Away From You

Summary: The only time she could see his growth was in a photo, for the rest of the decade that would be all she had. HitsugayaXMatsumoto

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters.

III. Photos

Hitsugaya Toshiro's body ached like hell as he got up from his bed. It had ached for a year straight! The first assumption his new lieutenant, Kiyone, made was that it was because his former lieutenant wasn't there anymore. The white-headed captain dismissed this immediately before going to Unohana-taichō for some asprin.

"Hitsugaya-taichō, this pain has been constant for a year, correct?" She asked him, months after he had first visited. Hitsugaya nodded. "Perhaps we should do some tests." The 10th division captain did not dare object and accepted. The atmosphere was tense, but at the end he saw a knowing look on the older woman's face.

Hitsugaya cleared his throat, "So what's wrong with me?"

Unohana chuckled softly. "Nothing is wrong with you, Hitsugaya-taichō. You are merely experiencing a growth spurt. Most souls that arrive have already experienced it in their previous life, but you haven't. It's also being drawn out longer since a year for a human is not equivalent to that of a soul. Take a look for yourself, you're taller than I am." Surely enough, Unohana was right. He had grown to be just slightly taller than her.

"I won't be visiting you as much now that I know the problem." Hitsugaya stated at the door.

The 4th division captain just smiled at him gently before whispering something in his ear, "Hitsugaya-taichō, be on alert. You're not a child anymore."

-x-x-x-x-x-

At the next Shinigami Women's Association meeting, the topic was which male did they want a photo book to be released. Each of the girls laid out a current photo of their male captain or close friend. Kiyone was blushing when it was her turn as she set a photo down of her white-haired captain. He wore a bored expression, his chin resting on his hand, his other lamely holding his remaining sheets of paperwork in front of him. All of the women immediately noted the 10th division captain's growth and decided to commemorate it by choosing him as their target.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Hinamori stood outside the office of her childhood friend with a camera at the ready. She had concealed her spiritual presence and watched intently as Toshiro slowly drank his tea in a sophisticated manor. He seemed bored however, and lonely. His expression was passive; even when he finished his paperwork, his expression did not change. Now she only stood with the original photo she took when she first arrived.

Then when she was about to give up, Toshiro stood up slowly and took a book from his collection and sat down on the couch. He flipped open to a random page and wore a faint smile. Hinamori got a quick shot before zooming it for a close up. His ghost of a smile faded though as he closed the book, heaving a large sigh as he placed it on his shelf.

Kiyone took over the next day and got a multitude of photos. There were even a few taken after Hitsugaya had taken a shower.

When the photo book was made, Matsumoto Rangiku-taichō was shocked to see her old captain on the cover. The picture was of him with a faint smile she rarely saw, his eyes glazed but shining with a hopeful light, his hair perfectly snow white. As she continued to flip through the book, it was obvious of his growth. Everyone could see it in the photos of his everyday life. She couldn't see him, but this was proof enough.

One photo showed him in the battlefield against a multitude of hollows, his arm held out in a direction and in the background several shinigami followed the direction. He strictly led his unit with a fierce and serious look in his eyes. Even without Hyorinmaru, the captain let off a strong aura and leadership.

Another photo was of him in only the pants of his black hakama and his chest still wet from the bath. He let out an extremely sexy expression with his head cocked back against his aquamarine towel that matched his eyes. His white hair drooped slightly against his face, something she had never seen before.

Matsumoto continued to flip through the various photos until she stopped at the very last one. He was napping on the couch peacefully; in the same spot that was reserved for her while her taichō was completing the paperwork before. He wore a soft smile and although his eyes were closed the atmosphere felt light as if he were dreaming. Something caught her eye in the photo though; a picture was grasped in his hand. In the photo the white-haired captain still had the appearance of a boy while a busty, young woman with strawberry blonde hair wrapped her arms around him. He seemed tired as if it was useless to get the woman off of him. The woman had a bright smile on her face that the boy wouldn't resist the hug at all.

She too had a copy of that photo. It was one of their more memorable days when they both had the day off and her taichō had given in to her. Matsumoto began to dig in her office for that single photo. When she finally found it, she framed it carefully and placed it on her desk next to the photo of Hitsugaya Toshiro. Her office looked like a tornado occurred but as she fell asleep, she had the best dreams she ever had.

-x-x-x-x-x-

That same day, the white-haired captain had also requested his childhood friend to take a photo of her captain. When she returned with the developed photo, Hinamori really wished she had a camera right then. Hitsugaya was smiling gently at the sight of the picture. Her captain had been sleeping on her desk, the finished paperwork in a neat style next to her, two photos standing in front of her sleeping body. The sight of those two photos gave him a sense of joy that would last him for the decade.

Three out of six! Ahaha I'm getting back into Bleach but I'm like totally out of ideas on Naruto. Sorry!