A little confidence goes a long way…

Did she remember the times when she got so flustered around him that she had to dart out of the room just to catch her breath? Just to get her mind back on track and to keep it from flooding with different images and panic?

Yes.

Did she remember that first time when she felt comfortable enough to speak to him even as the mess of emotions surged through her? That, even as every word that left her contradicted the ones in her head that shouted for her to say something about the tightness in her heart; to say something, anything about the heat of blush in her face whenever he caught her looking in his direction.

Yes.

Did she remember what it was like in that one second of embarrassment when she feared that he would decline her proposal for an evening out on the town?

Oh YES.

And even then, she followed her gut and tried not to make too big of a mess of it; settling herself for anything that could happen and trying to make sure she herself didn't screw it up. Eventually, that little voice in her head caught up to her and told her to man it up already; to gather that strength she had fought so hard for and redirect it. Take that strength from the battlefield and use it off the fighting grounds, use it to… gain his attention. It was a difficult course, one she fought with herself constantly but slowly, bit by bit, she was losing and it was winning. After all, she was only aiming for one small, brief glimmer of hope. As long as she didn't set herself up too high, well then she wouldn't have too far to fall, now would she? And hopefully the short crash wouldn't absolutely destroy what little bit of self-assurance she had for herself.

Calm down, Hinamori… there was no need to be so dramatic.

Hands gently moved to try and adjust her uniform as best she could while she walked; partly wishing she hadn't chosen an after-practice time to suddenly jump into this. But it felt as though this was when her strength was the highest, so should there be rejection… well she could save face now and lose it later in the privacy of her own room- with a few tissues ready, or just her pillow case. Being dramatic again. This way… she could just get the feelings out there and finally get them off her chest.

Here goes nothing.

Prepare yourself.

She slowly invited herself into the open Division lobby and peeked around for any kind of sign of anymore; spotting a Division member in one corner who seemed to be carefully rearranging the flowers in a clear-glass holding vase. She didn't really think all too much on it until the man turned around, having apparently picked up on her entrance. That same kind of sinking feeling in her chest that occurred whenever he caught her looking in his direction caught her off-guard now; she was almost certain it would've made her appear ill had it not been for the sudden back-up of force from the slightly radiating Zanpakutō at her side.

"Lieutenant Hinamori, it's a surprise to see you here." he started.

She wanted to convince herself that there seemed to be the brief upturn on the corner of his lips, but he was a difficult man to see emotion from… still, it was nice to have an imagination for it. She should probably try not to take in too much of the personal greeting either- he doubtlessly would've said that to anyone anyways. A small smile eventually perked from her own lips as she tried not to appear as nervous as she felt. "Yes uh… sorry for the interruption but I was just wondering when the next Lieutenant meeting was going to be? I didn't have a date on my calendar and… I don't know if I just missed it or if there hadn't been one scheduled."

The white-haired Lieutenant nodded lightly before she swore another smile came to him. "Ah yes, I apologize, I seem to have forgotten to announce the next day at the last meeting. I suppose we haven't had one for awhile now, although there really hasn't been a reason to… but I will look into it; you'll be the first to know."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Chojiro." she nodded. "I'll uh… I'll just get back to my training now."

Well, there you go Hinamori, at least you were able to maintain a small but decent conversation with him- without blurting anything out… although she supposed that defeated the purpose of this visit overall. Even as she turned to go, she felt something stop her- she was already here, she had the chance… what did she have to lose? A chance of rejection but at least there was the chance to finally settle this all out.

"Actually I-"

"You're welcome to stay if you want." he spoke; unintentionally interrupting her in the process. "We can discuss dates for the next meeting, unless you're busy that is."

For a moment it felt like she was going to get herself into a heart attack. She nodded as she turned back to face him, another light smile forcing its way through. "Uh no actually… my training session just ended and I was going to use my free time to drop by real quick." Why was she rambling? It's not like she needed to bother him with that information. "But I would like to… stay around and figure out those dates."

Oh goodness, you're a class act, aren't you?

"I would enjoy your company." Chojiro replied with a soft nod. She almost swore he seemed ready to say something else but paused himself in the motion of it; it only took a few short seconds before he continued on. "In fact… if you want to stay around for a little while longer, I'd enjoy to have your company with dinner as well."

A/N: Not gonna deny it, I have become gradually addicted to this couple. I'm a big fan of both Momo and Chojiro (who doesn't get enough attention) so this is like a great combination for me.