Hinamori's Apprentice
Chapter 16
"Just let me add a little more bandaging aaaaaaaaand we're done!" Rangiku said cheerily, "Your feet will be good as new in no time!"
"Thanks Rangiku," Karin said gratefully.
"No problem. I'm surprised that Momo did something like that. I'm going to have to talk to her about it; this is taking it too far," Rangiku sighed.
"That's okay, you don't need to do that," Karin said.
"I probably should. Ichigo would be really unhappy if he found out about this," Rangiku said.
"Which is why I'm not telling Ichigo about it," Karin said firmly.
Karin was lying down on the couch, her blistered feet now wrapped up in bandages. The ointment given to her really helped too. The sores on her feet healed quickly. It was now several hours since she had received them and they were already largely healed, with only the largest ones still remaining. Her feet were still sore, but they weren't nearly as painful as earlier.
Though she was upset about what had happened, she wasn't as angry about it as she had been earlier. The things Momo had said had left Karin with many questions and quite a bit of confusion, but it also made Karin feel a bit less bitter towards her. She hadn't really explained anything clearly, but what Momo had said made Karin more inclined to believe that she really did want to help Karin. Karin wanted to learn more about Momo, and hoped to ask Rangiku about her some time.
"Hey Karin, would you like to go to the hot springs with me?"
"Huh?" Karin said, snapping out of her thoughts.
"Would you like to go to the hot springs with me?" Rangiku said again, "I'm going with Isane Kotetsu, another Vice-captain, and I'd like you to come with us!"
"I don't know…" Karin said.
"You'll love it! The hot springs are a fantastic place to relax! They're therapeutic too! I'm sure you'll enjoy it!"
"Well… Okay then, I suppose I'd might as well," Karin said.
"Excellent! I was going to meet her there in about half an hour, but if we go early we can have some of the free snacks they give out!"
"Sure, okay. Do I, erm, need a bathing suit or something?" Karin asked awkwardly. Rangiku laughed at this.
"No, of course not! I reserved a spot at the hot springs, so there won't be anyone else there. You don't need to worry about anything," Rangiku said reassuringly.
"If you say so…"
"Well what are we waiting for then? Let's get going!" Rangiku said, grabbing Karin by the wrist and leading her out.
Rangiku carried Karin while using shunpo to arrive at the hot springs in quick time. When they arrived however, they were surprised to see three people standing outside the springs, one of whom Karin recognized as Rukia.
"Isane? What are you doing here early? And why are Kiyone and Rukia here too?" Rangiku asked in confusion.
"Well, I mentioned to Kiyone that we were going to the hot springs, and she wanted to come along. Then she invited Rukia. I hope it's not a problem," Isane said.
"Oh no, of course it's not a problem!" Rangiku said, "The more the merrier! As you can see, I brought along someone extra too." She gestured at Karin.
"That's fine. Shall we go in then?" Isane asked.
"I think so," Rangiku nodded.
They went inside. The attendant in the lobby, after providing them with towels, quickly directed them outside to an area enclosed with bamboo fencing. Karin found it to be quite amazing. The ground was stony, and there was a large pool of steaming water in the outdoor enclosure.
"Enjoy yourselves," the attendant said with a bow, closing the door and leaving them. Rangiku seemed to be bursting with excitement.
"Oh boy, I love this place!" she said happily. Before Karin had even finished taking in the sight of the place, she had taken off her clothes and jumped into the hot spring.
"Come on in guys! The water is great!" she called. Karin, Isane, Kiyone, and Rukia followed after Rangiku, though they took the time to actually fold their clothes before getting in.
When Karin stepped into the water, she was pleased to find that it felt terrific. The hot, steamy water made her skin feel warm and tingly. It was very relaxing, and as Rangiku had suggested earlier, it made her sore feet feel a bit better.
"Ahhhhhhh…" Rangiku sighed, stretching her limbs in the water, "This is simply exquisite! There is no better feeling in the world than soaking in hot springs! There's only one thing missing…"
Rangiku suddenly stepped back out of the water and ran to her clothes, which she had thrown randomly on the ground. She rummaged through her discarded robes, pulling out a small jug and returning to the water. She lifted it and grinned.
"Sake," she said happily, "Now everything is perfect." She opened the jug and began drinking.
"Um, Rangiku, are you sure that's a good idea?" Karin asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, of course it is?" Rangiku said, "Why wouldn't it be?"
"She has a point," Isane said, "When you're going to be spending a lot of time in a hot spring like this, it's probably not a good idea to drink large amounts of alcohol. A little bit maybe, but not large quantities."
"Why not?"
"Well, the heat of the hot springs makes some people light-headed, and combined with heavy drinking… It's just not a good idea. Besides, if you pass out while in the water…"
"Oh, don't be such a worry wart!" Rangiku laughed, "Alcohol is always good. There is no bad time to drink, it's always pure goodness!"
"But what about when you're-"
"Always," Rangiku said firmly. They watched as she took a long drink of sake, putting it down and grinning.
"So, um, what would you guys like to talk about?" Isane asked.
"How about 'who is the sexiest man in Seireitei'?" Kiyone suggested.
"I'm not sure that's really appropriate, maybe instead we should-"
"That's a great idea!" Rangiku chimed in, "Okay, here's how we'll do it. We each rate the male Captains and Vice-captains of each division on a scale of one to ten."
"Great idea! We'll start with Captain Ukitake," Kiyone said, "I rate him 10/10!"
"No, we'll go numerically by division number," Rangiku said, "Is that clear with everyone?"
"Yeah," Rukia said.
"Works for me," Isane said.
"Oh, okay…" Kiyone grumbled.
"Okay, first off, Captain-commander Yamamoto."
"Zero! Zero! Zero!" they all said at once. They looked at eachother before bursting into laughter.
"Okay, maybe we should cut out the ones who are unquestionably un-sexy," Rangiku said, "That means no Captain-commander Yamamoto, no Omaeda, no Captain Kurotsuchi, and no Akon. We probably shouldn't do Komamura either. That would be…weird. Let's start with Izuru Kira."
"I rate him a six," Kiyone said, "He's nice and all, but not really 'sexy'. Plus he always acts so depressed."
"I disagree, I think he is a strong person and a great Shinigami," Isane said, "I say eight."
"Eight sounds good," Rangiku nodded.
"I'll compromise between you and say seven," Rukia said.
"Okay then, the fourth division doesn't have a male Captain or Vice-captain, so we'll go straight ahead to the Sixth…"
"Hey! We do have some males!" Isane said, "We have Yasochika Iemura, Hanataro Yamada, and Harunobu Ogido, for example."
"We're talking about the hottest Captains and Vice-captains," Rangiku said, "Besides, those guys aren't that hot. Iemura is just weird, Hanataro is cute but not sexy, and Ogido is just a pretty boy."
"Hey! I think Hanataro is cute and that Ogido is really sexy!" Kiyone protested.
"Well as I said, we're talking Captains and Vice-captains, so it doesn't matter," Rangiku said with a wave of her hand, "Now, onto Captain Kuchiki…"
"Oh no! No, you are not rating how attractive you think my brother is! Not while I'm around!" Rukia said, "You can do it later, but I don't want to hear about how sexy you think my brother is!"
"Pfft, whatever you party pooper," Rangiku laughed, "I'm getting tired. Let's just finish this some other time."
"Can we still do Captain Ukitake? He's definitely a ten!" Kiyone said.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Rangiku said, taking another drink of sake.
"You should slow down with that stuff," Karin said, but Rangiku was not listening, as she was busy staring down at herself and poking her breasts in the water.
"I never noticed before, but they float!" she laughed, "My boobs float!"
"Have you ever heard of modesty?" Rukia said, rolling her eyes. Rangiku ignored this.
"This is great! I'm always having back problems from the weight of them, but when I'm like this they just hang suspended in the water! I never knew that they floated like this! I must have not been paying attention! Or maybe it's just they're as big as mine and in hot water, they float differently than most people's. How are yours Isane? Are they floating too?"
"Don't stare!" Isane said in embarrassment, covering her chest with her arms.
"But you're the only one with a big enough chest to compare to!" Rangiku protested, "Kiyone and Rukia are too flat for this!"
"Hey! I'm not flat!" Kiyone protested.
"Neither am I! I just have some growing to do!" Rukia said.
"Yeah, but right now you're flat by comparison to me, which is why I need Isane!"
"You're crazy!" Kiyone said, "And why didn't you mention Karin, she's just as flat as us! I mean normal! None of us are flat! I mean…our size! She's the same as Rukia, why didn't you mention her?" Karin blushed a little at this.
"Because she's still young," Rangiku explained, "Karin still has a lot of growing to do, and I'm sure she'll soon have a figure comparable to me! Until then, I need someone to compare boobs with, so Isane, please stop resisting and tell me if your boobs float!"
"I don't want to!" Isane protested.
"Well that's what friends do. They show eachother if their boobs float! I need to know if it's normal or if it's unique to me! Come on, do it!" Rangiku said. Isane grumbled a bit but slowly removed her arms from her chest.
"Oh, so that's it! I get it now!" Rangiku said, "Thanks, you really helped answer my question!"
"Just don't ask me something like that again," Isane blushed. Rangiku merely laughed and took another drink from the jug of sake.
"Um, Rangiku? Do you think I could ask you a question?" Karin said hesitantly.
"Yeah, sure," Rangiku said lazily.
"Earlier I was talking with Momo… I mean Vice-captain Hinamori," Karin corrected herself, remembering that there was another Vice-captain present and that she should be formal, "Anyways, I was talking to her, and she said some things that I don't quite understand."
"Like what?" Rangiku asked.
"Well… I asked her why she was being so harsh on me and why she didn't treat me with kindness. I still don't understand her answer, but it made me feel really…strange. She mentioned something about her old master and then showed me this horrible scar."
The other women present glanced nervously at eachother.
"You know what this was about, don't you?" Karin asked. Rangiku looked away, suddenly seeming much more sober than she had a few minutes ago.
"That's a very… grim topic. I don't think it should be discussed in such a nice, relaxing place," Rangiku said.
"Please Rangiku, I really need to know this. I just want to understand her a bit more. I was angry at her before, but now I can't stop thinking about wanting to know more about her," Karin said.
"It's a private matter, I don't think I should be telling you…"
"But she specifically said it was okay. She said 'If you must know, you can ask Rangiku. Tell her I give permission to talk about it.' Those were her exact words!" Karin said insistently. Rangiku sighed.
"Do you really want to know? It's a very grim story."
"I want to know. I need to know. I can't train under Vice-captain Hinamori without understanding her!" Karin said. Rangiku sighed again.
"Okay then, I suppose I'd better tell you," she said, "Do you remember what I told you before? About the man who betrayed Soul Society and waged war on us?"
"Yes," Karin said quietly, recalling what Rangiku had told her in the past, "Aizen." Rangiku nodded.
"Aizen was Momo's master."
"What?!" Karin said in alarm, "Him? He was her master?" She had known that she would likely receive a shocking answer, but she had no idea that it would be anything like this.
"Yes, Aizen was Momo Hinamori's master, Captain, and mentor. When she was at the academy, Aizen saved her and several other students from a hollow attack. It was then that she began idolizing him. While in the academy, it was her goal to serve under him and be useful to him. Over the years, her idolization of him grew and grew. When she graduated, she was immediately taken into the Fifth Division. There she worked her way through the ranks, eventually becoming Aizen's Vice-captain. He encouraged her idolization of him and used her as a part of his plans."
"Why didn't she notice that something was up? Shouldn't a Vice-captain be able to see through such a ruse?" Karin asked.
"You don't understand, you've never seen Aizen. He is a master of manipulation, and his Zanpakuto allowed him to create perfect illusions. Nobody had even the faintest idea that he was a traitor. He was as powerful as Captain-Commander Yamamoto, but his greatest weapon was his mind. He was an incredibly dangerous man, and unfortunately for Momo, she ended up a victim of his schemes," Rangiku explained.
"What happened?" Karin asked.
"I already told you about Rukia and your brother's first interactions, correct? Well it was decided that Rukia was to be taken in and executed. But it wasn't the decision of the Central 46, that is, Soul Societies governing body, at all. Aizen killed them, and issued fake orders to have Rukia executed for transferring powers to a human and staying too long in the human world. I won't get into the details of his plot, but long story short, he tricked the Gotei 13 into trying to execute Rukia and your brother and his friends invaded Seireitei to rescue her. You've got that, right?"
"I think so…" Karin said, a little bit overwhelmed by all of the new information being given to her.
"Well, during the confusion of the intruders, Aizen was apparently murdered," Rangiku said.
"Murdered? But you said-"
"It was an illusion cast by his Zanpakuto," Rangiku said, "It was fake, but it was real enough for the Shinigami, including Momo. She was absolutely devastated by the 'death' of her Captain. She had dedicated her life to him, and he had been suddenly taken away. She attacked a Captain she suspected of the murder in an emotional rage. After being intercepted, she was taken into a holding cell. It was there that I made the biggest mistake in this matter…"
"What happened?"
"Aizen left a letter addressed to Momo. Captain Hitsugaya and I decided to deliver it to Momo rather than use it as evidence. I took it to her in her jail cell. I thought it was a gesture of kindness, but by giving her that letter I unwittingly inflicted the greatest cruelty of all. The letter was a sham. It blamed Captain Hitsugaya for everything, including Aizen's 'murder'. Captain Hitsugaya was-"
"He was her childhood friend, he told me," Karin said, by this point entranced by the story.
"Momo was confused. She was emotionally vulnerable and would of course believe her Captains letter. She went out and attacked Captain Hitsugaya. She was a mess by that point. Believing her Captain to be dead and her best friend his murderer completely unhinged her. She felt that it was her duty to fulfill her Captains 'last wish' by killing Captain Hitsugaya and avenging her Captain, but the love she felt for her friend was equally strong. Her mind was in complete chaos by then. Fortunately, Captain Hitsugaya was able to knock her out more-or-less unharmed. After that though…"
"What?" Karin asked again. Rangiku sighed heavily.
"Aizen appeared before Momo shortly after that. She was so relieved to see him alive that she immediately ran to embrace him," she said, "While she hugged him, Aizen stabbed her."
Karin stared at Rangiku for a moment, horrified by what she had been told.
"He stabbed her?" she whispered in shock and horror. Rangiku nodded.
"He stabbed her and left her to die. Captain Hitsugaya confronted Aizen shortly after that and was nearly killed himself. It's a miracle that they're both alive right now. Luckily for them, Captain Unohana and Isane arrived shortly afterwards and were able to save them."
"It was a horrible sight," Isane commented, "Aizen's blade had gone all the way through her chest and nearly severed her spinal cord. There was blood everywhere, and we thought she was dead when we first found her. She wasn't breathing and had lost nearly half of her blood. If Captain Unohana hadn't been there, she would have certainly died. Even with Captain Unohana's treatment, she ended up in a coma."
"When she did wake up, she was completely broken," Rangiku said, "The man she idolized had betrayed her. Along with the guilt she suffered from attacking Captain Hitsugaya, that rendered her completely emotionally crushed. Captain Hitsugaya forgave her of course, but the guilt was still unbearable for her. Worse, Aizen had been manipulating her for so long that at first she thought that Aizen was still good and that he was being manipulated. She was traumatized and in denial. Of all the horrible things Aizen did, none were crueler than what he did to Momo."
"She's gotten much better, but she's still suffering from some of the effects of the betrayal," Isane said, "She has trouble sleeping and sometimes has flashbacks involving Aizen. Captain Unohana diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder. We gave her medication to help her sleep and overcome the psychological effects of Aizen's betrayal, but I don't think she uses them. It's not surprising really; Aizen was one of the most prominent figures in her life. With him gone, she feels that all of her memories of her time as a Shinigami are tainted. In addition, she still carries guilt from her conflict with Captain Hitsugaya, which just makes it worse. She's made huge progress, but I doubt she'll ever be quite the way she used to be."
"Is that why her and Toushiro aren't friends anymore?" Karin asked, "Toushiro said that they had a falling out, is that what caused it?"
"Sort of," Rangiku said, "While Momo felt very guilty for doubting her old friend, Captain Hitsugaya never held it against her. What really caused their friendship to become so strained were the psychological after-effects of Aizen's betrayal. Captain Hitsugaya felt guilty that he hadn't been strong enough to protect Momo and felt the desire to protect her more than ever. Momo on the other hand felt ashamed that she wasn't strong enough, and tried to become stronger and more independent. Momo began feeling inadequate though. After Aizen's betrayal made her feel weak and powerless, she began to see Captain Hitsugaya as too far beyond her to maintain a friendship with. He's a prodigy after all, and one of the most gifted Shinigami in the history of Seireitei. Momo felt that she couldn't compete with him, and that she was useless. This led to bitterness and jealousy, even though she felt guilty for it. Captain Hitsugaya meanwhile felt frustrated that Momo was trying to be independent of his help. He felt that it was his duty to protect her, and was surprised when she wanted to be more independent of his protection. He was also probably upset that she didn't properly recognize him for the hard work he did to become Captain. I think it was a misunderstanding on both of their parts, but in any case, they had a fight and ended up with their friendship too strained to survive. It's really complex and I'm not sure I really explained it well, but that is basically what happened."
Karin stared into the water. She had no idea that Momo had gone through so much. The mere idea of something so horrible happening was nearly unthinkable. Momo had been through so much, yet she still managed to be strong enough to continue her work as a Vice-captain, and even being able to handle taking Karin as an apprentice. Karin knew that she probably wouldn't have been able to do all of that. She felt guilty for feeling animosity towards Momo earlier. She didn't realize how difficult Momo's life had been.
"Karin?" Rangiku said quietly.
"I…think I'll be going now," Karin said, stepping out of the water and wrapping herself up with a towel, "I'll meet you back at your home."
"Okay. Do you know the way?"
"Yes, thank you," Karin nodded, "I guess I'll get going now."
Karin dried herself off and put her clothes back on before leaving the hot springs. She did not leave in the direction of Rangiku's apartment however. She went the opposite way, in the direction of the Fifth Division. She only vaguely knew the street layout, but she was able to find the main street that led to the Fifth, and she still remembered the place from when she was first taken to Seireitei.
It was a long walk, and the dark streets slowed her pace, but she was eventually able to reach the Fifth Division area. She thought of going to see Ichigo, but decided against it. He was not the reason that she came here. She walked through the empty streets until she eventually found her way to the building she was looking for. It was the first place she had been in Seireitei, Momo Hinamori's private quarters. Karin took a deep breath and reached her hand out to knock on the door.
"What are you doing here?" a voice quietly asked.
Karin jumped and looked up to see Momo sitting on the edge of the roof.
"I, uh, I just wanted to-to come and see – I mean talk to you. If you're not busy of course," Karin said nervously.
"What did you want to say?" Momo asked softly.
"I just wanted to say… I'm sorry," Karin finally said, "I'm sorry that I've been difficult. You already have enough on your plate, and then I come in and make everything more difficult for you. Then I complain and make things even more troublesome for you. I know I haven't exactly been the ideal pupil for you to train, and I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Momo said, "Perhaps I was too harsh at times. I've never really had somebody to train, and I felt that if I wasn't absolutely and unwaveringly strong, I wouldn't be able to do it properly. I've been considering what you said before, and I'm starting to agree that this whole thing isn't working out. I'm thinking of maybe requesting the Captain-Commander to give me a more conventional punishment."
"No! You can't do that!" Karin said, "It was my fault that you got in trouble, I can't let you go to prison because of it! Besides, I've been thinking, and I've decided that I want you to keep training me! I won't complain anymore and I'll work my hardest! Just please give me another chance!" Momo was silent for a minute before jumping down from the roof so that she was standing in front of Karin.
"You really mean that?" she asked.
"Yes! I… I understand why you were acting the way you were. I know I complained sometimes and didn't do as well as I could have, but I really do want to get stronger! I don't want to be powerless and force others to look out for me!" Karin said. Momo nodded quietly.
"I understand completely. I will continue training you."
Karin nearly hugged Momo, but restrained herself and instead gave a deep bow.
"Thank you, Vice-captain Hinamori. I won't disappoint you."
Thanks for reading! Thank you to blackwitchkarma, war90, Photophopic, Reven Firebane, Hinata-cutie, randomguy24, Chillis, ChiharuSAICHI, Hikari Droflum, Thunder Claw03, nexuswarrior, Ladiie-Angeliie, The Great Pineapple MEKI, and Shirochan21 for reviewing! Please review!