A/N: Woahhh, such a huuuge response to last chapter! Biggest yet, I believe! Makes me so happy...-w-
So, as you can see, I have decided to reward ya'll with a really quick update. LESS THAN 24 HOURS BABY! WOOT! Hope ya'll like it! Even though I kinda don't...well, I do, but it's not my favourite. On the subject, I think my favourite chapter so far is DVD. That was really fun. Yachiru and her...interesting film choices, LOL!
Credit for this word request goes to TheSecondQuincy, who I really have to thank, as it's opened up a whole storyline from this one chapter that will probably last for two more...but maybe I'll cut it short after the next. Depends how lazy I'm feeling! :)
So, like I said, massive response to the last chapter, and I got a few votes on the 'angst or no angst, that is the question' subject, and so far, the vast majority have said NO. So, there probably won't be any angst, but there almost definitely WILL be a saddish chapter, as this fic can't all be sunshine, lollipops and rainbows...*starts singing the song from the Butlins advert. Those of you who don't live in England are probably confused right now. Just search 'Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows Butlins advert' into Youtube, and it'll probably come up. But then again, you probably don't care...*
People who reviewed/favourited/both are:
Moemoepl
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and...sagitgirlth! See? That is a really long list, people!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. All credit goes to Kubo Tite, King of Bleachworld!
Shopping
"I trust you are willing to go on this mission, Hitsugaya-taicho?"
"Of course, Yamamoto-soutaicho. But…the subject is not really in my expertise. Could I take a work partner?"
"Naturally. But make sure they won't limit your research capabilities."
"I understand."
"You may take your leave now, Hitsugaya-taicho."
…
Hitsugaya sighed heavily as he pushed his hair back from his forehead. That captain's meeting had been intense, to say the least! Yamamoto-soutaicho had assigned him a new mission which was, in his opinion, absolutely pointless. There was no reason to—
"Taicho! You're back early!" Matsumoto cheered as she glomped him from behind.
Hitsugaya cried out in protest as they both fell to the floor. The noise was soon smothered by Matsumoto's huge breasts, though.
"So, taicho! What's up? Usually you only come back early when you've been told to go on a mission or something. Are you going on a mission?" Matsumoto quick-fired, removing her captain's head from her cleavage when she realised he couldn't answer.
Hitsugaya gasped for breath before fixing her with a cold glare. "Yes, Matsumoto. I've been ordered to make a trip to the Living World as soon as possible." he informed her, wriggling out from under her body and standing up.
"Hm? What are you doing here then? Do you need special equipment?" Matsumoto asked, also picking herself up from the floor.
"No, it's a research mission. I'm here to fetch our Third Seat. He's coming with me."
Matsumoto raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really? Did Yamamoto-san order you to take him?"
"No. He's my only choice." Hitsugaya said monotonously.
"Huh? Taicho, you do know I'm free for the next couple of days, right?"
"No, Matsumoto, you aren't free. You have paperwork. And either way, Yamamoto clearly said to take someone who won't distract me from my research."
"But I wouldn't—" Matsumoto broke off at the pointed look her captain was giving her.
"I'm going to go find the Third Se—wagh!" Hitsugaya exclaimed as Matsumoto rugby-tackled him to the floor. Again. "Matsumoto! What do you think you're doing?"
"Take me, taicho! Please please please! I wouldn't distract you at all, and I'd work, and I'd write the reports, and I'd—"
"Shut up, Matsumoto!" her captain commanded.
Matsumoto obeyed.
"I happen to know for a fact that you will distract me, whether you aim to or not, and—"
Matsumoto interrupted yet again. "How would I distract you if I wasn't even trying, taicho?" she asked innocently.
Hitsugaya blushed a deep crimson. "That's beside the point. The point is, I can't take you because you'd get so side-tracked by the clothes that—"
Another interruption. "What clothes, taicho?"
"Matsumoto, stop butting in!"
"But what clothes?" Matsumoto didn't fall for his attempt at avoiding the question.
Hitsugaya sighed and closed his eyes briefly. Matsumoto took the chance to coo silently at his cute face. He opened them, and she stopped immediately.
"Apparently, Seireitei is sick of having to buy gigais from Urahara Kisuke. Therefore, the Twelfth Division has been asked to create their own style of gigai, and I have been assigned the task of buying human clothes for them to wear." he informed her, bracing himself for the inevitable onslaught that was coming.
He wasn't disappointed.
"Taicho! Please take me! I know way more about clothes and fashion and stuff than Third Seat-san, and anyway, Kisuke-san likes me better than him, so we'd more likely be allowed to stay at his place, and I'd be really professional and I wouldn't distract you at all, taicho, please please let me come!" she begged, squeezing him very hard in a Hug of Doom.
"Gah! Matsumoto, let go!"
"No! I won't let go until you let me come!" she said, only holding him tighter when he struggled violently against her grip.
"Matsumoto!"
"…Am I interrupting something?" came a slightly amused voice from the doorway.
Both captain and Lieutenant sprang apart from each other, Hitsugaya's face flushing until it positively glowed.
The Tenth Division Third Seat stood behind them, a slight smirk on his face at the sight of such a…compromising position. He was going to have fun telling the rest of Seireitei about the newfound 'relationship' between his superior officers.
"It's not what it looks like!" Matsumoto only stoked the fire when she let fly with the most obvious, cliché 'lie' the three worlds had ever seen.
"…Sure." her subordinate didn't look fooled.
"Wipe that smirk off your face. Nothing happened, Matsumoto was just being overly persuasive, that's all." Hitsugaya's face heated up even more when he realised the innuendo that he'd just presented.
The officer's smirk only grew wider. "Yes sir."
"Ah, and I was wondering if you could—mmph!" Hitsugaya's voice was muffled when Matsumoto slapped a hand over his mouth.
"…Yes, taicho?" the Third Seat asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing to worry about! Me and taicho are going on a mission in the Living World for a couple of days is all!" Matsumoto explained, ignoring the panicked/furious look her taicho sent her way. "Well, we should be off! The Senkaimon's gonna be opening soon! Have a nice day, Third Seat-san!" she bade him farewell before exiting the room hurriedly.
The now very much alone officer stood in the office, staring at the door through which his captain and lieutenant had escaped.
"I doubt they even know my name…" he muttered, shaking his head and starting on the paperwork. This was going to keep him busy for a while.
…
"Ah, good morning Hitsugaya-kun, Matsumoto-san." Ukitake smiled at them as the two approached, the former still shouting at his subordinate for the blatant lie she'd told their Third Seat. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of manipulation and deviousness. Obviously Ichimaru had rubbed off on her more than he'd previously thought.
Ukitake chuckled ruefully when his greeting was mostly ignored, and proceed to open the Senkaimon for the two to pass through. He provided them both with a Hell Butterfly and a few words of farewell and advice.
"Remember, Hitsugaya-kun; blue and green should not be seen. Matsumoto-san, no impractical items of clothing."
Hitsugaya looked peeved at the stupid tip he'd been given and grabbed hold of Matsumoto's arm, proceeding to drag her towards the entrance of the Senkaimon.
"Bye, Ukitake-taicho!" his Lieutenant called, receiving a cheerful wave in reply.
The two shunpoed off on their journey to the Living World.
…
"Taicho, where are we?" Matsumoto asked when they emerged in a green forest somewhere off the side of Karakura Town.
"How should I know? But I can sense some reiatsu from that direction; it's probably Urahara. If we follow it, we should get to civilisation and our gigais soon enough." he reasoned.
Matsumoto nodded distractedly and followed her taicho through the various bushes and trees.
It took around fifteen minutes for the two to escape the canopy without using shunpo. When they finally emerged, Hitsugaya took the chance to pick out all the leaves and twigs that had accumulated in his hair. Noticing a single leaf in his fukutaicho's hair, he reached up and gently removed it.
Matsumoto looked down at him in surprise, then smiled softly at him when she saw the offending plant. "Thanks, taicho."
"No problem." he replied curtly, dropping the leaf and continuing on his search for the blond shopkeeper.
…
"Ah, Hitsugaya-kun and Rangiku-san! How may I help you?" Urahara asked cheerfully when the two finally found him.
Hitsugaya looked at him levelly. "We need gigais."
"Please!" Matsumoto added, earning a grin from the shopkeeper and a scowl from her captain.
"No problem! You'll have to wait about an hour though."
"That isn't an issue. I can wait to go on this ridiculous mission." Hitsugaya sighed, rolling his eyes yet again at the mere idea of the activity he'd be subjected to over the next few days.
"That bad, huh?" Kisuke inquired sympathetically.
"You have no idea…"
…
"Excuse me," Hitsugaya alerted the attention of the assistant behind the counter of the hotel they were going to be staying at. He'd promptly refused Urahara's offer of accommodation when he saw the two kids that worked there fighting over what looked like a broken mop.
"How may I help you?" the pretty assistant asked cheerily, smiling at him fondly over the counter.
"I'd like to book two rooms."
"Ah, I'm sorry. All people who book rooms have to be at least eighteen. How about you let your mommy do that bit, huh?" she said, unknowingly stepping very close to a slow and painful death.
Just then, Matsumoto entered the building. Seeing her captain looking very, very angry, she hurried over to the desk and interrupted the conversation. "Hello! Sorry about that. I'd like to book two rooms, please." she said, returning the smile of the assistant.
"I'm sorry, madam, but we only have one room free. It has two single beds, though."
Matsumoto debated for a second. This was the only hotel in town. "Okay, that's fine! We'll take it!" she confirmed, signing the appropriate documents when required.
Hitsugaya stood to the side, looking annoyed. Oh, how he hated been treated like a child. Damn this gigai, making him look much younger than he did normally! (It didn't.)
"All right! I've booked the room! Let's go dump out stuff, tai—" A glare, reminding her about the subject they'd discussed only minutes before. "…Tou…shirou…"
Hitsugaya acknowledge her with a cold nod and allowed her to lead him to the door with the number that matched the one on their key.
Matsumoto opened it and peeked in. "Wow, taicho. It's…kinda small." she said, wrinkling up her nose.
Hitsugaya walked in and looked around. She was right, it was small. The two beds were almost right next to each other, with barely any space between them. He poked his head round the door to the bathroom and noted the tiny shower, sink and toilet. It looked as if they were going to be living quite simply for the duration of their trip.
He walked back to where Matsumoto was bouncing on her bed, trying to get the springs to be less 'poky'.
"Matsumoto. We should go do some clothes shopping. I don't want to spend any more time here than necessary." he stated.
Matsumoto looked at him, injured. "Hey! You gave me a Death Glare for forgetting to call you by your first name, and now you're calling me 'Matsumoto'! That's not fair; I'm supposed to be your mom!"
"You are not! I apologise for my slip-up earlier, but I refuse to call you anything other than your name. Come on, we need to go…Rangiku." he blushed slightly, turning his face away so she couldn't see.
Matsumoto jumped off the bed. "That's better! I know this really good shop for cheap clothes that are still really nice. It's just over the road and round a couple of corners…"
…
"Tai—Toushiro! Isn't this top so cute?" Matsumoto squealed, not bothering to wait for an answer before chucking it in her basket.
Hitsugaya rubbed his temples and picked up a plain shirt. "Rangiku, there's really no need to—"
"Oh, look, they're having a sale on shoes! Let's go see, Toushiro!" she said excitedly, dragging him off by the hand.
"Matsu—uh…Rangiku!" came the protest.
…
Hitsugaya flopped down onto his designated bed, absolutely exhausted. Who knew traipsing around a couple of stores and picking out items of clothing could be so tiring? Matsumoto had attempted to make him try on some stuff too, but he'd point-blank refused. It hadn't stopped her though, and they'd spent ages in some random boutique while she modelled clothes that were way over their budget. So much for not distracting him from his work, huh?
"Tai—I mean, Toushiro! Come on over, I bought something for you!" Matsumoto called him from her own bed, beckoning to him to go sit next to her.
Hitsugaya groaned softly and sat up, crawling his way over the tiny gap to Matsumoto's bed and poking his head over her shoulder. "M—Rangiku, I told you that we didn't need to buy anything other than clothes!"
"It is clothes, Toushiro! It's just, that jumper you're wearing looks really itchy, and I noticed you were scratching at the neckline earlier today." Matsumoto told him, pulling his jumper down slightly to reveal the red welts his nails had left to prove her point.
Hitsugaya blushed and slapped her hand away. She was right, it was itchy, but there was no need for her to—
"Look, isn't it cute!" Matumoto said, holding up a plain white long-sleeved T-shirt with a cartoon watermelon slice on the front. "I remember you saying watermelon was your favourite food, and when I saw this, I just thought it'd be perfect on you!" she exclaimed, holding it up against his torso. "I hope I got your size right…" she added, looking slightly worried.
"I'm sure it's fine, Matsu—Rangiku. Thank you for your consideration."
"Oh, you don't have to be so formal! We're not at work right now, you can just be yourself! But then, maybe that is yourself…" she trailed off at his frown. "So!" she changed the subject, "Are you going to try it on?"
"Uh…"
"Oh, please, Toushiro! You'd look so cu—uh…it'd make the itching stop!" she corrected herself hurriedly, remembering her captain's aversion to the word 'cute'.
Hitsugaya sighed in resignation. "Fine…" he said, taking the T-shirt from her hands. He pulled the damned jumper over his head, and dropped it on the floor. He'd averted his eyes from Matsumoto's, which was a good thing, as if he'd been looking at her, he would have clocked her over the head for such blatant staring.
He slipped on the T-shirt, feeling with relief the soft, smooth texture of the light material. "Yes, that's much better. Thank you, Matsumoto. I feel much more comfortable." he graced her with one of his rare smiles, his eyes softened to the point where it made her heart race.
"No—no problem, taicho." she gulped, looking down at her lap and fighting down the blush that threatened to make its way to her cheeks.
Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I mean, T-Toushiro." she stuttered slightly.
Hitsugaya smirked at his successful attempt to make his fukutaicho feel awkward. He quickly made his way to his own bed and produced the book he'd taken with him to keep him occupied. "That's better, Matsumoto. We'll go shopping again tomorrow." he told her, not removing his eyes from the words on the page. Subsequently, he missed the fond smile his Lieutenant sent his way.
"Yes, Toushiro."
A/N: Naww~~~
I just can't seem to stop writing really cute images of Shiro-chan! Watermelon T-shirt, cuuuttte! Not to mention no shirt at all! Ehehehe...
I wonder why Rangiku's starting to feel a little awkward round her captain, huh? Could it be-yeah, I'll shut up with the dramatic nonsense now. Take it how you will!
Also, I think Yamamoto sent Toushiro on this 'stupid' mission for a reason! I.e.: he knew Rangiku would force Toushiro to take her, and he's a very devious, bored matchmaker! Even if he doesn't exactly approve of captain/vice-captain relationships...
I don't know why I'm starting so many new paragraphs in this A/N. Maybe I have a paragraph addiction? Yeah, I really should shut up now.
As always, reviews are very much appreciated! Please tell me if you have a word request or a chapter plotline suggestion. And does anyone else have Rihanna's 'Don't Stop The Music' stuck in their head? 'Cos it just won't get out of mine! I'd better go listen to it to shut it up...-_-