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?
Author's Notes: This is what happens when I watch too many Bleach omakes on youtube.
sagitgirlth: Thanks again for the review! It would be so awesome if KT drew some more romance-y scenes in the manga. I don't really believe him when he said he doesn't do romance; the man sort of lost credibility since he made Orihime have feelings for Ichigo :P. Ah well, in the meantime, we have fanfics and fanart :).
Writing bunny: Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it! Hopefully, I'll have a climax somewhere at some point… o_O.
kriitikko: You hit it exactly on the spot, they have a real understanding :). I'm glad you liked the confession, I feel so much better when I hear that sort of feedback from readers about the parts I had problems with!
Prince of Winter Dragons: Yay, isn't that scene great? There's another when Hitsugaya starts to leave and Matsumoto asks where he's going and he sort of lies and then goes to see Momo, and Matsumoto just sort of stares after him. So awesome. Haha I immediately thought about Hitsugaya in a suit when I wrote that part, but it probably won't be happening in the next few chapters for a few reasons. Still, I haven't given up the idea! Peace and love!
CherryFlamingo: Haha
Cloud Ex-SOLDIER: Thank you for the review! Haha yes I know, I'm going to try not to completely drop off the face of the earth again between chapters. As for a time-skip older Hitsugaya…I'd thought about it and it's still appealing but for now it's not in the plans. I think one of the challenging parts about HitsuMatsu is his whole age thing, and a lot of writers address it by making him older (which is fine, I'm just saying it's been done a lot already). And it's funny because we're all actually fans of Hitsugaya as he is now since KT hasn't aged him, so I sort of wanted to pay tribute to that. Keep letting me know what you think!
Chapter 11
"Ehhhh? NO WAY!" Ise Nanao screeched, her voice cracking slightly in her shock. When Rangiku had called begging for an impromptu meeting of the Shinigami Women's Association, Nanao had naturally assumed there was some emergency, or maybe Rangiku had come up with a way to save their organization's constantly dwindling budget. Never in a million years had it occurred to her that they would be gathered instead for the announcement of what was likely the scandal of the century in Soul Society. Shuuhei and his division would finally have something to write about in the Seireitei Communication for the next few months.
"Oh yes, it's true! Hitsugaya-taichou is taking me on a date tomorrow night!" Matsumoto gloated, oblivious to the conniption s her friend was currently undergoing.
"But this is so sudden!" Nanao protested. "So…inappropriate! A captain and his lieutenant?"
"Oh come now, Nanao-chan, I would think you of all people would understand."
"M-Me? How so?"
"You can't tell me there's nothing going on between you and Kyoraku-taichou!"
"Absolutely not!"
"Then, you were really diddling by the river last night?" Yachiru piped up.
The room filled with dead silence. All the women in the room turned to gape at their President. "President, where did you learn that word?" Nanao gasped, her dispute with Rangiku forgotten for the moment.
"I heard it from Baldy when he was talking to Yun-Yun this morning," the eleventh division lieutenant replied matter-of-factly. "But they wouldn't tell me what it means when I asked."
"I-It doesn't really mean anything," Nanao lied.
"Well…maybe I'll ask Ken-chan later when he awakes from his nap!" Yachiru smiled, while everyone else shuddered at the thought of Kenpachi's explanation. It…just couldn't be good.
Matsumoto was the first to recover. "Anyway, to answer your question, Kusajishi-taichou, no, I have not diddled with Hitsugaya-taichou. Remember that. A woman with real class doesn't diddle on the first date." She shook a finger at Yachiru, who nodded studiously. Matsumoto turned to the rest of the room. "I thought I'd repeat that to everyone else, because I know what they've been saying and I don't want you all to get the wrong idea here. I was just a little tipsy and fell in the water, and Hitsugaya-taichou jumped in to help me."
Nanao huffed. "It'd only happen with you, Rangiku-san."
"At least I'm woman enough to admit when I like someone!" Rangiku teased back slyly.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Nanao tried to hide her burning face by pretending to straighten her glasses.
Matsumoto grinned and decided to cut her friend a break. "So girls, I asked for us to meet so you could help me out here. What do you think I should do to win my taichou's heart? Where should we go? What should I wear? Should I try to kiss him?"
Nanao made one last feeble attempt to direct the meeting. "Rangiku-san, this is a SWA meeting, not a…a girls' slumber party! Don't you think we should focus on less personal matters?"
"Eh? But I thought the SWA was created to improve the lives of Shinigami and in particular advocate for women!" Matsumoto cocked her head. "What's more important to us women that finding love and happiness?" She turned to Soi Fon. "Soi Fon-taichou, wouldn't you like to learn more about how to further your relationship with Yoruichi-san?"
The captain immediately blushed. "Y-Yoruichi-sama?"
"And you, Nemu, don't you think it's important to find ways to meet a nice boy Kurotsuchi-taichou would approve of and not want to dissect?"
"…I hadn't thought of that."
"And you, Kiyone! Don't you want to win the heart of Ukitake-taichou and prove once and for all that you love him the best?"
"Yes, that's true!"
"And Isane, don't you think we should come up with a way for men to see past your ridiculous height?"
"I-I suppose so."
"And Kusajishi—well, you're too young for all this right now. But you should still pay attention because it'll be very important later in life!"
"Will there be candy involved?"
"Absolutely! Because you know, Yachiru-chan, men are a type of candy as well!"
"Really?"
"Yes, the best sort! Eye candy!" Matsumoto pumped her fist into the air. "Let's hear it for winning the hearts of the men and women we choose to love! Who's with me?"
"HAI!" the women cheered in unison. Nanao sweatdropped. It was clear that victory was Matsumoto's. And so the women began their new mission of helping Matsumoto plan her date.
Later that afternoon, Hitsugaya Toshirou had finished his tower of papers and decided to go in search of his errant lieutenant. Normally, he'd check all the drinking establishments first, but Matsumoto had mentioned something about the Shinigami Women's Association, which now met in the manor of Kuchiki Byakuya. Toshirou wasn't sure how he was going to get in there (or how the women got in there in the first place), but he thought Kuchiki would be reasonable and-
"Ohh, Hitsugaya-taichou!" Toshirou looked up to see Ukitake with Kyoraku right behind him. "It's good to see you! Where are you going this fine day?"
"I'm looking for Matsumoto. She ran off again." Just the thought got his blood boiling again.
"Missing her already?" Kyoraku sighed sentimentally. "Ahh, young love."
"No, it's not like that," Toshirou protested, irritated. How the hell had Kyoraku come to that conclusion? The rumors? It couldn't be. Kyoraku was a fellow captain and target of gossip as well; surely he realized they were baseless.
"Come, come, there's no need to be shy." Ukitake leaned in conspiratorially and winked. "We both think it's great that you're with Rangiku-san. We've all been too tense as of late. A night out with the one you love is just what you need."
"But I—"
"True, true. And remember," Kyoraku added, cutting Toshirou off in the process, "a woman is like a flower. You have to shower her gently with affection, tend to her night and day. Do it properly and she'll blossom most beautifully for you. When you take her out tomorrow night, remember to compliment her. Listen to her troubles. Hold her hand and look into her eyes—"
"Nothing happened last night by the river!" Toshirou snapped. "She was drunk and fell in—" He stopped. "Tomorrow night? What...who said anything about tomorrow night?"
"Oh, it's not true then?" Kyoraku looked disappointed. "But Nanao-chan said Rangiku-san told her directly that you had a date."
Toshirou was stunned. "What…"
"I heard it from Kiyone," Ukitake chimed in, looking troubled. "I'm sorry for offending you, Hitsugaya-taichou. Normally, we wouldn't have paid any attention but this was from our lieutenants." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think they'd intentionally lie. Hmm, there must have been some misunderstanding."
More than anything, Toshirou wanted to let them believe it was indeed a misunderstanding. But he also didn't want to land the lieutenants in trouble when in fact they had innocently told the truth. Damn his morals. "Uh, no, it's true." He was going to kill Matsumoto.
The other two captains immediately brightened. "Well then, that's great! Like I said, there's no need to be shy!" Kyoraku thumped him on the back heartily.
"I'm not being shy," Toshirou muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "This only happened a few hours ago." He hadn't even completely sorted it out in his mind and people were already getting on his case. What the hell had Matsumoto was thinking blabbing to half of the Gotei 13? …well, that was easy enough—she hadn't been thinking. Typical Matsumoto. At least she was enjoying herself.
"Oh, if it isn't Hitsugaya-taichou, Kyoraku-taichou, and Ukitake-taichou." The three men turned at the deceptively mild voice of Retsu Unohana. "Good day, everyone."
"Good day, Unohana-san," Ukitake greeted her. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, nothing really. I heard an interesting story from Isane-san, though." She smiled down at Toshirou. "Congratulations, Hitsugaya-taichou. You are a very lucky man."
"Lucky doesn't begin to describe it!" Kyoraku exclaimed. "Rangiku-san has the body of a goddess and like a goddess, she benevolently graces us with her bosom every day. They're so beautiful and soft-looking! Oh Nanao-chan, what wouldn't I do for you to think just a little more like Rangiku-san!"
"Of course," Unohana said quietly but firmly, "that is not all a woman has to offer. Isn't that right, Kyoraku-taichou?" Her eyes gleamed dangerously.
"Oh, of course not, madam!" Kyoraku stuttered, and immediately backtracked. "A woman's mind is also a fine fine thing."
Unohana smiled beatifically at his response. "I'm so glad you agree, Kyoraku-taichou." She turned to look at Toshirou, who suddenly had a very bad feeling. "As the chairwoman of the SWA, all its members are very dear to me. You will take good care of Rangiku-san, won't you, Hitsugaya-taichou?"
"Uh…y-yes…"
"That's good. Well, good day then, gentlemen."
The three men held their breaths as they watched the female captain glide away, then let them out in unison. "Well, that was a little scary," Kyoraku laughed, adjusting his straw hat.
"Indeed," Ukitake agreed. "You'll have to be careful, Hitsugaya-taichou. You don't want to upset Unohana-san."
"No…" Toshirou said emptily. He felt he had aged a hundred years over the past few minutes. So it was out. Everyone and their mother knew what was going on with him and Matsumoto. Granny probably knew. Dear god, this was humiliating. He turned around, staggering slightly.
"Ah, where are you going, Hitsugaya-taichou? Weren't you looking for Rangiku-san?" Kyoraku called after him.
"No, it's hopeless. I…think I'm just going to do more work in my office…" He wobbled off.
Kyoraku and Ukitake watched him go. "I hope Hitsugaya-taichou isn't coming down with something," Ukitake finally commented. "He didn't look very good when he left."