AN: Hello again readers! Been awhile huh? Well, here's another oneshot that a was rushing to finish by today so I apologize if it's not all that good. I got the idea earlier today because I got food poisoning this morning. Please read and enjoy...
Calling In Sick
Hitsugaya's brow twitched with his mouth curling downward with impatience. He sat at his desk, his arms crossed and hidden in his sleeves. He shot his eyes open to glance at the clock. It was nearly noon. A growl came up to his throat as he bolted up and started to pace back and forth behind his desk, the surface rarely empty due to it always being clattered with stakes of papers, and it would be clattered with stalks of papers if a certain someone brought them to him… four hours ago.
'Blast it, where is she? She's later than usual!' the boy snapped to himself. "Once she opens that door I swear I'll--"
-Riiiiing… riiiiing…-
The telephone rang, Hitsugaya already knowing who it was, grabbed the receiver, and started to unleash his rage down the line. "MATSUMOTO!! Where the hell are you!? You're four hours late! FOUR HOURS! Why aren't you!!!--" he heard a sneeze at the other end, and then a loud cough.
"I'm sorry Taicho, I should have called earlier to tell you that I'm calling in sick." she managed to say, with Hitsugaya picking up that her nose was clearly stuffed.
Hitsugaya's sudden anger disappeared with a now concerned expression. "I see." was all he said before taking in a breath, refueling his patience. "Well then, I do hope you get better, make sure you get well by tomorrow because you're going to be behind on many duties."
"Ye-- ye-- yeaAAACHOO!!" the volume on the other line boomed with a sonic sneeze. Hitsugaya cringed at the sound, hearing Matsumoto blow her nose. "Yes sir." she finally responded. "I hope to see you tomorrow." and the line went dead.
Hitsugaya put the phone down, sighing. "Who would have thought that someone like her could catch a simple cold?" he asked himself, pondering about their conversation. "It did sound like that cold was serious… maybe I should…" he paused, realizing where his conclusion was heading to, and shook his head violently. "What am I saying. She'll be here tomorrow anyways, I don't have to visit her for just a stupid flu." He sat down on his chair, crossing his arms.
After awhile, with nothing to do, and no work to be done, Hitsugaya could feel a yawn coming on. Before he could begin to show any drowsiness, he again picked up the receiver and dialed his fukutaicho's number.
It rang… and rang… and rang…
"Hello?" a voice answered.
"Matsumoto?"
"Oh, hi again Taicho."
"Did I interrupt anything? Because I can call la--"
"No, no you didn't bother me at all, I was just resting."
"Okay then…"
"… So, not to be rude but why are you calling?"
"Hm? Oh yes about that… well…" As a matter of fact, why did he call?
Was it because he wanted to see how she was doing? Or because he was getting bored and missed her company? Or maybe ask if it was okay to visit? Or could it be all of the above?
"Hello?"
"I'm still here." Hitsugaya cleared his throat and gulped in some air for his next sentence. "I called because… would it be alright if I came over to see how things are for you?" he asked formally.
"You mean to check up on me?"
"You can say that."
"… … … …"
"Matsumoto?"
"Well… I don't want to be a bother to you."
"I have nothing to do here. All my work for the day is done."
"But… um…"
"Is something the matter?"
"No, nothing's wrong."
"It's okay, I understand if you don't want me to visit."
"No! I'd love for you to come but it's just that, I don't want you to catch my cold."
"I'm perfectly fine with it."
"Um..."
"Well?"
"… … …Okay."
"I'll see you later then." and he set the phone down, exiting his office. "I better get permission from Yamemoto-Soutaicho first." he reminded himself.
- - - - -
Hitsugaya was now standing in front of the door of a small apartment, which was his fukutaicho's current address. He knocked on the door.
No answer.
He knocked again.
Still no answer.
This time he banged on the door, and finally got a response, hearing a lot of clattering and thuds of someone rushing to let him in. The door opened, and there stood a woman wearing a bathrobe.
"Hi Taicho." she greeted, widening the door to let her superior in.
"Matsumoto… you look, awful." he commented.
She lowered her head, accepting the fact. She looked much older with pale, wrinkled skin and dark blue bags hanging under her dry, puffy red eyes. Her hair was tangled, with bed hair sticking out. She looked like a sort of skeletal ghost.
She closed the door once he entered, and walked to a nearby couch to lay on. "I'm sorry, I can't stand for long, I get dizzy if I do." she informed, her nose stuffed.
Hitsugaya watched as she blew into a tissue, standing patiently at the entrance. He then looked around her apartment. Cloths, sake bottles and other belongings where scattered everywhere on the floor with furniture being covered in layers of dust. It was a mess!
A thunderous cough caught Hitsugaya back to reality. Matsumoto, continuously blowing her nose quite harshly. She looked up and remembered that she had a guest and quickly stood back up. "My apologies for acting like this. Would you… -cough, cough- would you like anything to drink?"
Hitsugaya rolled his eyes and made a half smirk. "You don't have to be formal with me today, and no need to be generous hostess when you're in this condition."
"But Taicho, you're a guest." Matsumoto responded, walking towards the kitchen entrance and opening the fridge. "Would you like some water or a cola?"
Hitsugaya shook his head in her stubbornness. "Matsum--"
"Oh, I have some ice tea." she pulled a pitcher from the fridge, setting it down at a nearby table and pulling out a mug. "I'm fine, I just need to get up and at it and--" he legs started to wobble, and she tried to regain her balance, but her deceiving eyes just made her all the dizzier.
She would have fallen on the wooded floor, if a pair of arms wouldn't have caught her. "I think you're pushing yourself at your limit." she heard her Taicho say.
He walked her over out of the kitchen and found her bedroom, and gently lied her down on her futon. Matsumoto tried to see straight, but continued to see double objects, even Hitsugaya's face above hers.
"You just rest now while I take care of some things."
"But---"
"No 'buts'. That's an order." he interrupted before she could complain.
He could hear her grunt in defeat and reposition herself on the futon. He tucked her in, making sure there where no drafts in the covers and sat beside her. Once he was sure she was asleep, he stood up and exited her room quietly, removing his white haori and hanging it on the entry way hanger.
"Now, time to clean up." he told himself, pushing his sleeves back and beginning to clean the floor.
He wasen't sure why he was doing this, but wasn't easy collecting his subordinate's clothes. He couldn't manage to even peek at a thong underneath the couch. He shuddered when he picked it up with some tongs he found in the kitchen and threw it in the laundry basket. Once that was finally over, he had nothing else to do, and returned to his fukutaicho's room.
After awhile, Matsumoto jolted upward, startling Hitsugaya, and ran into the bathroom. He ran after her, worried what was going on, but stopped at the bathroom doorway. Matsumoto was sweating bullets, gasping for air, leaning over the toilet.
"Oh God." Hitsugaya knew what was bound to happen.
Coughing up some sort of goop, Matsumoto leaned forward, deeper into the bowl. Her arms and knees were trembling from weakness. Hitsugaya had a feeling that he shouldn't interrupt, but he pushed that thought aside and boldly walked up behind her, and gently pulled her hair back with one hand, and patting her back with the other. He tried to avoid looking into the toilet by staring up at the ceiling, but the gruesome noise Matsumoto was making made him feel just a nauseous… and the smell made him hold his breath.
After some time, Matsumoto no longer coughed up anything, but panted heavily. Hitsugaya still had her hair pulled back, and was now rubbing her back for comfort. "You done?" he asked, flushing the toilet for her.
Matsumoto rolled up some toilet paper and blew into it, looking up at the boy. Her eyes were all red with some tears and her nose runny. She gave a small nod and slowly stood back up, Hitsugaya releasing her hair. She walked back to her room, and fell asleep instantly as soon as she made contact with the pillow.
Hitsugaya watched her from the doorway while she now slept soundly, breathed a bit heavily with sweat sliding down her forehead. He went back into the kitchen and filled up a bowl with warm water and returned, grabbing a sponge from the bathroom. Before he even wet the sponge, he felt her forehead.
Burning hot.
He could make out that it was close up to 104 degrees. Not good. He dipped the sponge into the bowl, and patted her forehead, cleansing her face, from forehead to chin. When he was done, he placed the sponge on her forehead and sat beside her, waiting.
When he waited for her to awaken, he noticed that her brows would furrow every once in awhile, and she would groan from the heat. Hitsugaya removed the sponge and tested her forehead again. The temperature went down. A good sign. Before removing his hand from her forehead, his arm automatically lead his hand down towards his fukutaicho's jaw, gently tracing her delicate features. He quickly removed his hand once she started to stir and slowly open her eyes.
"Taicho…" she breathed, her eyes closing again.
Hitsugaya scoffed, "What am I ever going to do with you?" he asked, his lips forming a smile before soaking the sponge again.
- - - - -
Matsumoto slowly opened her eyes, to see a shadowed ceiling. She touched her forehead to feel a damp sponge and took it off, slowly sitting up and automatically looking out the window to see that the moon was already making its way around the other side.
"Night already?" she asked herself, and remembered that her Taicho had come to visit her.
She looked around the dark room to search for him, then came to the point where a crack of her door was open, revealing some light. Was he still here after all this time? She stood up, carefully hoping that she wouldn't faint again, and made her way out the door, into the light. She squinted her eyes, adjusting to the brightness. When her view cleared, she could see her little Taicho, laying on the couch, sound asleep.
She smiled at his peaceful state, and then noticed that there were some plates on the counter. 'Did he cook something for me?'she thought, walking up to the table, seeing that it was a single plate, full with rice and beans, with a small bowl of ramen.
She looked back at her Taicho, who was sleeping like a baby and gave him a smile that said her thanks. Warming up the dish and taking out some chopsticks, she began to eat heartily, and as her stomach filled up, so did her health and admiration for the boy.
When she finished, she dumped her dishes in the sink and kneeled down at the sleeping boy's level, brushing the strands of hair covering his young face. His mouth was partly agape, inhaling… and exhaling. She gently traced the edges of his lips, slightly blushing. He was so cute without a frown on his face. She leaned over and gave him a small smooch on his forehead, then on his nose, on his right cheek, and his left. When he stirred at her contact, she held in a giggle and stroked his hair.
She again, leaned forward kissed his ear and whispered, "You make a great nurse. Thank you very much, Taicho."
- - - - -
Hitsugaya woke up, with a ticklish feeling on his nose. He then saw Matsumoto, hovering above him giving him a sweet, cheerful smile.
"I'm all better now. Thanks to you." she announced.
Hitsugaya, still in a sort of daze, gave a nod of acknowledgement, and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Glad to hear it." he grumbled.
Matsumoto gave a small chuckle. "You're sure moody in the morning. "
Hitsugaya's eyes widened. "Morning already!?" he cried, jumping off the coach and putting on his haori.
While doing so, Matsumoto just laughed in the background. He snapped towards her. "What?" he barked. "We're going to be late for work!"
Matsumoto continued to laugh. "Sorry, but you're not going to work today."
Hitsugaya arched an eyebrow. "And why is that?"
Pulling out a face mirror, Matsumoto showed him his reason. What Hitsugaya saw was a kid with white ghostly skin and purple bags under his red eyes. He nearly jumped at his own appearance.
"You caught my flu. This is why I wasn't sure you should come over." Matsumoto explained.
Hitsugaya, now feeling the dizziness chasing him, rubbed his temple to keep him from stress, but was abruptly carried up by the arms of Matsumoto, and lead them to her room, laying him down on her futon.
"You've taken such good care of me. Now it's my turn to return the favor."
"No Matsumoto, I have some papers to file and---"
Matsumoto put a finger to his lips. "Hush now and rest."
"But---"
"No 'buts'. That's an order." Matsumoto interrupted before he could complain.
"MATSU -cough, cough- MOTOAAACHOOO!!" Hitsugaya viciously sneezed.
Matsumoto sighed and shook her head. "Oh Taicho, what am I ever going to do with you?" she asked, her lips forming a smile.
~END~
AN: Please read and review? I would really like to know what you guys thought of it... even though I think I could have done better if I just had more time. Y.Y
~Supreme