-1a/n: alright, this is going to be ridiculously OOC, and maybe even a little cliché, who knows, I've never seen it in another story but oh well. This is actually a dream that I had, so I decided to write it down before I forgot it.
- - -
Lightning flashed across the sky as thunder rumbled through the clouds. Rain was pouring from the sky in buckets, and had been since that morning. The air was definitely frigid for a spring night. One lone figure stood in the dark and empty streets, soaking wet, and in front of the fourth division building.
- - -
Matsumoto hurried through the streets, careful of the puddles and slippery bricks. The umbrella over her head barely shielded her from the torrent of rain. Her eyes carefully scanned the dark pathways, desperately trying to find what she was looking for.
- - -
She had received a visit from a hell butterfly earlier that evening
"Matsumoto sou-taichou of division ten, there is a problem involving your captain. He did not report to the captain's meeting this morning, and has yet to be found.."
Without a second thought, Matsumoto waved the butterfly off, grabbed her cloak, an umbrella and was out the door.
- - -
Her socks were completely soaked through, and she couldn't feel her toes anymore. The wind had also started to pick up, which was just wonderful in her opinion. As if she didn't have enough going on… She hurriedly turned the corner and found herself on one of the main streets. She squinted here eyes to concentrate looking around the buildings until she crashed into something and was sent sprawling across the ground. Her umbrella landing several feet away.
She pushed herself up and rubbed her side, it had really hurt when she fell. Brushing the mud from her clothes, she turned to see what she had crashed into. Her face instantly paled as she saw the small body and head of white hair that belonged to her taichou.
"Taichou!", Matsumoto ran over and crouched next to him, lifting him into a sitting position.
"Taichou, are you alright?", his blank eyes stared into nothingness.
"Taichou?", she waved her hand in front of his face, nothing. Taking her hand, she pressed it against his cheek. At first she was shocked at how cold he was, but pushed the thought aside as she turned his face to look at her. Her concerned face broke out into a smile, then faded back into worry as he still didn't react. The only sign that he might even be awake at all were the slight shivers that started to coarse through his body. Even when she lifted him from the ground and gently cradled his small for to her, he didn't even blink.
With a few quick shunpo, Matsumoto arrived back at her home. Opening the door, she strode inside, closed the door with practiced ease, and slipped out of her shoes and socks. Still holding her small captain to her bosom, she walked into the living room and made a bee-line for the bathroom. The heated air of her residence gave her skin a chill, and it seemed to make her Taichou shiver even more. She turned on the bathroom light then sat on the edge of the tub, turning on the warm flow of water to fill it up. She then started to remove her captain's shoes, socks, and clothes until he was left in his undergarments.
Moving to the shower, she sat down with her captain in her lap and turned on the spray. It was cold at first, and made her cringe, but it began to gradually warm. The hotter it got, the better she felt, and her captain's shivering also ceased. Yet he was still tense as ever, so Matsumoto took the soap and began to wash his small frame, removing the mud and dirty water from the street. Then, she proceeded to shampoo and condition his fine locks, feeling the smoothness run through her fingers as she gently massaged his scalp. After rinsing all the suds and soap away, she turned off the shower and carried her Taichou over to the tub. It was almost full, and the steaming water looked very inviting. She tested the water with her hand before lowering him into the water, all the while looking for changes in his face. Nothing, nothing at all.
After leaning him back and placing a rubber ducky in the water, she turned off the faucet and stripped out of her own clothes. Sitting under the shower once more, she began to wash the day's worries and tenseness down the drain. After finishing with her shower, she wrapped her hair and body in a towel and set herself down next to the tub. Her eyes widened as she looked at him; there were tears streaming down his slightly reddened cheeks.
"Taichou? Tai- Toushiro, what's wrong?" His eyes seemed to flicker at the mention of his name, but no real reaction occurred. Tentatively she reached up and brushed a tear from his cheek. She almost screamed when his hand shot up to hers, covering it and pressing it harder onto his face. Her eyebrows turned up in concern,
"Toushiro? Toushiro, tell me what's wrong, please. Tell me, it's alright. Toushiro? Shiro?" His eyes snapped to her face, the blue of them highlighted by the redness of crying. And looking at her made tears pool in his eyes again,
"She left…" his voice coming out in a hoarse whisper, "she left…"
Realization hit Matsumoto like a slap in the face. Hinamori had gone awol earlier today, completely disappearing from soul society. There had been no word of her whereabouts, but a lot of people suspected that she had defected to Aizen. An empathetic smile crossed Matsumoto's face as she moved her thumb to stoke his cheek. His hand loosened a bit over hers as she continued to soothe him.
"I'm scared…" Her eyes widened a little at his statement. Her captain was usually so strong, never scared.
"It's alright, everyone gets scared sometimes. It'll be alright." Hitsugaya closed his eyes and leaned into her hand more, shaking his head.
"I don't know what to do… I don't… I just don't know what to do. Everyone's been leaving, and I-", his voice cracked, making Matsumoto's eyes gather tears.
"First Aizen, then Gin and Tousen, now Hinamori. I keep wondering, who's next? Who will be the next one? And I just get so scared…" His eyes opened and he looked at Matsumoto with a panicked look, seizing her hand once again.
"Don't leave me…", he pushed himself up a little, making the water splash, "Don't leave, please don't leave… if you left, I would die, please…". The pained look on his face was enough to make her heart ache. Yet before she could respond, he had wrenched himself from the tub, throwing himself upon her, knocking her to the floor. Now there were both in a heap on the floor, Hitsugaya clinging to Matsumoto for dear life. His face buried intentionally into her chest as he shook with silent tears.
"Please, please don't go! I can't do it, I can't do it without you! Please!", tears leaked from the corners of Matsumoto's eyes to the tile below. She brought her hand up to rub his back, trying to soothe him. She had never seen him this fragile, he was always so calm and collected. She didn't know if she could take the nervous breakdown that he was having right in front of her.
She took a deep breath and brought both hands up to lift his face. His eyes still looked so panicked, so scared. Using her thumbs, she gently wiped the tears away from his cheeks. A soft smile graced her lips as she leaned forward and placed a light kiss on his lips.
"I'm not going anywhere, I promise. You are my taichou, and I love you"