A.N. This last chapters have been able to give us a wide range of emotions: from the anxiety for Rangiku's wounds, to the excitement of Toushiro's battle with Halibel (did you see the last chapter?! I've never seen anything as hot as that!! Sorry for the pun…). I think we all feel the need for some peace and happiness. I do! So I present to you all, the story behind Rangiku's pink sash- the one she always wears. If you remember, on the bonus chapter on little Shiro-chan, she wore a small scarf around her throat. Where did the pink scarf come from?
Disclaimer: I wish I owned a Hitsugaya Toushiro… But luckily for us all, he's property of the genial Kubo Tite.
Italics are flashbacks.
Of silk and respect
Matsumoto Rangiku couldn't believe her eyes. Did six months really go by already? Her calendar didn't lie, though, and she could remember the day he had arrived as if it was yesterday…
***
"Matsumoto-fukutaichou!" The deep voice of Yamamoto-soutaichou came from the front yard of the Tenth Division main building. Matsumoto shunpoed outside and kneeled in front of the ancient Shinigami.
"Sir!" She knew that today her new Taichou was supposed to arrive, but she couldn't see him anywhere.
"Stand up Matsumoto." He said gently… or as gently as Yamamoto was able to!
"Thank you, sir."
"I would like to introduce your new Taichou to you. Hitsugaya Toushiro."
Matsumoto almost asked if her Taichou was invisible – after seeing Kurotsuchi Mayuri she didn't use the word 'impossible' anymore – when he came out from behind the old man. She remembered him, of the time she had told him about his power and its voice, and had defended him from the unkind vendor. It had been a few years before. He had been a kid then. He was an adolescent now.
She had the sudden and unexplainable urge to giggle: he'd grown up to become gorgeous! His silver hair, so peculiar, was no longer a mop on top of his head, but stood up in spikes. With that hair and the white haori, he was almost one with the January snow that covered the grounds. The irony!
She bowed to him and brought a closed fist to her heart, in a sign of loyalty.
"Welcome Hitsugaya-taichou. Please, take good care of us." She looked up in his incredibly bright eyes, and he trapped her in their green depths. One side of his mouth was slightly crooked up – a sign that he had recognised her, too.
"I will." He vowed, his voice unexpectedly deep and firm.
Yamamoto nodded and they both kneeled, as he made his way out of the Taisha. When he turned to look at her again, she allowed her mouth to finally form a mischievous grin.
"So you followed my advice, Taichou?" She asked, putting particular emphasis on his title. He answered with a smirk of his own.
"So it would seem." Then he bowed lightly, to her utter surprise. "Please take good care of me, Matsumoto-san."
"Oooh… I will..." She had leered, under her breath.
***
Matsumoto smiled, remembering the first week in this office with him. It hadn't taken long, for his glacial benevolence to melt, confronted with her flamboyant personality. She knew he could have a fire inside and, contrary to popular belief, she loved it when he yelled her name, enraged by her laziness.
She was awakened from her daydream by said Taichou's voice:
"What are you smiling at, Matsumoto?"
"I was thinking that it seems impossible that six months already went by, since you came here."
He gave her one of his rare smiles. She felt so lucky when he did, because he never smiled to anyone. Not even to Hinamori Momo. She was startled when she found him suddenly in front of her desk.
"About that." He said, with another smile – this time expectant. "I have something for you. As a sign of my appreciation."
He handed her a small, rectangular box.
"I know I always yell at you and call you lazy. But I really couldn't do this without you here. So, thank you Matsumoto."
She was speechless. She opened the box and gasped, tears filling her eyes.
"Taichou…"
***
"Where did you get that, Taichou?"
Matsumoto was eyeing the green sash that kept his sword on his back, with the golden star on the front.
"My Granny gave it to me when I graduated the Academy." He answered, letting it slide between his fingers and putting it aside. His white haori soon followed. "You like it?"
"It's lovely, Taichou. You always keep it close, don't you?"
"Yes, I do. It reminds me of the place I come from. And that, even when I feel extremely alone, there's always someone who loves me unconditionally."
She looked at him, as he unsheathed his sword, and had the sudden desire to tell him that she loved him, too. The thought scared her.
His next question startled her back to the present:
"It's the same with your scarf, isn't it?"
She smiled ruefully.
"No. nothing of he sort. It's just something Gin came up with, when we were kids. He said all Shinigami who wanted to become great, needed something that distinguishes them from the others."
She saw her captain was frowning and didn't know if it was because of her words, or because he was thinking about Ichimaru Gin. Everybody knew he didn't like the Third Division Taichou. But he didn't say anything. He just nodded and took his stance.
"Are you ready, Matsumoto?"
She unsheathed her own sword and saluted him.
And attacked.
He blocked her blow with a flick of his wrist. Their blades locked and he smirked. It wasn't the first time they sparred – but it was the first time he had given her permission to release her shikai. They looked into each other's eyes and Matsumoto saw Hitsugaya adjust his hold on the zampakutou.
"You aren't fast enough, Matsumoto." He said with a smile. "If you want to hit me, you'll have to be much faster than that."
Matsumoto laughed softly. She loved to say this:
"Then it's simple, Taichou: if I can't fight with my blade, I won't use it at all!"
He frowned and tensed. She smiled, feeling the heat rise within her, and the silky voice she knew and loved so well whispered in her mind.
"Unare… Haineko!"
Matsumoto saw the young captain's eyes grow even bigger than usual.
And her ashes scattered.
***
"Taichou… I…" She didn't seem able to form a coherent sentence – something akin to painful affection burning in her throat.
He smiled – and it was so tender, so kind, that she thought his face showed, for the first time, his real age. She had never seen such a beautiful smile.
Hitsugaya saw her expression and felt like hugging her. And laughing. He did neither. He went to her side of the desk and undid the knot on her neckerchief. She never took her eyes away from his face. Then he took the pink silk sash from the box and put it around her neck.
"This is the same kind of silk that was used for mine. So we have something that distinguishes us as the captains of the Juuban-Tai. Is it ok?" Matsumoto nodded, still at a loss for words. He adjusted her hair and went on. "I agree with Ichimaru, you know. You need something to distinguish yourself. But you need something special, with a meaning behind it."
"What's the meaning, Taichou?" She asked in a small voice.
"It means I respect you. As a person and as my Fukutaichou. So, whenever you feel like you're not good enough, or someone doubts your worth, remember I respect you. And I believe in you. I always will."
Rangiku felt the tears finally leave her eyes and launched her arms around his midriff.
"Thank you, Taichou… Thank you so much!"
Hitsugaya was frozen for a minute, then he put a tentative hand on her head and smiled.
"No Matsumoto… Thank you…"