Hinamori's Apprentice

Chapter Five

Toushiro watched as Momo walked away. Captain Hitsugaya. That's what she had called him. There was a time when he would always complain when she called him by his name and insist that she address him formally, but now he felt himself longing for her to call him by his first name, or even that infuriating nickname, 'Shiro-chan'. The breakdown of their friendship had been a heavy blow to him. Momo had been the only person who treated him normally, as an actual friend. Most people either treated him with excessive respect and formality or completely dismissed him due to his age and height. He had somewhat friendly relationships with some other Shinigami, but it wasn't the same as true friendship. Matsumoto and Ukitake were friendly towards him, but the relationship he had with them was not the same as it was with Momo. If he were not Captain, he would never have even met them, but he would still have been friends with Momo.

The collapse of their friendship was very painful. It was difficult to accept the fact that things had changed. Not just in regards to their relationship, but their very nature as well. Being Shinigami had changed them. They were given new responsibilities. They had to deal with death on a daily basis. Being promoted to senior officers of the Gotei 13 amplified that. Their personalities had been changing ever since they entered the Shinigami Academy. Over time, they had lost their youthful innocence. Toushiro lost his first. The responsibility that came with his great powers, and later his Captain position, forced him to grow up and change his attitude. He had to abandon all of his childish tendencies by pure necessity. For all intents and purposes, he was an adult in a child's body.

Most of the time that was. When he was with Momo, he felt young again. She retained her innocence much longer than him, even while working as Vice-captain of the Fifth Division and performing the duties of a Shinigami. It made Toushiro happy to see her back then (though he'd never admit it). Things were overall quite good back then, though he now saw the beginning of the deterioration of their friendship in that same period of time. Looking back, he realized that even then they were a little jealous of eachother. She was jealous of him for his position and powers, and he was jealous of her for her ability to be truly happy while working as a Shinigami and of the other friends she had made. Neither of them realized this at the time, it was all subconscious, but the jealousy was there. Despite this, they were still very close, and were able to enjoy eachother's friendship.

That all changed with Aizen's treachery however. Aizen's betrayal completely broke Momo. Her innocence and happiness were taken from her. He still shuddered when he thought of when he found her on the floor of the Central 46 chambers, stabbed through the chest and nearly dead. He had failed her. Despite his pledge to protect her, he was unable to keep her safe at the moment she needed his protection the most. Because he wasn't strong enough, Momo had nearly died, and her old self was destroyed forever. When Momo woke up from her coma, she was completely confused about Aizen's betrayal. He was the man she admired most, and whom she had dedicated her life to serving. To have a central pillar of her life taken away was a massive blow to her. Even after overcoming the initial psychological trauma from Aizen's betrayal, she still was badly affected. She was no longer her innocent, happy old self. She had become more cynical, less trusting, and more serious than before. She spent more time on work and training than she had before, and her jealousy of Toushiro was apparently magnified.

It was this that eventually led to the end of their friendship. He hadn't properly acknowledged her progress, and still treated her as something delicate that needed to be protected, and she had not acknowledged everything that he had done to protect her and keep her safe. The rift between them was too much, and their friendship fell apart.

Toushiro sometimes wondered if their friendship would ever go back to the way it had once been. It was unlikely, they not the same people they had once been, but still he held onto hope that their friendship would eventually be revived. There really wasn't much more he could do. They couldn't exactly force themselves to become friends again, and even when they knew the exact problems that they had, neither were able to overcome their jealousy and lack of acknowledgement to patch up their friendship. It was very complicated. To an observer, the solution may have seemed simple, but to them it could not be more complex.

Grumbling, he turned and walked back towards the Captain's meeting. At this point, all that could be done was waiting to see how things would turn out and hope for the best.

---

Ichigo sat by the river, near the place his mother had been killed by Grand Fisher. For years he had visited this spot, overwhelmed by the guilt he felt for failing to protect his mother. When he learned the true nature of her death, the guilt was simultaneously relieved and made worse. Now that Karin was dead too, new guilt was stacked on top of that. When his mother was killed, he had been powerless to do anything. When Karin was killed however, he had the power to save her, but couldn't because he was busy preparing for a stupid Captain Position in Soul Society. Both his mother and his sister were dead, their deaths at least partly his fault. He wasn't sure that the pain and guilt he felt would ever leave him.

He was avoiding home now. It was too much to see Yuzu constantly crying and his dad abandoning his usual goofy attitude. Once again, their family had been struck by tragedy. He thought of poor Yuzu. Karin was her twin sister, the closest person in the world to her. Losing her was undoubtedly horrible for Yuzu. He knew he ought to comfort her, but at the same time tried to avoid her. He didn't want to see her sad, so he stayed away. This of course made him feel more guilty. He felt like a coward for abandoning his father and sister due to his not wanting to see them sad. They needed him, and he just sat on the riverbank moping. Even though he knew perfectly well that he was wrong in doing this, he couldn't help it. The world beyond the place he was sitting seemed not to exist to him right now, and getting up was a near incomprehensible option.

"Ichigo?

Ichigo looked up, and saw that Tatsuki was standing above her, at the edge of the river bank.

"Tatsuki," he said in acknowledgement.

"Are you okay?" Tatsuki asked.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine," Ichigo said, putting on a fake smile.

"There's no need to lie Ichigo, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that you are not fine," Tatsuki said. Ichigo dropped the smile and sighed.

"Yeah, I suppose there's no point in bothering to try to trick you," he said

"Do you want to talk?" Tatsuki asked.

"No, not really," Ichigo replied.

"Well there are a lot of people who want to talk to you. They're worried about you. Orihime, Sado, Keigo, Mizuiro, and the others are all worried about you. Are you sure you don't want to talk to them?"

"I'm sure," Ichigo said curtly, "I'm not interested in talking to anyone."

"If you talk about it you'll feel better."

"I doubt that very much," Ichigo said.

"I understand that you're going through a lot of pain right now but-"

"No, you don't understand," Ichigo said in a dull voice, "Don't bother Tatsuki, you can't possibly understand."

"That's true, but you know I'm right. You're keeping everything hidden away inside, not letting anyone in. You're not just hurting yourself when you do that, you're hurting everyone around you. At the very least talk to your family, they deserve as much. As for myself, I'll be waiting, and when you're ready to talk, just come to me."

Tatsuki turned and walked off. Ichigo lowered his eyes and stared at the river, Tatsuki's words repeating inside of his head. He was beginning to feel like a jerk now, yet still did not get up. It was stupid and selfish of him, but he just couldn't. It felt as if something invisible was holding him to this spot. He felt like he'd be in this spot forever, just brooding over his guilt and sadness.

---

"Darn-stupid-freaking-damn-idiot-waste-of-time-Toushiro-Captain-worthless-crapsack-bloody-damn-" Momo muttered incoherently as she dueled with Izuru. She had Izuru heavily on the defensive, her anger and frustration making her stronger and more aggressive. Izuru seemed like he would much rather be somewhere else at the moment. When Momo was like this it was never a good thing.

"Calm down Momo, you're leaving openings!" Izuru said, taking a swing at an opening in her stance that Momo had ignored in her rage. Momo brought her sword whipping downwards, knocking Izuru's into the ground.

"Well, I guess you were able to block it anyways, but still it's a bad habit to leave- Whoa!" He cut off as Momo slashed towards his face, missing by inches.

"Stupid-slime-sucking-damned-sons of-"

"Okay Momo, you really need to calm down right now!" Izuru said hastily, dodging her increasingly aggressive attacks.

"I'll calm you down!" Momo yelled, taking a swipe at Izuru's feet. He leapt back, set off balance, and had to quickly regain his stance as Momo launched a flurry of attacks. He decided that he'd better put a stop to it soon.

Momo raised her sword over her head for a powerful blow. Izuru took the opportunity and pivoted on his feet just as the blade came down, bringing his own sword behind it. He swiped his blade downwards and to the side, knocking Momo off balance. She tried to strike back but Izuru stabbed at her side, forcing her to parry the blow and preventing her from regaining balance, making her fall flat on her back.

"You see? When you don't keep your emotions in check, you'll lose your focus and leave more openings. It may make your attacks stronger, but overall it harms your performance," Izuru said.

"Yeah, whatever," Momo said glumly. Izuru frowned at her.

"Why are you like this? You never used to get mad about things like this before. You'd always accept these types of things and work harder. You didn't get mad about them. You've been changing lately Momo."

"I know…I'm sorry," Momo said, "To be honest, I doubt I'll ever be the way I was before again. Things are just…different now. I feel like I can't be so naïve and passive, I have to force myself to be stronger and…I don't know, just…I have to prove myself!"

"You don't think you've already proven yourself?" Izuru asked.

"Of course not! The Captains are all way beyond me! The other Vice-captains are better than me too! You and Renji are both much stronger than me, and I try not to get jealous, but it's hard! You don't understand, I have to work harder than others! I have to prove that I'm not just some stupid girl chosen by Aiz…by a traitor for loyalty and naivety rather than power and lost her head when she was betrayed! I have to prove that I'm not someone who will let her emotions control her! I have to prove that I'm actually capable of great things myself instead of just being jealous of friends! I have to prove that I'm worth something!" Momo began crying. Izuru sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You've been through too much. You've gone through horrific pains that you did nothing to deserve. I'm honestly not surprised that you're still having problems with it. You were left in a very sorry state, but look at you now! You've already improved by leaps and bounds!" he said.

"It's not enough," Momo said, "I'm nothing in the grand scheme of things, no matter what I do. Even my own friend thinks I'm too weak! I'm not angry at him for it, but…but he did vote against me, as did most of the others! It's my own fault really; I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. It was futile all along really. I'm just a weak stupid girl who should have died on the floors of Central 46."

"Don't say that!" Izuru said fiercely, "Listen Momo, even if you undervalue yourself, you're still valued by others! You're a Vice-captain of the Gotei 13, a huge accomplishment! You need to treat yourself with more respect. So what if you didn't get chosen for further Captainship considerations? You'll just have to wait for another chance! You could even obtain Bankai and become Captain the old-fashioned way! You're strong enough and motivated enough to do it! I believe in you Momo, and so do many others. So please Momo, go back to being that nice, friendly girl I knew back at the academy."

Momo smiled a little.

"Thanks Izuru. I…I understand what you're saying. I'm…not sure I can go back to the way I used to be. I'm not sure I ever really will completely, but I'll try."

"Just remember that others don't judge you nearly as harshly as you judge yourself. You are a Vice-captain of the Gotei 13. You'd probably rank within the top twenty Shinigami in Seireitei. That is out of thousands of shinigami and billions of souls in Soul Society. You are more powerful than those billions of other souls. You already have plenty to be proud of, just keep a positive spirit!"

"Thank you Izuru, you're a really good friend," Momo said with a smile. They were sitting quietly in thought when a hell butterfly came in and landed on Izuru's finger. It flapped its wings and delivered its message before flying off.

"There's been a hollow outbreak in Rukongai, I've been asked to go deal with it," Izuru said, standing up and fastening his zanpakuto to his waist.

"I'll go too," Momo said. When Izuru looked at her questioningly, she merely smiled, "It's been a while since I've encountered a hollow, this should be good exercise."

---

Karin kicked the ball to Rina. Rina kicked out her leg, but hit the ball in the side, sending it in the wrong direction.

"Try to kick it the way I've been doing it," Karin instructed. She was in a grassy field with Rina, Wui, Rubi, and Asmato, teaching her new 'siblings' how to play soccer. The ball they had was not a very good one, being made of crude, heavy rubber, but it was better than nothing. Several adults were watching from nearby, evidently never having seen a soccer game before.

"Okay Asmato, now!" Karin kicked the ball to Asmato, a tall, thin boy with brown hair. For a moment it looked like he wasn't even going to attempt it, but then he kicked the ball, sending it flying to Karin, who stopped it with her foot.

"That was good! Next time just remember to-"

Before she could finish she was interrupted by a loud shout. A group of men wielding spears and axes came running from town. Karin recognized them as the local militia that guarded the district. She wondered what they were doing. Her question was answered Moments later her question when a loud roar came from the distance. Karin went pale. That was the cry of a hollow, just like the one that had killed her. She hadn't realized that there were hollows in Soul Society.

The men from the militia ran past the playing children, rushing over to the other side of the field. Moments later, a huge hollow emerged from the trees. It was massive, with trunk-like limbs and a small mask in relation to its large and muscular body. It looked like the giants of legend, standing upon two thick legs in a hunched manner. It saw the approaching militia guard, and grabbed a nearby tree, pulling it up by the roots. It threw the massive tree at the approaching men. The men were skilled, and able to dodge it, but it severely affected their attack formation. The hollow charged at them. One of the militia members, armed with a crossbow, shot it in the neck. This only made it angry, and it howled in pain, swatting at the men.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Wui yelled. They began to run off just as a second hollow, this one looking like a praying mantis, showed up. It wasn't as large as the other one, but moved much more quickly, scuttling along on eight limbs, and had sharp scythe-like arms that it swung mercilessly at the men trying to fight it. At this point, Karin and the others were breaking into a run, wanting to put as much distance between themselves and the hollows.

"Wait!" Rubi cried. Karin turned to see that Rubi had gotten her foot stuck in a gopher hole and was struggling to get out. Karin rushed back and helped get her foot unstuck. Just as she got free however, yet another hollow appeared, this one a small bat-like hollow with wings. Its mask was shaped like a boomerang and its leathery wings were stretched out as it flew straight at them.

Karin grabbed Rubi and ran. The hollow dove at them with frightening speed, and Karin only narrowly avoided getting hit with its claws, feeling a whoosh of air against the back of her neck. She held on tightly to Rubi, watching as the hollow flew in mid air, preparing for its next strike. It was blocking the way between them and the others. Karin tried to think of a way she could get past it and go back home with the others. She had already been killed by hollows once; she had no intention of it happening again.

As she thought, there was a thud behind her. She turned around and saw that the large mantis hollow was approaching, several men with spears futiley trying to fight it off. It easily swatted them away with its massive scythe arms. Karin looked up at the bat hollow blocking their way and the mantis hollow behind them. After a moment's hesitation, she ran in the direction of the bat hollow. It was risky, but she had no choice. The bat hollow could kill them. The mantis hollow would kill them.

The bat hollow dove towards them as they ran beneath it. This time Karin was not so lucky, getting slashed across the back by the hollow's talons. The beast's claws ripped through her flesh down to the bone. She collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Karin!" Rubi yelled, shaking her. Karin looked up and saw that the mantis-like hollow was right above them.

"Rubi, leave me, get out of here on your own!" Karin said weakly. Rubi didn't speak, instead hugging Karin and shaking her head violently. "Rubi, you have to go!" Karin begged her, "It's too late for me, there's no sense in you dying too!" There were tears in her eyes as she spoke. Rubi refused to leave Karin, hugging her tightly as the hollow raised its arm to attack.

The next thing they knew, the mantis hollow's scythe-like arm was lying on the ground, cut cleanly off. Karin looked up in shock to see two Shinigami, a man and a young woman, standing above her.

"You take the big one over there, I'll take these two," the female Shinigami said. The male Shinigami nodded and rushed off, while the female one turned to face the two hollows attacking them. She raised a hand, palm facing the bat hollow.

"Hado number 31: Shakkaho!" A ball of red energy shot from her palm, hitting the hollow and engulfing it in an explosion. The mantis hollow shrieked and struck with its remaining arm. The Shinigami easily dodged the strike. In the blink of an eye, she appeared at the side of the hollow, her sword dripping with blood. Three of the four legs on the right side of the hollow lay severed at her feet. The hollow let out a shriek of pain as it collapsed to its side, using its remaining legs to push itself around pathetically while it wildly swung its scythe arm. The battle's outcome had already been decided however.

The Shinigami leapt on the back of the hollow and stabbed it at the base of the neck. The hollow went nearly still, making only a few tiny movements of struggle. The girl looked over at her fellow Shinigami, who had just defeated the other hollow. She got off the hollow and walked calmly up to the hollow's head and thrust her blade into the hollow's mask. The hollow dissolved into a sparkling dust, and the Shinigami sheathed her sword as Karin looked on in awe.

Thanks for reading! Thank you to Aly Dee, Photophopic, war90, Yemi Hikari, Thunder Claw03, Psyco101, and The Great Pinapple MEKI for reviewing! Please review!