A/N: I think Yukio went over a major overhaul, in both characterization and general subtlety. He seemed much to 'open' in the previous version, so I tined him down a tad. Also refined the general reactions toward his person.

Flower In the Flames: Revised

Chapter 2: Yukio Kenryu

"If 'fate' is what decides things…then is there a reason that I am the unfortunate flower…?

Is there a reason I am cursed with this unforgiving…

power?...

Ability?...

meaning…?

What is the meaning to it…?

Am I simply a by-product of the tangled threads of destiny? Something that was made accidentally?

If that's the case…..that should make me a weak pitiful flower…that shall eventually be enveloped in flames…and burn until there is nothing but ash…."

-Momo Hinamori

-X-

Hitsugaya was, once again, standing in his usual spot in the captain's meeting room; another meeting has already been issued and is currently in commence. But due out of either precaution or formality, the main topic at hand, it seemed, was to wait until all squad reports were given so as to give the Commander an idea of the current state of affairs on their end.

The order was going from Squad thirteen down, and his turn has been slightly delayed due to Kenpachi's inability to add any depth on his report, merely saying that they were "fine" and "ready for whatever fight gets thrown at them".

But that was of little matter, for he had other concerns that did not involve the eleventh's mediocre status check. It was Hinamori. On their way back to her compound, he noticed that her reiatsu was getting increasingly harder to read. Not because she was frantic or anything (or was she?), but she was intentionally calming, and at certain times, hiding her reiatsu. Had anyone else been around they would have figured nothing of it, given Hinamori's impeccable pacing to allow such fluctuations to go unnoticed. It was almost as if it was her typical state. But for him, who perhaps knew her and her reishi the best, the changes were noted.

It was no secret that everyone, captain or not, was getting unnerved by the situation as it stands—some of his men even broke down from what he's heard, crumbling under the pressure when no one was looking. And yet while some broke down, others scoffed—not quite understanding how the world can be in danger when nothing around them is amiss. Thankfully all know when a situation is real based on the demeanor of its captain, and thus most men were going about their orders as if it was a real mission. But he was sure there were a few who dismissed it as a vast, seireitei wide, drill—some of the men were just simply dense, and cannot fathom anything that does not involve blood and enemies. Ergo why squad eleven in particular was…disorganized (to give it a word).

Yet Momo, like all others of her rank, knows to heed this situation. Like the rest also, she should be worried. But why did she feel the need to cover it up? Technically speaking, Hitsugaya knew there was no reason to conceal her mood at all, not with everything presented at its current state.

Which meant that there was an outside factor. A factor that eluded him still. Lingering regrets perhaps?

It would certainly be normal, the weight of potential destruction can make anyone reflect on their lives, and the things that they never did. He himself had a few.

Noticing the head captain's stick vaguely swerving as his mouth made its typical motions, he also caught Kenpachi grunting from the corner of his eye, as the head captain turned his attention of him "Hitsugaya. It has come my attention that you have taken charge in overseeing squad five in addition to your own. I want your report on both."

"There is nothing out of the ordinary to report head captain. All of my men, as well as squad five's, are now carrying their zanpaktou at all times and are currently waiting inside their corresponding barracks awaiting any further orders. Since the time of stationary positioning, Momo Hinamori hasn't reported any problems and she too is waiting for further orders and updates. All major gateways and streets have been secured according to officer residencies that were nearby those locations, I therefore have spread out a wide variety of variably powered soldiers amidst our corresponding districts within Seireitei. This is to allow us to respond at least a little efficiently to nearly any situation presented no matter where the disturbances arise."

The head captain nodded, always satisfied with Hitsugaya's impeccable caution in such situations. "Very good. Take extra care with making sure there is no disorder amongst the squads." He turned his head to regard the large wolf form of Komamora "Captain Komamora, overseer to squads eight and nine, give me your report."

He didn't pay attention to the rest, as it was almost the same thing every meeting: fine. The captains who implied otherwise the majority of the time were Kenpachi and Kurotsuchi, but they typically were of a disorderly bunch anyway, so it was not irregular. Why pay attention to the normal things?

It all blurred by him, with his ears faithfully telling him that the meeting so far has not in any way steered away from the normal aspects. Soi Fon was thorough, Kyoraku was efficient, Unohana perfectly prepared for any casualty; nothing was different.

Meanwhile his mind still lingered on the topic of Hinamori. It almost seemed incredulous that he was thinking of a childhood friend while the others were actually concentrating on the potential end of the world, yet somehow…he didn't give as much of a damn as he thought.

Don't get him wrong, it was certainly within his interest—as it was in everyone's interest—to see their world, and therefore their existence, kept safe and secure, but he simply did not have any foreboding feelings as much as he had expected. His doubts, though they gnawed on him at times, were easily forgotten while he continued on with his resolute path. His fears, though existent, were easily extinguished with any increase in his courage, heightened by his pride at his own strength and the will of his person. To put it into words, this whole thing that made his mind sharp and his body waiting for any sign of danger…it wasn't as bad as he thought. The world, even as he looked at it and walked on it, was still normal; and even though he knew such a thing could be destroyed any time now, he seemed to accept that fact almost as easily as he accepted that death was a apart of his job.

Doubts and worries still existed…..but even now, they were kept well in check.

In truth, he expected to have more turmoil within his mind and more woes to weigh down his body, yet he still felt no amount of guilt or concern when his mind drifted to Hinamori's wellbeing and safety amidst it all, almost as if it never really changed from his occasional months where he did exactly the same thing in those days of peaceful melancholy.

As if knowing where his mind lingered, the bang of a stick on the floor was what brought his attention back to the task at hand, and the old man even looked a tad bit annoyed when he glanced at his direction. Or was it another look? His wrinkled face was but in its usual worn down and stern appearance, and truly, it was only the opening and closing of his eyes that could betray any feeling at all if he was reluctant to speak. But reading even that proved difficult. "Now for the main reason I called forth this meeting. In regards to the current situation, the central 46 has made a….unusual decision. It seems that we are to use the assistance of a prisoner to help us gain the kuseiko. He is from the Central Underground Prison."

The gazes of all the captains in the room remained hard, but there was a certain vehemence in the room as they regarded the idea of beholding a shinigami who has broken the law in this room so full of the most competent and power shinigami of their time. It was insult that they had to accept the help of a person so below their stature. With the entirety of squad twelve, competent and expert at their craft, working on finding a solution, the central 46 were impatient at what they considered either incompetence on their part or a waste of time. As they all pondered on the next course of action, there was an apparent lack of faith in the row of captains to be able to do anything-even bring up an idea.

….It was a true situation, though. Even in a small, reasonable way, they were incompetent. They really did come up with nothing as time kept on ticking by despite knowing that they may not have any time left at all.

They were, in a word: useless.

So yes, the obvious internal scorn at having to mentally bend their knee to a mere prisoner was infuriating. But no one seemed to show this and everyone opted to mull over their wounded pride later.

Opening his eyes to stare at the doorway, the old figure gave a slightly discontent rumble as he permitted those doors, which forbade entry into their influential and power midst, to open for the lowest shinigami that has yet to grace their eyes "Yukio Kenryu. Enter!"

As those doors creaked as they were pushed, everyone sighted the members of the Kido Corps, their hands tightly clasped around staves that were laden with chains. Chains that were bound to the wrists and neck of a young man, sealing his spiritual pressure from even the detection of the keenest within the room. He was dressed in the white garb of the fallen, and yet his back was straight and his walk firm as he walked into the room on his own accord, his escorts surprisingly falling behind his impatient steps. If he didn't know any better, he would say that the security was disturbingly lax. Did they really allow prisoners to control their own path of travel? That was supposed to be their job. Not his. The purpose of any jailor is to control the prisoner, who lost his rights long ago.

At noticing this, his contempt heightened. This man obviously still had pride, and enough of it so as to not care for the authority of those that should be above him. But perhaps the thing that made him dislike him the most was his grin. His golden eyes contrasted with his unruly brown flaxen hair, and yet his grin was what made him stand apart; it was small, but prominent. Confident too. It be told of his cunning nature and his dubious code of ethic, likely based on principles that any decent man would despise. But he didn't seem to let that thought deter his Cheshire grin.

As the chains that restricted his movement were unleashed from his person, leaving only the metal bands on his wrist to serve as a reminder that he was bound, those who escorted him here promptly left the room, ordered to wait until the finishing of their proceedings to bind their prisoner once more.

There was only a minimal pause once the doors closed before the introduction, the head captain doing the usual formality of properly identifying the man that stood before them "A prisoner of the fifth level of the underground prison, this man is known as Yukio Kenryu. His primary crime was the illegal experimentation with living souls."

His voice matched his grin, sounding to be laden with mockery, sarcasm and knowing beguilement "I thought I was going to be confined in there forever. It truly is nice to be in outside world again."

He was sentenced to the underground prison, which meant that his crimes were above simply being illegal. The underground prison, filled with nearly every single spiritual precaution and physical restraints, was typically kept for those who, in some shape or form, meddled with the world. Tessai, Urahara's companion, was sentenced to the third level of this prison prior to defection. His crime; the use of forbidden kido. Specifically the use of kido that manipulated time and space; spells that, even if it was unintentional, may cause dangerous drifts in the world's own time flow and spatial maintenance.

Another known inmate was Aizen, who threatened the balance with his various escapades in addition to his gaining of immortality, being able to kill regular souls by a single whim. It is unknown how such a soul could influence the balance, but it was easily deduced that he could do the damage quite easily, and that is in addition of to his fighting prowess.

Though he did not know the specifics of each level of the prison, and the criteria that puts prisoners there, but he knew this much; he was not as threatening as Aizen in either influence or power, but his crimes were heinous enough to be deemed more dangerous than forbidden kido—quite a feat considering the scope of the types Tessai used.

He was a dangerous person.

Yukio spoke with his taunting tone "I suppose now's a good time for me to explain how to solve this problem?" his question was directed toward the head captain, he didn't look the least fazed that he was addressing the strongest shinigami in the soul society.

Yamamoto looked unfazed by this "Yes, you may speak."

Kenryu looked around the room carefully, likely making a mental note of each and every one of their faces "Alright. I think I should start by saying that even without a portal to the world of hell there is still a way to send someone to hell. Mentally speaking."

Already this man was not making sense. But he was brought here for a reason, so there must be a reason.

"I know it sounds impossible, but it is possible to send someone's consciousness to hell. Their body will remain but their mental state will not. Given hell's punishing nature on both the physical and mental level, it really shouldn't surprise anyone, but when I discovered it, I couldn't be more surprised myself. I understand that most of us are not capable of envisioning such concepts, but bear with me." He took an intended pause, looking at them all as if they were children in a classroom who was supposed to ask him questions.

Hitsugaya's brow made a slight twitch. Now he was arrogant. Truly, this man was driving his patience. He felt sorry for anyone who had to work with him.

Soi Fon, on the other hand, had no patience for criminal scum "In case you haven't noticed, we are in a hurry. Explain yourself and your intended methods fully before you stop talking. We can ask questions later."

At thiss, he looked hurt, his smile becoming a frown, and his cheerful eyes forming differently as he made his pout "Fine, Fine. You know it's not a bad idea to spend your last days having a little fun…"

"Just continue." She snapped.

He regained his smile in a moment, his eyes broadcasting to everyone that he was delighted to continue "Oh yes, of course…As I was saying, it is possible to send a consciousness to hell. Apparently hell has a tendency to try and kept the mind of its prisoners intact. That is to say, hell intentionally keeps the mind relatively stable for as long as possible, in order for each prisoner to be able to experience their punishment to the fullest extent. It's a bit of a duality there, hell is meant to make you lose your mind with all of the torture and agony and yet hell itself doesn't want their fragile little minds to break…"

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to recall the details of his knowledge to aid his conversation, but he was apparently satisfied with the basics of his memory, with the corner of his mouth turning into a slightly higher smile "Though it is possible, only certain people can accomplish the task. These flowers you see, they're of a rare breed, not meant to be so common as to become mere regularities. They are born purely to have the potential to burn in hell's flames."

"Flowers?" Shunsui asked.

Kenryu blinked a few times, before incredulously explaining himself "Ah….yes. Pardon my habit, I just have the tendency to referring to these particular souls as "flowers". Can't say it didn't come in handy; literally every time someone passed me by they thought I was talking about gardening-which, I will also add, was quite the attraction when I had one. I also found it quite befitting, all of these souls are female, and all of them seemed rather delicate when put to the test. I suppose given their rarity I should have gone with a different nickname. Perhaps gems or maybe…"

Soi Fon was rather curt "Don't divert the subject."

Looking unabashed, he continued "But I digress, these souls tend to appear once every thousand generations or so. I can't give you the exact time periods when hell gives off these energies and disruptions, but that is my rough estimate. In addition, the chance of a soul actually being influenced by these energies is slim, so they are exceptionally rare, I can barely count three at the most. Then add in the fact that they tend to die easily…"

He gave a sort of tired sigh before addressing to the sullen looks in the room, this time adding a more rambunctious cheery smile to his face "But rejoice! We happen to be in that fortunate time period where they exist."

The faces in the room were starting to look sullen.

"Don't worry you lot! We just so happen to be in that said generation!" he was back to his sly sarcastic ways.

What he just said did nothing to even slightly increase the enthusiasm in the room; only three special souls—if even that-even existed out of the millions of thousands that already did exist in the populace of the Soul Society. Hell, there wasn't even a guarantee that there was even one left if they were as endangered as Yukio claimed.

As if reading their doubts, he continued on with his ecstatic lecture "—and as an expert on the subject, I happen to know one. And I also know that she will be more than willing to help us out. Not that you'd take "no" for an answer though, right?"

Indeed they wouldn't. Push comes to shove, one soul is not worth the weight of the world. Even if it was despicably unwanted…yes, they would force her. There was no "what if" about it.

"But before I tell you about the little miss, I should tell you about the small preparations needed before her departure. It would be best if we prepared ahead of time. I will also take this time to inform you on one crucial factor; whatever happens to her consciousness in hell is reflected on the body. Wounds, burns, stuff of that nature. Best keep that in mind before you send her out."

Kenryu had a particular look come over him, figuring that that little fact would be self-explanatory when the first trip was under way. Looking past it, he shook his head slightly "In order to make sure the mental state does, in fact, get into hell, also take the time to make sure she is calm and is in a state of meditation. Make sure also, that you only slash her once."

Kyouraku nearly toppled over "Wait—what? Now we have to slash her! That's a bit important don't you think? I'm pretty sure we should know that we have to critically injure a woman."

Yukio almost looked appalled "Oh gods no! When I say "slash", I actually mean something more along the lines of "scratch". In order to purge hell's influence in the worlds, there exists several instruments that are used to send hell's energies and influences back from whence it came. These instruments, which the government has possession of one, easily confuse these special souls as hell's prisoners or hell's unintended mistakes. Though these weapons are not exactly that effective against these souls who are, in fact, not considered residents in the purest sense, they do hold some affect none the less. A scratch and the subject will find her own psyche subject to hell's own energy, and thus its effects."

"Is that right? And you say we have possession of at least one of these?"

"That is correct. They are typically held as illegal instruments, but they will permit a release in the current situation. The one that is held in Seireitei is a sword—a black one. It is generally harmless against anyone not of hell's fire. Passes right on through pure souls. But as has already been stated, I know fully well that though they are not fatal to these flowers, but they are not harmless either. My studies proved that much."

People already suspected his previous profession, this was the first time Kenryu has said anything to confirm it. It was a confirmation that made him openly scowl in disgust "So…you were imprisoned for experimenting on girls to make them venture into hell? I assume that means you were also the cause of many of their deaths."

His eyes were a bit hazy as he responded, his voice holding a distinctly cheery tune ""Mmhm and even now I don't feel a single shred of guilt! These flowers were quite literally born to bloom in flame. It was a pleasure to watch their inevitable fall."

Crazy. Hitsugaya decided. This man was more than ambitious, he was crazy. From referring to his subjects as "flowers" to the seemingly euphoric way in which he recalled them (and their experiments), this man seemed to take little heed to how they ended up. Hell was anything but gentle to its visitors, and given that it's a place of eternal torment, it was easy to image them becoming insane from the ordeal, or grievously injured due to its inhabitants. Coupled with the fact that it was hell he was dealing with, and its no wonder as to why he was imprisoned.

In fact, now that he thought about it, he seemed a lot like a certain captain in this room. He looked over at Kurotsuchi to see him wildly grinning and his fingers twitching with anticipation. Kenryu's interest of experimenting on the 'flowers' was apparently contagious to him as he started wildly fidgeting in his position. Hitsugaya inwardly shuddered at the similarity. They seemed to have similar passions in terms of research, though the topics differed.

As he mentally asked himself the question of Mayuri's own probably imprisonment in prison, he reminded himself that prior to his release, he was pent up in a cell himself. The only difference between him and Kenryu; Kenryu had actually done something, Mayuri didn't. He was only highly suspected to, hence why he was put into Maggot's Nest. Locked up before he could commit a crime.

Still in his reverie, Kenryu continued drabbling on about the qualities of his "flowers" and the specifics of the overall process, adding obviously sentimental tidbits here and there, his obvious awe for his discoveries blatantly obvious "But by far, the best subject was sweet, lovely Momo—"

He choked. As did others as they heard the name, not expecting to hear a familiar set of syllables amidst his crazed nonsense. He saw others regaining their composure, particularly Ukitake, dismissing their fright for the common name.

Honestly, he admired the simplicity and befitting nature of her name, but there were times when he wished it was more unique. Just like the name "Aya", the name "Momo" consisted of only one character, and was a popular choice in both nicknames and real names. At least people had the decency to refer to her by her surname, otherwise he would be turning his head in a decent number of passerby conversations.

Blind to their momentary distress, Kenryu proved to be ecstatic about the subject "It really is such a shame that I could never see her off. I wonder how she turned out afterward? Surely such a beauty would have climbed high in society, even if she wasn't a shinigami….but such gentle hands are not meant for hard labor…." He lost himself for second "But it is of no matter, she will be brought up before me soon enough…Captains? Are you listening? Good. Because Momo will be the dear that will help you gain your precious ruseiko."

Hitsugaya coughed "Is "Momo" the only name you have for us? Surely you have knowledge of her last name. Finding a person by such a common name sake will be tedious and difficult for us."

No matter how many times he tells himself he is not referring to his childhood friend, his mind still didn't like her name used in conjunction with potential –lethal experiments. It was bad enough that uttering the name induced her image in conjunction with Kenryu's…not a happy scene, given what he has been describing.

"Hinamori. Her last name is Hinamori."

His heart stopped.

He was deaf to the uproar that erupted then after, with nearly every inhabitant either in shocked silence or demanding clarification. People were now asking for descriptions, for the spelling in the name, and throughout it all he was mute. He knew there was no other person he could be referring to, no matter how much he may want it.

Ever since he uttered that name, his mind started putting together the puzzle piece by piece. All of a sudden, Central 46's logic became clear. But more importantly, he was almost positive at the reason Momo was acting so unusual the last time he saw her. For the more he thought about the current situation, the more he tied it in to her mannerisms and her small little giveaways to her distress…it seemed to line up perfectly. Too perfectly.

It was almost like the fates themselves heard his inward desperate pleas for it not to be that way, for Yukio Kenryu spelled it out for them all; still being relatively calm amongst all of the demands "Do you really not understand? I am referring to Momo Hinamori, with the characters for "peach" in her first name and the meaning "young forest" for her last. She is young, has brown hair, brown eyes and a prim figure. What have I not made clear?"

He was sure the blood was draining from his face the more the moments ticked past. His breath seemed to be held in his figure, unwilling to leave his person as he maintained his stone still position.

'So it's true…' he thought. Momo Hinamori is one of the rare souls that can send her consciousness to the depths of hell.

Amidst his inner turmoil, he could not even fathom what was going to come, or the horrors she may have to face. He didn't even know where she was right now, even though he now sincerely wished he did. He didn't know what he would say, but she deserved to be told something in regards to recent events, or—as he largely suspected—to give comfort if needed. Momo was obviously not oblivious to their decision, she knew about the verdict before even the captains did.

Yes. He did not know anything that could help.

He did not know about how her lungs were on fire, or how her muscles ached as she ran, in an area so far away from his perception. Many, many miles away, she was panting from exhaustion as she continued running, desperately seeking a place where she could have the leisure of quiet thought.

Her legs were terribly worn out but she didn't heed them any mind, not particularly caring for the state of her body so long as it continued to rapidly trudge her feet through the undergrowth of this forest and beyond. She does not quite remember the last time she felt so panicked, but she understood quite plainly that that that was what she was experiencing. Panic.

Her breath was coming out in ragged, unsynchronized pants; in part because she knew there was nothing she could do stop the oncoming events. Her hands frantically pushed away anyting that stood in her way; branches, leaves, she even ended up trying to push a tree trunk out of her way only to slightly scar her hand in the process.

It was indignant, what she was doing, frantically running like a lost child. But she truly couldn't help it. Despair has a tightening its grasp on her, and she would be damned if she sat by and took it.

She saw him. Yukio Kenryu. She has since struggled to bring her fast-beating heart under control. The only thing she was more ashamed of was the fact that she was blatantly afraid, even if it was for good reason. This fear drove her into abandoning her post with some lame excuse, only to run around in these woods that she hardly knew.

She recalled patrolling Street number forty-five in sector seven when she laid eyes upon his piercing golden orbs, she stood ridged as he discreetly formed a smirk as he passed by with his escorts; a small mockery at her crumbled belief that she was never to deal with him again.

He vocalized nothing, but his lips moved all the same, and she could 'hear' the words he was trying to convey. They were something he viewed as a courteous formality on his part, speaking words of lulled poison when no one could hear "Hello…. beautiful flower."

From that point on she didn't care if she left her squad abruptly, or if paperwork is left forgotten on her desk in this time of peril. She wanted, more than anything in the world, to have even the briefest of solace away from that man who made her crumble so easily.

Five minutes, she just wanted five minutes away. Away from the memories that started to creep onto her mind and the fears that were starting to drown her former steadfastness. She wanted to be away also, from his spiritual pressure. Even now, long after she fled its source, his reishi lingered on her, not intending to let go of this flower recently entangled, and even though it caused no physical pain, it still made her skin tingle, and encouraged memories and feeling to flood back into her, forcing her to watch and experience all that she has tried to bury.

"Subliminal messaging" some would call it. It probed at the borders of her unconsciousness even when she didn't realize it, only taking notice of unforeseen forces at play with her mind when it was too late.

These distractions made her ignore all the terrain even more, ignoring the roots that threatened to trip her or the dense branches in her way were starting to mar her face with miniscule scratches. The darkness of this night was only more pronounced as images and voices threatened to dominate her vision and leave render her blind to the forest of confusion she was already in. Trees were at times getting replaced with people, grass was getting confused with tile, and the cool night air could at times be perceived with the same temperature of early spring and wrought with the scent of early morning spring or instantly become damp cold with the stench of metallic rust and mold. But no matter where she turned or how hard she tried to shut it all out, no matter which crevice of her mind she tried to hide in or the memory she treid to retreat to…she always found those eyes of a golden glow would find her, and that it's gaze would submerge her in the same place she was trying to escape.

Out of everything that was fighting for her gaze, it was only the lingering moon that seemed to bring her any comfort; silently watching her struggle with its protective stare, it seemed to look on she went through the dimly illuminated night that battled for her attention. She bumped her shoulders on trees roughtly as she ran faster, her throat at times refused to take in the air that was laden with vibrant smells, and her feet became more and more weary as the texture of earth was randomly replaced with the feel and sound of smooth ceramic tile.

What should I do….Tobiume….? She was desperate for advice. There were almost no options to choose from. Both running and hiding were no longer an option.

Hinamori I-….I don't know….. Tobiume seemed at a loss also, but desperately wanting to comfort her as she sensed the all too familiar pain whelp up inside of her wielder's chest. That feeling of utter helplessness.

At this, she made a sudden stop, her socks and sandals getting dirtied by the arising dust and dirt of her sudden action. Taking a large intake of breath as she lifted her head up, she looked up at what was left of her vision of reality; the cold impassive moon in the heavens.

Staring but not exactly seeing, she just simply stood there; doing nothing, feeling nothing and her thinking nothing. She was only blankly allowing her mind to wander about pasts forgotten.

She closed her eyes, tried her best to resume a proper line of thought, and sincerely tried to think. So far, apart from running and hiding, the only option she could perceive was allowing herself to become a tool to enter hell—an option that wanted avoid so desperately.

The smell of smoke and ash pervaded her nostrils and she snapped her eyes open in response, only to succumb to arduous coughing as the black fumes entered her lungs. This black air pervaded her being, being of such a foul composition that her body lurched toward the ground as she laid her arms over her sick stomach—the organ churning up at an intake of malignant fumes. The same polluted air stung her eyes and inflamed her skin, being far too raging hot for any person with flesh.

It had hurt to open her eyes to such unforgiving gasses, but her momentous intake at the sight made her want to keep them shut anyways; the trees, the birds, the ground and even the sky-all of it was submerged in raging writhing flames. The word seemed to have drowned in smoldering hot flurries and torrents of orange, red and black.

Even with her eyes closed she could still hear the destruction and turmoil around her through the ear splitting cracks of wood, the crackling of leaves being burnt to nothing, and the hissing of ravenously devoured structures as they began to be consumed by flame.

Her nose, still being invaded by obnoxious gaseous, pitch black air, also picked up the scent of smoldering ashes and the distinct, metallic, iron accentuated fumes of flesh. Of burning corpses and charred appendages.

She wanted to heave up her insides right then and there. Her knees became weak, succumbing to the shock of such a radical change in atmosphere, and the smoke only served to suffocate her more the longer she stayed there.

She then, for the first time in a long time, heard a most horrendous sound that was relatable to an animal wailing or howling with ravenous bloodlust. The head jarring, sense rendering sound made Momo cover her ears as it seemed to hone in on her, ringing in her ear drums like a terribly pitched scream. This was only met with searing pain all throughout her body, as if a hundred iron hot nails decided to skewer her at that precise moment. But it was the pain at her shoulder where it was the worst; like the very sinews of her muscles were be charred and set a flame, turning her blood into lava.

It was unbearable.

She screamed.

-X-

A/N:

The Naming Dillema: Ok, so I had a particularly hard time with translating Momo's name. But "雛森 桃" was/is relatively easy to decipher/translate. However, this is not the case for the character "Hina" (雛). Where I could easily find translations for "mori"(森) and "momo" (桃) where the possible translations were uniform in essence, "hina" was not.

For the character Hina (雛), I get results like "chick" (as in a young bird), "girl" and even "doll". After various searches, my endeavors provided little apart from the fact that the meaning and its use may depend on the context. While I could use the "doll" translation for a variety of writing purpose (that just sounds to so…Aizen related in a symbolic way), I would figure that Kubo would intend something more along the lines of the "young bird" or "young maiden" translations.

I decided upon the translation used based more along the lines of a whim. It is more inference based than any of the meanings provided. Both "young girl forest" and "young bird forest" seem a bit off. So does "forest of the young birds" and "forest of the young maidens". So perhaps the "girl" translation was merely referring to relative age in the sense of the feminine object, which, in certain Japanese beliefs, 'mori' (森) is typically considered feminine…