Toshiro quickly walked over to Momo.
"Are you alright, Hinamori? Are you hurt anywhere?" Toshiro asked with concern.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just a twisted ankle," Momo replied, her voice unusually gentle.
Everything that had happened today had completely changed Toshiro's image in Momo's heart.
Momo felt as if Toshiro had suddenly grown up.
In her mind, the original Toshiro was just a somewhat mischievous, cute child who liked to bicker with her.
She had always seen her childhood friend Toshiro as a younger brother, a family-like existence.
But when she had been plunged into despair, Toshiro had descended from the sky like a hero, saved her, and then effortlessly defeated the enemy with immense power.
Now, whenever she looked at Toshiro, her face would flush, and her heart would race.
For a naive and innocent girl like Momo, such a fairytale-like event was almost irresistible.
Especially earlier, the thought that Toshiro knew he was no match for the Hollow, that his hands were trembling with fear, yet he still firmly gripped his sword and charged at the enemy, made her feel so moved she wanted to cry endlessly.
As Momo thought about it, tears suddenly began to flow uncontrollably.
"Huh? What's wrong with me? Why am I crying? That's so strange," Momo wondered, confused.
"Hinamori, what's wrong? Are you hurt after all?" Toshiro asked worriedly.
"Toshiro, waah-" Momo suddenly hugged Toshiro and burst into tears.
After all, Momo was just an inexperienced young girl. She had suddenly been trapped in a desperate situation, then rescued.
After such emotional extremes, her nerves, which had been tightly wound, suddenly relaxed, and the despair and fear from earlier came flooding out.
"It's alright, it's alright. Everything is over now. I'll protect you from now on," Toshiro comforted her softly.
"Mmm." Momo's face flushed with shyness as she somewhat awkwardly pulled away from Toshiro's embrace.
Toshiro walked over to the bodies of the three Shinigami, bowed, and said, "Thank you, everyone."
If it weren't for the presence of these Shinigami's Asauchi, Toshiro wouldn't have been able to achieve Shikai even if he knew his Zanpakuto's name.
Then, Toshiro took a scabbard from one of the Shinigami's waists and tried to sheath Hyorinmaru, finding it a poor fit.
Hyorinmaru was 1.3 meters long, taller than Toshiro's current height. In the original work, Toshiro's height was 133 cm when he appeared, but now he was less than 1.3 meters.
"Whatever, I'll have a proper one made back home," Toshiro said.
Toshiro originally wanted to wear Hyorinmaru at his waist but awkwardly realized the blade was too long, and it would drag on the ground.
How embarrassing!
Toshiro finally understood why all Shinigami in the original work wore their swords at their waists, while only Toshiro carried his Zanpakuto on his back.
"Ahem, Mr. Shinigami, since I've borrowed your Asauchi and scabbard, I might as well borrow your belt too."
Toshiro also took the belt from the Shinigami's body and strapped Hyorinmaru diagonally across his back.
"Let's go, Hinamori," Toshiro said to Momo.
"But what about the Shinigami bodies?" Momo asked.
"Probably other Shinigami will come soon to retrieve them," Toshiro explained.
"Toshiro, what happened earlier? How did you defeat the Hollow?" Momo kept asking.
"It's nothing. I just happened to awaken my Zanpakuto, and I used its abilities to defeat the Hollow."
"Haven't you seen Zanpakuto before? Don't the Shinigami patrolling the streets carry them at their waists?" Toshiro countered.
"Not like that. It's just that their Zanpakuto don't seem as cool as yours, nor as powerful."
"Of course. My Zanpakuto is the Strongest Ice-type Zanpakuto," Toshiro said proudly.
"Wow, that's amazing, Toshiro," Momo praised.
"Hinamori," Toshiro suddenly called.
"What is it, Toshiro?" Momo asked, puzzled.
"It's time to go, Hinamori," Toshiro said, walking over and picking Momo up in his arms.
"Ah! A princess carry? Why, Toshiro?" Momo's face flushed with embarrassment.
"What choice do I have? I'm carrying my Zanpakuto on my back, and your foot is injured, so you can't walk. Carrying you is the only way," Toshiro explained loudly.
"Oh." Momo, blushing like an apple, softly agreed and buried her face in Toshiro's chest.
Toshiro turned and began walking down the mountain.
In Toshiro's arms, Momo seemed to smell a cool, mint-like scent.
'Is this Toshiro's scent?' She thought to herself.
Listening to the strong heartbeat beside her ear, Momo felt an inexplicable sense of peace. Before long, she actually fell asleep.
'This girl, she can actually fall asleep. She must be exhausted,' Toshiro thought, looking down at Momo in his arms with a helpless smile.
"Toshiro, you have to protect me always," Momo murmured in her sleep.
"Yes, I will. Always..." Toshiro looked at Momo in his arms.
…
Not long after Toshiro left, the two directionally challenged individuals, Zaraki and Yachiru, the Captain and Lieutenant of 11th Division, finally arrived.
Yachiru pointed ahead. "Ken-chan, Ken-chan, look over there."
Zaraki turned to look in the direction Yachiru pointed. Not far away, three Shinigami bodies lay on the ground.
Yachiru leapt down from Zaraki's shoulder and directly landed beside the Shinigami bodies. Suddenly, as if she'd discovered something, she turned to Zaraki with a shocked expression. "Ken-chan, look."
Zaraki looked unconcerned. "What? They're just some guys from the 10th Division. Seriously, dying so easily. If they're responsible for patrolling, they should just patrol properly. Leave the fighting to us in the 11th Division."
In Zaraki's view, killing your opponent in battle, or being killed by them, was perfectly normal.
Yachiru pouted. "I'm not talking about that. Look in front of the bodies."
Zaraki glanced over. Not far from the bodies, countless ice fragments shimmered with a blue light.
Zaraki looked displeased. "Looks like the Hollow was taken care of. Damn it, coming all this way and still not getting a fight. Yachiru, notify the others to come clean up the scene."