The landed rather harder than he expected. The disgruntled child prodigy rose from his undignified sprawl and took stock of his surroundings. He was in front of the Fifth division barracks. Or at least, that was where he should be. The bitingly cold wind was making his eyes steam.
Perhaps Soi Fon was right. This weather is nasty. Did I really cause it?
Enough procrastinating. Get on with it.
It seemed that even his sword was out to get him today. Toshiro sighed, squared his shoulders, and walked toward the door. He noticed, distractedly, that the large 'five' symbol on the door was looking a little worse for wear. Perhaps it was the weather, he decided.
Immediately inside the building, the howling of the wind faded to a low murmur and waves of heat assailed Toshiro like over-friendly puppies, surrounding him. He began to feel ever so slightly better for being out of the cold. The duty officer looked up, and Toshiro could see that her expression was a mixture of nervous fear, awe and - for some reason - dislike.
"Captain Hitsugaya. How can the Fifth division help you today?"
"I need to see Lieutenant Hinamori." Keeping a formal tone might prevent rumors spreading and get him to Momo faster. Or so Toshiro thought.
"I'm sorry, sir. Lieutenant Hinamori is indisposed. I'll tell you when she becomes available."
"That's not good enough. This is urgent."
"I can take a message to her, if you would prefer, but she has told me to admit no-one for the rest of the day. I'm sorry, sir, but I have my orders."
"Unacceptable. This message comes straight from the Captain-General, high priority. It cannot wait." Toshiro was lying through his teeth, something he normally never would have contemplated. But this was important, to him at least.
For a moment the woman struggled with the choice, but an order from the Captain-General did override a lieutenant's order. As does a Captain's. Maybe she had special orders to keep ME out...
He strode past the defeated-looking lieutenant and didn't stop until he reached the door to Momo's quarters. He took one deep, steadying breath, and opened the door. There, curled up on her bed was Momo Hinamori. She appeared to be asleep.
"Momo?" It always did to check, right?
"Toshiro? What do you want now?" Ah. Awake it was.
"I... wanted to apologize for yesterday. I didn't mean to upset you..."
"Really. I'm sure you didn't." Something wasn't ringing true to Toshiro. This didn't sound like Momo at all.
"Mo-"
"Not this time, Toshiro. We've been friends for a long, long time now. How can you not see me the way I see you?" All of a sudden, Momo was sitting up, yelling at Toshiro, tears re-tracing well-worn tracks down her face.
"I guess... I don't know. I can't think of a single reason." All the layers of logic, the emotional padding, were gone in an instant. Toshiro wondered where they had gone.
"Then why can't you say you love me? I managed!"
"I-I suppose, when you put it that way..."
"Well?"
"I love you, Momo Hinamori."
A/N: Well, an abrupt ending, but I was getting bored with this. I'm already starting on a new fic. Thank you all for staying with this story so long! Until next time...