Away From You
Summary: He was happy, but she would be leaving soon. Every minute away was painful, but when he held her again it was the best feeling to have her in his arms again. HitsugayaXMatsumoto
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.
I. 5,259,487 Minutes Away From You
Hitsugaya Toshiro's lieutenant had been the same for decades, they had been through Aizen's betrayal, the Bount Invasion, and Arrancar war together. When she was suddenly promoted to captain of the fifth division he was stunned, but happy. He did not resist her tight hug and weakly returned it back. Another decade passed with him and his new lieutenant, Kotetsu Kiyone, yet he still hadn't gotten used to her.
Kiyone actually did her work and did it well. She was previously the third seat of Ukitake Juushiro's division before and was used to the work. It felt strange actually having time not doing paper work and instead fighting hollows. But despite the newly added free time to his schedule, every time he went to the fifth division the captain was always away. Finally he gave up trying to see her and settled for his childhood friend's, Hinamori Momo's, reports.
One day when they were talking at a park near the Shinigami Academy, Momo saw a gentle smile grace his lips; she hadn't seen a smile like that in years, ever since Granny had died. "I had to carry her out of a pub last night. She had too much to drink and couldn't get up at all this morning!"
Toshiro chuckled; Momo noted his deeper laugh and his more mature appearance. Suddenly Ukitake Juushiro called out to the tenth division captain. "Hitsugaya-kun, I heard you just came back from the real world. How was it?" The older man asked cheerfully.
Toshiro stood up and responded, "New York is much different than Karakura Town. Oh, and…" He reached into the bag next to him and handed Ukitake a bag of candy. "It's American candy; I thought you would like to try some." Ukitake took the candy appreciatively, but noticed he only had to stick out his hands. He didn't have to bend down anymore. The white haired man scanned the teen and noticed his height was the same as his. Momo noticed this as soon as Toshiro had stood up.
"Thank you very much, Hitsugaya-kun. But you've really grown! We haven't had a Captain's meeting lately and then during the decade you get a growth spurt. I'm really surprised; you're as tall as me!"
The tenth division captain smiled slightly. "It's already been a decade hasn't it?"
Ukitake smiled back. "Ran-chan will be very surprised, won't she?" Called out a taller man, the eighth division captain, Kyoraku Shunsui. "You're even taller than her. Oh, and Yama-jii wanted to know if Hitsugaya-taichō would go to the Academy tomorrow to meet the new students."
Hitsugaya nodded. Hinamori then remembered that her own captain would attend as well. When Hitsugaya walked Hinamori home that was the first thing they talked about. "Matsumoto-taichō, will be so shocked at your appearance, Shiro-chan!"
"It's Hitsugaya-taichō!" He interjected. Hinamori laughed lightly, but stopped at the door of their division office. "I'll see you and your taichō tomorrow. Later."
When Hinamori entered the office, Matsumoto Rangiku was sleeping over the last few sheets of the paperwork they needed to complete. "Wake up, Matsumoto-taichō!" Matsumoto lifted her head slightly and saw the bright expression of her lieutenant. "Good job on finishing the paper work. How about I treat you to lunch, but no sake!" The captain gave an annoyed look, but accepted anyways. They ate at a small restaurant and had a bowl of noodles placed in front of them. They began to talk and finally landed on the subject of her old captain.
"HE'S AS TALL AS UKITAKE?! NO WAY!" She yelled. Hinamori blushed at the stares but nodded quietly to her captain. "Wow, who would've thought Hitsuguya-taichō would grow to be so tall?" She asked herself. She hadn't seen the white-haired captain at all the past decade, because of all the newfound work that came with being a captain.
The next day, Matsumoto Rangiku was excited to see her old captain. She had heard that he came to visit once in a while at the beginning and then suddenly stopped. She had so many things to tell him. When she was his lieutenant she could easily tell him the times during the day that her bosom happened to fall out of her uniform or that she had to clean her scarf because she accidentally spilled tea, but they hadn't been even able to get a moment together since her promotion.
"Hey Kotetsu," Toshiro turned to look at his lieutenant the next day. She stood at attention, ready for any of his orders. "Kyoraku and Ukitake are also going to be assessing the new students, so if you want, you can stay with them. It's been a while since you've had any time with your former captain." The woman was shocked at her captain's words. He raised an eyebrow, "Are you going?"
Immediately Kiyone straightened up and bowed. "Thank you very much, Taichō!" She said happily before running off.
Hinamori was surprised to see Kiyone run past her without her captain. When she asked Kiyone had replied, "Taichō is really great. He's really warmed up to people!" Matsumoto heard this and smiled; now she was really looking forward to seeing him.
However, she wouldn't have to wait long. She walked mindlessly greeting new students with Hinamori at her side until she left a few minutes prior. Without her lieutenant she nearly fell after not paying attention, when she crashed into someone. "Hey!" She yelled looking up at the person. But she held her tongue before she said anymore. The person in front of her wore a long sleeved white haori with ten written inside the diamond on his back. His aquamarine eyes were in just as much shock as she was, but he slowly reached his hand out to her with a faint smile. "Matsumoto," He addressed when she had taken his hand. Her former captain heaved her up onto her feet and stood back to admire her. "I haven't seen you in a long time."
Immediately the first thing Matsumoto had noticed was his height. His eyes were much higher than hers and his smile now reached her nose. "You really grew, Taichō! I thought Hinamori-chan was joking! But please, we've known each other for decades! I'm surprised you still don't call me by my given name, Toshiro." Hitsugaya laughed deeply. That was the next thing she noticed. His voice was always deep but now it sounded more mature.
"How have you been? Hinamori says you're actually doing your paperwork." Matsumoto held out a playful pout. His blood began to cry out for her. It had been ten years since they had even felt the touch of her skin.
"Well that's because there's no captain kind enough that would do it for me." She replied in the voice he loved. By then Hitsugaya really wanted to hold her in his arms. He quickly had her in his grasp and nuzzled his face into her soft strawberry blonde hair. Matsumoto was more than surprised, but was overjoyed at the sudden warmth of her old captain's body. The boy she had always known him as was gone, but the man holding her right now would always be there. Hitsugaya mumbled something inaudible into her hair, holding her even more tightly. "What did you say?" She asked softly.
Even though he was too tall that she couldn't see it, she knew he was smiling. "It's just that, I missed you too." He whispered into her ear before kissing her.
