It was late in the evening when Matsumoto finally managed to finish the first stack of paperwork. She was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes opened so the only thing she wished with all her heart was to get to her apartment and plop into the oh-so-cozy bed... She was already looking forward to do that when she walked out of her office, closed the door and pulled her keys to lock it. In her free hand she was holding some paperwork. Not that she expected to actually do it, but still…

She sighed. Her new taicho was nowhere to be seen. As much as she managed to find out with short calls during her also very short breaks and the lunch break, Kenji was a very skilled shinigami with excellent grades and one of the shinigami academy's favorites. So… well, it was going to be pretty hard to get rid of him.,.

Matsumoto frowned. Where was that guy? How could he be out all day long? Was he at work or what?

…Then again… While working for Hitsugaya, that was exactly what Rangiku did when she didn't feel like working…

Sighing once again, Matsumoto squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get rid of the thought of her former captain, then put the keys in her pocket and turned around, only to jump startled. In front of her, just centimeters away, stood Kenji. She had no idea when he had appeared, she had probably been too lost in her thoughts, but she surely didn't like it when people sneaked behind her back and as soon as she realized the distance between them, hurried to pull back. The next thing Matsumoto noticed was the way his breath smelled – it was a painfully familiar smell - he reeked of sake.

'Barbie.' He greeted without much interest 'Done with the paperwork?'

Matsumoto raised an eyebrow, then let out a short dry laugh.

'Hardly.' She answered with flat tone.

'Done by tomorrow afternoon. Got it?' he demanded, before slowly walking past her. Matsumoto followed him with her eyes, then, when he disappeared, shook her head and once more headed for her apartment.

'It could be done if you helped me…' she murmured 'Otherwise I don't see how I'm going to make it…'

It wasn't a big surprise when the next day happened to begin almost the same way as the one before. Matsumoto once more found herself facing the three enormous terrifying stacks of paperwork. Every tiny hope of getting some help shuddered the moment her taicho announced he was going on a meeting and that after it he wasn't going to be back soon. She followed him with enraged eyes as he disappeared behind the door and pulled the first piece of paper from the top of the stack, slamming it on the desk in front of her with unneeded malice. How was she supposed to do all this in such a short time? How was she going to make it for the festival? She had been waiting for it with such eagerness and now the stupid paperwork was going to take it away from her. That was so unfair…

Damn it!

Biting the top of the brush, she decided to try her best to finish everything and if it didn't work (which was the most possible option)… well, then she was just going to leave for the festival. She nodded to herself confidently. Yup, that was exactly what she was about to do. After all, she had life and rights and her so-called captain had to deal with it, whether he liked it or not.

Proud with her decision, Rangiku smiled to herself and started to work.

At the end of the day, with much effort she managed to finish a stack and a half. Which was a record in her opinion. Thanks to that record now her head was aching like hell, she was exhausted and she couldn't concentrate on anything anymore. She was like a pressed out fruit. There was no more strength for working in her anymore.

Matsumoto sighed, gathering the paper, scattered all over the desk and arranged it in tidy stacks so it was obvious what was done and what not. Then she stood up and prepared to leave. She couldn't wait to get out of the stuffy office and finally get some rest. She was sure that after fifteen minutes with Ikkaku, Hisagi and Kira, she would feel much better – they were most definitely going to cheer her up. And one more thing – she was hoping to see Hitsugaya on the festival. Talk to him, maybe… though… She felt her heart sink when she remembered their last conversation. He didn't trust her, he wanted to forget everything that had happened between them… then why was she even trying? Wasn't she chasing a dream? Trying to fix a broken vase and imagine there were no cracks?

She sighed, then headed to the door, lost in thoughts. If there was any solution to her problem it was definitely somewhere outside this office… away from the horrors of the paperwork… away from the horrors of having an insane man for a capt-…

'Hello, Barbie.'

Matsumoto sighed, stopping in front of her taicho, who had just entered the office and was now staring at her with his cold black eyes. She simply stared back with equal coldness, hoping he would just move aside and let her pass. When he didn't, she rolled her eyes and tried to squeeze in, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back inside.

'What do you think you're doing?' Kenji asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

'Leaving.' She snorted, trying to pull away. He glanced at the stacks on her desk and frowned.

'You're not done.' He noticed, his grip on her arm tightening. Matsumoto let out a small cry as the hold became painful and glared at him.

'Let. Me. Go!' she hissed. He just looked down at her coldly and smirked.

'I will, Barbie, but let's clear things out: you have to finish your job.'

'I can't finish it, because it's insanely much... Dammit, let me go! You're…' she stopped and bit her lower lip, trying to hold back another cry. God, that guy was nuts! And his grip was totally iron. Now she was sure there was going to be a large bruise on her arm tomorrow.

'I'm what?' the captain asked, raising an amused eyebrow 'Hurting you? Are you a lieutenant or what?'

She didn't answer, just made another pathetic attempt to get away. Kenji let out an annoyed sigh and pulled her towards her desk, where he made her sit down on the chair and just then released her hand.

'Look, Barbie' he begun, staring down at the young woman who was now glaring at him with the best glare she could master while rubbing her aching arm 'You'll do this paperwork. If you don't by tomorrow morning, I'll fire you. I have enough reasons from your former offences to do so. If you want to keep your job, I strongly advise you to get back to work.'

Matsumoto's glare turned into an indignant and rather vulnerable look as her eyes shifted from Kenji to the stacks, then to the door. Was she ready to lose her job? Not to be a lieutenant anymore? Just an ordinary person with some skills? A failed shinigami?

She shook her head and looked down. No, she wasn't... she loved her job. She couldn't do anything else and besides... all her friends were here... she couldn't lose all that.

...But he was right. He had enough reasons for firing her. Hitsugaya had always had them too. That was the truth. The only reason why she was still a vice-captain of the tenth division was his kindness. And now that he was gone, she had to work hard to keep her job… and she was going to do it. Even if it meant staying up late to deal with boring and yet exhausting paperwork.

Seeing the way her expression softened, Kenji realized she had given up and nodded.

'Good choice.' with that he turned around and made his way towards the door.

Some time later at the festival…

'Come on, taicho, smiiiiile!' Momo pleaded, looking at Hitsugaya with glistering eyes 'The festival is sooo much fun, why are you sad?'

'I'm not sad.' Toushiro lied, making a pathetic attempt to really smile at his cheerful new fukutaicho. She didn't get fooled though and put her hands on her hips, pouting.

'You're not really smiling.' She noticed. Hitsugaya sighed, looking away.

'I'm sorry, Momo, it's just that…' he stopped, closing his eyes for a moment, as if that incomplete sentence had actually tired him, then after awhile added '…The last couple of days had been kind of hard for me.'

Hinamori stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly her face lit up and she snapped her fingers.

'I know! I'll go get us some cotton candy!' she chirped and before Hitsugaya had time to stop her, she was gone. He sighed once again, looking at her bun disappearing in the crowd, then his attention was once more drawn to the festival. The truth was that he was an idiot not to have fun. It was a great festival: very colorful and the music was wonderful. But…

…he couldn't stop thinking what would it be like to be here with Matsumoto, instead of Hinamori…

NO, stop thinking about her! He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head fiercely. Not that this could actually work, but still…

When he once again opened his eyes, he spotted a group of shinigami nearby, who were drinking sake and chatting. Hisagi, Ikkaku and Kira.

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. Why wasn't Matsumoto with those three? Weren't they her little group for binges? Was she somewhere alone? Or… was she with someone else?

Hitsugaya felt his heart miss a beat at the last thought. Could she possibly be on the festival with another guy… That soon?

Then again, there hadn't been anything between them really... It had been just… an act. A stupid game.

Still… he had to know.

Before actually realizing what he was doing, he had already walked to the trio and had, of course, captured their attention with an ease.

'Where's Matsumoto?' Hitsugaya asked bluntly, getting a rather puzzled looks from the three. They stood silent for awhile, just staring stupidly at the boy, each one of them musing over the fact why exactly he was here. The young prodigy didn't make any effort to get them out of their trance, he didn't repeat his question, nor did he move from his spot. He just stood there and waited patiently with his arms corssed in front of his chest.

Then Ikkaku finally managed to comprehend the question and answered:

'She's not with us.'

Toushiro rolled his eyes.

'I can see that. Where is she?' he asked, raising an eyebrow at the bald guy who was looking more and more confused.

'Well, she's ummm… At the office. Yeah, that was it. She's at the office. Working.'

'Working?' Hitsugaya repeated, not looking very assured 'Are you mocking me?'

'What? NO!' Ikkaku hurried to shake his head 'I'm serious. She called and said she wasn't going to make it… She said her captain had made her do… eeeerrrrrrr… oh, yeah, a stack and a half paperwork.'

'A stack and a… are you positive?' Hitsugaya stared at Ikkaku in disbelieve. The latter shrugged and took a sip from his sake.

'She said Kenji-taicho had told her if she couldn't make it, she was fired.' He explained.

Hitsugaya looked away thoughtfully and for a couple of seconds didn't say anything. Then nodded and turned around ready to leave.

'If you see Momo, tell her I won't be back.' He said and with that shunpoed away leaving a group of confused male shinigami to stare at the empty spot where he had been standing just a second ago.

Ok, I'm soooooooo sorry for updating that late. But the holidays and stuff... I couldn't. Forgive me! TT

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