That evening, Haushinka decided that the interventions were not helping, that she needed to do something for herself. Not that she didn't appreciate the offers of help but nothing suggested to her seemed right.

As she expected, once the city began to quiet, she felt Vice Captain Hisagi's raitsu in her area. She tried to keep her evening activities to their norm but she prepared enough tea for two. Shortly after he arrived, he took his seat outside her window.

She was hesitant to approach him at first but she knew something had to be done and it was becoming increasingly apparent that he was unwilling to make any further moves. She slowly made her way to the window. "Vice Captain Hisagi," she began and she heard him start.

"Ah…Haushinka…"

"Would you like to come in or should I come outside with you?" she offered.

He slowly stood and made his way around the side of her building. At first she thought that he was going to her front door but he tried to turn the other way.

"Vice Captain Hisagi," she started out the door after him, "Again, I request your company. Would you like to come in…or should I follow you until you tell me what is going on?"

Reluctantly, he turned to see her standing barefoot in front of her quarters. She was facing his direction but not him directly. He complied, not wanting to make a scene. She led him to the sitting area and poured him a cup of tea, much like when Kira came to see her. To her surprise, he did not complain about the dark.

"Vice Captain Hisagi," she began.

"Please, Hisagi or even Shuuhei will suffice."

"Why have you been sitting outside my window?"

He didn't answer but she heard him sipping his tea.

"Look, some of the others have noticed that you stare at me…I don't have a problem with this as I wouldn't know if they didn't feel the need to tell me. However, I would like to know why you have been behaving this way. When the others talk about how you behave," she continued, "they make it sound as though you have taken a liking to me but when I am in your presence I get no such impressions. In fact, I am led to believe that you do not like me at all, even distrust me greatly," she didn't know if she was getting through to him. "Look, this is very difficult for me. I just need to know where I stand. I do not intend to change any of your habits."

He sighed and set down his cup. "You're very beautiful," he informed plainly.

"Physical beauty means nothing to me," she replied flatly.

"I realize that…but I am not immune to it and I find you rather enchanting. I apologize if I've made you uncomfortable. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" he offered in his first act of genuineness since they met.

"Just tell me how you feel about me. It has become obvious that you have some sort of feeling," she insisted.

"You're not making this very easy for me," he complained about her directness. "but I suppose that's only fair. I admit that I am extremely attracted to you and not just because you are beautiful. Now…since I've laid myself out like that I would like to know what you think about that." He tried to remain calm but he was pretty sure she could hear his heart racing.

"I have to admit that I do not know enough about you to make that sort of assessment. However, all things considered I would like to get to know you better." She didn't mean for it, but her voice had a certain allure to it that enticed him.

He stayed for several hours after that and they talked, mostly about nothing until she asked something that had been plaguing her.

"Why didn't you want to fight me when Captain Soi Fong set us up to spar?" she finally asked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that it would bother you that much. The truth is, I wanted to observe you. Actually…" he began but hesitated. "You can't tell anyone this."

She nodded in agreement which, in the dark, he could barely see.

"I was a little taken off guard by your skills. You easily beat Kira and he and I are fairly evenly matched. I didn't want to lose…especially since I barely knew you." He admitted, glad she couldn't see him blushing.

She giggled a little at the thought. "I thought it was because you didn't respect my abilities."

"Oh," he laughed a little too then. "That is hardly the case. If it makes any difference now, I'd say I'm rather impressed with you."
"Does that me we can have a rematch?" she asked hopefully.

He thought it over. "I suppose we can arrange that. Soi Fong mentioned that she wanted you to do some more training with the vice captains. I wouldn't mind volunteering." She didn't get to see his sly grin.

Not long after that, he decided that he needed to get some sleep before his morning shift.

"Thank you for inviting me in," he managed as he was exiting.

"Um…one more thing before you go," she was hesitant and he could tell.

"What's that?" he turned and stood very close to her, possibly too close for her comfort but she didn't seem to mind.

"It seems you've studied my face rather extensively…" she carefully began, "I should like to know your face just as well." Boldly but carefully, she brought her hands to either side of his face.

He breathed evenly and allowed her to touch him. She started with his chin and moved up from there. Her touches were so light, so careful that it almost made him shiver. When she reached his hairline, she rose onto her toes and continued her examination. She slowly ran her fingers through his short, spiky hair and then down behind his ears, slowly settling on her heals once again. When she withdrew, she smiled at him.

"Well?" he asked impatiently.

"It seems you are rather handsome," she blushed intensely which he was able to see in the bright moonlight.

"I'm glad you approve," he chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow," he promised before leaving. He knew he needed to get out of there before he started to touch her back.

Haushinka was a little overwhelmed by Matsumoto's reaction when she told her about the night before. She left out the part about knowing that Hisagi had been sitting outside her window for several nights and instead told her that she felt that he was near by and invited him in.

"So are you guys gunna go out on a date, then?"

"No, we're going to spar…later today…to make up for what he did last time," Haushinka carefully informed.

"Spar?" Matsumoto sounded appalled.

"Yeah, that will be much more comfortable for both of us, I believe."

"You should have asked him out…or, better yet, he should have asked you."

Haushinka blushed, "Maybe after we're better acquainted. It's better not to rush these things. Besides, if he wants to speed things up, that's up to him," she giggled at the idea. After he'd been so reserved, it would be amusing if he decided to change his behavior.