Sorry for the slow update! I said I'd try getting this one out fast…but…yeah…I got caught up in a whole ton of things-classes, reading fan fiction…etcetera, , I know you probably were really pissed that I left you with the same cliffhanger twice, but here's the chapter that you wanted. I tried my best to make it good, but remember, this type of genre is entirely new for me! By the way, if you're not much of a fan of Hitsuhina, you can skip this chapter. I can debrief the important parts later if you want. And thanks to all that who have reviewed. I really appreciate it!


Chapter 7

"Momo."

Her body froze. Her heart thudded in her chest, beating against her ribs like a trapped bird, threatening to get out. Her eyes widened in disbelief. It…it can't be…Is this a dream?

Slowly, she revolved on the spot. Her brown eyes instantly locked with a pair of the brightest turquoise eyes, more bright and beautiful than the most precious gem, eyes that had far too long been sealed beneath a pair of soft eyelids, and have finally opened themselves to the world again, eyes that gazed intensely back at her.

She stood still, her heart pounding a frantic beat, so loud she was sure that the whole of Seireitei could hear it. Her mouth moved, but the only thing that she could choke out was, "Tou…shirou…"

There was a moment's silence. The moment stretched long, far longer than what she'd always imagined a moment to last. Then, slowly, Toushirou pushed himself up. A flash of pain crossed his face for a moment, and he moved stiffly and painfully. But his eyes never left Momo's. They held her paralyzed to the spot, unable to move. Finally, he managed to sit up. His breathing was heavy for a moment. Then, the smallest of smiles touched his lips. "Hey, are you going to stare at me all day like I'm some sort of freak show?"

Momo slowly shook her head, as if in a trance. Her eyes never left his. She moved forward unconsciously, stretching out a hand, as if wanting to touch him to prove that he was real. "Toushirou…is it…are you really awake?"

He frowned at her. "Of course. I'm talking to you, aren't I? Jeez, Hinamori, you've moved from naïve to suspicious of everything. And that's Hitsugaya-taichou to you!"

Tears brimmed in her eyes again. "Shirou-chan!" she cried, completely ignoring the last part of his sentence, "You're awake!" She felt happiness course through her. Happiness mixed with astonishment and relief. She felt giddy. "I-"

She broke off as his words suddenly hit her. Naïve…

Her arm dropped limply to her side. Her head bowed. She suddenly remembered what she had done in her blind trust of Aizen. It felt as if someone had just punched her in the gut. Her happiness drained away as quickly as it had come. "I'm glad that you're awake, Hitsugaya-taichou. I will go inform Unohana-taichou."

Toushirou stared at her, a frown on his face. His eyes were wide in shock. Did she just call him "Hitsugaya-taichou"? And what was with her sudden change of attitude. He definitely wasn't used to this, and the sudden change, instead of bringing him the satisfaction he'd always thought that he'd feel when she finally called him by his title, instead made him feel uneasy, almost wary.

"Hinamori? What's wrong?" he asked sharply.

Momo flinched at his tone. The temperature dropped slightly. She turned away, feeling torn. She felt a hot prickling sensation in her eyes, and tried to blink back tears. She should have been happy that he'd woken up, but now she had to face her fears. I can't face him. How can I believe that he'd forgiven me? He's calling me 'Hinamori" again. He hasn't forgiven me…

"Nothing is wrong, Hitsugaya-taichou," she said, trying to keep her voice nonchalant, though failing to keep the pain from it. "I'll be going-"

"Don't be stupid, Hinamori. Obviously something's wrong. I can tell just by looking at your face once, and listening to your voice. You've never been good at hiding your emotions. What's wrong? What did I do? Did you get hurt because of me? Was it because I couldn't protect you or-"

"No!" Momo said. "No, that's not it at all. That doesn't matter. You haven't done anything," Momo answered, still not looking at him. Except nearly get yourself killed, because of me, she added to herself.

"Then what's wrong with you? You're acting really out of character. Why won't you look at me?" Toushirou sounded slightly annoyed now. Still, Momo said nothing. She continued to face away from him.

"Hinamori! Look at me…Momo!"

Momo gasped in shock when he said her name. Her head snapped toward him.

Toushirou was shocked by the pain in her eyes, which were filled with tears. Now that he looked at her clearly, he saw that her eyes were red and slightly swollen. So she had been crying for a while now. There were also dark circles under them from lack of sleep.

"You haven't done anything except get yourself hurt! And it's all because of me!" she suddenly shouted at him. He stared at her, shocked.

"It's all my fault! It's all my fault that things have gone wrong. And I pointed a sword at you! I believed a piece of paper and some ink over you! I believed Aizen, a man I thought I knew, over you, whom I've known nearly all my life! 'I asked this of you as an ordinary man.' Don't you see? He wasn't even ordering me as a captain, and yet I listened! I should have known that you could never do something like that, but instead, I blindly tried to kill you! How can anyone forgive that?"

"Momo…" Toushirou tried to interrupt, but the girl wasn't through yet. Her voice grew louder, more shrill.

"I got you hurt so much, and I've hurt you myself. You nearly died, not once, but twice, because of me. You've given me so much, but I've given you nothing, and I've only hurt you. Why, Hitsugaya-kun? Why can you still talk to me? Why do you even look at me? If you're just pretending to be like this to make me feel better, please stop! I can't take that!"

She buried her face in her hands, sobbing into them. Toushirou didn't know what to say at the moment, though he was glad that she'd stopped calling him 'Hitsugaya-taichou'. He stared at her, astonished at all the things that she'd shouted at him. Was this what she had said that she wanted to apologize for? "Momo…" he tried again.

"I've hurt you so much. I don't deserve to even speak to you," she trembled. "How can I even begin to make up for it? How can you ever forgive me if I can't even forgive myself?"

Toushirou was still for a moment, while the girl sobbed. In the distance, he thought her heard the sound of voices. Others must have become aware of Momo's shouting, and his reiatsu. But he didn't care one bit about all of that at the moment.

"Idiot, isn't it obvious?"

Momo looked up in shock at the sudden sound of swishing cloth that followed his words. Her eyes widened as he pushed his blankets away and tried to stand up. He looked thin and fragile in the white hospital yukata, and she could see him wince in pain and stumble against his half healed wounds, clutching at his bandaged wounds.

"Hitsugaya-kun!" Momo cried out, and all her previous reasons forgotten, she rushed forward and steadied him, just as he was about to collapse. "Don't move, you'll open your wounds an-"

Before she could do or say anymore, however, his hands suddenly grabbed her robes and pulled her toward him. Momo gasped as she fell against his chest and felt his arms encircle her in a strong and tight embrace. She didn't remember the last time that he'd hugged her, as he'd deemed the act childish. She could feel his coldness, and yet somehow warmth at the same time. She felt his heart, beating strongly against his chest, beating strong beats of life. She felt her own heart, speed up and thud harder than ever against her own chest.

"Idiot. I told you before. I never, ever, let any of that bother me. Stop crying. It's okay. I understand. I've already forgiven you. In fact, I was never angry with you in the first place. You did nothing wrong, and no one can blame you. We were all fooled by Aizen, not just you. I don't know if anyone else could have seen the situation for what it really was. So don't worry anymore."

"But…" she whispered, clutching at his robes. She could see the bandages wrapped tightly across his chest from the gap in his robes. Her heart clenched. "But you were hurt so much. I can't forgive myself…"

"No, Momo. That isn't your fault. It was mine. I made my choices, and decisions. I got hurt because I wasn't strong enough to fight Aizen at the time. It has nothing to do with you," his voice was soft, and gentler than she'd ever heard it.

"Besides, I don't regret anything. I swore to myself to kill Aizen. It was my choice. He made me angry because he made me fail to protect you. I always just wanted to make sure you were always safe."

"But that's why you get hurt," Momo whispered back. "If I wasn't naïve, and got myself hurt, if I didn't get caught in Aizen's plans, then you would never have fought so hard and gotten hurt like that…"

"Yes I would have. It wasn't just you. He was threatening us all. I would have fought to keep the balance in the world. Stop being so determined to blame yourself, Momo. It isn't your fault. I don't hate you. You don't have to do anything, all right? Well, no actually, do one thing for me," he said, and drew away from her for a moment, looking into her eyes. For the first time, she saw with shock that they were bluer than she'd remembered, and like his skin, had a faint luminosity. They glowed ever so slightly, making him look ethereal and otherworldly. His scowl was smooth for once, and his lips slightly upturned in a smile. She also registered for the first time that he had grown taller in the time they'd been apart after he coma. He had finally begun to grow, and was now the same height as her, maybe even a tad taller. His body was not skinny and fragile, as she'd first interpreted, but lean and strong, with all the strength of a warrior in his muscles. His face looked older, the childish roundness of the watermelon-spitting brat he used to be gone, leaving behind a handsome youth. He was growing up, changing physically. Momo could feel it.

Yet as she looked into his brilliant turquoise eyes, glowing with more emotion than she'd ever seen displayed in the icy depths before, she realized that no matter how much he changed on the outside, inside, he was still the same Shirou-chan that she had grown to love so much. He may be more mature now, and slightly different, but at the core, he was still the same person.

The same Shirou-chan that always looked out for her.

"Just promise me not to cry so much. Be happy, Momo."

She sobbed again. Without warning, and forgetting his wounds, she threw her arms around him herself this time. He gasped in shock, and winced slightly as she collided with his wounds, but didn't draw away. She clung to his form, sobbing into his robes, staining them with her tears. But the difference was that this time, they were tears of happiness. He forgave her. He always forgave her so easily, even though she didn't deserve it. But this time, she was beginning to believe that maybe, just maybe, she may be allowed to put the past behind her. The fact that her granny's words became true, and Toushirou had forgiven her, made her feel warmth spread throughout her whole body.

"Thank you, Shirou-chan…thank you so much. I will always try to be happy, as long as I have you here. I was so scared that I was going to lose you. Please, I just ask you to try to always stay here, with me," she said shakily, smiling through her tears.

He smiled back, though neither could see each other's smiles. "I know. I'll try my best, Momo. Shinigami live in constant danger. But I'll try."

Usually, such a promise was a light one, an off-hand promise said only to ease. But when Toushirou said it, she could feel seriousness behind his words, and knew that he meant them. He had always been that way. It was one of the things she loved about him. He never made promises that he didn't intend to keep.

"Thank you, Toushirou…" she said again.

"Hn, anytime, Momo."

There was silence for a moment, and they heard some shinigami moving closer. But the two savored this moment alone together. Toushirou held Momo until the last of her tears dried. When they did, she felt another question rise up.

"But tell me something. Why?"

Toushirou was confused. "Why?"

"Yes. Why do you do this? How can you always forgive me so easily? Rangiku-san once said that you only loosen yourself up for me. And you always supported me and protected me. What makes me so special?"

Toushirou stiffened slightly, and drew back. His eyes had a wary look in them. For a moment, he seemed to struggle with words, as if he wanted to say something, but was against saying it at the same time.

"Toushirou?" Momo asked, a little worried at his expression.

He started at her voice. He looked into her eyes. She seemed so sincere. And the way she'd said his name, it made him feel that it was… all right to say what he wanted to say, what he'd wanted to say to her for so long.

"I thought that was obvious," he said slowly.

Momo cocked her head, waiting. She didn't think that it was obvious. As soon as he'd said those words however, she felt her heart speed up again, thudding loudly in her chest. Somehow, she knew that his answer was going to change everything. Her whole body was tense as she waited. She wanted to hear, yet at the same time, she was afraid. "What's…obvious?" she said, trying to speak coherently through the thumping of her heart.

Toushirou looked uncomfortable. He wasn't used to expressing his feelings. Funny, how he'd been through so much, fought Aizen, survived at the edge of death, and he couldn't express his feelings still. He took a deep breath, his heart thudding every bit as strong as hers. He had had these feelings for a long time now…yet he'd never wanted to acknowledge them.

He looked away for a moment. "Ever since the first time we met…" he hesitated, and Momo waited. "Since the first time you pulled me out of the snow in Rukongai, I…I always cared about you. You were the first person I saw in Soul Society, and the first person that didn't cringe from the sight of me. You…accepted me as I am. You have no idea how much that meant to me. I could never let the one person that had made me so happy get hurt."

There was silence for a moment, but Momo knew that there was more. Her breathing quickened, but she willed herself, no matter how much she wanted to, not to break the silence.

"You changed my life, you know. If you hadn't gone to the academy when you did, I don't think my powers would have awakened as early as they did, and I wouldn't really have had a reason to go myself. Hyourinmaru called…but I never wanted to answer, not until you were gone. I swore to follow, and protect you, No matter what."

He clenched his fists suddenly, and the air grew heavy and cold, but Momo did not shiver, only waited.

"When I saw you on the floor of the Seijoto Kyourin, your lifeless body, and your blood and life spilling out, and realized that it was Aizen that did that…you don't know how much it hurt. I'd failed you."

Toushirou didn't know why he was suddenly saying all this. But somehow, he found it easy to tell Momo as he had no one else.

"You asked why I tried so much to protect you. You were the one who'd saved me, not just from the snow the day you found me in Soul Society, but you saved me from becoming a complete cold person, hating every aspect of life. If you weren't there, I…don't know what I would have become. Probably a cold and heartless being. You allowed me not to completely freeze over. You don't know what you've done for me, Momo."

"I couldn't have…" Momo whispered.

Toushirou looked her in the eyes. Turquoise locked with chocolate. The same eyes that had once seemed so mysterious and cold, Momo had been the first to see more then just ice in them. Now they seemed so familiar, something that she couldn't imagine not being there.

"Momo," he whispered, and she felt her heart race. "I can't imagine my life without you. That's why I strive so much to protect you. You're the most important person in the world to me."

He looked uncomfortable at expressing his emotions, but his gaze was steady, intense.

"Why…?" Momo asked again, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Because…" He paused, and then looked into her eyes, probing, contemplating whether or not to go on. The brown eyes were warm, trusting. They waited, emotions flying across the depths. They were kind, and misjudging. They would not condemn him.

He leant forward, and murmured softly, "Because I love you."

Momo's eyes went wide, and she froze. Her heart, though pounding frantically a moment before, stopped completely. Disbelief filled her, and she just stared, wide-eyed at him.

Toushirou looked away. "I…I'm sorry if I've made things difficult. It's just that you were the one that made me happy. But then, I couldn't even protect you and hurt you...You don't have to do anything. I just want to see you safe-"

He was cut off as he was suddenly tackled again. Momo had her arms around his neck, her hands tangled in his robes, and squeezing him hard. "Momo?"

"I love you too!" she cried, her voice shaking with emotion. Toushirou had a sneaking suspicion that she'd burst into tears again. "From the very beginning, ever since we were children, I cared. That's the reason that I was always with you. Everyone thought that you were cold, but when I was with you, I felt warm and safe. I knew you were different. It used to be friendship, but it grew to something so much more. When I was blinded by Aizen, I didn't know of my own feelings. I didn't know why being with you made me so happy. That was why it hurt so much when I thought that you killed Aizen. Before I'd known it, I'd lost my heart to you. I just never realized it till mow. When you nearly died, I thought that my heart had been ripped out, and when you opened your eyes, it felt as if it had come back. Shirou-chan…Toushirou, I love you so much!"

Toushirou couldn't move, nor speak. It felt as if everything was a dream, and the slightest movement would shatter it. But slowly, he pushed her away slightly, just far enough to look into her sparkling happy eyes, eye filled with love. He realized that it wasn't a dream.

"Is that true?" he whispered, his voice trembling slightly.

"Yes…" Momo whispered back. She looked into his eyes as well. They were filled with more emotion than she'd ever seen in them. For once, he had let all the barriers down.

There eyes were locked, and it felt as if some sort of spark had been lit between them. It strengthened, causing an almost sort of magnetic pull between them. It was then that they realized that it was not so much a spark as a rope, a rope that seemed to link their souls together, so tightly that they thought it would be physically painful to sever it. The bond that they had had strengthened tenfold.

"Momo…" he whispered, the sound barely audible.

And suddenly, his lips were against hers. Neither knew who had made the first move. Perhaps both had moved at the same time. His were cool and smooth, while hers warm and soft. Electricity sparked between them, filling the air. All thoughts left their heads as they were lost in their own world. It was a soft, innocent kiss, but it was one they'd never forget.

For it signified that at last, they were united. That they had finally found each other. They would be together, facing all new challenges together, being there for each other.

Let us be together, always.

*

The giant ice deity sighed in amusement and relief. His master was safe once again, and everything was fine. He did chuckle at the scene between him and Hinamori Momo though. Though the boy had never admitted them out loud, Hyourinmaru had known his feelings for a while.

"So, will you talk to me now?"

The dragon swiveled his head around to see a young woman wearing a plum purple haori with designs of pink flowers and green and purple leaves on it. She also wore cherry red hakama and a pale pink kosode (that's the shirt part, I think). She moved forward, and the bells that she carried tinkled. Her hands were covered by pale pink tekko, and hair twisted in an elegant twist at the back of her head. She smiled at him, cocking her head.

"Tobiume. You've decided to invade my inner world again?"

"It's not like you're too busy worrying about your wielder anymore," Tobiume shrugged. "Funny how long it took those two."

"Yes. It took quite a while."

"And you're satisfied now?" Tobiume asked. "You finally have your master back."

The dragon growled low in his throat, a contented growl. "Yes. Yes, I am."

There was a pause, then, "So, can you go into your human form."

Hyourinmaru turned to glare at her. He'd forgotten that she was one of the few rare people that knew of his human form.

Hyourinmaru hissed angrily exasperatedly. "And why should I?"

"Well, I want to see it! It's so much easier to talk when you're not so big, and you don't look as scary," Tobiume grinned at him.

Hyourinmaru glared. "And if I refuse?" he growled, menacingly, but Tobiume wasn't frightened. On the contrary, her grin widened. "Then I won't stop pestering you until you go into it. I have a lot of time for that you know."

Hyourinmaru hissed, knowing that Tobiume was actually serious about her threat. With the sound of shattering ice, he allowed his dragon form to dissipate and his humanoid form to take over. He flexed his fingers for a moment, getting used to this feeling. He didn't like this form much still, as it wasn't menacing. His ice-cold eyes glared at the woman, who, though still smaller than him, was much closer to his eyelevel now. "Happy?"

"Very," she said in satisfaction.

He groaned and looked down at himself. He had always hated this form, also for the fact that it resembled ever so slightly the first Heavenly Guardian, and she'd given it to him instead of trying to save herself.

But now, as he felt Toushirou's strong reiatsu, and saw in his mind's eye his strong form, no longer in danger of death, he, for the first time, began to forgive himself for the Guardian's death, and for once, appreciated this gift.

Because at last, his master was back. And at last, Toushirou had found happiness with the one he loved. He didn't have to blame himself any longer.

Tobiume seemed much more relaxed too. She smiled warmly at Hyourinmaru, stretching casually.

"So, any bets on who'll get together next?"


Okay, so that's my first attempt at any romance. If it failed, I'm sorry. It's not my area of expertise. If it sucked, I'm sorry! If it was too long, too short, or whatever was wrong with it, I'm sorry! It was really awkward writing this genre. I added the last part as a sort of omake…ish…yeah…

Ahem, the descriptions of Hyourinmaru and Tobiume in this series of stories are what I imagined them to look like. Of course, I admit I added the bells after seeing the new anime, but that was around what they were supposed to look like. If you want to see a picture, I did a rough sketch of them on deviantart. You just have to go to my profile and click my homepage, and it should come up. That's if you want to see it.

Thanks for reading!