God! I got a giant bruise on my hip now, it frickin' hurts...
"I'm certain it will heal eventually. Momo-chan's wounds seem to be quite deep, and they're emotional wounds, so they may end up being harder to heal than physical wounds." Yuka mentioned, placing her head in her hands. "Damn that former taichō....what was his name again?"
Aizen Sōsuke. He's such a freak...I love freaks...
"In a magical place far, far away
A place called the Seireitei
The maidens time was running short
One heart left for her support
Though it would be hard, and probably rather long
She knew she could do it if she could stay strong
The last heart awaited her healing magic
Forgetting the past that was oh-so tragic..."
The silver haired captain wandered aimlessly through the empty halls of fifth division. It was no surprise that they were empty at the moment, considering it was so late that the moon no longer graced the sky. In fact, it probably would be considered the morning already. With her terrible sense of direction accompanied by the fact her memory was horrible, it was becoming quite frustrating for the young woman.
As she continued to wonder and wander, she didn't even notice the person in front of her until she bumped into them. "Oh, forgive me. I didn't expect anyone else to be wandering these halls at this time in the morning...." Looking down, Yuka noticed just who she'd bumped into. "Hitsugaya-taichō, what a pleasant surprise."
"Sawamura-taichō." He muttered in greeting. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh...right. I can only assume you haven't yet been informed. I am now the taichō of the fifth division." She smiled, hitching up her bag on her shoulder. "Though I'm afraid I cannot seem to find my way around."
Crossing his arms, the white haired prodigy stared up at her. "Come with me, I'll show you where your office is, along with your bedroom."
A kind smile crossed her lips as she trotted along behind the much shorter captain. "That's quite kind, thank you very much, Hitsugaya-taichō..." Quickening her pace slightly, she studied his face as they walked. Dark lines rimmed his eyes, obviously he'd been up quite late. "...If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here? And what have you been up to, Hitsugaya-taichō?"
"I only came to check on Hinamori. I'm not doing anything." He answered shortly.
A bit grumpy this morning. Yuka kept her simple smile anyway and continued trailing behind him. "I see. That's sweet that you wished to check Hinamori-chan's condition. Though haven't her wounds been healed already?"
"Yes. But that doesn't mean I can't still check up on her." The tone of his voice indicated that he was irritated.
"Of course. She's still your friend, and you wish to make sure she's doing well. It's a nice thing to do for your friends. I've always admired people who took extra time to look after their friends. Like when I..."
Tōshirō looked back at her out of the corner of his eye, obviously interested in where she was going with that. "What were you going to say?"
After blinking several times, she turned her eyes toward him. "Oh, dear me, I seem to have forgotten. Ah well, it wasn't that important anyway..." She smiled and looked up, back to where they were walking toward. "Oh, is this the office?"
He too looked forward, staring at the door with a large sign that read, "Fifth divisions captain's office," he cleared his throat. "Yes it is. This room has yet to be cleared out though, so you may need to spend some time fixing it up."
"That's alright, I may find some things when I clean it out." Sliding the door open, she carefully stepped into the large office. Simply decorated with a desk, a chair, a couch, a small table, and a bookcase, it seemed plain and empty. "Interesting..." She mumbled lightly to herself.
"C'mon, I'll take you to your room now." The white haired boy turned and began leaving without her.
"Right, thank you, Hitsugaya-taichō." She smiled again, quickly following him again.
"Sh-Shirō-chan!" Momo looked extremely surprised as the tenth division captain and the new fifth division captain walked into the bedroom. "What are you doing here?"
Tōshirō stared at her harshly, obviously not happy that she was sleeping in the fifth division captain's room. "This isn't your room Hinamori."
She stared at her long time friend and smiled weakly. "But it's my job to take care of things, I have to make sure the room is nice and clean for when the fifth division captain returns."
"Well, that's very kind of you, Hinamori-chan." Yuka smiled, setting her bag down on the ground next to the bed. "You're a very attentive fukutaichō."
Nervously scanning the silver haired woman, Momo leaned closer to Tōshirō. "Who is this, Shirō-chan?"
"Oh, how rude of me to forget my manners like that..." Clearing her throat, she smiled kindly at the young lieutenant. "My name is Sawamura Yuka, former taichō of both the ninth and third divisions, and now the taichō of the fifth division. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"N-new taichō...?" Hinamori stammered, staring wide eyed at the woman who was now to be her new captain. "Wh-wh-what do you mean? A-Aizen-taichō will be coming back! We can't put a new taichō in his place!"
"Hinamori!" Tōshirō snapped, staring at her harshly.
A soft hand was placed on his shoulder. "It's alright, Hitsugaya-taichō, Momo-chan is simply doing her duties. She'll need time to adjust." Yuka then turned to her new underling. "Would like to stay here one last night? I don't want to force you out in the middle of the night, but I would highly appreciate it if you would allow me to stay tomorrow."
Watching her new captain smile so kindly at her, the dark haired girl almost felt the need to cry. "Yes..."
She smiled even more kindly and pat Hinamori on the shoulder. "Alright, then...um...What was I going to do?"
The two watched the new captain stare off into the distance, a blank look crossing her features. "Sawamura-taichō, would you like to be shown to another room?" Tōshirō offered, frustrated that she was giving into Momo's ridiculous delusions.
"Oh, no, thank you though." She smiled at them both for a moment before turning to the door. "I think I'll go get a feel for the division, thank you for your help, Hitsugaya-taichō. And please try to get some sleep, Momo-chan. I'll see you both later." And with that she walked into the dark halls of the division, trying quite hard to remember what she'd forgotten.
"Sawamura-san!" Momo called, looking throughout the division for her new captain. She had yet been able to actually call her her captain, but she didn't hate her. In fact, having such a kind and thoughtful person around was really helping the young lieutenant. Although as thoughtful as she was, Yuka proved to rather be quite scatter brained and very forgetful.
During the month that she'd been serving under the new captain she'd found herself growing happier. Not only had she been doing more on her own, but she'd had her captain there reassuring her without becoming a nuisance. She had been doing so much work that she'd been finding herself thinking less and less of her former captain as well, which was doing wonders for her mental state.
"Where could she have disappeared to?" She thought, having checked most of the normal places the captain could usually be found.
"Who are you looking for?" A soft voice asked, suddenly appearing behind the flustered young girl.
"Sawamura-san!" Momo yelled, practically jumping out of her skin.
Yuka cocked her head to the side. "Me? Sorry, I was a bit preoccupied with something...What was I doing...?"
The darker haired girl reached out and touched her hand, stopping the spacey captain from becoming distracted again. "Sawamura-san, I received this letter from Unohana-taichō, she said it was urgent."
Hesitating for only a moment, she reached out and took the letter. "Thank you very much, Momo-chan."
Standing next to her as she opened the letter, the lieutenant looked at the small paper intently. "...If you don't mind me asking, what is it?"
The smile that she captain usually wore was completely gone for a moment. She then turned to Momo and smiled. "It's just something about my last exam, she would like to see me again."
"Oh." The younger mentioned, not fully sure that was all.
"Ah, and Momo-chan, I was going to run through some business with the sixth division today, but I'm afraid I have something more crucial to attend, there is a file on my desk about what I was to discuss with Kuchiki-taichō but I'd like you to do it." The silver haired captain smiled, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.
Staring at her captain wide eyed, she shook her head. "But I can't!"
Yuka took her chin in her hand and made sure they were face to face. "Momo-chan, you have done such wonderful things as a fukutaichō, you've done all that while relying on others. I think it's time for you to rely on yourself. I know that you carry that strength, and though you pledge your life to those you serve. So go show everyone what you can do while relying on yourself."
Momo wasn't quite sure what to do. Her whole life had been about Aizen, she gave her all to him, but now...Now she had a strong person reassuring her and telling her to trust in herself. All the things Aizen did had always been about making it easier for her, about taking all the work on himself. But this new captain was giving her opportunities to do it herself. She could feel the warmth radiating off of her new captain and found that extremely calming. "Alright..."
Releasing her subordinate, she smiled. "Thank you, Momo-chan. I'll be back later this evening."
Though she wasn't sure why, Momo found herself waiting in the captains office that night. The meeting she had with the sixth division's captain and lieutenant had been completely successful. The two divisions were definitely at their strongest. "Sawamura-san!" She smiled, welcoming the captain back to her division.
Yuka looked up at her and smiled, taking a seat on the couch by her. "Momo-chan, I'm assuming things went well. How are you feeling?"
"I feel great! Things went well, and I even filled out all the paper work and organized everything in this office! I didn't know that doing things on my own like this could be so..."
"Empowering?" The silver haired captain offered, smiling brightly at her underling. "I knew you had the strength. You can live your life for you."
Suddenly, the tiny lieutenant pulled her captain into a tight embrace. "Thank you, Sawamura...taichō..." It felt strange to say it out loud, but after all of the encouragement she had offered throughout the time she was captain, she deserved the title. "...Aizen was all I lived for...But he's not my taichō anymore. Now I know it's my life to live. I don't need him anymore."
Softly holding her back, Yuka smiled into her hair. "I'm glad you found yourself. You will make a wonderful taichō, I know it..."
"It's all thanks to you." The dark haired lieutenant looked up at her captain and smiled. She was so happy now.
Just then, she really looked at her captain. Her eyes might have looked strange at first, but they way they shined in the light made them beautiful. In fact, everything about her was beautiful, her hair, her creamy pale skin, her soft lips...Not quite sure what was going through her head, Momo leaned in and carefully pressed their lips together.
Finding more confidence in herself, she pushed the silver haired captain down on the couch, and allowing her hands to wander carelessly. "Taichō... " She mumbled, letting her hands slip into her robe, slowly removing it. "...Thanks..."
"In a magical place far, far away
A place called the Seireitei
The maidens journey had reached it's end
The hearts that had been helped were better friends
They held strength no one imagined
Standing firm with all their passion
They would show the world much they'd grown
Holding onto their memories that they own."
Three sad people stood crowded around a small area, tears threatened to spill from their eyes. Hundreds of others also stood around, all wearing similar sad expressions as well. It seemed as if all of Seireitei was in mourning. Even the sky held a dark dreary look.
"...And thus we will honor the life of a very treasured person. Her strength will be remembered in our hearts forever. May you find good fortune in the next life as well...Sawamura Yuka."
Shūhei, Izuru, and Momo stared at the grave sadly. All thinking the same thought.
"Thank you, Sawamura-taichō..."
Yep, that's the end of that one. Somehow, I'm starting to hate Momo less and less. Maybe she'll be around more in some of my other stories. Haha, only I know! But anyway, thanks so much!