Author's Note: In case you haven't noticed yet, in the story, Renji isn't going to be our happiest camper! Sorry, Renji fans...But I promise he won't be like, evil or anything. Well, here's Chapter 4.

Matsumoto looked up as the door to the tenth division's office opened. Hastily, she leaped from the couch, shoving the bottle of sake she had been clutching between the cushions and scrambling towards the large oak desk.

However, who entered was not her captain, as she had expected, but instead, Ichigo.

"Ah, Kurosaki-san!" she smiled gleefully, relaxing and pulling the forbidden bottle back out of its hiding place. "How'd things go with taichou?"

"Not good," Ichigo mumbled. "I just don't know how to act in front of him without making a fool of myself or pissing him off. You've got to tell me, Rangiku-san, what does Toshiro like? What does he not like?"

"Well, he likes ama-natto," Matsumoto mused, "And tea. Yeah, he likes tea."

"That's not what I meant."

"Really?"

"Erm, no. I meant, what does he like, as in what does he like in people. What did that Sojiro fellow have that I don't?"

"Well," Matsumoto began after a moment of thinking, "It seems that taichou doesn't like people joking around, but that's really not it, 'cause I know that Sojiro-kun could always make him laugh. What he really saw in Sojiro-kun was the fact that he respected him and saw him as a person, not a prodigy, and not just another pretty face."

"Hmm, I think I get it," Ichigo nodded. "So, he wants respect."

"Yep. Respect and an open mind. He knows there are lots of rumors circulating around the Seireitei about him, and he hates it when people actually believe the rumors."

"Rumors? You mean, like, the fact that he's…"

"…A vapid hooker bitch?"

"Yeah! That's what Renji said!" Ichigo exclaimed triumphantly.

"No wonder," Matsumoto answered. "Renji's the one who started that rumor."

"I knew it! I knew I couldn't trust what he was saying! Thanks, Rangiku-san…"

"Hold on. There's one more thing taichou is looking for above everything else – Someone who can make him happy. He hasn't smiled at all since Sojiro died, and if you can make him smile again, Ichigo-kun…That's how you can tell if you've won the fight."

"Ah…I see. Great, then I'd better…"

"Hey, and, one last tip, Ichigo-kun."

"What?"

"Don't talk about Sojiro-kun in front of him. Not until he trusts you. He's extremely sensitive about what happened…back then."

Now, this piqued Ichigo's curiosity. "Back then?" he repeated. "Rangiku-san….Tell me what happened."

"Fine," Matsumoto sighed, "But this is a secret between me and you, got it?"

"Got it."

"Well," she began, "A long time ago, when taichou was back in the academy, he and Sojiro-kun were the best of friends. Thick as thieves. Peas in a pod. You get the idea. And they became more than that, much more. They were in love, you know? Taichou was a pretty young thing back then, and he could have his pick of anyone in the whole academy if he wanted, because not a single guy could manage to keep their eyes off of him. He stuck with Sojiro-kun, though, and only Sojiro-kun, and it was all because of the fact that Sojiro-kun made him feel safe, loved, happy. Or maybe it was the fact that they both had the same zanpaku-to, Hyorinmaru. At any rate, they got along so well, that, even though taichou was still pretty young, they had the rest of their lives all planned out already. They were going to get married, settle down somewhere safe, and not bother with all that shinigami business, even though they were the top students of that year. Taichou loved him that much. He never wanted to be a captain, it never made him happy. But that's beyond the point. Soul Society wouldn't stand to let them stay together."

"What do you mean?"

"They claimed that it was a crime to share the same zanpaku-to. And so they forced the two of them, taichou and Sojiro-kun, to fight to the death to see who would keep Hyorinmaru. In the end, taichou won, but Sojiro-kun was badly injured. He was taken away, and no one knows what happened to him after that – It's likely that he bled to death from the wounds he received during their forced fight, but it's also possible that if he survived, he was put to death anyway by Soul Society. And taichou never forgave himself for it, or Soul Society, for that matter. He's still disgusted with himself, even now, for becoming a captain. Why should he serve for the people who forced him to kill the one person that he loved more than anyone else? He can't answer that question, it hurts too much. You know, the irony of it all is that he vowed to serve the sotaichou until his own death, yet, he still holds a grudge against them and himself for Sojiro-kun's death. You have to understand, Kurosaki-kun…Taichou's not a scary, strict, dictator of a captain. He's still in pain, he's still trying to recover. And the only way he knows how to do that is to close his heart so he won't fall in love again, 'cause he's scared that he'll be hurt again. Understand?"

Ichigo nodded slowly. "I get it," he answered. "Gosh, that must have really sucked, you know, when I talked to him earlier today, I could have sworn that he was close to crying."

"Unfortunately, taichou's far from an open book. You can never tell what he's thinking, really, because he tries so hard to hide himself from everyone and everything, but, I think you can flip through his pages easily, ne, Ichigo-kun? And I know exactly how you can start."

"Eh?"

Matsumoto beamed, moving over to the desk and patting the monstrous stack of paper.

"You can help us with these!"

"…"

"What?"

"Are you sure you're not…exploiting my willingness to help Toshiro out?"

"No!" Matsumoto snorted with a wave of her hand. "Of course not! If we get these finished by the time he comes back, I bet taichou'll be a lot less stressed out."

Nodding in agreement, Ichigo hurried over to the desk, seizing a calligraphy brush, and with help from Matsumoto, began to help her slowly, but surely, tackle the load of work that had been set.

"You seem to know a lot about love, Rangiku-san."

"Eh, not really."

"No, seriously! You've got to be, like, the love expert or something! Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Nope."

"Okay, did you have a boyfriend?"

There was an uncomfortable pause before Matsumoto thrust another handful of paper into Ichigo's hands. "Here," she demanded hastily, "These are important papers. Get them done."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. There was definitely something Matsumoto wasn't telling him about herself, but he decided not to press the subject further, seeing as she obviously didn't want to talk about it.

When Hitsugaya finally gathered up enough dignity to return to the tenth division office, it was already fairly late at night. The whole afternoon, he had been wandering aimlessly through the Seireitei, wondering if he had overreacted to Ichigo's comment, and if maybe, he had been a little to harsh towards him. Whatever the case was, he had already convinced himself that he would be unable to sufficiently apologize for his behavior earlier in the day, so what was the point of trying?

He made his way quietly down the paved pathway until he reached the office, his hand going for the handle of the door. As soon as he touched it, he heard Matsumoto shout at him from inside the room.

"Ne, taichou! Don't come in yet!"

Eyebrows furrowing in irritation, the boy crossed his arms impatiently over his chest. "Matsumoto, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"Just 'cause!" Matsumoto yelled back. "Hold on…wait…Good! Okay, you can come in now."

"Finally," he growled as he pulled the door open. "You'd better have a good explanation as to why…" His voice trailed off as he entered the room, caught off guard by the abrupt and unexpected change he saw.

The entire room had been cleaned neatly, every last drawer had been organized, and there was not a single speck of dust to be seen. The floor had been swept to perfection, and every last surface had been polished. On his desk, there was not a single sheet of paperwork left to be filled out, replaced by three cups of piping hot green tea and three bowls of steaming rice, each accessorized with neatly cut slices of sashimi.

And behind the desk, both looking exhausted, yet proud of themselves, stood Matsumoto and Ichigo.

"Surprise, taichou!" Matsumoto giggled. "Ichigo-kun and I finished all the paperwork, and we had some time left over, so we cleaned the place up, too."

"Ah, and we reckoned you'd be hungry and tired," Ichigo added sheepishly, "So we also took the liberty of fixing you something to eat."

Hitsugaya simply stood there, speechless, completely unsure of what to say, before he finally managed to recapture his voice.

"Thank you, both of you," he spoke.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Matsumoto beamed. "C'mon, taichou, have a seat, and let's all sit down and talk things out, okay?"