His eyes remained focused on the healing pod that lay in front of them. The glass was fogged making it nearly impossible to see the woman laying inside, comatose and completely unaware of the three captains standing and talking about her. The summons from the Twelfth Division had been surprising; Captain Kurotsuchi was nothing if not secretive when it came to the Department of Research and Development. The only thing Toshiro had expected from him was a brief report or maybe a blunt statement from him regarding Hinamori's recovery status. But to be deep within his lab and with Captain Unohana no less, it could only mean something bad had happened.

The meeting had started out fine, Unohana had made every assurance that Hinamori was currently stable, alive, and that every effort was being made to ensure her health. But everything after that had been like a living nightmare. Toshiro's body felt numb and his stomach was knotted so tight he felt as though he were on the verge of heaving over and vomiting; he could barely hear the rest of the words the other two captains were saying, his mind struggling to comprehend the one word that was the cause of this terror.

Pregnant.

It seems the only reason he had been brought in was because they assumed he was the father. He and Hinamori had always been close and as much as he wished they were that close, they weren't. He'd always been too busy, or too afraid to say anything, afraid she really only saw him as a friend or, at worst, a brother. He could never find the right time, or the right thing to say and in place of saying what he really wanted, he always resorted to repeating the same mocking insults he had used when they were kids, content that he could at least make her smile. But as the Winter War had drawn closer, he'd become more afraid of the consequences of inaction. Contentment would no longer be enough for him.

It had been a spur of the moment, last chance type of encounter. In the midst of the final preparations to fight Aizen in the World of the Living, while all available fighters were preparing to move out, he'd sought out Momo at the Fifth Division barracks. Though she was physically healthy, she was still considerably weakened from the coma and deemed unfit for the battle. She hadn't been happy about it. He'd barely taken one step into the room before she started yelling at him.

"I should be going with you and the other Lieutenants," She'd said, tossing down the brush she had been using to fill out the small pile of paperwork on her desk. Standing, she moved in front of her desk.

"Hinamori—"

"—I know what you're going to say. That I'm too weak, that I'm still recovering, Too close to the situation;" She paced back and forth as she counted out reasons on her fingers.

"Hinamori—"

"—But I've been training since I woke up for this very reason. I need to fight for the Soul Society, for my Division, for—"

"Momo!" Toshiro grabbed her by the shoulders to get her attention, and finally she went quiet. It had been so long since they had been this close. He heaved a small sigh before speaking. "You're not weak. That's not the reason why you aren't going," He said. "Anyone with eyes can see how hard you've trained for the battle. And were you at full strength, there would be no question that you'd be there on the front lines with the rest of us." Toshiro shook his head, "But you aren't. And I'm sure you've read my reports on the arrancars. They're strong. We can't take any unnecessary losses."

He felt her shoulders drop in his grasp. "I just… I have to help. After what I…"

Her voice trailed off as her head bowed low, coming to rest on his shoulder. It had been so long since she'd been this close to him, and he had no idea how this battle would play out or even if he would come back. It could be his last chance. The one thing that would be enough to keep him alive. "Momo? There is something… you could do… for me." She picked her head up but kept it close to his, and he took the opportunity to press their foreheads together. Reaching for her cheek, he lightly caressed the smooth skin, giving her the chance to push him away if she wanted but she stayed, and he leaned in. Their lips touched lightly at first, he didn't want to ask for more than she was willing to give, but as he began to pull away, she chased after him, her hands coming to his chest and tugging lightly on his haori. His arms wrapped around her waist, and held her close, savoring this moment and what it could mean.

Outside, the alarm calling all forces to mobilize sounded and reluctantly they pulled apart. Toshiro held on to her nape for a moment longer, keeping her close as they stared into one another's eyes. Questions mixed with longing, mixed with hope as they held their gaze. His lips quirked into a smirk. "Wait for me?"

Momo nodded, "Promise you'll come back?"

"For you? Always." They shared one more brief kiss before he finally pulled away from her and left.

Toshiro had gone into battle with every hope for the future and a promise he would give anything to keep. It had been a hard battle. The Espadas were a challenge even for the best of the captains and even the Fracción proved to be a challenge for the lieutenants. Momo had, against orders, come to the battle and was a great asset to Rangiku in her battle. And while he worried about her, he had trusted that she was safe in the care of Izuru Kira and under the protection of Captain Komamura. But no one had planned for Aizen to use her to break them all.

All the captains had worked together to take hold of Aizen and keep him from using his zanpakuto. Toshiro had made a perfect killing blow, his blade driven deep into his chest. But it was all an illusion. Their trap had been sprung not on Aizen, but Momo. For the life of him, Toshiro couldn't remember a single thing after that. He remembered a sense of madness, and darkness but that was it. Next thing he knew, he was waking up in the medical wing in the Fourth Division.

"Toshiro?"

"Huh?" He pinched the bridge of his nose, refocusing Captain Unohana, her eyes sad as she looked at him concerned.

"We need to know what you want to do about the fetus."

Toshiro blinked, looking between Unohana and the bored Kurotsuchi. "I… I don't understand."

Kurotsuchi rolled his eyes. "Idiot. Do you know how much strain pregnancy puts on the internal organs? The heart in particular is put under considerable stress, increasing heart rate between ten and fifteen percent. Blood pressure goes up exponentially as it progresses, in addition, the body diverts resources to the fetus that could otherwise benefit the mother."

"What exactly are you asking me?"

"Toshiro, organ regeneration is difficult as it is," Unohana said, calmly and slowly as if speaking to a child. A fitting tone, as he felt completely lost in this moment. "We've never done this procedure on a pregnant woman before. The added physical strain of a pregnancy could cause complications."

"What sort of complications?"

The two captains exchanged a glance, for once seeming to be in agreement on something. "We don't know," She said. "It's possible there could be life long heart and lung issues. Other major organs including the liver and the upper intestines were also badly damaged in the battle. There's really no telling which organs might or might not be at risk."

He nodded once, "So, you asked me here to decide—"

"—To decide to terminate the pregnancy on behalf of your partner," Kurotsuchi finished. "It is only the most logical choice. To ensure Lieutenant Hinamori is fully healed with no risk of such complications, the pregnancy must be terminated."

Unohana glared at the Captain of the Twelfth for a moment before softening her eyes when she looked back at Toshiro. "If you'd rather we preserved the pregnancy, we can. But be aware that there are risks."

Toshiro ran his hands over his face. This was too much. "Shouldn't… shouldn't this be her choice? I don't…"

"Normally, yes," Unohana said. "But we can't wake her. The medical pod is keeping her stable but waking her would give us a limited window to speak with her. She could die before she gives us an answer." She placed her hand gently on his shoulder, "It is well known that you care a great deal for Hinamori. You've known her longer than anyone. You're her best friend. If anyone would know her wishes, it would be you."

He closed his eyes and pulled away from the other two. Moving to stand with his back to the captains, he stood in front of Hinamori without the distractions of the others. He could just make out her outline but in his mind, her saw her clearly. Healthy. Alive. Happy. Toshiro prided himself on having a good memory. He could remember most of his conversations with Hinamori clearly as though they had happened yesterday. He knew her favorite foods, knew her favorite places to clear her mind, knew all the little things that made her cringe, Hell, he even knew what brand of tampon she used. But abortion… he honestly didn't know what she would choose. He didn't even know who the father was.

"How… —did she know?"

Unohana shrugged, "I don't know. I can assume, yes. The fetus is about 5.6 centimeters long, so I'd put that at around twelve weeks or so."

Twelve weeks. Three months… that would put it somewhere around the Ryoka incident. He racked his brain to recall who Momo had been spending a lot of time with. Kira had always been a close friend. Maybe they had gotten closer? It might explain why she'd been surprised when he'd warned her to be careful around the Third Division. But… if that were so, wouldn't she have told Kira about the pregnancy? No, it couldn't have been Kira. He ran through every name he could think of who Hinamori had spent time with even for a short while. None made sense. Had it been rape? No. She'd have fought. She wasn't a lieutenant for nothing. She could hold her own in a fight so there was no way the guy would have gotten away unscathed. And… she would have told him if she were in trouble, right?

An idea began to poke in his mind, one that he tried very hard to push away. An idea so impossible it simply couldn't be. But as every other possibility proved to be even more unlikely, the idea grew strength until it couldn't be anything but a real possibility. It felt like a hot knife through his heart, stabbing relentlessly over and over and over again. The pain worse than anything he'd ever felt.

Terminate it. Wipe it from existence. He'd cut it out himself if necessary.

But… she had known. She'd kept it for a reason. She never told anyone for a reason. Momo had always been very intentional with her actions. Once her mind was made up, there was very little anyone could do to change it. And try as he might to understand her reasoning for this… perhaps it wasn't something he was meant to understand, only honor.

Toshiro's fists clenched tight enough to draw blood. The action went unnoticed by the other two captains as they seemed to have gotten into an argument of their own during his long silence. He knew what he would choose. But this wasn't his choice. Against his better judgement, he forced the words out of his mouth, "Save them both."