Here is Chapter 3! Sorry for the late update! Happy readings!
Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Bleach or its characters but I am eternally thankful to Tite Kubo for creating it for us.
Chapter 3
"So," she said, staring directly in the Head Captains slitted eyes. "What happens now?"
Momo made sure to keep her eyes strong and steady on the Head Captain. She couldn't show any fear or hesitation in front of the Captains. She knew they were surprised and a bit unnerved by her actions; they probably weren't expecting weak, hesitant Momo to have a grown a backbone. And they were mostly right in the assumption. She had no idea what she was doing. She had panicked and instinctively pulled up all the anger and rage she had towards these people and let it guide her actions but that couldn't work forever. Momo may have managed to grow a spine over the past two years but that didn't mean that she had become…well, a bitch.
She glanced over at Orihime and Aisamu. He was still shaking slightly and he had kept his face hidden in his mothers' neck. Orihime was glancing around cagily, as if searching for a way to escape. Momo's heart ached for them. They didn't deserve this. It wasn't Aisamu's fault that he was born and that his father was an evil psychopath but that wasn't going to matter to them. All they cared about was that he could be a potential threat and it was better to kill him early than risk it. That was what the Gotei 13 and Central 46 had been like before and she figured that it was going to be the same now, if not worse.
The Head Captain looked away from Momo towards Orihime and Aisamu. Orihime kept her eyes on him and steadied her breathing. She would not show any hesitation or fear. Right here and right now, these people were her enemy and she would stand her ground.
After a long moment of silence Sui-Feng spoke up again. "The proper thing to do is to turn them over to Central 46. We have a legal responsibility to-"
"Right," Momo practically snarled, reitsu flaring. "Because you're all about proper. After this, are you going to go arrest Yoruichi Shihoin for being a deserter?"
If Sui-Feng wasn't riled up before, she was now. "This is a completely different situation!" she spat at Momo.
"Really? How so? Because you're stalking her and probably stealing her dirty laundry, hiding it under your pillow, and sniffing it at night?" Momo knew that this behavior probably wasn't going to help her case but she couldn't stand Sui-Feng's attitude. She didn't know anything and yet there she was, trying to play judge, jury, and executioner.
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" the Head Captain shouted. Everyone in the room jumped and then cringed as the Captains heavy reitsu washed over them. "Since you two can obviously not speak to each other civilly then I forbid you to speak to each other at all. The next time you speak to one other without express permission I will have both of arrested for insubordination. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir" both Momo and Sui-Feng muttered at the same time.
Before the Head Captain could speak any further, Momo spoke again. "Before you make your decision regarding what to do with us, I would like to say something." He nodded his approval and she continued.
"You can arrest me and throw me in jail for desertion."
"Momo!" Orihime cried out in shock and horror. Momo waved a hand at her to indicate that she wasn't done speaking yet.
"You can arrest me," she repeated. "But you can't arrest them."
"Oh really?" Shinji asked, interested. "And why is that?"
"Because they've broken no laws," she answered. "While I can be charged for desertion, you have nothing on them. What are you going to arrest them for? Are you going to arrest Orihime for being kidnapped, something that was our fault? Are you going to arrest her for having some sort of experiment done on her during her kidnapping, which was our fault? And are you going to arrest Aisamu for being born? For having to share DNA with Aizen? He didn't ask for that and last time I checked, none of those things are illegal. Unless of course you've declared existing to be a crime." It was silent for a moment after her speech.
"It may not be his fault who his father is," Kyoraku finally said. "But that doesn't change that the fact that he is still a potential threat."
The soul reapers all glanced over at Aisamu. Orihime had made sure his ears were covered once Momo started talking. The side of his head was resting right over her heart and she had her hand over his exposed ear. He was looking at all the Captains he could see, his eyes focused at that moment on Kyoraku, who looked right back at him. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Aisamu suddenly smiled and stuck his tongue out at him. Kyoraku's eyes widened for a moment and then he smiled back.
"Will that be what you tell the public?" Momo asked.
"What?" Kyoraku asked, looking away from Aisamu.
"Will that be what you tell the public?" Momo repeated. "That you murdered a one year old child because he could be a threat? Bet they all will love that. They'll talk about how 'The Soul Society kills children because they could be evil'. You do realize what will result from that, right? Any people with morals who have spiritual pressure will refuse to join an organization that murders children because of what they could be. The only people who will join you will be disgusting thugs."
The room was silent again. Momo was right, as much as some of them hated to admit it.
Orihime spoke up now. "You can't decide someone's fate based on what they might be."
Everyone turned to look at her and she flinched inwardly. She hated being the center of attention but she needed to say this. "Everyone has the potential for both good and evil. Their fates are decided by their actions, most of which will be influenced on what they learn as a child. We learn the difference between right and wrong from the people who raise us and from our own experiences. You say Aisamu could be evil because Aizen is his father, but I'm his mother. I'm his mother and you all don't think I'm evil right?"
"Yes, Orihime, but Aizen did this for a reason," Unohana said in her usual gentle tone. "It is unreasonable for you to expect us to do nothing with that being a fact."
"I'm not asking you to do nothing. I'm just asking you to not decide that he's a monster before you've even met him. I'm asking you to not base your decision on what might be. You can't know for sure that he's going to be evil and if everyone based their decisions on what might be they would lose sight of what is." Orihime was pleading now.
"He may have the devil for a father," Momo spoke up again. "But he has an angel for a mother. Give us the chance to prove to you that he is not a threat. Give us that, before you make any rash decisions that may come back to haunt you."
Her choice of words seemed to affect the Head Captain. He stood there, seeming to mull over her words.
Sui-Feng looked shocked at the Head Captains contemplation. "You cannot actually be considering this right, Head Captain? That's Souske Aizen's son."
Momo's jaw visibly clinched but she didn't say anything.
Kyoraku spoke up now. "Really Old Man, what's the harm in letting them hang-out for a little while longer?"
"You mean other than the fact that they have the possibility of destroying us?" Sui-Feng snarled.
"I doubt the one year old boy is much of threat right now," Kyoraku countered. "And do you think we're not capable of handling a former lieutenant and a human girl?"
"I agree," Kurosutchi said, with a strange glint in his already mad eyes. "I could take the boy and study him to make sure he is not threat to us."
"Over my dead body," growled Momo, stepping in front of Orihime and Aisamu as Orihime twisted her body to shield her son from the crazy Captains sight.
Kurosutchi stared blankly at her. "That can be arranged."
Toshiro stepped forward, his hand on his sword. "Don't even think about it."
The Head Captain banged his staff on the floor, halting the argument before it could get too out of hand. "You all are acting like children and I will not have it."
He paused and waiting for everyone to resume their places before he continued. "I have made my decision. We will not do anything to the boy at this time. We will gather more information before we make our decision." Momo and Orihime both relaxed for the first time since entering the room.
"However," they tensed back up as he continued. "Until such a decision can be reached as to what is to be done with the boy, you will remain here in the Soul Society under the direct watch of the Captains."
Chaos erupted again. "This is absurd!" Sui-Feng shouted in rage.
"No way in hell!" Momo shouted over Sui-Feng's voice.
Orihime looked like she was about to faint.
The Head Captain didn't even bother to say anything, he just raised his spiritual pressure to the point where everyone felt like they were being crushed under a huge invisible weight. Aisamu, who was unused to feeling such powerful spiritual pressure, began to wail.
"Stop it!" Orihime cried out, erecting her Soten Kisshun shield around herself and Momo and rejecting the Head Captains spiritual pressure from within it.
Sui-Feng and several other Captains immediately went for their zanpakto but the Head Captain waved them away and then lowered his spiritual pressure back to its original level.
"You can come out now," called Kyoraku. Orihime and Momo exchanged looks and Momo stepped away from Orihime and Aisamu. Orihime then shrank the barrier so that Momo was outside it. After making sure everything was alright, Momo nodded to Orihime and the barrier completely dissolved.
"Head Captain, you cannot possibly expect us to stay in the Soul Society for however long it will take you to realize Aisamu isn't a threat." Momo couldn't believe that the old man was actually trying to make them stay here.
"And why not?" He asked, calmly.
Orihime had managed to calm Aisamu down and stared at Head Captain while patting her sons back in a soothing manner. "We have lives back home. We have jobs and other obligations that we can't just up and leave with no notice. Also, despite the fact that you seem to think Aisamu is a threat that is going to tear the Soul Society apart with his bare hands, he is only one and staying in an environment where everyone hates him is going to have a negative effect on him in the future. It may even turn him into the monster you seem to think he will be. Like I said, a person's personality and actions are based on their experiences while they're young. If you make it seem like the Soul Society hates him then he will grow to hate the Soul Society in return. And if none of those reasons are enough for you, then how about the fact that you have none of the material necessities we need. Aisamu needs clothes, diapers, wipes, books, toys, a crib; you know, normal things babies need and I doubt you have the same things we use back home which is what we would need to stay here. Children need to have familiar things around them, especially in a difficult situation such as this."
Momo was proud of her for saying all those things. They had always known that there was a possibility the Soul Society could find them and they had discussed any and all arguments that they should make. Orihime had nailed it, although neither of them had thought of the possibility that the Head Captain would try to keep them there.
"Are those all of your concerns?" The old captain asked calmly.
"One last thing," Momo said as something else occurred to her. "When you all learned about his existence, you wanted Aisamu killed. How do you think all of the other soul reapers will respond once they learn about it? You said you'll have us with Captain-class Soul Reapers at all times, but imagine the chaos that will erupt once everyone hears that Aizen has a son, who's in the Soul Society waiting to have his fate decided by the Captains. How many Soul Reapers will try to take matters into their own hands? This place will be blown apart in a full-scale riot. It'd be a lot easier to keep things calm if we weren't here."
Momo mentally patted herself on the back for having such a brilliant argument. The Head Captain still had a blank expression on his face, which she was disappointed with because she had kind of been hoping he would at least look contemplative towards everything going on. Instead, he looked like he was asleep on his feet.
"I understand your concerns and have made my decisions regarding them," he told them calmly. The two girls glanced at each other. Made his decisions? That didn't even make sense.
"You, Orihime Inoue, will be allowed to return to the World of the Living," Momo's spirits lifted while Orihime's plummeted. She couldn't leave Momo here, not after everything she had done for them. "To collect your things." The Head Captain finished.
Silence. "What?" Momo asked.
"Orihime Inoue will be allowed to return to the World of Living for a short time under guard to collect the items she needs to stay here for as long as needed. The bigger things, such as a crib, will be provided for you. While you are collecting your things, Momo will remain here with the boy. Once you return, you will go to wherever your respective Captains decide to place you."
"Respective Captains?" Echoed Momo. "You mean you're going to separate us?" They couldn't separate them. They needed to be together. Orihime needed her, now more than ever. She couldn't leave her alone.
"Now now," said Kyoraku, sensing Momo's growing anger and panic. "It's for the best. We can't really tell how you guys are doing if you're all together now can we?"
Orihime looked at him for a moment. "You mean your studying all of us?" she asked softly. "But why? I thought you only cared about Aisamu."
"Yes," said Ukitake in his usual soft tone. "But Momo made a valid point. When you returned from Hueco Mundo we didn't check to see how you were doing mentally. Because we saw no obvious wounds we assumed you were fine. Now we realize that we made a mistake and we need to fix it."
Orihime's eyes seemed to harden. "It's a little late for that now, isn't it?"
They were surprised by both her tone and the look in her eyes. The Captains who had met her before had known her to be a sweet, happy girl and the Captains who hadn't met her had heard her be described in such a manner. This girl was neither of those things and it left most of the Captains wondering what had exactly happened while she was gone.
Sui-Feng wasn't one of those Captains. Turning to the Head Captain she said, "I think I should be in charge of the boy."
Momo opened her mouth to argue but Ukitake beat her to it. "I don't think that is the wisest choice."
"And why not?" she asked, hostilely.
"Because you have obviously already decided that they should be executed," Kyoraku said with his trademark grin. "Therefore it should be someone a little more neutral."
"Oh my god," Momo said to no one in particular. "We're trapped here. We're actually trapped here. We're going to be stuck here until the day we die."
"Don't be so dramatic," Kyoraku chided lightly. "It won't be that bad."
She glared at him. "Oh really? It won't be that bad? So if constantly being hated and judged, having people attack you as often as possible and with everything they have, and being forced to watch as the people you care about more than anything in the world are persecuted for something they had no control over does not qualify as bad in your eyes then what does?"
"Nothing will happen to you while you're under our care," Ukitake tried to reassure her.
Momo gave a short laugh. "Yeah, that's real comforting coming from a man who can barely walk down the street without nearly coughing up his own lung."
"That's enough, Momo," Orihime stated, quietly. Everyone turned to look at her. For a moment, it had almost been like she wasn't there. A feeling she had been all too familiar with two years ago. She wasn't that girl from two years ago though, and she had no intention of fading in the background and letting her fate be decided for her.
Shifting Aisamu slightly she took a deep breath and looked around at all the Captains and finally rested her gaze on Momo. "That's enough," she repeated. "What's done is done and there is obviously no changing their minds. What's important now is making the best of our situation. And with that in mind," she then turned to face the Head Captain. "Who exactly will we each be staying with?"
Toshiro immediately stepped forward. "I request to have former-Lieutenant Hinamori placed into my care."
Momo rolled her eyes at his formalness. "Of course you do."
The Head Captain studied the child prodigy for a moment before nodding. "Your request is granted."
Sui-Feng stepped forward again. "And will I be allowed to take charge of the boy?" she asked, although it didn't really sound like a question. It was like she knew he would say yes.
"No." The Head Captain said.
She stood there for a moment with the same confident expression on her face until his words seemed to register and her look was abruptly changed to one of shock. "No?" She repeated.
"No." He stated, calmly. "Kyoraku is right. There needs to be someone more objective in charge of the boy and his mothers care."
"I am objective!" Sui-Feng shouted.
Momo started laughing, wishing she could say something but she took the Head Captains threat seriously and decided to keep her mouth shut. Sui-Feng glared at her in rage and was about to say something to her when Shinji spoke up.
"I'll watch out for them," he said with a trademark smirk. "It would be my honor."
Momo stiffened and locked gazes with him. "That's a terrible idea."
Shinji raised an eyebrow at her. "And why is that?"
"Because you would be a terrible influence on Aisamu and also because everyone knows about your issues with Aizen and I doubt you would really be inclined to give a child who shares his DNA a fair chance at proving himself. Not that a one year old should really have to prove himself in any way, shape, or form but hey, that's just my opinion." She wasn't sure why she didn't like him, after all, Orihime seemed to have liked him and she knew he had helped fight Aizen during the battle but still, there was something off about him. She may not have been exactly sure what it was but she thought it would be better safe than sorry.
"I am great with children," Shinji said airily. "And while I may have issues on who his father is, I'm willing to give him a chance based on the identity of his mother." He grinned at Orihime, who just looked flatly back at him.
"You think you're great with children huh? Well, why don't we just ask." Momo turned to Aisamu, who lifted his head off of his mothers shoulder to be able to see her better, and said, "Hi sweetie. So tell me, do you want to stay with him for awhile?" She pointed at Shinji.
Aisamu turned and studied the man. He had weird sunny hair that wasn't straight like his moms was and there was something wrong with his face. His eyes weren't right, and neither was his smile. "No," he said distinctly, shaking his head.
"And there you go," Momo said, turning back to the returning Captain. "Guess you're not that great with children after all now are you?"
"Well, you don't have very many other options now do you?" He snapped. "In fact, you don't have any other options."
"I'll take Orihime and Aisamu," offered Ukitake.
Momo looked at him in surprise and she wasn't the only one. "You will?" asked Orihime in shock. She had gotten to know the Captain of Squad 13 quite well when she was last in the Soul Society training for the Winter War. Still though, she didn't expect for him to offer to take her and her son in, especially since he had almost been killed by Aizens Espada.
"Course he will," cried Kyoraku, slinging an arm around the white-haired man. "And I'll help him keep an eye on the little troublemaker as well. What do you say, old man?"
"Very well," said the aged Captain. Shinji looked slightly put out. "Now then, we need to decide who will accompany the human back to the World of the Living."
Orihime wanted to remind him that she had a name, but it wasn't her place to say anything, especially since the Head Captain had helped her and her son by not putting them with Squad 2 Captain.
"You can't serious be planning on sending a Captain down with her just to get some supplies," Momo scoffed. "That's reckless and stupid. You would attract Hollows like flies if you did so."
"We don't need to send an actual Captain down with the girl," Kuchiki stated. "We just need to have her be escorted by someone of Captain class. Might I suggest my Lieutenant to be the one to go with her?"
"My Lieutenant could also accompany them," offered Ukitake, almost eagerly. Momo immediately felt suspicious at Ukitake's tone. His Lieutenant? Last time she was here, he didn't have a Lieutenant and he had no plans of getting one. Not after what happened to Kaien Shiba. Except, perhaps, for…
"No!" exclaimed Momo.
Everyone stared at her. "No?" asked Captain Kuchiki.
"I mean," stumbled Momo. She had to be both quick and smart about this. If she came on too strong, then they would go ahead with that plan and she knew that wasn't a good idea. "Won't you need your Lieutenant to help you get things ready for Orihime when she comes back? I'm sure you're going to have to set up wards and barriers and other such things to make sure they stay locked away in whatever cage you put them into. And considering your condition, I'm sure you'll need all the help you can get." She truly didn't like being cruel to the gentle-hearted Captain but if his Lieutenant was who she thought it was then she couldn't allow them to go with Orihime without her being there to help.
"She does have a point," Kyoraku pointed out with a grin before anyone could respond to Momo. "How about instead of your Lieutenant going we send my little Nanao with Orihime and Renji?"
Ukitake looked slightly disappointed for a moment but then smiled again nodded. "Of course."
The Head Captain nodded again and then said, "One final thing. No one, outside of the Captains and their Lieutenants, is to know about the child. I will not having have the Seireitei be thrown into a panic because word of this leaks out. Am I understood?" Everyone in the room nodded and the relief was plain on Orihime and Momo's faces. The Head Captain looked at the Captains for another moment and then said, "Good. This Captains meeting is now adjourned."
With a respectful bow to their leader all the Captains except for Toshiro, Ukitake, and Kyoraku left, Sui-Feng throwing the two girls and the small boy a contemptuous look. Once the door closed behind her, Orihime turned to look at Ukitake.
"Please don't worry about getting a crib or any other extravagant things," she told him softly. "We don't really need them."
"It's no trouble," he tried to reassure her.
"Really. In all honesty, it would be easier for me if you just found a mat or something similar for him to sleep on. I have a feeling he'll want to sleep with me most nights and it'll be easier for me if I don't have to get up to get him out of a crib." Aisamu began to squirm slightly in her arms and she tried to get a better hold him. When both Kyoraku and Ukitake looked at him, he hid his face in his mothers' hair and peeked through it at them shyly. Toshiro only had eyes for Momo though.
"Let's go," he ordered her, gruffly.
"Hang on for a minute," she said with exasperation. "I need to get Aisamu before you drag me to my cell."
"You can't bring him!" Toshiro sounded outraged.
"Yes, I can and I will. Orihime isn't allowed to bring him with her and when she can't watch him then I will be so you better get used to him, Captain Hitsugaya."
All she had done was called him by his proper title, but everyone in the room knew what it really meant. They were no longer childhood friends in her eyes. There was going to be a certain distance there, whether the child prodigy wanted it or not. His eyes tightened but he nodded. "Fine. Grab the kid and let's go."
Momo rolled her eyes but walked over to Orihime. "Come here sweetie. You get to hang out with me for awhile."
Aisam gripped his mother even tighter and shook his head. "No! Mama!"
"Mama will be right back," Momo told him, trying to unlock his arms from around Orihime's neck.
"No!" He cried, trying his best to shake her off him without letting go.
"Aisamu," his mother said, softly but firmly. "You need to go with Momo. I will be right back, I promise. I'm just going home to grab some our clothes and some of your things. Don't you want your toys? And your blankie?"
Aisamu still hesitated to let her go. He was scared that if he let her go, she wouldn't come back to him.
She knew what he was scared about, she could see it in his eyes. "Look at me." He refused to lift his head, keeping his face cuddled in her neck. Her hand came up and gently cupped his neck and head, forcing his head up and looking into his eyes. "Hey," she said softly with a loving smile. "Listen to me: I will be back. I promise. I'm just going to go get some things and then I will be right back. Okay? I promise I will come back."
He sniffled and nodded his head. She smiled through the ache in her chest that his sadness had caused her. An idea came to her and she let go of his head and reached up to grab her hairpins. Gently pulling them out of her hair, she handed them to her son. He just stared at them and then at her for a moment before releasing one arm from around her neck and carefully grabbing them in his small hand.
"I want you to hold onto those for me until I get back, alright?" She smiled brightly at his obvious shock. He might not have understood everything going on around him and everything that was said to him but he knew that those shiny blue things were very important to his mama. "Will you take care of those for me?" she asked.
He nodded solemnly at her and held them close to his heart. She gave him a huge grin that he automatically returned. "Thank you! Now, you watch Momo for me while I'm gone, okay? Don't let her get into any trouble."
"'Kay." He was still grinning and went willingly to Momo.
Momo smiled at him and then looked at Orihime. "Be careful and come back soon."
Orihime could tell she was worried and smiled brightly at her. "Don't worry about me! I will be a-okay!"
Momo just looked at her and then turned to Toshiro. "Alright, let's go before I give myself a panic attack."
Toshiro nodded and then turned and walked out without a word to anyone. Momo rolled her eyes again and muttered, "Great. Love hanging out with uptight drama queens with height issues. Love it so much." And then she raced after him, making sure Aisamu's face was hidden in her neck.
Moments after they left, Lieutenants Abari and Ise flash-stepped into the room. "You sent for us Cap-" Ise started to say but then froze at the sight of Orihime. "Orihime Inoue?" she gasped.
Renji did a dramatic double-take. "Orihime?!" He looked closer at her. "Orihime! Oh my god it really is you!" He raced over to her. "We've been looking everywhere for you! Where the hell have you been?"
She instinctively shied away from the tall man talking loudly in her face. Kyoraku saw her discomfort and stepped over, throwing an arm around Renji and pulling him back slightly. "Now now Renji, don't go scaring the poor girl."
Lieutenant Ise, quickly getting over her shock, asked her Captain "Why were we summoned?"
Kyoraku looked at Renji, confused. "Didn't your Captain tell you?"
Renji shook his head and scowled. "Of course not. Just showed up, ordered me here, and then left again without saying another word."
Ukitake just laughed. "That's Byakuya for you."
Kyoraku gave a lazy grin. "You two were summoned to escort Ms. Inoue back to the World of the Living to get some of her things and then bring her back." At Renji's questioning look he elaborated. "She'll be staying with us for an undetermined amount of time so the Head Captain has allowed her to go back and get some of her things."
"And she needs both of us?" Ise asked, a bit skeptical. Why on earth would two lieutenants be required to escort one girl?
"Yes," said Ukitake. "I know it seems like a bit much but orders are orders."
She nodded at him. "Yes, sir."
"That's my girl!" Kyoraku crowed proudly, throwing an arm around Ise. She elbowed him roughly in the ribs and he doubled over.
Renji, still looking bewildered, cleared his throat. "So, shall we go?" he asked, trying to spare the old Captain any more pain at the hands of his lieutenant.
Ise stepped away from her Captain and nodded. "Let's go."
Orihime smiled nervously at Renji. "Well, I guess you're going to get to answer your own question firsthand on where I've been. Hope it's not too much of a disappointment."