CHAPTER 18: SCHEMING AND PLOTTING

Hinamori and Matsumoto came in early before the Lieutenant's meeting started, to discuss a very crucial matter. It had been a week since Tayomi had become Captain, yet Hitsugaya had not made his move. According to Matsumoto, he had been buried in paperwork for the whole week and Tayomi had her hands full with straightening out everything in the 5th Division. The 5th Division had been without a Captain ever since Aizen's betrayal and Tayomi had a lot of work to do, in order to restore the 5th Division to its former glory. Hinamori sighed and wondered what they could do.

Matsumoto rested her head on the table, while complaining about her Captain's lack of initiative despite watching so many romance DVDs. Hinamori lay on the table as well, telling Matsumoto that Tayomi was probably playing hard to get and waiting for Hitsugaya to ask her. She poked Matsumoto, emphasising on the importance of Hitsugaya taking the initiative. Matsumoto groaned sleepily, fully aware that she had to create a chance for her Captain. She questioned Hinamori curiously, wondering if Tayomi was really in love with Hitsugaya. Hinamori nodded her head eagerly, assuring Matsumoto that Tayomi was interested in him. Matsumoto got up and poked Hinamori, telling her to 'interrogate' Tayomi and find out what she wants from Hitsugaya, before they made further plans.

"Yomi-chan, do you still like Shiro-chan?"

Tayomi looked at Hinamori in shock, before resting her head on her table and nodding her head sadly. Hitsugaya had not looked for her ever since he kissed her that night and she wondered if he was so embarrassed, that he did not even want to look at her. She sighed, feeling so messed up inside. She was dying to know if Hitsugaya was still in love with her, just like he was fifty years ago. When he kissed her, she could feel something magical happening between them and her heart instantly lighted up, beating much faster than it usually did. He had kissed her with so much passion that night and she thought that he still loved her. But he had not looked for her or spoken to her for a week and her heart fell, thinking that it was just her imagination, her wishful thinking.

"Then, if Shiro-chan was still interested in you, what would you want from him?"

"I just want him to love me…" Tayomi mumbled. "Be nice to me, give me flowers and ask me to be his girlfriend… Something along those lines, I guess. But that's never going to happen. It's been fifty years and his feelings towards me have probably changed… Hina-chan, I feel so sad… I'm going to spend the rest my life staining my paper work with tears…"

Matsumoto stood outside Tayomi's office, eavesdropping on her conversation with Hinamori. Now, she knew what Tayomi wanted. As her close friend, she would assume the role of their matchmaker and make it work somehow. The problem lay with her stubborn Captain. Somehow, she had to convince him to take the initiative, boldly grab Tayomi and profess his feelings towards her, through words and actions. Firstly, she had to create a romantic environment for them. The first thing that came to her mind was her Captain's room. She knew that Tayomi used to be from the 4th Division and was good at healing injuries. Maybe if her Captain was hurt, she could create a chance for them? Grinning to herself, she decided to stick to that idea and would tell Hinamori once she had the chance to.

"Taicho…" Matusmoto nudged Hitsugaya for the tenth time that day. "If I told you that Tayomi-chan still liked you, what would you do?"

Hitsugaya stared at his Lieutenant for a moment, still in shock about what she had just said. He wondered if Matsumoto was hinting something, or just up to her usual tricks again. Grumbling, he did not reply and warned her not to play matchmaker. Matsumoto slapped her Captain in the head again.

"Taicho! This concerns your lifelong happiness!" She shouted. "If you aren't going to get it yourself, who's going to help you get it?"

"I don't need to be happy…" Hitsugaya grumbled. "As long as I fulfil my duties as the Captain of the 10th Division, I'm fine with it…"

"Right!" Matsumoto shook her head disbelievingly. "If Tayomi-chan went out with someone else instead of you, you would be perfectly fine with it! So maybe… If Tayomi-chan went out with Hisagi, you would be unaffected by it?"

HISAGI? Hitsugaya's eyes grew wide and his heart beat increased. He started to panic and feel devastated inside. Hisagi and Tayomi had always been very close, seeing them hug each other was already enough to get him jealous. But if they did more than that, could he take it? Excluding the fact that they had a great difference in height, Tayomi and Hisagi seemed well-suited for each other, both having black hair and good looks. Also, they seemed more than just normal friends. Hitsugaya's heart fell, as he considered the possibilities of losing Tayomi to Hisagi. He could not imagine his life without her. The past fifty years had already been a torture to him and when she returned, he thought the nightmare was finally over. If he were to lose her again, he would feel like it was the end of the world. Matsumoto looked at her Captain's solemn expression, before smiling.

"Taicho, I told Tayomi-chan that you accidentally hurt yourself during training again!" Matsumoto exclaimed.

"WHAT?" Hitsugaya slammed his palm against the table and stood up in shock. "Why did you tell her that?"

"Why not? Anyway, she's coming this afternoon to heal your injury…"

"MATSUMOTO!"

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door.

"Taicho!" Matusmoto hurried Hitsugaya into his room. "Good luck! Don't blow your chance!"

Tayomi entered Hitsugaya's room nervously. She saw him sitting on his bed, his eyes completely glued onto her. According to Matsumoto, he had hurt himself during training. That's just typical Susu-chan… She sighed and looked at him. Hitsugaya's eyes were burning into hers again and she tried to smile, before asking him where his injury was. He pointed to his back and Tayomi blushed. It reminded her of the incident where he had injured himself during a mission and she had to heal him. She had to take his shirt off for him and it was so awkward, that their faces turned bright red. Hitsugaya undressed himself, revealing his upper body to her again, just like he did about eighty years ago. He still looked as strong as ever and Tayomi tried to steer her attention away from his muscles, walking behind him. A green light appeared over his wound, as she focused all her energy onto healing it. She wondered how he managed to injure himself. The wound ran across his back diagonally towards the left and it was not very deep, but it was definitely big. He probably was not injured by his subordinates, since it was considered treason to assault a Captain.

"Alright!" She smiled happily to herself, as she walked back in front of him. "All done!"

Hitsugaya stared at her for a moment, wondering what he should do now. As much as he hated how Matsumoto interfered with their relationship, she was right. He could not afford to blow his chance again. He had to catch her. It was now or never. There was no way he could allow himself to live through the pain of being without her again. Even if she rejected him in the end, he would be happy enough if he had at least tried to profess his love to her. He knew that if he did not do it now, he could never forgive himself. Hitsugaya gazed into Tayomi's eyes, looking very serious. The girl that he had loved for the longest time was standing right in front of him. She had been gone for fifty years and had returned at last. He had to do something. He had to hold her, because he never wanted to let her go again, like he did fifty years ago.

Hitsugaya grabbed Tayomi's hand and pulled her towards his body, holding her close to him. Tayomi was shocked, as she felt his hand run down her back. Somehow, the position they were in felt so wrong again. Now they were both sitting on his bed, Hitsugaya did not have his shirt on and he was hugging her tightly. She tried to push him away from her gently, not wanting to end up doing something completely inappropriate, but he held her so tightly that she could not break away from him.

"Tayomi…" Hitsugaya bravely spoke. "Don't go. I've been waiting for you for fifty years already. For the past five decades, everyone believed you were dead, but I knew you weren't. You promised me before you left that you'd come back here alive and that you'd never forget me. You'd never forget us. I still remember that day when you told me the news, you were crying till you could not say a word. I… I don't want to see you so upset again. When I saw that video of you, I was devastated… I felt like a complete failure, because I failed in my duty. I failed to protect you. I've been waiting to reunite with you for such a long time and I've waited so long for that day. I just want to say that… I never stopped waiting for you… I never stopped loving you all these years, because you'll always be the only girl in my heart. I mean it from the bottom of my heart… When you came back, I knew I had to hold you tight, because I never wanted to let you go again. Tayomi… I… I love you…"

Once he was done talking, Tayomi began to feel her tears trickling down her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around his waist, not bothered with the fact that he was shirtless. It had been fifty years… She had been waiting for him to say that ever since she returned.

"Susu-chan…" Tayomi wept happy tears as she spoke. "You idiot… You took so long to say that…"

"I'm not letting you go, ever again."

"Same here… Because… I love you too…" She could see her tears dripping down her face, onto his back.

Hitsugaya and Tayomi backed away slowly, before he held her hands tight. He had to ask her now. He simply had to.

"Will you…" He blushed as he said it. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Of course…" Tayomi giggled, happy that he had finally asked her. "Of course I will!"

Hitsugaya smiled and looked at her. At the same time, he held her close to him and she threw her arms around his neck. They locked lips, with happy tears streaming down their faces. She could feel his soft lips pressing on hers and it felt amazing, just like the first time they kissed. Hinamori and Matsumoto had their ears pressed against the door, overhearing every single thing Hitsugaya said. They smiled at each other. Things had worked out very well indeed. After so many years of waiting, Hitsugaya and Tayomi were finally together.

Author's note:
ALRIGHT! YAY! YAY! YAYYYY! THEY'RE FINALLY TOGETHER! :D Well done, Hitsugaya Taicho! XD I am so proud of you right now ^.^
So after 49 wonderful chapters, they are FINALLY, OFFICIALLY TOGETHER! :D
Next Chapter, we shall find out exactly what happened to Aizen. I haven't been talking about Aizen for the past few chapters, so let's find out what happened to him :D
Hope you all liked this chapter! Please review! Thanks! :D