Diez Veces
By Stalk Me
- + -
"She goes to Tokyo University!?"
Her Taichou cocked an eyebrow at her, amused over her apparent shock. "Yeah," he said. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and entered the campus through the main gate. "That's her right there," he added, nodding towards a young woman with fiery, orange locks and what looked like a fiery personality to match; she was surrounded by a small crowd, telling some amusing story and causing those around her to laugh raucously.
"She's a university student?" Matsumoto asked again, unable to believe it. "I thought she'd be in high school like Ichigo was when we found him." She sent a glance over to her Taichou and noticed that his lips were pulling slightly upward; he was fighting a smile.
"Nope," he said. "Ichigo's pretty old now, Ran. Of course his grandchildren are grown. I think this girl actually has an older brother who's already married and expecting a baby in the Spring." He paused. "Well he's not; his wife is, obviously."
Matsumoto barely noticed her Taichou's joke; she was caught off guard by his use of her nickname. The first time he had called her Rangiku was during the war. They had been fighting Gin at the time, and the former captain of the third division had dealt her such a powerful blow that it caused her to lose consciousness; the only thing she remembered as she drifted into darkness was her Taichou calling out her first name. Several hours later, she had awakened to Hitsugaya keeping vigil over her bedside. In her drugged and exhausted state, she had accidentally called him by his first name; she expected him to scowl at the informality, but he had merely smiled down at her, a genuine smile, and said, 'We did it, Ran. We killed him.' It had been the happiest moment of her life, and she still received a pleasant shiver down her spine every time Hitsugaya let her nickname slip through his lips.
"Damn, it looks like we'll have to wait until after her class to get her alone." Matsumoto was drawn out of her thoughts by her Taichou's statement. She turned to see the group of students entering a nearby building. "Psychology only lasts an hour, so we might as well sit around and wait," he added.
"You memorized her class schedule?" Matsumoto asked, shocked.
Hitsugaya glanced at her over his shoulder, his eyes narrow, as he walked over to a nearby bench. "You should have too; it was in the paperwork given to us before we came down here."
"Oh." Matsumoto waved an airy hand. "Well then." She noticed Hitsugaya roll his eyes at her as he sat down on the bench, but he mercifully didn't scold her either. She walked over to where he was sitting and joined him. "An hour, eh?" she asked. He nodded, and she groaned, adjusting herself so that she was lying down on the bench, her head in Hitsugaya's lap, her hair spilling over the edge. Hitsugaya's hand immediately began threading through her long locks habitually. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his hand in her hair.
"Ran," he said after a long silence. Matsumoto opened her eyes and glanced up at him. It was the second time in under an hour that he had used her nickname. Something was up, and judging by the firm line his mouth was drawn in, it might not be good.
"What is it, Shiro-chan?" she asked, using his nickname as well. He winced as if the sound of the name hurt his ears.
"I have something to tell you," he said slowly. Matsumoto was genuinely surprised that he didn't tell her to call her Hitsugaya Taichou or Toshirou. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, as if unsure of how to start. "I'm not sure if you'll like it or not," he admitted.
He was still playing with her hair, almost as though he was trying to comfort her. Or maybe he was the one who needed the comfort; Matsumoto was unsure.
"What is it?" she asked, sitting up as worry crept into her chest. His hand left her hair and fell to his side. "Is someone hurt?"
"No." He wasn't looking at her; instead he was staring straight ahead at one of Tokyo University's buildings; it was almost as though he couldn't face her. He took a deep breath. "Soi Fong has decided to leave Sereitei to join Yuroichi and Urahara here."
Matsumoto blinked rapidly. That's it? He wanted to share some gossip with her?
"That's…" Matsumoto started, trying to think of a word. "Kind of kinky, actually, but whatever floats their boat. I don't judge."
"That's not it," Hitsugaya stated firmly; he sounded frustrated. "With Soi Fong gone, we need someone to fill her spot." He looked at her then, his blue-green stare sending a jolt to her stomach much like a punch. "I nominated you," he admitted at last.
Matsumoto couldn't breath; she felt hollow, as if everything about her had faded away. She could only stare at her Taichou, the one man she had trusted never to leave her.
"The others agreed," Hitsugaya continued. He was staring ahead again, blush tingeing his cheeks. "You'll take your captain's examination when we return."
Matsumoto couldn't believe it. After nearly a century of being captain and vice-captain, her Taichou was finally trying to get rid of her.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?" she yelled. Hitsugaya winced but didn't shush her. "I CAN'T BE A CAPTAIN!"
"What are you talking about?" he snapped, his eyes narrowed at her. "You mastered bankai ages ago. You're one of the best fighters we have."
"Ikkaku…"
"Isn't a leader," he interrupted her. "You are. You're the best person for the spot." He paused. "I thought this was what you wanted!"
She was silent; her words died in her mouth, leaving her only able to breathe deeply and glare at her Taichou. Once upon a time, it was what she wanted; now she wasn't so sure. All she knew was that she did not want to leave Hitsugaya. She did not want someone else to fill her shoes, to take over as vice-captain. Their third seat was a pretty young thing, not much older than Hitsugaya himself. Matsumoto didn't like the idea of this young girl taking her place in Hitsugaya's life.
"You have no idea what I want," she said at last, getting up from the bench and stalking away. She needed a drink, because she, honestly, didn't know what she wanted either.
- + -
She wasn't surprised when she felt his reiatsu approach her from behind, even less surprised when his hands gathered her hair and held it back as she continued to heave over the toilet. Hitsugaya had been holding back her hair ever since the first time she got too drunk in his presence. Even back then, when he was an awkward little boy filling a man's shoes, he was still loyal enough to stand behind her during her most disgusting and embarrassing times, holding her hair back and not minding if his hands got a little dirty.
"You haven't drank enough to get sick in a long time," he commented once she was done.
She reached out and flushed the toilet, unable to respond in any other way, in fear of vomiting again. She heard Hitsugaya rummaging around in the makeup bag she had sitting on their small basin, then felt him pull her hair back into a ponytail, a skill she had taught him to master long ago. She wondered, vaguely, if he had used the newfound skill with other girls; then she remembered that she had actually seen him braid Hinamori's hair once while they were dating, and, for the first time in her life, Matsumoto felt jealous of the girl, even though she and Hitsugaya had broken up almost forty years ago.
He was sitting beside her now, silently rubbing small circles on her back, just like he had always done when she was sick.
"Hitsugaya Taichou," she said, her voice cracking uncomfortably after being sick.
"Toshirou," he correctly, firmly, at once.
Matsumoto was taken aback. She used to delight in the times when he would let her call him by his first name, but now it served only as a reminder that they would soon be equals, that he would no longer be her Taichou.
"Shiro-chan," she quipped harshly, hoping to hurt him in some way. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed that she accomplished the opposite; he was actually smiling. She sighed and shook her head in frustration, turning back to face the toilet, though she no longer felt sick. "Why'd you do it?" she asked weakly. "Is it because I don't do my paperwork most of the time?"
He chuckled behind her. His hand stopped rubbing circles on her back, and the next thing she knew, his arms were around her, pulling her back so that she could lean against him and rest her head on his chest. She couldn't help but smile wanly. She had always felt safe in his arms, ever since the first time he held her all those years ago, just after the war.
"Ran, if I was going to get rid of you for that, then I would have done it a long time ago." She laughed, but stopped herself very suddenly when he continued. "I don't like the idea of not spending every day with you in my office either," he admitted.
"Then why…"
His lips were suddenly close to her ear, and she became acutely aware of his hands on her stomach, one of which was drifting, feather-light, up her ribcage, stopping just below her breast and trailing back down again.
"I just think that you can be so much more than just my vice-captain," he whispered.
Matsumoto turned and stared at him, unsure of what exactly he was saying. Was he merely suggesting that she had the sills of a captain, or was there something…more…to his words.
"Toshirou?"
He didn't reply, didn't offer any explanation. He merely stared at her with an intensity he usually reserved for training.
"You need sleep," he said at last, standing up. She moved to get to her feet, but Hitsugaya had swooped down and picked her up before she could do so. Shock washed over her as it always did when she was reminded that her Taichou was now strong enough to carry her, but all her shocked melted away, replaced by new feelings entirely, when he gently lowered her down onto the mattress.
Their eyes locked, and Matsumoto knew that if he would get into bed with her, if he would settle on top of her, she would let him have anything he wanted. It was then that she knew exactly what she wanted.
His name died on her lips, however, as he pulled away and went to the foot of the mattress to take off her boots.
"I have to go see Ichigo," he said while he pulled one boot off and started on the other. "I think all his children were born with strong reiatsus, but he's been hiding them with his own. Now that he's getting older, well, obviously he's not doing such a good job anymore. We might have to train more than one girl."
His words went in one ear and out the other. Matsumoto didn't like the idea of him leaving her.
"You'll come back, right?" she asked, feeling more vulnerable than ever before.
A smile pulled at Hitsugaya's lips as he swooped in and quickly kissed her forehead, pulling away before she could pull him down to her lips, but not fast enough that she didn't see the blush tinge his cheeks.
"You know I will," he replied as he made his way to the window.
"Our relationship's changing, isn't it, Taichou?" she called after him, needing to know.
He paused, halfway out of the window and sent her a sly smile over his shoulder. "It's Toshirou now, Rangiku."
That was his answer.
Someone asked in a review what the other characters are up to, and there's actually a lot of background story to this fic that I'm not sharing. I've been trying to write this for about a year now, and this is what's finally coming out; however, I'm keeping it simple, focussing primarily on the Hitsu/Matsu relationship. I imagine some shinigami died in the war (the most notable being old man Yama), but all your favorites lived in my mind (Bya, Renji, etc). One thing that I think is worth noting is that in my mind for this fic, I had Karin die young (late 30s maybe) and Hitsu started a relationship with her (in the afterlife) after he and Momo broke up. He's secretly dreading the day when Ichigo dies and comes to the afterworld to kick Hitsu's ass for sleeping with his sister. :P
I'm also amazed that no one's asked me about my title yet. Any guesses as to what it means?