It Takes Time
By: Le tired
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters, blah blah blah, etc.
Rated: T for some language and…stuff?
metal chick crisis 2040: Thanks again for another review! I agree, the coupling for Momo and Toushirou is really distasteful for me, largely because Momo is in my eyes a very weak character who so far has not contributed anything besides trouble for her relationship with Toushirou. Maybe if I came across a well-written fanfic I could be persuaded, but that has yet to happen.
Etinarg 12: Thanks again! Sorry for the wait in between chapters, I don't update unless I've completed the following chapter just so I'm positive that the story is flowing to my satisfaction. This one is actually a bit short, I think, but I hope you'll enjoy it!
kriitikko: Thank you very much!
VacantEyes: Thank you! Haha I promise their relationship will progress, but it'll take some time.
qwesdefloki2007: Yes, I think most of this is going to remain in Matsumoto's POV because I envision Hitsugaya's mindset to be more serious and stoic and therefore less interesting to tell the story from. Thanks for reading and feel free to point out any other typos if you see them!
kinichi: I haven't entirely decided how Matsumoto is going to feel about Hinamori. Offhand, I'd say Matsumoto seems too mature and friendly to really hold anything against Hinamori. Then again, she does have a temper that could translate into jealousy under certain situations. Who knows, maybe I'll throw in some non-internal conflict for a change. :P
Bishounenchaser: Thank you very much, this was a very flattering review. I hope this chapter'll won't disappoint you, it's serving more as a segway than for actual plot development. As for the number of reviews, maybe part of it is due to my fairly vague summary as I didn't want to give away too much (or promise something that might change as I write). I know reviews mean a lot to some writers here, and I do sincerely appreciate all the reviews I receive (hence the long-winded responses :D), but I'm primarily writing the story for my own enjoyment as a fan and posting it online is primarily to share it with others who may also enjoy it, so I don't go out of the way to ask for reviews or say I won't post another chapter until I get more. In any case, I was thrilled to read your review, and I hope you'll continue reading!
NubeRoja: Thank you! I understand my pacing is kind of slow, so I'm glad it's to your liking!
Chapter 3
And that was how things came full circle. Saying it made things both easier and harder. Easier because once she'd said it, there was no turning back for Matsumoto. She clearly needed to sort out these feelings for her taichou. But things were harder too because…well, what if she did love Hitsugaya-taichou?
The logical next step would be to see if he could return those feelings. Chances were that was a loud and resounding no. No matter how she tried (and she really did), Matsumoto couldn't find much in common with herself and Momo, the only girl who Hitsugaya had seemed remotely interested in. She'd even tried to make a list one day when she was feeling particularly bored. Letsee…we're both female Shinigami. We're both fukutaichous…except Hinamori is out of commission right now. We both have shikai. We both piss off Hitsugaya-taichou sometimes, me more than her, although I wonder if that's because I see him more often? We both loved traitorous taichous who ran off to Hueco Mundo. And…we both have hair Matsumoto looked over her list. "…Growl, Haineko."
Hitsugaya Toushirou looked up in surprise as Matsumoto released her zanpakuto on some hapless piece of paper over at her desk. Really, the woman did the craziest and most unnecessary things. It had better not have been a formal document. Sighing, he continued writing his report.
Forget Hinamori, Matsumoto decided. Just because Hitsugaya never seemed interested in women while she was around didn't mean he wasn't. For all she knew, he'd had some other buxom bombshell girlfriend during his earlier days in Rugonkai, and just had never gotten around to telling her. But perhaps some of the other male Shinigami knew. Other taichous were probably her best bet, but she couldn't imagine that going well. So she settled for second best.
"Oi, Renji, you ever hear any gossip about Hitsugaya-taichou?"
"Huh? Gossip? Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know. Dirty little secrets. Or maybe something about his past. Wouldn't it be cute if he'd had a girlfriend?"
"Um, not…really. I haven't heard of any girl gettin' close to 'im besides Hinamori." Renji scratched his head, obviously not thinking too hard on the subject. "Why?"
"Just bored. I could use a little gossip." Matsumoto replied quickly and sat down beside the red-headed fukutaichou. They were outside, on a small grassy hill just outside headquarters. A cool breeze was blowing. Matsumoto tucked a stray lock behind her ear. "I just…I really wonder what sort of woman he might find attractive…what sort of woman he'd let into his life."
Renji snorted. "Obviously someone like Hinamori." There was really nothing to say in return to this, so the two fell silent. Suddenly, Renji jerked as he suddenly took note of their conversation. "Hey, what's with all the interest in Hitsugaya-taichou?" He quickly spun to look at Matsumoto. "…you don't like him or somethin', do you?" He broke out in a huge grin as a telltale blush appeared on Matsumoto's face.
"NO WAY!"
"Shut up!" Matsumoto hissed fiercely, although she wasn't overly embarrassed or concerned. She'd known Renji would probably figure it out when she'd decided to come to him. The truth was, she really needed to talk to someone about it, and Renji wasn't so big a dickhead that he'd tell anyone if she asked him not to.
As she expected, Renji quickly shushed. He was still grinning from ear to ear and his eyes were practically gleaming with childish glee, but he'd scooted closer, ready to be quiet about this. "So, when did this happen? No offense, but I thought you were all hung up on Ichimaru."
"Well…I was. And it's not like I've forgotten him. But Hitsugaya-taichou is…something else." She looked concernedly at Renji. "You don't think it's weird, do you? Liking Hitsugaya-taichou that way? I know he looks like a kid."
Renji scoffed rudely. "Hell no. No taichou did more about that whole fuck-up with Aizen. He was the first person to figure out something wasn't right, and he was the first to take action. Plus he can kick my ass any day of the week. No fuckin' way a kid can kick my ass."
Matsumoto couldn't help smiling at Renji's rather crude declaration. "Thanks, Renji."
"No problem." Renji thought for a moment. "So what are ya gonna do? He's still got it bad for Hinamori, you know."
"Yeah." Matsumoto sighed heavily. "Well, they've been best friends forever, and they make more sense than me and him. But besides," she hastily clarified, "it's only a thought. It's not a definite thing, if I like taichou or not. It only really recently occurred to me."
"Oh. Well, that's good. You've got time to sort it out since Hinamori is still…about Aizen, and I think Hitsugaya-taichou is too polite or whatever to try something with her until she's gotten better." Renji grinned some more, clearly pleased with his assessment of the situation. "Who knows? Maybe he'll get tired of waiting for Hinamori, and then you'll really be in luck. Heh, and since we're Shinigami, it's not like we don't have time to spare."
That's what she had thought until Gin had up and left. If she had learned one thing through that whole ordeal, it was that waiting was for idiots. "No. No waiting."
Renji looked a little insulted and befuddled at how quickly she shot down his plan, but finally just shrug it off. "Okaaaay…whaddya wanna do then? You don't have that many options. You wanna just get him drunk one night, then jump 'im?"
"Idiot! As if that'd ever work! This is Hitsugaya-taichou we're talking about." Matsumoto sighed. "It's alright, I can figure this out on my own. I just wanted to see if you knew anything more about Hitsugaya-taichou that might be helpful."
"You're the idiot. You're his fukutaichou, and I've seen how close you two are. There ain't nothing Hitsugaya-taichou would tell me that he wouldn't have told you first."
Matsumoto had to smile at that. "Thanks, Renji, for listening." She paused, debating. "So…what chances would you give us, me and taichou?"
Renji frowned. "Chances, huh?" He scratched his head thoughtfully. "Um…50?" Obviously, he wasn't willing to lean either way. Smart man.
Matsumoto laughed, somewhat ruefully. "Well, it's better than none, I suppose."