Thanks to all the reviewers who read my first chapter, especially Dark Jason and FellowNrd, your feedback really helped me a lot. I made a small change to the ending of the first chapter so please read that.
Last thing, from now on this:
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Will be a scene change or a POV change
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Ichigo was staring up at the ceiling of his temporary quarters in the recovery ward of the 4th division barracks, hands under his head with the blanket pulled down to his waist. He had discarded the bandages when his wounds had been healed the day before by the captain of said division. He had woken up several minutes prior, but the sun hadn't even risen yet so he saw no point in getting up.
Ichigo was brought out of his ramblings by some voices outside his room; he could almost make them out through the thin membrane of the walls that kept his room separated from the hallway outside. Closing his eyes and straining his hearing, he could make out some of the hushed words.
"The lieutenant…..-ken up….but no emotion…..refusing to eat….-er eyes… nothing in them." Said a soft male voice, sounding vaguely like Hanataro, the medic that healed him during his rescue attempt.
Another voice, this one female, "….She loved him….betrayed….used her…"
"…-ome think she's insane….many blame her..." replied the first voice.
"…-es ,even Hitsugaya-taicho refuses….talk with her… poor Momo…"
The voices then became inaudible as they left the vicinity.
"Momo...hmmm, doesn't sound familiar, maybe the lieutenant of one of the traitors. Must have hit her pretty hard if she's that bad. Oh well, can't say it's any of my business." He thought.
Getting up from the bed and getting dressed, he decided that an early morning walk would do him some good. Shrugging on the top of his shihakusho and grabbing Zangetsu he left through the window which was just big enough to let him through, he didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. Ever since he was little, the morning had always been his time of the day. He remembered waking up early on Saturdays to just enjoy the quiet before his flamboyant father woke up and started watching cartoons with Yuzu. Chuckling at those fond memories, he couldn't help but think how much his life had changed, ever since that one night.
Ichigo landed in a large open garden that was in the middle of the large rectangular recovery ward, he assumed it was for recuperating patients to get some fresh air and relaxation. Walking along a small path, he started to think about his future here in the Seireitei. He really like the idea of commanding a special forces group, he could just picture himself with a white haori, flash stepping through hordes of the enemy, always just out of reach, with a team of black ops shinigami, assassinating important targets. Other scenario's played through his head and he couldn't help but feel a little giddy, just how many 16 year old boys were able to do this kinda stuff?
A few minutes later however, he remembered that things weren't going to be fun and games forever. Aizen seemed to have some of the most powerful hollows under his control, and for all he knew, that bastard could have a horde of hollows under his command. He shuddered at the thought of innumerable monsters pouring in through some portal into the Seireitei, or even karakura town…
Shaking his head to clear these thoughts out of his head, he continued along the path.
"I'll just have to be ready, and make my division the strongest it can be to kill that teme" He thought.
As he turned a corner, he spotted something that caught his eye, a glint of steel. Focusing on that point, he saw a small girl or woman, head down with a long knife in her hand, held horizontally over her stomach. Ichigo immediately recognized her intent and all logical thought fled from his mind. His intent was clear; there was no excuse for suicide, no matter what happens in your life, you NEVER give up.
On pure instinct, his muscles flexed and his reiatsu flared quickly as he performed a flash step, strait towards the girl.
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She was so cold, her world was so dark.
Her light, her warmth had left, had nearly killed her.
She couldn't bear to speak his name, the name that had symbolized the light and warmth in her life for years.
There was nothing now, she had given herself to him wholeheartedly, she would have done anything for him… she STILL would do anything for him… but he didn't love her anymore, he never loved her, he threw her away like a piece of trash. But she STILL loved him; she had loved him for so long that…
Slowly she took out the knife she had stolen from the food tray that the 4th squad attendant used to cut her food, even if she refused to eat.
Her captain had been her life, and now that he had abandoned her… there was nothing left….
Slowly, she raised the blade to her stomach, unfeeling, uncaring, not a single emotion passed through her mind as she contemplated killing herself. No one cared for her anymore, she had known that Hitsugaya and some of her old friends would wait by her door, but they would always leave before even trying to talk to her.
In a way, she was a traitor just as much as her captain… she had been a key part in his plans, and she had fought for him even after he tried to kill her.
"At least I was of some use to you… Taicho…"
With that thought, she closed her eyes and her arms began to emotionlessly lead the sharp knife on its path to her stomach and through her bowels.
Before it could pierce the fabric of her shuhakusho however, she felt a rough, callused hand close around her own two as they firmly gripped the handle of the blade.
The reiatsu of the person who stopped her was unknown to her, and yet… vaguely familiar.
Ichigo looked down at the small form sitting on the wooden floor beneath him. A flurry of emotions passed through his mind…confusion, sadness, and anger, anger at the man who did this to someone so…beautiful….
Looking down at the perfectly expressionless face, he couldn't help but notice how pretty this girl was, this…Momo.
As her eyes opened however, all his emotions condensed into a single intense feeling…rage…rage at the man who had obviously taken everything from this girl.
"….She loved him….betrayed….used her…" Hanataro's statement reverberated through his mind.
Momo's coffee brown eyes were dead; there was nothing there as she looked up at him, as if he wasn't even there, as if she was an empty shell.
Momo slowly opened her eyes; it seemed she wasn't going to die right now. Looking up at the person who had stopped her however, she didn't see the horrified or concerned face she was expecting. The person standing above her was like no one she had ever seen before, a shock of fiery orange hair, an intense scowl, a gigantic Zanpakto….and his eyes.
His brown eyes burned into her very soul as they radiated pure fury and rage, no one had ever looked at her like that. She looked away.
Growling, Ichigo yanked the knife from her grasp that had fallen limp and buried the knife in the wall next to him.
Neither of them said anything, Momo because she didn't care, and Ichigo because he just didn't know what to tell her. He was saved from that fate however, when he heard the door to her room open inside the door just to his left. He could here Hanataro's voice call out and he waved him over.
"Kurosaki-kun! What are you doing here?" The 7th seat said.
"She was going to…" He couldn't bring himself to say it "…to use that" he finally said, pointing at the knife embedded in the wall. Eyes widening in understanding, and shock, Hanataro quickly told Ichigo to stay with Momo, just in case, while he took the knife and went to go get the captain.
Throughout the entire exchange, Ichigo never took his eyes of her form, and she in turn hadn't moved or responded at all. Not knowing what to do, he sat down next to her, legs dangling off the raised platform, almost touching the grass. Again she didn't respond.
Ichigo ran his hands through his hair, his rage temporarily abated, as he sat exasperated. He remembered a brief but dark time in his life when he was just like she was now, right after his mother had died, and he had blamed himself. He had had his family however, to feel their forgiveness, their love; it had been enough for him to climb out of that hole.
Momo had no one though… he remembered clearly how those two people outside his room had said her friends had abandoned her after her grief-fueled actions allowed Aizen's plans to come to fruition. After a few silent moments, he finally resolved to be there and help her climb out of the pit she was in.
He looked back to what his father had said to him, all those years ago, and rearranged his words for this situation.
"He must have been very special to you…" he began. "…more than special I suppose, must've been your whole world if he hurt you this bad by betraying you…you don't deserve any of this…"
"But giving up on life is not the way…no matter what he meant to you; another person can never be your reason for living. Your life is your own… it belongs to no one else. That Ba-… man used you Momo… he was not who you thought he was, he is pure evil for what he did to you, plain and simple. He is cold, heartless; he gives only to himself and takes everything from everyone else. But you're feeling 's for the man you thought he was are true, it shows you are not like him, it shows you are human."
Slowly, she started to look up, afraid to trust again, afraid that if she started to hope, just a little, it would be ripped from her life again.
Unafraid now, confident, the words just came to him.
"What I'm trying to say is… you can't let him control you anymore, you have to take hold of your life… you must rise up… and live it."
Momo finally looked up at him, and what she saw nearly made her gasp. His brown eyes, which had been burning with anger a moment ago, now were filled with warmth. As she looked into his caring brown eyes, she felt the coldness recede, and the dark shroud cast over her thoughts was lifted. His face was no longer in a scowl, but had a small smile, his face radiating understanding and kindness.
As she looked up at him, hesitant and hopeful at the same time, he could feel his heart clench inside his chest at her fragility. He let his scowl slip away and stopped his unconscious desire to hide his emotions. He let her see into his soul and watched as her expression slowly changed from the emotionless mask it was before.
Going on instinct, he put a hand on her shoulder and said.
"I was just like you… a long time ago, but I wasn't alone… I'm not going to let you be alone."
He couldn't explain why he was opening up to her like this. There was something about her that he couldn't help but feel that he had to be there for her. He wouldn't let her fall deeper into the hole she was in, like he almost had.
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Retsu Unohana was standing by the door to the recovery room of Lieutenant Hinamori Momo, looking out on the scene going on in front of her. She had been so worried when Hanataro had come running into her office, screaming the shocking news. But when she had come upon Ichigo sitting next to Momo and all that followed, she decided not to interfere.
Smiling to herself, she turned away and closed the door.
"Come Hanataro, it looks like Ichigo-kun has it under control."
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Ichigo could feel her tensing up under his touch, so he let go. She wrapped her arms around herself, uncertain what to do next.
Still smiling, Ichigo stood up and held out his hand for her, she looked at it like it was a snake, but then she hesitantly grasped it and he pulled her up. Ichigo understood that she would be hesitant to trust someone's words so soon after such a crushing betrayal. So he decided to give her some space.
"I have some business to take care of, try to think about what I said."
Turning to walk away, he wasn't expecting her to reach out and grab his sleeve.
"I…I didn't get your n-name..." she whispered, not trusting her voice to speak loudly.
Turning around, Ichigo smiled again, this time mischievously, and Momo couldn't stop a light blush from rising up her cheeks.
"It's Ichigo… Ichigo Kurosaki."
Saying that, he turned around and slowly walked into her room and through her door to the main building beyond it.
She slowly sank to her knees again as she stared at her hands, not believing what she had been prepared to do. Ichigo's words ran through her mind over and over again. He was so unlike her ex-captain, she couldn't believe it. Ichigo had seen her about to give up and was filled with rage, while the Aizen she thought she knew would have been worried. He would have never told her to take charge of her own life; he would have told her to let him take care of her, like he always had.
Eyes opening wide, she started to realize just how much he had trained her to be the perfect pawn. She could remember the countless times he had told her to step back and let him handle things. She had always allowed him to make her choices, she had thought that he cared for her, but he was just using her. He had made her rely on him, trust him so completely, that she was the perfect pawn and couldn't live without him.
As she went along with that thought though, she couldn't help but remember that caring smile Aizen used to give her, how he would let her talk about all her worries to him… But those memories were warped when the smile she remembered changed into the evil grin he had given her as he plunged his Zanpakto into her.
Her world was crashing down on her, and she couldn't make out which pieces were real and which were just lies.
Ichigo's words had ignited something within her however, something she had never felt before. She spent a while sitting there, trying to come to terms with what had just happened.
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Ichigo was on his way to the meeting he was due for with the Sotaicho, even though he wasn't supposed to be there for another twenty minutes. His talk with Momo had given him something he had lacked since saving Rukia, a purpose.
When he had woken up that morning, he knew he needed to be the best captain he could be and become as strong as he could before the eventual war with Aizen. But those were very passive goals; there was no drive, nothing there that could push him to his limits to achieve. But after witnessing what Aizen's betrayal had done to Momo, his purpose came into focus.
In order to protect his family, his friends, and all he held dear, he needed to stop Aizen, and he was going to start by making sure Momo didn't become just another casualty.
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Just a little bit shorter than chapter one but felt that I should end it here. And for those of you wondering about Momo's attempt at suicide, I was describing the traditional Japanese ritual for suicide, seppuku I think it's called. It was traditionally used by samurai and what they did was stab into their stomach and drag the blade across it…disemboweling themselves. Pretty bad right XO
Tell me what you guys think.
Quintus