Darkness
by: Kalow of FanFiction.net
Chapter One
“Let me out!” Momo screamed as she banged on the door to her room at the Fourth Division, “Please! Let me out of here!”
Toushiro sighed as he watched his childhood friend from behind a one-way window. Captain Unohana stood beside him, a serene yet sad look on her face.
“Her fits are getting worse. Before they were just outbursts, now she goes into full blown episodes of hysteria,” Unohana said, “She’s losing her grip on reality. When she first woke up, she was able to at least do basic activities and keep herself stable, but now she’s beginning to slip.”
“What can we do?” Toushiro asked. Unohana sighed.
“I don’t know. Her physical wounds have mostly healed, but she’s been so traumatized that I don’t know how to help her. She isn’t thinking logically and is completely lost in despair and confusion. It’s understandable, but…”
“But what?” Toushiro asked.
“Captain Hitsugaya, I know you care for her and want her to maintain her post, but if she does not come to terms with reality soon, we may be forced to strip her of her rank as Vice-Captain.”
“What? You can’t do that! She’ll recover eventually, you can’t take away the position she’s worked so hard to achieve!” Toushiro said quickly.
“It will be dificult if not impossible for her to resume her duties as Vice-Captain of the Fifth Division. We need our seated officers to be performing their duties in times like this, something which she is incapable of. It would be for her good and the good of the Gotei 13. Surely you must understand,” Unohana said gently.
“No, we can’t do that. Momo worked her entire life to earn that rank. She would be devastated if it were taken away from her,” Toushiro said.
“I understand your sentiments, but this is still an issue we must deal with. For now, I we will focus on her treatment, but you must recognize the possibility of her losing her rank in the future.”
“Very well. I understand,” Toushiro said grudgingly. He looked at Momo sadly. She was now lying on the floor sobbing.
“I’ll help her into bed,” Unohana said, walking to the door. Toushiro made to follow her but Unohana stopped him.
“You know that you can’t go in there. You bring about strong emotions in her, and we’re not sure if she can handle them,” she said firmly.
“But, I need to see her again! We haven’t spoken since-” he was shut up by a stern look from Unohana. The woman, despite her calm and peaceful appearance, could be very intimidating if she wished to be.
“You will have your chance to speak with her eventually. For now though, you must be patient. Now if you’ll excuse me…” Unohana opened the door and picked the sobbing Momo up. She silently walked over to the bed at the center of the room and set her down on it. Momo still sobbed even as Unohana helped put a blanket over her.
Toushiro sighed as he watched before walking off. He hated seeing Momo in this condition. He still vividly remembered when Momo had contacted him while he was in the human world. She had seemed frail and weak at first, but she also seemed to be genuinely sorry and aware of the situation. But when the conversation turned to Aizen, she began slipping. Before his eyes she began to slowly slip and slip further into hysteria, to the point that she begged him to save Aizen. Had the Captain-Commander not knocked her out, she would likely have gone even further.
He sighed as he walked back towards his division office. People bowed and greeted him as he passed, but he paid them no attention. He never wanted nor deserved the respect he was given. He had joined the Shinigami so that he could rein in his excessive Reiatsu, not to become Captain. He didn’t want the responsibilities of an ordinary Shinigami, let alone a captain! He wanted to be with Momo, yes, but not as a Shinigami. He wished that neither he nor Momo had ever developed shinigami powers. He recalled when she first developed her powers and the trouble it caused.
It was a summer night, and Momo and Toushiro were sleeping out under the stars like they often did. Momo quickly fell asleep, and Toushiro was about to as well, but then he noticed that a pink glow was surrounding Momo. He panicked and woke up Momo and Granny with his shouting. Once awake, Momo was no longer glowing, and she and Granny assumed that Toushiro had imagined it or had a nightmare.
The next night, Momo and Toushiro slept on the floor of the living room. Once again, Toushiro saw that Momo was glowing pink. This time Toushiro shook her shoulder to wake her up. This was a mistake, as the pink energy surrounding her became a physical force and burst forward from her, knocking over Toushiro and several shelves and setting the carpet on fire in places. Granny came in to find Toushiro stomping out the small fires on the carpet and a very confused Momo sitting up in bed.
It was soon explained to them that Momo had the powers necessary to become Shinigami. They were all surprised greatly by this. To those in Rukongai, the Shinigami were a near supernatural force rarely seen beyond the walls of Seireitei. Momo was excited about the opportunity to join such a place, but Toushiro was apprehensive. The Shinigami did not have a good reputation in Rukongai. They were considered to be snobby and abusive of those living outside of Seireitei. Momo was so sweet and innocent…to think of her wielding a sword was simply unimaginable.
Nevertheless, Momo did indeed end up attending the Shinigami Academy. Toushiro pretended not to care, but in reality he was very lonely. Momo was his only real friend, and he was only able to see her during her breaks. In the past it had always been just them, but she made new friends at the academy, and he slowly felt himself slipping away from her heart. When she met Aizen, things got even worse. All she would talk about was Aizen and how she was working so hard so that she could serve under him. He felt as if she didn’t really care for him at all.
Then, to his great surprise, he developed powers of his own. He was rather frightened when he first found himself face-to-face with Hyourinmaru, but soon recognized the fact that he would have to learn to control his powers, and he grudgingly attended the academy. Momo was surprised to see him there, and even more surprised when he became known as a prodigy and ended up in the advanced classes it had taken her five years of hard work to reach.
Toushiro had expected for he and Momo to become close as they once had, but as they worked, they soon found themselves drifting apart. Toushiro could tell that Momo was upset that her Shiro-chan had so easily surpassed her. She had always known him as a grumpy little boy who liked to pig out on watermelon, not a powerful shinigami. When they entered the Gotei 13, Momo and Toushiro both quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Vice-captain and Captain. Both were high ranks and something to be extremely proud of, but Toushiro knew that Momo felt inadequate. The two people most important to her, Toushiro and Aizen, were both Captains, while she was only a vice-captain.
Momo was strong, and something of a prodigy herself, but she couldn’t compete with Toushiro or Aizen. She reached her rank before either of her classmates Renji and Izuru did, but that wasn’t enough for her. She wanted to be Toushiro’s equal once more. Toushiro wanted that too. To not be in a position over Momo nor a position under her; to simply be on equal footing. Unfortunately, that was not how things turned out, and he knew that she resented him for it.
He soon found himself in front of his division building. He realized he had been standing here for several minutes, too lost in thought to realize it. He walked in and went to the main office. Matsumoto was sleeping on the couch as usual, and he could see crumbs from snacks all over her. Grumbling, he prodded her in the side. She giggled a little in her sleep, but didn’t wake up. He pushed her on the shoulder and she seemed to wake up for a moment before turning away from him, mumbling something about ‘five more minutes mom.’
“Matsumoto, would you just wake up?” Toushiro said irritably. Finally, she opened her eyes groggily.
“Oh, hi Captain. When did you get here?” she asked.
“Just get up and help me with the paperwork,” he grumbled.
“But sir, you already completed it,” Matsumoto protested.
“Don’t be stupid I…” Toushiro thought back, remembering that he in fact had completed it already. In his troubled mind, he had completely forgotten about it.
“Great, I came all the way over here for nothing,” he said irritably.
“Well you can still deliver the paperwork. Nelani is overworked and it would be helpful if you delivered the paperwork instead of forcing her to get it herself,” Matsumoto said. Nelani was the third seat of the Fifth Division and the highest ranking officer there with Momo incapacitated.
“She can deal with it on her own,” Toushiro said coldly, “It is not the place of a captain to make simple deliveries of paperwork.”
“Aw, come on captain! Please?” Matsumoto said. Toushiro groaned.
“Fine, I’ll take her the stupid paperwork!” he groaned, in no mood to argue.
“Excellent! I’ll come with you!” Matsumoto said.
“Then why don’t you take her the paperwork yourself?”
“Because…I don’t know, but it would make her feel special if a captain delivered the work!” she said. Toushiro groaned again.
“Fine, I’ll do this for you but tomorrow you’re getting extra work!” he said, walking off.
They made their way to the Fifth Division main office. When they entered, they found that it was far messier than the tidy offices in the Tenth Division. There were piles of paperwork waiting to be done and it looked as if Nelani lived in here. Behind the desk, scribbling away at a piece of paperwork, was Nelani. She was short and had black hair, and had a rushed look about her. She looked up to see Toushiro and Matsumoto standing there. She immediately stood and bowed.
“Captain Hitsugaya, Vice-Captain Matsumoto, it is a surprise to see you coming here. I am most honored that you have seen fit to see me,” she said quickly, fidgeting nervously with her hands.
“We have work to deliver,” Toushiro said, handing her a stack of papers.
“Oh yes, thank you very much,” Nelani said, “I appreciate that a captain would come so far to deliver simple papers.”
“Calm down Nelani, you seem stressed out,” Matsumoto said.
“O-oh yes, sorry! I’m afraid that things have been a bit hectic, but thank you for your concern!” she said in a rush. Toushiro turned to leave, seeing no further point in staying.
“Um, uh, C-Captain Hitsugaya?” she said hesitantly. Toushiro turned around. She gulped and stuttered, “I-I was wondering if-if it is not too much trouble to ask…could-could I, uh, know, I mean, if you see fit, could you tell me how Vice-Captain Hinamori is doing?” She breathed quickly. Nelani was extremely shy, and had difficulty talking to others. Toushiro looked at her for a moment. She fidgeted anxiously, feeling extremely nervous under his intense gaze.
“Vice-Captain Hinamori is showing few signs of improvement. Little has changed in her condition,” he finally said. Nelani’s eyes lowered sadly.
“Oh…I see…” she said sadly. Momo may not have realized it with her intense devotion to Aizen, but she herself was a highly respected and admired Shinigami. There were many Shinigami who held her in very high esteem. One of these was Nelani.
Nelani was a short, shy girl, and she was very nervous about becoming a shinigami. Then one day she met Momo. Momo helped her overcome her shyness and soon took her on as something of an apprentice. Nelani was extremely devoted to Momo and worked her way up to third seat, wanting to be as much help to her as possible. Even as Momo idolized Aizen, Nelani looked up to her as a role-model. Thus, she was devastated when Momo was sent into a coma by Aizen. To her, Momo was the ideal shinigami, and for her to end up in such a pitiful state was very saddening. Nelani still retained hope however that her mentor and role-model would oneday recover.
Just then, two hell butterflies flew in through the window. One went to Nelani and the other to Toushiro. They landed on their finger tips to transmit their message. Moments later, Toushiro and Nelani’s eyes widened.
“Captain!” Nelani cried.
“I know! Get to the medical center immediately,” Toushiro said. They rushed out of the room towards the Fourth Division. It was their worst nightmare, the thing they had most feared. Momo had attempted to kill herself.
