3A/N: Hiii! I've been meaning to finish this story for a while now but I have school works to prioritize. But now that finals are over, I have a lot more free time! And so I present you this new fic I have come up with! I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it! Douzo!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach and its characters.
•••
MOMO FINALLY CLOSED the book. The tears she was trying to keep from falling freely rolled down her cheeks now. It's so heartbreaking. Ah, my chest hurts so much!
She just read about two star-crossed lovers who never got a happy ending even after all the trials they had gone through. Ultimately, they lived their lives separately, their memories together the only thing they had left to keep.
She let herself cry some more before she looked down at her desk, remembering the paper works she had to deliver. She immediately ran her sleeve through her face to wipe the tears away. Then, she stood up and walked out of her office, the documents safely tucked in her grasp.
•••
SHE ARRIVED AT the tenth division's office. She knocked softly on the door before stepping inside.
The white-haired captain addressed her without looking up from his reports. "Hinamori."
"Hey, Hitsugaya-kun."
As of the moment, the prodigy didn't have the energy to correct her lack of deference for him. He had pulled an all-nighter to finish the work that was supposed to be done by his sluggard vice captain.
She walked up to his desk and put the papers down. She leaned towards him to examine his face closely. His face started to heat up from her proximity; he backed away a little before he gazed up at her.
"What?" he asked, a little irritated.
"Hmm. Did you sleep last night?" she questioned, worried about his well-being.
"No."
"Why?" she pressed.
"I have a lot of work to do," he paused, finally looking at her face completely.
He scanned through her features and noticed her swollen eyes. Worry quickly filled his system and threatened to consume him.
"Why were you crying?" he bluntly asked, hiding his concern in the process.
Her eyes widened; she didn't think her previous episode was still evident on her face.
"I, um, I was reading a book."
His eyebrows rose, showing his confusion. "And?"
"Oh, it was a really sad one! And . . ." she trailed off.
"What?" he asked as relief washed over him. He was grateful it wasn't something so important.
She was sniffing now, her tears foreboding to fall once again. "It was so sad. I mean, why did things have to end that way?" she squeaked.
He panicked; he wasn't sure how to console her. So, he said the first thing that came to his mind. "That's ridiculous. I can't believe you're crying over some made-up story."
She looked a little shocked. Did he just say that? She swallowed and smiled weakly at him. "I-is that so?" she uttered, "I-I have to go now. See you around, Hitsugaya-kun." She turned around and walked swiftly to the door. She didn't see him reaching out to her as she hurriedly run out to the hallways.
•••
MATSUMOTO SLIPPED THE door open. She went inside the fifth division's office, looking for the raven-haired girl.
"Hinamori! Where are youuu?" she called out in a singsong voice but nobody answered. She looked around but found no one. Oh, she must've gone out.
The door suddenly opened, revealing the younger lieutenant. Matsumoto ran up to her, enveloping her in a tight hug.
"Oh, Hinamori! I was looking for you!"
"What for, Rangiku-san?" she said after the voluptuous woman let her go.
"Let's go eat lunch with the others!"
This just might be the distraction she needed at the moment. With nothing better to do, she answered with a smile, "Alright, then!"
•••
FIVE PEOPLE OCCUPIED the table at the small restaurant, just outside the Seireitei. The cheerful chatter around her made Momo's spirits lift up, albeit a little.
The server finally arrived with the food they ordered. Abarai, Hisagi and Kira were planning on drinking alcohol but decided they'd save it for the night. Matsumoto prompted Momo to come with them later to drink sake but she kindly turned the woman's offer down stating that she couldn't hold her liquor.
They talked about random things while eating. Momo just listened to them, content with just knowing they were all doing well.
"Hinamori-kun. What have you been doing these days?"
She was a little surprised at the mention of her name. She looked up to see Kira smiling at her. "Um, nothing much. I was almost always occupied with work . . . and oh, I am finally back to reading books after getting a slump for a while," she replied, getting enthusiastic.
The others listened to them briefly before continuing with their own topic, debating over where they would party later.
"Oh yeah? I'm also reading a lot lately," Kira replied, also becoming excited.
"I actually just finished a good book this morning. And I really liked it despite it being a little . . . on the melancholic side," she finished with a sigh.
"Oh. Um, can I borrow that book? I'll also lend you some," he said happily.
"Really? I'd love to!"
And so, they continued conversing about their book preferences. Momo was finally feeling light-hearted as she found someone who enjoyed reading just as much as she did.
•••
IT HAD BEEN a few days since Toshiro and Momo last talked. Truth be told, he was worrying about her. He was afraid of the possibility that he might've hurt her feelings because of the stupid words he had said.
"Matsumoto," he muttered.
The blonde woman slightly sat up from her comfortable lying position on the couch. "What is it, Taicho?"
"Have you seen Hinamori lately?"
"Ah, yeah. Why?" she paused before continuing, "Do you miss her? I can ask her to stop by here." She winked.
His face started to heat up a little. "N-no," he stuttered. "I'm just worried about her."
"Well, you always are," she stated matter-of-factly.
"So, how was she?" he inquired.
"Well . . ." she trailed off, trying to remember what the peach girl was occupied on recently. "From what I can remember, she and Kira were always together lately, talking nonstop about books and books and books." She smiled mischievously. "Who knows? Maybe they started to like each other seeing they have the same hobby and all."
With that, the distinguished captain of the tenth stood up from his seat, barely controlling the sudden pangs of jealousy that raged inside him. He looked sharply at his lieutenant and hissed, "Tell me you weren't serious."
"But it's true!" she defended herself. "If you don't believe me, then go see for yourself." She was now feeling a little scared because of the strange glow that emanated from her captain.
With a sudden gust of cold breeze, he was gone, leaving Matsumoto shivering from the chill. I hope Taicho won't do anything rash now.
•••
HE READ THE words that were elegantly engraved on the cover of the book out loud, "'To The Stars.'" He flipped through it, wondering what on earth he should do now. He decided to start reading the story, completely forgetting how he was able to get his hands on it.
He flash stepped towards the third division with an iron will. He traced the minimal amount of spiritual pressure a certain pale blond-haired shinigami was giving off. Shortly after, he found who he was looking for.
Kira was leaning on the wooden railing just outside his office. On his hand was a heavy-looking leather bound book. He was too absorbed in reading that he didn't notice the approaching footsteps of an enraged taicho.
"Kira," he growled.
The lieutenant looked up to find a very frightening Hitsugaya.
"E-er, Hitsugaya-taicho."
A confrontation soon occurred between the two. It didn't take long, though, for the captain to get the truth out of the scared fukutaicho. He was glad to find out that nothing was going on between Kira and Hinamori.
After successfully acquiring what he came for, he strode off with a triumphant look. On his hand was the object that caused Hinamori's gloomy disposition earlier that week. Now, he was about to find out why so.
•••
IT WAS A beautiful afternoon, the light rain was stirring the temperature with the right amount of coolness, making everyone feel some calm and peace. Sure, it also made them drowsy but for those bookworms by heart, it was the perfect time to read.
Hinamori was on her living room, sitting on the couch and doing her most favorite thing in the world — reading. Pausing for a while, she reached for her steaming cup of coffee and sipped from it. She started to daydream, imagining another world in her head, adding it up to the myriad that were already there. She thought that if she were to live a hundred lives, those wouldn't still be enough. Ah, the power of words, making one wonder if there were other universes out there, waiting to be unfolded.
She was immediately pulled out of her reverie when a knock sounded on her door. The visitor didn't wait for her permission before inviting himself inside.
She stood up. "Hitsugaya-kun . . ." she uttered, surprise showing in her voice.
"Hinamori." He sounded out of breath, like he was running just moments ago (which he might have been).
"Why are you here?"
He didn't answer but reached out his hand to her. When she looked at it, her eyes widened a fraction — he was handing her her book.
"H-how?" she stuttered.
He smirked at her. "I already read it, if you might be wondering. It was . . . good."
Hinamori was dumbfounded now. Did I hear him right?
"What? You aren't gonna ask me my thoughts about it or something?" Hitsugaya asked, amused.
After thinking for awhile, she considered his offer and smiled up at him, and said,"Tell me, then."
"First of all, I want to apologize for the things I said; I was clearly wrong." He paused and tried to read her expression. When she didn't say anything, he continued. "This story . . . I admit isn't something new to me but the way the writer told everything, it felt real, like he was speaking from his own experience. Also, I'm not going to do the same mistakes he did."
"What mistakes?" she wondered.
He stepped forward, towards her, leaving only a small space between them. "I'm not going to lose the one I love," he spoke in such a gentle way that made Hinamori's heart skip a beat.
Her breath caught in her throat. She remained speechless, only able to stare at the deep color of the ocean that was his eyes. The warmth she found there caused the butterflies in her stomach to flutter wildly. He isn't confessing to me now, is he?
"Yes, I am."
His voice startled her. "H-huh?"
"Yes, I'm confessing to you now," he repeated her words, amusement evident in his eyes again.
"WHAT?! Did I . . . Kyaaaaa!" She turned around, away from him, embarrassed that she had voiced out her thoughts for him to hear.
He laughed quietly, the sound of it enough to make her shyness go away. The very presence of his laugh was a rare thing to happen so she cherished every single one of it.
She turned to him, clear brown eyes meeting turquoise ones. A smile started to brighten her features while it slowly reached the windows to her soul. "Hmm . . ."
"What?" Hitsugaya asked, confused.
"Well, it took you long enough to say it." She laughed and the soft sound of chimes filled the room.
"H-how? Did you . . .?"
"I love you too, Hitsugaya-kun," she said, interrupting him. Her heart was beating so hard that she felt her chest might burst open.
He just stared at her; his face heated up like fire had burned it. She loves me back. I can't believe it.
He remained silent for an agonizing minute.
"Shiro-chan?" She was getting a little worried now. Could she possibly said the wrong thing?
"Yes, Bedwetter Momo?"
"Are you okay?"
He pulled her close, looping his arms around her. "How can't I be? The girl I love loves me back. What more could I wish for?" he said in earnest.
She hugged him back and listened to the comforting beat of his heart. It was racing as fast as her own, assuring her that he, indeed, loved her.
After a few moments she asked him, "So, how come you have the book? I lent it to Kira-kun two days ago."
"Does that really matter now?" he muttered, getting a little irritated at the mention of the third division's lieutenant.
She tried to pull away from him a little so she could see his expression but he didn't let her.
"You know, we can read books together. You don't need anyone else to do it with you." He paused. "I can be . . . um, your . . . book buddy or something," he added, embarrassed at the term.
"Really? I thought you hated crying over books? I do that a lot," she whispered.
"As long as it's you, I don't really care."
She brightened up. "Alright then! So from now on, you'll be my Book Buddy Shiro-chan!" she exclaimed, excited at the thought that they'd spend more time reading together.
"Oi, oi. I didn't say you could call me that! It's still Hitsugaya-taicho to you!"
"Whatever, Book Buddy Shiro-chan!"
"Ugh. She's always so stubborn," he mumbled to himself.
She then took him by the hand and led him to her room. She started to look for books that she deemed as good reads.
"Here, this one's good! Oh, this one too! And that one!"
And so, Hitsugaya ended up with a lot of books more than he could possibly carry. Even though he now had an added activity to do, he was happy — for he was doing it for his Book Buddy Bedwetter Momo-chan.
- The End -
•••
A/N: Yay! You've reached this part! Thank you so much for your time! I hope you liked this story, and if you do, please, please leave me a review! I want to know what you think about it! Again, arigatou!
P.S. I only invented the name of the book — To The Stars — so it doesn't have anything to do with any actual book of the same title.