Disclaimer- No, go away. Not really, read the story first, then go away. After you review. Yeah. XD

Drabble

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'Damn it, damn it, damn it, she couldn't do anything to stop him. He was fading, he was leaving, and there was no way she could stop him.'

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"Momo, you've been sleeping for too long (almost two years) now, it's time to come back. Please."

'She's fading a lot faster now, Captain Hitsugaya. I'm sorry, but I don't think she'll live to see the end of the week.'

"Please, Momo, please come back." A bitter tear landed silently on the pristine white sheets.

"Please…"

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'Captain? Captain, please wait for me! Captain Aizen, Captain Aizen!'

She didn't know how long she had been running in the darkness, following the broad white cloaked shoulders of her captain. He never answered, he never slowed down, but she never lost sight of him. He was always there, always just out of reach.

'Oh captain, why won't you wait for me?' She dropped to her knees, tears of sorrow dripping off her lashes.

'Am I no longer good enough to be your vice? Have I failed you in some way? Why are you leaving me? Please captain, why won't you answer?!" She gripped the black material of her hakama, her eyes red and puffy.

She had been crying for a long time now, and every tear had added to the shallow lake she had been running through. That's all there was in this place; the lake, the darkness, and her captain.

'Please captain, please wait for me…' She sobbed and blinked her burning eyes.

She was so tired of chasing, so tired of running. She wanted to stop, she wanted to rest, but she could not. The darkness pushed her forward, and she was never able to turn her sight from her captain. She could not look back to see if there was anything behind her.

'Momo, it's time to come back. Please. Please come back.' She looked up.

Where was that voice coming from? Was it her captain? Was he waiting for her now, was he calling her to come? But, why did she have to come back, she never left him in the first place.

'Please Momo.' There it was again.

That wasn't her captains' voice. He wasn't calling for her. She felt her heart drop to her feet. He had called to her once, when she first came to this dark place (she was frightened, but he was there, and if she could only reach him, she wouldn't be so frightened anymore).

But that voice was so painfully familiar. She wanted to see who had come, who was calling out. She only knew of her captain, she only listened to his (every) word, but now he wouldn't speak to her. And that voice, that voice…she knew that voice…

'Momo, please don't go. Please, I…I need you.' The breath caught in her throat.

Who else ever needed her besides her captain? She had been so sidetracked by his needs, his kind words, she had forgotten if anyone else had ever needed her. Something was gnawing at the back of her mind, something she knew of this voice. A boy…

'Momo, I need you.' Those words echoed in her head.

She began to remember. A boy, her old friend. But who was her friend besides her captain? Who, who? The water that surrounded her became ice cold, and she began to shiver. Cold, he was cold, like ice. No…… he was ice.

She looked to her captain. He was no longer moving away, but he got no closer. This happened every time she gave up, every time she stopped. The first time she had given in to the exhaustion she thought her captain was testing her willpower. She thought he was helping her to become stronger. But, she soon realized that was not the case. Could he not hear her calls for him to slow down? He had always been kind, why would he not at least show her the kindness of an answer?

'Momo, what is so important in your head that keeps you from coming back?' The voice that called out now was deeper, colder, and wiser

She felt as if this being was familiar to her as well. It was like a reflection of the first voice, only older. Much, much older. It demanded every bit of her attention, but with a calm sense of great maturity.

'He needs you Momo. You only have to remember.' She wanted to cry out in frustration. Why was everything so complicated in this place of darkness?!

'But how? I've tried, but there isn't anything there…everything has faded beyond my reach.' She stared at her hands, and in all of her tiredness and the headache that seemed to pound in from all around her she began to cry again.

'Give up on the dark path. You're walking to your death.' She did not know it yet, but the statement that was her answer was very blunt. The deep voice spoke no more.

She took some of the water in her hands and splashed it on her face. The cold cleared her mind and eased the headache.

'What dark path? Wouldn't I have noticed if I'd been……' She looked around her, and blinked. 'Oh.'

But, she wasn't running into the darkness, she wasn't after it. She was following her captain, her rock of unwavering calm. Surely he would not lead her into the darkness?

'Of course not, stupid, he's your captain. How could you doubt captain Aizen like that?' She reprimanded herself, and things began to change again.

The water warmed, her head began to cloud, and her attention was drawn back to the ever present figure in front of her. She pulled her hands out of the water, for it had become too warm for her liking. She wished it was cold again. Like that voice…

'Momo, I'll be back later. Fight whatever hold he has on you; I know he's the one holding you there.' It was the first voice again, the boy.

'Wait! I, I don't want you to go!' There was an urgency in her mind, she needed him to stay. 'Please don't leave me…please don't turn away. I'll try harder to remember, I promise!'

'He's not leaving you Momo. He has always been there and he always will be. You just have to turn around and come back.' The deep voice returned, and she turned her eyes from the retreating form of her captain.

'He's always been there…' She thought about what the deep voice had said.

Who had always been there for her besides Captain Aizen? But, not even her captain had always been there for her. There was a time when it was just her, her and the boy.

Was it the boy? No, he wasn't a boy anymore. She knew that. He had changed while she was so focused on her captain. But who, who was he now? Who was he when she knew him?

'He was… he was my Shiro-chan.' The tears burned in her eyes as memories began to flood back into her mind. The watermelon, the fights, the name calling…

'And I was his Bed-wetter Momo.' She smiled, for the first time since she had been in that place.

But how was she to get back to him without abandoning her captain? Where was her captain? She looked up and to the sides, searching for the telltale white cloak. But there was none. She was alone, alone in the cold water, alone in the darkness. Now there was no one to comfort her, even after she had remembered what the deep voice had asked her to.

'I'm all alone…and it's so terribly dark.' She shuddered and drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms about them in an attempt to shield herself from the darkness.

'Where is my Shiro-chan now?'

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Toushiro held her small hand, rubbing the back of it with the pad of his thumb. She was so small, so pale, and so fragile. He didn't know what he would do if he lost her. He wouldn't be able to function without her around, without her sweet smiles. The only thing that kept him going now was the fact that there was still hope (even if it was a very, very slim bit of hope). She was still alive, and he knew there was still a chance that she would come back.

"All alone…where is Shiro-chan?" His eyes widened.

She was mumbling in her coma. Was that normal? But, he didn't care if it was normal or not. She didn't know where he was, and she was all alone. He gripped his empty hand into a fist of frustration. It was all that bastards fault she was alone. All his damn fault.

"Momo, I'm right here, I always have been. All you need to do is wake up, please. You're not as alone as you think." He held her hand in both of his now, and he leaned forward slightly over the bed. He didn't know what else to do but talk to her.

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'Where is my Shiro-chan now?'

'I'm right here. You're not as alone as you think.' His voice penetrated the darkness, and her head shot up and she looked around in front of her.

'I can't see you! Where are you?' She was desperate to find him again.

She knew now that she had lost him before, but she didn't know why. Was it because of her captain? Had she been paying too much attention to her beloved captain to notice she let her dearest Shiro-chan slip away? The words of the deep voice echoed in her head once more.

'…You just have to turn around and come back.'

Momo stood from the water and spun around, only to be blinded by a bright white light in front of her. She had been looking into the darkness for too long, she had been following her captain for too long. Wait, her captain! She turned her head and looked back, searching for the man she had followed with such devotion. But he wasn't there.

'Captain Aizen…why have you abandoned me?'

'……turn around and come back.'

Momo closed her eyes and let her heart ache for a moment. Her captain was gone. He had left her there in the darkness, all alone.

'……come back.'

She opened her eyes and faced the light again, squinting against the intensity. She must forget her captain for now. He was lost in the darkness, but she wanted to follow the light. She wanted to return to the Shiro-chan that she had forgotten about for so long. Her eyes adjusted to the brightness, and now she could see what was before her.

There was her Shiro-chan, bent over a hospital bed. He was grasping the hand of whoever occupied the bed, and his eyes were so sad. They were so, so terribly sad. But, who was the person in the bed? Who had been hurt in such a way that made him so heartbroken?

She felt the breath hitch in her throat when she saw the face of the person in the hospital bed.

He was heartbroken because of something that had happened to her. She was the one lying there, frail and pale and sickly. But how? How was it that she was there and here at the same time?

'Captain Aizen…' She pressed her hand to her abdomen and gripped the fabric. She remembered now.

Her captain…her captain had stabbed her.

She stared at the scene before her, and her eyes hardened. She would go back to him. She would return to her Shiro-chan, and even if he hated her for leaving and trusting that evil, evil man, she would do everything in her power to make it up to him. She stepped into the light before her, and everything became blindingly bright.

'I'm coming, Toushiro.'

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The prodigy captain didn't notice when a pair of hazy brown eyes opened. He was staring at the small, pale little hand clutched in his own.

"Shiro…..Shiro-chan." He looked up, completely startled by the voice that broke the silence in the quiet room.

"Momo?" His eyes widened, and he blinked. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

She was staring at him with chocolate brown eyes, a weary smile on her face.

"I came back, Shiro-chan. Please….please don't be sad." Her voice was small and hoarse, barely making it above a whisper.

For a moment the two stared at each other, and then her brow furrowed.

"You're not angry, are you? I'm sorry…I'm sorry I forgot about you. I'm so sorry." Tears filled her eyes, and the instant they spilled over they were wiped away by a large, warm thumb.

"No, no, I could never be angry at you Momo, why would you think that? You don't need to apologize for anything, it's not your fault." His sea green eyes softened, and he gave her a gentle smile. "I'm glad you're awake."

"Shiro-chan?" She yawned while she spoke his little nickname, and he couldn't help but notice how adorably cute she was.

"Yes?" He held her tiny little hand, subconsciously rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

"I'm so….sleepy." She blinked, and her eyes drooped, even though she was trying her hardest to stay awake.

"I know, I can tell. You should rest now. Unohana needs to know that you've finally come out of your coma, and then later you can get something to eat." Toushiro stood from the chair he was sitting in and let go of her hand, watching as she yawned again.

"You'll come back, right?" Her big brown eyes stared up at him, silently begging for him to stay.

"I'll be back Momo, don't worry."

"Pinky swear?" She poked her pinky finger at him, a tiny smile gracing her lips.

"Pinky swear." Toushiro was a captain who disliked childish things, and a pinky swear had to be somewhere on the unwritten list of 'top ten most childish things', but for now he didn't care. He would do anything to keep her smiling, because he had missed (craved) it for almost two years.

The white haired captain pulled the clean white sheets up to her chin, and her smile widened ever so slightly. It made her happy to know he still cared, after all this time.

"Momo?"

"Yes?" Her face flushed a faint pink color when he leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead, smiling all the while.

"Sweet dreams, Bed-wetter Momo."

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There you have it. This was kind of random, because I just had this weird little idea yesterday night so I wrote it down (the very first line of the story) and this is what is blossomed into. I don't think the ending is really, like, the end, but I tried. I've always had a crappy way with endings, so forgive me! But, I'd like to hear what you have to say (even if your usual hobby is lurking and not leaving a review, I'd still like to hear from you!) about this, because the beginning is a little more angsty than I'm used to writing, so I guess this was a sort of experiment. Hope it satisfied you!!

Oh, and the whole bit with the 'other voice', that was intended to be Hyourinmaru, just in case you didn't pick that up. I didn't specify it was him or anything, so…..yeah. And Hitsu was much too OOC. Oh well, I tried. :)

Mistoffelees Shadow