Chapter 23 – Late

*****

China
Chang'an

*****

The familiar buildings of Chang'an stretched out in front of them like a comforting blanket. While it was the hometown to only Toshiro, it was so close to all of the villages they called home that it was a relief just the same. After four months they took their first step back onto familiar grounds.

"Finally! We're back!" Renji stretched out his arms and took in a great breath of air. "This is great!"

"I know. It feels like years since I've last been here," said Izuru.

"We can't relax yet. It's New Year's Eve and we have something to take care of before we can begin anew."

"Right, captain." Shuuhei looked towards the rising sun. "Are we going to the imperial palace now? It seems a bit early."

"The earlier the better. He must be protected at all costs. We can't afford to fail after we've come this far." He turned towards Momo. "Momo, you better put your hair up again, and try to keep yourself unnoticed. The last thing we need is for the emperor to find out."

"Yeah, alright."

They made their way easily towards the palace for there was nobody out to hinder their progress. Momo tied Jin to the entrance of the courtyard and they ascended towards the front doors. The soldiers standing guard saluted Toshiro and opened the doors for them.

"Okay, you four, stay behind me. And whatever you do, don't speak unless a question is directed at you. Momo, you especially," he said as they walked in.

A small side-door swung open, revealing a scholar. He walked up to Toshiro with a smile on his face. "Toshiro! Or rather, Captain Hitsugaya!"

"Hello, Master Fu Zhou. It's good to see you after so long."

"And you as well. What brings you here so early in the morning? Have you come to tell the emperor of Aizen's defeat in person? I would expect so. It is something you should hold very proudly." He gave Toshiro a sympathetic look. "But I apologise, Toshiro. Even though the emperor is awake, he is busy with tonight's preparations. The people are excited as well. What better way to start off the New Year than with the defeat of China's greatest adversary?"

"But Master-"

Master Fu Zhou shook his head, cutting across Toshiro. "I apologise again, but you know how the emperor is. Don't worry; you'll get your chance to tell him about your victory tonight. Now please, enjoy the day in the city." He bowed and retreated back into the room behind the door, leaving Toshiro no choice but to lead everyone back out.

"What's going on here?" he said as soon as they exited the courtyard. "How is it that the emperor still believes that Aizen is dead? Hisagi, did you send the message?"

"Yes, captain. I made it very clear that Aizen and his subordinates were still alive. I even used the same messenger bird to send it."

"Then I don't see how the emperor would not have received the message."

"Maybe…" Renji started slowly. "Maybe Iba isn't the only one on Aizen's side. I mean, there could be another person inside the palace that's working undercover."

"That is a valid point, Abarai, but unfortunately we can't do much about it now. The emperor is barred from any visitors, even me. We have no choice but to wait for dusk. That's when we can most likely enter into the palace, and if not, we'll just have to sneak in."

"Yes, captain! But what do we do now?"

"For now, we'll just have to keep guard outside the palace. If we can catch Aizen before he enters the palace, all the more better. I'll head up now and keep a look out for Iba. You four can go get something to eat and then meet me back there."

Renji rubbed his hand in anticipation. "Awesome! Thanks, captain! C'mon guys, let's go!"

"Right behind you, Lipsticks!"

"Toshiro, do you want anything?"

"Anything's fine."

"Alright, see you later!" Momo pecked him on the lips before running off to catch up with the other three.

*****

"Oh no, where are they?"

Momo pushed her way through the throng of people. A few moments before the streets were bare, but now she couldn't walk ten steps without getting jostled.

'New Year must be catching up with everybody. I guess I should just head back to the palace. The others will probably be there as well, and Toshiro's food is getting cold.'

With her eyes on the distant pagodas, Momo began to push her way back towards the palace. She tumbled out of a packed street into one that was calmer. She was half-jogging down the street when she saw Renji in the distance. She picked up her pace with the intent of catching up with him, but then noticed him slipping into a secluded alleyway. Wondering what was going on, she followed discretely behind.

Renji led her to the outskirts of Chang'an, to a small stone shrine nestled between two trees. There was a large rock nearby that Momo used to conceal herself. She peered over the edge at Renji who was no more than fifteen feet away. He knelt down and bowed.

"Hello, father. How are you?"

Momo gasped. His father was dead?

"Well I'm back from the war, just like I promised. Ah, you should have seen me, beating up the Chao like there was no tomorrow! But I guess you did see me. I hope you're proud of me up there. Anyway, we're not done yet. Somehow, Aizen survived, but we're taking care of him tonight and there's no way I'm joining you up there so early!" He laughed but then looked fondly at the shrine. "Well take care, father. I'll come visit you again after New Year."

He bowed again, and Momo decided that now would be the best time to run away before he caught her eavesdropping. But as she lowered herself, her hand lost its grip and brought her down. Her chin landed painfully on the rock.

"Ow!" she cried, standing up and rubbing her chin.

"Momo? What are you doing here?"

Momo opened her eyes and saw Renji staring at her, waiting for an answer…or rather an explanation. She looked sheepishly at the ground. "…Sorry, Renji. I saw you heading off somewhere…and I was just curious. I um, didn't mean to intrude."

He stared at her before giving her a forgiving smile, one that looked strange on his usually boisterous face. "Nah, it's alright, Momo," he said before beckoning her over. "Hey, old man, sorry to interrupt you again but this is Momo, and guess what? She disguised as a male and joined the army! Can you believe that?! She is one strange girl!"

"Hey! I'm not…I'm not that strange!"

"Sure you aren't, Momo." He turned back. "Well now I'm really heading off. See ya later, father."

He got up and walked back towards Chang'an, Momo following behind.

"Um, Renji…if you don't mind me…um, I mean if you don't mind…I know it's rude b-"

"Nah, it happened a long time ago, so I'm pretty much fine about it now. Anyway, my father, he went off to defend Chang'an ten years ago, you know when Aizen decided to attack it. But he didn't have any training. He wasn't made for battle, but he still went. Of course, he got killed.

"Anyway, after that I began to train myself more. I wanted to become strong enough to take down the people who killed him, you know? Fight in his name and all, be a son that he can watch over proudly."

Momo smiled. "You're really kind, Renji. And is that why you were so accepting of me when I told you why I decided to join the army?"

"Yeah, you got me there. When my father was killed, I was only eight, but I would have given anything to be stronger and take his place."

"And…what would you say if I joined not only to protect my father, but also because I wanted to prove my worth?"

"Well you still wanted to protect him, right? Keep him alive?"

"Yes! Of course!"

"Then you're fine with me. Hey, I wanted to make myself stronger to beat Shuuhei in a match of arm wrestle as well!"

"And how did that turn out?"

He flexed his arm. "Undefeated to this day!"

*****

Night had settled and instead of being in the palace or just outside of it, the five of them were ushered down into the courtyard where it was packed. There was a lot of noise; everybody was excited for when the emperor would come down to greet them personally. Such a thing did not happen often. It took them a while to dislodge themselves from the crowd and into the small space between the palace and the western wall.

"Since we can't warn the emperor, we'll just have to make sure Aizen doesn't get anywhere near him," said Toshiro as they ran single file down the space. "It seems a little too early for his planned attack, but we can't take any chances."

They reached the side of the palace where there were several small doors. Toshiro stopped in the middle and turned to Izuru. "Kira, as soon as you see the enemy appear over the wall, shoot them down."

"Right, captain," he replied, sliding an arrow into his fingers.

"But we can't afford to be too careless either. Abarai, Hisagi, you two go out near the front and keep watch over the emperor. Be sure to stay in a location where it is easy to reach him quickly if need be. However, come straight back if Aizen comes this way."

"Yes, captain!" replied the two before they ran off.

"Momo, you and me will stay here. Most likely they'll stick to their plan and come this way. We'll attack them as they come down."

"Toshiro, isn't it strange that Iba isn't in the palace like they said he would be?"

"It is, but when you think about it, I wasn't allowed further than the entrance room. Perhaps they found out about that and decided to lay low. After all, we didn't see him during the day."

"True…" She took in a deep breath and took the plunge. "But doesn't something feel wrong to you?"

"Like what?"

"I can't explain it, but I'm getting a bad feeling. Nothing's going right. Iba's not in the palace and no one knows that he's with Aizen, or even that Aizen's still alive!"

"Momo, calm down." Toshiro pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. "I'm sure it's just the nerves getting to you. I'm sorry. I should never have brought you here in the first place."

"It's not like you could keep me away anyway. I wouldn't leave you alone at the time like this! But still…Toshiro, I really can't get rid of this bad feeling!"

He kissed her forehead. "It's fine, Momo."

As soon as he finished, a shadow passed over them both. They looked up and saw a black falcon drifting above. Toshiro tensed and pushed Momo behind him, drawing out his sword.

"Kira, stay on the alert. They're near."

"How do you know, Toshiro?" Momo whispered.

"Because that's Aizen's falcon."

Momo looked up and saw the small black falcon circling lazily in the sky, just above the third storey balcony. That balcony was large and wide, and it was a place everyone below could see most clearly. Momo remembered her parents taking her there for one of Emperor Yamamoto's speeches when she was very little.

"Mama, why is the emperor standing all the way up there? He looks so little."

"That's because everyone can see him up there, even the people at the back, on the streets and in their houses. And from up there, the emperor can see the whole of Chang'an, the heat of China."

Momo gasped and grabbed Toshiro's arm. He turned around with worry in his eyes. "Momo? What's wrong?!"

"Everything," she breathed. "Toshiro! Aizen intercepted our letter! That falcon of his; he must have gotten it to intercept our letter and now he knows that we know about his plan, but even so, maybe he already knew!"

"Momo, you're not making much sense."

"No, Toshiro, don't you see? Why would Aizen plan on killing the emperor where no one could see him? He's not like that!"

"And why do you think that?"

"Because…" She gulped. "Because of what he did to your father! Toshiro, he could have left him in the snow, but he decided to show us all what he had done! He's like that! And if he kills the emperor where everyone could see, wouldn't that make people even more afraid of him? And that's what he would want! Toshiro, I'm sorry, but I really think it's true!"

"…So where do you think he'll be?"

She was taken aback. "Toshiro…you trust me?"

He nodded. "Yes. If you're this sure about it then something there must be right, and your logic does make sense, so tell me where."

"On the balcony. My mother once told me from up there everyone could see you and you could see everyone."

"Alright. Kira, you stay here but be ready to move at my word."

"Yes sir!"

As they ran back they could hear the doors opening and Emperor Yamamoto walking out. They reached where Renji and Shuuhei were standing and jumped onto the white railing, ready to run up to the emperor, but no sooner than they landed, screams erupted from the crowd.

On the roof, dislodging himself from the shadows was Aizen. Gin and Tousen jumped down, landing on both side of the emperor and dragging him back inside the palace.

"NO!"

Toshiro ran up the stairs and Momo hastened herself to keep up. Hearing his scream, Renji, Shuuhei and Izuru came running as well. When Toshiro reached the top, the first thing he felt was a pain just below his shoulder. The doors were nearly closed, with only a gap large enough to see one person. Standing there with his bow still held up was Iba.

"How sad. You imperials are so easy to fool," he said before the doors closed shut with a deafening bang.

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