Story: Tanjoubi Omedetou

Summary: In which our adorable child prodigy might just learn to appreciate his birthday. Features Momo and Ukitake as well. ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach...

December 20th...

He sighed. It could've been any other day, but, no. It had to be that day. It would've done him much better if it never came in the first place, or if he could magically skip it. This was a day he hated more than any other. His birthday.

Most people should be able enjoy their birthday, and have at least a little bit of time to themselves. Not him. The consistent hounding threatened to drive him crazy. Everyone's voices from his past birthday still echoed in his head; still haunted him.

Instead of just saying a simple "Happy Birthday", everyone insisted on making a big deal out of nothing. They threw candy out for him, as if he was some kind of child. He hated that.

Despite his young appearance, he'd experienced much more than most children. He'd witnessed many battles, faced betrayals, seen death inside and out, and faced so many hardships to the point he no longer could be looked at as child, innocent and unknowing to the real world; to reality.

The least troublesome way to get by was to sleep through it all. Forget the Gotei Thirteen all together that day. Forget his duties as a captain. Forget the hollows. Forget the world around him. Rest.

Yes, that would a great idea...if he were his lieutenant, that is. Which reminded him. His lieutenant had failed to show up on time yet again.

Looking around, the child prodigy found himself cursing her absence, and the 'Toshiro-size' piles of unfinished paperwork surrounding his desk. He was really beginning to lose his tolerance with her. No, to say he was beginning to lose it, was a complete understatement. Whatever bit of patience he'd once had was certainly lost long ago.

So the question was, how could he possibly still be sane? A vein then popped up on his forehead, as a thought came to mind. She had better be off gathering important data or in a Vice Captains meeting, because there wasn't very many excuses he would accept this late in the morning. He swore to himself that if she'd said a single word about his birthday to anyone, he would definitely be forbidding her from drinking for the next two months. No questions.

Knowing her, one word was never one word. She'd probably ran off, plotting a surprise birthday party or something.

"TAICHOUUUUU! I'M HEEEERE!"

Speak of the devil. He didn't know if he should be thankful or not. The stack of paperwork 'might' get a little smaller, but Rangiku's annoying pestering might just make his this day a whole lot worse. By the time it's over, he's liable to be suffering from a migraine.

He glanced over at her, taking notice her appearance. By this time, you would expect her hair to be messed up, or her clothes ruffled, due to 'mishaps' after getting drunk. However, nothing was out of place, and she didn't even, at the slightest, appeared buzzed. None the less, she was late.

"You had better have a reasonable explanation as to why you're three hours late, Matsumoto..." he eyed her, waiting 'patiently' for her reply.

"Ah, well, you see, Taichou," she fumbled through her words, carefully picking them out. "I know how much you dislike your birthday because of people pestering you, so Ukitake-taichou and I have spread the word for everyone to act the same as they would any other day. Isn't that great, Taichou?"

He smirked shakily. What she didn't realize was that it wasn't that great, for even if they said nothing to him, he could still see it in their eyes, and hear them talking behind his back when they thought he wasn't listening. He then smiled. Still, he had to admit she'd tried. At least there was someone was who understood him. At least he knew someone cared.

"That doesn't change the fact you're a lieutenant, Matsumoto." he stated, as a-matter-of-factly, closing his eyes momentarily as he folded his arm. He then took a gander at the untouched pile of paper in front of her. "You still have your share of paperwork to fill out."

"I know, I know..." she acknowledged, rolling her eyes. "Yamamoto-soutaichou really needs to give us a break every now an then. He's gonna work us to death one of these days..."

Toshiro grunted, averting his gaze. "I think you getting too much rest is your problem, Matsumoto."

"Huh? How so?" questioned Rangiku, raising an eyebrow, as she placed the pile of paperwork before her, setting at her desk. "You can't possibly get too much rest, Taichou!"

"Of course you can," a kind voice cut off his response.

"Ukitake-taichou," Histugay/a and Rangiku stated in unison, looking over at the other 'Shiro-chan' standing in the door way. Standing next to him was none other than Hinamori.

"We came by to wish you a Happy birthday, Toshiro." she told him, stepping up to his desk, her hands clasped behind her back.

Toshiro's eyes widened slightly. "Hinamori, you're here to?"

"I figured she might want to see you. It's been a while since you two last spoke, besides nobody should have to spend their special day alone, right?" Ukitake smiled.

After a moment, Toshiro looked away. "My birthday is not all that special. I'm not a kid. You would do better just to forget about it."

Jyuushiro's expression softened. "It may not be special to you, but to us, it reminds us of what we still have. It shows us that we haven't completely lost the battle."

"That's right, Taichou," Matsumoto agreed. "I don't know what I would do without you there to keep me straight all the time."

"Mhm." Momo nodded, giggling. "We're not celebrating your birthday because we see you as a kid. We're celebrating it because we're glad you're here."

For once, Toshiro found himself willingly returning her embrace. He gave a soft smile. For the first time in years, he'd actually enjoyed his birthday. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. As long as he had his friends and lieutenant, he should be fine. He was sure of it.

A/N: What did you think? Review. Next up, Byakuya. Probably...