Chapter 4: Festival

"Taicho! Taicho! Taicho—", she screamed running into his office.

"What? What?!" he shouted worried Matsumoto could be hurt or upset.

"Taicho!" she squealed running behind his chair and squeezing his neck tightly.

Hitsugaya almost choked on his words. At least she isn't suffocating me in her huge breasts. Then Hitsugaya felt his heart ache.

"Matsumoto . . . I . . . can't . . . breathe . . ." he huffed in between breaths.

"Oh! Sorry", she said as his head dropped to the desk, leaving a very red-faced taicho gasping for air.

"Must not know my own strength", she shrugged walking in front of his desk.

Hitsugaya pulled his head up from the desk and starred at her with angry teal eyes.

"Matsumoto, what do you want?" he asked threatening her with one of his ice glares.

"Oh yeah!" she clasped her hands suddenly remembering why she came in his office in the first place. "Byakuya-taicho is in need of your assistance" she lied.

"What does he need my assistance with?" he looked at his devious, manipulative, cunning, curvaceous, sexy . . . whoa, whoa!

Since when did I go from scolding to lusting after my fukutaicho.

"Taicho" she pouted. "Do you really think I'm up to something?"

Oh man! Hitsugaya saw the tears begin to wail up in his fukutaicho's beautiful blue eyes. Did he just say 'beautiful blue eyes'?

Why could he keep his mind off her looks?

Because you're a horny teenage boy and your fukutaicho is a sexy, curvaceous, seductive woman with wonderful—

Hyourinmaru!

What?! I was going to say assets.

Yeah right.

Matsumoto sniffled.

Oh! That's right he thought slapping himself on the forehead.

"Hey, hey" he said getting up from his chair and walking towards her. When he reached her, he grabbed her by the arms and gently began rubbing them.

"It's okay. I believe you. We'll go see Byakuya-taicho and assist him in any way we can. Just please don't cry, okay?" Hitsugaya said cupping her lovely face in his little but strong hands.

Hitsugaya felt like an ass everytime he made her cry or hurt her feelings. True, Matsumoto was always up to no good, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't believe her when she said Byakuya needed his assistance.

"Okay" Matsumoto chirped.

Why do I feel like I've just been conned?

Because you have Hyourinmaru answered for him.

Hitsugaya found himself walking through Rukongai alongside his very devious and conniving fukutaicho.

Now why would Byakuya-taicho be in a run down place like this?

"So, where exactly is Byakuya-taicho?" he asked his fukutaicho apprehensively.

"Oh, he's around here somewhere" she replied. Her clear blue eyes actually trying to look around for someone who wasn't there.

Hitsugaya was fed up. He knew Byakuya wasn't here. He knew because he couldn't feel his reiatsu. In fact, he hadn't felt Byakuya's reiatsu since they arrived.

Which means . . .

You're an even bigger fool than I thought Hyourinmaru finished for his master.

Shutup or I'll be buying a new zanpakuto.

Shutting up now.

"Matsumoto—"

"Yes taicho?" she asked turning around and seeing his eyebrow raised, eye twitching, foot tapping, and his temper flaring.

She knew he was mad. She could feel it in the air. Literally. The temperature had dropped nearly twenty degrees. She knew she had to fix things before he froze all of Rukongai.

"Okay, so Byakuya-taicho isn't her and—"

"And he never was" he cut her off. "So, tell me Matsumoto, why are we here?" his whole body vibing with annoyance.

"Well . . ." Matsumoto began, her hands shaking.

Hitsugaya noticed this and looked at her puzzlingly.

Was she nervous? My Matsumoto was never nervous.

Um hm . . . your Matsumoto? Hyourinmaru asked.

Did I say 'my'?

Yes you did?

No . . .

Yes.

But I couldn't—

But you did.

He turned his attention back to his fukutaicho and sighed, "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she ran and hugged her taicho.

"I'm so sorry", she sobbed. "I'm so sorry about yesterday, about yelling and cussing at you. I was way out of line". She looked up at his confused teal eyes. Hers leaking tears down her cheeks but pleading with him to forgive her. "I won't go see Gin. I promise!" she said clinching his shihakusho and haori even tighter. "I promise I won't ask you anymore."

Hitsugaya's heart ached. Matsumoto never apologized. Especially for something she meant to do.

He knew how badly she wanted to see Gin. He was her childhood friend and she hadn't seen him in months. He could understand how much she missed Gin. How her heart ached for him. The way his heart once ached for Hinamori and how it was aching for Matsumoto's pain now.

"It's okay Matsumoto", he spoke softly while stroking her golden hair. "I forgive you."

"You do?" her pale blue eyes lit up.

"But that still doesn't explain why we are here", he raised his voice trying to sound mad, but to no avail.

"Oh! We're here for the festival" she smiled standing up and dragging him along.

"What festival?" he asked trying to remove himself from her grasp. Trying being the key word.

"It's a fall festival that the people of Rukongai have every year to celebrate the falling of the last leaf."

"But all the trees are bare".

"All except that one", she pointed to a giant oak tree with the only leaf at the top of the tree on the highest branch.

"How long has it been up there?" he asked when they finally stopped running.

"Since forever" she sighed then continued, "Only Rukongai has this festival because only Rukongai has a tree full of leaves until mid-winter or so. And as the saying goes, it's not winter 'til the last leaf drops. Or something to that affect."

"Wait, wait, wait a minute. You brought me here to watch some leaf fall?"

"Not just some leaf taicho" she whined tugging on his arm. "The last leaf of the great oak tree."

"You could have brought anyone here to see that if you wanted company that badly" he shouted and turned to leave.

"No I couldn't".

It was faint but he heard her say it.

Seeing that he paused she continued, "I used to do this every year with . . . someone else, but now that that someone is gone . . ."

"So I have become a replacement for Gin" he said a bit more coldly than he had meant to.

"No, you are not a Gin replacement" she shouted running up behind him but not embracing him.

"I wanted to ask you to come plenty of times, but every time I asked Gin if you could come, he would say that this was our special time and he didn't want some elf genius interrupting it."

Hitsugaya turned when he heard himself being referred to as a mythical creature with brains.

"His words, not mine", she held up her hands defensively. "Anyway, since Gin is no longer here" she paused trying to keep it together, "I decided I would go with the person who has always been special to me."

This time she hugged him. Gently running her hands through his soft snow-like hair.

Hitsugaya had to admit, her flattery was appealing. And since they were already out . . .

"Okay Matsumoto. We'll go to the festival. I see no harm in taking a day off" he smiled up at her and she smiled back.

An hour and a half later, Matsumoto was full of sake and Hitsugaya has way more candy than even an adult could consume.

"How's the candy taicho?" Matsumoto grinned stupidly.

"Sweet" Hitsugaya laughed. Even though Matsumoto had only asked a question.

"I'm glad. Can I have some?"

"No" Hitsugaya snapped hugging the bag of candy close to his chest.

Well, Matsumoto has never been one to take 'no' for an answer. And since the young taicho wasn't sharing, she leaned over, grabbed his hands so he wouldn't be able to fight her, and kissed him full on the mouth.

Hitsugaya was shocked. His fukutaicho was kissing him. And not just any kiss, this kiss was tantalizing, breath-defying, amazing . . . Then his mind went blank.

The kiss started slow. At first. Then she intensified it by slipping her tongue past his lips and licking his teeth ever so slightly.

Hitsugaya shuddered at his fukutaicho's tongue in his mouth. And his body responded in a way he didn't know he could.

He pushed back with tongue, molding his mouth with hers. Parting when she parted, closing when she closed. She even nibbled on his lower lip.

Hitsugaya moaned at the pleasure she was shooting all over his body. Especially the lower part of him.

Eventually, he dropped his bag of candy and began fondling his curvaceous fukutaicho instead.

His hands slowly making their way up her arms and into her soft luscious hair. While one hand arched her neck so he could have better access to her mouth, the other slowly slid down her back and grabbed her upper thigh. Pulling her closer to him.

Matsumoto let out a soft moan as Hitsugaya deepened the kiss between them.

Boom! Kaboom!

They both jumped in fear of the loud sound that interrupted their kiss.

"What was that?" Hitsugaya asked wincing from the pain of his numb lips.

"Ooooo! The fireworks have started. Let's go" she squealed grabbing him by the arm and dragging him in the direction of the fireworks.

"But what about my candy?" he whined.

"I'll buy you some more. Since it was kinda my fault it fell on the ground" she turned and winked at him.

Hitsugaya turned away to hide the blush but she knew he was embarrassed. She couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" he sneered at her.

"Nothing", she giggled.

They finally reached the open field where the fireworks were being shot.

Hitsugaya couldn't believe his eyes. These fireworks were nothing like the ones in Soul Society. They were . . . more colorful, more bright. Probably illegal and home made.

Hitsugaya felt a warm, soft hand grab onto his and squeeze lightly. He looked up at Matsumoto and saw she was crying. But he also saw that she was smiling too. He was happy she brought him along. Happier than she would ever know.

"I'm going to get some cotton candy, I'll be right" she squeezed again before taking off.

Hitsugaya was too mesmerized by the fireworks to notice she had left.

About ten minutes later, Hitsugaya began to worry. He was sure it didn't take that long to look for cotton candy. So he decided he would look for her.

Hitsugaya searched the crowd for a good five minutes, bumping into three women he mistook for Matsumoto but were much less pretty and much less chesty. Another five minutes and he heard her voice.

When he finally saw her, she wasn't standing anywhere near the cotton candy stand. In fact, she was standing in front of the sake bar, with five other guys.

She wasn't really flirting with them because she had that sorry-you're-nice-n-all-but-I'm-not-interested-smile plastered on her face.

Hitsugaya could tell she was starting to get annoyed by their persistence and he was too.

How can they hit on my wo—I mean fukutaicho.

You were going to say 'woman'.

Shutup Hyourinmaru!

Then he shunpo-ed over to the five guys pushing up on his woman. Yes, his woman.

As he approached, he shot up a big piece of ice in between the men and Matsumoto.

"Hey! What the hell is this?" one of the guys shouted.

"Taicho" Matsumoto smiled and turned to walk towards him, but another one of the guys grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Let me go!" she shouted hitting the guy in the arm.

Hitsugaya was furious now. He ran over to the guy and kicked him in the face. Sending him flailing backwards on the ground, nose bleeding.

"Now who else wants some?" he growled.

"Who the hell are you 'posed ta be?" guy two asked. (I'm tired of writing them as one of the guys, they will be numbered guy one, two, . . . well, you get the idea)

"Go find your own doll to play with kid" guy three said grabbing Matsumoto and pulling her close to him. Guy one was still on the ground writhing in pain and guy four, five, and two were pulling out sticks from behind their backs.

Hitsugaya hated when guys called him 'kid' but he hated it even worse when they treated his fukutaicho like a sex object.

"How about, I kick all your asses and you leave my lieutenant alone?"

"Umph. I'd like to see you try" guy five yelled lashing towards Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya just simply stepped to the left and guy five fell face first in the mud. Two down, three to go.

Both guy two and four came at him, full speed, waving their sticks in the air.

Guy four lunged at Hiysugaya and Hitsugaya just simply stuck his foot out and guy four tripped, but he didn't fall. So Hitsugaya just helped him to the ground by elbowing him in the back.

"Argh!" guy four screamed.

"Why you little—" guy two yelled lunging for Hitsugaya. Guy two swung his stick high in the air and plunged it down, but Hitsugaya caught it in his hand. He smirked then punched guy two in the face.

Four down, only one to go.

Hitsugaya looked all around him and didn't see guy three or his fukutaicho.

"STOP!" he heard his lieutenant scream.

Hitsugaya went to where he heard the scream come from. He found himself standing behind the sake bar.

"And what d'hell you want?"

He saw Matsumoto had been crying and her wrists were bruised.

That's it! Hitsugaya had had enough. He punched the guy smack dead in the face and shoved him to the ground.

"Matsumoto go" he said over his shoulder.

"But—"

"NOW!"

He didn't want her to see what he was about. As soon as he heard her steps dissipating, he picked the guy up by the collar and lifted him off the ground.

"Hn. What's wrong, you don't like sharing your toys?" he laughed.

Hitsugaya punched him in the gut, blood spilling on the ground.

"Now you listen and you listen good, Rangiku is not some thing for you to play with or a sex object you can just use and abuse. She is a person who deserves to be treated with respect. And if I EVER catch you near her or you breathe her name, I'll kill you."

"Too bad. I sure would've liked to tap that".

"What did you—" but before Hitsugaya could even think, he dropped the guy and began punching the hell out of his face.

"This is for Rangiku" he said after the first punch.

"And this is for all the women who have been hurt by scum likedyou" after the second punch.

"And this, this is for how much you hurt her (by 'you' he meant Gin), you BASTARD!" but his hand was stopped when he felt someone grab it.

He turned and saw Matsumoto's still crying face.

"Don't do it taicho. He isn't worth it" she said releasing his hand and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

Hitsugaya decided not to hit guy three but he kicked him, hard in the gut, as he stood and grabbed Matsumoto up in his arms.

Before he took off, he turned to the guy and said, "You better hope I don't see you again." Then he turned and shunpo-ed off.

Hitsugaya was tired and didn't feel like carrying Matsumoto all the way home and having to go back to his house. So, he just carried her to his house and placed her in his bed. Besides, he wanted to make sure she was alright and he felt better knowing she was safe and sound where he could keep an eye on her.

As he was about to leave the room, her hand tugged on his haori.

He didn't even look at her face or ask what she wanted. He slid in under the covers and held her tight while she cried.

"I will never leave your side", he whispered softly while stroking her hair.

She grabbed his collar and brought him closer to her face before kissing him with all her might.

And he kissed her, like there was no tomorrow.

I won't ever let Gin hurt you again. I promise.

Sorry if sappy at the end. I hoped you liked it. Please review.