: Self-Reproach :

"Momo…"

The name just tumbled out of his mouth, dragging along more ragged breaths with it. She just sat there, obi slightly open, her innocence gravitating the now-passion-filled captain closer. Oh, how he had dreamed of days like this, no paperwork, no lazy Matsumoto, only him, and his Hinamori, in his quarters.

Their lips connected, and he felt a satisfied shudder go through Hinamori. It seemed… so right. He allowed his hand now to venture into that hanging obi, and began to caress, all the while huskily muttering her name.

"A-A-Ano, Shiro-ch-chan…"

Did she say something? Nah. Must've been the wind. Hitsugaya continued with his concentrated mission.

"Sh-Shiro-chan…"

Wait, maybe she did say something.

He heard a gasp, and was suddenly shaken by two trembling arms.

Hitsugaya opened his eyes one by one from his dream to find his own torso hanging off the infirmary bed, and his right hand comfortably wedged between a warm pink obi and…

The captain visibly gulped.

Taichou, these papers need signing, and your desk is waiting with two weeks worth of paperwork."

"Nanao-chan, sit down and watch the cherry blossoms with me."

"No, you have a job to do."

The captain tipped his straw hat up to glance at the now-irritated vice-captain.

Ise Nanao enjoyed this part of her work day in her own odd little way. The glare of her glasses and her annoyed frown usually masked the creeping blush that threatened to burst in all its full glory onto her face.

But her captain's subconscious flirting, though enjoyable, was not working in her favor, especially today. Under the shade of the sakura tree, there was no glare, and her constant chasing of the lazy captain for past few weeks had been a bit more taxing than usual. Nanao's right hand clenched her book and stack of papers a little tighter.

"Nanao-chan, you know Hinamori-chan well, I presume?"
"Yes, I – " Wait, since when was her captain taking interest in that small, annoying girl who obsessed over that traitor Aizen and the other midget prodigy? She pushed away her flaring anger, reminding herself of the other vice-captain's previous troubles. " – do. Why do you ask?"

"I thought it may be a good idea to check on her and Hitsugaya-chan."

"And why would that be?" Yes, why did he want to check on that girl… she was definitely not his type, he needed someone more refined, someone who would keep him inline, someone like…

"Nanao-chan, your face seems a bit red."

If you asked anyone in Soul Society if they had ever seen Ise Nanao lose her cool, none would be able to answer. Her collected air was trademark, and it was just part of the person that Ise Nanao was.

But the closeness of her captain, the whisper in her ear, the feeling of his hot breath on her neck, and the thoughts that had been running through her head, they had just been too much. For the first time in her life, Ise Nanao collapsed, but just as she began to slip into unconsciousness, she felt the well-toned arms of her captain wrap around her waist to catch her.

Histugaya reluctantly tore his eyes away from the compromising location of his hand and slowly moved his gaze up Hinamori's neck to see a scarlet face and the slow beginning of tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

The captain's adam's apple bobbed as he gulped again.

In another spit second, he saw a rush and whirl of pink, and the girl before him disappeared, leaving behind only an echo of the tip-tapping of her sandals down the pristine hallway and a dazed Hitsugaya. The hand that had been enveloped in warmth just a moment before now dropped to the ground.

"More sake!"

The shinigami who were daring enough to be in the bar during training hours could only stare in wonder at Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Damn that hic Gin, leaving on his own like that. hic Just typical, not even thinkin' hic about his lover's feelings. Well, ya know what? hic I don't give a damn hic. Don't come back…"

At this point, her arm lazily knocked the pitcher of sake off the table, shattering on the ground next to a very pissed off Abarai Renji. Matsumoto had grabbed the first person she saw to go drinking with her, and Renji was definitely not happy about it. His eyebrows began twitching violently, seeing as he was still sober and Mtsumoto's rants were beginning to take their toll on his shortening temper.

"Oi, Hinamori, stop running and have a drink with us!"

Renji looked up to see that the petite girl had justturned a corner and bolting down the street, and it seemed that she was clutching her pink obi for dear life.

"Move it, you drunk, we have another job to do now."

"But Renji-kun," she whimed. "Stay and drink some more!"

She held up a broken shard from the deceased sake jug and giggled.

Renji groaned and proceede to carry Matsumoto out of the bar bridal-style. If the lighting in the bar had been a bit better, the red tinge on his cheeks would have been more noticeable, along with his deadly glare at any bystander who was watching, and a silenced Matsumoto, feigning slumber.

Hinamori pelted down the narrow streets of Soul Society, attracting glances from shinigami here and there.

'His hand… I can't believe Shiro-chan did that!'

Inner Momo: 'Mmmmm… neither can I…'

'…who are you?'

Inner Momo: 'Umm, … your conscience! grin'

'Okay…"

Inner Momo: 'You know you were dying for him to go further!'

blush

Inner Momo: 'See?'

'B-But something like that,…' gulp and blush

Inner Momo: sigh 'You're hopeless. Just remember what I've said…"

Hinamori just clutched her obi a bit tighter and ran a little faster, until she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.

What had he done? Hitsugaya was beyond shocked. Him and his dirty dreams…

sigh

That's what happened when you didn't age from adolescence from a copuple hundred years. Damn hormones. Life just did not seem to on the captain's side for the last few months: Aizen's betrayal, Hinamori's coma, being knocked out by his own vice-captain, and now this.

But for once, this really was his fault. Everything else he had just arbitrarily blamed himself for but this was different. His body now fully reseated on the bed, he closed his eyes. Hitsugaya hated himself, and he was not in a good mood. He opened his eyes again only to find a picture taped haphazardly to the table. He looked closely to see that it was one of Yachiru's drawings, crayon scratchings that looked suspiciously like a white-haired captain, and a bed-wetting vice-captain, with an annoying smiling sun overhead. If Hitsugaya had his zanpakutou, that smiling sun would have been frozen and slashed to pieces. If only he had his sword…A flurry of pink rushed by, and by the time Hitsugaya had turned his head, he found, with disappointment, Ise Nanao tucked away in the bed next to his, and the flamboyant Shinsui sitting in a chair, brows furrowed in worry. Unohana soon slowly entered the room with a slow gait.

A flurry of pink rushed by, and by the time Hitsugaya had turned his head, he found, with disappointment, Ise Nanao tucked away in the bed next to his, and the flamboyant Shinsui sitting in a chair, brows furrowed in worry. Unohana soon slowly entered the room with a slow gait.

"Unohana-taichou, she just suddenly collapsed," gushed the captain with an energy that seemed uncharacteristic to him.

Unohana just smiled knowingly and replied, "I'll take a look."

"What are you doing?" asked Renji gruffly.

"N-Nothing, Abarai-kun," Hinamori meekly returned, mentally cursing her flowing tears and her stutter.

Renji sighed and set down a "snoring" Matsumoto on the ground, carefully propping her head against a wall. Unnoticed by anyone, Matsumoto opened one eyelid slightly to survey the scene.

Hinamori gasped, "What happened to her?"

"Ignore it, just been drinking. You still haven't answered my question." Renji had stood straight up now, not having the other shinigami in his arms, and in effect he was towering over her. Hinamori cowered, and, glancing to the side, noticed that Matsumoto was no longer against the wall.

"Hi-na-mo-ri-chan!"

Matsumoto shamelessly glomped the small girl, as a vein popped on Renji's forehead.

"So, how was my captain doing?"

Hinamori's face turned beet-red.

"Ohoho, what did you two do?"

gulp

"Oh, c'mon, tell me." Matsumoto pouted. (A/N: She is still drunk. Very drunk. Extremely drunk. Did I mention that she was drunk?) Another vein popped on Renji's forehead, as he stood off to the side.

"H-He, ano, he f-fon-fondled m-my – "

"He WHAT?"

A murderous aura appeared, and Renji's form was already in a ready attack position, and would have been gone already if Matsumoto had not tugged at his robe.

"But, h-he was asleep…"

Matsumoto pulled harder on Renji's robe to restrain him.

"Hinamori-chan, since it seems Hitsugaya-taichou is more than ready, it seems, it's time for me to teach you the basics of men." She gave Renji a sickeningly saccharine smile.

"What the HELL are you planning?"

"Are you sure it's only overwork?"

"Yes, I am quite sure," The captain reassured for the fifth time. "It seems that she hasn't been sleeping well at all recently."

She watched as Shinsui gingerly removed the pile of papers and the books that were still in the vice grip of the unconscious vice-captain.

"Do you have a pen on you anywhere?" (A/N: Do the shinigami in Soul Society use pens? Or quills, since that seems a bit more fitting…?)

Hitsugaya smirked amusedly.

Renji was now the one leaning against the wall, eyes open, and completely unresponsive to any attempts to gain his attention. Hinamori stood a slight distance away, nervousness and utter embarrassment showing on her face: the color matched nicely with her obi.

"You know what to do now?" Matsumoto slurred.

Hinamori timidly nodded and scampered off.

Matsumoto giggle before finally succumbing to the effects of alcohol and slumping to the ground, snoring loudly.

Renji had no idea whether the things that had transpired in the last ten minutes should be considered as a treasured memory, or as a blackened mar in his mind. All he knew was that he would never forget it.

Hitsugaya slumped back in his bed. Shinsui had just left for his desk, for once,having finished the portion of paperwork that Nanao was carrying.

Nothing was ailing him anymore, except for a plaguing guilt. He had long since recovered from physical injury, and the massive swelling on his head was now reduced to just a small bruise. Though Unohana had told him not to move, he had an impatient desire to go outside and walk somewhere to relieve his aching thoughts.

Hitsugaya carefully slipped his sheets off and quietly put his sandals on. Unfortunately for him, Nanao was not the snoring type,making his stealth job more complicated than it already was. He tiptoed to the door, opened it, and prepared to make a mad dash for an exit –

A soft thud was heard, and Hitsugaya toppled back onto the ground. He groaned, and attempted to get up until he realized two arms had locked him in his position.

deep breath

"Shiro-chan," Hinamori tried, as seductively as her mind could muster, only to sound almost desperate and slightly angry. She mentally cursed herself for the second time that day.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I was just dre – I mean, I wasn't conscious of what I was doing. I'd never try to do something like that without your consent first – I mean, I won't do it again…"

A one-month-long coma. Check. Waking up to find you stupid crush trying to kiss you. Check. Getting interrupted, and not seeing it through. Check. Seduction methods failed. Check. Crush is stuck in an advantageous position. Check. Absolute frustration at his inability to do something consciously. Check.

Taking her the advice of her "conscience", Hinamori closed her eyes and leaned in, and silence followed.

Shinsui sighed. He had never been truly sober enough to actually see how much paperwork had been building up. The fact that he hadn't enetered his office for weeks probably didn't help much either.

Five hours of signing, reading, and writing drained his energy and most of his sake. Finally finished with most of the pile blocking his office's entrance, he had decided to check on Nanao, and to grab a few more sake bottles from the bar.

Said sake bottles in hand now, he stepped into the darkened infirmary room, and navigated his way to the bed on the right, with its sheets slowly rising and falling with each of Nanao's breaths.

He glanced over at the bed that had been previously occupied, now empty, the sheet with faint evidence of wrinkles, and taped to the side, a crayon picture highlighted by the moonlight.

fin

A/N: O.O I actually did it!!! cry You have no idea how many hours during my internship I just sat there in that depressing pediatrician's office, trying to write this little chapter. SO HAPPY!!!

Anyhow, thank all the people who reviewed for this chapter, because otherwise, I would have never written it.

I have just edited a lot of the errors in this...