We made it! Last army chapter, as promised. And this one is much lighter than the others, so really, the army part wasn't as bad as I thought. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. It's long overdue.

After he had been there for about a year, Hitsugaya received a summons to meet with the commanding officer of his unit to discuss his progress.

"I've got to go to this meeting," he told Inoue as she helped him hold a sword steady. "It shouldn't take too long." He thought he saw a flicker of sorrow flash across her eyes, but it was gone so quickly he was sure he had imagined it.

"Ok!" she said as brightly as always. "I'll mix some metal while you're gone then!" Hitsugaya nodded, thanked her for bringing him the food, and left for his meeting.

He entered the office and a peon told him to sit. He waited for what felt like forever, all the while lamenting the lost time in the smithy, when finally, the same burly officer who had met him on his first day bumbled into the room and plopped himself down in his chair. He looked at Hitsugaya and appraised him with a thoughtful expression.

"Ah yes," he said as if remembering something mildly interesting. "Our little prodigy sword smith. I've been tracking your work and I must say, I'm rather impressed. You've managed to produce swords at a remarkable rate, and they are of much higher quality than anything I've ever seen." Hitsugaya nodded at the compliment.

"Do you have a team of people working in there that I don't know about?" the officer asked slyly, then laughed heartily at his own joke. "But seriously, you know you'll be out of here ahead of schedule if you keep this up." Hitsugaya nodded again.

"That's the plan sir," he said. The officer smirked.

"Isn't it always? Well, as you have clearly demonstrated your skills and commitment, we were thinking that it's about time you have your mattress changed. We've got some really great ones lined up. What do you think?" Hitsugaya knew that he was not referring the item he slept on.

"No thank you sir," he replied coolly. "I am perfectly happy with Inoue-san." After a year in the army, he still couldn't bring himself to use the term "mattress," and he was quite proud of that fact. "Besides, training someone else to assist me in the smithy would only slow me down."

"I see," the officer replied thoughtfully. "Well then, if there is anything else we can do for you, please let me know." Hitsugaya checked.

"What?" he asked, utterly flabbergasted. The army didn't do anything to make people's lives easier, nor did it do them any favors. Where was this coming from?

"King Yamamoto himself has seen your work, arms inspection is a favorite past time of his, and he says you are to be rewarded for your fine creations," the officer explained. "If a new mattress won't appease you, then perhaps something else might? Within reason, of course," he added with a smirk. "Don't get carried away now."

A reward? Oh, Hitsugaya could think of a hundred things he wanted. Some leave time to go home for a few days. A private bedroom. A decent meal. Permission to string Saito and Grimmjaw up by their toes butt naked an inch over the forge and have them beg for mercy. A muzzle for Inoue. But there was one thing that he wanted above and beyond all that. Something he knew he may never have another opportunity to ask for.

"Sir," he said respectfully. "I wish for justice to be dealt to a certain man for crimes which are, in my opinion, unforgiveable." The officer raised an eyebrow.

"This sounds interesting," he said, leaning back in his chair and preparing for a good story. "Who is this man, and what are his crimes."

"His name is Aizen Souske sir," Hitsugaya continued. "And he is guilty of beating his pregnant wife to within an inch of her life all for the purpose of killing her unborn child."

"Well now that's nothing new," the officer brushed him off, clearly disappointed by his story. "Men beat their wives all the time when they find out they're carrying a bastard. That's totally acceptable." Hitsugaya suppressed the urge to correct him on his breech of morality and settled for shaking his head.

"No sir," he explained. "This was no bastard. This was Aizen's own child. He simply didn't want it." The officer looked at him quizzically.

"Well, I can't say it's a particularly convincing story, nor is it a standard reward, but I don't see any reason to keep it from you. What would you like done with this man?"

Hitsugaya was stunned. Did this officer actually agree?! A little devil awoke inside of him. He could do anything he wanted to Aizen now. Anything. His first instinct was death, but then he decided that death wasn't good enough. Aizen deserved to suffer for what he had done, and Hitsugaya could think of no worse punishment than the hell of prison. It was said that prisoners looked upon army life as pure heaven compared to the pain and torture they were put through. Although Hitsugaya would have preferred to rip him limb from limb himself, he decided that prison was a fine enough alternative.

"I want him thrown in prison for the rest of his life," Hitsugaya replied. "And I want him to be legally divorced from his wife, and for her to have sole rights to all his assets."

"Ah!" the officer exclaimed. "Now I get it! You want this girl for yourself don't ya'? Oh, you're a sly one." Hitsugaya scoffed.

"I already have a wife," he sneered. "The girl is my cousin." The officer simply laughed.

"Whatever you say," he chuckled. "Well, I don't particularly care what your reasons are, they're none of my business. We'll have this man apprehended immediately."

"Thank you sir!" Hitsugaya said gratefully, feeling lighter than he had in a year. Momo was finally going to be free.

"I'll find a proper husband for her this time," he thought with relief. "Someone who will care about her in the manner she deserves."

ooooooooooooooooo

Hitsugaya walked into to the smithy in a daze.

"I got him," he said aloud, still not fully believing it. "I finally got my revenge." He had never felt so full of vindictive pleasure before. He was feeling…mischievous.

"Revenge?" Inoue asked curiously. "On who? Saito-san?" Hitsugaya checked as he thought about that, and he smirked wryly.

"Don't you worry about it Inoue-san," he said nonchalantly. "I just dealt with something from back home." But inside, the gears were turning.

"I think it's time," he thought slyly, "that I take a little more revenge."

He waited until Inoue left for lunch before making his move. It was the perfect time to carry out his plan as no one would think it was strange if he was caught going where he wanted to go.

Hitsugaya opened a bin containing a special dehydrating powder that he used to suck any extra water out of liquid metal solutions. The powder was super absorbent, since water incorporation weakened the final product. Hitsugaya had had this power drizzled on his skin many times before, and he knew exactly how much it burned. Careful to avoid touching it, he scooped a few spoonfuls into a burlap sack, and headed to his barrack.

It was thankfully deserted, since it was uncommon for people to come back here this soon after the start of lunch; they were usually too busy eating. He went over to his bed, but instead of opening the trunk containing his clothing, he opened the one that belonged to Saito. Holding his nose against the vile smell emanating from it, Hitsugaya bravely stuck his hand in. Luckily, it didn't take long to find what he was looking for; Saito's boxers. Feeling incredibly childish, and loving every second of it, Hitsugaya carefully lined the boxers with a thin, invisible layer of dehydrating powder. Mission accomplished, he replaced the boxers and had just left the barrack when another idea struck him.

"I've really lost my mind today, haven't I?" he thought, as he changed directions and headed back inside.

ooooooooooooooooo

"Woowee, they murdered us today!" Saito exclaimed as he ripped his clothing off.

"Uh huh," Hitsugaya replied distractedly. He usually avoided contact with Saito as much as possible, but today he was being particularly cautious, as he was afraid that looking at him for too long would cause him to lose it.

Saito's new "mattress," Ito-chan, reached into his trunk and handed him his clothing. Hitsugaya turned away, suppressed the maniacal grin on his face as best he could, and looked back just in time to see Saito's face's turn beet red as he stood there in nothing but his boxers.

"Something wrong?" Hitsugaya asked as casually as he could. Wow, he had never had so much trouble keeping a straight face before. Saito shook his head, clearly afraid to speak. Hitsugaya was on the brink of breaking down, and he thought he was a goner, when a strangled cry ripped through the barrack coming from the direction of Grimmjaw's bunk.

"What in the bloody hell?!" he screamed, jumping up and down like a wildcat. He too was clad only in a pair of blue boxers

"What's wrong, Grimmjaw-dono?" a concerned soldier asked.

"None of your damn business!" he snarled. Hitsugaya couldn't take it anymore. He dove into bed as quickly as he could and buried his face in his pillow to hide the grin that was threatening to split his face open. He had never in a million years believed that he could enjoy anything about the army this much.

And the best part of the whole affair was that Saito's bed was mercifully silent for a whole week.

oooooooooooooooooo

"Momo!" Matsumoto sang, coming into the dining room. "A letter came for you."

"Who's it from?" Karin asked curiously? "Don't tell me Toushiro snuck out a letter to you and couldn't figure out how to get one to me!" Momo giggled.

"I doubt it," she replied. Ever since the attack, Momo had been living at the Hitsugaya manor with Karin. They had become close friends over the year they had spent together, as they each dealt with the lack of a husband, albeit for very different reasons. Karin had considered going home to her own family, but decided that she would much rather stay in her new home with Momo, Matsumoto, and everyone else. She had come to love the Hitsugaya manor, even with the huge, gaping hole that Hitsugaya's absence had created. She couldn't imagine leaving it.

"It looks official," Matsumoto said, scanning the seal, which was imprinted with the army's insignia. She handed the letter to Momo, who slit it open and began to read. Her face turned paler with every word.

"Oi, Momo, are you alright?" Karin asked with concern. "What happened?"

"Souske-sama's been arrested," she said blankly, as if she didn't actually believe it. "On charges of spousal abuse. He's been sentenced to prison for life. And…" She paused for a moment, and when she continued, it was with great difficulty. "Our marriage has been rescinded, and I'm to receive all of his possessions. I'm…no longer married." Matsumoto's jaw fell open. Karin took a second to process that information, then jumped up and grabbed Momo's shoulders.

"Momo!" she screamed excitedly, shaking her in an attempt to knock some sense into the stunned girl. "You're free! You're free! You're no longer attached to that snake!" Momo still didn't seem to comprehend.

"But…"

"Don't 'but' me!" Karin ordered. "Don't tell me you're not over him yet? Seriously, now you can marry someone decent, like Kira!" Momo's face flushed horribly at Karin's words.

"Karin!" she gasped. "I don't think of Kira-kun that way!" Karin snorted.

"Oh please," she scoffed. "You spend more time with him than you do with anyone else! How many walks have you to gone on together in the garden? And if you mean to tell me that you haven't seen how much that boy is head over heels in love with you, then you are just about as blind as they come. You couldn't do better than him. Seriously." Momo gaped for a moment.

"I…I need to think about this for a while," she mumbled before scurrying out of the room. Karin shook her head in annoyance.

"I swear, that girl is so dense, it's amazing she can walk straight," Karin said fondly. Matsumoto chuckled.

"So we'll be having a wedding soon?" she asked.

"I assume so. It'll take Kira all of five minutes to propose when he gets this news. Mark my words, they'll be engaged by dinner." Karin picked up the letter and scanned it.

"You know, this must be Toushiro's doing," she said proudly. "There's no other reason for them to do this."

"I know," Matsumoto replied happily. "I guess it was a letter from him after all." Karin grinned.

"Wow, is he going to be surprised when he gets home," she chuckled. "Kira and Momo? The shock might just kill him."

"Oh, give the boy some credit," Matsumoto teased. "Maybe a comatose state for a month. But death? That's a little extreme."

"No," Karin shook her head as she smiled uncontrollably. "I think his surprise might kill just about anyone."

Shout out to Miichiya Mikan who made the connection and saw this coming :)