Over the next few weeks, Matsumoto, out of concern for her newest friend, made a point to observe Hisagi, especially when Haushinka was around. She came to a rather different conclusion than her sightless friend. When she was around, he couldn't take his eyes off her but he hardly moved or spoke. It was no wonder she got the opposite impression of the man but she didn't know what to do about it.

Kira also noticed his friends interest in the young woman and instead of remaining a silent observer, one evening, he decided to say something. He wasn't really going to bother at first. He figured it was just one of Hisagi's passing interests and that once he grew accustomed to the woman's presence, it would fade and things would be comfortable once again. But this one evening, he followed his friend to her quarters. He thought at first, Hisagi was going to knock on her door and try to talk to her but instead he went around the side of the building and sat down beneath her window. He closed his eyes and listened to her. This was obviously unhealthy and if Soi Fong found out, she might kill him. Kira sat at a safe distance and observed his friend. He only sat beneath the window and when Haushinka's home grew quiet Hisagi left. He decided that was as good a time as any for a confrontation.

"Hisagi, what are you doing?" he demanded quietly.

The dark haired shinigami started, apparently unaware that he'd been followed, and didn't say anything, just kept walking.

"Why are you doing this? You're practically stalking her! How long have you been doing this?" he grabbed Hisagi by the shoulder to stop him.

"It's none of your business," he pulled away.

"I'm your friend so I'm making it my business. If you get caught doing this, who knows what will happen?"

He shrugged as though he could care less.

"Look, it's obvious you really like her. Just talk to her, this is unhealthy."

"She's too guarded," he complained. "Sure, she's hot but I needed to know what she's really like."

"This isn't really the best way to go about it," Kira chided.

"No…but it's faster and more effective."

"Does that mean you'll actually talk to her then instead of simply staring whenever she's around?" Kira asked accusingly.

Hisagi glared. He liked staring at her.

"If you don't, I'm going to talk to her for you…maybe even tell her what you've been doing."

"Come on, don't be like that."

Kira didn't want to bust his friend but at the same time he knew what was happening wasn't right.

"I won't say anything if you stop this…and it wouldn't hurt if you'd actually talk to her."

"Deal." Hisagi half-heartedly agreed, knowing that he wouldn't hold up on his end.

Just to make sure, Kira staked out Haushinka's quarters and, though not unexpected, he was disappointed to find that Hisagi did as he did the night before. He realized that talking to Hisagi wouldn't do any good. He left once his suspicions were confirmed. Kira spentS the following morning and afternoon thinking about what he had to do.

It was getting dark when he finally gathered the courage to approach her quarters. Lightly, he tapped on the door. She opened the door. "Who is it?"

"Izuru Kira."

"Oh, Vice Captain," she sounded startled and began adjusting her uniform though there was nothing wrong with it, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Um, Kira is fine for now, I would just like to talk with you. May I come in?" he carefully asked.

"Uh, sure," she stepped to one side to allow him to enter before closing it behind him. She led him to the sitting area and poured him a cup of hot tea.

It was dark in her quarters, which threw Kira off at first but he quickly realized that she had no need for a light source. Her space was simpler than most, with only the bare necessities and very few decorations.

"What did you want to talk about?" she hesitantly inquired.

"I hope this isn't too personal, please tell me if I'm overstepping my bounds. I wanted to talk to you about Hisagi."

"What about him?"

"You see, he's a friend of mine and it seems he's taken a liking to you."

"Is that so?" she asked, even more unsure of herself than when she answered the door.

"Yes. Normally, he is not the shy type but…I'm not really sure how to say this," Kira shook his head, being in the dark was disorienting for him and distracting from his train of thought. "Could I ask you to light a candle, it's rather dark in here."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I don't usually have guests so I don't think about these things. Of course." She quickly grabbed a candle and some matches, handing them to Kira.

He felt much more comfortable in the soft candle light. "As I was saying. It seems he rather likes you…but he is having difficulty expressing that, especially to you."

"Though I find it difficult to believe that he likes me, because you are his friend, I will have to take your word for it. But I'm not sure I see the point of your visit. I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I don't mean to be rude." She managed.

"Well, for starters, I wanted to see if you have similar feelings."

She thought for what seemed like forever. "I can't say that I know him well enough to make that sort of assertion. But…from what I do know of him…he seems to be one of the better officers. However, he is rather reserved and that makes it difficult for me to judge."

"That was a rather evasive answer," he mused. "But understandable. That leads me to the other reason I came here. It seems he's been sort of visiting you in the evenings"

She shifted uncomfortably, "Visiting…"

"In a manor of speaking. It's the reason I came here." Kira carefully explained his discovery of his friend's activities. "It's not as though he's peeping on you or anything…he said that he wanted to get to know you."

"I…I knew he was frequenting this area in the night hours…I knew he was close to my quarters. You say he comes here specifically," she pointed in the direction of the window he'd indicated. "That's a little unnerving."

"Yes. I understand that you're a rather private person so I can see how this would offend your sensibilities. However, he is a good man and I wanted to circumvent any sort of improper incident that might arise from this…should any one else find out."

"So, do you have any suggestions…for my course of action. I'm afraid I've never been in a situation quite like this before." She confessed.

"Perhaps if you could be more forward with Hisagi. If you started a conversation with him he would have to engage you and you could get to know him. I've gotten the impression that if he gets to know you, he will cease his nightly 'visits'," Kira suggested.

"This is a bit much all of a sudden. Forgive me if I don't know what to say." She thought for a moment, "I will need some time to think this over."

"Of course. Now, if you'll forgive me, it's getting late." Kira blew out the candle and politely left.

The following day, Haushinka found Matsumoto and they went to lunch together. Matsumoto was about to broach the subject of Hisagi when Haushinka did it for her.

"It has been brought to my attention that Vice Captain Hisagi may have an…interest in me," she carefully began, not wanting to reveal the vice captain's less than reputable evening activities.

"Now that you mention it, I've noticed this as well," the older woman understated.

"I was wondering if you could help me deal with this," she continued in a business-like tone.

"What do you mean?"

"Well…I'm not exactly sure. Could you tell me what you know about him? He's rather reserved so I don't have a way to judge if I could take a liking to him as well."

Matsumoto was glad that Haushinka could be interested in a relationship. During their short friendship, the younger woman showed little in the way of romantic interests. This was a pleasant turn of events. She was more than happy to tell her what she knew, focusing on his personality and what little personal history she knew of him.

"Do you really think that he is interested in me…in the way that you're implying? I don't want to overstep my bounds."

"Of course he does!" the blonde woman assured. "Why? Is there something the matter?"

"I…" her voice grew quiet. "It's been a while since I've been a relationship," she confessed.

"Well, don't worry about that. If you need any help, I'm here for you."

Just moments later, Kira, Hisagi, and Renji entered the café where they were dining.

"Speak of the devil," Matsumoto muttered. "Oi," she flagged them down and invited them to sit.

Haushinka blushed at the sudden intrusion but quickly recovered.

They made small talk while waiting for their meals. Matsumoto found it more difficult than usual to get Hisagi to speak up but the others helped to make the situation less awkward. It almost irritated Matsumoto how Hisagi was staring at her friend but couldn't find a good way to say anything about it. It was apparent that she wasn't the only one who noticed but the other guys weren't about to say anything either.

When they were finished, Matsumoto and Haushinka went to the bathes to have more time to talk.

"I wish you could see the way he stares at you. There's no doubt in my mind that he has a thing for you."

"That's all well and good but I wish he could stand to speak to me."

"Don't think of it like that," Matsumoto dismissed. "We just need to think of a way to make it so he can't not speak to you."

"How do we do that?" she sounded intimidated by the notion.

"That, my friend, is the essence of flirting and my specialty."

"Look, I'm not sure…"

"Don't worry about it," she dismissed.