Could He Be More? (1/?)
Title: Could He Be More?
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Fandom: Bleach
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Spoiler: None for current chapters, but this is set after the end of the Winter War.
Characters: Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori. Matsumoto’s also in this part.
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. They all belong to Tite Kubo. If they belonged to me…well, things would be quite a bit different.
Author's Notes: moezychan made a HitsuHina fan video (found here) that inspired this fic. The song choice especially influenced this fic, as this is more about Hinamori’s thoughts about the differences between Aizen and Hitsugaya.
---
She figured out the exact moment she finally got free of Aizen’s control, once and for all. It was a moment when she realized that she could care about someone else the way she had cared about him. It was such a tiny moment, but it was significant, at least to her. She had gone to the 10th Division headquarters to say hello to Matsumoto when she spied Hitsugaya taking a nap on the couch. She entered very quietly and went over to him, smiling to herself. He looked so cute, she thought. Then she looked a little more closely and realized it was more than just “he’s cute.” He was…he was…
Before she could marshal her thoughts on the subject Matsumoto burst in, causing Hitsugaya to sit up and start growling at her, both of them ignoring Hinamori until she went to make her escape. “Hinamori,” Hitsugaya said, turning to look at her. “Did you need something?”
She shook her head. “No, I just wanted to say hello to Rangiku-san and remind her about the next Women’s Association meeting.”
“Oh. Well, that’s fine,” he said. “Just…do it outside. And Matsumoto, let me rest. I don’t care if this means you take the paperwork somewhere else.”
Matsumoto nodded and gave him a smile as he went to lay back down. Then she inclined her head towards the door and waited for Hinamori to join her. When the two women were outside the door, Matsumoto laughed. “I was expecting him to make me buckle down and do that entire mountain of paperwork. Thank you for distracting him.”
“I didn’t mean to,” she said.
“I know.” She gave Hinamori a big smile. “Come on. Let’s go get something to eat.”
--
They ended up in Matsumoto’s quarters, and Matsumoto prepared something for them to eat. She paused in her cooking at one point and looked at Hinamori. “Can I talk to you about something personal?”
“Okay,” Hinamori said with a nod.
“Do you know how much my Captain cares about you?”
She froze. “He’s a friend,” she said quietly.
“It’s more than that,” Matsumoto said. “After the fighting, after…” She watched Hinamori clutch her chest. “After that, he felt so guilty. I had to pry information out of him, mostly by telling him he was letting his duties as Captain slip. The guilt was overwhelming him. And then you forgave him, and I noticed a great change in him. Your opinion of him matters greatly.”
“It wasn’t his fault. He was manipulated,” Hinamori said. “I couldn’t blame him for something that he didn’t know he was doing.”
“Who do you blame?” Matsumoto asked gently.
“Aizen,” she replied quietly.
“I see you no longer call him Captain,” Matsumoto noted with a nod.
“It took me a while to see, but…he was an evil man. The next person I call Captain of my division will be a true Captain, not someone who is living a lie.”
“And will you trust him?”
“He’ll have to earn my trust,” Hinamori said.
“That is good to hear,” Matsumoto said with a smile. “It means you’ve moved on and grown up a bit.”
“Yes.” Matsumoto went back to getting them something to eat when something else struck Hinamori’s mind. “Rangiku-san?”
“Yes?”
“What does Hitsugaya-kun think of me?”
Matsumoto paused in her task again. “Well, he cares about you deeply,” she said. “I think he was proud of you for entering the fight against Aizen. And he seems to have nothing but good things to say about you, unless you’re teasing him and he gets irritated.” She then smiled. “Our fourth seat said something disparaging about you while he was around and Captain Hitsugaya really yelled at him over it. He was singing your praises in a way, and then he followed it up with a threat.”
“What threat?”
“That if anyone showed you any disrespect they would have to answer to him personally. I think the implied threat was that he would make their lives hell.”
She was surprised. “I know he’s said he will kill anyone who makes me bleed, but I didn’t realize he would protect my honor as well.”
“You are very important to him. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say his feelings run deeper than mere friendship.”
“No, that’s not possible,” Hinamori said, shaking her head. “I’m still Bedwetter Momo to him.”
“I don’t think so,” Matsumoto replied. “Is it so hard to believe that he may care about you that much?”
“Yes,” she said quietly.
“Then pretend I never said anything,” Matsumoto said. She smiled at Hinamori. “The food’s ready. Let’s eat.”
Hinamori smiled back, but in the back of her head thoughts whirled. Was it really so hard to believe that he cared about her as more than simply a childhood friend? Especially when it seemed to her that she was finally starting to look at him as something more? She let the thoughts fall back into the recess of her mind to concentrate on the food and Matsumoto’s steady stream of conversation. Later. She would think about it later.
Author: Ragna (afteriwake)
Fandom: Bleach
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Spoiler: None for current chapters, but this is set after the end of the Winter War.
Characters: Eventual Hitsugaya/Hinamori. Matsumoto’s also in this part.
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. They all belong to Tite Kubo. If they belonged to me…well, things would be quite a bit different.
Author's Notes: moezychan made a HitsuHina fan video (found here) that inspired this fic. The song choice especially influenced this fic, as this is more about Hinamori’s thoughts about the differences between Aizen and Hitsugaya.
---
She figured out the exact moment she finally got free of Aizen’s control, once and for all. It was a moment when she realized that she could care about someone else the way she had cared about him. It was such a tiny moment, but it was significant, at least to her. She had gone to the 10th Division headquarters to say hello to Matsumoto when she spied Hitsugaya taking a nap on the couch. She entered very quietly and went over to him, smiling to herself. He looked so cute, she thought. Then she looked a little more closely and realized it was more than just “he’s cute.” He was…he was…
Before she could marshal her thoughts on the subject Matsumoto burst in, causing Hitsugaya to sit up and start growling at her, both of them ignoring Hinamori until she went to make her escape. “Hinamori,” Hitsugaya said, turning to look at her. “Did you need something?”
She shook her head. “No, I just wanted to say hello to Rangiku-san and remind her about the next Women’s Association meeting.”
“Oh. Well, that’s fine,” he said. “Just…do it outside. And Matsumoto, let me rest. I don’t care if this means you take the paperwork somewhere else.”
Matsumoto nodded and gave him a smile as he went to lay back down. Then she inclined her head towards the door and waited for Hinamori to join her. When the two women were outside the door, Matsumoto laughed. “I was expecting him to make me buckle down and do that entire mountain of paperwork. Thank you for distracting him.”
“I didn’t mean to,” she said.
“I know.” She gave Hinamori a big smile. “Come on. Let’s go get something to eat.”
--
They ended up in Matsumoto’s quarters, and Matsumoto prepared something for them to eat. She paused in her cooking at one point and looked at Hinamori. “Can I talk to you about something personal?”
“Okay,” Hinamori said with a nod.
“Do you know how much my Captain cares about you?”
She froze. “He’s a friend,” she said quietly.
“It’s more than that,” Matsumoto said. “After the fighting, after…” She watched Hinamori clutch her chest. “After that, he felt so guilty. I had to pry information out of him, mostly by telling him he was letting his duties as Captain slip. The guilt was overwhelming him. And then you forgave him, and I noticed a great change in him. Your opinion of him matters greatly.”
“It wasn’t his fault. He was manipulated,” Hinamori said. “I couldn’t blame him for something that he didn’t know he was doing.”
“Who do you blame?” Matsumoto asked gently.
“Aizen,” she replied quietly.
“I see you no longer call him Captain,” Matsumoto noted with a nod.
“It took me a while to see, but…he was an evil man. The next person I call Captain of my division will be a true Captain, not someone who is living a lie.”
“And will you trust him?”
“He’ll have to earn my trust,” Hinamori said.
“That is good to hear,” Matsumoto said with a smile. “It means you’ve moved on and grown up a bit.”
“Yes.” Matsumoto went back to getting them something to eat when something else struck Hinamori’s mind. “Rangiku-san?”
“Yes?”
“What does Hitsugaya-kun think of me?”
Matsumoto paused in her task again. “Well, he cares about you deeply,” she said. “I think he was proud of you for entering the fight against Aizen. And he seems to have nothing but good things to say about you, unless you’re teasing him and he gets irritated.” She then smiled. “Our fourth seat said something disparaging about you while he was around and Captain Hitsugaya really yelled at him over it. He was singing your praises in a way, and then he followed it up with a threat.”
“What threat?”
“That if anyone showed you any disrespect they would have to answer to him personally. I think the implied threat was that he would make their lives hell.”
She was surprised. “I know he’s said he will kill anyone who makes me bleed, but I didn’t realize he would protect my honor as well.”
“You are very important to him. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say his feelings run deeper than mere friendship.”
“No, that’s not possible,” Hinamori said, shaking her head. “I’m still Bedwetter Momo to him.”
“I don’t think so,” Matsumoto replied. “Is it so hard to believe that he may care about you that much?”
“Yes,” she said quietly.
“Then pretend I never said anything,” Matsumoto said. She smiled at Hinamori. “The food’s ready. Let’s eat.”
Hinamori smiled back, but in the back of her head thoughts whirled. Was it really so hard to believe that he cared about her as more than simply a childhood friend? Especially when it seemed to her that she was finally starting to look at him as something more? She let the thoughts fall back into the recess of her mind to concentrate on the food and Matsumoto’s steady stream of conversation. Later. She would think about it later.