Chapter Text
She felt a frozen blade in her chest, but it wasn’t there. A blinding light shrouded silhouettes over her.
“Sh-Shiro?”
“Oh dear. It appears as though the Lieutenant has regained consciousness,” an unpleasant voice grated her hearing, “Akon, would you be so kind and increase her dosage?”
“Yes, captain,” his face was hard to make out, but she saw short horns.
“Wh-where am I?” what she was a clear question was a gurgly mumble.
“You are in the Research and Development labs. You are undergoing surgery, Lieutenant Hinamori,” an emotionless voice said, “You were ran through by Captain Hitsugaya’s Bankai, and your internal organs require regeneration.”
The memories poured back. Her friend’s sword running through her chest. So cold was his might, it froze her agony. Reaching to feel her chest, she touched an infestation of vines tugging on her body.
“Damn it all! After all the effort we’ve gone through to keep you alive! If you pull any of these plugs, you’ll die in minutes! Besides, you haven’t been disinfected yet. You can’t reach inside your own open chest,”
Her vision was starting to come back and she could finally see the tasteless make-up of the worst captain in the Seireitei.
“Master Mayuri, perhaps you shouldn’t inform the patient of her physical state,” his lieutenant suggested.
“Wait! My chest, it’s-”
Her vision was obscured by the captain’s hand, “Tanma Otoshi,” and she fell unconscious, with the captain’s elongated fingernail occupying her final thought.
She saw a featureless ceiling hang over her. The sterile stench of alcohol filled her nostrils and it was inhumanly quiet. She looked to her side and found herself alone. The arms weren’t bound by a swarm of wires and could move freely. She reached to her chest and felt bandages wound tightly around her body.
Despite the freedom of movement, her body felt heavy and she struggled shifting an inch over. After giving up, her exhausted pants filled the room.
A door opened, and Momo instinctively pulled her coverings over her chest. A Soul Reaper bearing the Fourth Division’s insignia came inside and bowed.
“Lieutenant, it’s so good to see you awake,”
Momo nodded her head back, “How. How long was I asleep?” flashes of her former captain shattered her serenity, “What happened to Captain Aizen!? Is he-”
The nurse pressed her against the mattress, “Lieutenant, please relax. You are still in recovery.”
“But, what about Aizen? What happened?” Momo saw her hesitation, and pulled rank, “I need a report!”
The nurse stiffened and collected her thoughts, “Well, lieutenant. Aizen fought with the Substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki, and he was captured by Kisuke Urahara.”
Momo blinked, “C-captured? They, captured Captain Aizen?”
The nurse nodded, “He is in the Seireitei. I do not know where he is.”
“Captain Aizen is here. He,”
Momo did not fall unconscious. She did not slip into a coma. But she fell into shock and went quiet. The nurse tucked her into bed, and left her be.
Time moved. And the days passed by without Momo noticing. All that broke her trance were her nurses moving her limbs to prevent bedsores, and feeding her via IV.
What was revealed later to be two weeks since her operation, she was informed of having visitors. The first and second were pleasant surprises. Her oldest friend Tōshirō Hitsugaya and his lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, who was a constant ally to her. The third was the head captain himself, Genryusai Yamamoto. The fourth, was a total stranger.
He was tall and thin with lanky arms, and adorned with human-world clothes. She couldn’t identify the fashion, but his colors were predominantly olive and black. Was he a friend of Ichigo Kurosaki’s? Then if so, why would he bother to visit her?
Rangiku kneeled at her side, “Are you feeling better, Momo?”
She forced a smile, “I am. I, haven’t left this bed since. Since I can remember, but I feel well.”
The Tenth Division Captain cleared his throat, “If you haven’t left your bed, then you’re not feeling well yet, Momo,” the very first words out of Shiro’s mouth were biting criticisms of her language. If it were anyone else, Momo would be appalled.
But it was her childhood friend, so Momo was annoyed, “Shiro! I’m awake aren’t I?!”
“It’s Captain, Momo! Captain Hitsugaya! And feeling well means standing on your own,”
It was Rangiku’s turn to protest, “Now you’re out of order, Captain!”
Momo threw the covers off herself and pulled herself to the edge, “You wanna see me standing, Shiro? Fine. I-”
A touch as rough as gravel prevented her movement. She believed he teleported at first when the Head-Captain stopped her and pushed her back into bed.
“You need rest. Captain Kurotsuchi informed me of the procedure performed on you. I am not envious of your position, Lieutenant. But you need to remain in bed for another week before you can walk on your own,” he turned his attention to Hitsugaya, “As for you, Captain. I expect all Soul Reapers to have empathy for their companions.”
The captain’s back stiffened and he bowed, “My apologies, Head-Captain.”
Momo noticed that the Head-Captain was missing an arm. His left sleeve flapped at his side and ended in tatters. Even if she already knew her former captain was involved, she desired asking the Head-Captain what happened.
The flick of a lighter caught the Soul Reapers' attention. Leaning against the wall was Momo’s fourth visit, lighting a cigarette with a zippo lighter.
Hitsugaya glared at the visitor, “For someone who spent a hundred years living with humans, I would imagine you know it’s against the rules to smoke in hospitals.”
He leaned against the counter with his arm and smiled with mouth open, revealing the ring on his tongue, “That’s because humans are susceptible to these things, but souls aren’t. A smog of this stuff wouldn’t even budge her.”
“Then you’ll follow customs! Put it out!”
His smile faded and frowned, yet his teeth remained exposed, “Sorry, but following customs nearly killed me. Or were you too young to remember that?”
The Head-Captain’s cane tapped the floor and silence followed. He opened one eye and gave one look to Hitsugaya and the visitor each, “No more bickering,” he turned away from them to face Momo. The Head-Captain’s face, after centuries of battle scars, couldn’t bring comfort even if he tried. He knew and didn’t try, but Momo wasn’t sure if she appreciated the honesty or wanted an attempt at warmth. He rested his cane at her bed and reached to her, “I am glad to see you in high spirits. Out of all of us affected by his betrayal, you bore the worst of it.”
He avoided saying his name, Momo noticed, but did not mention it, “Your concern for my well-being humbles me, Head-Captain.”
“Lieutenant Matsumomo. Do you have her Zanpakuto?”
From behind her back, Rangiku presented Tobiume and rested her beside her wielder, “The Captain insisted we hold onto it until you recovered.”
Momo touched her scabbard, and felt as though she were complete again, “Shiro. Thank you for looking after Tobiume.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and forced a smile, “You’re. Welcome. Momo.”
The Head-Captain grabbed his cane and held it up for Momo, “I have a soft spot for Fire-Type Zanpakuto wielders. You wield your sword and combine it with Kido magnificently, I’ve been told.”
“She held off three Arrancars and saved my ass, Head-Captain! You should’ve seen how strong she was,” Rangiku bragged.
Before Hitsugaya could admonish his subordinate, the Visitor spoke up, “She’s strong, that’s one thing. But when she went into that fight, she became a liability,” he put his cigarette out on the counter and left it. He strode to the foot of her bed and leaned forward, looking right in her eye, “Sōsuke used you as a meat shield.”
Hitsugaya reached behind for his sword, “That’s enough! I’ve heard enough of your insolent tongue!”
He looked to his right, where Hitsugaya wasn’t, “Then do something about it.”
Momo couldn’t comprehend what she saw and spent the rest of the day replaying it in her mind until she at last grasped it. But despite the visitor being right in front of him, Hitsugaya leaped out of the window and fell.
Rangiku looked over the window and called her superior, “Are you alright!?”
Hitsugaya rubbed his head, “Yes, I’m fine. But, how did that happen? He was right there, and I didn’t feel him-”
To everyone’s eyes, the visitor was sitting on top of the window, completely upside-down, “What’s wrong? Feeling funny?”
The Head-Captain rested a hand on his shoulder, and all of a sudden, he was sitting on the window’s bottom normally, “That will be enough antagonizing from you.”
Momo blinked, “H-head-Captain? Who is this man?”
He faced her and said, “This is Shinji Hirako. Former Captain of Squad Five. He will be resuming his position.”
He smiled at her, in ways that he never did.
Momo was discharged from the hospital a few days after meeting her new captain. He didn’t stay long after the introduction, saying he wanted to know who his new lieutenant was, and left without further elaboration. The Head-Captain didn’t linger, and left her alone with Rangiku, who kept her company until nightfall.
She had many visitors since, and it was nice that so many of her friends and comrades came by to wish her well, but her new captain occupied her mind. If he was Captain Aizen’s predecessor, he was nothing like him. Where Captain Aizen was cool and calm, this one was weird and irritable. Where Captain Aizen radiated respect, his replacement welcomed intrigue. And not in a good way.
Momo was walking to the Fifth Division barracks on her own. It seemed that while she was asleep, the rest of the world moved on from Captain Aizen. A new normal she wasn’t accustomed to.
“You know, if there’s one thing you have over Sōsuke. It’s that you’re way easier to track,”
Momo looked around for the voice and reached for her sword, “Where are you? Show yourself!”
She pivoted her foot and saw the man from before looming over her and she screamed.
“Huh. Not the response I was looking for,” he said, “Normally girls don’t have that reaction to me.”
Momo gave him a look over; he wore an orange cardigan over a button-up and tie, “You’re. Shinji Hirako?”
He tipped his hat, “Well, you remember my name. That counts for something.”
“Forgive me, I should have recognized you,”
“Forget it. It was the second time you ever saw me,” Shinji narrowed his eyes, “You haven’t let go of your sword.”
Her eyes bugged out and she looked down, where her hand squeezed her hilt, “I’m! I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t-”
“Draw your sword,”
She blinked, “What?”
“I said draw your sword. That’s an order from your captain,”
Momo shook her head, “I. I shouldn’t. I can’t-”
Shinji reached into his pocket and pulled a sword out, “You better unsheath your sword. Or else, you might die.”
In one instance, he was right in front of her. In the next, he stood before her, with his sword beside her head. Momo panicked and threw herself backwards. She brought her hands forward and she prepared a spell. Forgoing incantation and name, she blasted a bolt of lightning from her palm. Shinji didn’t move from his stance and caught the bolt with his bare hand. Electric discharge flowed through his palm, but he was hardly injured.
“Hado Number Four, Byakurai. Without incantation or even saying its name, you fired a bolt of lightning and paralyzed my hand. Not bad,” he hung his hand in his pocket and held his sword out, “But, I’m still standing. So what will you do next?”
Whatever fear Momo felt left her and she stood her ground, “I will not fight a fellow Soul Reaper.”
The serious expression held for a few seconds when Shinji burst into laughter. He slapped his leg and leaned against the walls, “Oh wow! Sōsuke really did mold you into a model Soul Reaper!” he wiped a tear from his face, “As good for nothing as he is, I have to give him credit for training some powerful subordinates. I’ve heard nothing but good stuff about Abarai, and Rose tells me Kira is an exceptional officer.”
That name again. Momo almost didn’t catch it, but she finally realized whom he was referring to, “You’re talking about Captain Aizen.”
He wagged his finger and tsked, “Uh uh uh. Traitors don’t deserve rank. And besides, he’s not worth using his name like he’s some dignified cocksucker. I’ve known him ever since he ended up in my division, and I knew he wasn’t worth an iota of respect. He was never Aizen. Just Sōsuke.”
This man perplexed Momo every time he spoke. But the way he talked, it sounded as if Captain Aizen was his former subordinate. She recalled every memory she spent with him, and not once could she remember him ever mentioning his predecessor. It was strange, Momo never thought to ask him. She realized she knew why.
“But I’m getting off topic. So. You won’t fight a Soul Reaper. Seems fair. Guess we won’t do battle,” Shinji shrugged and walked away, “But hold on. I’m not a Soul Reaper.”
Momo’s eyes widened, “You’re not? Then what are you?”
Shinji’s grin encompassed his face, “Another one of Sōsuke’s experiments.”
He reached over his eyes and pulled something on. In a flash of darkness, a Hollow’s mask adorned Shinji’s face. His Spiritual Pressure changed, felt not like that of a Soul Reaper, but of an Arrancar.
“Focus,” Momo fell out of her trance when she heard that distorted voice. In the next moment, he stood before her, his sword pointed an inch in front of her eyes. Momo screamed and scrambled backwards, nearly losing her footing. His eyes, obscured by darkness and a Hollow’s sclera, revealed nothing. For all she knew, he was serious about killing her.
He reached to his mask and pulled it aside, “You’re face to face with something that ain’t a Soul Reaper, and you can’t even pull your damn sword out.”
She looked down at her sword, and to her shock, she wasn’t even touching it.
Shinji sighed and pulled the mask back over his face, “I guess I have no choice but to kill you.”
He extended his arm and clenched his fist. Energy gathered at his fist. Momo knew Kido better than anyone, and this didn’t feel like a Hado spell of any kind.
It felt like.
“Cero,”
The energy he gathered fired into a wide blast encompassing the whole path. Even holding back, his attack was too devastating, and he worried about the structural damage he would answer for. Unless his new lieutenant could stop it.
An explosion consumed the path, breaking the Cero in two. She was silhouetted by the Cero’s explosion, and was breathing hard. Shinji made note of the odd shape of her sword.
“That’s your Shikai,”
Momo forgoed all pleasantries and glared at him with contempt, “Tobiume. My Zanpakuto is a Fire-Type,” she stood up straight and grabbed the hilt with both hands, “With her, I can snap my foes with fireballs.”
Shinji reached for his mask and pulled it aside, “Really? Sword like that, I figure Sōsuke would pass you onto the Head-Captain.”
She blinked, forgetting everything about the hatred she felt for this madman, “Wh-what? I’m not. No, there’s no way I’m good enough to be in Squad One!”
Shinji pulled off his mask and tossed it to the ground. After a loud clang, it faded into darkness. He sheathed his sword and stuck his hand in his pocket and walked toward Momo. She avoided looking directly in his eyes. For no matter what expression he wore, no matter how silly or goofy or nonchalant, his eyes pierced through her.
“Nevermind, I can see why Sōsuke kept you around,” Shinji muttered. He pointed to the pile of rubble a kilometer from them, “That Cero was as strong as one of those Fracciones you fought. AKA, as strong as an Adhuchas. You couldn’t stop it, but you could break it apart, is that right?”
She couldn’t believe what he said. She remembered those Arrancars she fought alongside Rangiku. One fired a Cero and Momo knew her Tobiume struggled breaking it apart. Was he really that strong?
“Ain’t you gonna say something, or am I gonna have to carry this conversation on my own?” Shinji asked.
Momo looked up, “I’m sorry, Captain. I. Thank you, I think?”
He sighed, “Well, that’s better than nothing.”
The silence arrived again, and Momo’s thoughts buzzed around her head. This man with Hollow powers, was now her captain. Could she really follow him? It was strictly forbidden for Soul Reapers to acquire Hollow powers. But, there was the substitute Soul Reaper, and his mask allowed him to overpower the Espada.
“Captain? Can I ask, or. May I ask a question?”
Shinji raised his eyebrow and leaned against the wall, “Sure, go ahead.”
Momo cleared her throat, “Why are you doing this?”
His grin was wide, and she could see all of the topside’s teeth, “Was wondering when you’d ask. Since I’m taking over as captain of the Fifth Division once again, I’ll need a subordinate I can rely on,” his mouth closed, but she still saw some teeth, “To tell you the truth, I was perfectly fine having Hiyori work alongside me. But she decided to stay in the Human World, so guess I’m stuck with you.”
Her eyes widened, “Wait, what would you have done with me if she hadn’t stayed?”
Shinji realized he said something he shouldn’t and avoided looking at her, “Yamamoto and me talked it over. He gave me the four-one-one, told me how Sōsuke screwed you up, and what happened to ya in the Fake Karakura Town.”
Momo felt her chest grow heavy and she stepped back, “The Head-Captain? He, wanted to get rid of me?”
Shinji shrugged, “Didn’t say that. He just said the option was available. Don’t take it too personally.”
“Personally!?” Momo shouted, “You’re asking me to not take it personally? My role. My rank. My, whole reason for being here! You’re telling me that he gave you the option to end my career, on a whim?!”
Shinji gazed at her tear-stained ire, “More or less.”
Her eyes pulsated, and she wrangled with her composure, “Why? Why would the Head-Captain do that? After everything I’ve been through, why would the Head-Captain let me go?”
Shinji leaned against the wall and slid down until he sat with his knee up to his face. He patted the ground beside him, and she reluctantly came to his side, sitting on the back of her legs with her knees forward.
Shinji reached in his pocket for his lighter and a cigarette, “Yamamoto is a little worried for how close you were to Sōsuke, and he thinks you might pull something stupid.”
Momo glared at him, “That is ridiculous. The Head-Captain would not be afraid of Me pulling anything.”
He put a cigarette to his mouth and breathed the nicotine, “You broke out of prison and infiltrated Central 46 practically undetected based off a letter. Can’t write off the possibility Sōsuke could use you with his Kyoka Suigetsu. Even now, we still don’t fully know how that damn sword of his works.”
She gripped her kosode, “The Head-Captain has that little faith in me.”
He tapped his cigarette and ashes fell to the ground, “Yep. It’s why he’s putting his faith in me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Yamamoto told me to evaluate you. See if you’re still capable of bein’ a Soul Reaper, or if Sōsuke screwed your head too much,” he puffed a cloud of smoke, “That’s all.”
Momo turned her head and breathed deeply, “This isn't even the beginning.”
He perked up, “Nah? You’ve been under watch before?”
She snapped back, “This didn’t happen to Kira or Shuhei! No! Everyone was watching me. They were afraid I would do something. Do you know how many Squad Two thugs were stalking me? Thinking I would go and do something? I lost count after a hundred. I was interrogated if I knew how to get to Hueco Mundo, because I guess they thought I would follow Captain Aizen to the world of Hollows. And the worst thing of all. You wanna know? They didn’t trust me to fight in Karakura Town. Everyone left me behind, because I know. They were afraid I would turn traitor. Even. Even Rangiku. Even she thought that. I. I know. Because, during our fight with those Arrancars. I felt her keeping an eye on me. But. No one. No one worried about Kira or Shuhei! Or even Rangiku! Why me? Why is everyone afraid of me? I just want to go back to normal. Why is that so hard?”
A cease in conversation followed. The sizzling of Shinji’s cigarette and Momo’s breathing filled the air. Then, Shinji put out his cigarette and placed a hand on her knee.
“It sucks, doesn’t it?” he stared down at his shoe, “Because of him, no one trusts you. No one’s gonna question Kira, because Ichimaru was an open creep who no one trusted. Lieutenant Hisagi isn’t coming under fire cause he and Sajin teamed up on Tōsen. But you. You were under Sōsuke’s nose. And you never once said a word about what he was up to. That marks you as a liability. Either you’re too gullible to be trusted, or you’re in it, and are waiting for the chance to act on his plans,” he shut his eyes and stood up, “That’s my guess.”
“You. I never even thought of it like that,” she said and stared ahead, “That makes perfect sense. Oh my god. How could I-”
“Shut up, alright? It’s my intuition talking,” he offered his hand and helped her stand up, “If you’re gonna be that amazed by deduction, you can take your naivety to the Thirteenth Division. I’m sure Jūshirō would love to have ya.”
Momo frowned, “Why do you make fun of me like that?”
Shinji stuck out his tongue and wiggled his ring, “Figured Sōsuke never did, so I’m making up for his oversight.”
Momo looked away as she took his hand, “What now? What will you tell the Head-Captain?”
Shinji turned to his cigarette and stepped on it, “He told me to swing by when my haori is finished. After Sōsuke ran off with mine, they need to sew a replacement. Until then, I suppose I’ll evaluate ya,” he tapped his foot on the tiled floor, turning his smoke into mesh of paper and dirt. He leaped to the top of the wall and walked along, “Let’s get back to the barracks. You can sleep on what I said. Besides, I get tired after wearing my mask.”
Momo watched her new captain walk ahead.
He was very different from Captain Aizen, but that wasn’t a bad thing, she decided.