Summary: In an attempt to confront Aizen, Hinamori Momo's memory is stolen from her… Except her memories of Hitsugaya Toshiro. It's difficult not knowing who you are. "Shiro-chan, I can't remember… I don't know who I am, but I know that I must have loved you."
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Tite Kubo does. Nor do I own Coca Cola brand. XD
A Quick Word From Me: Thanks to all who read and to kRyStAlt3aRz, KnowledgeandImagination, Soni758, SoullessReaper, and Aiedail's Scepter for reviewing!
Memories of Shiro-chan
Chapter 10: Gone
Once she saw the school grounds, Momo sighed in relief. People were there. She wasn't alone any longer. Slowing her pace, she walked over to the soccer field where the teams were warming up. She glanced down at the shirt she was wearing, blushing slightly when she thought about who it belonged to. Everyone was going to see her wearing Toshiro's shirt. For some reason, she felt oddly happy and shy at the same time.
"Hinamori-chan! There you are!" Matsumoto called over to her. She chuckled when she glanced at the shirt Momo was wearing. "Oh, my, that looks so adorable on you. I'm so glad that Taicho actually worked up the nerve to give that to you. I was wondering for a while there."
She hid her face shyly, the blush deepening. "Matsumoto-san, I…"
"Hinamori!" She turned to see Ichigo, Rukia, and Orihime standing behind her. Ichigo said with a grin on his face, "So you made it. Wouldn't want to disappoint Toshiro now would you?"
Rukia elbowed him in the ribs. "I'm sorry for Ichigo, it seems that soccer ball to the head earlier is affecting him."
"Hey, Rukia, shut up!"
"No, no, it's okay," Momo mumbled. "Arigato, Kuchiki-san. I'm not really all that bothered by what he says. I'm certain that it is true. Hitsugaya-kun would be upset with me if I wasn't here. He would be very worried." She wobbled unsteadily for a moment.
Ichigo's expression changed and he looked at the girl in concern. "You seem kinda out of it. Maybe you need to sit down, Hinamori."
She nodded slowly. Sitting. Resting. That's good. "I think that sounds like a good idea, Kurosaki-san." Momo made her way slowly over to the bleachers and sat down, staring off into space.
"Watch out!" A ball whizzed past her face and she jumped.
Toshiro came running up to her. "Pay attention," he snapped. "That almost hit you in the face, Hinamori."
"Gomen nasai, Hitsugaya-kun," she replied distractedly.
He rolled his eyes and grabbed the wayward soccer ball, then ran back to join his teammates once more. I thought I told her that if she was too tired she should stay home and rest. At this rate I'm going to be hauling her home like a drunken Matsumoto. He shrugged and sighed. Well, she never listened to me before. Why start now?
They continued on practicing until the coach shouted. "All right! Enough practice! The other team is ready! Let's show 'em what we got!"
The timer for the score board started and sounded off, startling Momo. "Oh, right, Toshiro told me to pay attention," she murmured to herself. Then, she stood. "Go get 'em, Hitsugaya-kun!"
"Settle down, Hinamori. The game hasn't even begun yet, you know?" Ichigo came and sat down beside Momo, with Rukia taking a seat on his other side.
Orihime sat on Momo's other side and handed her a soft drink. "Here you go, Hinamori-san," she said with a sympathetic smile. "It has some caffeine in it. Kurosaki-kun said that you looked rather tired, so I thought that maybe this might perk you up."
The raven-haired girl smiled back appreciatively at Orihime. "Arigato, Inoue-san." She took a sip of the beverage absentmindedly, and nearly blanched a moment later. Well, it sure perked her up. But not the way she was expecting. Momo began coughing and gagging. "Inoue-san…" She choked out. "What in the world is this?"
"Oh, like it? It has Coke, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Sprite, Vault, grape juice, pineapple juice, and since I thought it was lacking some flavor I threw in some vegetable juice as well."
"Wow, Hinamori-chan," Rangiku said, coming and sitting beside Orihime. "You're lucky! They ran out of vegetable juice right after Inoue-chan ordered, and so I didn't get any in my drink!"
Forcing a smile, Momo nodded. "Oh, yes. I'm very lucky." Kill me now, please. A distraction. Anything.
Suddenly everyone around her cheered and Rukia nudged her. "Hey, Hitsugaya-taicho just scored a goal, did you see that?"
"What?" No I didn't. I was too busy dying from Inoue-san's strange concoction. She stood up. "Way to go, Hitsugaya-kun!" She shouted. Suddenly the air tensed up. Momo felt it again. That panicky feeling that she had felt before had returned. Her fists clenched tightly.
"This reiatsu…!" Ichigo exclaimed.
Hitsugaya had stopped with the ball and stared over in their direction. "Hey, Hitsugaya, what gives?" One of his teammates called.
With a deafening roar, something tore through the air and grabbed Momo out of nowhere. Screaming in surprise, she turned as far as she could to get a look at her assailant. Upon seeing him, she screamed again in fear. He looked like he had just stepped out from the bowels of hell. "Hitsugaya-kun!" She shouted the first thing that came to mind.
At that same moment, hundreds of Menos Grande filed in. One knocked over one of the light posts that lit the field, and it fell over the unsuspecting crowd over the other side. Instantly, Ichigo, Rukia, Matsumoto, and Hitsugaya all sprang into action, each leaving their gigai to fight off the Menos and help everyone.
Orihime had rushed over to help the people caught in the bleachers on the other side. Luckily most of the people had escaped injury. The only two that hadn't were a little boy and his mother. The sparking pole lie over them, and she wondered for a moment how she was going to get it off of them, when Chad stepped up behind her. "Let me give it a shot, Inoue," he said simply, using his arm to lift the pole and heave it over the side. "Now I should probably get in there to help Ichigo."
Ichigo himself had pulled out his Zanpakuto and was fighting the Menos. "Getsuga Tenshou!" He shouted, unleashing the tidal wave of spirit energy at the hollow in front of him. There were so many… It was endless. Just then, he felt something behind him and turned to see one poised to strike when it disappeared in a flash of blue light. "Ishida, I thought you didn't like soccer," he called over with a grin.
"I didn't come to watch this stupid game. Anyway, it doesn't look like anyone's playing anymore, does it?" Uryu shot back with a smirk. He lifted his Quincy bow and fired another arrow off, striking a hollow right through the mask.
In the meantime, Rukia and Matsumoto had both been fighting off Menos on the other side of the field. Matsumoto had originally been trying to clear a path for her captain to reach the arrancar that currently was holding Hinamori captive, while Rukia had merely found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time while trying to help Ichigo. Whatever the case, they were now back to back, facing off against no less than a dozen Menos. "Kuchiki-san, what do you think? Should we teach these guys a lesson?"
"I think that would be a wise decision, Matsumoto-fukutaicho," Rukia responded, releasing her Zanpakuto. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"
"Growl, Haineko!" Both Zanpakuto unleashed their fury upon the Menos that surrounded them.
And in the meantime, that left Hitsugaya, who was getting really irritated by this point. Every time he struck down two of them in his wake, double the amount would appear. And it seemed that Hinamori was getting further and further from his reach. Her terrified cries were nearly driving him mad. He felt himself growing more and more agitated as yet more hollow appeared in his path. Until finally he was just becoming angry. "Hell with it," he muttered, glaring at the Menos in his path. "Bankai!" Even with his restriction on, that was more than enough to take care of the hollow in his path. "Hyourinmaru!" An ice path was made, cutting through the middle of the Menos. He wasted no time bothering with the rest and used Shunpo to appear in front of the targeted arrancar.
"Hitsugaya-kun!" Momo cried out, a mix of worry and relief evident on her face.
"Hold on, Hinamori," he said evenly. He lunged for the arrancar's arm, ready to sever it off, when it sidestepped him and sent him reeling from his own momentum into the side of the bleachers. He was only detained for a moment and came back full force. "Hinamori isn't going with you," he said as his Zanpakuto caught the arrancar in the midsection.
"That isn't what Aizen-sama told me," the arrancar sneered, reaching down and grabbing his own Zanpakuto. He pulled it out and swung at Hitsugaya in one quick fluid motion. "100 Deaths, Mien!" He shouted, releasing his Zanpakuto at the captain. An enormous amount of red spirit energy surged Hitsugaya's way.
"Toshiro!" Momo cried, fearful that he'd been hit.
The captain appeared underneath, Hyourinmaru stabbing him through the heart. "I'm not about ready to be taken down by the likes of you."
The arrancar fell, dropping Hinamori in the process. He struggled to see with his fleeting vision, and his eyes now locked on the girl that the captain was holding in his arms. "You… may think… you've won. But Aizen…sama won't stop." His last words he said with a cruel sneer. "How many lives… are you willing to risk… to sacrifice, just so you can save yourself?" He asked her. "Such a pathetic… girl…"
Having heard enough of this, Hitsugaya stabbed him once more and put an end to it. "Momo, don't listen to him," he said when he saw his friend's face. "He didn't know what the hell he was talking about anyway."
Hinamori said nothing, but silently clung to his haori. He is right. That arrancar… I'm putting everyone in danger. I didn't want to believe it before, but the hollow are after me! There's no doubt now in my mind… She found that she was slowly losing consciousness. No! I've done nothing but cause hurt and worry for Hitsugaya-kun! I'm okay! I have to be… please… no, not again… She slumped against the captain, losing her battle to stay conscious.
"Hinamori?" Hitsugaya asked in a concerned tone when her entire weight dropped onto him. He shifted her in his arms, letting her head rest against his shoulder. Suddenly a feeling of unease washed over him, and he glanced up to see a bunch of Menos firing a cero at them. Damn, it's not over! Finding that they were surrounded, he folded his wings of ice around them both, his body hunched protectively over Momo. He felt the cero make contact with his wings, and gritted his teeth in an effort to hold it back. He'd be damned if he was going to allow it past to hurt Momo. Finally, after it had subsided, his wings opened slightly. He realized that he had to get them out of there. He'd held his bankai for too long, and the power was fading now. His time had almost run out. Tightening his grip on Hinamori with his left arm, he raised Hyourinmaru in the other. "Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyourinmaru!" The icy wave crashed over the offending Menos and they froze in their spot. He landed, panting for breath, and his wings dissolved.
"Toshiro!" A blast of dark spirit energy knocked the rest of the Menos over behind him. Ichigo made his way over to the two. "Is she okay?"
The captain glared up at the substitute shinigami. "It's Hitsugaya-taicho to you."
"Whatever. Don't you have more important things to worry about right now?" Ichigo shot back.
"She's fine. Just exhausted." Hitsugaya turned and surveyed the scene. "I take it everyone else escaped during the fray?"
"Rukia and I cleared the way for everyone, and Chad and Ishida led them out. Everyone is safe. Inoue healed a couple of the people injured, so they'll be fine," Ichigo answered.
"Good." He walked back to his gigai, and rejoined with it. Once that was finished, he found himself rather drained as well. He shifted Momo into a piggy back, with her head resting on the back of his shoulder.
Rangiku approached him, also back into her gigai and looking a little worse for the wear. "Taicho… Is Hinamori-chan all right?"
"Just worn out," he replied. "We all are. Let's get out of here." They waved goodbye to Ichigo, Rukia, Chad, and Ishida and headed back to Orihime's house. Once there, Toshiro lay Momo down on her futon. "Sleep well, Momo," he whispered to her and stood, quietly leaving the room.
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"Momo, you know what will happen. You know that if you stay with them, you will only kill them. Come back to me. I want you here, by my side."
"Aizen…taicho." She saw him standing there in front of her, beckoning for her to come to him as always. But this time she didn't want to. "No. Why can't you just leave me alone? I want nothing more to do with you!"
His gaze hardened. "Because, like it or not Momo, you and I are now connected to one another. And as long as you continue to run from me, they will get hurt. All of them around you. Especially your Toshiro." His mouth twitched upward into a cruel grin.
"Toshi…ro… no…" Tears welled up in her eyes, and a horrendous vision suddenly filled her mind of her snowy-haired captain lying there, frost covering everything, with a ghastly wound to his shoulder as he bled his life out from underneath him. "What do I…? What should I do?" She asked weakly.
"Come to me. Come to me, Momo, and I'll spare him. If you don't, I will kill him to get to you. If you only sacrifice yourself, it's so much better than allowing the one you love to die before you, isn't it? And of course, it's about what Toshiro wants. Do you think he actually wants to die for you of all people after what you've done to him? He nearly died for your sake before, after you tried to kill him, stomping on those precious memories of your times together, only to follow me. What were you thinking, Momo? It's a wonder that Toshiro doesn't hate you. Oh, no, what if he does?"
"Stop it!" Momo screamed, covering her ears.
"I think I've said enough. You know the right thing to do now, don't you, Momo? And you will do it, won't you? Come find me, Momo, and end Toshiro's suffering."
Horrible memories flooded through her and she let out a strangled gasp. "Toshiro… I… I'm sorry…"
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Tears trailed down the sides of her face as she opened her eyes with a gasp. "Toshi…ro?"
"Thank you for telling me, Urahara-san," sounded Toshiro's voice through the door. "I had suspected it, but now I know for sure. I'm going to have to talk to Hinamori about this. She's certainly caused more unnecessary trouble for herself."
"Well, don't be too hard on her," Urahara spoke in response. "After all, she is having trouble with her memories. It's gotta be quite a confusing time for the poor girl."
"I know, but I am going to talk to her soon. She needs to realize the consequences of her actions and we need to plan our next move."
"Well, wish I could have brought some better news, but it seems not. Goodnight, Toshiro."
"That's Hitsugaya-taicho to you!" Came his irritated reply. The door closed and it was silent for awhile. Then footsteps came closer to her door and it opened, revealing the white-haired boy.
She pulled the covers up and pretended to be asleep.
"That's not going to work, Hinamori. I knew the moment you woke up." He came and sat down beside her. "We need to talk. I'd suspected it earlier, but I never thought you would be stupid enough to do it. Why did you come into contact with Tobiume that night you went to Urahara's? I believe I specifically told you not to, and yet you disobeyed a direct order from your captain."
She curled up and turned away, feeling hot tears pouring down her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry… Toshiro… are you angry with me…?"
"As a matter of fact, yes, I am. It's as if you're asking to die, Hinamori. Do you realize what you've done? You've only made it harder on yourself!" His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Now Aizen knows where you are, but I assume you already knew that. You've been pretending everything's all right these past couple of weeks, and lying to me about everything! How much exactly do you know, Momo? How much do you remember? Or are you going to lie to me about that as well?"
Momo wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed. "I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-kun, please… I… just… wanted to remember. Even a little more! I haven't said anything because I didn't want you to worry, but… I hate this! Everything! The only reason I knew my own name is because someone told it to me! I couldn't remember who I was, what I wasn't, who was my friend, or who was my enemy!" She whimpered. "Except for you. But I've caused you nothing but trouble, and I can't stand being a burden to you anymore!"
Suddenly, she felt warm, comforting arms around her and felt Toshiro's breath on the back of her neck. "Baka! You're not a burden. Don't you trust me at all? I said I would help you. And I will. But I need you to work with me and not against me. That's the only way we're going to save you."
"I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-kun!" She cried. Turning, Momo buried her face into his chest. I'm sorry for always being so selfish. I'm going to do the right thing. I know I've done nothing but hurt you and I'm a horrible person for that. But please, just give me a little longer. Aizen, all I ask for is a little more time with Toshiro, before I say goodbye. Before everything falls apart and I lose him forever. "Toshiro…"
"Momo?" He asked gently, noticing the tears glistening in her eyes. His teal eyes widened in the dark as he felt her lips brush against his. Toshiro deepened the kiss, pulling her closer to him with one arm, and using the other hand to wipe her tears away. He moved so that he now knelt over her. "What are you…?"
"I love you. I just wanted you to know that," she whispered.
He frowned slightly. "I love you, too, Momo, but…" He was cut off as she pulled him down on top of her for another kiss. He pulled away slightly, studying her expression in the dim moonlight. A light blush lit her cheeks, and the look in her dark eyes reflected her emotions. A mixture of love, happiness, longing, and… something else. Something that he couldn't consciously recognize, but it caused his heart to beat faster nonetheless.
She voiced that feeling for him. "Toshiro, I… want you." And she closed the distance between them once again.
A thousand emotions flooded through him at once, and this time he didn't pull away from her. Every protest that he'd had before about what she was doing was forgotten, and he realized then, that he wanted her, too.
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The sun was rising. Momo hesitated once again, looking down at Toshiro. Hey lay there, sleeping so peacefully, with almost a smile on his face. So serene. She'd never seen him at peace like that before. A smile graced her lips and she reached down to touch his bare shoulder, when that vision of his lifeless and bloodied body clouded her thoughts again. She pulled back. If I stay here with you, I'm going to be the death of you. Two stray tears trickled down her cheeks and landed softly on the cool skin of his arm, and then she was gone. Momo knew what she had to do.
She raced down the streets. Perhaps what she'd done was the wrong thing last night. She'd never wanted to hurt him, but maybe she was going to hurt him even more now. She had only wanted to show him how much she loved him. Hinamori Momo knew that she wasn't going to live for much longer, and with all of the regrets she'd had of mistakes she'd made in the past, she somehow felt better. At least Toshiro would know that she loved him. She would always love him. Even if she lost her soul to Aizen and his evil schemes, her heart would always belong to Hitsugaya Toshiro.
She made it to Urahara's shop. She stood in front of the door and knocked. "Why hello, there Hinamori-san, what can I do for you?" Urahara said, greeting her with his trademark smile. It faded when he saw the dark look in her eyes. "Come in."
"You know what I'm here for. I want Tobiume back."
"Uh-huh. And did you happen to tell Hitsugaya-taicho what you were planning on doing?" He asked her with a frown.
"Yes, I did," she replied calmly.
He saw through her lie, but played along and led her into the room, gesturing to the sword lying there on the shelf. "Right. Well, if you're sure that this is what you want, Momo-"
"It is." Without hesitation, she grabbed the Zanpakuto, instantly separating from her gigai. Gasping, she fell to one knee.
"There's no turning back now for sure, you know," Urahara said grimly.
She nodded, and slowly stood, sheathing the Zanpakuto beside her. "I know. Thank you for your concern, but I'll be okay."
"If he comes here, I'm not going to stop him," Urahara warned her.
She glanced over at the shopkeeper, slightly confused. "But you allowed me to-"
"Even if I'd have refused, I can see that determination. You would have found a way to take it from me. And what right do I have to withhold something that belongs to you? However, I think it's foolish of you to try and take everything on yourself." He frowned at her and folded his arms across his chest. "So there you have it. Just one simple man's opinion. Take it or leave it."
Hinamori gave him a small smile as she was leaving. "I'll keep it in mind. Thank you." She raced through the streets, something deep down guiding her, until she found it. A portal had been opened at the end of Karakura Town. A gate to Hueco Mundo.
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Toshiro opened his eyes and glanced over, first noticing that Momo was not there with him. He then noticed a slight wetness on his arm, and touched it. Tears? Alarmed now, he sprang to his feet, hastily throwing some clothes on when he noticed the letter on the table beside the futon. He opened it, hands trembling as he read it.
"Shiro-chan,
I'm so sorry for lying to you one last time. But this is the truth: I love you. Please don't forget that. I'm so afraid, Toshiro, of losing you. I've been having horrible visions as of late, of you dying while trying to save me. I know that Aizen has been manipulating me, and maybe you think I'm being foolish for going to confront him once again, but I would rather die myself than to watch you throw your life away for me; someone who's caused you nothing but pain and suffering over the years. I don't remember everything. I'm pretty sure that now I never will, but I do know that I've had so many regrets about you. Deep in my heart, I'm certain this is the reason I never forgot you, even when I lost my memories of everything else. And so I want to say that over these last few weeks, I've had no regrets. Nor do I regret last night. That is truly how I feel about you. I always will. And nothing makes me happier, Shiro-chan, than knowing that you will be safe. Thank you for everything. And please, I hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me someday. For the first time, I truly believe that I've made the right choice. Goodbye.
Love always, Momo"
End of chapter 10.
Author's note: You guys probably wanna kill me right now. But would it be too much if I asked you to review? I promise, I won't keep you waiting long! I'm on a roll now! See you soon!-- Hallie