To my friends with sharp eyes! Where would I be without my wonderful betas? millythompson and Aine of Knockaine. Not posting probably!
Once again, except for the plot, I don't own this. Bleach is owned and operated by the fabulous Tite Kubo.
Updated: 9/20/20
Chapter 10
Deceitful Are the Kisses of An Enemy
Where Giants Walk
Momo peeked out from her hiding place. Only moments earlier a group of guards had come tromping down the hall and she had ducked, once again, behind one of the pillars by the door, even though they couldn't see her. The little shinigami couldn't help it; every nerve, sinew, and cell was screaming for them to hide. Once the troop passed by, Momo leaned her forehead against the cool, white marble. She was quickly developing a tension headache.
All I want to do right now is lie down with a cold cloth on my head. I'm not cut out for all this sneaking and spying. After this, I am going home and hanging up my mask. Momo thought and then sighed wistfully as the mental picture of her quarters came to mind causing an ache in her chest that was almost physical. What she would give to be curled up on her couch reading a lurid romance; from Matsumoto's extensive library of course!
When her heart stopped pounding and she felt less unnerved, Momo took a step out from behind the pillar when the sound of something like the click and thud of a key being turned in a lock was made. Without giving it a thought, she darted back to her hiding place. Then the sound a dull metallic clunk followed by a door swinging open.
Momo leaned her head out far enough to see what was going on. Two servants carried out what looked like a dead body of one of their own. All three were dressed in the standard white uniform, which to her looked like it was the reverse of the shinigami black one. And just like each shinigami could tailor their uniform as they saw fit to their own unique personality, it appeared the same held true here. Everyone added a distinctive slant to their own shihakushous. All that is, except the lowliest of servants who looked pretty much the same from one to the other.
As the servants passed her she heard one of them say, "That Espada is in one bad mood."
"Who cares, as long we ain't the ones being aimed at," replied the other.
"He said it was called for since it was the war room."
"It wouldn't matter if it was the laundry; he kills whenever, wherever and for no reason, even for one of them."
"Huh." And with that their voices faded as the two disappeared down the hall with their burden.
Another one! I bet it was Nnoitra again! He kills as casually and without remorse as someone would swat at a fly!
Before they were out of earshot, she heard one complain they would have to come back and clean up the blood from the war room, yet again, before Aizen-sama returned.
So this happens often?
Lingering only long enough to make sure no one else was coming; Momo darted out from behind the pillar and raced to the door. Once there she quietly jiggled the door handle only to find it had locked after swinging shut. Only this door wasn't made out of stone like everything else was in this huge structure. It was a light-colored wood inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl. It would have been beautiful but the subject matter featured hollows and arrancars shown torturing and eating human souls.
Dropping her eyes from the gruesome scenery, Momo glanced up and down the hall to make sure no one was within visual range. Then reaching down, she untied the string at the top of the bag. Taking out several spheres, her eyes flicked over the lock, studying it.
Licking her thumb she rubbed it against one sphere and then pushed it against the lock plate, which was also made of gold. Momo would have rolled her eyes if time was available, at the folly of using a soft metal in the creation of a lock. But as it was, she worked quickly since the spheres wouldn't stay glued long so she hurriedly set the others in place.
Normally, it would be a shame to mark up such a beautifully carved door but in this case the idea of ruining it didn't cause her any guilt in the least. It seemed to her it would be better to have a sturdier door marked 'private, keep out, this means you' posted on it. Also, shouldn't guards be placed on the outside beside the door to discourage people from wanting to wander through? A horrid thought popped up; what if, in spite of the fact, it was called a war room, it didn't hold anything worth being guarded?
Stop it Momo! Don't make this worse than it is! Because, if that was the case, it meant her quest wasn't finished. It would be just her luck if all the really sensitive material were filed in a root cellar or some cobwebbed-strewn, dusty attic. Don't panic! First things first, it's useless to work oneself into a tizzy before the fact.
Fingers moving swiftly and surely, it wasn't long before all the spheres she needed were set in place. Giving the lock, handle, and spheres a quick once-over, the shielded shinigami then hurried back to take cover behind the pillar. Once there, Momo strained her ears and senses for any sound of approaching feet. Not hearing anything, Momo gathered up her nerve, breathed out a quick chant and released the reiatsu in a centered burst directed into the door. No billowing smoke, no shards, no deafening bangs to alert guards, and no fuss, just a brief flash of light and it was done.
Momo could have kicked up her heels for joy. Her little invention worked! Take that Twelfth Division! Momo Hinamori inventor, Fifth Division! Oh yeah, eat that Twelfth & you too Kurotsuchi! Yet in the middle of the self-congratulations, the newly dubbed grand inventor of the Seireitei was aware of the time being on the limited side (her shield wouldn't last forever and others could be coming this direction). So again she dashed to the door and placed her hand so the fingertips delicately touched the surface. The brown-haired girl turned her ear to listen but couldn't hear any sounds coming from within the room. Either no one was in there (what she was hoping for) or someone was being very quiet (which she fervently hoped was not the case).
Giving a little push, she was delighted when the door swung open on silent hinges, and whispered thanks to whichever saint watched over poor little shinigami cat burglars. As the door glided to a halt about halfway open, she leaned in and craned her neck to see into the room. From what the soul reaper could see the room appeared empty. There wasn't a sign of Ulquiorra or Nnoitra, which was a huge relief. She slid in and shut the door behind her before taking several wary steps into the room, alert for any sign of danger.
Once inside, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and Hinamori couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. She noted on the far wall several giant paintings were hung. The main color was white with various shades of gray. Only by studying it closely could she make out the different scenes of hollows ripping apart and devouring souls, basically the same theme as the artwork on the door, only more violent, if that was possible. It made her uneasy so she turned away to study the rest of the walls, which were white (surprise, surprise), and on which hung immense maps. The whole atmosphere of the room created a sense of eeriness. Obviously no one came here to relax, but then, what did she know of hollows, arrancar and specifically Aizen, doing for relaxation. She shuddered. It was not something she wanted to think about.
Spotting a very large rectangular table, she padded silently over to it. Stopping in front of it, Momo could feel a vast weight pressing down on her from above. Not sure where this feeling was coming from, she tilted back her head to look up. Her jaw dropped in surprise. Craning her head back even further, she inspected a ceiling so high overhead she wouldn't have been surprised to see clouds forming and wondered if all the larger rooms were like this.
Finally, lowering her head to reduce the ache in her neck, Momo gave it a quick shake to clear it. The mission was to sneak in and steal, not gawk slack-jawed at the incredible architecture. It was then her eye caught the only bright color in the room. She hadn't seen it before because the table blocked her view, but there, standing out against the white floor was a pool of blood in the center of the room. That was where Nnoitra (just a wild guess) had killed the servant. Momo sighed and looked away. Had it only been minutes ago she was wishing to see some other color besides white? The little shinigami revised her opinion of Hueco Mundo. The only two colors here were white and shades of violence.
It was only a hollow. It was only a hollow. She chanted to herself, as if doing so would make the scene easier to handle. It didn't and finally she had to force herself to ignore the blood and scan the room. Scattered in various places all along the wall were large white tables, which is why she didn't notice them right away. The white-on-white theme tended to make everything blend together.
This would drive me insane if I had to live here! Momo gave another shake of her head and continued to inspect the room.
Then, she noticed against the wall to the right, situated under a black and white map as easily as large as the Fifth's mess hall, a table with huge sheets of paper spread out on it while also cluttered with many scraps of paper.
Great flaring reiatsu! This may be it!
Momo hurried in the direction of the table and as she got closer, nearly gave a whoop of delight. She had hit pay dirt! There were maps of all sizes piled on top of each other in a haphazard fashion and over to the side were file boxes jammed full of papers. One could only hope it was a banquet for a spy to feast upon! Practically bouncing in place from glee Momo let herself enjoy a brief celebration of victory before getting down to work.
Swiftly but with deliberate thoroughness, Momo went through the papers and maps looking for something, anything, that would give the Soul Society an edge in the upcoming war. She snatched up many that looked, to her unsophisticated eye, like they were important and others she was unsure if they were valuable or not. Of course, the Council of Forty-Six, if they got the positions filled in time, would oversee the war efforts. At the moment, it was the Captain-general and the other captains of the Soul Society. Since she was not a tactician or a strategist in any sense of the word, the petite shinigami wasn't sure which of these papers the war effort would consider of vital importance or not. Quickly skimming over several of them she was disheartened to see that the language used wasn't one she was familiar with, but deciding to be safe than sorry, she placed them with others to be taken.
Just as she was folding and tucking away the odd assortment of communiqués, orders, spy reports, maps and ones she was undecided about into a hidden sleeve pocket, she froze in place. Did she just hear a noise? Or was she just easily spooked?
Tilting her head to the side and concentrating, the shielded shinigami listened but could not hear anything beyond the silence of a very large place. However, being a cautious soul, Momo stood in place, as wary as a fat mouse in a yard filled with slumbering hungry cats with the dinner bell about to ring. But as time ticked by not another sound was heard. Knowing she couldn't stand there indefinitely, Momo once again began looking over the information on the table. There were many papers that looked like they could be important, but she wasn't qualified enough to know which ones would make the difference between victory and defeat. Also, her hidden pocket could only so much. Momo patted her pocket making the paper crinkle, worried still about whether she was stealing the right ones or not. Hopefully, what she did have would make a difference; only those in positions of authority would be able to tell.
Turning, the shinigami started toward the door, and then pulled up short.
On the wall next to the door was a viewing monitor. Not such a great infiltrator and spy after all, she angrily scolded herself, ashamed she hadn't thought to look over her shoulder. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Because, right there, as plain as the scar on Zaraki's face, was a huge screen split in two. One side showed a group of people fighting, and the other side was blank. Something about those people seemed… familiar…
As Momo drew closer to it, she realized, yes, the group was known to her and at that moment of realization, slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp of dismay. Then dropping her hand the slender female took several steps forward to make sure that she was seeing what she thought she was.
There, in living color were: Ichigo (no surprise there, who hadn't he tried to rescue yet?), Rukia (again no surprise, where Ichigo went, she was bound to follow), and also Renji (okay, she wasn't expecting him but upon reflection, it made sense he was with the other two), but then, her eyes went wide with alarm when they spotted the one person she didn't want to see at all, especially not here, and that person was Shiro-chan!
"Blast it all! Darn that Shiro-chan!" She slapped both hands over her mouth this time. Look what he just made her do! All this time sneaking around as silent as a mouse and now the shock of seeing him here in this god-forsaken place made her forget and blurt out her frustration with him!
And come to think of it, just why did he think she needed rescuing anyway? Did it look like she was some wilting flower in desperate need of rescuing? Was she trembling in a corner somewhere whimpering for someone to save her? Well, she had news for him! Momo Hinamori was an independent and self-reliant woman, not only had she earned her position as an assistant captain, but this soul reaper was also a valued member of the Shinigami Women's Association! So she was not some simpering little wretch of a captive and did not need rescuing thank you very much! Everything was under control and he would only mess things up for her. In fact, Toshiro just may end up needing to be rescued by her! So there!
Just then a voice spoke and her eyes bounced to the other side of the screen and upon seeing the image there, she nearly choked and swallowed her spit the wrong way. The screen was no longer blank, but filled with a familiar figure.
Good grief, it's Ichimaru! Blast my rotten luck! Again, Momo did what she did best when shocked; held very, very still and made not a sound.
The smiling ex-shinigami appeared to be looking right at her, but who could tell for sure since his eyes were hard to see in those foxy little slits. Then a ghastly thought occurred to her, what if, for some reason, he could see her? Should she make a noise or say something? Or maybe the best thing to do would be to tiptoe toward the door and pretend she didn't see him. Oh yes, what an excellent plan! She, the self-reliant and independent shinigami who didn't need to be rescued, was going to do just that.
Taking a deep, but quiet, breath, she started moving slowly toward the door.
"I know yer there. I saw ya picking up the papers and we all know that papers don't float by themselves," said Ichimaru, and in a singsong voice he continued, "Besides, I could hear ya muttering to yerself."
I did no such thing! Cat burglars do not mutter! It's unprofessional. Momo thought angrily, hands clenched into fists at her side as she scowled back at his image. There it was again, his peculiar grin stretching across his face. It was hard to say for certain, but Ichimaru looked to be in a good mood. That made her shiver for what made Gin Ichimaru happy was sure to ruin someone else's day and right now, Momo was betting she was the preferred pick in the 'sucks to be you' contest.
There were two choices, she could stand here all day like an invisible, cowardly statue, or run like hell and get out of this insane asylum. Besides, surely wherever he was broadcasting from must be in some other location very far away, and, and… it would take him a while to get to where she was, right? Momo fervently hoped she was right. The invisible soul reaper was not about to wait until one of her least favorite people appeared on the scene. Sprinting for the door, she didn't care one whit if he heard or saw anything or not.
Grabbing the handle and flinging the door open she ran….
…. Into a very solid mass and bounced back.
"Oops."
Momo looked up and the blood ran cold in her veins.
Why me? Why him? She thought as hands grasped her arms in a vice grip and lifted her high enough so her toes barely scraped the floor.
Abandon All Hope
It was Ichimaru.
"How…, Where…," Momo whispered weakly, flabbergasted and unpleasantly so, to be running, quite literally, into Gin Ichimaru like this.
With a quick glance she noted Ichimaru was not wearing his old soul reaper uniform, as if such a detail was an important fact at a time like this. Like everyone else, he was wearing a standard white uniform, but over it he wore a long white coat with bell-sleeves. Under that was a white shirt with the innermost layer next to his skin, a black yukata. Again, the whole uniform was white everywhere a shinigami uniform was black, and black where a shinigami's was white, except for his aqua-colored belt with the huge looping bow. Incredible, was Aizen so very determined to show his complete separation from the Soul Society to the point it was displayed even in the clothes they wore here? This would be fascinating to speculate on at another place and time but right now Momo was too busy trying to break free from his grip.
"Put me down!" She ordered and then glared at him forgetting it was a wasted effort because he couldn't see her. However, the ex-captain of the Third did set her back down, not that it did any good, his hold was like a vice grip.
He leaned down to place his cheek against hers and spoke softly into the small shell of her ear, "Ah, so it is Momo-chan! At first from yer lack of stature I thought it might be that Kuchiki charity case. But lucky me to run into an old friend like this before ya had the chance to leave. Betcha didn't think I was right outside the door, didja? I think we oughta go back to my quarters and talk about old times?"
"No, no, and no; a hundred times no!" Momo disagreed, daringly even, as she lashed out with a foot hoping to connect with a shin. Ichimaru moved so that she ended up only grazing the side of his leg.
"Wha? Yer actually puttin' up a fuss? So unlike ya, Momo-chan!"
Momo didn't reply, refusing to be the compliant assistant captain he remembered. Instead, gritting her teeth Momo punched and kicked but to no avail. Ichimaru eluded them all.
Momo swore in frustration, "Damn you Ichimaru! Let me go!"
He was avoiding her attacks and he shouldn't be able to do that! Worse yet, he was chuckling as he did so!
Beginning to panic, Momo brought the heel of her foot down hard on Ichimaru's foot while twisting it as hard as she could while at the same time, pushing away from him.
When dealing with shinigami captain-class caliber, foot stomping was not listed as a recommended attack in a soul reaper's handbook of deadly assaults. On the other hand, Ichimaru wasn't expecting to have the tender part of his foot assaulted. In automatic response fox-faced man released the tight hold on the slight female's arms just enough for her to be able to twist out of his grasp. Quickly Momo hopped back away from him while telling herself any attack which takes the opposition by surprise is a good thing, whether recommended or not.
She watched the man closely, waiting for the most opportune moment before acting. When Gin straightened he said with a frown, "Fer such a weak little thing …"
Now!
Momo leapt and spun, snapping her fist to punch him in the face as hard as she could. Oh, but it was so satisfying to see his head snap back like that.
Take that you bastard! She hoped it knocked him out for a week!
Sadly, Momo was disappointed to see him only take a step back to keep his balance, but at least he was holding his nose in pain and she could see a slight trickling of blood through his fingers. Momo had never derived pleasure from inflicting damage on someone… until now. Maybe it made her a bad person, but Momo couldn't help the little flush of pride at punching Gin Ichimaru even if she had to be invisible to do it. In no way did it make up for all the pain he had caused her friends, but it was a start. Although, she had to admit, it would have been even more satisfying to see him rolling around on the floor holding his nose and moaning.
As she watched him, he merely wiped the blood off with his sleeve and then studied it with a little frown. Then the frown cleared away and once again the fox smile returned making goose bumps form on her arms. Unbelievable! He had just been hit in the face and now he was smiling?
With a chillingly disturbing smile still in place, he said, "For that, I'd kill ya and laugh while doing it, " (Momo had no doubts about that at all.) "But it must be fate that yer here and I'm gonna make good use of it."
Oh she didn't like where this was going and started to scoot around him to get to the door. Then, as if a wind shoved it, the door swung shut with a click and she halted in her tracks stunned. The lock should have been broken from her earlier blast. How did he get it to work again? But then, maybe she shouldn't be surprised. Everyone knew that it usually took years for a student to graduate from the Soul Reaper Academy but Gin Ichimaru went through in one year! He was considered a prodigy, much like Toshiro, only without any morals to speak of. So, again, maybe she shouldn't be so surprised, but blast, why couldn't she get stuck in a room with a drooling idiot traitor instead of another genius? That's my problem! I am surrounded by too many flipping geniuses!
"Yer gonna deliver a message for me," said Ichimaru. He wasn't facing her even though Momo had the distinct impression he knew exactly where she was standing.
There was a pause and she wondered why he wasn't continuing until he finally said in a soft voice, "I'm being watched. The monitors rove from one room to another and right now they are on this one so I'd advise ya not to move or make any noise. Oh, nice trick by the way, we'll have to chat over tea sometime."
Only in your wildest dreams, thought Momo firmly, there was no way she would voluntarily get within a flash step of him, let alone have tea. Still, she took his advice seriously and kept quiet while wondering what could possibly be worse than meeting up with Gin Ichimaru. But why should she stand still, she was invisible right? It was a most disheartening feeling to realize how low one has sunk by the mere fact that this same one was listening to and taking a traitor's advice. Just when she decided that enough was enough and this was just another one of Ichimaru's tricks…..
From out of what looked like a solid wall at the far end of the room, an outline of a door appeared and then opened. Ulquiorra strolled through coming toward them. Momo was glad to see that his eyes were fixed on Ichimaru. Still, she couldn't help but shiver as the spiritual pressure of the room grew heavy and began pressing down on her shoulders.
"Why if it ain't muh dear comrade. Whaddya doin' here; lookin' for little ole me?" Ichimaru tilted his head in a friendly way, the grin stretching from one cheek to the other as he tucked his hands into the voluminous opening of his sleeves waiting for the other to draw near.
Ulquiorra stopped when he was still yards away, obviously not wanting to get too close to the Soul Society traitor and Momo didn't blame him one bit, in fact she wished she was far away from him as in, on-the-other-side-of-the-door, far away.
"Gin Ichimaru," stated the solemn arrancar.
"Oh look, Aizen-sama was right, they are trainable! Very good, and is it housebroken too?" asked Ichimaru with a smile seemingly full of affability and good-humor.
Again, the hair on the back of Momo's neck stood straight up under the building pressure. Any second now she was sure the two would spring at each other, kido blasting and blades slashing through the air, but they only stared as if they had accidentally bumped into each other on a pleasant Sunday walk-in-the-park. Maybe this was a good time to leave and she took a step.
"Don move, little mouse," ordered the grinning ex-shinigami even though he didn't look in her direction.
Momo halted in her tracks. On the other hand, maybe it was a good idea to wait and see what the outcome of this little meeting was before she made any major life decisions. But on the other other hand, after seeing her friends on the screen, she was anxious to leave and get to them so they all could leave this place.
"Why Gin Ichimaru?" Ulquiorra said calmly.
He thinks Gin was talking to him, thought Momo as she turned her attention to the tear-stained arrancar, standing in his usual relaxed stance with hands tucked into his pockets.
Gin flapped hand at him, "Please, no formalities. Just call me Gin. After all, we're both working for the same person and have the same goal."
The silence stretched as Ulquiorra merely studied him.
"Do we indeed, Gin Ichimaru?"
Gin lost the grin and sighed deeply as if genuinely hurt by the other's question.
"Oh dear, it looks as if someone don' trust me and I wonder why? Ain't I been faithfully by Aizen-sama's side all these years? " He shook his head wonderingly, "And yet ya have misgivin's 'bout me."
"You only have your own interests in mind Ichimaru. But as long as your interests and Aizen-sama's interests coincide, you heed his voice. If the time comes when they don't, I will eliminate you."
Momo wondered at the toneless voice he was using. She couldn't hear any inflection in, nor could she hear any stress. To threaten Gin like that took a lot more daring than she ever possessed. Although, she did learn one thing about the emotionless arrancar: he was very touchy and very protective when it came to Aizen. This was the second dangerous person he had the gall to threaten with death for the sake of Aizen. Who said good help was hard to find?
"So what makes ya mistrustful of me, hmmm?"
Ignoring the question, Ulquoirra pointed out, "You have blood on your sleeve. Someone injured you and quite recently. Yet I see no one about. How unusual."
"Oh this?" Gin motioned to his nose with an indifferent gesture and grimaced. "Ran into something. Never saw it coming."
Then the grin was back in place and it occurred to Momo that Gin didn't need a hollow mask, his grin was already a mask he wore to fool others. It made them suspicious of him and diverted their attention from the person everyone should have been suspicious of, and that was Aizen.
"But yea, why doncha trust me, eh?"
Ulquiorra didn't answer right away, just stared at Gin with a steady dour gaze.
The extending silence was aggravating to the shinigami's nerves as she was already jumpy. And it was grating that Ulquiorra always took his own sweet time when it came to conversations. Right at the moment she didn't care if he was the most powerful arrancar in this world or the next, she was thoroughly sick of him. C'mon, c'mon, just answer the question! But as long as he was there, Momo knew the wisest thing to do was not make a move and not make a sound, however, it was proving to be difficult as every instinct she possessed was screaming at her to bolt from the room.
"You might want to put some ice on that." Ulquiorra studied Gin's face and then added, "To keep down the swelling." With no word of farewell, the arrancar turned and walked away at a leisurely pace.
"Bye, bye!" waved Gin after the retreating figure and kept waving long after the arrancar disappeared through the door at the back of the room.
Then he dropped his arm and tucked both hands back into this sleeves. The ever incessant smile was firmly in place but he managed to say in a soft tone out of the corner of his mouth, "Ah, Momo-chan, sorry to keep ya waiting. Follow me."
Like hell I will! Momo emphatically thought. She was noticing that being around Gin was making her lose her inhibitions about cursing, especially when it involved him. But then he deserved it. And did fox-face honestly think that she was going to go with him anywhere? Ha, that was a laugh! The only 'following' that was going to take place was her following him out of the door and then she was going to hot foot it away from him at a high rate of speed. Follow him, my foot! Hissed her mental 'voice'.
Then in a movement she didn't see coming, he turned, whipped out an arm to snatch her wrist up and began walking toward the door in a casual manner.
Momo was shocked speechless and stumbled into his side. Since he tucked his hands (along with her left wrist) back in his sleeves she was forced to walk shoulder to shoulder with him because he had her left forearm tightly trapped between his arm and his side. All this so he could keep his hands in the sleeves giving off a natural and casual appearance in case anyone should cross their path.
He's good, she reluctantly admitted, even as she tried to tug her hand free. The very last place she wanted to be was where they were heading.
"We're goin' to muh rooms, so I'd advise ya to come along like the obliging little assistant captain that ya are. The other alternative is ta put up a fight but I guarantee ya that ya'll not like the outcome."
"Oh shit," she murmured. First flushing hot, then cold, then hot again, Momo felt weak. How was she going to get out of this?
Then she looked up to see him smiling down at her but as they turned one corner there was a group moving toward them and he lifted his head to face them.
Starting to sweat from sheer fright, Momo was quite aware he didn't need to warn her to keep silent, he didn't have to, as that was always her main objective, sneak in and sneak out, be quiet as a mouse. The last thing she wanted (besides being dragged to Ichimaru's quarters) was to be caught.
As they passed the group, Ichimaru didn't even glance at them although they slowed and bowed respectfully to him. He was definitely another one high up on the food chain but no one who observed him for long would have any real doubts about that in the first place.
Wait a minute, she brightened with a thought, I could always slap an energy-filled sphere on him and… just then the walls of the hallway spun crazily around. When things were righted at last, she found herself draped across his shoulder and being carried.
Jovially, he said, "Now, now little Momo-chan! Yer forgettin' that we've been watching ya for years! We know more about ya than ya do about yerself. I could tell ya were about ta make some kind of move… Eh? And what's this?"
Damn it all to Hueco Mundo and back again! He found my bag! Momo fumed and then began beating on his back but tried to do it quietly, which defeated the purpose since it did about as much damage as a flea biting the underbelly of a whale. While she was thus occupied, Gin, with dexterous fingers, untied the sphere bag from her waist. Once he freed it from the shield about her, it appeared as if out of nowhere and he studied it curiously.
Forgetting her admonition to keep quiet, she snapped out, "That's mine, give it back!"
"Hmmm, I wonder whatcha been up to Momo-chan. Apparently ya're not quite as dim-witted as Aizen-sama thought ya were."
He shook the bag and gave it a look of interest when the contents made a clinking noise. For the first time ever, she was sure that the surprised inquisitiveness on Ichimaru's face was sincere.
"I can't wait ta see what's in here! Lookit Momo-chan, here we are, not a moment too soon!"
With that remark, he crossed to a door that could barely be discerned from the rest of a long wall as nothing about it called attention to itself. In fact, the door was set so smoothly and tightly in the wall it could be easily overlooked. He opened it with a quick, under-the-breath chant and applying a staccato burst of reiatsu in a complicated rhythm, all this let Momo know he obviously wasn't a very trusting sort of person. It all came back around to that old saying, "Those who can't be trusted, don't." Once they were in and the door shut behind them, he crossed over to an overstuffed leather couch and unceremoniously dumped her on it.
She couldn't refrain from issuing a small sound of pain when her back landed on Tobiume. There's gonna be a bruise there tomorrow! It was really uncomfortable sitting this way, with her zanpakutou jammed between her shoulder blades and the couch. With a wince she shifted a little, moving the sheath more to the side where it wouldn't poke into her so much. Momo dared to look up and found the grinning ex-captain looking at the space where she was sitting, and swallowed hard. No one liked it when Ichimaru grinned like that.
After studying what had to appear, to him, as an empty space, Ichimaru leaned closer to place both hands on the back of the couch so that his arms caged her in. Finally, he said in a voice that was deceptively smooth and genial but brooked no disobedience, "Drop the shield."
She shrank back into the pillows desperately seeking to increase the distance between them. Her light brown eyes darted to either side weighing the odds of escape. They weren't good, in fact, more like impossible.
So flummoxed for the time being, Momo's plans of escaping vanished when she looked back up into his face. The sight nearly made her gasp. For the first time ever, she saw his eyes even if they were barely visible in the slits. Funny, she would have expected them to be red but no, his eyes were several circles of blue in rings around his pupil. The one next to the pupil was the darkest hue, and from there the blue circles faded into a lighter blue with each outer ring. The last ring, so light a blue that it was nearly white, was separated from the whites of the eye by a black circle. They were, she decided unable to break his gaze, the most hypnotic eyes she had ever seen.
Suddenly the connection was broken when he turned, leaving her to feel rather foolish for staring up into his eyes like a love struck schoolgirl. She was thankful when he walked toward a desk several feet away on the same wall as the couch. Remembering the order, she was actually relieved to drop the shield. This would save her reiatsu and give her a break before she escaped, and she was damn sure counting on escaping, somehow. From the corner of her eyes, Momo snuck a look at the tall, lean ex-soul reaper, wondering how to elude him, because at the moment, the escape plans were a little on the vague side.
Now that she was visible, Momo wondered why he didn't take away her zanpakutou. She was sure he noticed the sword rising up over her shoulder, but he didn't comment on it. This stung her pride more than anything else he could have done. Obviously, he didn't think she was much of a threat and still saw her as the easily duped Hinamori of years gone by.
As for Gin, once he moved away from her and stood in front of the desk, the ex-captain gently placed the bag down on the surface. With care, long thin fingers loosened the strings and opened the top so he could see what was inside. Deeming what he saw to be safe enough, one hand reached in and pulled out one of the small globes. Holding it up to the light with a thoughtful frown, he studied it carefully before chuckling. Then turning the sly fox grin that was his trademark toward her, he carried the small sphere back with him to Momo who was waiting on the couch, stomach aching from the nervous tension.
The female shinigami was positive that even if attempted she would not be able to open the door on her own. This is bad! This is so bad! I am stuck in Gin Ichimaru's private room! Can it get any worse than this? Instantly a horrid thought struck her and she shot a fearful glance to the door at the other end of the room and caught sight of the bed. She clasped the front of her shirt, trying to control her panicky breathing.
So wrapped up in her own private hell, Momo didn't even notice when Ichimaru sat down next to her.
He studied the petite female, quite aware of her state and the cause of it. His mouth twitched in amusement, knowing that Hinamori was just skirting the edge of panic, which meant that she would be all that much more fun to tease.
In the past, Ichimaru had found this particular lieutenant to be rather boring to toy with after a certain point. His opinion of Aizen's lieutenant was that she was rather one-dimensional for his more clever jests and teasing remarks were always met with an uncomprehending look as if she was waiting for him to get to the punch line or explain the joke. But this, well, he was forced to admit it for what it was, creativity on her part that was highly unexpected! Maybe he needed to re-evaluate his judgment of her. He looked at her askance, from the corner of his eye. Who would have guessed that this rather dull little shinigami even possessed a creative side?
He lifted up one of the glowing blue balls in his long, thin fingers and then moved it until it was in front of her. Her huge, frightened eyes traveled to the ball and then back to his face, waiting for him to speak first.
Momo couldn't tell if he was looking at her or the ball that he was holding up between them and slowly rotating in his fingers. Did he want her to explain her invention? Playing subtle little games like this was not Momo's strong suit.
"My estimation of ya has skyrocketed Momo-chan. I'm most impressed. Ya snuck in, somethin' ya never would'da done in the past, and then ya went tiptoein' around da place behind a first-class shield. Ya amaze me, ya do. And then these beautiful little explodin' devices, who'dda thought?"
He paused to give her time to answer but she lowered her eyes to her lap where her hands were now clasped in a white-knuckled grip. "Ah no need to be afraid, I'm just curious." She could feel his gaze resting on her.
Oh goody... Ichimaru has a higher opinion of me than he used to. The life of crime I have resorted to has paid off!
"Well, I can see we're gonna to be here for hours if this keeps up."
With that he offhandedly lobbed the ball onto some animal's pelt rug on the floor. It landed with a dull bump noise but didn't roll, as the thick fur caught it. She watched as if mesmerized until a long thin hand, but unbelievably strong, grasped her chin and forced her to face him. For being as long-limbed as he was, one would expect him to be more…. fragile, thought Momo. But there was nothing fragile about him right at the moment, which was a darn shame.
A lopsided grin formed and he said, "Ya think I'm weak?" He released her chin so she could answer. He watched her, amused.
Her mouth wanted to drop to the floor, was he some kind of mind reader? She kept, what she hoped, was a neutral expression while facing him, but apparently he wasn't fooled by it. Then he sat down next to her, his thigh pressed against hers and again took her chin captive. Momo's face went white with dread.
"Oh jes 'cause I don' have muscles riding on top of muscles don' mean dat I can't hold my own in a fight." He chuckled at her apprehension and said, "Yer a cute one Momo-chan!"
She managed to spit out, "N… no I'm not!" and would have scooted away from him but she was already crammed next to the arm of the couch and there was no place for her to go. Besides, he still had a firm grip on her chin.
"Oh, I betcha I know whatcher thinking!" Ichimaru leaned in close, his mouth close to her ear even though she was leaning as far from him as she could get. His breath stirred the lock of hair in front of her ears, "Yer thinking dat I brought you here to 'have my way with ya," Then he leaned back and waggled his thin, nearly non-existent eyebrows at her.
Shocked, Momo jerked her chin out of his hand and could only open and shut her mouth like a fish and he chuckled at her reaction.
"Relax Momo-chan yer like a little sister to me. But if ya had to know, if ya were a fish, which ya do look like right now, I'd throw ya's back as slim pickings."
"Wait just a darn minute!" The petite shinigami female blurted out, indignation making her forget how afraid she was supposed to be. "What's that supposed to mean? And…, and…, if I look like a fish, well, you look like a snake! No, a fox! So there!"
Momo slapped both hands over her mouth, eyes going wide, aghast that she had just insulted this very scary and unpredictable captor. What was wrong with her!
Her huge eyes lifted to look Gin in the face. For the second time, Momo saw the real Gin Ichimaru. He was surprised and the ever-present grin dropped off his face as he looked at her as if truly seeing her for the first time.
"Well, if our little Momo-chan ain't grown some backbone."
"I am not your little anything so stop calling me that!"
Her knees were shaking but she thought, 'In for a penny, in for a pound'. He's probably going to end up killing me anyway."
Although right then, Gin was tilting his head a bit as if trying to figure out a rather unique puzzle in front of him. After a moment he slipped on his usual grinning mask as automatically as one would blink.
He stood up, which forced her to tilt her head back.
"I didn't bring ya here cause I want ta bed ya."
Momo flushed so hard she thought she was going to pass out.
"I want ya ta pass on a message fer me."
Momo leapt to her feet, spine stiff as she glared at the former shinigami captain, because to utter a righteous declaration one needed to be standing; it added a nice touch to the delivery.
The Fifth's assistant captain pulled in a deep breath and pointed an accusatory finger at the evil party, which was also a good touch because it let them know they were guilty as sin. "I will not! We will not surrender and nothing you can say can make us change our minds. You and your evil cohorts are going to be defeated!" Despite the righteous finger-pointing, it might be a good idea on her part, just in case, to back up a pace or two when delivering that kind of inflammatory line.
Gin was more than a little amazed. Her being betrayed by Aizen-sama seemed to have done her good for she was quite a bit different from the shy, rule-abiding, soft-spoken, adoring little vice-captain who used to trot faithfully behind Aizen. However, he didn't have time to listen to a lecture. He only had enough time to give her the message and then help her on her way. It was a stroke of luck, or maybe it was destiny, that put her here at such a time.
He reached forward in one swift movement, caught the outthrust, accusing finger, then yanked and spun the girl so that she was once again sitting on the couch, only this time, with a rather dazed expression on her face. She didn't notice when he released the righteous finger of justice.
Ichimaru sat down next to her again and reached out to wrap a long, thin arm around her shoulders and draw her close to his side as if they were longtime friends. The shock and horror racing across her face was priceless but he didn't have time to enjoy the moment.
For the first time, his face was without an expression of any kind, "I want ya ta remember this…" and then he leaned over to Momo who was trembling from the close proximity and whispered in her ear. Once he finished he leaned back and asked, "Can ya remember that?" Numbly, Momo nodded.
Gin Ichimaru, worst traitor to Soul Society only to be out done by Aizen himself, had just whispered in her ear. Forget? Not in this lifetime or in any other. There also wasn't enough peroxide in all the known universes needed to clean said ear out from fox breath coating left there. It gave Momo the creeps.
Once again, the normal foxy-grin was back in place. "Well, as much fun as this has been, one should never overstay their welcome. Let's get ya ta where ya need ta be." In one fluid movement, he stood and pulled Momo to her feet.
Momo felt like she was in a waking trance and couldn't move of her own volition even if her life depended upon it. The message Ichimaru had just whispered to her was burning in her brain. Thoughts spun in her head making her dizzy and what was needed was just a moment or two in order to be left alone for a few minutes to recuperate.
Unnoticed by her, Ichimaru walked back to the desk to a wall monitor located above it, reached out to activate it and studied it for a moment. When she realized he had moved away from her, she looked up to find that he was frowning at a viewing screen. As all other emotions were totally numb for the time being, it was curiosity that caused her to stand and move until she was a few feet behind him. The images on the viewing screen held his interest and once she got close enough to peer around his shoulder, it captured her attention as well.
On the screen were the images of her friends surrounded by a large group made up of some strange-looking hollows, or maybe they were arrancar.
"Hmmm, well, it seems yer friends are attracting more attention. If we don' hurry they'll ruin everythin for us."
"For us?" No way had he meant that like they were some sort of a team! Just thinking about her and Gin being partners in anything caused a shudder of revulsion to run through her.
"Well, now I got ya ta take this message back, I can't allow ya ta be caught." He directed a scowl of disapproval at the group, "And if those idiots of yers get captured then it will be become known that ya are here also by others besides these idiots. Thadd'd make me most unhappy."
He turned to look over his shoulder at her. "I tend to get cranky when I'm unhappy."
Her light cinnamon colored eyes stared wide-eyed at him. He was around-the-bend certifiable; one didn't have to be a professional healer to know that. Momo gnawed on her lip indecisively, but if he truly was going to help her and her friends, then the offer of help couldn't be refused despite the source.
Against her better judgment, Momo nodded; a sick sensation rising in the pit of her stomach as he turned and grinned widely at her.
Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter. I really appreciate it!
And even though you didn't have to, thank you, my dear friend, Aine of Knockaine.
And to all my other faithful readers, m(_,_)m
-Dwellin