Day 29: Courtyard
Hiei easily grew sick of the same walls--not to mention the same idiots always within those walls--and while not perfect, the chance to go outside was better than lingering in the boundaries of that damned prison. So when the chance came, the demon was quick to leap on it, heading outside almost quick enough to make a nurse wonder if he was
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After she'd been tended to, the nurse slowly lead Momo outside to the courtyard. The shinigami went along, her movement slow and she did not pull away from the contact of the nurse like she normally did, and she was soon brought over to the bench that Hitsugaya was laying upon.
"Here, Jehna, some fresh air will do you good," the nurse said to Momo as they got closer. "I know it's hard trying to separate reality from your fantasy world, but Mr. Hollister cares greatly for you and only wants to see you get better. Maybe after some more time, when you've had more therapy, you'll improve enough and we'll allow you another visit from him."
The nurse nodded at Hitsugaya. "You've made friends with Tommy, right, Jehna?" Momo vaguely nodded her head as she registered there had been a question asked of her, though her eyes were not even looking at Hitsugaya, but across the way. "Good, good... Just sit down here and relax."
The nurse tried to guide her to sit upon the end of the bench, but Momo automatically sank down to kneel on the ground before the bench. As the shinigami settled back onto her legs, the nurse sighed and patted her lightly on the top of her head. "There's a good girl," she told the kneeling woman.
"Tommy," the nurse said to Hitsugaya. "Jehna isn't feeling well. Be a good boy and try and make her smile?" Without waiting for a response, the nurse left the two shinigami alone.
Momo stayed settled upon the ground, her right arm restrained in the sling while her left hand curled into her lap. She stared at a spot on the ground a few feet in front of her, her sight unfocused, and her hair hung limply down about her face, obscuring the spiderwork of broken blood vessels that traversed the left side of her face.
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Hitsugaya raised up from the bench and swung his legs back over so that they rested comfortably on the ground. He brushed his hair back into place with one hand, glaring up at the nurse with a fierce and deep loathing. "Just leave us..." he said, but stopped his sentence once he noticed that the nurse had already turned to leave. "Damn nurses," he grumbled.
He glanced back over in Momo's direction, feeling discomfort at her being so near. Things since the bus had felt so awkward, he wasn't sure what to make of it...but more than that, something was off. It wasn't in any one peculiar way she acted, it was the whole, some unidentifiable sensation he felt that told him Hinamori wasn't entirely herself. He leaned forward to get as good a look of her face as he could, hoping maybe for one brief moment that she would glance in his direction. He couldn't describe why, but it seemed important that she look at him. "Momo..." he addressed her quietly. "What's wrong?"
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Her eyes moved a couple times from side to side, though her gaze was still unfocused and toward the ground. Maybe she was dead, just as she'd originally thought. They didn't know what happened between reincarnation and birth.
It was better she not contemplate these things.
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He knelt down in the grass beside her and rested one hand on her shoulder gently so as not to injure her any further, a look of concern and even a little fear in his eyes. "Momo..." he repeated her name again, hoping with the physical contact she might at least react. Look at me, damnit!
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But, she wondered, did she deserve reincarnation? She was dead and her death hadn't been anything more than an act of pity. No... no... no... She couldn't think about that. She didn't know what was real and what had been fabricated anymore.
It was safer inside. Safer.
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He pulled his hand back in surprise at the sight of her face. "What the hell did those bastards do to you, Momo?" he asked through gritted teeth. He very much wished he had his zanpakuto right now...the things he would do to whomever had caused such damage to her pristine face. He'd make them pay.
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She saw something white, and it was familiar, though she didn't actually focus on it. She couldn't make her left eye work properly when she tried and she gave up on both. Vaguely, she heard the question and shook her head a little. Her lips parted, as if she might say something, but then they closed, not a sound forthcoming.
She missed the constant warmth of her other half. She must be dead too.
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Wounds of the flesh he could deal with. Her injuries he could heal if he had to. Whatever was causing this wasn't on account of the wounds, though. "Please," he said, feeling uncomfortable just uttering the words. "Please...just...tell me what's wrong. Tell me anything. It's me. Shiro-chan." He hated that nickname, but if she was going to recognize anything, it would be that. "Your friend."
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"Ai...zen...sama," came the ghostly whisper from her lips.
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He couldn't be sure what Aizen had said to make Momo act like this, but it didn't matter. It was just one more note on the list of reasons former Captain Aizen had to die...
...but whatever he had done to her left her this empty shell. She was lost again, or maybe she had finally just given into the hole of doubt and despair she had been feeling ever since Aizen's blade pierced her chest.
It hurt to wonder if she would ever be whole again. It hurt to think about these things, but there wasn't any alternative he could take and still look himself in the mirror. "What happened?" he asked, wishing he didn't have to.
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Lethargically, she raised her hand from her lap to rest upon her breast, over her heart. "Never to be told."
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"You're not Jehna," Hitsugaya said insistently, taking her other hand into his and placing his free hand on her good shoulder. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, not even Aizen. You're Hinamori Momo, lieutenant of the 5th division of the Gotei 13. I know this because we grew up together. I've known you longer than I've known just about anyone...I should know who you are a hell of a lot better than Aizen."
He hated saying these words, hated trying to reach her by opening up himself...but he was willing to do just about anything for her.
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"Not Jehna... not her, but no... missing. Rest missing." She blinked her eyes and looked up at Hitsugaya, momentarily recognizing him. A tear formed at the corner of her good eye. "Vice captain or just... a doll? W-who... what is she?" Her brow furrowed again. "No... no... already know. Gone. No more left."
"So sorry," she whispered as that tear finally slipped down her face.
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And there it was. The words he never bothered to say to anyone...it was shocking that he let something like that out, something be never wanted to even think about. But he wasn't going to let anything harm her. Not even herself if he could help it, and certainly not Aizen.
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The shinigami lethargically moved her hand from over her heart to Hitsugaya's cheek. She tried to focus on his eyes when they were visible again, a small amount of life returning to them. "Shiro-chan," she whispered and then folded into him, her face pressed against his neck. "Shiro-chan..."
The tears came then, all of them, hot and wet as she cried against him. Her hand slipped from his cheek to his shoulder, clutching at his shirt. It was a pathetic sight to see, really, but she needed to cry all the tears out. Hitsugaya was the only one she wanted there to hold her. Maybe, just maybe, he'd be strong enough not to get cut on the broken pieces.
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