Hinamori's Apprentice
Chapter 28
Momo groaned. She opened her eyes a little, but the bright light forced her to immediately shut them. Her fuzzy mind vaguely noted that she was moving. Her body felt numb, and she couldn't move her legs. She tried opening her eyes again, slowly cracking them open to see a blurry figure above her.
"Toushiro?" she whispered, squinting up at him to make sure her eyes weren't fooling her.
"Yes, Momo," Toushiro said calmly. Momo glanced around, and realized that Toushiro was carrying her in his arms.
"What are you… Where's Karin?" Momo asked. Toushiro jerked his head back, making Momo notice that Karin was on Toushiro's back, holding onto his shoulders and resting her head against him with her eyes closed.
"You were both affected by some kind of tranquilizer so I had to carry you," Toushiro explained.
"Are…are you okay?" Momo asked meekly, not sure what to say.
"Depends on how you define 'okay'. Everything still feels like hell; my bones and muscles hurt, and I can't use shunpo while carrying you. I'm not in any danger though, if that's what you mean," he replied.
"That's… good…" Momo said. She didn't know what to say to him. She had so many things to say, and even more to ask, but she didn't know what to say first or how to say it.
"Why did you come all the way out here?" Toushiro asked. Momo was taken aback by the question.
"Why did I come out here? Why did you come out here?!" she said, "We came because we wanted to take you back to Seireitei! What were you thinking when you went out like that?"
"In all honesty, I wasn't," Toushiro replied, "The reiatsu you put into me when you healed my hand revitalized me, and gave me the strength to move. I wasn't thinking clearly though. All I could think about was finding out the truth about what was going on. You shouldn't have followed me; now we'll both get in trouble."
"I couldn't just let you go off like that!" Momo protested.
"What could you have done?" Toushiro asked sternly, "You had virtually no chance of finding me, and now on top of breaking Shinigami law, you've been injured. You should never have come out here."
"Yeah, I guess that's right," Momo said quietly, "I guess I'm just too weak to make a difference, so I should just stay hidden away and let you protect me from everything."
"Momo, I didn't mean it like that," Toushiro sighed, "I just don't want to see you getting hurt like this. You're not weak, you just…"
"I'm just nothing compared to you, right?" Momo said, "What difference does anything I do make when you could do it faster and better? I'm effectively useless."
"Don't say that Momo, it isn't true…"
"But it is true! We're not equal. I'm a jack-knife and you're a katana. Sure, I can cut things, but anything I could cut you could cut better."
"That's not an accurate analogy and you know it," Toushiro said, "Maybe a better way to say it is to compare you to a swiss army knife and me to a bowie knife. Sure, my blade is bigger, but yours is capable of much finer work, and you're able to do a bunch of stuff I can't." Momo couldn't help but smile sadly at the comparison.
"I'm sorry Toushiro," she said.
"For what? The comparison wasn't that bad, was it?"
"I'm sorry for being jealous," Momo said, "I…I feel horrible for it. When you first entered the Shinigami Academy, I didn't think you'd be such a genius. I should have known. We'd been friends for years. But I didn't know. I truly was proud of you, but as you began mastering the same things that it took me a long time to achieve, I couldn't help but feel jealous. Everyone called you a once-in-a-generation prodigy, and I was happy for you, but at the same time I was sad that I wasn't able to remain equal to you. You weren't just more powerful, you became smarter and more mature than me as well. I feel like I've been left behind in your dust, and that you don't need me anymore."
"Don't be ridiculous, of course I need you," Toushiro said.
"But you're so strong, why would you need someone like me? It's not just that; I betrayed you too, remember? Why would you want to constantly protect me, when I'm only a burden to you?"
"Because you're my friend," Toushiro said firmly, "You're my best friend and probably the most important person in the world to me. When we were kids, you were the only person who didn't hate or fear me. You'd protect me and keep me happy, even though I didn't act at all grateful. I was just a scrawny little runt at the time, and whenever I was bullied or got in trouble, you'd be there to protect me and make me feel better. But you got hurt sometimes as well, which is why I swore to myself that I'd protect you, as I know you've done for me. It was for you that I became a Shinigami; if you hadn't been planning to become one, I would have gone back to Granny's place as soon as I mastered control of my reiatsu. But because you went on to become a Shinigami, I chose to as well, and I trained as hard as I could to get stronger so that I could protect you. I doubt I would be as strong as I am today without you."
"You did all of that for me? Even after I believed that you killed-"
"Don't say his name," Toushiro said, his grip on her tightening, "I don't want to hear that man's name ever again."
"I'm so sorry Toushiro," Momo said, tears coming to her eyes, "It's my fault. I let him manipulate me. I believed him over you and even tried to kill you. I…I betrayed our friendship. I don't understand how you could possibly want to be my friend again after that, let alone risk injury for my sake."
"Don't you dare blame yourself Momo, don't even think about it," Toushiro said, his voice rough and angry, "That monster manipulated and hurt you, and I'll never forgive him for it, nor will I forgive myself for failing to protect you from him."
"But why? Even after what I've done to you, you risked your life for me," Momo said.
"You don't know what it's like," Toushiro said, "You don't know how it feels to see the most important person to you completely torn down. You can't possibly imagine how much your cries of pain have haunted me… or the sight of you at Central 46. I still have nightmares about that day; the day I completely and utterly failed you. I never want to see you hurt like that again, which is why I'll do everything in my power to protect you."
Momo stared at him in awe. She didn't know… she didn't realize just how much he cared for her. Of course she knew that he cared a lot for her, but she now understood just how much he cared. Tears fell from her eyes at the realization, and she suddenly buried her face in his haori to hide the shame that was no doubt on her face. He had done everything he could to protect her, but she had pushed him away thinking that he considered her weak. She had even felt jealous of him at times. Now she realized the truth. It didn't matter how weak or strong she was, Toushiro would always be there to protect and care for her. She also realized that despite her past mistakes, she wanted to reciprocate, and protect and care for him in return. She cried into his haori, regretting that she had failed to realize this sooner. She wasn't jealous or bitter, only sad and regretful.
"I'm so sorry Toushiro," she said, "What can I possibly do to make up for everything? What can I do to be your friend again?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Toushiro said, "Nothing." Momo looked up at him.
"Wha-what do you mean?" she sniffled.
"I mean that there's nothing you can do to 'be friends with me again' because we never stopped being friends in the first place!" Toushiro said, "Now stop crying and blaming yourself for everything!"
Momo gave him a teary smile before beginning to cry again, burying her face into his haori again and making him roll his eyes.
"Thank you Toushiro, thank you so much," she said.
"It's okay Momo, I just – Momo! You're getting snot all over my uniform!"
"Sorry," Momo said with an embarrassed smile, taking her face away from his haori and wiping her nose, "I'm just… so happy."
"It's bad enough that I have to carry your heavy butt all the way back to Seireitei, at least don't use me as a tissue…" he grumbled.
"That's mean Toushiro, I'm not that heavy," Momo said, her face turning red.
"Well you have been packing on the pounds," Toushiro said, "You'd better watch it, chubbers, or you'll end up getting too fat for your uniform."
"I'm not fat Toushiro!" Momo yelled, swinging her arms and legs around, "You know perfectly well that I stay in great shape! I'm heavier than I used to be because unlike you, I'm growing taller! Taller, not fatter!"
"What do you mean 'unlike you'?" Toushiro said.
"Well I don't think it's a secret that you're a little shorty!" Momo said, "You probably can't lift me very well because you're so tiny, not because I'm fat! Now stop making fun of me!"
"I'm carrying two people who are heavier than I am, I've earned the right to – Ow!" Toushiro yelled as Karin's foot hit the back of his leg.
"You shouldn't make fun of a woman's weight," she said sternly, her eyes now wide open.
"Have you been awake this whole time?" Toushiro said irritably.
"Yeah, and it's a good thing I did. You were acting like a complete brat. Calling a woman fat is the most impolite thing you can do," Karin lectured him.
"I… I was only jok- wait a minute! Weren't your legs paralyzed?" Toushiro said, remembering the kick she just gave him, "And you too Momo, you were swinging your legs around a few moments ago! You… you two have been able to move your legs and walk on your own this entire time, haven't you?"
Momo and Karin looked away in embarrassment, and Toushiro let out a very loud groan.
---
"Usagi, I'd like an explanation."
"Oh, you wouldn't be interested in anything I'd have to say," Usagi said, grinning up at the old grey-bearded man.
"Watch your words when speaking to Master Aurion," Mansamusa said, "You've already inconvenienced him greatly, losing two arrancar minions and alerting the Shinigami to our existence. Your foolishness has caused us a great deal of trouble for us."
"Relax, I'm still doing my job, right?" Usagi said, "I'm building that little toy you wanted, so you don't have anything to complain about."
"In fact we do," Aurion said sternly, "It has taken far too long. It should be complete by now."
"I told you, there's still a lot of tests to be run, and I need more materials and test subjects to work with," Usagi said.
"I take it that you still want the Quincy boy captured then?" Aurion said.
"It would be nice to have him, but there's someone else that has attracted my interest, someone far more unique than the Quincy, and far more useful to my work," Usagi said with a grin.
Thanks for reading! Thank you to Taeniaea, The Great Pineapple MEKI, war90, nexuswarrior, Thunder Claw03, Chillis, and oOoHKoOo for reviewing! Please review!