Free Talk- The end of this chapter is kind of intense, and it will carry over into the next chapter. At first I thought I could combine the events into one chapter, but that proved too much of a squeeze. I want to keep the chapter lengths somewhat consistent, so it wouldn't fit to have one chapter be twice as long. I hope you enjoy it though. The last sentence kind of sounds like something out of Star Wars, but it's just a coincidence. Thanks for the support. Please tell me what you think.
Sympathy
For the Devil
By Miss
Angel Maxwell
eleventh chapter
MEN DON'T PROTECT YOU ANYMORE
Although it was the middle of the night in the Living World when Mr. Tousen came and whisked Momo away, it was only early evening when they arrived in Hueco Mundo. Momo wasn't sure if time progressed at different rates in the two realms, or if the absence of any sun or moon caused the days in Hueco Mundo to become skewed. She couldn't complain about the situation. The discrepancy in the timelines allowed her little trip to go undetected by Aizen, who was still busy with his work when she returned to their shared bedchamber.
"What a day," she sighed dreamily, as she shrugged out of her pink dress and put on pretty white two-piece pajamas. Feeling like she should rest, but with a mind too full to sleep, the young woman decided to just curl up in bed with a book she'd borrowed from the library and wait for Captain to return. She was very excited and eager to tell him that she would bear him not one, but two children, two reasons for him to stay with her instead of his evil army. It didn't help ease her exhilaration at all that the book she'd chosen was one about pregnancy.
As thrilling as all of this was, however, there was something else, something darker lurking silently behind all of Momo's joy. She'd expected herself to feel nothing but satisfaction upon returning to the place where Captain was, and yet a tiny pang of regret lingered in her heart like a shadow. A small part of her felt sad to have left Izuru and sad that she didn't see Shiro or the rest of her friends when she was in the Living World. There was another, more vague insecurity that she had brought back with her as well, a feeling of foolishness and doubt. She had acted so gratuitously happy in front of Izuru at a time when her friends were worrying about her. Had that been insensitive? Had she merely let herself become rapt once again to the 'love bubble' Tobiume warned of?
"Quit worrying, Momo," she whispered to herself, burying her nose deeper into her book. It's okay for me to be happy with Captain Aizen. I may have been a bit overzealous, but that doesn't mean I'm oblivious to my friends' concerns. Everything is going to turn out just fine… I wish Captain would get back already…
It was getting really late now, well past the time when her lover usually rejoined her in bed, and Momo was starting to feel anxious. Her huge announcement was starting to feel hot and volatile in her chest, like if she couldn't tell him soon it would consume her from the inside out. To prolong her patience, she pulled out the ultrasound picture from the Kurosaki Clinic and pored over it longingly, tracing her fingertip around the little white shapes.
"My beautiful babies," she uttered blissfully. The tiny forms depicted in the small, black and white picture bore little, if any resemblance to children. But Momo knew from her reading that they already had arms and legs and fingers and toes and teeny faces. Eight weeks along. She had a sneaking suspicion that she and Captain Aizen had created the twins the very first time they made love, though she couldn't explain how she knew. While she was still at the clinic, she'd written their names in pen right on the picture, Taka and Suzume. The genders were still indeterminate, but those would be their names regardless.
"I hope I'll be a good mother to you two," she said. "I just know your daddy will love you as much as I do." Then she kissed the picture sweetly, and with a yawn she tucked it under her pillow and closed her eyes. Her attempt to stay up and wait for Captain was rapidly failing in the face of her biological need for sleep, and despite her best effort, she drifted off before he ever returned.
When she woke up the next morning, Momo was bleary-eyed, nauseous, and still alone. The first two were nothing new for the young woman except that today was the first morning she felt sick enough that she thought she might actually throw up. Waking up without her Captain was much more unusual, though she really wasn't thinking about it as she staggered out of bed and to the bathroom. It wasn't until after she'd emptied the contents of her stomach and came lurching back into the bedroom that she actually processed the fact that he wasn't there. In fact, there was no sign whatsoever that he had ever come back last night.
"Captain?" she called out groggily. "Captain, are you there?" When no response came after repeated calls, Momo perched herself on the very edge of the bed to try and collect her thoughts and rationalize his absence. A loud knock on the door, however, interrupted the process. Captain Aizen would not be knocking on his bedroom door, of course, so the young shinigami went to open it with caution. It was probably Mr. Tousen. She opened it just a crack and peeped out. "May I help you?" she asked softly.
A pale, unfamiliar face with thin lips and impassive, dark-rimmed eyes peered back at her through the crack. "Miss Hinamori," he greeted coldly. "I am Ulquiorra, a loyal servant of Master Aizen, and have come at his request to fetch you. Master wishes to have a congress with you straight away in his laboratory. Please step outside and come along, without delay."
"W-wait," the girl stuttered nervously. "I'm not even dressed yet. I'm still in my pajamas…"
"Your manner of dress is not important," the Arrancar said. "Master wants you to come right away. He already let you sleep in until well into the afternoon."
"Afternoon?" Momo gasped. She had no idea it was so late. "No wonder he wasn't here when I woke up. Say, do you happen to know what this is all about?"
"There is no time for questions now," he replied. "You may ask Master Aizen anything you like once you arrive."
Momo watched with a mix of awe and apprehension as a skinny white arm threaded through the crack in the door and grasped her wrist. Having decided to go along with the strange boy so she could at least speak with her Captain, she offered up no resistance when he pulled her out into the hallway. Barefoot and in her pajamas, hair in a messy ponytail, Momo followed Ulquiorra through the labyrinthine halls of the palace and towards a laboratory she'd never seen before. At least her stomach had settled, though. When they arrived at the correct door, he didn't go in with her but scooted her inside rather unceremoniously. It was cold and dark inside, too dark to discern if Captain was really there.
"Ah, you've finally arrived, my little sparrow," his voice greeted her. Then the lights switched on, stinging Momo's eyes, but reassuring her that the voice really did belong to Captain Aizen. It wasn't a trap.
"Captain!" she cried joyfully, running over to him and burying her face in his shirt. She was too relieved at first to really notice her surroundings.
"Now there's no need to cling to me so tightly, my dear Miss Hinamori," he said as he patted her on the head.
She released her embrace and was a bit embarrassed when she noticed for the first time that they were not the only ones in the lab. Tousen was standing a few feet away, calm and still as a tree on a windless day. Momo's blood chilled when she saw who else was there, with his typical eerie grin spread beneath little slit eyes and a shock of silver hair. Her eyes darted immediately up towards Aizen.
"Captain, what's going on?" she asked severely. "Why is Mr. Ichimaru here?"
"Calm down," Aizen soothed. "There is no need for you to be alarmed by Ichimaru's presence. Now before we get down to business, please take a few minutes to take in the environment. Come, walk with me."
Aizen's two minions stayed anchored in their spots as he led Momo around the huge room. He was dressed in his regal clothes and his hair was slicked back, almost exactly how he looked when she faced him for the first time here in Hueco Mundo. It made her a little worried, but she reassured herself that, despite superficial appearances, this was the same man who held her in his arms every night and whispered sweet words of love in her ear. The strange artifacts that filled the room were much more disconcerting. Large glass tanks filled with clear bluish liquid, some of them also holding vaguely humanoid forms, lined the laboratory. There was also a large amount of broken glass, and the floor was stained blue in places, evidence that some of the tanks had broken in the past.
"What is this place?" she asked softly, squeezing her Captain's hand.
"This is where I do my most important work," he informed her. "This is where I create my Arrancar. The creature who brought you here was born in this very room."
Although her curiosity about Captain's work had been tantalized, hearing the word 'born' brought Momo's mind immediately to her children. "Captain," she said eagerly. "I almost forgot, but I have something really important and wonderful to tell you!"
The man seemed to totally ignore her, however. "I heard about your little excursion yesterday," he said without even turning to look at her. "Ichimaru told me he saw you in the Living World being quite friendly with that former vice captain of his."
A tight, hot knot of fear and anger rose from Momo's chest into her throat. Gin was spying on me! And of course he ratted me out! Is Captain mad at me? And what about Mr. Tousen? I don't want him to get in trouble because of me!
"It's not what you think!" she squawked awkwardly. "I wasn't plotting against you or sharing your secrets! I just had to make sure that Izuru's arm was okay! He's my friend! I'm sorry I had to sneak around to do it!"
Aizen tilted back his head and chuckled at the young woman's frantic apology. "I'm not mad at you, my little sparrow. I merely mentioned it because it came up in the lengthy conversation I had with Ichimaru last night."
"You're not mad?" she asked gratefully, looking up at him with a joyful smile. "That's good because you shouldn't be! Not after I learned the most exciting news during my visit. Captain, we're going to have two babies! It's twins!"
Momo watched his face eagerly. Captain's reaction was not as excited as she had hoped but he was smiling and stroking his chin thoughtfully. "That is good news," he said. "Very good news, in fact, when considering my plan."
"Plan?" she asked timidly.
"Ah yes," he replied triumphantly. "At last we come to the real purpose of this little meeting." He paused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out what looked like a small black marble encased in clear crystal. "See this? This is what I have been using to create the Arrancar. This is hougyoku, perhaps the most remarkable substance ever created. It does have one flaw, however. Hougyoku can hybridize shinigami with hollows, but it cannot overcome certain spiritual limitations that are placed on them at the moment of their birth. Last night though, my most devoted servant Ichimaru came to me with an idea so brilliant I'm surprised I hadn't thought of it myself. He made the suggestion of creating an Arrancar from a soul that has not yet been born. We are fortunate enough to have two such souls to experiment on."
An icy claw of pure horror suddenly seized Momo's chest, anchoring her in place. The words that were leaving Captain's handsome lips were too terrifying to be real. "You don't mean…?" she began to ask in a trembling voice as her arms crossed protectively over her belly. "You wouldn't, Captain… You would never do something so awful!"
Smiling seductively, he ran his fingertips along her jaw line. "There there," he said smoothly. "I don't know what you're so upset about, Miss Hinamori. You should be proud. These experiments will almost certainly produce the two most powerful creatures in all existence, and you will have the esteemed privilege of giving birth to them."
"No!" she stammered, wrenching her face away from his touch. "What's wrong with you, Captain? They aren't experiments or creatures! They're our children! You're supposed to love them and protect them! Not turn them into… into monsters! How could you let Ichimaru talk you into doing something so atrocious?" Hot, angry tears were now leaking down her face.
"Please don't make this more difficult than it has to be," Aizen clucked. "Considering how easy and fun it was to make those children in your belly, you and I should have no difficulty replacing them. And as for Ichimaru… This is perhaps the greatest idea he has brought to me thus far, which is why I have invited him to watch as I make history yet again. Now step this way, Miss Hinamori, and let us begin."
He reached out and grabbed Momo's upper arm but she yanked herself away. "Don't touch me!" she barked. "I don't know what is making you act like this, but I will not let you experiment on my babies!" As Aizen advanced towards her, she continued backing away until she was pinned against a wall. Captain's eyes looked like they did that first day when she pledged her allegiance, intense and focused, and contained none of the love that had sparkled inside them during their subsequent courtship. They were the eyes of an animal, a predator, and she was the prey.
"You know you can't resist me," he purred. "Just cooperate and everything will be fine."
Momo could feel her legs turning to jelly beneath her and her eyes rolling up in their sockets. It has to be a dream. It has to be a nightmare. If I just relax and let my mind go, in a few seconds I'll wake up in bed with Captain's arm's wrapped around me and… No! That's what he wants me to do! He's trying to hypnotize me! Her eyes shot open and her body steeled with newfound tenacity.
"You can't have them!" she yelled. Then, in a last ditch effort, she swung her skinny leg out in a wild kick, catching Aizen in the shin. He jumped back, more out of surprise than pain, creating a small window of opportunity for the girl. She shoved past Captain, past Tousen and Ichimaru, flung the laboratory door open, and ran as fast as she could, her bare feet slapping furiously against the marble floor, her heart desperately pumping blood to her muscles. She didn't even know where she was running to, she just knew she had to get out of there. She had to protect her babies from their father.
To be continued…
