"… remember not to forget to file last week's reports…"

"Mmmhmm…"

"...and the letters need to be distributed before Saturday.."

"Uh huh…"

"… and the fish need to be fed, it's past noon."

"Yeah…"

Hitsugaya's eye ticked suddenly and he gave his vice captain one of those customary cold stares.

"Matsumoto, there are no fish." She blinked for a moment as it sank in before nodding.

"You're right. There are no fish." He heaved a huge sigh.

"Have you been listening to me at all?"

"Sort of." He paused and watched her in mild disapproving awe. She smiled inwardly to herself thinking about how many times they had almost identical conversations since she was first appointed. It never seemed to get old.

"Then what have you been thinking about if you were looking straight at me?"

"Well…It's so cute how much you've grown!" she said, almost squealing. Her hidden smile betrayed itself on her face as a subtle shade of pink spread across his. She couldn't help it. Captain or not, Hitsugaya had been something of a little brother for a long time. It was a situation they had both simply accepted, though not without his futile attempts at refuting it at first. It was just his nature to try and hide emotions.

Recently, he had one of those growth spurts boys go through and the changes were hilariously charming. Still not quite as tall as she was, but getting there.

Nothing beat the voice changing stage, though. Those were some unforgettable moments and she was sure she pushed the limits of her teasing further than ever before.

"THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING," he fumed, spinning around in his chair and trying to focus on the books lying on the ground. She giggled and he shot her a dagger glare.

"File the reports, distribute letters, feed the fish. I got it, I got it."

"Matsumoto, there are--"

"..no fish. I got it." She gave him a friendly wink before standing, packets upon packets of papers in hand. She glanced over at the calendar to make note of anything planned for the day and instead took notice of something else.

"Oh! Today…" was all she got out. She gave a sideward glance at her captain who had paused momentarily, though not looking up to meet her eyes. She could almost feel the tension pouring out of him.

She simply smiled knowingly and turned to leave, grabbing a small brightly wrapped package out of the closet before setting off.

-----

Despite it being almost several years since everything had happened, the 5th division headquarters still had a sullen aura about it. Not a moment went by when everybody wasn't trying to do what they could to cheer the place up. And as time went on, the benevolence of new memories and experiences was wiping away the darkness.

Still, being there sent chills up the spines of many, especially a handful of those who were most affected by the events from that time.

Rangiku found herself among them. Without fail, no matter how many thousands of times she walked down that very path to that very office, she got a sinking feeling inside. Every now and then recollections from the past would flicker in her mind. A happy moment here, or laugh and joke there. With the faces and presence of people who had betrayed them.

There was also the guilt she had in feeling this way. Because no matter how many thousands of times she did go there, it didn't compare to her friend, the one who was probably hurt most, and the one who spent every day of her life in the shadow of it all.

Matsumoto knocked gently on the door once she arrived. There was no answer and she raised an eyebrow. Scurried footsteps came from around the side of the building.

"Who's there?" A familiar bald head poked around the corner. He sported a badge on his left arm. "Ah! Matsumoto."

"Ikkaku! Good afternoon. How are you?"

"I'm good, just finished lunch and brought some back." He lifted his right hand which held a bag filled with food.

"Ah, does she eat that much these days?"

"Hmm…depends, but better to have more than less…"

"Definitely. You learn quick. So I guess she's here, eh?"

"Hmm? Yeah, she didn't answer?"

"Nope."

"That's odd…" Ikkaku walked over and unlocked the door to the office. The pair of vices peeked in to the room. It looked like most of the division offices did with odds and ends scattered about, just perhaps a little more of an organized mess. At the back, the newly appointed 5th division captain was comically passed out on the desk, her soft black hair messily frayed about with the paperwork.

Matsumoto smiled devilishly as she tiptoed behind her. Ikkaku watched on nervously.

"Ah…what the hell are you up to…" he said sheepishly, unsure of what to do. All he knew is that Rangiku had "that look" and it usually meant trouble.

Of course, he was right.

The older woman leaned close to the sleeping girl, bending over and closing in on her ear.

"GOOOOOOODDD MOOOORRRNINNNNNGGG!" she shrieked.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Hinamori shot up suddenly, the back of her head making painful contact with Matsumoto's chin. Both girls yelped in pain.

"Owww… ahhh…. Wh..what's going on…" Hinamori asked teary eyed and a little disoriented. Starting out to a yell and a bang wasn't exactly on her list of enjoyable wake-up calls.

"Showwy. I wanded to wisth you Habby Birfday," Matsumoto replied, her tongue bleeding slightly and hurting severely. She handed the package over and then gingerly examined her jaw line.

"Ah…th..thank you…" Hinamori took the gift, still rubbing the back of her head and unsure whether or not to be irritated or elated.

"Woah, Hinamori! I didn't know it was your birthday?"

"Oh, it's nothing…" she replied as she slipped in an annoyed look at her friend. She glanced down at the package and began to unwrap it. "You didn't have to, Rangiku-san."

"Eh, of course. You haven't really celebrated the past few years. And it's nothing big anyway…"

"Ah! My favorite chocolate! Where did you get these?" she squeaked, opening the container excitedly. All was quickly forgiven.

"I'm not telling you, dummy. Anyway, what's the meeting today about?" Hinamori happily nibbled on a piece as she looked back up.

"Mmn, reports from Earth are showing some weird figures," she explained.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that," Ikkaku chimed in. "Hollow activity and soul burials are at an all-time low these days. Sucks, every time I've been down there, I'm bored out of my damn mind."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Matsumoto pondered out loud. Hinamori shook her head as she stood to get her things gathered up. Rangiku noted that she had been leaving her hair down since becoming captain.

Was that some weird habit of hers? Changing her hair every time she got promoted?

Interesting…

"It's a little concerning, considering how wide open Soul Society is right now," the girl continued. "And everything has to be balanced."

"Eh…you think they're planning somethin'?" Ikkaku questioned. Hinamori shrugged.

"I'm not sure…"

There was a light knock on the door and the three turned to look. Hitsugaya stood in the doorway watching them with an odd expression. To most, like Ikkaku, it was the usual hard mask he wore all the time. But for Matsumoto and Hinamori, it was quite clear that he was concealing something. Rangiku picked up on it first, noticing a small box he held in his left hand which he seemed to trying to hide, but failing, much to her amusement.

Her eyes popped open dramatically.

"OH! Ikkaku, did you hear that! I think they're calling us to the meeting!" She clumsily shoved him out towards the exit and he stumbled forward.

"Wh…what!"

"Oh, don't worry about them, they'll catch up later!"

Before much could be registered, the two were out of the office and the door slammed behind Hitsugaya, pushing him in somewhat. Hinamori stood still completely bewildered.

"I…I didn't hear anything…did you?"

Hitsugaya merely cringed, knowing Matsumoto all too well. Hinamori lost interest and began to pick up around the room. She wasn't particularly bothered by his standing there doing nothing, though it did strike her as a little odd, even for him.

She took an old vase from it's perch on the window sill and reached up to place it on top of a bookshelf, though found it difficult, even on her toes.

"Let me help you with that," he said, walking over.

"Show off," she teased. "There was a time when I--"

As he reached up to grab the vase from her grasp, his hands brushed against hers and for some reason, they both froze in place.

She was gripped by some odd nervousness, becoming extremely aware of his proximity. Not just his hands, but every point of contact, his breath on the back of her neck…

He felt that dropping feeling in his stomach, maybe it was butterflies. But even more so, he felt completely stupid and every moment they stood there in silence, the awkwardness was getting heavier and heavier.

The door slammed open then, and a loud, high pitched voice yelled in.

"Hinamori-taichou!" the girl screamed in a panic. At that moment, both captains lost their grip and the vase came crashing down to the floor. Everybody jumped and hearts managed to beat even faster. The girl's eyes widened suddenly and her face flushed in embarrassment. "Oh…. No, I'm so sorry…"

"M..Mayu-chan. It's alright, you just scared us…" Hinamori looked over to Hitsugaya, but he broke the look almost the second their eyes connected. She turned back to the girl in the door. "What's wrong?"

"It's from Yamamoto," she said, the fear from before returning. "We just got a report from Urahara."

Hitsugaya's ears perked up. "What's it say?" Mayu shook her head.

"All captains and vice captains are to report immediately. It's not good…"

They all exchanged nervous glances before quickly leaving the office, broken glass and a few moments of something unsure completely forgotten.

Chap 4 Preview: The big bad gets some power, and runs into an Allancar. A certain somebody is having dreams about her.

Closing Credits:Yes. Nobody needs to tell me I'm an H/H fanatic. I usually don't splurge on what ships I do in my fics, but yeah. I'd be lying if I tried to even pretend I wasn't doing something with those to.
And I do strongly beleive in the platonic relationship between matsu and Hitsu.

Anyway, I really enjoy the SS characters. It'll suck having to pick only a handful to be a part of this story arc. It's impossible to include them all heavily... but I'm definately going to try to give everyone at least some cameos if nothing else.
This chap came out nice and fast. I love being ahead of the game.

That should be coming in chapter 5, which is the informational one where a lot of things get explained.
As far as progress. chap 4 is done, 5 is about 1/3 done. Making good timing. This is the first fic I've ever managed past 4 chapters. XD? Own.
Anybody wanna be my beta reader? I noticed I have more and more typos these days, no matter how many times I proofread. I always find more. ;;

If you're interested, let me know.

Reviews: a whole bunch for chapter 3. 3 I figured people just wanted to see their favorite characters.

Veglma: Yes. SS IS going to have a lot of fun with this one. XD
You think I'M scary: By all means, nitpick away. Xx most of the time you guys catch what I don't, so it's always a good thing. I'll be sure to go back and edit the mistakes. Thanks for reading, and I hope you continue to like the story.
Baka Zero: Thank you:bows:
Tsubasa-sama: Hahaha, the formating on this site definately is odd. Ah well. I'm really glad I managed to keep the Kurosakis in character. It's kinda hard to keep them that way but seven years older/wiser? Wiser. yeah right. Isshin was easy, really. Karin and Yuzu are a little... more cheeky, I guess. I imagined them being so. I do want the girls to play a bigger part in this story, too. I hope I can fit them in. I already have big ideas with Karin.
Oh, the jinta thing. XD I'm not sure where I'm going with that, really. I think some sort of triangle with the twins would be interesting? I got K/J vibes from that one filler ep, but then he thought Yuzu was cute at the end of that one ep... gah, who knows. And yes. SS rocks. And yes, i did sketches... must. upload... Thanks for the review
Ariel the Tempest: Same thing, thanks! I'm glad I got Isshin, Yuzu, and Karin right. Hahaha, funny you said "balanced" when talking about Isshin. That's one word I wouldn't think of...but I guess you're right. He's both serious and insane.
As far as Ishida... he IS going to play a big part cause he's all quincy and stuff. Look out for something next chapter that I threw in for ya. XD

Thanks for the reviews, everybody. Please continue!

-Baka