Disclaimer: Bleach still belongs to Tite Kubo. I am just his loyal subject :)

CHAPTER 2

Toshiro began to stir, arms stretched above his head. He lay there in his dark, cool room, eyes still shut, thinking of the rest of his days' tasks. Feeling eager to begin some of his plans to cheer Momo up, he wished he could skip the rest of his work and start his plans immediately. It hurts him to see Momo so distraught, though he may not show it outwardly .

"First I think I'll..." he thought to himself, but just then he heard a small creak from across the room. He leapt backward on the bed, his head hitting against the wall with a loud 'thud.' Across the room sat Rangiku, looking at him amusedly.

"What's the meaning of this?" Toshiro demanded with an irritable tone, rubbing the back of his head, face scrunched in pain.

Rangiku stood up and crossed the room, laughing, "I stopped by to tell you I was done with the paperwork, you only left me eight pages, you know. But you looked so peaceful I didn't want to disturb you."

"So you sat here and watched me sleep?" Toshiro demand once more, both shocked and distressed.

"I have only been here a minute or two," Rangiku explained. "You just looked so cute, I didn't want to wake you," she cooed. "Just like an innocent child."

Annoyance spread across Toshiro's face, "I'm NOT a child, Rangiku. I'm your captain!" He exclaimed angrily.

"Gosh, you don't have to be so mean," Rangiku replied, amused. She never took Toshiro's harsh words or tone to heart. She actually found it to be quite entertaining. "Besides, you watched me sleep this morning," Rangiku added teasingly.

Toshiro blushed lightly. "I was not watching you sleep, Rangiku. You were sleeping in our office!" He said defensively.

"You really are so adorable while you're asleep," she said, reaching out to ruffle his hair. Toshiro pushed her hand aside.

"You're being inappropriate, Rangiku," he replied hotly, looking away. "I'm..."

"I know, I know. You're MY captain," she mocked with a grin.

"I was actually going to say I'm hungry," he replied flatly.

"If you say so... Captain," she teased. "Well, shall we then?" she said as she offered him a hand to help him up.

"I guess," he replied, not accepting her offer. The pair walked out of his room together. Toshiro softly slid the door closed behind him. Rangiku threw an arm around his neck and the two of them headed down the stairs, Rangiku dragging Toshiro along.

Momo had been at the end of the hall when the two emerged together, a letter clenched in her hand. She saw Rangiku affectionately sling an arm around Toshiro, and she felt her heart drop out of her chest. She felt so hurt and betrayed. The two closest people in her life sneaking around together. Had it all been a ruse? He pretended to take a nap, she pretended to do some work, while they secretly met up and went back to his room together? If they wanted to have a secret relationship, she had hoped they could at least trust her enough, as a close friend, to share their secret with her. It would be hard to see them together, but she would accept it.

Tears filled Momo's eyes. She threw the note down and turned to run away.

"Hey! Momo, wait!" a voice called behind her, but she didn't stop. She didn't want to talk to anyone in this condition.

"Momo!" Izuru yelled, catching up to her. He reached out and grabbed her arm to slow her down. "Hey, didn't you hear..." he began, but noticing her tear streaked face, changed his tone. "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

There was no way she was going to admit to her feelings -what she saw and why it disturbed her. She had to think of something, anything to explain these tears.

"It's just..." she began, sniffling, racking her brain. Aizen came to mind, and to her horror, she overflowed with emotion. Her tears started flowing again. She was still so broken by his betrayal.

"Hey, hey... It will be okay," Izuru promised, wiping away her tears with his sleeve. "How about we go somewhere to talk? After everything you've been through, you haven't had a chance to get anything off your chest." Izuru smiled at her. "It's got to be eating you up inside."

Momo looked down at the square, at all the cheerful people talking and laughing together.

"C'mon, just the two of us," Izuru put out his hand. "We'll go somewhere away from all this racket."

Momo considered it for a long moment. She was frightened to let her feelings out; she might just break down completely. But she was even more frightened of never being normal again. How she wanted to be carefree and happy instead of all jumbled inside. She looked into Izuru's warm, sincere eyes... and gently placed her hand in his.

Izuru and Momo sat atop the third division's barracks, watching the sun slowly drop in the sky. They had been sitting here for several minutes, just enjoying each other's company, not needing to say a word.

"I don't want to push you," Izuru began, "But any time you're ready to talk..." he smiled at her. "I'm really a good listener, no awkwardness or judgment, I promise."

Momo felt overwhelmed by his kindness and almost wanted to cry again, but she held it in.

"Oh, Izuru," she began, touching her hand to his. After a moment, though, she withdrew it shyly. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Not a problem," he replied nervously, looking down at his hand where she touched it. "You know I'm always here for you, right?"

Momo cocked her head to the side, smiling as best she could. "Of course I know that."

A warm breeze wafted the smell of cherry blossoms through the air. Momo took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh.

"It's okay if you aren't comfortable talking, no pressure," Izuru said in response to her sigh.

"No, it's not that. And it's nothing to do with not wanting to talk to you..." Momo trailed off. She looked out at the breathtakingly pink horizon, trying to find the words. "I guess I still feel really embarrassed, you know, about... Aizen," she finally said, blushing.

"I thought that might be it," Izuru replied. "It's not your fault what happened, though. Nobody could have guessed what he was planning."

"But I was his lieutenant. I should have sensed something was wrong, should have seen some signs," Momo explained.

"You're too hard on yourself, Momo. Aizen left nothing for you to find, no hints to his intentions. Don't beat yourself up over it," Izuru replied, trying his best to offer comforting words. "All of us in the 13 court guard liked him. He put on such a convincing act and had us all fooled," he said, fists clenched.

"He didn't fool Shi... Captain Hitsugaya," she corrected herself. She was still too upset by what she saw this evening to call him by his nickname.

"Hey, the one time you call him Captain and he's not even around," Izuru laughed. Momo tried to laugh along with him, but couldn't bring herself to do it.

Izuru picked up on her gloom over the subject of her old friend. "Are you two alright, you and Hitsugaya?" he asked her, genuinely interested. He knew how close they had always been through the years. "He's not still upset about..."

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Momo clarified glumly.

"Hmm, then why do I sense there's something wrong there?" Izuru inquired, eyeing Momo closely, searching for any hint to her troubles.

Tears stung at Momo's eyes, "I turned on him! I turned on you! I attacked my closest friends in favor of a man who stabbed me through the heart." A single tear ran slowly down her face and caught on her lip. She wiped it away and turned toward the horizon, unable to face Izuru.

Leaning forward into Momo's view, Izuru was pleased to see she didn't turn away. She looked back at him with eyes full of pain and sorrow. "Momo, nobody blames you for your actions that day," he started, empathetically. "You were just protecting your captain, as I did mine. It's what we are all trained to do." Momo's eyes were still teary. Izuru tenderly placed a hand on Momo's back. "Aizen saw what a compassionate, devoted friend you are and he took advantage of your kindness."

"The things he said about me... he used me, Izuru," she replied, a hard lump in her throat. "Then he just... he threw me away like a piece of worthless trash." She turned away, her eyes welling up.

Izuru gently slid his hand from Momo's back to under her chin, turning her back to face him. "Aizen was a fool, Momo. He doesn't yet realize what he's lost. I mean, look at you, you're... perfect," Izuru said, seeming to surprise even himself.

Momo gaped at Izuru at a loss for words. The last rays of sunshine cast dark shadows across his face. His golden blonde bangs were swept across his left eye, glistening in the light. His other strikingly blue eye appeared to glow. To her astonishment, her stomach began to feel as though a hundred hell butterflies were fluttering about, trying to escape.

Izuru dropped his hand nervously from her chin in embarrassment, but Momo reached out and took his hand in hers. She thought of Toshiro and Rangiku. If they were going to be happy together, then she was going to be happy, too, she determined. Momo had never thought of Izuru in this way until this very moment. She squeezed his hand.

"You..." she began, her throat tightening. "You think I'm... I'm perfect?" She could barely get the words out. She looked at him in disbelief, but saw kind eyes staring back.

Izuru blushed and looked down at their intertwined fingers. He almost couldn't believe this was happening. It all seemed too surreal.

"Well, yeah... of course," he replied, flushed, offering a weak smile. "It killed me that day I raised my sword to you. And then, when I thought Aizen had..." he trailed off.

"Oh, Izuru," Momo began. She brushed his bangs back to reveal his left eye. She looked him hard in the face, noticing how the toll of recent events weighed heavily on him. She wasn't the only one who had been suffering, and it was selfish for her to think that way. She caught a glimpse of Sokyoku Hill off in the distance behind Izuru, the place where the Menos Grande had transported Aizen out of the Soul Society. She expected her heart to ache at the thought, but to her astonishment, she felt nothing. She felt better now, in this moment, than she had in months.

A long moment passed with them staring hard into each other's eyes, fingers laced together. Momo held her breath and closed her eyes as Izuru began to lean toward her. After what seemed like an eternity, their lips gently touched together while the last rays of light faded as the sun dipped below the horizon.

A/N: Stay tuned for chapter 3 as Toshiro searches all over for Momo so he can unveil one of his brilliant plans to cheer her up, unaware of her and Izuru's new relationship. How will he feel once he finds out? Only time will tell! Don't miss out xD