The sound of broken glass filled the cold air as Matsumoto casually stepped back from the window. She looked at the large hole in the middle and slightly tilted her head to a side, wondering whether she could get through without cutting herself on the small sharp pieces that were left on the frame. She bit her lower lip thoughtfully and started tapping the tip of her sheathed sword on her shoulder.

Even though she was completely aware of how unhappy Hitsugaya was going to be about the broken window, she also knew that this was the only way inside his apartment at that moment. The front door was permanently stuck and no pushing, pulling, kicking or punching was going to open it. Sadly, Toushiro was nothing less than a pro when it came to freezing things.

Oh, well… And here we go…

The moment Matsumoto got inside the apartment, her teeth begun to chatter and she instinctively braced herself in pathetic attempt to warm her body. It was so cold she felt one hell of a difficult breathing normally. Letting out a low snort, she reached to the next cheerful conclusion: there was no light in the room, aside from the one that came from the improvised entrance of a broken window she had just created. From what she could see, everything :the floor, the walls, the ceiling and the furniture, was covered with ice and hoar-frost. Wooden pieces of broken tables and chairs lied still and whiten from the releases of Hitsugaya's reiatsu in her legs. She could see small hollows in the walls where objects had been crushed in what seemed to be terrible anger outburst and all that simply made her heart sink. From what she knew about Toushiro, he wasn't one to destroy carefully arranged household goods. She couldn't even imagine him doing so. It was surrealistic, creepy, horrifying. And it could only mean one thing – he was broken himself.

She made a few careful steps inside, looking around with growing horror in her widened blue eyes. She could feel the steadfast leaking of reiatsu and it was starting to really frighten her. This place… it was like a friggin…

…plain of ice.

She shuddered. God, her whole being told her to turn around and run. This place was dead. This place was empty, sinking into darkness, pain and despair. She felt as if it was going to draw her in, engulf her whole. She felt as if she was in some sort of wicked nightmare and she couldn't wake up…

…But…

... Even though…

Rangiku couldn't leave. Not until she found Hitsugaya. Not until she spoke to him and cleared things out. She hadn't broken that window for nothing, now had she?

Matsumoto walked towards the slightly ajared door in front of her and with somewhat difficulty because of the ice and hoar-frost that was covering everything managed to push it enough to get through. At that point she found herself in a dark empty corridor, looking just as creepy as the room she had just left. She frowned slightly and breathed out on her stark fingers to warm them as much as that was possible, while wondering what to do next. Did she have to call him? Or just silently continue sneaking around like a thief? Either option didn't sound very good for her health.

As she made a step or two forward, she suddenly felt the still air behind her back move. In what seemed to be less than a second, she felt something hit the back of her knees, before landing on the hard ice-covered floor. The strange sound of a sword, being unsheathed rang through the painfully silent corridor and before she knew it, Matsumoto had also unsheathed Haineko, quickly lifting it before her to block the blade that a pale white hand aimed at her neck.

'What are you doing here?' Hitsugaya's voice asked and she felt the tiny whiff of a warm breath grazing the shell of her ear. Matsumoto tried to push Hyourinmaru away, as it was quite uncomfortable the way the blade was only separated from her skin by her own zanpakuto, but ended up with no success. His grip was firm and unyielding.

'I just want to talk…' she answered shifting uncomfortably. A low growl sounded behind her back.

'It's too late for talking.' He answered softly, the words sounded as if they escaped the lips of an exhausted person, that didn't want to live any longer, who just wished to fade away like a shade and sink into blissful Lithe. Cold slender white fingers tightened around the hilt of the dragon sword in what seemed to be some sort of a pitiful attempt to release the pain and anger that was burning inside of him and behind her back, he squeezed his eyes shut.

'Don't say that. If you just…'

'Matsumoto, don't start this again…'

'Oh, for God's sake! Listen to me!'

'…No.'

'No?'

'Please, Matsumoto, I don't want to hear it… I don't want to; not anymore.' and with an almost imperceptible sigh he loosened the pressure on Heineko 'Just… leave…'

Matsumoto's expression hardened and she pushed Hyourinmaru away, getting on her feet and turning around to face the young captain, her zanpakuto pointed directly at him. Before her stood the slim and what seemed to be slightly slumped form of Hitsugaya Toushiro, wearing thin white shirt, white trousers and barefooted on the ice-covered floor. With those clothes, way too unwarming for the temperature in the apartment he resembled a little wandering ghost with big aqua eyes, glued on the tip of Rangiku's weapon.

'No.' she replied firmly 'I won't go until you hear me out!'

He was silent for a moment, then, when he finally spoke, his voice was low and dead serious, colder than any ice and frost his powers could create.

'I'm warning you' he begun, eyes still locked on Heineko 'Leave, lieutenant.'

Matsumoto's frown only deepened.

'No. You're going to listen to me first!' she retorted, not even a trace of hesitation in her words.

Hitsugaya slowly lifted his gaze from the sword to look her in the eye. Teal met ocean blue for a second or so, before he vanished and reappeared behind her back.

'Then I guess I'll just have to chase you out of my apartment.' He said softly and just as she turned around, he slashed Hyourinmaru at her feet, making her instinctively jump backwards. She gave him a very puzzled look, not really expecting such a reaction from him, and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when he charged at her, zanpakutos clashing and at the same time his strength making her slip towards the door she had just come from.

'Damn it, Hitsugaya, why do you have to be so fucking stubborn?' she hissed as she pushed him away from her. She knew well enough that he was holding back from the very start, from the very first time he actually appeared behind her and brought his sword to her neck. If he hadn't, she would've been already outside, through a big Matsumoto-shaped hole in the wall. Every each one of the blows he aimed at her were very carefully sized up so that she could get away in time, but still be forced to slowly step back. Matsumoto wasn't stupid. She understood what he was striving for and it irritated her beyond believable.

'Well, if you think very seriously about it, you'll realize that it is you who won't leave me be!' he snapped back, aiming at her feet once again. Jumping back, Rangiku glared at him as she realized the edge of the ajared door was already against her back.

'You want to be alone so badly?' she growled, slipping through the ajared door and into the room with the broken window to dodge a slash that was aimed precisely at her head.

'Well, as a matter of fact, I had to learn the hard way that sometimes solitude is a lot healthier for you than being with someone else!' Hitsugaya hissed, coming after her. Matsumoto let out a low growl as she eyed Hyourinmaru and lifted her own zanpakuto in a defense stance.

'And what are you planning to do? Stay here in your ice barricade for the rest of your life?' she asked, raising an eyebrow. He made a step or two towards her, the light from the window allowing her to see him more clearly. And the sight wasn't exactly the happiest to witness. The truth was that he looked like there was no blood running through his veins. Snowy-pale hair and skin, thin deadly-white lips, limpid eyes looking bigger than usual, bare feet on the ice floor showing no signs of discomfort. He just looked like…

…his body was made of the very same element he controlled. He looked so... unreal, so unhuman...

'No…' Hitsugaya replied softly, eyes lowering 'Just a day or two more. Then… I'll leave work.'

The last statement made Matsumoto's heart skip a beat and her eyes widen.

'What…?' she asked, her hands loosening their grip on the hilt of Haineko as she stared with growing horror at Hitsugaya's pale face. He wasn't looking at her, and it made it even harder to take in the realization.

'I just…' he begun, but the words never came out. Instead, a soft sigh escaped his lips and he shook his head slightly.

'B-but… where are you going to go?'

'I don't know. Maybe… maybe to the real world… maybe… Well, it doesn't really matter, does it?!' at that point he finally looked up, teal orbs now filled with a mix of anger and pain, his chest raising and falling rapidly 'I can't stay here. I can't deal with this anymore! It's too hard!'

'So you're just going to give up!' Matsumoto shouted, anger rising in her voice as well. Hitsugaya's frown deepened.

'Well, it's not like I have anything to fight for! IT'S NOT LIKE I HAVE ANYTHING TO KEEP ME HERE!' he yelled.

'Maybe there is! MAYBE THERE IS, BUT YOU'RE TOO DAMN STUBBORN TO TRY AND SEE IT!' she yelled back 'LIKE A STUPID CHILD THAT DOESN'T EVEN WANT TO HEAR WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY AND JUST INSISTS ON WHAT HE HAS IN MIND!'

There was silence after that, cold, empty silence, broken only by the soft sound of the rain falling outside. They just stood there, teal against ocean blue, gazing at each other in the dead ice-covered room, half sinking into darkness. They didn't know how much time passed until Hitsugaya finally spoke, but it was a strange fact, that it felt like hours.

'Get out. Get out of here and out of my life!' He uttered softly, bringing Hyourinmaru in front of him 'Get out, or I'll make you!'

Matsumoto glared at him with all the strength and dignity she could master while her heart was proceeding to break into pieces.

Get out of here and out of my life!

Words could be so much more hurting than any weapon. Especially when they came from the beloved one…

As she lifted her own zanpakuto in front of her, she prepared for his next assault. And it came, shortly after.

She could see him approaching as if on a slowed down mode, her expression hardened and without warning she let go of the hilt of the sword. The weapon let out an odd sick screechy sound as it hit the ice-covered floor. With a one last glance at Hitsugaya, Rangiku simply dropped on her knees, head lowered and eyes closed as she waited for the hit to come.

…It never did.

Slowly and carefully, Matsumoto opened her eyes and lifted her head. In front of her stood Hitsugaya, his hand with the sword frozen in the mid-air so the tip was only an inch or two above her. She had never seen such look on his face. It was a bewilder, shocked and somewhat scared one, his unseeing eyes big, pupils extremely small. His breaths came out as short sharp gasps and his hand with the weapon was trembling.

Suddenly he dropped Hyourinmaru on the floor and before Matsumoto had time to say anything, grabbed her shoulders and shook her rather violently.

'WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?' He yelled right into her face 'WHY DIDN'T YOU MOVE? I COULD'VE KILLED YOU!'

'Well, WASN'T THAT WHAT YOU WANTED!' she yelled back with equal fervour and a scowl that was a very big rival to his own. Slightly taken aback by her outburst Hitsugaya just stared blankly at her for a moment, then released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. As he easened his tight grip on her shoulders, his eye-lids slowly lowering to reveal more evidently thick black lashes, painfully contrasting to the color of his skin, he looked away.

'No…' he answered softly.

'Then you'll listen to me.' She insisted 'Because I'd rather die than know you left Seireitei without hearing me out.'

Letting go of her shoulders, Hitsugaya sighed and stepped back. He sheathed his sword and thoughtfully ran a hand through his silver locks, never looking her in the eye as he did so.

'I just… 'he bit his lower lip and shook his head 'I doubt this will change anything… But…'

'Please…' she whispered, pleading oceans of blue filled with timid hope. Hitsugaya glance at her with another soft sign and his shoulders slumped with surrender.

'Thank you…' Matsumoto allowed a small smile to form on her rosy lips as she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in, before continuing 'I know what you're thinking, and I want you to know that I didn't do it, Toushiro…'

'Hitsugaya-taicho.' He corrected, scowling. She chose to ignore him.

'I did not spread the rumours. I know that it probably sounds very inconvenient, but I swear, it's true!'

'Why should I believe you!' he snapped, folding his arms in front of his chest.

'Because… ' Matsumoto paused for a seconds, thinking of an answer and when no rational one came to her mind, she decided to use a irrational 'Because you love me. And you know… That I would never do that to you. And I know what you are about to say! About the bet and everything… I think... Well, we all make mistakes, don't we? That's why we're people. We're not perfect. We do wrong. Make mistakes... And... Some of those mistakes are small and easy to forget, but others are big and stupid... Does that mean you don't deserve a second chance? Does that mean you don't deserve to try and fix what you did? Does it mean we don't deserve to try again...?' she stopped for a second, a small smile forming on her lips as she shook her head 'Everything… everything went so wrong for us, didn't it?'

'…Yes. Indeed.' Hitsugaya answered softly 'But… if it wasn't you, who was it?'

Matsumoto swallowed with some difficulty, before removing a lock or two from her eyes and replying:

'It doesn't matter, does it? Don't worry... In day or two everybody will forget and everything will be back to normal...'

She couldn't tell him. She just couldn't. If she did, he was going to go after Kenji, he was going to fight him, and she didn't want to even imagine the consequences.

Clearing her throat, Matsumoto lifted her face to continue, but the words never left her lips. His face caught her completely off guard. Hitsugaya, wide-eyed and with his lips slightly parted, was gazing at her like she had just grown a second head.

'What's with the… ' she begun, but stopped mid-sentance. Her eyes widened with realization. Jumping on her feet, she turned around, her palm covering the bruises on her face. She was such an idiot! Removing her hair from her eyes and never realizing that this and the extremelly little amount of light in the room were the only thing that kept her injuries away from his sight.

'Who did this to you?' he whispered, shock and confusion radiating from every sound he made.

'I-it's nothing… I-I… I just… fell…' she lamely tried to cover things up.

OH, SHIT!

Suddenly Hitsugaya grabbed her arm and spun her around, so she was once more facing him. This time, there was no trace of confusion and shock in his eyes, all that was left was cold hatred and anger.

'It was him, wasn't it?' he growled and before she had time to respond, her let go of her arm and stormed out of the oh-so-useful hole in the window. Terrified, Matsumoto tried to run after him with the great intention to put some senses into that thick head of his, but was prevented by a solid ice wall she managed to walk in and which, as a matter of fact, hadn't been there a moment ago.

'Great…' she murmured, glaring at the wall 'I'm gonna freeze my ass in here before he gets back… if he even does.'

Sorry if it's lame! And yeah, I didn't let her tell him she loved him... yet... Oh! And sorry for being so late! It's just as I thought my super-stressful week was over (for more information see 'Holiday In The Living World', latest chapter, at the bottom) my teacher gave us for homework to write an artical, which is not as easy as it sounds! It sucked all my time! And btw, the next chapter will be the last one. Or there will be one chapter and then an epilog. Well, do u want a happy ending cuz I can make it a tragedy, ya know..