Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Bleach series in any way. All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.

Author's Note: Hey, I'm back with another completed theme for The 100 HitsuHina Themes Challenge. Special thanks goes to peachysnowFan, anime16, Neko no me, icyangel27, fayfan, forebiddenlovex, Katie R. Richardson, Crystal183, becomeafan, Rawr, and toshiko-san21. Here is theme number thirty-eight. Enjoy!

LEGEND

"Talking." "Thinking."

The 100 HitsuHina Themes Challenge

Theme #38: Give Up

"Matsumoto, what the hell did you just to do this place?" Hitsugaya couldn't believe his eyes. He just stepped out a few minutes ago to hand in his report at the first division only to come back and find out his office has turned into a giant mess. Everything is scattered across the room from loose papers to broken sake bottles. "It looked like you just battled against a group of Hollows in here!"

The tenth division lieutenant stood up from behind the sofa and placed a hand on the back of her head. She hesitantly laughed and apologized, "I'm sorry Captain, but I was looking for my nail polish. I left it around here somewhere."

Then, she spotted something on the floor. She knelt over and picked it up from the ground. Suddenly, a bright smile appeared on her face.

"Ah, here it is! Look Captain, I finally found it." Toshiro lowered his head. As he grinds his teeth together, his hands formed into tight fists. Rangiku blinked a few times. She put her arms around herself. "Is it just me or is the room suddenly chilly?"

Unable to hold in his anger any longer, he shouted, "GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!"

Matsumoto shrieked and bolted out of the room, leaving the angry Soul Reaper behind. Once she is gone, Hitsugaya closed his eyes and let out a sigh. By the time he reopened them, he stuffed his hands into his sleeves.

"Well, this place is not going to clean itself up." He walked over to the sofa and began picking up the scattered loose papers. After holding a few, he stood for a moment to inspect the amount of work he has to do. "If this keeps up, I won't be able to rest until at least midnight."

All of sudden, he heard the sound of the opening slide door. He looked over to see the fifth division lieutenant enter the room. "Hey Hitsugaya-kun, I'm here to deliver some pap-Whoa..."

She scanned the area.

"What happened here? It looks like a tornado just passed by."

Toshiro sighed and walked over to the peach girl. "I know. Apparently, Matsumoto made this mess while I was handing in my report to the first division."

"I-I see." She looked at the disaster in the room once more. "You look like you need some help cleaning up this place."

"It's alright; you must have other things to do."

The raven haired girl shook her head. "Actually, I just finished my usual stack of paperwork. So, I have some time in my hands."

Hitsugaya cracked a small smile. "Thanks Hinamori."

After giving him a short nod, the two Soul Reapers began cleaning up the tenth division office. "Hn?"

The raven haired girl bent over and picked it up.

"What's this?"

Toshiro stopped what he was doing and looked over to see what Momo is referring to. "Oh, it belongs to Matsumoto."

"What is it exactly?"

He raised his head and thought for a moment. Then, he shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea. It's probably an item she got from the living world."

"I see."

"Do you really want to know what it is?"

Hinamori turned her head to the side and jumped. "R-Rangiku-san!"

"Oi Matsumoto, what are you doing back here?" Hitsugaya asked. "Go away so that I can finish cleaning up the office in peace."

"I forgot to bring Haineko with me," she replied. "I left her here somewhere."

The tenth division captain gave her a look. "You even left your zanpakuto here to be lost somewhere in this mess?"

She placed a hand on the back of her head. The strawberry orange haired teenager let out a hesitant laugh. "Yeah, that's right."

Hitsugaya sighed with defeat. "Fine, but I'm not helping you find it."

Matsumoto smiled. "Okay!"

With that said, she began searching for her sword. "Rangiku-san."

She stopped for a moment to look at the fifth division lieutenant. "Yeah Hinamori?"

"What is this thing?"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

She leaned over and whispered a few words in her ear. In the meantime, Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at them. Why is he left out in this conversation? Then, without any warning, Momo turned a few shades darker. "W-What? Why did you bring this with you?"

Matsumoto let out an amused grin. "I wanted to see if anyone could figure it out."

"Mou, I don't think anyone will. Besides..." She raised the small square object and flipped from top to bottom. "...it doesn't have any label that says what it is. It only has a brand name."

"I know; I did that on purpose." Momo handed the object to Rangiku. "I took it out of the original packaging."

"Oh..." She then took a quick glance at Toshiro before resuming her attention to the older Soul Reaper. "...but still i-it's embarrassing!"

"That's because you now know what it is. Why don't you keep it?"

"What?" she exclaimed. "No way! I don't want it!"

Momo tried to give the item back, but Rangiku insisted her to hang onto it. "Just hold onto it. Besides, you may need it after you have gotten yourself a boyfriend."

Just as she gave the younger Shinigami a wink, Hinamori turned red as a cherry. She whispered, "Rangiku-san, please don't say anymore of that stuff! H-Hitsugaya-kun might hear us."

"What are you talking about? Taicho is plenty old enough to understand what we're talking about. He's not a kid anymore..." She turned her head to look at the white haired captain. "...at least I hope he has grown to that stage already."

Upon hearing the last bit of that comment, he shot her a glare. "Matsumoto..."

"Okay okay! I'll get my zanpakuto and get out of here."

The tenth division lieutenant went back to searching for her sword. In the meantime, Toshiro walked over to his childhood friend and asked, "Can you help me get the cleaning materials, Hinamori? It's in the closet over there."

Realizing that he is talking to her, the peach girl turned to him and nodded with agreement. "H-Hai!"

"Is everything alright? Your face is still red."

She let out a small squeak. Noticing that she is still holding the item, she quickly tossed it away. "I-I'm alright; don't mind me."

"Alright then, let's go."

As the two long time friends walked over to the closet, Matsumoto quietly observed them. Suddenly, she let out a grin on her face. "Hn, I wonder..."

Toshiro opened the closet door to check the contents inside. "Gosh, I can't believe this. She even searched through here."

"I guess we have to clean that up first," Momo suggested, "before we take out the broom and dustpan out."

Hitsugaya carefully stepped inside the closet. "Yeah."

As he is searching through the messy closet, he tripped over an alcohol bottle and lost his balance. By the time she noticed, Hinamori ran in to catch his fall. "Are you alrigh-AHH!"

Without any warning, she was pushed onto the white haired Soul Reaper. Hitsugaya instinctively turned around and grabbed her by the waist. Just as they were recovering from the fall, the closet door closed. They are trapped inside. Hitsugaya growled with frustration and began knocking his fist on the door. "Oi Matsumoto, what the hell did you do that for?"

Hinamori also began knocking. "Rangiku-san, let us out!"

"Hn, I can't hear you!" they heard her say.

"You liar!" Toshiro snapped. "Open the door this instant!"

"If you go on a date with Hinamori, I will let you both go."

Suddenly, Momo's cheeks turned pink. "Eh?"

"What? No way!" Hitsugaya exclaimed. "Why should I go on a date with her? I don't even like her in that sense!"

Rangiku giggled. "Yeah right, you're only denying it."

"Matsumoto!"

"Rangiku-san, please let us out," Momo pleaded. "It's too crammed in here."

"Sorry Hinamori, but I won't."

"Mou..."

"Do you give up, taicho?"

"No way!" Toshiro snapped at the strawberry orange haired woman, who is on the other side of the door.

"Fine, have fun staying in there together! Oh yes, don't even try using kido. I put up a strong barrier to prevent either of you from doing so. Bye!"

Once they felt her spiritual pressure disappear from the room, Hitsugaya tried to open the closet. However, his efforts were futile. He growled. "Argh, I can't believe her!"

"It's alright," Momo said. "We'll think of a way to escape."

He sighed with defeat. "Yeah, it better be soon or else my legs are going to start falling asleep. Leaning in this position for a long time can make one's joints stiff."

Hinamori slowly nodded with agreement. "Should we try to move in a more comfortable position?"

Toshiro took a moment to look at the stuff around him. He then looked at the raven haired lieutenant. "It's not like we have anything else better to do."

With a short nod, Momo began shifting her weight over to one side. As she attempted to stand beside her friend, she ended up slipping on a rag cloth. While she fell over, Hitsugaya grabbed onto her and prevented her from falling. By the time he realized what he just did; Momo slapped him across the cheek.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

"Ah, I-I'm so sorry Hitsugaya-kun!" she apologized. "I usually do that whenever there are strangers trying to grab m-my...butt!"

"Yeah, but I'm no stranger!" Toshiro snapped while placing a hand over his slapped cheek. "You know I'm not the type of person who would do stuff like that on purpose!"

The tenth division captain then turned his head to the side. "I said I was sorry."

Hitsugaya looked at her and sighed. "Apology accepted."

Momo smiled, feeling happy that he is so forgiving.

He shifted his body back and forth. "Damn it, this place really is crammed."

"Yeah..." They fell silent. "Rangiku-san's not coming back here for a while, isn't she?"

"That's what I'm guessing. We're going to be stuck in here for quite some time."

Matsumoto chugged down all the liquid contents from her drink and let out a loud content sigh. "Umai! Nothing beats drinking sake in the middle of the afternoon!"

"You said it Rangiku-chan!" eighth division captain, Shunsui Kyoraku agreed. "Let's drink until we drop!"

"Oh yeah!"

"Rangiku-san," Ise Nanao said. "Don't you have paperwork assigned by Hitsugaya-taicho to finish?"

"How can I finish it right now?" she asked. "Taicho just kicked me out of the office."

Nanao sighed. "What did you do this time?"

"I did nothing." Suddenly, she let out a grin. "Apparently, he was busy with Hinamori."

"Oh, really now?" Kyoraku asked, sparking with interest. "Has he finally decided to experience the life of being a youth?"

Ise blushed. "Taicho!"

"What? It's totally normal especially for a young Soul Reaper like him."

Matsumoto smiled. "I hope so. He really needs to spice up his stressful life."

"Hitsugaya-kun..."

"Hn, what?"

"My arms hurt from supporting my weight for so long," Momo said. "Can I rest on you for a bit?"

Toshiro looked at her for a moment before he closed his eyes and sighed with defeat. "...Fine, but don't put too much weight on me or else I'll fall onto the stuff on the ground."

In no time, the peach girl removed her hands from the wall and wrapped them around his neck. She sighed with relief once her head rested on his shoulder. "Arigato Shiro-chan."

He sighed with defeat. "Oi, it's Hitsugaya-taicho to you."

"Hai."

They fell silent for a few minutes. During this time, the white haired captain closed his eyes and tried to rest. However, he couldn't for two reasons: one; he's starting to feel the weight on his legs and two; he could faintly smell the scent of peaches.

"Mm, you smell nice like...pine trees. Are you using a new shampoo or something?"

"No, it's probably from being in the forest."

Momo moved back so that she can get a better look at her childhood friend. She asked, "What were you doing there?"

"I was training."

"Training for what?"

"...For anything that could possibly happen in the future, isn't that obvious?"

"Oh."

"The other reason for training is because I want to get stronger; strong enough so that I can always protect you."

"Sugoi, he's still seeking for improvement. I was like that too. However, it was for the wrong reason."

She tilted her head forward and gripped onto a section of his haori. Hitsugaya noticed her body is starting to shake. "Hinamori?"

"It was stupid of me to fall for that trap so easily and for so long," she thought. "Hitsugaya-kun."

"...Yeah?"

"There's no need for you to protect me anymore."

"W-Why are saying these things?"

"I-I can take care of myself."

Toshiro became serious and said, "Even if you say that, I would still protect you."

She raised her head up and demanded, "Then, why? Why do you insist on doing this?"

Before he could say anything, one of his feet slipped. As a result, the action caused both him and Momo to fall on the mess. "WHOA!"

By the time she regained her conscious, she groaned. As she is getting off, her eyes widened with astonishment. Realizing her lips had made contact with his, she turned red and quickly pulled away. She covered her mouth with her hands and turned her body to the side. "Baka, now look what you've done."

Hitsugaya slowly sat up. With his bangs hanging over his eyes, he said, "Do you really want to know why I want to protect you so badly?"

He raised his head and looked directly into her chocolate brown eyes.

"It's because I love you."

Momo put her hands down and turned her body to face him. "...Eh?"

"I mean it." He extended his hand out and placed it on her cheek. "You're the only person I've honestly and truly cared about."

"You feel this way about me?" she asked. "I-I'm not wor-"

He placed a finger on her lips, keeping her from "I don't care what you or anyone else say. To me, you are worth it to love."

"I-I...don't know what to say."

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. As he embraced his childhood friend, he said, "It's okay if you don't feel the same way, Momo. Whatever happens, I'm always here to support you."

"Hitsugaya-kun..." Deeply moved by his speech, Hinamori placed her arms over his shoulders and closed her eyes. "...Thank you."

"You're welcome."

For the next few minutes, they remained in each other's comfort. "Maybe...just maybe..."

She pulled back so that she can see him.

"I have always felt the same way about you. However, because I was too blinded by my ex-captain, I failed to realize it."

"Take your time to think clearly about it," Toshiro said. "I don't want you to start feeling the same way because of my declaration of love for you."

Hinamori shook her head. "No, I believe my feelings for you are real. Now that I think about it, our relationship has always been quite complicated."

"Yes, I do have to agree." He lowered his head. "Initially, I thought it was a form of sibling affection."

He raised his head up. "Do you remember the time when I came to see you at the fourth division back when I recently graduated from the academy?"

She nodded. "Yes, I remember that."

"It was when I realized my feelings for you. When I saw you lying in bed with so many bandages on, for some reason, I felt helpless. Even though I wasn't assigned to fight those Hollows with you, I felt responsible for your injuries," he explained. "I should have gotten stronger so that I get the chance to be called up to come to your aid. That way, I could have protected you. Those were the thoughts that were running through my mind. It was a horrible feeling: the fear of losing you."

Her eyes softened to the point she almost broke down into tears. She hugged him once more. "Oh Toshiro...I-I'm sorry for making you feel that way."

He placed a hand on her arm. "There's no need to be sorry. That happened a long tim-"

She pulled back and protested, "Yes, there is! You had to suffer physical and mental pain in order to become the person you are now. From now on, you have me to help ease that pain."

Without another second to waste, she leaned over and kissed him on the lips. Her bold action surprised him. By the time she pulled away, she declared, "I love you, Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"Momo...I love you too, but really you shouldn't strain yourself to be involved in this...relationship wit-"

She placed a finger over his lips. Once he is silent, she kissed his forehead and then his cheek. "I'm not regretting this decision to start this relationship with you."

After taking a good look at the determination in her, Toshiro soon sighed with defeat. "Fine, do whatever you want, but on one condition."

"What would that be?"

"If possible, can you get off me? My legs are starting to get numb."

Hinamori looked down and realized that she's practically sitting on him. She gasped. "I'm sorry, but what should I do? It's going to be hard standing back up."

"Hn, this is interesting," said a voice. "Hitsugaya-kun's office isn't usually this messy."

"Did you hear that?"

Toshiro nodded. "It's Ichimaru. Knock on the door."

With a nod of agreement, Momo banged her fist on the closet. "Ichimaru-taicho, can you hear me?"

"Ara Hinamori-chan, what are you doing in the closet?"

"It's a long story," she replied. "Can you please get us out?"

"Us?"

"Toshiro and I."

"Hn, really?"

"Just do it, Ichimaru!" Hitsugaya snapped. "We'll explain the whole story after we're out of this cramped up place!"

"Very well, but you two better have your clothes on."

The two childhood friends blushed. "Uruse, we were not doing that!"

All of a sudden, they heard a click. Once the door opened, Momo wasted no time getting off of Toshiro and leave the closet. After a few arm and leg stretches, she exclaimed, "We're finally out of there!"

"Geez..." Hitsugaya crawled out of the closet and got back on his feet. He placed a hand on his lower back. "Once I see Matsumoto, I'll be sure to give her our stack of paperwork to finish."

"Hn, so Rangiku was responsible for this?" Gin asked.

"Pretty much."

"Maybe I should have not let you out."

He shot the gray haired captain a glare. "Oi Ichimaru."

He grinned with amusement. "I was just kidding."

Suddenly, the tenth division lieutenant walked into the office while humming a random tune. By the time she noticed, the three Soul Reapers were looking at her. "Eh?"

She began taking a few steps back.

"Ah, Hinamori! Taicho, you guys made it out of the closet!"

Without any warning, Hitsugaya used flash step to disappear and reappear behind her. Matsumoto turned around and jumped. His icy reiatsu is uncontrollably leaking throughout the room, causing the temperature to seriously drop to freezing level. "Oh yes, we got out alright."

She hesitantly laughed.

"GET BACK TO WORK MATSUMOTO!"

Japanese Word Translations

Zanpakuto - Soul Cutter, Shinigami - Soul Reaper, Hai - Yes, Taicho - Captain, Arigato - Thank You, Sugoi - Amazing, Uruse - Shut Up

Author's Note: Gah, I had a pretty difficult time with this one especially when it came to the serious HitsuHina romance. I really need to work on it. Despite that, I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please review! Thanks.