Chapter Nine

Two weeks had passed since the reigai incident. Two weeks was a short amount of time for an average citizen of Seireitei. For two weeks, Masaki did not bother her favorite godparents for one bit. She spent her time training and helping out her own family in Division Five. That division seemed to be well on its way to recovery. The Sixth Division always enjoyed their frequent visits of such a young offspring, though they were met with a trashed yard urging to be cleaned later. In such a few months, Masaki learned to fit in properly without the help of her married parents and her (unfortunately) unmarried godparents.

But those two weeks seemed like eternity for the two shinigami, whose relationship always seemed to be stuck in a limbo. Well…for one…

"Naori, can you work overtime for a little bit?" The white-haired teenage captain asked his subordinate. He, at this time, was flipping between filling out pages and pages of paperwork and attempting to find and persecute his lazy excuse of a lieutenant. Because that idiot never showed up, he had to ask his golden-eyed officer for her usual assistance.

She curiously gazed down at him from the edge of his desk. The small yellow bands that clipped onto the ends of her dark blue hair bumped against her chin, but she did not notice this. Instead, she noticed his beat form, his tired eyes of turquoise, and his hands that loosely held onto each sheet of paper. If she had to guess, he was overworking himself again because of a certain lieutenant, whom she must not say the name or else her captain might have a temperamental breakdown. Taking all of this into consideration, Naori plucked away the brush and rested her hand upon his. "I'll finish this paperwork. Go back to your quarters and rest."

"Naori…" He whispered for that moment before placing his other hand upon her peach fingers. "Sorry. I just have too much paperwork that needs to be addressed by a captain. I wanted to ask you if…"

"Don't be foolish!" Her light voice raised an octave as her furious golden-eyes danced against the gleaming light of the warm sunset. "I'm a trained medic officer and I've been in your division for at least half a century! I know when you're tired and you're at your limit! Now be a good captain and go to bed!"

That last comment at least brought an angry twitch to his closed lids. The number one thing he hated the most was being ordered around by an underling. If he had the strength right now, he could yell back a nice, witty comeback and let the argument ensue. But he's been trying to back off from the usual banter. Ever since the talking with her reigai, he wanted to try straying from that path for once. That's what he's been doing for the whole two weeks, but it seemed more like an eternity

"Captain Hitsugaya? Can't you take a break? For me?" She pleaded. "You know I will gladly…"

"Come with me for a girl's night out!" A sudden hand grabbed Naori's shoulder and pulled her back under a bear hug of her own lieutenant. "Say Naori-chan! Why don't you come with Hinamori and me for some dinner and drinks! It's going to be so much fun! And you won't be trapped in this depressing excuse of a working atmosphere."

"MATSUMOTOOOO!"

Of course, the ditzy lieutenant reacted with no surprise to her very infuriated captain.

"Where have you been for the last two freaking days! Do you know how much paperwork has piled up because of you? If I wasn't stuck doing your work, I would have torn through Soul Society hunting your sorry ass out!" He yelled, standing up from his chair and slamming a fist into the paperwork. A couple pages flew out and floated onto the floor and droplets of ink splattered onto the trashed pages. He didn't notice and he pointed an accusing finger at his still unsurprised lieutenant. "Besides, who said you can kidnap her for drinks? She's not even at drinking age yet!"

"Oh please, Captain, Naori-chan here passed drinking age a hundred years ago. Right Naori-chan?" Matsumoto grinned and playfully poked a now blushing Naori.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto!" The girl whined back as she tried to push away. "Don't you see how tired Captain Hitsugaya is? We should, at least, stay back and help him."

"Hmm…" She attempted to think, but her mind was more on that sake. "Nope! But don't worry Captain! You can turn in for today and I'll finish up your work tomorrow. Of course, only if you let me take this cutie out for tonight!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Too bad!"

"Hey! Don't I have a say in this?"

"Bye-bye!" One flirty grin later, she was gone along with Naori in a flash-step.

"MATSUMOTOOOOO!"

OoOoO

"Lieutenant Matsumoto…why did you bring me here again?" Naori deadpanned, staring at a considerably drunk Matsumoto and a slightly more sober Hinamori. "And Lieutenant Hinamori, why are you in on this as well?"

Hinamori giggled and winked. "Sorry Naori-chan. Even I can't miss out on a night like this! And it's just Hinamori now."

Naori sighed and pinched her forehead. "Oh Hinamori-san, I'd expect better from you."

"I'd like some fun, just for tonight." Hinamori picked up some sushi with her chopsticks and shoved into Naori's unexpected mouth. "And you should too."

Naori stared oddly at these two while chewing on the rice concoction. Sure, she could loosen up and try to enjoy the night with these two. It's been a long time since their last girl's night out and that ended with even Yachiru nearly passed out. But, since it was only Matsumoto and Hinamori, isn't it fine to relax? Even if Hitsugaya was working his butt off in the office?

"And what about Captain Hitsugaya?" Naori countered back, shoving a serving of sushi into Hinamori's mouth.

"Shiro-chan will live! He went through much worse before." Hinamori enthusiastically replied after finishing chewing. But, without Naori looking, she suddenly passed a wink to another lieutenant.

Matsumoto's eyes glinted with mischief and she curiously inched closer to Naori. "So, while we're on the subject of our captain, care to fess up?"

A piece of sushi fish lodged into the sides of her throat and Naori violently hacked it back up. She could hear a frantic Hinamori struggling to get some water and Matsumoto giggling in amusement. She didn't care of their concern. What she cared about was their plans for her right now. Tonight. In the future. Thank goodness she spent so much time with Matsumoto. She knew dirt where she could see it. And right now, she saw a planter's field.

Disgusted, Naori quickly stood up and tried to barge her way out of the room. Only Hinamori came back with a Bakudo enchantment ready to go!

"Nope! Naori-chan! You promised you'll have a girl's night out with us!" Hinamori wagged her finger.

"I don't recall a 'girl's night out' requiring an interrogation!" Naori angrily bellowed back! "Ugh! I see Lieutenant Matsumoto doing something like this, but you, Hinamori-san! Why! Wait till I tell Captain Hitsugaya and your granny on you! Then-"

"Loosen up!" Matsumoto groaned, throwing a nice helping of sake right into Naori's open mouth.

The young dark-haired girl swallowed up the liquor drink whole. Her eyes grew wide and her hands flew over her mouth. Suddenly, her cheeks turned pink and squeaky hiccups erupted out of her closed mouth. Matsumoto and Hinamori looked on curiously at their little friend while she hiccupped and grew ever more embarrassed.

Finally, Hinamori broke the silence with a gasp. "Naori-chan! Don't tell me!"

"I see you got a low tolerance for alcohol!" Matsumoto grinned and grabbed another bottle of sake. "Let's see what kind of a drunk you are! If we're lucky, you'll be a drunk that talks a lot!"

"Lieutenant Matsumoto!" Naori quickly leapt to her feet and jumped off a wall, hoping to somersault in midair over Matsumoto and out the door. But suddenly, Hinamori moved right in front of her! Not wanting to hit her idol, she maneuvered herself to hit the wall next to the door! Slowly, the girl sank back down to hit the hard floor.

"Auntie Nao?" A voice of pure innocence floated into the room. There she was. Cute, little Masaki, decked out in a little flowery kimono, was standing at the entranceway. She curiously peeked in, not noticing the fact that Matsumoto held sake and Hinamori held a Bakudo spell.

"Oh! Masaki-chan! How cute you look tonight!" Matsumoto squealed in delight. The old woman ran forward to bear hug the little child to death.

"Ran-chan! I can't breathe!" Masaki screamed until she felt her sides loosen up. "Ran-chan? Hinamori-sensei? What are you doing out so late? And why is Auntie-Nao on the floor?"

"Oh! A girl's night out!" Matsumoto gleamed. "You should join us! We're having so much fun with Naori-chan."

Taking a minute to think, Masaki quickly eased herself out of Matsumoto;s grasp. "I'm sorry Ran-chan, Hinamori-sensei, and Auntie Nao. But I'm eating dinner with Mommy and Daddy tonight."

"Masaki! Are you coming back yet?" They heard a faint woman's voice. It was probably Rukia.

"Coming Mommy!" Masaki called back and ran out the door. "Enjoy your night out!"

Hinamori smiled as the little child ran out of their dining room to meet up with her mother. She simply sighed with content. "What a sweet child! You and Shiro-chan have raised her well over the years."

"And you two would corrupt her in seconds." Naori cynically replied back.

But as she spoke for her rebuttal, a warm splash of liquid entered into her throat, causing the girl to swallow it whole once again. Naori gulped. The warm liquid slid down to her stomach. Her sense of taste was going haywire. And her vision was almost getting blurry!

Matsumoto winked. "Punishment drink!"

"Hic! Why you dirty-"

Another rain of rice wine flew into her mouth and she swallowed it whole once again. Damn! Her head was getting hot now! So were her arms, and her legs, and her shoulders…

"That's for calling me 'dirty'!" Matsumoto huffed, but she leaned a little bit closer. "You know, there's a loophole for these sake punishments. If you finally admit your feelings for Captain Hitsugaya, I'll stop force feeding you and Hinamori will let you go."

"I like him." She replied back. No emotions in her voice whatsoever.

For that, another sake shot went into her unexpected open mouth.

"Say it like you mean it!"

"I- hic!- like him… Gah!" There goes the fourth drink.

"That's not meaning it!" Matsumoto sighed and drank up the sake that did not go into Naori's mouth. "You know, this whole mess can be solved up nicely if you just admit it. I mean, Captain's already dying to hear a confession from you. Heck! He wants to confess to you himself, but he has no guts."

"That's right." Hinamori nodded. "But, then again, Shiro-chan is younger than you and these feelings are new to him. So, it's your responsibility to take the initiative!"

"But he's the guy." Matsumoto suddenly interjected. "So shouldn't he take the initiative? Besides, my captain may look young, but he already acts like an old man!"

"But these feelings of having a crush and loving someone are new to him."

"But he's smart enough to realize them."

"How about- hic!- you two- hic!- just butt out and- hic!- leave us alone?"

Hinamori and Matsumoto stopped their argument for just a second and glanced down at Naori, who stared quizzically back. Once she got their attention, Naori was about to open her mouth and speak another insult when, once again, a huge shot of sake swam into her mouth.

That was it! It was bad enough that she was drinking sake in the first place. But five at once! The last time, she only drank three shots and she considered herself lucky to even make it back to her room! But now… Her head was spinning like crazy! Her body temperature flew out of the roof! Her vision was so foggy and her voice failed to even go past a squeak. She found it even hard to move her body at all. From that alone, her mind went black and her vision grew dark.

"Naori-chan! She fainted!" Hinamori exclaimed.

"Maybe we should bring her back home now…"

OoOoO

Where was she? What is this place? Her vision slowly came back into a somewhat manageable view. Sure, some things were a bit blurry like the bend at the end of an outside hallway. But some stuff was pretty clear like the railings, the walls, the doors, and the floor her face currently planted on. Naori tried to get on her knees, but her mind became so dizzy that she fell right back to the floor. If she was still able to think, she could say that she was dead wasted! The shinigami teenager tried once again, and in all her might, managed to stand on two feet…only to crash right into the wall next to her. Naori clung onto the wall like it was life itself and staggered on the direction of wherever the hallway leaded her. If she was lucky, this hallway could lead her right to her room!

Her headache grew even more so and her vision decided to become foggy once again! Damn! Her legs were trembling like crazy! She could fall at any minute now! She felt her breathing grow more intense and her neck started to sweat. She felt her kimono starting to get too stuffy for comfort. She was in no shape to even continue a journey back home!

Only one solution left! Find a room and sleep it off.

She felt her right hand hit something. It was a door that slid slightly open. She could hear a scuffle inside, probably a reaction to the noise she made, but she didn't care! Screw them! She needed some place to sleep!

"Naori! In what heavens-"

Who was that voice? It sounded familiar… She couldn't think anymore. Her mind grew blank and she fell down into a warm pair of arms.

"Naori! Naori! What's wrong?"

A familiar voice called for her, but she couldn't hear anymore. But if she could open her eyes for even just a moment, she could see a pair of worried teal eyes looking down on her.

"Naori! Get a hold of yourself!"

Hitsugaya shook her again, but to no avail, she did not respond at all. Feeling something amiss, especially with her body pressed up against him, he pressed the back of his hand on her forehead. She was burning up! Was this a fever? But she was fine this afternoon? How could she catch a fever in less than six hours?

"Matsumoto. It had to be her." His hands clenched in fury and like a reflex, he slammed it onto the floor. How dare her! Even endangering Naori in the process! Unforgiveable! "When I get my hands on her…"

"Captain…" Her weak voice reached up to him. "Hitsu-kun…it's so hot…"

"I know. I'll help you get rid of it now." He was about to create a couple ice packs almost instantly, but instead, she took his hand and brought it down to her heaving chest.

"It's so cool…I'm so hot…So cool…So hot…" She murmured as she tightened up her grip on his hand. "My chest…my head…about to…explode…it's too hot here."

Wait…isn't she supposed to be dizzy? Unable to move? Coughing? Why was she just…hot? "Hey…don't you have a-hey! Where do you think you're putting my hand?" The prude captain quickly retracted his hand. That was a close one! If he didn't react so quickly, she would have…she would have…

The girl, who was supposed to be sick, suddenly pouted at him and reached for her kimono neckline by herself. "Fine. Hic! If you don't cooperate, then I'll just do this myself." She drawled, moving her top just below her shoulders. As she did this, she staggered back up to her feet and walked closer into his quarters. "It's so hot! Hic! I can't breathe…might as well…take it all…off…" Her speech suddenly became more loose and loopy. Almost as if she was…

"You're drunk." He quickly ran after her, catching onto her arm to jolt her around.

"Ehh? Hitsu-kun?" Her redden cheeks lifted as she smiled, and the girl suddenly bear hugged him. "Hic! So you decided to help me!"

"No! I do not!" He protested, trying to get away from this drunken mess. But, horror soon drifted into him once his eyes befell a new sight before him. There was a black uniform…laying down a couple feet away…and Naori's bare shoulders right below his sight.

"Eh? Where did he go?" Naori tilted her head and felt around, wondering why there was nobody there. But she managed to find him a couple feet away, back facing towards her. "Hitsu-kun! Hic! Come back here!"

"No! And put your clothes back on!"

She started to cry. "Captain! You're so mean! I hate you! Hic! Do you know how much this hurts my-" She placed her hand upon her chest to emphasize her heart, but instead, she felt something like cloth. Bandages perhaps? She peered down and found the solution to her breathing problem! "Ah! Never mind! I found my problem!"

He sighed in relief.

"It's these bandages! Hic! I can't breathe with these on! Off they go!"

Commence freak out.

With one single motion, she tugged onto the bandages that bounded onto her chest. Also, in that split second, a flurry of cloth flew right over her. It covered her necessary parts completely. But it would eventually slip off due to gravity. Yet it was enough for him to quickly turn around and make his move, pinning her covered body right onto the hard floor.

"Ow! Hitsu-kun! That hurt!" She struggled against his weight. "You're so mean! Hic! Get off! Get off!"

"I think you need to chill out."

"I would if you get off me and get this thing off me!" She was still squirming under him. "Get off of me right now!"

"No."

"Get off!" Her loose speech progressively got louder. "I hate you Captain Hitsugaya! You never let me do anything I want! Hic! I hate you! Hic! I don't even know why I like you! Go to hell! Go die…in a hole! Go…die…stupid…"

She suddenly drifted back into a deep sleep. Hitsugaya sighed in relief and released his grip on her. But, even so, her drunken words still rang in his heads. 'I don't even know why I like you.' Sure, he would be ecstatic to hear those words. But not like this. Not when she unable to think straight and she was intoxicated beyond belief.

"Captain…" She opened her golden eyes once again, but her movements became much slower as she grabbed onto his sleeve. "Don't leave me alone…don't leave me…" She pleaded him, her golden eyes twinkling with brimming tears.

"Never," He softly replied, wrapping his arms around her and let his young subordinate fall on his chest.

"I'm so cold now…you're so warm…" She murmured/drawled into his chest.

He nodded and held onto her tightly, letting her finally close her teary eyes and drift into a deep sleep. "I know…because…" He whispered. "I love you."

She couldn't hear him.

OoOoO

"Hi! So how's everyone today!" Matsumoto cheerfully barged into the once serene office. "I don't know about you, but I had a wonderful night! We should have these girl's nights out more often! It really takes the pressure off my back."

"Lieutenant Matsumoto." An icy, light sound of death came from behind her. "Excuse me for I'm going to drop titles for a moment…Rangiku!"

"Eeeep!" After evading the electrical air mines, the busty lieutenant quickly flew through the door and slammed it shut. "Oh no! Operation Drunken Mess was a failure!"

"MATSUMOTO!"

The lieutenant literally screamed, cowering in the rather short shadow of her tiny captain. Damn! For such a small thing, he sure was scary! Gathering up what was left of her courage, she finally spoke back up. "Hey Captain…how are you? Eeek!" She quickly jumped to the side to dodge his ice arrows. "Why did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Or maybe with no clothes…"

"MATSUMOTOOOOO!"

Afterwards, Rangiku Matsumoto went on an extended vacation.

Shinigami Cup!

The lieutenant kept staring at the hardworking girl…particularly in one little area. So much so that she was even able to recognize it.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto. What is the matter?" Naori stopped and approached the lieutenant. "You've been staring at me for ten minutes. Something wrong?"

"Yeah. I've been wondering. You're already at that age, but your chest is still flat as a wall." Matsumoto replied, pointing at her chest.

Naori blushed and her hands flew right over her chest. "What-What are you saying?"

"I mean, there are late bloomers but this is ridiculous!" Matsumoto continued to ramble, but her eyes caught onto something more interesting. "Wait! Are those bandages?" She flew right out, swatted Naori's hands away, pulled open her kimono top, and yanked on the bandage to unravel. "Those are bandages! Why are you wearing a sarashi? Aren't those for men that want to act tough? And they were so last year! See! You look much healthier with these out!"

Naori threw the lieutenant off and quickly tried to cover up, which unfortunately, was not much. "Those are for the sake of convenience! I don't know how you can fight with your breasts dangling and flailing around like that!"

"Hey it takes practice! But you need to make sacrifices in order to look beautiful." Matsumoto hand waved the concern off. "You should stop wearing a sarashi. You look much more womanly without it. And I'm sure the captain wouldn't mind!"

Silence. And the room temperature dropped a couple degrees.

"Eh? Captain Hitsugaya…" Naori sheepishly said out of the blue, prompting Matsumoto to finally look.

Just how long was he standing there? Well, apparently long enough that he fainted! And his paperwork spilled! The horror!

Naori look at Matsumoto. "I blame you."

Yes! I finally completed this chapter! I am finally on my much needed break and I thought I could type for a while. Also, it's Christmas Day Observed so this counts as a present!

So, last few chapters, Hitsugaya was the one pulling the strings and teasing Naori like crazy. So, to make it even, I made Naori do the same thing! Except there's no way in hell she actually has the guts to do something like that so I got her drunk. If you haven't noticed by now, she gets very…horny…when intoxicated, which makes this ever the more entertaining!

And, for definition, a sarashi is a bunch of bandages tied around the torso area. It is commonly used by samurai and stuff.

Review!