Disclaimer; I don't own Bleach. Nuff said.
Dark. Black. Empty.
Little one.
Brown eyes opened to burning flame.
Do you feel better?
A nod, a small inclination of the head. No breeze.
Then let us find the source of this problem.
Magma, earth, a red glow. Tobiume shivered and began.
"Captain, you say? I suppose that is how I'd appear." The light grinned, blinding her once again, constantly. Hinamori didn't seem to care. "But I am not."
She really didn't care. It was him, in front of her, before her, hand heavy on her shoulder, with his voice. Her captain. All she ever needed in the world, the most comforting presence she could have imagined, even with the cold tone of voice and offhand remarks that bordered on cruelty.
"I'm surprised at your resilience. I suppose we groomed you a little too well for our needs. And this?" He laughed, a dark, harsh, low thing. "This effort you're putting forward is certainly admirable, but honestly, vice captain, just what do you think you of all people can do?" She had no answer, could never answer. Her voice was gone in a mess of sobs and heaving gasps for air as she knelt on the cold dark ground, blind to everything but the sound of his voice. "You are weak." She whimpered. "You were thrown away." She sobbed. "You were meant to die." She sniffled, sobbed, whimpered. "I don't know where you get off, trying to hold onto some small thread of life."
The dark obscured her vision as the light leant forward, whispering in her ear even darker words than she'd heard the first time she'd felt herself be ripped asunder.
"Shall I do it then? Shall I finish slicing you apart?"
So he still has a hold.
He should not.
She is holding onto your flame, little one?
Yes. I will not let her take the rest of me until she has mastered that. The red light dimmed, glowed, hissed. Tobiume brushed aside petals from her vision, wrapped her wings tighter around her slim body.
You have grown much.
It isn't enough, not with him there.
How did he gain entrance in the first place?
...I don't know, fire wielder. The lion in front of her turned burning eyes towards the boiling magma. The hissing continued.
Do you know why I brought you here?
...No.
Because you were dying. She was shutting you out.
Even in the oppressive heat of this place Tobiume felt cold. It is not her fault. Her wings offered only so much comfort, so far away from the girl she'd bound herself too.
Will you lay all the blame on him then?
She would not leave me.
She has been betrayed. I would be surprised that she could trust anyone easily.
You do not know Momo. You have only ever seen her as a dutiful vice captain. She is so much more.
Is she captain material then?
The red mane shook as the lion laughed, not even waiting for the answer Tobiume couldn't supply. She frowned in response, not wanting to anger the one in front of her, obedient to her place. But still, some response was needed. She will prove people wrong. Her heart is not what people expect.
Even you were surprised?
That is none of your concern, fire wielder. Just know that I will save her. The lion roared, maw gaping and revealing sharp, white points. Teeth designed to tear people apart.
You are selfish, Tobiume!
No. I do it for her.
You do it for yourself! That you might remain as you were. Do you deny that you miss Kyouka Sugietsu? That you would give anything to be there with her right now, that you might see him?
I will be the one to break him.
You can do nothing, Tobiume. You have always been weak before him. Just as you are stupidly hard headed before Hyorinmaru.
And before you, Ryujin Jakka? What am I then?
You are a child. A little flame user who will not share her other skills. And yet still respectful as duty commands.
...Send me back to her.
I cannot. You are in no condition.
As if to accent the lions words she shook, petals falling and catching fire in the heat of the cavern. I will save her.
Save yourself first, Tobiume. Return to her when you have finished this change. If you go now, you will both be destroyed, and we will have to mourn you as well.
...If that is what you wish, Ryujin Jakka.
No, Tobiume. Do not think of it like that. This is for you too.
She will survive.
I have no doubt you will do your best.
"Shall I, Momo-chan? Would you like to feel me slide through you again?" The light was dimming, fading, revealing the form for what it was and what she knew it was.
But it wasn't.
"Do you want to stain me with your pretty red blood? It was so warm, so enticing last time." She didn't, couldn't, wouldn't move, hands still grasping at the slightly torn captains haori.
It wasn't.
"I've watched you for years, waiting for a chance to get rid of you. I'm glad you thwarted the other attempts. I would have hated to miss my chance, although it looks like I failed the first time around." A smile that was so cold she could feel herself freezing over. It looked like him, but she was sure it was just her mind showing her what she wanted, making her see the form in front of her as something familiar.
It really wasn't.
"Shall I finish the job then, vice captain? Shall I remove you from my captains life, once and for all?" She shook, from cold, from fear, from pain. She needed to move, to get away.
She couldn't.
"Do you have nothing to say?"
She didn't.
"Then I won't ask again. Hinamori Momo, allow me to finish what I started. My apologies that it will be much more painful this time."
Her scream echoed and faded away in the darkness that was left.
Unohana started, forced awake by the sharp cry that uttered from the girls lips as she shuddered fearfully under the white covers. The room was deathly cold, and she was on her feet in seconds, staring in disbelief at the blood staining the sheets around the slender girl's abdomen. "When- Kotetsu-fukutaichou! Hanatarou-kun! I need warm water, now! We have to stop the bleeding."
They raced to her side instantly, leaving the figure of a captain framed in the doorway. He clenched his fists, ice cold mask in place as he watched them move with precision and speed to aid the failing girl. They talked quietly, short, meaningless words that escaped him as he stood, guarding his thoughts. Waiting. He didn't flinch at the sight of blood, didn't frown as they pulled aside the covers to reveal the same wound she'd so recently been healed from. He didn't move to hold his own wound, although it echoed with the ghost of a pain, resonating with her. He didn't do anything but watch her face, now plastered in cold sweat and marred by her pained expression. Even as she stopped straining, breath hitching, catching, stopping, he didn't move.
He was vaguely aware of his vice captain at his side, and even less aware of the tear that had found its way onto his cheek.
This was a Hinamori he did not know, a Hinamori he could not protect, a Hinamori he had no way of saving.
She was flat lining, and Hitsugaya couldn't move.
A/N: Ryujin Jakka and Tobiume. Uh... I get a sort of exhasperated parental feeling from him, so there you go. As far as the lion/inside of a volcano feeling goes, creative license is win, guys. That, and I associate lions with pride and fire, and there's not much hotter than a volcano. (Haha. --;) Yamamoto tries hard! And if you can't tell who Hinamori's talking to, then either I'm doing my job far too well, or you've just completly spoiled yourself for Bleach.
I also get the feeling that I should add, this isn't a pairing fic. It's completly revolving around Hinamori, and although her relationships are important to who she is, I'm not trying to play favourites. So uh, yeah. Sorry. --;