Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights of this series goes to Tite Kubo.
Synopsis: With a little time, effort, and hard work, Momo Hinamori has finally have the perfect present to give to her childhood friend for his birthday. Unfortunately, it doesn't go well as planned...
Author's Note: Happy Birthday Toshiro! In order to celebrate this very special day, I have brought you all another infamous HitsuHina short shot to read. Hope you enjoy it! This story is dedicated to our favourite short white haired captain and all the HitsuHina fans out there on fanfiction. net. Without any further delays, enjoy!
~ LONG LIVE THE HITSUHINA LOVE! ~
LEGEND
"Talking." "Thinking." Imaginary Scenario.
Just Rewards
"Ohayo taicho!"
Upon noticing his carefree lieutenant enter the office, the white haired captain of the tenth division greeted back, "Good morning Matsumoto, I can see that you managed to come in to work late again. What's your excuse this time?"
Rangiku replied, "Last night, I had to attend an emergency meeting with the Shinigami Women's Association."
Toshiro Hitsugaya shot her a glare. In response, she shrugged her shoulders.
"What? It's true!"
"I know what you're saying is true," he answered. "I heard about it from Kuchiki during the captain's meeting a while ago. However, that meeting only lasted until seven o'clock last night. With that being considered, you must have been at the bar with Kyoraku and your other drinking buddies for the rest of the night."
The strawberry orange haired woman folded her arms over her chest. "You're so stingy."
"Shut up and get to work."
"Yes sir." Once she walked over to the side table, a thought came into mind. Resuming her attention to the white haired Soul Reaper, who is busy signing his papers, she wondered, "Come to think of it, today is your birthday."
"So, what about it?" Hitsugaya asked while continuing on with his duties.
"Aren't you going to celebrate it?"
"No."
"But Captain, you're one year older."
"Yes, but I don't feel any older than I am now."
"Is Hinamori going to celebrate it?" Rangiku asked.
"Yeah, this year we're going to celebrate it at my grandmother's place." All of a sudden, Toshiro stopped writing on his paper and looked up at his lieutenant. He shot her a glare. "Just because that it will happen later in the day, it doesn't mean I'm going to let you out of work early nor do I want you to run away from me again."
"What makes you think I'm going to run away this time?"
He gave her a stern look. "After so many years of being with you, do you really think I still don't know what you're like?"
"No."
"Exactly; now please get to work."
She groaned. "Fine..."
Fifth division lieutenant, Momo Hinamori is humming a random tune as she walked through her division barracks. She is happy and content. After so many months of extreme care and love, it is finally ready. Her precious fruit plant has grown and bore a healthy large watermelon.
Once she arrived at her destination, she opened the slide door with a hand. After entering her room, she stepped in and closed the door behind her. Walking over to her little greenhouse to take a look at the large fruit.
For the next few minutes, she got everything ready for her visit to Obaa-san's place in West Rukongai, District One including her birthday present to Toshiro. She can't wait to give it to her childhood friend. "I can't wait to see the look on his face."
She can imagine the scenario in her mind.
"Happy Birthday Shiro-chan!"
"Sugoi Hinamori, you got me a watermelon!" Toshiro exclaimed.
"It's not just any watermelon; it's a large watermelon I've personally grown over the past year."
"Wow, I-I don't know what to say. Thank you for the present."
Momo let out a smile. "No problem."
She cracked a smile on her face.
"There's no denying it; he's going to love it."
All of a sudden, she placed a finger on the bottom of her lip before closing her eyes. She soon let out a defeated sigh.
"Then again, the scenario I imagined isn't very realistic," Hinamori thought. "Shiro-chan would never act that way."
Suddenly, a thought came into mind.
"What if he doesn't like it?"
"Happy Birthday Shiro-chan!"
Toshiro raised an eyebrow after taking a look at the present. Looking at the raven haired girl, he gave her a stern look. "That's it? Can't you get me something better than this?"
"But Hitsugaya-kun, I grew it myself."
"So, what? Anyone can grow watermelons. It's not a big deal to go around and show off about it, Bed-Wetter."
"Mou, maybe I should reconsider my present to him and look for something else."
Hinamori then looked over to the side to check the time.
"Oh no, it's already this late into the day!" she exclaimed. "I have to get going now or else I'm going to be late."
With that said, she took her stuff and quickly left.
"Finally, it's break time!" Rangiku exclaimed upon taking a seat on the sofa. She stretched her arms out and relaxed. "You're so mean for making me do all the work, taicho."
"You're sadly mistaken, Matsumoto. I only gave you a third of the total stack of paperwork to do as I did the rest," Hitsugaya said. "So be thankful that I'm being lineant today."
The strawberry orange haired woman looked out the window and noticed the sun is coming down. "Taicho, shouldn't you be getting ready to go and visit your grandmother in Junrin'an?"
"Ah shit, you're right."
Hitsugaya quickly equipped his zanpakuto on his back and headed towards the door. After he opened it, he glanced back and said, "Be sure to finish cleaning up the office before you leave."
"Yes sir!" With that said, he flash step out of the office, leaving the tenth division vice-captain on her own. She closed the door, turned around, and began stretching her arms into the air. "Now that he's gone, it's time to party!"
When Toshiro arrived at the front of his old home, he took a moment to take a deep breath. Now that he thinks about it, a long time has past by since the last time he saw her. Ever since he graduated from the academy and even more so when he became a captain, there wasn't anytime to go visit the person he lived with. He was only able to hear from her whenever she sent over letters and some of his favourite amanatto to his division. "Here it goes..."
He opened the slide door and stepped in. Noticing at the doorstep two pairs of shoes, he knew that both his childhood friend and grandmother are inside. After closing the door behind him, he started taking off his footwear.
"Tadaima."
It wasn't long before Obaa-san came out of the living room to greet him. "Okaeri Toshiro."
He let out a rare smile on his face. "Thank goodness, she looks a lot better than before."
"You've done some growing up over the years."
The white haired captain slowly nodded with agreement. "Yeah, I did."
Hitsugaya then noticed something strange. Usually, Momo would come out to greet him with open arms. This time, she isn't doing any of that at all. To him, it could only mean one thing; something's wrong. "Is Hinamori inside?"
"She's out on the back porch right now."
"I'll go see what she is up to."
"Alright then."
He walked past the elderly woman and headed towards the door on the other side of the house. Obaa-san let out a gentle smile, content that Toshiro still looks out for Momo despite the many years that have passed by. Hopefully, he'll be able to show it in a mature manner compared to back then.
"Oi Bed-Wetter, what are you doing out here?" Hitsugaya asked after quickly opening the back slide door. "You're going to catch a cold if you stay here too lon-"
However, he stopped in mid-sentence. Momo is sitting on the porch with her hands covering her face. Judging by the whimpering sounds she is making, he figured that she is upset with something. Concerned, he took a seat next to her.
"What's wrong, Hinamori?"
"N-Nothing's wrong with me," she replied stubbornly.
Toshiro then made a face and asked, "Do you really think I'm stupid? Obviously, something happened that caused you to get upset. Now, tell me the truth."
"I-I'm so sorry, Shiro-chan!" she suddenly exclaimed upon throwing her arms around his neck. As the white haired captain is trying to register what has just buzzed through his mind, Momo buried her face in his chest and continued sobbing. Though he was surprised at first, he eventually wrapped his arms around her waist and kept her close.
They remained that way for the next few moments until Toshiro asked, "What are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything wrong."
However, Momo begged to differ. She shook her head and mumbled, "I got you the perfect present for your birthday, but as I was coming here, I-I...had to give it away!"
"That's what you've been sobbing about? It's not a big deal, Hinamori."
The peach girl looked up at him. Despite them being puffy red from all the tears, there were determination in her eyes. She replied, "It is a big deal! I personally grew it!"
"Grew it?" Hitsugaya questioned while raising an eyebrow. "You were about to give me something like a plant?"
"It came from a plant. I was supposed to give you a large watermelon for your birthday!"
"A large watermelon she grew, huh?" he thought. Suddenly, Toshiro turned his head to the side and bit the bottom of his lip. "Damn, it sounds delicious. I want to eat it."
He then resumed his attention to the raven haired girl. "Unfortunately, I met with two children: a boy and a girl. Judging by their physique, they didn't had anything to eat for days," Hinamori explained. "In the end, I felt very sorry for them and gave away your watermelon."
She lowered her head.
"I'm sorry."
After listening to her story, Hitsugaya let out a sigh. Raising a hand up, he brushed her bangs aside. With a soft smile, he said, "Like I said before, there is no need to be sorry. You've done a good deed for their survival and came here without any scratch on you. Knowing that, I can relax a bit and just wait for the next watermelon you grow. By then, you can give it to me."
She looked up and asked, "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "I'm positive."
Momo offered him a small smile. "I still feel bad. I haven't given anything to you for your birthday."
"I don't need to be given a present in order to make me happy. All I need is for you to remember when my birthday is and on that day, walk up to me and say those three words, that's all."
Hinamori then folded her arms over her chest. "I still want to give you something. What else do you want for your birthday?"
"I can't ask for anything more." Suddenly, an idea came into mind. "On second thought, there is something else I want."
"What would that be?"
It is when Toshiro placed his fingers on the bottom of her chin. With one swift movement, he pulled her close and quickly gave her a short peck on the lips. Once the moment was over, the tenth division captain slowly pulled back, revealing a satisfied smirk on his face. "You finally got your just rewards, right Momo?"
Still feeling a little dazed from his previous actions, Hinamori soon cracked a smile and nodded with agreement. "I think so."
"Good."
Hitsugaya stood up from his seat. Just as he is about to walk back inside the house, he stopped and glanced back at the fifth division lieutenant.
"Now, let's go back inside and start the party."
"I'm right behind you, Toshiro."
With that said, the peach girl stood up and joins her new found love by his side. With their hands intertwined with one another, they returned to the living room inside to start the birthday celebration with the rest of the family.
~ OWARI ~
Japanese World Translations
Ohayo - Good Morning, Taicho - Captain, Shinigami - Soul Reaper, Obaa-san - Grandmother, Sugoi - Amazing, Zanpakuto - Soul Cutter, Amanatto - a Japanese treat that is usually made up of azuki beans covered with refined sugar after simmering it with sugar syrup and drying, Tadaima - I'm Back Home, Okaeri - Welcome Home, Owari - The End
Author's Note: Hoped you enjoyed the story and once again, Happy Birthday Toshiro! I'll be back again very soon with another HitsuHina short shot for you to read. Laterz!