Proofed but Un-Beta'd. I apologise for any typos.

Part Three - Resolution

Chapter Twelve- Sentence

...

Toushiro didn't intend to give up; he had never in his life backed down just because things weren't going his way. But this time, this time no matter from which angle he looked at it, there was no way this was going to end well for him. Momo had escaped yet again, he was imprisoned by Central Forty-six, suspected of aiding Aizen, his zanpakuto was confiscated, and he couldn't move his left leg. He wanted to kick, scream, cry, to punch something, but there was not thing to break in the bare cell. Ripping the musty futon behind him would bring no satisfaction. So, he sat quietly with his head in his hands.

He clenched his jaw; he didn't even care what was going to happen to him, but he was furious at what Aizen had done to Momo. He was sick of doing nothing while that power hungry madman was free to experiment on people. Who knew what he had done to Momo to increase her reiatsu that greatly. He shuddered, thinking of all the experiments that she probably had been subjected to. He suddenly felt nauseated and curled tighter around himself. This was all his fault. How could he have failed to retain her the first time? He should have had no trouble at all. She had been a mere lieutenant then; he could have just knocked her out and brought her back to The Fourth. Aizen wouldn't have been able to get to her if he had been more attentive, more decisive. And now she was just as strong as him. She had matched his attacks during their battle and had been able to injure him. He took a deep breath, fisting the edge of his robe. What kind of captain was he supposed to be anyway? He kept on failing and failing over and over. Why did Yamamoto put up with him, why did his division, or any of the Gotei Thirteen, put up with him? Every single person had been disappointed by him in some way or other. He bit his bottom lip hard enough that he tasted blood, but didn't stop.

What was going to happen to him now? He was most likely going to be locked away for the next 500 years or so. His division was probably celebrating now that he was gone and couldn't ruin anything anymore. He took a deep breath, angry at how shaky it was. His chest heaved and his stomach felt like it was tearing itself apart. He wrapped his arms around it and pressed his forehead against his knees, feeling the fabric soak up the small beads of sweat on his face. He felt sick. The cell was freezing; the tips of his fingers and toes were numb, his nose was running and he felt tremors run down his spine. Yet, he was sweating; his neck, his back, his forehead, and armpits were soaked.

Shivering, he reached behind him for the threadbare blanket on his futon, wrapped it around his shoulders, and settled against the far wall, once again curling into a tight ball. Here he was, sentenced to rot in a cell while Aizen was still out there and Momo...

His throat constricted and hot tears prickled the corners of his eyes. He roughly wiped his face with sleeve, but his vision was still blurry with water. He clenched his jaw tightly and pressed his palms into his eyes. Crying? How pathetic. No wonder he couldn't do anything to stop Momo either time. He had practically handed her over to Aizen with his weakness. He bit his bottom lip, breaking the skin again, as he tired his hardest not to make any noises. Still, his shuddering breaths and sniffles echoed around the empty room. He ground his teeth in frustration and fisted his hands in his hair. He was so useless.

The creak of a door opening made him jump slightly and he turned away, trying to stop himself from crying.

"Captain?" Rangiku came into view. He looked away as she knelt down on the other side of the bars.

He took a deep breath through his noise. "What do you want?" he asked.

She sighed. "How are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he snapped. "What do you want?"

She shifted closer to the bars. "I don't want anything."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because, believe it or not, I care about you, Captain. People care about you. The men are worried about you; they want to know if you're okay."

He was silent long enough for Rangiku to continue.

"I'm not allowed to tell them where you are, but they're concerned, Captain, and, honestly, I am too. Why do you insist on doing everything by yourself? Going into Muken alone? What were you thinking? You're injured! I'm supposed to be your second in command; I'm supposed to look out for you. Why do you make my job so hard?"

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards, but Toushiro didn't see the joke; he had disappointed Rangiku as well with his actions. "I'm sorry," he choked, gritting his teeth at the way his voice caught.

Rangiku's expression softened and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "It's going to be alright, Captain, I promise."

He shook his head, glaring at his hands. "How? The Central Forty-six thinks I'm helping Aizen. I'll be lucky if I get out of here alive, if at all."

"No, we're thinking of something. The other captains, including Kursotsuchi, are working to get you out."

He couldn't keep the look of shock from appearing on his face. "They-"

"I don't see why you insist that you're in this alone. It may take a while, but we're going to straighten this out and Aizen's sorry ass will be locked up for good this time, just you wait and see." She extended her arm through the bars. "What did you do to your lip? Come here."

He touched his bottom lip, wincing as it stung, and sighed softly. "I'm fine, Matsumoto, don't worry about me."

She pursed her lips and wiggled her fingers impatiently. He sighed softly and crawled towards the bars. His thigh protested at the movement by sending an electric jolt up and down his entire leg and causing him to grunt softly. Unohana had done her best the other day, but he had strained it in the fight with Momo. Most of the progress he had made had been undone in a matter of minutes. She had bound it in a thick layer of gauze and told him not to put any pressure on it at all. So far he had found himself being able to obey, since he could do naught much else than sit in his cell.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Rangiku asked.

"I barely feel it," he rolled his eyes as he brushed his finger over his mouth.

She clicked her tongue "I meant your leg."

"It's fine too. Just a bit stiff."

She shook her head. Toushiro wasn't sure if she was shaking her head at the lie itself or at the fact that he had lied. She gently cupped his chin in one hand, and ghosted her thumb over his lip. He looked down his nose as a green glow illuminated the cell and his felt his chewed-up lip become whole again.

"There," she grinned, patting his cheek softly.

He rolled his eyes and pulled away as he fingered his bottom lip, the stinging had stopped, but he felt a small, raised line along the centre.

"Sorry, I can't heal without making some sort of scar..." she winced, "it'll disappear in a few days, I swear."

"It's alright, thank you, Matusmoto."

She smiled brightly. "Any time, Captain."

...

Toushiro was surprised that he was allowed visitors; he was a dangerous criminal after all, Aizen's accomplice. Still, Rangiku wasn't stopped from visiting him every day neither were Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku. But, he supposed that with Hyourinmaru gone and a reiatsu inhibiting collar he wasn't much of a threat to anyone anyway. He was actually quite thankful for the visitors; Rangiku's incessant chatter was more welcome than his own, poisonous thoughts. Even Kurotsuchi visited him, although his visit was one for research rather than pleasantry. He asked Toushiro about the squad that had been turned into hollows. Toushiro gave him all the details he could recall, not doubting that Kurotsuchi could succeed where he had failed.

He must have been in the cell for about a week when he was woken up by heavy footsteps marching through the door. He raised his head just as he heard the lock on his cell jangle and the door creaked open. Several men dressed all in white, from their pointy hats and veils that covered everything except their eyes to the hem of their robes which dragged along the floor as they walked. He pushed himself to sit up, and had to stop himself from cowering against the far wall. The leader – the tallest – stepped into his cell. He swallowed around the boulder that had formed in his throat.

"Wh-what do you want?" he stammered.

His question went unanswered as four thin ropes were fastened to his collar. He was forced to his feet and nearly stumbled into the bars as his thigh gave way. He glared at the shinigami as he pushed himself back to his feet, placing his weight on his right leg. Surprisingly, one of them produced a set of crutches. He couldn't stop the blush that spread across his face as he hooked them under his arms. Then they formed a loose circle around him and led him from the room by four ropes that had been attached to his collar. Toushiro didn't pretend that it wasn't humiliated being lead around by a collar. He hung his head as he hobbled along, quickly realising that he was being lead to the Central Forty-six chamber. His heart thudded, he was sure that if his robe wasn't so loose he would have been able to see it.

The chamber was exactly as he remembered it; high ceiling, blinding lights. He was lead out to the centre of a smooth, tiled ring, surrounded by high wooden panels that also served as desks for the members. He felt his palms grow clammy almost instantly. He hadn't been aware that the Central Forty-six had wanted to meet with him. What could they tell him that he didn't already know? He was being convicted for aiding Aizen and Momo. Did they need to further reprimand him? The ropes attached to his collar were fixed to four stone posts and the white-clad shinigami took a step back. He took a few breaths trying to calm himself, but he could feel his throat close up and his stomach twisted and churned. It took him a while to realise that beating noise in his ear was his pulse and not some sort of drum. He licked his lips with a dry tongue and tried to swallow, but found that he couldn't. After what felt like an eternity, he was sure that he had sweat through his robe, one of the council members cleared their throat.

"Toushiro Hitsugaya-"

"That's Captain Toushiro Hitsugaya." The head-captain swooped into the room, followed closely by Captains Kyoraky, Ukitake, Kurotsuchi, and Kuchiki. "I'm sorry we're late; I'm afraid that we weren't notified that the time of the hearing had been changed."

Toushiro stared at the five captains surrounded him and stared the council down.

An annoyed huff sounded from behind one of the screens. "Very well. At least you are here now. Let us begin. Captain Toushiro Hitsugaya, do you understand why you have been brought before us, the Central Forty-six?"

Toushiro swallowed. "Y-yes."

"You are being accused of conspiring with the criminal Sosuke Aizen and aiding his escape from Muken, as well as allowing his accomplice Momo Hinamori to infiltrate the Seireitei and Muken."

Toushiro clenched his jaw. He had said yes. They didn't need to recount everything.

"How do you plead?"

He glanced quickly to Yamamoto. He nodded so slightly that Toushiro almost missed it. "Not guilty."

"Are you aware that there is substantial evidence against you?"

"Yes."

"And you still plead innocence?"

"Yes."

There were a few grumbles from around the room. "Very well, please answer these questions."

The whole thing passed in a blur. A very intense, sweaty blur. Toushiro felt like he was suffocating. The room was way too hot and too small. The lights were giving him a headache and he could barely hear anything over the rush of blood in his ears. He was sure that if he hadn't been leaning so heavily on his crutches that he would have fallen over long ago. Even his good leg felt weak.

However, he was comforted by the fact that Yamamoto and the others had come up with unbelievably strong arguments. Kurotsuchi had presented a theory that made Toushiro's head spin.

"Captain Kurotsuchi, are you saying that you believe that Aizen isn't the one we should be worried about now? That there's another enemy we should be on the lookout for?"

Kurostsuchi grinned tucking his arms into his sleeves. "We should be worried about Aizen; he's escaped after all. But as far as I'm concerned he can't undo my seals, so he should be powerless. I'm saying that he wasn't responsible for turning the men of the Tenth Division's reconnaissance squad into hollows."

"Then who should we be looking for?"

"I'm not psychic; how should I know?"

"So, there is a chance it could have been Aizen?"

"No. None."

"But you said that you didn't know who-"

"I don't know who it is exactly, but I do know that it wasn't Aizen. He was still sealed in Muken when this happened. Alos, in the past, he used a hogyoku to attempt to turn shinigami into hollows. The hogyoku leaves a special reiatsu signature, easy to notice to the trained eye, even weeks or months after its use. Even Captain Kuchiki's men could sense it. This time the hogyoku's signature wasn't present."

"What are you suggesting, Captain Kurotsuchi?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you simpletons? Someone is out there with the power to do himself what Aizen needed the hogyoku for. It seems to me that your priorities are skewered if you think that you can spend valuable time to attempt to convict a little boy rather than searching for who is really behind this."

Toushiro felt his blood run cold. It wasn't Aizen? It really wasn't Aizen? So what was Momo doing? Why did she release him from Muken?

"Aizen's escape may have been a diversion. And I suggest that you start trying to figure out what is really going on before Aizen manages to free himself from the seals. Because when that happens we'll be up to our necks in shit."

The council members grumbled amongst themselves for a moment. Toushiro turned to Kurotsuchi. Their eyes met briefly and Kurotsuchi nodded.

"Very well, we will take this into consideration. But it doesn't change the matter at hand. You have all been allowed to plead your case for Toushiro Hitsugaya, but the matter still stands that he assisted in a criminal's escape."

Everything slowed to a halt. The beads of sweat that were travelling down Toushiro's neck and back froze. He paused mid-breath, feeling the collar tight against his throat.

"I didn't," Toushiro yelled, "I didn't help Aizen, I would never-"

"Silence!"

He felt like he had been slapped across his face. He even felt the sting.

"The evidence we have to prove it so still stands and the Central Forty-six finds you guilty."

Toushiro choked. The collar was incredibly tight now. He wasn't guilty; it wasn't his reiatsu they had found in Muken. He hadn't helped Aizen.

"And the sentence?" Yamamoto asked gravely, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"I hope you understand the gravity of this situation Genruysai. We cannot take Aizen's escape lightly, even if there might be another enemy lurking about. We cannot give him, or any of his followers, power. Aizen fooled us once before; we cannot let him fool us again."

"What is his sentence?" Yamamoto snarled.

"He is to be executed."

Toushiro's legs gave out. The ropes strained against the posts as he fell to the floor. Ukitake rushed forward, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Toushiro was shaking his head violently.

"No!" he yelled, barely aware of what he was doing, "I didn't .help him! I wasn't involved!"

"Silence! Our decision is final."

"No! It wasn't me! It wasn't my reiatsu! I tried to stop Hinamori! I had nothing to do with Aizen!"

Ukitake was shushing him gently, rubbing his back.

"Our decision is final."

The room spun. His stomach cramped and he tasted bile at the back of his throat. He hunched over, bracing his forearms to the ground. This couldn't be happening. How could everything go so wrong? How could he mess up so badly? He took a deep breath, noticing that it was choked with held back sobs. He was supposed to rescue Momo; he was supposed to get her back.

"I hope you understand what talent you're throwing away," Yamamoto sneered.

"Aizen had great talent too. We're being cautious; I'm sure you of all people should appreciate that."

I'll admit that this story is giving me a lot of trouble to write - more so than anything I've ever writen. I've had to re-work the outline yet again because I was still unhappy with where it was going. So, I took a look at everything I did and re-wrote the ending. Again. Sorry for the delay, but it had to be done.

But I swear this will be finished. There are only three more chapters left after this if all goes to plan.

Please leave a review on your way out. I promise things will make sense soon.

-Mymomomo