Wow, I have a busy week! Two tests, three papers, with another paper and another two tests next week! Why am I writing you may ask? Because I love you all. Seriously, I have a paper due tomorrow that I haven't started, but I've been updating "Flashbacks" all week and have been neglecting this story, so I decided to write this instead of my paper. Be grateful people! No, seriously, I'm never doing two stories at once again. It's too hard. So now, on with the madness!
Luckily, Hinamori had finished writing her article the night before. She didn't think it would be possible for her to focus on it in her current state of mind. Dashing into her office, she grabbed the article, and was just heading out of 5th squad when she heard Matsumoto.
"I don't know where they ran off to!" Matsumoto said in exasperation. "Taicho's been hiding his reiatsu all day, and now Karin-chan is too!"
"I thought you knew where they'd be?" Zaraki replied gruffly. "I don't have the energy to search for them much longer. I want my fight with Kurosaki."
"Oh, relax, Zaraki taicho, I'm sure they're around somewhere."
"Why are you looking for him anyway?" Zaraki asked. "Not that I really care, but don't you usually spend your whole life avoiding him? Isn't that why you're always distracting my 3rd and 5th seats?" Matsumoto giggled.
"Yes, usually that's true, but now that I know how much I love him, all I want to do is be with him!"
"Che" Zaraki scoffed. "Whatever, I just want to find Kurosaki." Their voices diminished as they moved farther away from her, but Hinamori was rooted to the spot, frantically processing their conversation.
"Matsumoto-san loves Hitsugaya-kun?" she said startled. "No she doesn't! It's that chocolate, I know it is! And that must be why Zaraki taicho is looking for Karin! Oh no, what have I done!" Hinamori had never felt so bad in her entire life. She had messed with the very precarious balance of Seireitei's romance. But it wasn't until she left 5th squad and entered 9th that she realized just how much damage she had caused.
"Rukia!" Ichigo cried.
Hinamori checked at his voice and paused right before opening the 9th squad office door, not wanting to butt in on what was clearly a very serious conversation between husband and wife. Ichigo's voice rarely had so much emotion in it. Or so much pain.
"What do you want?" Rukia spat unpleasantly. Again, Hinamori was shocked. Sure, Rukia and Ichigo fought all the time, but she had never heard Rukia sound so spiteful.
"Rukia," Ichigo said again in desperation. "What's gotten into you?"
"I just don't love you anymore," she said flatly. "I love Kira." Hinamori could almost see the grief lining Ichigo's face. It was similar to the expression currently decorating hers.
"But…" he stuttered. "But I'm your husband! Not Kira! I thought…"
"Well whatever you thought, Kurosaki Ichigo, you were wrong!" Rukia retorted. "I don't know why I put up with you, you're an uncouth pain-in-the-neck and a lazy taicho."
"I thought those were the things you loved about me," Ichigo mumbled. Hinamori was feeling very invasive, and knew that she should walk away, but she almost felt like hearing this conversation was penance for the pain she had caused her friends. She knew that it wasn't tormenting her as much as it was them, but it was close.
Rukia laughed, but it wasn't her normal laugh. It was more evil and cruel, and not fitting at all.
"Maybe once I felt that way, but now I know better. I'm a Kuchiki. I should have listened to Ni-sama, he told me you were no good. Kira's from 1st district, from a noble family. He's much more suited to me!"
"Rukia, where the hell are you getting all this?" Ichigo barked, finally getting angry. "You're the one that was so keen on getting married, you're the one who fought Byakuya tooth and nail when he opposed our relationship, you're the one who said being a Kuchiki didn't matter to you, and I'm the son of a bloody taicho! If you still want to walk out that door, I'm not going to stop you, but I think I deserve a better explanation than a bunch of made up excuses!" Rukia sighed.
"Your right," she admitted. "About the fact that I'm a Kuchiki being unimportant. But really, I already told you. I just don't love you anymore."
"Fine!" Ichigo bellowed. Hinamori moved out of the way just in time to avoid being mauled by a ferocious Ichigo as he ripped the door off the wall in his outrage and stormed down the hall.
"Oh, hello Hinamori," Rukia said genially, spotting her in the hallway. "Men are so troublesome aren't they?" Hinamori couldn't even nod. She blinked stupidly at this person who was once her friend and was now…a love struck terror, blind to everything but the false object of her affections. She barely registered Rukia walking past her, saying something about going to find Kira who had disappeared. In fact, it took her a full five minutes to realize that she was standing in front of a destroyed office clutching a rather mutilated article in her hand.
Regaining some semblance of control, she entered the office to deposit the article on Rukia's desk. It was then that she saw the remnants of the chocolate. A lone piece sat in the box. The rest had been consumed by her friends, and caused more harm than she could ever have thought possible.
"I'm such a fool!" she cried angrily, but there was nothing she could do. The damage was done. She stared at the solitary piece of chocolate in her hand, and rotated it around in her fingers, examining it from all angles.
"Who knew how powerful you really were?" she said with a sigh.
She had to do something. It was her fault that all her friends were suffering, so it was her responsibility to fix it. Decision made, she headed for 12th squad, hoping that Nemu could help her.
ooooooooooooooooooooooo
"What do you mean there's no antidote!" Hinamori cried. Nemu stared at her.
"I'm sorry, Hinamori fukutaicho, but Mayuri-sama had no need for an antidote. He disposed of the test subjects after he was done with them." Hinamori was too busy being distraught to think about how vile a thought that was.
"Thank you, Nemu," she said, utterly defeated. Dragging her feet, she headed out of 12th squad, glaring at the evil piece of chocolate she still clutched in her hand.
Then a thought struck her.
One piece. One last piece. That was all she wanted wasn't it? A single piece to make Hitsugaya fall desperately in love with her. The damage was done. There was nothing she could do about it. Maybe, just maybe, there was still hope that something good would come out of today. Subconsciously, her feet carried her to the one place where she knew she could always find Hitsugaya-his office.
She heard laughing as she reached the door, but she was sick of eavesdropping and opened the door without pausing to think who the laugh belonged to.
Karin was sitting on the couch, Hitsugaya's head cradled in her lap. She was holding his hand in one hand and stroking his hair with the other. Her face was glowing and Hitsugaya's eyes were alight with joy. Karin looked up when she heard the door open.
"Momo!" she said in surprise, entirely ambivalent to the fact that Hinamori had just broken up the most romantic scene she had ever witnessed. And Hinamori couldn't take it anymore. Eyes welling up with tears, she fell to her knees.
"I'm so sorry, Hitsugaya-kun, taicho," she bawled, her shoulders shaking. "I should never…I mean, I've been such a fool…" Hitsugaya and Karin glanced at each other with concern, then Karin extracted herself from the couch and went to place a comforting arm around Hinamori.
"Relax Momo, I can't possibly imagine you doing anything wrong. Trust me, if you misfiled one piece of paperwork, no one is going execute you." Usually, the bit of humor would have cheered Hinamori right up, but she was beyond that. Karin looked at Hitsugaya for assistance, but he shook his head helplessly, baffled by women and their emotions.
"Taicho," Hinamori sobbed. She had to confess. It was the only thing that could possibly make her feel better about what she had done. "I…I tried to steal Hitsugaya-kun from you! I got this chocolate from 12th squad that makes you fall in love with people, only…only so many people ate it, and now everything's all wrong…And Nemu says that there's no antidote..." Hinamori was expecting Karin to punch her, shout at her, or possibly direct a bolt of lightning at her head, but instead, Karin started to laugh. That, and only that, could have shocked Hinamori out of her depression.
"So that's why Zaraki taicho wanted to fight me so badly," she said as understanding dawned on her. "He's in love with me! And Renji too!"
"And Matsumoto," Hitsugaya chimed in, not nearly as amused as Karin. "It definitely explains everything. But Hinamori, why?" Hinamori couldn't answer that.
"Because I…" she stuttered. She had confessed everything else, why not this. "Because, Hitsugaya-kun, I lo…"
"Cut!" Yuzu cried.
"Again?" Haruka said in exasperation as everyone else groaned.
"I'm getting a drink," Hinamori said, moving Yuzu's arm off of her shoulder and taking a cup of tea from Rukia. Hanataro pulled off his white wig and scratched his head furiously.
"Maybe I should line it with something," he said thoughtfully. "It's so itchy."
"What's wrong this time?" Haruka asked Yuzu impatiently. "The wedding's tomorrow!"
"I just don't like the ending," Yuzu insisted. "I think we should change it."
Made you look! Bet you weren't expecting that! (If you're still confused, read the end again and all will be explained in the next chapter. I'm not spelling it out for you now because I'll do that later.)
