationship was still fuzzy. With a shaky breath, she clasped her hand in his, eyes keeping steady to look ahead at the wall as she waited for his response. It only took a couple of seconds for him to return the hold, their fingers interlocking as he did so. Both of them sat there, holding the others hand, eyes glazed over slightly as the basked in the joy they were experiencing.
"Hinamori-!"
She tightened her hold on his hand, stopping him from speaking. He had said what he needed to say that fateful night and now it was her turn. "I must admit that I wasn't expecting your confession, but I'm happy that you told me. I had thought I had grown up a bit, but it seems I'm still a little dense when it comes to certain matters," she chuckled softly to herself, thinking back to how shocked she was when her captain admitted to knowing for a very long time about his feelings for her. As the day went on and she thought more about her time spent with Hitsugaya she wanted to slap herself for never picking up on them. "I wasn't sure how to act around you afterward and I'm sorry for ignoring you. You have to know that I never intended to hurt you," she dared to steal a glance at him, and she felt her blush intensify. Hitsugaya's full attention was now on her, and he seemed to be enchanted by her words. His eyes seemed to be glistening as he listened to her. She's never seen him like this, his guard was completely down, and she could so easily read his emotions. She could tell just how much this meant to him, how long he had been waiting for her reply, and how much it was making him feel. She nearly lost it, but she made herself focus. She was going to tell him everything so things would be out in the open and there wouldn't be any need to worry about this matter ever again. "Even though you confession made me so happy I was worried I didn't deserve your feelings," it didn't surprise her to see the slight frown that started to appear on his face or the way his hand softly clenched hers, but she will admit that she never expected to see the pain that flash behind his teal eyes. "I'm still healing from everything that happened ten years ago, and I'm not sure if I'll ever really get over it. Aizen…he…" she took in a deep breath, thinking over carefully what she wanted to say. "He was very special to me. With very little effort, he was able to make me believe that my life was complete with just him in it. I know now what his true purpose was for making me believe that, and I'm working hard every day to fight that darkness, but I doubt it'll ever really go away," what she had experienced was traumatizing. Everything she had gone through would haunt her for the rest of her life. Some days were better than others, and some days she didn't want to leave her bed. But she had fought hard for this peace, and she wasn't going to give up easily. "Which is why I originally believed you shouldn't waste your time on someone like me. You've been through so much and deserved to find happiness. I don't want you to go through life full of regrets if you're with me when I'm like this," Tears glistened behind her brown eyes, but she fought them back. Now wasn't the time to start crying.
Hitsugaya couldn't listen to this anymore. Ignoring his racing her he pulled her closer, making her turn to look at him until their foreheads were touching. "That's enough!" he hadn't meant to raise his voice at her, but she had to know the truth. "I'm the one who decides if you're worthy of my feelings or not and you are! Momo, I've loved you long before Aizen, and I'll continue to love you until the end of my days." His eyes held a bitter look in them. Both of them were aware that his lifespan had been cut short because of Captain Kurotsuchi and his method that de-zombified him. While he was grateful to that the man had been able to return him to his normal state he silently cursed the man all the same. His days were numbered but he didn't know by how much. A Shinigami can live for centuries, but with their line of work, no one knows just for how long they really have. It's rare for someone like them to die from old age. He didn't know how much time he had left in this world and that was exactly why he had gotten tired of waiting and confessed his feelings. If his lifespan was downsized, then he was going to be damn sure that he lives the rest of his life with no regrets. "So long as you're by my side, no matter of how you feel, my life will be perfect. If you're beside me smiling, then I'll be happy." His cheeks turned a darker shade of red with every passing second. He wasn't used to talking about his feelings. He licked his lips that had suddenly gone dry. He had thought merely confessing had been bad enough but what he was doing now took way more courage.
Momo felt like she was going to pass out. His bold confession made her heart race so quickly that she was starting to feel dizzy. Who would have ever thought her bratty Shiro-chan could say such romantic things? "I followed you to the human world. I was ready to give you answer right then and there, but then I saw you with that girl. I believe she's Ichigo little sister?" she gave him a pointed look, a little bit of her previous jealousy coming out.
At this Hitsugaya stiffened. This was a new look he was seeing, and it made him nervous. "You did?" he wondered how much she had seen. He never picked up on her spiritual pressure, so that had to mean she had hidden it. But he saw no real reason for her to hide it from him…unless she had seen Karin giving him the box of chocolates. He began to sweat; his mind felt like it was doing flips. "I don't know how much you saw, but I swear Hinamori, my feelings for you are genuine. I don't feel that way towards Karin or anyone else."
"Oh?" she looked at him, eyes scrunched up as she gave him a pointed look. "So you'll call her by her first name, and let her call you by yours. Meanwhile, you always berate me about addressing each other with our proper titles." She puffed out her cheeks, eyes closed as she turned away from him slightly.
He would have found her behavior rather cute if he wasn't currently feeling like his head was going to explode. "Well, that's because…I mean you and I…she…" he had no idea what he was supposed to say. He was a beginner when it came to relationships, and he didn't want to give her the wrong idea. It wasn't like he saw Karin that way. He could admit she had grown into an attractive looking woman, but he could say the same thing about Matsumoto, but that didn't mean he liked her. He regarded both women as people who were close to him but what he felt for them was nowhere near close to what he felt for Momo. Now if only he could put what he felt into a proper sentence then maybe he could make the insecurities he had unknowingly filled her with disappear. But that was easier said than done. Whenever he opened his mouth, everything he spoke always came out harsher than he intended too. He found it hard to talk with his mind spinning like it was, his pulse quickening made it harder for him to concentrate and he swore he heard giggling coming from the window, but he chose to push forward all of his efforts into finding the right thing to say to her.
Cracking one eye open she felt all her previous insecurities disappear when she saw his bewildered expression. She had managed to stump the prodigy. She felt a little bad about teasing him so much, but she had to say he deserved it; if only a little bit. This was her way of getting back at him for never mentioning Karin. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she smiled at how quickly his body had stiffened up only for it to relax almost instantly. "I was jealous, you know," her tongue swept over her lips, wetting them as she told him her feelings. She was still nervous, but she didn't want to stop now and leave their relationship in this awkward phase. "When I saw how easily you seemed to enjoy yourself it made me a little jealous. I had thought I was the only one who could make you feel that way. That's part of the reason why I didn't reveal myself to you. For years I preached how others would accept you and when it finally happened, I got jealous and even felt relieved when you didn't accept her chocolates. I felt like such a terrible person that I came running back here crying to Rangiku and Captain Hirako." She was rabbling, and she knew it, but she couldn't stop herself. She wanted to tell him everything to avoid any further issues. Even though both her captain and Rangiku had said what she felt was perfectly normal, she still felt like a terrible person. She hoped that her pettiness hadn't put him off.
"If you're a terrible person then so am I," Hitsugaya rested his head on top of hers, inhaling in the sweet scent that she carried. It was a light floral smell, completely natural and void of any unwanted perfumes. He could never place how she smelt to him, but to him it was like the two of them were together out in a wide open field, a cool summer breeze blowing by and mixing in with it were all the scents of the forest. "For years I fought hard not to let my jealousy show through. Whenever you would smile at others or when you went to the academy or when your focus was on someone other than me." He didn't say the name out loud, but they both knew who he meant. When he was still a child and had yet to enter the academy, he membered each and every painful twinge that squeezed around his heart whenever she raved about Aizen. It had hurt him to learn that someone other than him could take up so much room in her heart. He had always desired to be the sole resident of her heart and having to share the spot had never sat well with him. Closing his eyes, he briefly took this moment to enjoy the moment. It had been so long since it was just the two of them, sitting so close together like this. And now they were at the threshold of moving past childhood friends and becoming something more. But before he allowed his heart to fly any higher with hope he needed to ask something. "Momo, before this goes any further I want to know why you looked the way you did that night?" he felt the way her body shifted, her gaze looking up at him with a questioning look in her eyes. "That night when I told you how I felt you looked almost disturbed." Pushing himself up he moved them so that he was looking down into her eyes. He wanted to know the truth about why she looked the way she did that night. He needed to know if there was a reason for it and for the sudden need to tell him how she felt. He had to know that she was telling him this because she felt the same way and wasn't doing it out of obligation. The latter had his heart thumping with a soft beat of fear.
He had gone back to guarding himself, so well in fact that she couldn't even read him. But she had a pretty good idea of what he was looking for. With a soft smile, she once gently squeezed his hand to reassure him. "When you were telling me how you felt I could see just how long you were holding in your feelings and all I could think about was how stupid I must have been to you. I was so obsessed back then that I hadn't even noticed your feelings and I was overcome with embarrassment." She looked down at their conjoined hands; a light blush settled on her face as she thought back to that night. After he had left her, she had somehow managed to crawl into her bed, but sleep never came. Instead, she tossed and turned until the sun had risen, her mind racing with thoughts of him all night long.
"I see…" Relief flowed through him as he took in her small frame. That night when he saw her expression after listening to his confession, he had felt all hope die. He had believed the thought of her returning his feeling was hopeless. It was why he had told her not to bother with a response. He didn't need one because for him just confessing how he felt was more than enough. But now the thing he thought wasn't possible was finally happening, and it had him itching with delight. He was ready to make the next move, the one that would ultimately allow them to move past the final step into becoming so much more than just childhood friends but he would wait. He had been patient this long, so he did not mind waiting a couple of extra moments for her to catch up. After all, he was used to being the first one who knew exactly what they wanted when it came to their feelings.
Momo looked back up at him, and the moment she saw the love that shined in his eyes she knew it was time. She had prolonged it long enough, and it was time to do what she had intended to do. Gulping down her fears and gathering every ounce of courage she had she spoke the words she couldn't even begin to imagine how long he had been waiting to hear. "I love you." Her heart was pounding; its strong beats were ringing out in her ears; the seconds seemed to slow down as the world around them began to spin.
A rare smile spread across his face. Three little words that meant the world to him, words he had only ever heard in his dreams, were finally spoken out loud. "I love you, too." She had finally caught up, and together they would both take the final step they needed to take. Cupping her cheek in his free hand his eyes slowly closed as he leaned forward and placed his lips on top of hers. Her free hand gripped his arm, not in fear or in pain but with excitement. He could feel it in the way her reiastu took a sudden spike. Their lips pressed firmly against one another, expressing their feeling for each other in an act that was solely for them and them alone. Passion and love filled their veins as their kiss continued, deepening further and further until the need for air became too great and they gasped for breath when they finally broke the kiss.
The clock on the wall ticked on, signaling to all that Valentine's Day was over and a new day had started. And to them, a new day was perfect because they would spend the rest of their days together, just like how they always wanted.
END