I do not own Bleach
Chapter 21
Funeral
Momo, Ichigo, Hitsugaya, and Orihime walked quietly down the streets of Seireitei. They all had a grim attitude. They were heading towards the Fourth Division, where Hanatarou Yamada's funeral was being held. They were all very sad about Hanatarou's death.
They had all known Hanatarou in one way or another. Ichigo had his life saved by Hanatarou when he had first entered Seireitei as a ryoka. Orihime had only seen Hanatarou a couple of times, but in those few times she grew to like him. Momo cared a lot for Hanatarou, who was one of the primary healers working on Momo after Aizen had stabbed her; he continued to help her as she slowly recovered and she was grateful for that. Hitsugaya had never had a real conversation with Hanatarou, but the fact that he helped to heal Momo was all that it took for him to consider Hanatarou a friend.
They all knew that Hanatarou was caring and innocent. He was always good intentioned and was always polite. They simply could not understand why anybody would have a reason to kill Hanatarou. They knew that Hanatarou had most likely been simply at the wrong place at the wrong time, but that didn't mean that they could accept it any more easily.
They soon arrived. The funeral was being held in an outdoor area of the Fourth division. There were rows of chairs, all facing a casket that held Hanatarou's body. Most of those present were from the Fourth Division. She could see Captain Unohana towards the front; several seats away sat Isane Kotetsu. Renji sat next to Hanatarou's friend Rikichi. Rin Tsubokura sat nearby. These were all friends of Hanatarou's.
Ichigo, Orihime, Momo, and Hitsugaya walked over to the casket. They looked at Hanatarou's body, filled with sadness. Ichigo's fists were clenched as he stared down at Hanatarou's body, vowing to make Aizen and anyone else responsible for this pay. Orihime and Momo both had tears running down their cheeks. Hitsugaya just stood there, an emotionless expression on his face, sad and angry about this.
After a minute, they went to take their seats. Ichigo, Orihime, and Hitsugaya took their seats, but Momo decided that she would sit with her fellow Vice-Captain, Isane Kotetsu. After taking her seat, Momo noticed that there was someone that had been standing over Hanatarou's body for several minutes. With a jolt, she realized that it was Ruby. Ruby was a complete mess. Tears streaked her face, her eyes red and puffy. Her hair was tangled, and she seemed much paler than the usual upbeat, happy Ruby that Momo knew.
Momo leaned in to Isane, "She's really torn up about this," Momo said, "I've never seen her this upset before."
"She loved him," Isane said quietly.
Momo's eyes widened. "She did? She never told me that," she said in astonishment.
"I doubt she even knew it herself, but theres no mistaking that she truly did love him. I can tell these things, I've known that you and Captain Hitsugaya loved eachother for years, before you even realized it yourself. Its unfortunate that they were never able to admit their feelings to eachother though," Isane said sadly.
Momo looked over at Ruby, feeling great sympathy for Ruby. She had true love and it had been snatched away before she even realized it was there. This was horrible. Not only had an innocent person been killed, but now Ruby was completely heart broken.
Ruby wept over Hanatarou's body for several more minutes before finally walking over and sitting down next to Momo. Momo gave her a comforting hug and Ruby sobbed into her shoulder. Momo silently hugged Ruby through the rest of the funeral service, hoping to calm Ruby down. After the funeral was over Momo simply nodded goodbye to Ruby, no words needed to be said.
Leaving the funeral, Momo was now filled with more determination and resolve than ever before. She would defeat Aizen and prevent this sort of thing from happening again.
Thanks for reading everyone! After this chapter, the action and depth of the plot will increase exponentially. Also, I'd like to say that what Isane said wasn't speculation; Ruby really did love Hanatarou, which greatly adds to the tragedy of his death at her hands. Thank you to ccccookie, iceypeach, Bethany, shirochanxmomo1220, Snowy Peach Tsubasa, killerbunny78, blackshadow, and Gothic Queen for reviewing. Please review everyone! Reviews equal better, longer chapters updated more frequently.