HELLO AGAIN! I KNOW I SAID THAT I'D UPDATE THIS CHAPPY FASTER BUT MY SCHOOL JUST RANDOMLY DECIDED TO SWAP EVERYONE'S LAPTOPS FOR NEW ONES SO YEA... O_o... ENJOY?!?!?!...

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The words wouldn't form. The glare she was receiving intensified. "What are you doing here?"

"Well... I was… told to come and get you… so…"

"You're lying." The atmosphere froze over.

Why was this happening? In fact, what was happening?

Hinamori Momo struggled to come up with a logical response as she felt her heart drop to her stomach. Yet, it seemed to be beating so much faster.

Toushiro had always been a kind of protector to her. Even when he did it subconsciously. Then how come her instincts were telling her, screaming at her, that he was dangerous? That he wasn't a protector right now? Would he really hurt her? He couldn't! Or could he?...

The white-haired teenager growled. "What did you hear?"

"I didn't-"

"I asked you what you heard!" He quickly took a step forward. Momo wanted to run as he got closer to her. She didn't know this person. She wanted to yell at him to pull himself together, move, anything. Yet, her feet were frozen to the ground and the words were only hanging on the tip of her tongue. She squeezed her eyes shut.

THUD.

The brunette opened her eyes and gasped. She blinked her eyes a few times, taking the scene before her.

He was lying face-flat on the white, tile floor. Doctors and nurses rushed his way but quickly stepped back as he got back up, rubbing his face.

"I'm alright!" He called out, his tone having changed completely. "Sorry! Just… sorta tripped there!"

The aqua-eyed male laughed loudly and scratched the back of his head. He turned around and looked at the doctor until she cleared her throat and marched off. He turned back to Hinamori again, whose mouth was open.

"We should go. Uncle's probably waiting for us."

The brunette didn't respond for a few seconds as her housemate walked past her. She clenched her fists as she quickly caught up with him. The two quickly jumped into an elevator.

Both of their fingers shot forward to press the button. The two teenagers quickly withdrew their fingers before shooting forward to press the button again. The snow-head smiled. "You press it."

Momo reluctantly pressed the button before stepping back. She was cautious to keep her distance away from the male in the elevator beside her. She desperately wanted to talk to him, ask him what had just happened, what Toushiro was talking about. Yet, something inside her told her to keep her distance. This was not Toushiro. Yet, Shiro wouldn't really hurt her. Would he?

Sensing her anxiety, Shiro sighed. "You know… Toushiro wasn't thinking of hurting you. He would never ever consider anything amongst those lines..."

The brunette breathed in a shaky breath as her eyes widened. Those words meant so much to her, yet why did they hurt? It was as though Shiro had reached out and tugged on her heartstrings. She felt tears jump to her eyes, threatening to pour out. "You wouldn't know. You didn't see the look on his face."

Silence filled the elevator. It was quickly broken when Hinamori pressed her hands to her face, breathing in deep breaths.

"God, I never saw him so mad…"

"He wasn't mad. He was just… hurt. Frightened. In shock. You should have seen your face. You looked so scared..."

Watery, brown orbs looked up into the aquamarine irises. She could see truth in them but something inside of her wanted to doubt what he was saying.

"Momo, you might not believe me. But I would know. I'm a part of Toushiro that he doesn't even know the existence of. I can feel what he feels. We're a part of each other. I know it's hard to understand but you have to believe me or Toushiro's never going to forgive himself.

Silence filled the elevator again.

"Will Toushiro remember this?..."

Shiro's eyes widened as he turned to look at Momo. She was looking down at her feet, her eyes on the verge of tears. He didn't know what she was thinking. Was she hopeful that her housemate might forget what happened? Or was she trying to come up with something to say to him if he remembered? He wasn't sure. His eyes reverted back to their original size as he drew out a breath.

"No. He won't remember this."

"Oh…" She certainly wasn't relieved. "Why?..."

Shiro ran his hand through his hair. How was he meant to explain this to her? Nobody had ever asked him about it before… Ever. She probably wasn't going to like it. She might even hate it. He turned her around by her shoulders so that they were facing each other and looked sternly into her eyes.

"Momo, Toushiro… I'll admit it, if he were normal, I wouldn't even exist." The brunette's face contorted with confusion. "I guess what I'm trying to say is… he's been through a lot. And he doesn't even know it. He doesn't even know of my existence."

"I know that." Shiro was slightly taken aback by Hinamori's statement but didn't show it. It was her next question that slightly confused him. "But why?..."

He thought about it. Yet, he could only come up with one answer. "Momo, when Toushiro's ready for it, it'll come back to him. What he doesn't want to remember is what he doesn't know."

The watery-eyed female scowled at the idea. "What if he never remembers?"

Shiro chuckled grimly. "Oh, trust me. He will."

"How do you know that?"

"Well-"

DING!

The doors of the elevator opened. The two got out of the elevator. Momo turned to Shiro, expecting his answer, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to meet her worried uncle.

"Geez! Where were you, Toushiro? That took you a while… I was starting to get worried! Were you lost or something?"

The brunette opened her mouth but quickly closed it before she could say anything. She had almost let the truth slip. That would not happen. There were still things she wanted to know from Shiro.

"Well… the vending machine was out of order but we got lost when trying to find another one…" Shiro filled in for the female. The brown-eyed teen didn't miss the slight suspicion in her uncle's irises. She quickly filled in any doubt.

"But it turns out they're all just in maintenance check… so yea…"

The two teenagers innocently looked up at the older man, secretly waiting for the suspicion to subside. Deciding to trust his niece, Ukitake let that last shred of doubt slide. He quickly smiled.

"Well, we should be going home then!"

Many mental sighs were drawn.

Shiro groaned as his spine relaxed on the mattress. He moved his shoulders around a bit before completely relaxing his body. Well, technically, it wasn't his body but it was shared…

He raised his right hand towards the ceiling and stared at the back of it. He didn't know why he ever did it. It was just something he did. He guessed that it was a habit for when he was in deep thought.

Aquamarine eyes narrowed.

Shiro turned to his side and sighed. His vision started to go blurry as sleep started to take over. Yet, even in his almost slumbering state, he could feel it. It was becoming stronger and stronger with each given moment. Even in the moment when he was not in control of the body. He could feel it, being the only thing he could feel sometimes.

The white-haired teen knew it was coming. He knew it was coming ever since the moment he knew he existed. Yet, he never expected it to come so fast. Especially since Momo arrived into his life.

Was he really going to be strong enough? Would Toushiro ever need him anymore afterwards?

Shiro was pulled out of his thoughts when there was a light knocking at the door. He didn't have to ask who it was to know. It was dead obvious. He quickly sat up and pulled a shirt on, grumbling a slightly muffed, "come in", in the process.

The door slowly creaked open and in popped a pair of doe-like brown irises. They stayed there, slightly sheepish at first, before entering the room.

Hinamori slowly stepped into the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. She had wanted to know this so bad, yet why was her mouth so dry and her heart beating so fast? She gripped on the edge of her sweater.

"You should wear pants… It's cold… you'll catch the flu or something…" It was obvious that she didn't know what to say. Shiro found this slightly amusing and most definitely adorable. But he just scratched the back of his head and let out a loud yawn.

"Toushiro normally sleeps without his pants on so it'd be weird if he woke up with them on." The white-haired teen smiled even more when the brunette blushed and looked away. "So… why are you here anyway? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Momo huffed. "You should be asleep too! A-and you should know why I'm here!"

Shiro mock-gasped. "I should?... Hmmm… no wait! I think I might know! It's about your question about Toushiro's memories! I'm so smart!"

The brunette's slender eyebrows knotted together. Shiro immediately stopped his joking around and looked down to the floor. He drew in a deep breath and sighed.

Momo's features softened. "You know, you don't have to-"

"I think I'm dying."

The female scowled. "Very funny."

Shiro only stared up at her. Silence filled the air.

...What?...

He was dying? Wait, wait, wait! What did he mean by that? As in disappearing forever? Or was Toushiro dying too? Or was it just him? What would happen to Toushiro once Shiro supposedly died?

Hinamori well-knew by now that Hitsugaya was the type who tried to be independent. How hard he tried not to need people protecting him, rather, trying to be the protector instead. She knew that wouldn't be easy. Yet, she always felt like she knew nothing at all.

If Toushiro was being sub-consciously protected by Shiro, what would happen if he disappeared?

"B-but... Shiro! That doesn't make sense!" Momo cried out. "HOW?! Why?! You can't just... disappear!"

She was quickly hushed by the male as he quickly stood up and clamped his large hand over her mouth. The brunette knew that she was panting heavily. She felt something start to break in her.

Large brown irises were born into by aquamarine. She was immediately calmed. The hand let go of her mouth.

Shiro bent over so that he was at the same height as Hinamori. He pressed his index finger to her lips.

"Shh... we don't want to wake your uncle."

The female nodded slowly and the finger was taken away. The white-haired male sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, patting the spot beside him. Momo didn't hesitate to take a seat. The two looked down at their feet. The brunette, just searching for something to stare at, while the snow-head just smiled at the great difference in foot sizes.

He hooked his leg beneath Momo's so that his right foot was between her feet. His feet were pretty much the typical feet of a male teenager. Large, slightly calloused with a barely visible sock-tan. Momo's, on the other hand, were small, petite with her milky skin.

Hinamori's brows lightly furrowed, confused at her housemate's actions. Just what on earth was he smiling on about? What was there to be smiling about?

"Toushiro's right. You have cute feet."

The brunette blushed and quickly crossed her legs, so that her feet were hidden. Shiro quirked an eyebrow but let the whole "feet thing" slide. He wanted to know something from her anyway...

"You know, even if I seemingly disappear, I'm not really disappearing... I'm just... not a separate being..." Shiro's eyebrows creased at his word choice. "Or... personality... or whatever you call it... Since I'm a part of Toushiro, I'll just... sort of... become an actual part of him again... not as separate as I am as of now..."

Momo let the information sink in. It was somewhat logical and she could get the basic idea. For once, she felt like she could actually trust this being. He seemed a lot different from how he was in their other encounters. The brunette particularly cringed at the memory of their first meeting by the lake.

'Maybe... he isn't as bad or as threatening as he seems...'

She analysed the taller figure, who was now staring up at the ceiling with an expression she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"You know... first... I just thought... you were a complete... well... asshole... and then I just thought you were a jerk... then I thought you were... well... a bit..." Hinamori mentally facepalmed herself as Shiro looked at her in amusement. "Anyways! You don't seem to be... a bad person... although most of the time, I do not understand your ways or why you do some things... but... I remember the first time I saw my uncle talk to you... he was so... hostile... it's not him... and... well-"

"You want to know why he was like that." It was more like a statement than a question. The brunette nodded.

Shiro sighed. He looked down at the floor, the darkest smile tugging at the corner of his lips. A grim chuckle escaped from the bottom of his throat. It sent chills down Momo's spine.

He turned to her and bore into her being with his turquoise eyes. Something was in there. Something that no matter how hard she tried, she could not figure out.

"If only you knew, Momo. If only you knew..."

Whatever it was that was lurking behind those beautiful, yet frightening, orbs, Hinamori was definitely sure of it.

It wasn't anything nice.

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