"Hinamori?" Matsumoto asked, stepping into the hospital room. Hinamori was awake, sitting on the bed, smiling. Matsumoto sat down on the chair next to it.

"Rangiku-san! Why...why didn't Shiro-chan come?" she asked, her smile faltering.

"Oh, taichou is currently buried in paperwork, again," she answered quickly. "He'll come next time, I promise." In reality, she had snuck out without telling her taichou.

"Okay." Hinamori smiled again. Pulling herself up into a sitting position, she looked Matsumoto in the eye for an instant. "Rangiku-san...I..um...wanted to talk to you." she admitted, putting an emphasis on the last word. Matsumoto dropped her cheery look and became serious.

"It's not about Aizen again is it?" she asked, nervously but menacingly.

"...sort of."

Letting out a small sigh, Matsumoto braced herself. "Okay, so what is it?"

"Well, since you're Shiro-chan's fukutaichou, I was hoping you could convince him to-"

"Save Aizen from Gin?" she snapped sarcastically.

"Yes," Hinamori whispered pleadingly. Matsumoto stood up.

"Do you really think Gin is the one responsible?" she asked coldly, her silver eyes flashing.

"Of course, Rangiku! Aizen-taichou was always kind and he would never do such a thing, it has to be Ichimaru-taichou! It just has to!" she screamed.

"Why do you call him taichou, Hinamori?"

"Huh?"

"You still call Aizen 'taichou'. He's not anymore. Neither is Gin."

"B...but...Aizen-taichou will defeat Ichimaru-taichou and come back," whined Hinamori.

"If he does come back, my taichou's going to kill him."

"NO! Shiro-chan wouldn't! He...he won't! I won't let him!" she shot back, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. Matsumoto sighed again.

"Hinamori," she said quietly, "How can you be such a hypocrite?"

"Wha...what do you mean?"

"You don't like fighting, do you? Yet you became a shinigami. Was it really what you wanted? Or was it just so you could be stronger than Shiro-chan?"

Hinamori paled. "That's...not why-"

"You always say that Abarai and Kira are your friends. Why would you always ditch them for your beloved Aizen? Did you get bored of them? Did you decide Aizen was better?"

"N..no-"

"You always say that your so proud of my taichou! But you keep calling him Shiro-chan, and continue calling Aizen 'taichou'! Why is that, hm?"

"I-"

"You worked so hard to become a fukutaichou, and now, just when your squad needs you most, you abandon them, choosing to stay here! Is it because they're worthless now that Aizen's gone? Is it because the only person you ever really cared about was him?!"

"I...I-"

"You reamain convinced that it's Gin who's doing all of this! So what, Aizen stabbed you AND NEARLY KILLED MY TAICHOU because he was forced to?"

"Of course!"

"Aizen nearly kills you and all you can do is hope he returns? My taichou nearly dies for you and you ask him to 'save Aizen' without even thanking him for protecting you? Or asking if he's okay?"

"Shiro-chan was-"

"AND YOU STILL CALL HIM THAT!"

"I-"

"YOU'RE THE REAL TRAITOR!" Matsumoto screamed, her face contorted in fury and shining with tears. "Don't you see?" she asked softly. "You're worse than Aizen could ever be. I'm sure he's proud of you," she said stiffly, and then took one step toward Hinamori, who was as white as her sheets.

"Do you have any excuses for what you've done?" she demanded. Hinamori started shaking all over, her eyes bulging out of their sockets, and her already white face turning even paler.

"No," she rasped out, and fainted.

"I thought so," Matsumoto put her hands on her hips and turned to leave...only to come face-to-face with Unohana-taichou.

"Matsumoto-fukutaichou," she whispered harshly. "I've heard everything. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave, and you are furthermore banned from this ward. My apologies."

"No, it's alright. She was waiting for someone to call out to her-to tell her the truth. My apologies, but it would be cruel to leave her so...pitiful."

"Rangiku," Unohana said sadly, "What you have said was true, but she will never accept it. She will keep fooling herself over and over, seeing only what she wants to,"

"Still under Aizen's influence," Matsumoto muttered, "Or maybe it's her own choice," she added, and left.

A/N: Yes, I'm so cruel...oh, well! It was the truth. I wish Matsumoto would say this in the actual show, but sadly, she won't. Anyway, I don't really care for negative reviews. If you're a Hinamori or Hitsu/Hina fan, then that's your choice. Sorry to you Hitsu/Hina fans, but this is my fic. You don't have to get mad about it, you can always write your own.