Misunderstanding
Rangiku skipped on her steps while humming merrily, a little celebration she often did for successfully evading the nightmarish mountain of paperwork upon her desk. Of course, she would get an earful from her beloved captain but when was she not? Besides, mere additional paperwork wouldn't be able to kill Hitsugaya Toshiro that easily–well, it definitely killed his patience bit by bit but that's another case.
It wasn't a cosmic news that captain of the 10th Squad cooped up in his office to finish his entire paperwork in designated time by his standard–he practically does that all the time if there's no crucial mission or order from Captain Yamamoto to fulfilled.
As much as Rangiku loved the captain, she despised the work with her entire being. Just sitting down and reading series of over-formal, monotone words until your eyes blurry is infuriating–Rangiku didn't have dedication nor patience to get complete it. Moreover, it's the source for her hands' stiff joins from gripping the brush and keep that position until the last sheet.
And since today was a great day, vast and cloudless azure sky along with warm sunlight, it would be a disappointment to waste it by staying still on her office chair. A walk around the barracks or Seireitei became a perfect choice to do.
Turning by the corner of the alleyway, her grey eyes spotted the extremely familiar soft purple color. Head perked up in excitement, her hand was already in the air to greet her third seat cheerfully–only to halt the intention abruptly as she noticed the man engaging conversation with her.
Question rose in her mind–what was captain of 13th Squad doing with the third seat of 10th Squad?
Not wanting to be noticed, Rangiku was quick on her feet–pressing her back onto the walls in order to be out of sight. Curiosity high on its peak, she sharpened her ears to collect whatever info there was.
"…a seat in 13th Squad is always ready for you." Ukitake Jushiro talked in a light tone–a plain disappointment because Rangiku couldn't hear the previous sentence of those words.
"It's an honor, Ukitake-san." Hiiragizawa replied with the same tone–she could almost hear her smile, and somehow an unsettling feeling stirred up in her chest.
"Then, I'll see you around, Rieru-chan."
"Of course, please have a safe trip back."
The captain of 13th Squad ended his mysterious conversation with Rieru–Rangiku's ears caught faint crunch of the ground, noticing how the older man walked away in another direction. And Rieru, being the ever-respectful girl who held the captains in high regards, waited until he was out of sight–Rangiku confirmed this as she peeked a little, shoulder sagged in slight relief knowing she wasn't caught red-handed for intentional eavesdropping.
However, her relief didn't last long.
"Seat offer…?" Rangiku muttered underneath her breath.
A seat in 13th Squad always available for her? Offers aren't an uncommon thing between squads or fresh graduates of Shin'o Academy–which made a great deal of realization for Rangiku. All individuals are free to join the squad they're interested in, changing squads could also be done in certain circumstances.
Officers didn't have to serve in their designated squad for their entire life, transfer from a squad to another in order to gain more experience is something customary–officers come and go many times because sometimes it led to promotion into a higher seat.
She did hear Hiiragizawa agreed to the offer which only meant one thing apparent–she intended to transfer from the 10th Squad to the 13th. Rangiku felt her heart palpitated with the conclusion along with her head playing series of upcoming scenario–a shared office devoid of the teal-haired girl, no morning greetings, no playful banter being shared.
Half of her mind screamed at her to be rational because it's not a big deal–countless officers dropped by in their office just to hand over a sort-of request to transfer to their new squad and both her and Toshiro had no problem in accepting them each time. This condition she had was an attachment, it was unprofessional but couldn't be helped since she has feelings–letting the third seat go without a doubt would put quite a hole in her heart.
Rangiku shook her head–she could worry about this later, but there's a thing she must to at the moment.
I have to tell captain about this!
.
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Toshiro felt a growing dull throb in his head, meaning he had to take a break somehow. However, the growing mountain of work stacking before him preventing such act–that and the fact that Rangiku pushed yet another spare of her work to him made the pile even more monstrous. Her irresponsibility chipped Toshiro's patience slow but steady.
The white-haired captain sighed in order to suppressed his growing annoyance. Another additional pile would be added later by Rieru after she finished delivering the ones he completed to their designated destination. While he could count on Rangiku in battles and strategies, he could rely on Rieru in anything regarding office works.
And unlike Rangiku, she wouldn't abandon her work and tried to get everything done–if she had hers finished, she would bring his stack to her desk and helped him decreased the amount.
After signing up another document and reached for the next one, the office door slid open abruptly maybe to the point it's almost out of its rails from the force. Toshiro sighed harshly, knowing only one person in the entire barracks could do such thing.
"CAPTAIN!" There's a chance Rangiku's screech could be heard throughout the barracks and the intensity seemed to be the main key for Toshiro's patience being thrown out of the window.
A vein popped on Toshiro's forehead as he gritted out, "I don't have time for your nonsense, Matsumoto-"
"Bad news, captain!" Hands on his shoulders in a vice grip, Rangiku practically didn't hold back and yelled right on his face.
Normally, he would just push her face away seeing as it counts as normal occurrence involving the blonde. But, Toshiro halted his intentions this time–the clear worry shone from her eyes wasn't something he could call fake. A serious matter he needed to take in an account.
"…What is it?" He finally said after a few seconds, frown apparent on his face replacing his usual scowl.
"Rieru-chan's going to transfer to another squad!" The woman replied, shaking his shoulders a bit–the tone on her voice changed drastically into an urgent one. "She's accepting Captain Ukitake's offer for a seat!"
Toshiro is used to hear and accepting shocking or extreme news from every corner of Soul Society, and this one wasn't even supposed to reach that category yet he found his mind went blank for a while.
There was radio silence and static white before he finally got a grip on himself.
Rangiku still staring at him in worry–either from his unexpected silence or understanding the fact that this matter was nowhere near resolving. His position as a captain only granted him authority to dismiss his lieutenants, not restraining them to keep holding on to their current position.
The corner of his lip curved downwards as he ordered in a stern tone. "Explain everything."
Rangiku pulled away her hands and stood straight. "When I took a walk around the barracks, I saw Captain Ukitake talked to Rieru-chan. So, I hid behind a wall-"
The corner of Toshiro's eye twitched. "You were eavesdropping-"
"Save that for later, captain," Rangiku cut him off sternly and Toshiro had conflicted feelings on whether if he should do as she said or reprimanding her for the nth time. In the end, he chose the prior–letting the blonde continued her explanation seeing as he needed information. "Rieru-chan said thank you to a seat offer! Something about 'a seat always open for you in the 13th squad'! She's going to transfer, captain! What should we do!?"
The white-haired captain sighed, forefinger and thumb massaging the bridge of his nose. "We shouldn't do anything, Matsumoto."
"But Rieru-chan's going to transfer at this rate! She'll leave us!" Rangiku argued, quite insistent at that.
"We have no right to hold her back in 10th Squad and you know that." Even though she's some sort of an airhead, Toshiro knows well how Rangiku is far from not knowing how squad works. And both of them had a complete understanding about officer transfer–it happened to every squad with no exception and the decision came from the officer themselves.
For once, Rangiku didn't retort back–if Toshiro put himself in her stead, he would do the same. There's no way out of this matter–that and it's mostly biased as their personal feelings included. Toshiro found it extremely unprofessional, but he has a heart–if he somehow discussed this with someone like Captain Kyoraku, the older man would console him and mentioned it as something natural.
The air in the office became tense just in a matter of seconds, something that almost never happened.
"…So, we should just let her go…?" It was rare seeing Rangiku looked so dejected and it made Toshiro's chest twisted–Rieru is a good co-worker and a treasured friend, even though they could just hangout whenever if the teal-haired girl really changed squad it wouldn't be the same.
That applied to Toshiro as well–it became a sort of fever dream to imagine mornings without her greeting him, her sitting not far from his desk finishing her own share of documents, her brewing him tea whenever he's getting close to fatigue and need something to relax.
"…I'll talk to her," He decided in the end. Rangiku's head perked up and when she tried to say something, Toshiro already went for a head start. "I'm going to ask the reason for her decision, only that. Because this isn't like her. Don't get your hopes up, Matsumoto."
True, Rieru rarely settled on an important decision regarding work without telling him–she frequently asked for his input rather than having one-sided conclusion. Her never mentioned anything about squad transfer or even hinting it was peculiar for Toshiro.
Rather than looking disappointed, Rangiku's looking more cheerful than before–the gloomy cloud above her vanished, maybe because of a slight chance Rieru's not going to leave she's clinging onto. At least it's not fully zero percent.
"Make sure you talk to her thoroughly, captain," The blonde pressed. "And my advice is, try to be subtle about it. It works best."
"I'll keep that in mind. And," Toshiro pointed at the growing pile of paperwork upon his desk, his scowl back on full force. "Do your work, would you!?"
.
.
In the end, Toshiro's attempt on making Rangiku did her work instead of pushing it all to him became a marvelous failure like his previous ones. At one mention of summaries of mission and documents to sign in a certain range of time, his lieutenant is gone with the wind–leaving the captain with a growing headache and limited patience.
And learning from years of experience made Toshiro managed to quell down his annoyance by dismissed it–choosing to focus on his work immediately to forget. Still, it this time he managed to forget quicker as there's another urgent matter at hand, which took most of his mind.
A sudden decision of transfer came from his third seat without any prior notice to him–Toshiro never thought this type of situation would happen. He had his reasons, of course. Hiiragizawa Rieru experienced transfers a few years back–10th Squad isn't the first squad she applied in. After she graduated from Shin'o Academy, she worked as an officer at 2nd Squad under Shui-Feng's leadership–at that time, she was a mere officer with no title.
Staying for a few years, she then transferred to the 6th Squad for a while–a sort of unexpected choice coming from her. Soon, she once again changed squad to the 4th–Unohana welcomed her with open-arms and from her previous work-experience, managed to earn the title of Ninth Seat.
And finally, she applied for the 10th Squad–where she got the highest promotion as the Third Seat in just a short time. Also, the 10th Squad owned almost a big chunk of her work years–significantly longer by default than her previous squads. What made the difference, then? She could've just hand over her transfer ages ago, then why would she do it now of all time?
Unsatisfactory of her work? It made realization dawned on the white-haired captain, teal eyes widened slightly. True, Toshiro always leave her to attend more office matters than missions–appointing her as a stationary head when he went to the World of Living along with Rangiku. Was that it? Was it because of his decision that led her to always stay behind in Soul Society?
"Excuse me," And speak of the devil, the main character for these circumstances they're in finally arrived. Rieru slid the office door open after her muffled initial greeting. As always, she approached his desk first before returning to her own. "The documents and brief mission paperwork are already delivered to the designated squad just as you requested, captain."
Toshiro put down the paper in his hand to face her. "Thank you, Hiiragizawa."
She gave him a smile which was contagious because he found himself slightly smiling in return. "My pleasure, Captain Hitsugaya."
Rieru is a direct contrast with Rangiku in terms of personality and her attitude towards him. Rangiku is an easy-going and free-spirited soul who acts casual around him, on the other hand, Rieru is a friendly, gentle, and warm soul who's over-polite when facing Toshiro. Still, the two get along well and became close friends quickly–which made her unfazed knowing Rangiku once again dumping all of her work onto him.
"Let me help you with the paperwork." The teal-haired girl took a tall pile from his desk and brought it to her own desk, her white scarf flowed following her movement–a routine she never missed.
Toshiro watched as she pulled her chair and sat down, hand reaching out for the first sheet from the pile. She was quick to be immersed with her work and Toshiro should do the same–although restlessness began gnawing at his being.
He didn't know how to bring the matter up.
The air was tense around him and it grew thicker every time he took a brief glance towards his third seat, who's either unaware from her ultimate concentration or noticing but prevented herself from asking.
"Is something bothering you?"
His mouth ran on its own and the wordings made him winced internally–a poor attempt he blew up.
When Rieru directed her gaze towards him, Toshiro's shoulder froze but he managed to regain his composure a second later. She blinked in confusion–probably not expecting him to start a conversation with a rather peculiar question. "Nothing particularly, sir."
An awkward silence occured–in Toshiro's side to be exact because Rieru held her gaze at him, waiting for him to continue.
"…I-is someone bothering you?" Great, he only changed the subject rather than asking a whole different, more specific question.
Rieru's shoulders loosened for a little but Toshiro didn't miss it–something which made his shoulder taut. She averted her gaze to the on-going paperwork in hand before answering. "No, I guess."
Swallowing heavily, the grip he had on his brush tightened significantly. So that's it, someone or some people was bothering her until she considered changing squad. Someone or some mindless people had the absolute nerve to upset his third seat to the brink she thought resigning was the best option.
Sure, a squad captain couldn't meddle with officers from another squad, but the rules didn't mention anything about confronting the said squad captain about their officers' impolite borderline problematic behavior. There's only a thing he required for such act.
"I need names, Hiiragizawa." His stern tone sounded more like an order but Toshiro didn't have time to care.
"Wait! It's true, sir!" Snapping her head to face him, she waved her hand frantically–either flustered being caught red-handed that she had a problem or purely denying the presumption of people bothering her. "I can assure you that nobody is bothering me! Besides, the third seat title is already a good threat on its own."
She did have a point–although easy to approach by his officers, both Toshiro and Rangiku have strict qualifications of assigning seats to a certain Soul Reaper. The smaller the number, the higher responsibilities are and Toshiro needed someone who could shoulder the burden but still be able to stand tall. So far, Rieru met those standards which was why she was promoted.
Sighing in frustration, the captain ruffled his hair–earning a confused stare from the said third seat. Toshiro wasn't a fan of beating around the bush and an utter failure at being subtle, so he decided what he'd do best.
"We need to talk." Yes, by being straightforward.
Rieru blinked before nodding slowly, still looking confused rather than anything. "Understood. Should we finish the work beforehand?"
"Yeah." Toshiro agreed–this paperwork wasn't going to magically be done and some of them were supposed to be submitted today.
The conversation was over instantly as the two returning to their task at hand, fully focusing in order to finish it as soon as possible. No more words being exchanged, just occasional rustling of paper. While Toshiro wanted to get clearance as quick as possible, then Rieru wished to get over with whatever they need to discuss.
Stretching hours later, finally, finally Toshiro could put down his brush. Now, the mountains of paper existing on his desk were only the finished ones that needed to be delivered and he could do that later. His back fell against the chair behind him in a quiet thump as he sighed in relief.
Not long after, Rieru also finished and stretched her arms over her head to get rid of the stiffness in her limbs. Then she pushed her chair back and rose from her seat. "Would you like some tea, sir?"
"Sure." Toshiro replied, eyes shut closed–basking the sweet feeling of freedom from his work for a moment.
His third seat approached the refreshment table in the corner without further ado and he decided to move–sitting on the sofa instead of staying on his office chair. Soon, soft scent of jasmine and tea filled the room–something considered new.
"…It smells good." Toshiro commented the moment Rieru already brought a tray of kettle, his tea cup, and some sweets he didn't recognize–especially when it had quite modern packaging.
"Orihime gave me some tea and sweets from the World of Living as souvenirs." She put the tray on the coffee table, kneeling down to place the ceramic cup in front of him and poured down the steaming liquid. "It would be a waste to not use it."
Toshiro savored the warm drink and its fragrance for a few seconds. Rieru poured a cup for herself and moved to sit down on the sofa opposite of him. After a few sips, the captain placed the cup down–the scent and lighter atmosphere gave him a boost of courage.
"I heard you're planning to transfer to the 13th Squad." He remarked, stared straight at her. "I'm not going to tell you not to, but I would like to hear the reason for this sudden decision-"
"Pardon my rudeness, sir," It was one of the rare times Rieru cut him off abruptly and Toshiro automatically held his tongue. To be honest, he was expecting her to shy away from his gaze knowing she would no longer be his third seat and he confronted her about it. What he earned instead was a perplexed look mixed with absurdity as if he had grown another head. "Where did you get such idea from? I didn't have any intention regarding that matter."
Another awkward silence draped over because Toshiro was too taken aback by her strong reply. He needed a few seconds before getting a grip on himself.
"Wait, so you don't want to transfer?" Toshiro helpfully repeated.
Rieru tilted her head and answered without hesitation. "I never planned to."
She never planned to–the captain highlighted. The more he repeated the answer in his head, the more feelings mixed and rendered him loss for words. However, one thing came up as a conclusion.
"May I ask what brought this matter up?" Rieru finally asked, and Toshiro sighed harshly because of his thoughts–feeling like an absolute moron for forgetting the crucial part.
"Matsumoto heard you accepted Captain Ukitake's offer." The white-haired captain grumbled, arms folding upon his chest and the corner of his eye twitched in annoyance–both at himself and his lieutenant. "By heard, I mean eavesdropping."
A snicker bloomed on Rieru's face, Toshiro noticed the apparent amusement on it. "Ah, so, she jumped into conclusions?"
Rangiku only heard the small part of it, not the full version one–and her mind went on frenzy instantly, leading her to this circumstance full of doubt. Toshiro couldn't help another sighed escaped him–all of this fuss for something that would never happen.
"Captain Ukitake did make some personal offer, but I rejected all of them," Rieru rose from her seat and approached his. Kneeling down, she reached out for the kettle, filling Toshiro's declining cup content. She looked up and threw him a smile. "I would like to stay by your side a little longer, Captain Hitsugaya. If you had me, that is. Unless, you changed your mind-"
"I said nothing, Hiiragizawa." Toshiro deadpanned, cutting her off. Heat creeping up on his cheeks slow but steady–his third seat with her bold choosing for words were always overboard. She's probably the only one who made such straightforward declaration and still managed to sent heat crawling up to his neck.
Toshiro looked away, not wanting her to caught pink dusting his cheeks–even without looking, he could sense her being absolutely amused by his reaction.
"You're not going to transfer!?" The door slid open with a bam and Rangiku's voice echoed through from the sheer volume. Toshiro himself immediately got over his initial fluster as the corner of his eye twitched.
"Who said I am, Rangiku?" Rieru replied, watching as the busty-woman rounded the sofa in a hurry with a grin. "You're just making an assumption."
Rangiku's grey eyes went glossy and she let out fake sniffles, proceeding to throw herself onto the third seat–sending the two of them sprawling on the floor. "Rie-channn!"
Usually, Toshiro scolded her for smothering and threatened to suffocated someone with her chest, however this time he decided not to and enjoyed his drink. Although, he couldn't help but also feeling his chest a lot lighter than before–a burden just being lifted and vanished.
A quite eventful then but it smoothly being resolved in the end.