DISCLAIMER: I don't own bleach. Though when I get a genie, I think that'll be one of my three wishes...

Drabble One: Visitor

Point of view: 3rd person; Kira and Matsumoto

Time (according to Bleach storyline): Not long after Aizen, Gin and Tousen leave Soul Society.

Ah. That first bottle of sake down. That sweet taste of escape from the pressures of being a fukutaicho in Soul Society. 3rd Squad fukutaicho, Kira Izuru sat at a small round table across from Matsumoto Rangiku, 10th Squad fukutaicho, in the only local bar around. Kira and Matsumoto both remain devastated at the treachery of Ichimaru Gin, but both know that they don't want to talk about it. And so their second bottle of sake began to falsely soothe their broken hearts.

Neither said a word, but Matsumoto let a tear fall silently between them. Kira, red-eyed from lack of sleep, tipped the sweet beverage into his mouth and stared blankly at the sky outside the window. Ikkuku walked by and waved enthusiastically, then proceeded around the corner. "His shift on guard duty must've just ended." Kira thought, downing the rest of his second bottle. "It's almost six, Rangiku." Matsumoto nodded. They both knew what that meant. She turned to the window.

A minute later, they could see a small figure's white head bobbing towards them from the east. Hitsugaya Toushiro reached the bar and momentarily stopped by the window to scowl at his fukutaicho for not being at the office doing her share of paperwork. She smiled and bounced up and down, shoving her breasts onto the window. Outside, Hitsugaya shook his head and continued his trek west. Matsumoto, making sure he had passed by, slunk back down into her seat and immediately gulped down Kira's third bottle of sake. Kira tried to grab her bottle to even things out but didn't reach it before she began gulping down that as well.

"You know, Matsumoto," Kira folded his arms and leaned back against the uncomfortable wooden chair. Matsumoto glanced at him and winked. "How does he do it? How can he stand to see Hinamori fukutaicho like that? When I went to visit I almost broke down crying like a girl."

Matsumoto pouted her lips at the 'crying like a girl comment.' "He can stand to see her in a coma like that because she is at least alive." Kira nodded.

For the past week, Hitsugaya had constantly slipped away from his pressing paperwork to visit Hinamori in fourth ward. The paperwork piled up, but no one dared say anything to him. Everyone knew Hinamori was the closest person to Hitsugaya and no one would tell him that he could not visit her.

"Matsumoto, what will happen if Hinamori-kun doesn't wake up? Or what if she doesn't remember who Hitsugaya-taicho is?"

"I don't know Kira. Love is a fickle thing."

"Love?" Kira gagged on his sake. "Love, love like, as in, in a romantic kind of way or, or is that just a way of saying they're close, I mean, he doesn't love her does he? She's always buggin him and callin him that nickname he hates and distracting him from important taicho things because of some stupid book she finished reading or, but, but love?" Kira was in a complete fluster, raising his voice too much and stumbling over his words. Matsumoto knew Kira had feelings for Hinamori too, but she'd use that to blackmail her blonde friend later.

"Yes. We all love Hinamori. But I don't know what Taicho would do because I, I think he just loves her too much."

Neither knew that a few blocks away in a private room in fourth ward, Hitsugaya sat with Hinamori, placing a cool hand on her burning forehead and damn close to crying like a girl.