Shinji had fallen asleep almost immediately following Momo's departure. Not even his remembering of the identity of the man who had last slept in the bed he had lain down it was enough to deter his drowsiness. It had been a long day, and it had been especially taxing since the wounds he had received only a few days ago had yet to heal completely. Which meant that the sharp jab he had received to his side the following morning while he slept proved to be so painful he bolted upright out of his deep sleep, shouting in pain. "OW! Who the hell-?" He yelled, swiveling his head back and forth to find the owner of the finger that had prodded him awake. To his left stood Momo, seemingly taken aback at the unexpected pain she had caused her new Captain. Shinji scowled at her. "And just what're you doin' here at this time of day?" Momo gave him a nervous smile.
"H-Hirako-taichou, it's already past noon. I waited around in your office for a few hours, but you never showed up, so I had to do your work for you." She blinked and waved her hands quickly. "N-not that I mind! I had to do all the Captain's paperwork for months after Aizen-taichou left!" Shinji's scowl lessened as he yawned and scratched his side. "I forgot ta tell ya that we convinced the old man to give me and the other new Captains the weekends off." Momo blinked. "Oh. I see. Us Vice-Captains don't get those sort of luxuries that often sadly, so I guess that means I'll just have to pull double-duty on the days you aren't working." Shinji ceased his scratching and resumed his glare in full force. "Are ya tryin' ta guilt trip me or somethin' ya stupid girl?" He grabbed his haori he had removed the night before off the nearby windowsill and stood, pulling it on slowly and yawning again before flashing Momo a toothy grin. "What kinda gentleman makes a pretty girl do his work for him? I still have a little bit of decency Momo." He took a small amount of pleasure when he saw his words had caused Momo's cheeks to glow a light pink. However, she seemed to let the flirty comment slide and adressed a different issue.
"Hirako-taichou? You're calling me by my first name." She muttered. "Shouldn't it just be Hinamori?" Shinji's grin didn't disappear. "Nah. Momo's fine. No need to be all formal, I ain't Yamamoto." Momo's cheeks reddened a bit more. "U-uhm. If you say so... does that mean I should call you Shinji?" The blond's grin did fade this time, and he fixed Momo with yet another glare. "I'm the boss Momo, I can call anyone anything I want. Yer still my subordinate, so yer gonna give me the respect I deserve." Momo bowed repeatedly to him, stammering apologies. "S-sorry Hirako-taichou. If you'll excuse me for saying so, I'm still just trying to get a read on you. Koyraku-taichou mentioned that you were a very... interesting person." She rose to find Shinji giving her an odd appraising look, then suddenly burst into his old grin. "That sounds like somethin' Kyoraku-san would say. He's probably just bitter I got to spend a century with his pretty little Vice-Captain." He brought a hand to his chin, his grin turning from playful to smug. "Understandably of course, Lisa's quite a sight. My first love." He opened his eyes and saw Momo staring at him blankly, clearly unsure of what to make of him or unable to decide if he was being serious or not. He laughed. "Come on Momo. Ya went to the trouble of wakin' me up so we might as well get some work done."
He began to walk out the doorway into the main room of his home when he heard Momo let out a small "Uhm..." behind him. Turning back around, he found Momo giving him yet another hesistant smile and scratching her cheek sheepishly. "Hirako-taichou, I told you, I did all your paperwork for today. There's nothing for you to do, I just thought I should wake you up before it got too late." Shinji frowned at her. "I heard ya the first time idiot. I was gonna take ya out to the sparrin' grounds and test ya." He turned back around to move toward the exit and heard Momo begin to shuffle over and catch up to him. Walking at his side she began stammering madly. "Captain we don't need to do something like that, it's fine really! I'll just head back over to the 10th Division Barracks and talk to Rangiku and Shiro-chan! We don't have to spar!" Shinji looked down at her, glowering. "What the hell are ya babblin' about Momo? I just met ya yesterday, I don't even know how strong ya are yet. I gotta be aware of yer capabilities if I'm gonna work with ya when things get serious." Momo continued to wildly splutter beside him until he was forced to cut her off with his own statement. "Shut up fer a second ya idiot! Why don't ya wanna spar? Didn't ya ever practice with Aizen?" Momo shook her head quickly. Shinji grunted. "That doesn't surprise me. But still, ya told me just last night ya were decent with Kido, which means ya got ta have at least some faith in yer abilities. So what's wrong girl? The war make ya lose yer nerve?" He had wished he hadn't said that after Momo looked down at the ground wordlessly, silently confirming the statement he had meant to say in jest.
Sighing deeply as the two continued their walk to the sparring field behind the main barracks building, Shinji fixed Momo with a slightly less angry expression. "Look Momo. Aizen's gone now alright? Ya need ta get on with yer life, don't let a dumbass like him get in the way of yer happiness." He began to reach down to pat her on the shoulder, but stopped short before she noticed, deciding against touching her. "Now then, Yamamoto told me yer still pretty shoddy with Zanjutsu, but ya make up for it by combinin' yer Shikai and Kido to decent effect. That true?" She looked up at him, her eyes still filled with uncertainty, and nodded. Shinji untied Sakanade's sheath from his waste and let the sword fall to the ground. Momo stared at it confusedly for a moment before looking back up at Shinji. "C-Captain? Why did you just drop your Zanpakuto?" She asked, fingering her own sword hilt. "I thought we were sparring?"
Grinning once more, Shinji crossed his arms and nodded, taking a relaxed stance. "We are, but ya still ain't ready ta go up against my blade just yet. I wanna see how quick on yer feet ya can be and how good yer reflexes are. Let's see what ya can do when ya can't rely on fancy Kido Momo." The girl before him continued to stare at him dumbfounded, causing a vein to begin to throb in Shinji's neck. "Are ya deaf ya idiot?!" He took a step forward and jabbed his thumb into his own chest. "I'm not waitin' fer ya ta propose ta me! Hit me!" Momo blinked and unsheathed her Zanpakuto. "B-but Captain you're unarmed." She said, raising her blade. "Are you sure about this? You're unarmed." Shinji smirked. "Don't talk down ta me like that Momo. I said hit me." She nodded and charged at Shinji, Tobiume at the ready.
Swinging at Shinji with all her might, it took Momo a second to realize that the former-Visored had not only completely jumped over her sword, but he had in fact landed on it, continuing to give her that toothy smile of his. To her surprise, seeing her Captain making a fool of her so brazenly seemed to rile something up inside of her, and she yelled angrily for him to get off as she swung the blade upwards, causing the blonde Shinigami to topple backwards, catch himself on his hand, vault into a backflip and land a few feet away from her. "Yer slow. Ya don't mean ta tell me that's all ya can do?" Momo frowned at her Captain and charged again, this time slashing the blade upwards to avoid the issue of Shinji being able to land on it again. Again, her Captain jumped into the air to avoid the strike, but when she let out a confident "Ha!" she barely had time to see Shinji fall to the ground behind her and send her flying forward with a light kick. She pulled herself off the ground and puffed her cheeks out at Shinji before pulling apart the top-half of her robes. "Captain! You're going to get my uniform dirty! Plus I've still got my wounds from a few days ago to deal with, see?!" Shinji shrugged and continued to grin at her. "So? Ya got spare robes inside. And as fer yer wounds, so do I." He pulled back the front of his robes to show her a set of his own bandages winding around his mid-section. "I told ya, this is ta test yer speed AND yer reflexes Momo. I think Aizen's lack of training caused ya ta go soft." Momo sighed and tried to ignore the pain in her chest.
Shinji's remark about Aizen causing her skills to degrade seemed to reignite the small flame burning in her heart, and she Shunpo'd behind the blonde and lunged at him with Tobiume, forcing Shinji to jump backwards quickly and aim another kick at her. Ready this time, she ducked underneath his foot and slashed at her Captain's opening. Shinji laughed. "There we go, that's much better Momo." Momo stared in shock as Shinji blocked her blade with his bare hand, only resulting in a small cut to his palm, not even deep enough to draw blood. He smiled at her. "Speeds the first thing ya gotta work on. Learn ta read yer opponent's movements, and we'll work on power later." He nodded at his Zanpakuto lying on the ground a few yards away. "And when we do, that's when I'll use that. Until then, keep learning how ta DODGE!" He swung his fist at Momo on his last word, and the girl moved to the side quickly enough that she only felt the air from his punch graze her cheek. After repeating this exercise for a bit, Momo found herself capable of dodging most of Shinji's blows and being able to counter-attack with enough proficiency that she had forced her Captain's eyes to widen momentarily before easily blocking the blow as if it had been nothing. Somewhere in her mind, in the part that wasn't completely focused on her sparring match with her Shinji, Momo was astonished at how natural this felt to her, like her days at the Acadamy were all coming back to her at once. Before she had a chance to finish her thought however, Shinji had sent her skidding acrossing the ground with another kick and had pointed his still-sheathed sword at her neck. "Well Momo, I think that'll do fer now. At least ya made me try harder than I thought I'd have ta. Maybe soon you'll give me an actual work-out." She looked up at Shinji who, unlike herself, who was drenched in sweat and panting heavily, was completely dry and was breathing as if he had spent the entire time doing nothing more than holding a conversation with her. "Y-yes, C-Captain." She panted, letting Shinji pull her to her feet, the older Shinigami still grinning.
This time, Shinji did pat her on the shoulder. "Don't get discouraged so easily. Yer just rusty is all. I expected ya ta be since Aizen never sent ya out on any missions or helped ya train." She nodded thoughtfully at the blonde and sheathed her blade while Shinji retied his own sheath to his waist. Looking up at the sky, she was surprised to see it had changed from deep blue to a light pink and orange. They must have been at it longer than she had expected, no wonder she was so tired. "I guess I'll go clean up for the night then Hirako-taichou. Thank you for the sparring match, that was the first I've really had since becoming a Vice-Captain." She bowed at the Visored, who averted his gaze and scratched the back of his head bashfully, a forced frown on his face. "Idiot. I'm yer Captain. It's what I'm supposed ta do." He turned to look at her. "Ya better get used to it too, because we're gonna do this every day until ya gain some of yer confidence back." Momo winced, she hoped her body would cooperate with Shinji's training regimen, but given that her muscles were already beginning to ache, she highly doubted it. Nonetheless, she bowed again and thanked him. "Is there anything else you need from me Hirako-taichou?"
Shinji looked around the 5th Division barracks for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah, that's it. Yer dismissed." He began to walk away from her, in the direction of the 4th Division a few streets away. "I've got some business ta take care of Momo." He called back to her. "Go get some rest so ya don't suck as bad tommorow." Watching her Captain's back slowly moving away from her, Hinamori cocked her head slightly. "Kyoraku-taichou was right Hirako-taichou. You really are an interesting person." Feeling a warm sensation creeping down her front, she looked down the front of her robes to find them slowly turning red. She frowned and flopped onto the ground, cursing her Captain momentarily before tending to her wounds with a healing spell. "Honestly though, at least Aizen-taichou wouldn't have opened up my wounds like this." Oh wait, she thought bitterly, he was the one who had given them to her in the first place.
As soon as Shinji turned the corner and left Momo's field of view, he pulled back his robes around his right side and, wincing slightly, massaged the bandaged spot. "Idiot. Got me right in Aizen's wound." Still, Momo had done better than he had expected, and the longer she had been forced to fight the more confident her movements had become. A few more days and he might even use his sword against her. He pulled his robes back over his chest and continued on his path to the 4th Division barracks, garnering curious looks and the occasional bow as the various Shinigami passed a Captain on their day-to-day business. The closer he drew to the Medical Division's hospital, Shinji noticed, the more Shinigami he began to see. He shook his head, that damned woman was always busy.
Arriving at his destination at long last, Shinji looked up at the 4th Division barracks and felt a mild spell of déjà vu. This was becoming a common feeling the more time he spent back in Soul Society, and he was growing weary of it. Walking through the doorway, he almost bumped into several groups of busy Shinigami striding about purposefully, too intent on their work to notice his Captain haori. Hearing a familiar voice resonating from down a nearby hallway, he turned the corner and found himself face-to-face with Unohana Retsu and her Vice-Captain Isane.
Unohana had always been a woman Shinji respected deeply, and he wondered if she had noticed when he had spoken with her a few days before in the fake Karakura Town that he still used honorifics with her even when he had identified himself as an enemy of Soul Society and leader of the Visored. She had a difficult job, far more stressful than his, yet she always seemed to have time for anyone who needed her. He had heard from Urahara's various inside sources that she had been one of the few Captains hesitant to allow for the Visored's official exile from Soul Society, and for that he had always been inwardly grateful. As an afterthought, Shinji wondered if his respect for her also came from the fact that she could probably wipe the floor with him if she really wanted to. Probably.
Looking up at the sight of a white-coated figure approaching her, Unohana greeted Shinji. "Hirako-taichou, it's a pleasure to see you this evening." she said with one of her trademark smiles. She nodded to her Vice-Captain, who Shinji personally couldn't remember the name of, then spun to face him as What's-Her-Face the Vice-Captain turned the corner he had just walked around, muttering about Hollow wound treatments. "I assume I can be of some assistance to you?" She asked, opening her eyes and continuing to wear her warm, kind smile.
Shinji sighed and made a small bow. "I can only hope so Unohana-san. I've got some personal concerns about my Vice-Captain." Unohana's smile vanished at his statement, and those kind eyes seemed to become filled with a great sadness. This worried Shinji more than he tried to let on, as Unohana knew her patients very well both physically and mentally, and an expression like that was never a good sign.
"Hinamori-san is still in a rather fragile state Hirako-taichou." she sighed. "I'm afraid that, while healing physical wounds is usually a fairly simple task for someone like me, mental wounds require much more time and care to tend to, and Hinamori-san's were especially deep." She beckoned for him to follow and, after walking down the hallway for a bit, ushered him into her office before closing the door behind her.
Looking around Unohana's office, Shinji marveled at how little it had changed since he had been in here over a century ago. For someone as elegant as Unohana, her office was surprisingly bland. A large cabinet seemingly bursting with medical files sat in the corner, the only other piece of furniture in the room aside from her desk and two chairs, one behind the desk and one in front of it. The only sign that the room was even inhabited was the singular flower vase on the windowsill, half-full of water. Taking a seat, Shinji noticed Unohana making sure the door was completely shut before doing the same.
Sifting through the countless sheets on her desk before pulling out a surprisingly thick stack of papers with the words HINAMORI, MOMO stamped on the top, Unohana flipped through them quickly before letting out another sigh and meeting Shinji's curious gaze. "Like I said Hirako-taichou, Hinamori-san's wounds from a few days ago proved to have no long-lasting aftereffects, and after a day of rest she was at least fit enough to go meet you when she heard you had been reinstated." Her smiled deepened momentarily, losing some of its warmth and causing Shinji to grimace. "Though I did insist she stay in bed for at least one more day, but she wouldn't take no for an answer."
Admiring the courage Momo must have shown to stand up to Unohana like that, Shinji adjusted himself on his seat uncomfortably and fiddled with his tie, something that was quickly becoming a habit of his more the agitated he became. It only made the comments he had made about her the previous night look even worse, and Shinji felt his heart sink, slightly ashamed. Unohana's next words, however, brought him back to reality. "Even still, I will admit that her physical wounds were not what caused me to urge her to take a few more days leave. I was worried. When Aizen first betrayed us, she had seemed completely destroyed, and it took her quite some time to gain some semblance of her old self. This time? She seemed to act as if nothing had happened, she even admonished Hitsugaya-taichou the moment he had come to see her in the hospital, him claiming his attack on her had caused him to decide to give up his position as Captain. " This statement elicited a much deeper sigh from the woman, who flipped through a couple more pages of Momo's report before continuing. "Hirako-taichou, you have lived long enough to know that sometimes saying nothing at all can mean more than all the words in the world. I think she is still inwardly tormented, even if she does not conciously realize it."
Shinji crushed his tie in his hand without thinking. "Why?" Shinji asked. "Why does Aizen affect her so much Unohana-san? What was she like before I showed up? Before Aizen betrayed you all?" Unohana regarded Shinji silently for a few moments, apparently deciding on the best way to put her next statement. Finally, she closed her eyes wearily. "To be blunt, Hirako-taichou, she absolutely worshiped the man." Unohana frowned. "And to be fair I think a lot of us did. He was charismatic, kind, trustwothy... all of us were proud to call him our friend." She opened her eyes and locked them with Shinji's own. "Hinamori-san though, she saw him as more than a friend. More than a parental figure. More than a lover even." Shinji couldn't help but notice Unohana's features had become ever-so-slightly more taut. "I have half a mind that Aizen thought of it as a rather fitting joke. That Hinamori was one of the few to see him as the God he truly believed himself to be."
A short, humorless laugh escaped Shinji's lips. "Well Ichigo showed us all that Aizen was far from a God didn't he?" He leaned back against his chair and let out a long sigh. "I don't know what ta do Unohana-san. I'm not good with words, or feelings, or any of that. How the hell am I supposed ta approach her? One day she might snap and I won't know how ta deal with it, or worse, I'll know that I coulda stopped it." He ran his hands through his hair absent-mindedly while staring at his knees. "I bet if I were ta even so much as broach the topic of Aizen with her she'd either blow me off or completely shut down on me. What do I do?" He looked up.
To Shinji's surprise Unohana wore a small smile. "Hirako-taichou, I think what Hinamori-san needs right now isn't just a friend, she also needs a mentor. A real mentor. Someone who can teach her that she can't just depend on someone blindly for support, she has to be able to believe in herself as well." She nodded. "You claim to be unaware of emotional situations, yet you had enough sense to come speak to me and clearly explained your problem. I think that you yourself have grown to be somewhat fond of this girl in the short time that you have known her. Do you perhaps feel a connection with her? That you both have been hurt by Aizen and want to become better for it?"
Shinji stared at Unohana open-mouthed. "H-hold on. Like I said, I just ain't very good with this sorta thing okay? I came ta you because you were the only person I trusted from the old Gotei and I needed some advice fer stoppin' my Vice-Captain from bein' suddenly goin' crazy on me. This has nothin' ta do with me!" Marveling at how hot his face had become, Shinji turned away from Unohana so he didn't have to see that insufferable smile. Her small chuckle did nothing to ease his inexplicable annoyance.
"Really now? I apologize for misjudging you then Hirako-taichou. It seems you are simply a man who cares about his employee's job performance. Very well. I have given you my advice, perhaps you should go get some rest." She motioned towards the door with one of her hands and Shinji knew that he'd get nothing more from her. Standing, he bowed to her. "Thanks fer the advice Unohana-san. I appreciate it." He grinned at her. "I already started workin' with her actually, she seemed ta respond well ta teachin', hell, she actually was able to pull off this one move where-" He stopped at the look on Unohana's face. She was absolutely radiating with the spine-chilling feeling her stern smiles usually gave off. "You say you have already begun training with her? And just what exactly did your 'training' entail Hirako-taichou?" Shinji felt the blood drain from his face. "N-nothing much! Just a few basic movement excercises, some light contact sparring. I mighta kicked her once or twice but-" Unohana's smile had somehow deepened even further. Her voice was like pure sugar to Shinji's ears. "Hirako-taichou, might I remind you that both you and Hinamori-san are both still recovering from the wounds Aizen inflicted upon you two no more than a few days ago?" Her eyes remained closed, her face still stuck in that horrifying smile. "I cannot stop you from doing what you will to your own body, but I really must insist that you allow Hinamori-san a few more days rest before resuming your 'training' sessions. It is very likely you will open her wounds back up, if you haven't done so already."
Walking backwards towards the exit to the hallway outside Unohana's office, Shinji gave the woman a nervous, shaky smile. "O-of course Unohana-san. D-don't know what I was thinkin'. Musta slipped my mind. I'll go easy on her for awhile, no sweat. I need the rest too." Unohana nodded cheerfully, her eyes still shut. "That is a wise decision Hirako-taichou, you wouldn't want any further harm to befall Hinamori-san." She opened her eyes a fraction of an inch. "Or yourself." She added sweetly. Shinji gulped. "Yeah... yeah. I understand. T-thanks Unohana-san, have a good n-night." He quickly walked out the doorway and down the hall as fast as he could without running, yet by the time he reached the 4th Division barrack's doors he heard Unohana's response right behind his shoulder. "Good night Hirako-taichou. Sleep well."
Shinji doubted he'd be able to sleep at all after hearing that.