Child 12

An Emotional Morning

Hitsugaya Toshiro awoke to his inner alarm clock and a small amount of sunlight streaming into his room. He rubbed his eyes with his hands before sitting up and stretching in his bed. He blearily looked around at his room.

'I don't remember making my into bed last night.' he hazily thought before getting out of bed and heading into is personal bathroom. After relieving himself and taking a nice cold shower, he felt ready for the day. Exiting his bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and another around his neck, he made his way to his dresser for some fresh robes, a small smile on his face. After dressing in them, he took his dirty ones out of his bathroom and placed them in his hamper, making sure not to place his haori in there and to instead put it on.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a large box on the other side of his bed leaning against the wall. He walked over to it and the small smile on his face was immediately replaced with a frown when he saw the picture on the box.

'That's right... I forgot that Ichimaru is back and that he will be staying in my room.' Toshiro thought to himself. He squatted down in front of the box to get a better look at the picture. It was some kind of transforming bed.

"A bed that grows with your child..." he read aloud.

'That's actually a really smart idea.' he thought before standing up and exiting his room. There was no way he would be the one to put it together. Making his way to his office, Toshiro was greeted by many shinigami despite it being so early in the morning. Opening the office door, he walked towards his desk, enjoying the quiet the welcomed him. That is, until he walked behind the couch and a rather loud snore caused him to jump slightly. He let out a growl before looking over the back of the couch, finding his lieutenant sleeping there.

"Matsumoto!" Toshiro yelled, causing the woman to sit up instantly.

"Taicho?!" she gasped, turning her head to look at him. His arms were crossed over his chest and his body weight was shifted to one foot, the other one tapping impatiently.

"Matsumoto..." Toshiro growled warningly.

"Good morning taicho. It's-It's quite early isn't it?" Rangiku asked, running a hand through her hair.

"This is the time I normally get into the office, as you know well. Did you sleep here last night?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I had a visitor in the office late last night and after they left-" she began, only to cut herself off with a yawn.

"Well, I don't smell alcohol and you don't seem inebriated..." Toshiro trailed off, turning to go to his desk. He paused though upon the sight that greeted him.

"Matsumoto...?" he inquired, a bit perturbed.

"Yes, taicho?" she responded, slowly standing up to fold the blanket she had used.

"Where is all the paperwork?" he asked, glancing at her desk to find none there either.

"I did it all last night." was the woman's response. Toshiro quickly turned around to face her.

"You did all of the paperwork? Last night?"

"Yes, I did. I didn't have much to do and I didn't want to sleep yet so I... just did the paperwork." she told him, placing the blanket in one of the cupboards. Toshiro could do nothing but stare at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar.

"Oh, here are the ones that need your signature." she said, handing the child taicho a small stack of papers. Toshiro examined the stack of papers. It would take him less than an hour to get it all done.

"Are you feeling okay, Matsumoto?" he asked quietly, a look of consternation on his face as he looked back up to see her sitting on the couch, head in her hands. Toshiro gently set the papers on his desk and made his way over to his lieutenant. He hesitantly sat down next to her on the couch.

"Matsu...moto? he asked again. leaning forward to try and get a look at her face.

"Captain Soi Fon was here last night." he heard Rangiku say. His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"Soi Fon? Why was she here?" Toshiro asked, scooting a little closer to his lieutenant on the couch. Rangiku let out a sigh.

"It was about Gin... Apparently, sometime between when I left him in my room to take a nap and we found him napping in my room, he went out to at least the second division if not more divisions. He made a mess of her office and destroyed some of her personal belongings." Rangiku started.

"He did what?!" Toshiro exclaimed, standing up from the couch.

"Yes... She was not very happy about it and wanted to see him. Once I explained that he wasn't here though, we chatted a bit about how you and I found him under your desk and what could have happened. She said that she would look into it, but that she still needs to...talk...to Gin about some things." she finished. She let a small sob and Toshiro froze where he stood.

"It's just- getting to be a bit hard, you know?" she said quietly, small sobs escaping from her. Toshiro slowly sat down next to her again.

'Hyorinmaru... I don't know what to do! Its just like when Ichimaru left all over again!' Toshiro confided in his zanpakto.

'Give her a hug, young master.' was Hyorinmaru's reply. Toshiro tensed slightly, one hand clutching the couch cushion he was on.

'I can't do that, Hyorinmaru.' Toshiro replied, listening to Matsumoto's small sobs.

'Oh? It would help comfort her, master.' Hyorinmaru pushed. Toshiro let out a sigh and released his grip on the couch.

"How... How about we go and see how Ichimaru is doing?" he tentatively asked, forcing a small smile onto his face. Rangiku wiped the tears from her eyes and composed herself.

"That would be nice. I just need to go and freshen up a bit first. How about you go on ahead and I'll meet you there." Rangiku suggested before heading out of the office. Toshiro let out a sigh and reclined into the couch.

"Even with no paperwork, I can already tell today is going to be a hectic day." he said aloud to himself before standing and making his way to the fourth division.

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