Useless Notes: Komamura's suddenly become interesting to me, along with Sasakibe (although he doesn't appear here). Expect more stories about them in the future. If I'm in the mood to write them, that is.

Disclaimer: Bleach isn't mine. Wish it was, though.

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In Love with the Bumblebee

"Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye."

- H. Jackson Brown Jr.

It didn't take long for Komamura to figure out why he had been so out of it lately- especially whenever he was called for Captains' Meetings. The little jump his heart made when he glanced over at her direction, the sudden shortness of breath whenever she would talk and even the weird, warm sensation in his chest whenever their arms brushed off against each other in the hallways… It was obvious.

He was in love with Soifon.

Yes, Soifon, the petite (he preferred it over short), strong (he thought it sounded better than boyish) and a strict leader who knew when to get down to business (a kinder way of describing her other than "the harsh Second Division Captain who knew how to kill you even during training"). Soifon. The Second Division Captain. Head of Soul Society's Covert Ops.

He was in love with her.

Of course, the fact that she looked smitten over another woman- and a cat, no less!- did little to dissuade Komamura from thinking about her in his every waking moment. It was crazy enough that he had these feelings, and the man-beast knew that if he kept this up, his head would burst. But who else could he confess to? Most definitely not to the woman herself- he'd need some good old-fashioned- what was the word his Vice-Captain had used- manly advice first in order to do this. He ran through his list of options.

Tousen was in Hueco Mundo.

Hisagi-kun seemed preoccupied enough with his Division.

Genryuusai-sama obviously didn't need to be bothered with things like this.

That left only Tetsuzaemon.

And so, off to Tetsuzaemon he went. Obviously, Komamura didn't realize the repercussions of doing so.

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Iba blinked.

Stared wide-eyed at his Captain.

And blinked again.

Did he hear him right? Was Komamura-taichou actually in love? And with Soifon no less? Well sure she was hot, but… wasn't she more into other women?

"… I trust you will not divulge this to anyone else, Tetsuzaemon."

But of course. Iba understood. A man's feelings were his own business unless he told anyone else. Iba wouldn't tell anyone; after all, this was something his own Captain had decided to entrust to him. Him, of all people. Who was Iba to betray his own Captain's trust anyway? The way he saw it, he was only fulfilling his duty as the Seventh Division's Vice-Captain, and if his services were needed for love-consultation, then hell, Iba'd love-consult anyone any day. Well that, and he didn't want to get killed. What was he, crazy?

"Why don't you just tell her, taichou?"

Stupid! What the hell kind of shit-advice was that? Tell her, his ass. Wasn't that why he went to him in the first place?

"I have already thought of that," his Captain began slowly, still uncertain about the whole thing, it seemed. "But I don't think she's ready for a sudden confession just yet."

Iba nodded. Damn, if only he'd taken more lessons from that Ayasegawa bastard. He was sure that would've helped him some here- no, helped him a lot. Iba grunted in disappointment at himself. If he was this helpless in love matters, then he certainly had no chance of winning Rangiku-chan's affections.

But what had he done to Rangiku-chan to get her attention?

Attempting to feel her up gave him a broken nose. Scratch.

Complimenting on her cleavage (rather loudly) at a drinking party had caused her to smash his shades with her sake bottle. Scratch.

Writing her a love poem almost gave that Ikkaku-son-of-a-bitch and that Abarai-bastard laughing seizures. He frowned deeply at the memory. Scratch.

What the hell? Why did this list look all wrong? This almost made him look like he was losing to Hisagi in their little competition for Rangiku-chan's affections! Well, it did, really. But that was besides the point. Think, think, think. What was Hisagi doing that Iba wasn't?

And then, suddenly, the proverbial light bulb lit up atop Iba's head. "I got it!"

But as soon as he whipped his head up, he saw that Komamura-taichou had already gone. He frowned a little again. Did it take him that long to think? Man, was he a disappointment. He was a disappointment to his Captain, a disappointment to the Seventh Division and a disappointment to all mankind. Imagine that. A turtle coming from the First Division could make it all the way to the Thirteenth Division, and Iba Tetsuzaemon still wouldn't be done thinking.

He sighed and decided to find the others and have a drink. He stood up and froze as he remembered something really, really important. Come to think of it, didn't Komamura-taichou have a Captains' Meeting to attend today? And wasn't there also supposed to be Vice-Captains' meeting today as well?

Shit!

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Hitsugaya frowned a little and squirmed impatiently in his place. Normally, he didn't mind all the meetings the Captain-Commander organized. After all, communication among the Thirteen Divisions was highly essential in order for the Gotei 13 to function properly. But if they had to attend only to listen to Zaraki-taichou trying to provoke Kuchiki-taichou, along with Kurotschi-taichou trying to provoke Zaraki-taichou, as well as Kyouraku-taichou trying to provoke everyone else, then what was the use of meeting in the first place? Ukitake-taichou stood quietly and serenely off in his place in the line. Hitsugaya wondered briefly how the man could stand looking so peaceful in spite of his noisy Third Seats and his crazy (for lack of a better word) best friend.

And as if things couldn't get any worse, Yamamoto-soutaichou only grunted from his place in the front, while Unohana-taichou smiled her usual smile, both of them obviously trying to keep their tempers- and perhaps, even their sanity. How these three Captains had the skill to hold it together in spite of everything going on around them… How admirable. Hitsugaya made a note to ask them for tips. Lord knows he needed the skills, especially when he had Matsumoto as a Vice-Captain.

He looked around the room again, as everyone continued arguing in the background. Besides the Captains of the First, Fourth and Thirteenth Divisions, it seemed that Komamura-taichou and Soifon-taichou also had talent for keeping sane in the midst of everything else. Hitsugaya then remembered. During the War, Komamura-taichou had lost a friend, while Soifon-taichou had lost a mentor, and in spite of these losses, they seemed to be doing quite well. No wonder they were so good at keeping it together.

"Fuckin' prissy noble! Fight me, ya coward!"

"Hn."

Or not.

Hitsugaya was sure he didn't imagine it, but did Komamura-taichou just glance over at Soifon-taichou… and blushed? And he was certain he wasn't going crazy, but… did she just return the look too? And was it getting too warm, or was she also blushing?

The Tenth Division Captain shook his head. Okay, so this was beyond crazy. Is he? With her? No, it wasn't possible. It was just too weird. But the evidence was there: this was the fifth time they looked at each other and blushed already!

Sixth.

Hitsugaya raised any eyebrow. Maybe he'd been staying with Matsumoto for so long already, he probably didn't notice that he'd become too exposed to her sickness of seeing romance everywhere. Yes, that was probably it. He made a mental note to visit the Fourth Division and get himself some aspirins. Just in case.

"Meeting adjourned," the Captain-Commander announced, knocking his cane against the floor- perhaps a little too harshly. "Zaraki-taichou, please put your zanpaktou away." And by the tone of his voice, it seemed Hitsugaya wasn't the only one tired of today's events. "Kurotsuchi-taichou, please don't attempt to poison anyone in the room. And Kuchiki-taichou. Don't tell me I still have to remind you that this isn't the time or place to hold your duel with Zaraki-taichou. Get out, the lot of you- you're all giving me a headache!"

About time. Hitsugaya then caught himself and looked away in embarrassment. The look Ukitake-taichou had given him then made him realize that maybe he'd said that a little too loud. He massaged his forehead wearily. He really needed to get to the Fourth.

He glanced back at the two remaining Captains, who had opted to stay behind and wait for each other. At least that's how Hitsugaya saw it. In fact, they might even decide to have something to eat before returning to their respective Divisions. He had to think about that one… Surely, the two couldn't possibly be in love with each other? Hitsugaya didn't know, and later on, he realized he didn't want to know either.

He was never one for gossip anyway and besides, he had an aching head to take care of, remember? He looked back at the two as they shyly fell into step with each other, both of them not saying a word. Clearly, they were going to have this conversation in private. They looked at each other again.

Hitsugaya sighed. That was the ninth time.

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Soifon's emotions were thrown into a sudden mix of confusion. She had been aware of Komamura-taichou's feelings for the past few weeks now and while she didn't jump to conclusions right away, the way he was behaving during the meeting only confirmed it.

Komamura-taichou had a crush. On her.

Talk about weird.

Yeah, this coming from the woman worships 'Yoruichi-sama.' What was she again- a cat? Suzemebachi taunted.

Soifon grunted and closed her eyes, deep in thought as Komamura walked slowly beside her. As soon as they reached her office (she had asked him to go with her, just to straighten things out), she opened them again. Don't ask me how she managed to walk the whole way without bumping into anything. She just did, okay.

She closed the door behind her and immediately turned to confront the fidgeting wolf-captain standing in the middle of her office.

"You like me." Soifon was known for her frankness and her talent of getting straight to the point right away. Even Yoruichi-sama had noticed this, going so far as to voice her admiration for it.

It took him a long time to answer that, though. "… Yes."

"… Okay." It took her a long time to answer too. "And what do you want to do about it?"

The Seventh Division Captain slowly raised his eyes from the floor and looked straight at her. "I'm not sure. I didn't think I'd tell you this soon."

She nodded. Next question. "Why?"

He looked at her, surprised for only a brief second. Then, he shrugged. "I have… more than one reason."

He sure wasn't saying much, Soifon thought as she nodded her head. She didn't even feel the heat rise up to her cheeks, as she noticed how red Komamura had suddenly become- even for him.

"You're blushing," she blurted out.

"So are you," Komamura quickly defended himself.

And before Soifon could stop herself, "I like fur."

Komamura did a double-take.

Soifon sighed at her carelessness. Oh well, might as well go on ahead with it. It's already been said anyway. "I said. I like fur."

"Oh." Komamura realized and suddenly looked self-conscious, but without taking offense. "I… I like your eyes." And your hair, and your speed, and your figure, and your everything else, he said, but only to himself.

Soifon didn't even attempt to stop the blush and the small smile making their way to her face. "Thank you, Komamura-taichou."

He nodded and resisted telling her to drop the formalities for now.

Silence reigned between the two for around two minutes (Soifon counted); each trying to avoid the other's eye and both trying to make as much movement as possible. The silence continued to fill the room until both Captains opened their mouths to say the same thing.

"Dinner?"

Then, they both stopped and looked at each other in surprise. Komamura scratched the back of his head awkwardly, while Soifon only looked at him. They shared the same thought once again and allowed themselves to laugh lightly at that.

"Sunday evening?" Komamura offered.

Soifon smiled and nodded. "Seven-thirty." And just because she couldn't resist it, she gave the huge Seventh Division Captain one of her infamous death-glares. "Sharp."

Komamura blinked. Then smiled at the Second Division Captain. "Understood." He turned around to exit the room. "I'll be taking my leave now, taichou."

"Soifon."

He paused by the doorway. Smiled and nodded. And then, in a quickness that contradicted his bulky build, Komamura was gone.

Soifon let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and fell into her chair. And for the first time since she couldn't remember when, she smiled at the window, already looking forward to Sunday evening.

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Omaeda's eyes widened as the paperwork he had been carrying stayed unforgotten in his hands. His ears had been glued to the door the whole time and by the time their conversation was over, he had shunpo'ed away to safety, lest he be caught by the two Captains.

His Captain? And Komamura-taichou?

Wait till the Shinigami Men's Association heard about this!

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A/N: Love the story, hate the title. Well, that could be just me, I guess.