Watching her Captain's back as he began to stride in the direction of the 4th Division, Momo cocked her head slightly and wiped the sweat from her brow. "Why are you going that way Hirako-taichou...?" She murmered to herself before heading over to the door to the main barracks containing her room. "Did I hurt you?" Remembering that the only hit she had even managed to land on Shinji had been that singular scratch, she shook her head and stepped through the doorway. As she walked past the various Shinigami going about their duties on the way to her room, she nodded at a few of the seated officers, all of which gave her warm smiles in return. She smiled to herself. Ever since Aizen's betrayal and up until Shinji had taken over, she had been the one in charge of the division, and although Aizen's absence had caused quite a stir in the group, overall Momo had to admit she was surprised and very pleased at how close the 5th Division had become when they had found themselves without a formal leader. "Now if only I could share your optimistic confidence." She sighed to herself, entering her room and sliding the door shut behind her.
Momo's room was far smaller than the house Shinji, as Captain, was granted, but it was still better than sharing housing with the rest of the soldiers. A small, comfortable bed and an accompanying nightstand with a simple lamp atop it stood in the corner, and against another wall sat a mirror and dresser. A wide window was set into the wall beside her bed, especially useful on those hot nights in the summer. Pulling back the blinds, she was able to make out a handful of figures walking a short distance away. Squinting to get a closer look, she yelled out. "Kira-san! Hisagi-senpai!" Two of the four forms ceased their movement and turned their heads in the direction of her voice. Momo lept through her window, gracefully landing on her feet, and strode over to the two men, beaming. "Are you finished work for the evening as well?" Kira and Hisagi both nodded, smiling, though Kira still looked as gloomy as ever. Momo grinned encouragingly at the ever-somber blond that she called her friend. "Then you shouldn't look so depressed Kira-san! Cheer up a little!" A voice called out from behind the two male Vice-Captains.
"Now don't say that to him girl. Izuru and his uniquely bleak outlook on life make for a rather effective muse." Momo saw a bored-looking blond-haired man wearing a Captain's haori walk up behind Izuru and give him an appraising look, which Kira did his best to ignore. A silver-haired man also sporting a Captain's haori joined him, mild annoyance evident on his face. "Nobody wants to listen to your music mumbo jumbo Rose." Rose frowned a little and gave the other Captain a pouting look. "No need to be so rude Kensei. I was merely reprimanding this girl for attempting to sabatoge the source of my creativity. Though I understand if you're too thick for such pursuits as art." Kensei turned to Rose and the two began to argue noisily, Kensei raising one of his fists threateningly. Looking back briefly at the two Captain's quarrel before turning to Momo with a look of mild discomfort, Hisagi cleared his throat. "So Hinamori, looks like your moving around pretty well given the condition that that bastard Aizen left you in." Momo unconciously began to place a hand to her chest before catching herself and responding. "Um. Yes, I'm doing alright. Unohana-taichou said I shouldn't exert myself for awhile, but as long as I don't go overboard I can work." Hisagi nodded, seemingly remembering something. "I heard you got a new Captain like us!" This statement caused both Kensei and Rose to cease their arguing and turn to look at the Vice-Captains. Hisagi seemed to either not notice the sudden quiet or simply ignored it. "So what's yours like?"
Before Momo could so much as open her mouth Kensei had quickly fixed her with an odd look. Momo shrank beneath his gaze for a moment before the usually-angry man burst out with rather abrupt laughter. The action didn't seem to suit him and Momo cringed at the queer way amusement warped his features from vaguely handsome to almost grotesque. "I'd say Shinji's praising his lucky stars right about now Rose." The blond Visored put a hand to his mouth and laughed alongside his fellow Captain. "This is too good, we won't let him hear the end of this one." Momo raised her eyebrows at the two and, momentarily forgetting that she was addressing two of her superiors, blurted out an irritated statement. "Would you two mind telling me what you find so funny about me?"
Kensei stopped laughing, instead attempting to stifle a chuckle here and there and bent down to Momo's eye-level. "What're your measurements girlie?" Hisagi let out a small "Muguruma-taichou..." before receiving a glare from his Captain and losing the will to complete his sentence. Momo narrowed her eyes at the silver-haired man and attempted to ignore the fact that she was blushing. "I-I don't think you have a professional need for that kind of information Muguruma-taichou." Kensei drew himself back up to his full height and gave Rose an amused look, which Rose responded to with another laugh, louder than before. "Just make sure to tell Shinji the same thing you just told Kensei if he ever asks you that my dear." Rose looked down at Kira. "You're done for the day Izuru, I'll meet with you tomorrow." Kensei looked at his own Vice-Captain and grunted, indicating the same applied to Hisagi and himself. As the two Visored began to walk away, Momo could still hear them talking excitedly. "Shinji won't be very pleased the next time he sees us. Just wait until Love hears about this," Rose was saying. Kensei laughed again, though coming from him it sounded more like a bark. "She's got a different kind of spunk than Hiyori, I wonder which one Shinji prefers."
Kira walked up and placed a hand on Momo's shoulder. "Ah... don't mind them too much Hinamori-san. Outoribashi-taichou can come off as a little... eccentric." Hisagi walked up beside his fellow Vice-Captain's and watched joined them in watching the Visored Captains make their way down the road. "Yeah well... Muguruma-taichou is just kind of a jerk, I don't think he has many redeeming qualities when it comes to talking to others." Momo looked over at the black-haired Shinigami and noticed that contrary to his statement, Hisagi seemed to be watching his own Captain with a look of pride mixed with adoration. She turned back to Kira, who seemed to be doing his best to smile reassuringly at her without dropping all of his usual dreariness. "So you never told us what your own Captain is like." Momo looked down at the ground, wracking her brain in an attempt to find the words best suited to describing her new Captain.
"I'm still trying to wrap my head around his true personality... but Hirako-taichou is... a mixed bag." She began listing traits off on her fingers. "So far as I can tell he's lazy, lecherous, and rude, but he also seems to be capable of acting perceptive, comical and even helpful when he wants to." She shook her head. "Sorry, that's the best I can do, I'm still getting to know him." Kira and Hisagi looked at each other, apparently both a bit shocked. Kira looked down at Momo doubtfully. "Are you sure Hinamori-san? The two of us have both heard both of our Captain's talking about Hirako-taichou, and while we've definitely heard both of them call him all those negative things, we have yet to hear anything positive about him." Hisagi spoke up. "Unless you want to count being a lovable sex maniac as a good thing." A voice called out from behind them. "Lovable sex maniac? You wouldn't happen to be talking about me now would you Hisagi-san?"
The three Vice-Captains turned around to find Kyoraku Shunsui walking toward them, his fellow Captain Ukitake Juushiro strolling alongside him. Hisagi gave a start and bowed deeply, Momo and Kira both doing the same. "No! O-of course not Kyoraku-taichou. I was just..." Shunsui laughed and waved his hand in the air. "Relax Hisagi-san, I was simply having a bit of fun. Out of curiousity however, and for fear of a rival womanizer rising into our midsts, I must ask, whose Captain are you talking about?" Momo raised her hand and gave a nervous squeak, she was never very confident around the Senior Captains. Shunsui grinned stupidly and let out a guffaw. "Hirako-san? I suppose that's a decent enough evaluation of his character from a first impression or second-hand description." He raised a hand to his chin, a deadly serious expression on his face. "I for one enjoy my company a bit more... developed... but whatever tickles his fancy I suppose. I wonder if he has good tastes, I don't have much of an eye for the younger ladies. Oi," Shunsui said, turning to face Ukitake. "Would you peg Hinamori-san as much of a looker?"
Ukitake gave Shunsui a mildly agitated look. "Why do you insist on asking me of my opinion on the appearances of every younger girl we speak with?" Shunsui shrugged. "You're good with kids." Ukitake closed his eyes wearily and shook his head. "I don't think you completely understand the meaning behind that phrase." He fixed Shunsui with a tired look. "And besides, Ise-san is far younger than you." Shunsui waved his hand again, the stupid grin back on his face. "That's different, Nanao-chan and I are meant to be. She's my precious flower and I'm her brave, strong..." Nanao came marching out around the corner, a book raised above her head threateningly, shouting angrily at her Captain. "There you are! Kyoraku-taichou get back to the barracks, you still have work to do! The reason everyone else is free to do as they please by now is because they didn't spend the day drooling over girls in the bathhouses and sleeping under trees all afternoon!" Shunsui gave his rapidly-approaching Vice-Captain a playful look and winked while tipping his hat to Momo, Hisagi and Kira, all of whom were staring at him, dumbstruck over how a man like Shunsui ever achieved the rank of Captain. "I suppose I'll see you all later then. But don't worry Hinamori-san." He said, giving her an extra wink. "Your nowhere near done growing. I bet you'll turn out to be a finely propor-OW!" Nanao had thrown her book squarely at Shunsui's head, leaving a long, red rectangular mark on the womanyizing Captain's face. "Don't tell me you're jealous over me speaking with another pretty girl Nanao-chan? You can be so tsundere sometimes." Nanao began sprinting after her Captain, who had gleefully hopped up onto a rooftop after provoking her and was running alongside the street below. "GET BACK HERE YOU PIG!" She yelled, giving chase.
The remaining white-haired Captain watched the two for a moment before letting out a half-sigh, half-chuckle. "If I had a kan for every time I watched him and Yadoumaru-san perform that same act, I'd be able to retire and support my brothers and sisters off the interest alone." He looked down at Momo. "I wouldn't listen to Shunsui if I were you Hinamori-san. I doubt Hirako-san is interested in you in that way." The emaciated man gave Momo an encouraging smile, and Momo felt some of her anxiety lift, both toward Shinji and toward the Senior Captains. Ukitake had been a Captain while Shinji first held the position a hundred years ago, maybe he would be able to share some of his insight into Shinji with her. Momo turned to fully face him. "He actually said he was going to start training me." Ukitake's eyes briefly displayed mild surprise. "Did he now? That's a decision I didn't think he'd make. He never tried to train with Aizen." He covered his mouth with his hand and muttered to himself, lost in thought. "Though to be fair, it's hardly as if Aizen had needed it. But then again he couldn't have known that at the time, and training Hinamori-san seems like going out of his way to do more work than he's been known to in the past. I wonder..." A thought seemed to have occured to him, and he gave Momo an unusual smile. "Does he know what Aizen did to you a few days ago?" Momo stared at the sickly-looking man before finally nodding wordlessly. Ukitake's queer expression deepened and he patted Momo on the head. "I see. Well Hinamori-san, I wouldn't worry about it then. I'm fairly confident that Hirako-san isn't trying to make you the Ise-san to his Shunsui." He nodded to the other two Vice-Captains and began to walk down the street, talking to himself. "It seems that there's more to you than I was aware of Hirako-san..."
Slightly confused, Momo turned to her two friends. "Um..." She didn't know what to say. Hisagi spared her the embarrassment and cut her off with his own statement. "Damn Hinamori, I don't envy you. At least I know my Captain isn't trying to get into my pants." Kira looked at Hisagi. "I'm pretty sure Ukitake-taichou just said..." Momo cleared her throat in an annoyed manner, causing the two to look at her sheepishly. "I'm going to bed." She sad shortly, and Kira and Hisagi scratched the back of their heads, continuing to grin at her. Kira was the first to respond. "Alright Hinamori-san. Feel free to come around the 3rd Division barracks if you ever have some free time. I could use a break from Outoribashi-taichou trying to get me to 'inspire' him." Hisagi laughed and nodded. "Same here Hinamori, I'll try to let you know if Muguruma-taichou is in a bad mood before you come though." He blinked. "So I guess you probably will only really want to come around when he's asleep." He added as an afterthought. The three Vice-Captain's laughed and bid each other good night, and Momo returned to her room in a fair mood. Lying in her bed, she watched the activity outside her window slow as the night drew on, until at last she saw Shinji walking back from the direction of the 4th Division, glancing around nervously as if he had just seen a ghost. Too tired to wonder why he was acting so supiciously, it wasn't long before she dozed off to the gentle sounds of the crickets chirping outside her window.
The next morning, Shinji sat in his office, his head in his hand, finishing up some paperwork. Across his desk Momo anxiously stood holding a large bundle of papers bound by a leather strap. "Hirako-taichou you should hurry, Kurotsuchi-taichou asked for these papers by nine and it's already past ten." Shinji only grunted in response and continued writing on the sheet half-heartedly, yawning occasionally. He wondered if he had been a fool to accept this job back, if he had just stayed in Karakura Town he'd probably still be in bed right now, or at least doing something more interesting than paperwork. Like listening to music, or reading Lisa's manga. Or sleeping. He remembered something he had been meaning to tell Momo since his reinstatement.
"Momo, send some of the men back ta my old digs in the World of the Living ta pick up my stuff. My house is pretty bare right now." Momo blinked at him before sighing. "Don't you think you should be worrying about work right now and what you'll do for fun later Hirako-taichou." Shinji looked up at her and glared. "Idiot, this is fer yer benefit too. If I'm happy then everyone's happy. And if everyone's happy then yer happy." He gave her an infuriating grin. "Ya wanna be happy right?" Momo half-closed her eyes and sighed again. "I'll send someone right now Captain." Shinji nodded happily and looked back down at his desk, pretending to scribble on the sheet of paper until Momo left the room. He hoped Hiyori hadn't been messing with his stuff while he had been gone. The messanger he had sent to the warehouse with his explanation of the decision he, Rose and Kensei had made had said their choice hadn't gone over too well with her. "Stupid midget." He muttered. "It's not like ya did much besides beat me around the warehouse all day anyways. Now ya can do somethin' productive instead."
He looked up and saw Momo standing over his desk, an exasperated look on her face. "You aren't even trying to finish up that last report." She said, tapping her foot impatiently. "Hirako-taichou, we have to meet the deadlines, you're going to look bad if you don't, especially since I was able to when I was in charge and I had do to enough work for two people!" Shinji shrugged and let out another yawn. "Did ya tell someone ta get my stuff?" Momo nodded. "They said they'd have it all moved into your house in a few hours." Shinji re-adopted his grin from earlier. "Good job Momo. Ya wanna go get some food until it's all taken care of? I'll even let ya listen to my jazz music with me when we get back! I never let Aizen do that! Probably because invitin' a pretty girl over to yer house is a little different than invitin' some four-eyed git." He added with a wink. Momo's face turned slightly pink, and she stamped her foot on the ground in frustration.
"Captain!" Momo's whining shout combined with her stomp shook Shinji's desk, resulting in the inkwell Shinji had been using to fall over and stain the paper he had been working on black. "O-oh!" she gasped, almost dropping the papers in her attempt to bow apologetically. "I'm sorry Hirako-taichou I just got so frustrated over-" Shinji grunted again and threw the paper in the trash before pulling a new sheet off the stack. "Don't worry about it Momo, it's my fault fer messin' with ya. Go take what ya already have ta Kurotsuchi before he guts us both. I'll meet ya at his labs with this." He gestured to the sheet of paper he was now copying his report onto.
Momo bowed and turned to go, but stopped at the door. "Hirako-taichou, please hurry. You don't know what Kurotsuchi-taichou is like when he doesn't get what he needs." Shinji grunted for a third time and, again for a third time, flashed her his toothy grin. "Momo, trust me, I don't think I wanna know what he's like when he DOES get what he wants. Especially when what he wants is a detailed history of all our bodily functions from puberty onwards." Momo actually let out a small giggle before leaving. Shinji's smile didn't fade until the next time he saw her.
Soul Society's sky was overcast today and quickly looking to turn to rain, much to Momo's displeasure. Before she had a chance to bemoan her bad luck for not bringing an umbrella with her, she heard a familiar voice calling out behind her that interrupted her train of thought. "Hinamori! Hey, Hinamori!" She was pleased to see the source of the voice was none other than Rangiku, who also seemed to be carrying a rather large stack of papers, though she seemed to have forgotten to bind them together and it wobbled threateningly everytime she moved.
"Hi Rangiku-san!" she responded happily, and quickly put a hand on the other woman's load after her ample cleavage almost caused it to fall from her grasp during her abrupt stop when she reached Momo. "Looks like Shiro-chan is running late on his reports too huh?" This mildly surprised her, as Toshiro was usually far more punctual than this on business matters. Her surprise didn't last long after Rangiku let out an embarrassed laugh.
"Haha, oh no, Hitsugaya-taichou finished these days ago but I forgot to deliver them until now. It wasn't until he threatened to turn me into an ice sculpture that I finally remembered they were still lying on his desk." She let out an even greater laugh which Momo shared in, though not without jealously eying her friend's ample cleavage in the process as it bounced up and down with every breath. Rangiku unfortunately seemed to notice where she was gazing and winked. "Don't worry Hinamori, you've still got room to grow, you're no older than Hitsugaya-taichou right now!" She let out a boisterous laugh.
Momo felt her face get very hot and finally broke her gaze from Rangiku's chest before beginning to continue on her journey. "Why is it that that's been a running topic in the last couple conversations I've had recently?" muttered Momo embarrassedly. She looked up at her friend. "You're just a freak of nature Rangiku-san, that's all there is to it." This elicited a whiny "Hey!" from Rangiku, which pleased Momo immensely. The two spent the rest of the journey chatting animatedly about the latest gossip before arriving at the imposing Research and Development building that housed both Mayuri's labs and the 12th Division barracks. They swallowed loudly and walked in.
Momo never liked visiting the 12th Division headquarters, it always smelled of odd chemicals, sounded of even odder BEEPs and BZZTs from the countless machines, and was home to even odder individuals. To her relief however, the first two members of the division they encountered after walking through several rooms were by far the most normal she knew. "Nemu-san! Akon-san!" she shouted at the two Shinigami seated at the display consoles. The two turned and Nemu stood up to greet Momo and Rangiku with a bow.
"Matsumoto-san, Hinamori-san. It is a pleasure to see you both." she said in her odd, almost robotic voice. "Mayuri-sama was just through here a few moments ago expressing his displeasure of Hirako-taichou and Hitsugaya-taichou's idea of punctuality. He will be in much better spirits when he sees these I hope." Nemu took both of the other Vice-Captain's bundles, one in each hand, and placed them down on a nearby counter. She began sorting through them. "There appears to be a page missing from your report Hinamori-san." she said without any sort of inflection to her voice. Momo gulped, she supposed Nemu was nice in her own way, but every time she had to speak to Mayuri's 'daughter' she always felt on edge, as if the person she was speaking to wasn't entirely human.
"Oh. You're right. Hirako-taichou said he'd be by in a moment with that missing page." Momo watched closely to see if Nemu would show any signs of agitation like her father would have. Her emotionless eyes blinked once and she nodded. "That is acceptable." Nemu said, "Until your Captain arrives however, I would ask of you to stay here so that Mayuri-sama does not assume your division is unsatisfactorily submitting paperwork." Momo frowned at the other woman's statement, but nodded. She didn't want to stay too long in this cold, dreary place if she could help it, but supposed she had no choice. Feeling a hand suddenly smack her on the back, she turned around.
Rangiku looked down at her and winked. "Don't worry Hinamori! I'll hang around here with you until your Captain gets here!" Momo smiled at her gratefully. Rangiku was a good friend, if a little air-headed sometimes, she was glad she was around to look out for Toshiro when was she wasn't able to. The two women watched Nemu nod and carry the papers from the room. "Very well, I must advise you however, to not wander from this room or interact with any objects that you might find interesting, these building are home to important, and dangerous, equipment. She left the room with that warning, leaving Momo and Rangiku to stare around the cavernous room in silent wonder, taking in all the various sounds and colors from the innumerable machines and displays.
Turning towards the glowing screens Akon sat behind, they walked forward mesmerized. Akon turned his head slightly to acknowledge them and they both nodded at him. "What is all this?" asked Rangiku, scanning the many moniters on the far left of Akon's workstation. Akon mumbled something about work needing to be done and pointless distractions before answering. "Security feeds from Muken. Security level goes from top-left to bottom-right in descending order of importance." Rangiku whistled and began to look at each of the smaller monitors in detail, before suddenly tensing up and grabbing Momo by the arm. It was too late though, as Momo had already followed Rangiku's gaze the moment the woman had seized up.
The screen at the very top-left corner was almost completely black, and it was hard to distinguish the figure bound in dark, leather-like straps from his surroundings, but to Momo, it was as clear as if the sun itself was blazing in the room. She stared at it, transfixed. After a few moments, the figure, its eyes and mouth completely covered, turned its head directly towards the screen and stared at her. The sound of glass shattering resonated throughout her head and Momo screamed. Her screams, and for that matter all sounds outside of her own mind seemed to be muffled, as if she was hearing it through a wall of rushing water. She fell to her knees and distantly heard Rangiku yelling something at Akon, who turned off the monitors as quickly as he could, but it was too late. Aizen had done all the damage he had needed to. The image of his mummy-like face was burned into her very mind.
Him. He saw her. Somehow. But how? Why? Why wouldn't he just leave her alone? He was a monster. But she had loved him. More than loved him. And he had abandoned her. Why? What was wrong with her? Momo began to shiver uncontrollably and felt Rangiku hugging her in an attempt to calm her down. "He saw me Rangiku-san." She said in a tiny voice, barely tuned into reality. Akon muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'impossible', and Momo stood up, tears streaming from her eyes and shouted at him. "It's not impossible! I know he saw me! He turned to me! I saw him! You have to believe me!" She turned to Rangiku. "You saw it right Rangiku-san? He turned toward the security feed! He looked at us!" Rangiku released Momo, stepping back, and gazed at her friend for a moment, something close to fear in her eyes. "Hinamori..." She said, doing her best to keep her voice calm, which Momo assumed was so she would not start shouting again. "I don't think he did. I mean... I didn't see him the entire time, I turned to Akon-san to tell him to shut it off, but..." Momo shook her head in disbelief.
She began to cry harder, the tears falling to the floor rapidly. Rangiku moved to embrace Momo again, but was stopped short when she caught sight of whoever had entered the room. "What the hell are ya cryin' about ya idiot?" Shinji's voice rang out from behind her. She heard him place a sheet of paper on a nearby counter before she saw him walk around to look her in the eye, his expression unreadable. "What's wrong Momo?" Akon turned on the monitor directly behind Shinji so his body was blocking Momo's line of sight. "That's a live feed from Muken. She says Aizen looked at her." The 3rd seat of the 12th Division said, almost casually. Momo heard Shinji let out a curse before speaking briefly to himself. "Even locked up like that ya just won't leave her alone will ya? If I didn't know better I'd say ya were gettin' off on this Aizen." Momo let out a whimper, causing Shinji to turn back around and face her. "I spent so much time trying to get him out of my head. And now he's back in. I... I don't know what to do... Hirako-taichou... he's going to kill me. I know it. He's going to kill me."
Shinji put his hands on her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "He's not goin' ta kill ya Momo." She began sobbing hysterically again and felt herself being directed out of the room, then out of the entire building. Before long she had run out of tears and let herself be pulled into darkness, felt hands move to catch her, but not before, vaguely, as though someone was saying it through a tunnel miles away, hearing a familiar voice mutter a single phrase.
"He's not goin' ta kill ya Momo. I promise."