I don't and won't ever own Bleach!

A Day at the Spa:

Hitsugaya's eye twitched. "Why the hell are we here, Matsumoto?"

She gave him a bright smile. "Oh, come on, Captain! You know!" The glare she received told her he didn't. "You work so hard, Captain, I thought you could use an afternoon off."

"Why, when there's work to be done?" He folded his arms.

She waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, the paperwork can wait one day! You worked so hard all morning! You do have personal days, you know. Use 'em! I do!"

"Yeah, I know…" he grumbled.

Excited, Rangiku grabbed him by the arm and pulled him inside. Not wanting to be a part of any of this, Hitsugaya grabbed hold of the doorframe, refusing to go in.

"Forget it, I'm not going!"

"Oh, come on!" she whined.

"No!"

Still smiling from ear to ear, Rangiku wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled.

He yelped, surprised that she would even dare and gripped the frame with both hands. "Matsumoto, let go this instant!"

With a mighty heave, she pulled him inside, her captain leaving his claw marks in the wood. She carried him over her shoulder to the front desk. He kicked and thrashed, trying to get down. The woman behind the desk gave a nervous smile as she greeted them.

"May I help you?"

"No!" Hitsugaya thrashed again.

Rangiku answered for them both. "Two specials, please!"

"Put me down!"

The woman jotted some notes and asked Rangiku a couple more questions.

Losing patience fast, Hitsugaya kneed her in the jaw. "I said put me down now! That's an order!"

Rangiku grinned at the woman. "This is his first time."

The woman smiled back. "Oh, I see. Under the impression that spas are only for girls?"

"They are! Now put me down!"

The woman guided them towards a room. "Right this way if you please."

Rangiku followed, still carrying her captain over her shoulder. Once on the other side of the door, she set him down. He gave her a death glare and folded his arms. The woman handed them a couple of robes, telling them to change. From there, Rangiku went behind the women's curtain and Hitsugaya the men's.

"This is all your fault, Matsumoto!" he growled while changing. "You just had to start something, didn't you?"

"You make it sound like we're in trouble, Captain. It's just a spa."

"I know!" The curtain opened and he stepped out. "I hate you!"

She stepped out, too. "Oh, Captain, it's not that bad. You'll see. These things are fun!"

"I've never been to one before, and that suited me just fine!"

"Then you really need this. Trust me. They're very relaxing."

"Trust you?" he snorted. "That's what you said after lunch today when you said that you were going to show me something important."

"This is important!" she told him. "It's important to your health!"

"My health is just fine, I'll have you know!"

She dragged him out of the room and over to the baths. There were two doors, one for men and one for women. Hitsugaya and his troublemaking lieutenant parted ways at that point and went into the baths. Hitsugaya looked around. It was more of a hot spring than an actual bath. Not only that, but as he had suspected, there weren't any men around. With a sigh, he took off his robe, doused himself with a bucket of cold water and slipped into the water. The water was the perfect temperature. Deciding to take this opportunity to at least get clean, Hitsugaya sank down into the water and soaked.

"How's the water, Captain?" he heard his lieutenant call from the other side of the wall.

"Fine," he called back.

He heard women giggling from the other side. He rolled his eyes.

"Did you wash behind your ears, sir?"

"What are you, my mom?"

More giggling and women whispering something to each other.

Embarrassed, he sank further under the hot water. Soon, the embarrassment passed and he was free to enjoy the hot spring. The hot water felt so good on his sore mussels and tense shoulders. He rested his head against the side of the tub and relaxed with a sigh. This wasn't too bad.

After his bath, Hitsugaya joined Rangiku outside the baths, robe tightly fastened around his body. She was still smiling. "What now?" he dared to ask.

She took him by the arm and pulled him into another room down the hall. The room was white with flowers on every table. The room smelled like perfume, powder and cosmetics. It almost made him sick, the smell was so pungent. In front of each long table was a chair wrapped in plastic. Long counters lined the walls on either side, covered with bottles, combs, brushes, and hairdryers. There were five sinks lining the wall to his left, black chairs nailed to the floor in front. A woman passed him with her arms full of some sort of green sludge in a ceramic bowl and a pink towel. Another one pushed past him with her hands full of nail polish.

Rangiku walked further inside.

Hitsugaya turned around.

She reached out and grabbed him. "Come on, Captain! Don't be a spoilsport."

He twisted against her hand. "I'd like to keep what's left of my manhood, thank you very much."

She giggled and he winced at her pitch. "Come on! It'll be fun!"

"You keep saying that, but I'm not convinced."

"Then this'll do the trick!" She pushed him into a chair and sat down next to him. "Trust me!"

"I don't," he muttered.

Two women walked up to them. One went over to Rangiku while the other went to Hitsugaya. Rangiku leaned back in her chair and allowed the woman to wet her hair in the sink behind her chair. Hitsugaya's eye twitched again. He knew what was coming.

The woman at his chair grabbed the hose from the sink behind him and turned on the water. Next thing he knew, she had her fingers under his chin, tilting his head back. He resisted at first, but then allowed his head to fall back against the cushioned back of his seat. He could hear the water spraying just above his head as she adjusted the temperature. The next thing he felt was his spiky white hair being rinsed by the warm water. He had never had someone else wash his hair before. He had always done it himself. Having someone else touch him was a little awkward to say the least. But it was strangely relaxing. His hair felt heavy, weighted down by the warm water. The pattering of the water was like heavy rain on his scalp. It felt really good. Then the hose was set aside while the woman lathered her hands with soap, forming a good lather. She placed her hands on his head and started to rub the froth into his nice white wet hair. The pressure from her fingertips was also very soothing on his scalp. He almost hated to admit it, but maybe Rangiku was right after all. She rinsed out his hair in the sink. The water from the hose sprayed the inside of his ear, making him shiver. But the sensation quickly passed as the water was shut off and a warm towel was placed around his shoulders.

He was guided over to a chair and instructed to sit. Mellow from his time in the sink, Hitsugaya did so without complaints. He was in front of a large mirror in yet another black chair. He rested his back against it and waited for the woman to return. When she did, she took a pair of scissors and a comb and started to snip away at the ends of his wet hair. Comb, snip. Comb, snip. It was a good steady rhythm and his hair felt a bit lighter than before. Ends all evened up, she took the comb and a hairdryer in each hand and started to run them over his hair. While the dryer warmed and dried his hair, the comb evened it out and allowed the hairdryer easy access. Soon, his hair was back to its spiky self and Hitsugaya was feeling a little better than he was when he was first dragged in against his will.

Then the chair was spun around and he was told to sit still for a minute. Feeling relaxed and not wanting to move anyway, Hitsugaya obeyed. He turned his head and noticed that Rangiku had been seated in the chair to his right. She, too, was getting her hair trimmed. This whole spa thing wasn't so bad after all.

That was until he felt something cool touch his forehead. He jumped out of his seat, eyes wide open. "What the hell is that?"

The woman showed him something green in a bowl. "It's just a facemask."

"See ya!" He started toward the door.

"Come on, Captain! We paid for the whole package! It's just a little seaweed!"

He turned to his lieutenant. "That junk sure doesn't smell like seaweed."

"Sit down."

"No! I draw the line at that! No way am I getting that junk on my face!"

"But it's good for you!"

"Good how?"

Rangiku gestured to her own face. "It keeps your skin soft. It keeps it hydrated and smooth. Helps rejuvenate the skin and your looks. It keeps you from drying out and prevents wrinkles."

"What wrinkles?"

"Are you just upset because you think that all this stuff is too girly?" She laughed. "It's not just for girls, you know."

He looked to the woman holding the bowl. She confirmed it with a nod. "She's right. Sometimes we get men in here looking for a facemask. It's healthy and good for your skin."

Reluctantly, Hitsugaya eased back into the chair. He sat down, scowl firmly attached to his face. The woman told him to relax his face so she could apply the mask properly. He did as he was told, wanting to get this whole thing over with as quickly as possible. It was a rare moment when Hitsugaya actually looked pleasant. His scowl was gone, face relaxed. But he was still frowning slightly and was cursing his lieutenant in his mind. She owed him several stacks of paper work now.

But soon, he started to relax again. The mask on his face felt like mashed potatoes. It was less slimy than he thought it would be. It smelled funny, though and it felt weird. Round cucumber slices were placed over his eyes after the mask was put on. "What are these for?"

Now that he couldn't see anything, all he had to go by was the sound of his lieutenant's voice. "Not really anything."

"Then why are they on my face?"

There was a pause as she thought. "I'm not sure why they do that. Maybe it's to keep the mask from going into your eyes… Or maybe it's just to keep your eyes shut."

"They also complete the look," a woman added. "Without them, the mask looks unfinished."

Hitsugaya really didn't care. He was just curious. Eyes shut tight, slices weighing his lids down, Hitsugaya listened to the sounds around him in the room. Running water, bottles being moved around, hairdryers blowing, scissors snipping… It was actually less noisy here than it was back at the Soul Society.

As soon as he started to relax again, he felt something wet touch his bare feet. He sprang up, tucking his legs under his body and looking down, cucumber slices falling to the ground. "What now?"

There was a small tub of water sitting in front of his seat with a wash cloth and a woman waiting for him.

Before she could answer, Rangiku explained. "It's a pedicure, Captain."

"That's it, I'm out of here!"

Rangiku reached out and pulled him back into his chair. "Relax, Captain! It's safe."

"That's not the problem!"

"It's part of the package, sir. Might as well do it. They take care of your nails. It's not girly."

He snorted a laugh. "I don't see any men here getting it done!"

"I see that you're using that cream I recommended," a woman said from another table. "You're hands are so soft."

Hitsugaya followed the voice with his eyes and spotted a young woman at a small table with someone who looked oddly familiar. "C- Captain Kuchiki?"

Byakuya glanced up quickly before hiding his face behind a magazine.

The woman tapped the back of his hand with a nail file. "Relax your hand, please."

He did as he was told, but continued to hid his face.

"What the hell are you doing here? Yumichika I can understand, but you?"

He glanced up at Hitsugaya from behind his magazine. "I'll have you know that there is nothing wrong with this. I'm just sick of my nails tearing into the pink. Men break nails, too, you know. And at the risk of sounding like a woman, I hate breaking nails during a fight."

"And your hair?"

Byakuya looked up at his hair. The three strands he normally had hanging over his face were now wrapped up in pink curlers. "I come here to get my hair cut, alright?"

Hitsugaya looked back at his nails. "Yeah, nice haircut."

"I already explained that to you."

"Captain, please sit down and let the woman work."

Hitsugaya sat back down and replaced the cucumber slices with new ones and let the woman wash his feet. Blind once again, Hitsugaya had to guess what the woman was doing to him. More woman had come over to his chair, for he felt his hands being lifted up off the arms of the chair and into theirs. These woman had such soft hands. He could feel them trimming and filing his nails. It felt weird. No matter what they told him, this whole thing was just a little too feminine for him. However, he had to admit that he was feeling a little better than he did before.

Then it was time for the mask to be removed. Once the mask was off, Hitsugaya realized that his skin felt different. His pores felt more open. He brought his free hand up and ran his fingers over his skin. It felt so smooth and soft. "Wow… You're right. My skin does feel softer."

The woman filing his right hand smiled. "We told you so."

The woman who had been working on his left hand leaned into his face. "Aw..!"

Hitsugaya shrank away. "What?"

She smiled brightly at him. "You look so much better. I just can't get over how cute you are!"

His eye twitched. He hated being called cute.

Then he felt something cold on his toenails and looked down. "What the hell are you doing?"

The woman had a hold of his left foot and was painting his nails. "I'm just putting on polish."

He grit his teeth and was about ready to scream.

On his right, Rangiku waved a hand at him. "Oh, it's ok, Captain. See?" She pointed to her own toes. "I'm getting purple. I usually get red or pink. What do you think?"

Hitsugaya bit his lip to keep from shouting. "Why the hell would I want to have my nails painted?"

"Because it's fun. What color did you want?"

He gave her a little smile. "Oh, gee… I was think of a nice peach pink."

"Really?"

"NO!" His scowl was back. "I wasn't being serious!"

"Good, because peaches aren't really very pink. It would blend right into your skin."

His eye twitched again. "Just stop talking…"

"Don't worry," the woman said. "I'm not going to paint them if you don't want. I'll just put on some polish. The coat I'm putting on now strengthens your nails and helps keep them from breaking."

"Fine." Hitsugaya sat back in his chair and folded his arms.

After a few more minutes, the women were finally finished. Too bad they weren't. Rangiku had one more stop for her captain before they could call it a day. Rangiku pulled her captain down a long hall and over to a woman who was apparently waiting for them. The woman took Hitsugaya by his arm and pulled him towards a room. "Go right on in." She looked up at Rangiku. "He's ready for you in here."

Rangiku giggled girlishly and opened a door on her right. A tall man was waiting for her by a table, bottle in hand. "Are you ready?" he asked her playfully and she almost squealed with delight. Hitsugaya didn't get a very good look at the man, but judging from her reaction, he was very handsome and strong. She dashed right in without so much as giving a glance to her captain.

The woman pushed Hitsugaya into the room four doors down. "Right in here if you please. She'll be right with you."

"But- but- wait- I-!" he stuttered but she was already gone.

He turned and looked at this new room. It was unlike all the others he had been in today. The walls were painted to look like a pond, covered with lily pads, other plant life and dragonflies. There was a small fountain hanging from a wall in the shape of a toad. The dripping of the water made the illusion believable that he was truly by a pond. The air in the room smelled like flowers and soap. But he could also smell oil. It wasn't very strong, though. In the middle of the room was a small table lined with bottles, towels, a small round bowl and a vase with a bouquet of colorful flowers. In front of that table was another table that looked more like a bed than anything else. It was only big enough for one.

"Oh, no…" He knew what this was and wanted to get out as fast as he could.

When he turned to run, he bumped into yet another woman. This one was blond. She smiled down at him. "Hi! I'm Jasmine and I'll be your masseuse for today."

"No, you won't. There's really no need to-"

She grabbed him and pushed him over to the table. "Please remove your robe and lay yourself down on here."

He blushed. "R- remove my what?"

"You're free to wear a towel. I just need to get to your skin. It would make my job a lot easier."

Keeping his back to her, Hitsugaya removed his robe. He was already wearing a towel underneath, just in case. He slowly climbed onto the table and laid on his back.

The woman approached him. She shook her head and made a turning motion with her finger. "On your belly, please."

He hated turning his back to people. It made him feel so vulnerable. Plus, if he were on his back, then how was he to know what she was doing? He wouldn't be able to see her. But he rolled over anyway. Once on his stomach, he could hear her opening a bottle, pouring some sort of oil onto her hands and rubbing them together.

Oil warmed up, she applied her hands on Hitsugaya's back. He flinched, not used to the sensation. Her hands gently massaged his tense shoulders, taking away the pain. It wasn't too bad at all. He actually liked it. Relaxing as her soft hands applied pressure on his shoulders, Hitsugaya let out a soft, satisfied sigh. He allowed every single muscle in his body to relax, as he, himself, started to do the same. He accidentally let out a small moan as the woman's hands kneaded his shoulders, applying just the right pressure.

Hitsugaya relaxed fully, lying flat on his stomach and enjoying the massage. He had never had one before. What was he so afraid of? This felt great! He loved it. It felt like he was in heaven. The simple way the blond woman's fingertips and palms were drawing circular patterns on his back, leaving a tingling sensation behind was amazing. Her hands moved lower to right above the hem of the towel and rubbed away all his pain and aching mussels before slowly kneading up his back again. He found it harder to hold back a moan of pleasure every time her thumbs gently massaged his spine all the way to the small of his back. It was getting so hard to suppress his moans. It felt so good. His body stiffened when she hit a curtain spot on his back just below his rib cage near his spine. A was a spot even he was unaware of, but hitting it triggered his body into a state of full bliss. He had to bite his lip to prevent a groan from escaping, but it didn't work this time. He let out a long loud moan and his head fell upon the table, too heavy and limp for him to hold up anymore.

The woman smiled at his reaction, but her smirk went unnoticed by Hitsugaya. He was far too relaxed to care anymore. That one spot had unlocked all his nerves and sent all his pains away. His aches were gone and he was left feeling wonderful. Waves of pleasure danced across his skin as she continued the massage. This was heaven to him. He had never felt so good before in his life.

Matsumoto was right, he thought idly as his eyes grew heavier. I really did need this after all… Hitsugaya closed his eyes. His mind was clouded, swimming in ecstasy as the woman kept working her way up and down his back and shoulders, leaving no a piece of skin unattended.

The boy on the table stayed quiet for quite a while, leading the woman to believe that he had fallen asleep. She stopped massaging him for a moment to look at his face. Hitsugaya creaked an eye open and looked at her. "Are we done?" he asked sleepily, slight disappointment in his voice.

She shook her head. "Not unless you don't want me to do the rest of you."

He didn't answer.

She made another turning motion with her hand. "Roll onto your back so I can do your legs."

Hitsugaya did as he was told and bent his knees before placing his feet on the table. Rubbing her hands together with fresh massage oil, she made contact with the captain's calves. Hitsugaya placed an arm under his head, allowing him to watch the blond a little better without hurting his neck. But soon his eyes grew heavy again and he stared at the ceiling instead. The room was so tranquil. The massage was so relaxing and this table was so comfy. How could it not put him at ease? He'd be out in no time, at this rate.

Soon the woman had finished with his legs and started to massage his arms instead. She grabbed hold of his arm between his shoulder and elbow and applied pressure. Hitsugaya groaned. Immediately, he felt the woman release his right arm.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

The white-haired boy looked at her with half-lidded eyes before letting them slide shut again. "No… It felt good…" He wasn't used to having someone squeezing his arms in such a way. It relieved all the tension and pain. Maybe he'd be able to fill out paperwork without having to rub his shoulder every minute of the day. Working behind a desk all day was very tiring and took a toll on the body after a while. He'd be as good as new in no time. Maybe even better than new after this massage. This was much better than waking up after a good night's sleep only to go straight to an office again. This was very rejuvenating.

The woman went back to massaging his arms. Hitsugaya enjoyed every minute of it. She finished with his left arm and went to his right. She started at his shoulder and ended at his wrist, just like with his left. His skin was tingling when she was finished. But she wasn't done yet. She moved her hands to his chest and started to rub him down with fresh oil. Her fingers slid down to his stomach and pressed down. He shivered and his breath caught in his throat. "That tickles," he told her. She smiled and went back to work.

Hitsugaya's blissful state came to an end when he felt her hands leave his body. He opened his eyes and gave her a sad look. "Done already?"

She smiled. "It's been fifteen minutes."

He didn't want it to end.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Maybe he was being selfish or greedy or who knows what, but not wanting the sensation to end, he rolled onto his stomach again. "Could you give my back another rub, please?"

She chuckled. He looked so cute, how could she possibly say no? She started at his neck, massaging him all over again. In the middle of his massage, the woman could have sworn she heard him purring a little. Finding him so cute, she gave him a very good massage, making him sigh and moan with pleasure.

Finally, she was officially finished. She wiped her hands off on a towel and told him he could leave. "Alright, you're all done."

Hitsugaya sluggishly got up, body still tingling from the massage. He had never felt so relaxed before in his life. No pain, no ache, no tension, no stress, not even a care or worry in the world. The thought of going back to the office to finish paperwork didn't even cross his mind. His mind was still foggy and his body felt nice and light. He didn't want to move. Knowing he had to, Hitsugaya hopped off the massage table and onto the floor. His legs felt wobbly, knees feeling like marshmallow. He thanked the woman, dawned his robe and walked out into the hall.

He looked around but couldn't find Rangiku anywhere. He got the attention of a passing woman and asked her if she had seen her. "She has long hair, about this tall and-"

"I know. She's the woman you came in with. She's not finished yet. But you can wait right in here for her if you like." The woman showed him into a small room across the hall.

Hitsugaya looked around. It was like a mini hotel room. There was a small dresser and two beds covered in white pillows. He didn't mind waiting in here for a while. He walked in and sat on the bed. It was so soft. He bounced on it a little, testing it out. He turned and grabbed one of the pillows towards the top. He laid it on the bed and pressed down on it with his hand. He pulled his hand away and watched his hand print slowly disappear as the pillow went back to its original shape. It was so soft like a fluffy marshmallow. He picked it up and pressed it to his face. It was so soft! Hitsugaya fell upon the bed and hugged the pillow close to his face.

"This feels so good..!" he whispered to himself. As he lay on the soft white bed, he ran his fingers over his face again. He just couldn't get over how smooth his skin was. It was like silk! He felt himself sink deeper into the bed. It felt as though he were floating on a cloud. He snuggled into the bed and closed his eyes. He didn't care how long it took Rangiku to finish up. She can take all the time she needs…

Blushing, Rangiku came out of the room with a rose in her hand. "Oh, my God! I just love coming here!" She waved to the muscular man and skipped away. "Oh, he is so hot!"

A passing woman smiled at her. "He is good with his hands, isn't he?"

"Wonder what else his hands are good at," Rangiku winked and the two of them laughed.

Then the woman snapped her fingers. "Oh, yes! Before I forget, the young gentleman you were here with is waiting for you in this room right over here."

"Oh! I hope he wasn't waiting too long. Thank you." Rangiku went straight into the room. "Captain, I'm so sorry I took so long. I was just… Oh."

She stopped herself just in time. She found her captain laying curled up on one of the beds, fast asleep. She moved closer to him and peered at his face. He never looked so peaceful before. He looked so young and blissful. She just didn't have the heart to wake him. But they couldn't stay here. She carefully wedged the pillow out from under him. His head fell softly down onto the mattress, his peaceful expression never changing. Then she carefully took one of his arms and pulled him up into a sitting position. His head dangled lifelessly onto his shoulder. She squatted down in front of him and pulled his limp body up onto her back. His body flattened itself against her back with a sigh. He rubbed his chin on her shoulder and continued to snooze.

She smiled. "You're so cute, Captain."

He didn't respond. He must have been really worn out. She carried him out of the room and over to the exit. She thanked the women for their services and they in turn thanked her for their business and for bringing in such a cute boy. They each took turns patting his head before going back to work.

Rangiku carried him out on her back and marched back toward the Soul Society. Halfway there, she felt him shift on her back.

"Matsumoto…" he said softly.

She craned her neck back to look at him. His eyes were still closed. "Yes, sir?"

"It wasn't so bad… I had fun."

She smiled brightly at him. "Really?"

"Yeah…" He yawned. "But now I'm exhausted… I just want to go home."

She couldn't stop herself from asking, "What about all that paperwork?"

He sighed into her back. "It can wait 'til tomorrow."

Her smile deepened. Mission accomplished.

Thanks for reading and please review! ^-^