A/N:VERY. IMPORTANT! LOOK. HERE! Right. I have few things to say.

1. This is the final chapter. I hate myself for being so late, but this chapter is HUGE, so accept is as an apology of some sort. I suck on fighting scenes and I'm sorry if they are going to disappoint you, but I did my best. If some of you hadn't asked me to turn this into a full-fledges story, then there wouldn't have been fighting scenes and this would've been just a mere fluffly two-shot.

2. My beta hasn't checked this. Therefore there is a possibility of a huge amount to mistakes. Sorry about that. The reson why I didn't give it to my beta is that this story means much to me and we all know that betas always influence your look on the things more or less and I really wanted this to be my story COMPLETELY!

3. I plan on starting another fic soon. It's going to be a HitsuMatsu one, cuz it seems like for now I'm obsessed with the couple, but the way I've planned it, I think it'll turn out to be very interesting. It'll be Bleach music band sort of thing... many flashbacks, drama, some funny moments, romance and stuff. So if you like my style of writing aaaaand you want to see more, add me to your Author Alert. Some of you already have. Anyways, just saying.

4. Thank you for being with me this whole time, thank you everyone for reading and I'm thanking extremelly much to those who reviewed. Those reviews meant much for me and gave me strenght to continue. Literally. And I know there're many stories that suck in the end, I hope this one doesn't but then again - I can't tell with much certainty, for I'm the author. Also, for those who got tired of this fic and its lenght, I'm sorry, I could not make it any shorter.

Thank you for not being lazy and reading this. (bows) Here's the last chapter. Have fun.

Although the sky was still overcast with thick dark clouds and the biting wind was blowing hard, the rain had finally stopped, giving the inhabitants of Soul Society a reason to sigh with relief and direct hopeful gazes towards the sky, wishing for normal weather and no more terrible hailstorms or cloudbursts that carried the feeling of loneliness and despair. It was true that indeed, people couldn't stay indifferent to the emotions that radiated from the phenomenons, it made them feel somewhat lost, cold, empty… it made them crave for someone to be next to them at that same moment, it made them finally experience with full force what many of them had tried to hide or get rid of during the years – the desire to love... and be loved back….

Even though, they were some individuals, who remained unaffected by all that. There were people, originally so frigid and cruel that the meaning of rain could not reach them. People, who carried only hatred, anger and ambition in their hearts. People… who were willing to hurt others just to get what they wanted…

People like the new captain of the tenth division.

With his zanpakuto unsheathed, Kenji stood on the top of a hill, far away from the town, his face cold and still as always. However, a foreign spark glowed in his dark eyes, carrying emotions he had hardly showed before…

Anticipation. Excitement. Bloodthirstiness.

Running his tongue over his teeth, Kenji let a small but rather smug smile form on his thin lips. He hadn't had a nice fight for such a long time, he found himself missing the feeling of crushing somebody else physically and mentally. Battling held its own irreplaceable charm, a drug for those who did not lose, a tingle they could not experience in any other way, an exotic taste with a high price they weren't able to order as often as they would like. To put it simply, for the newly fledged captain it was one of those little things that brought him pleasure… A passion he could say, both him and Zaraki shared, though in slightly different ways.

A whiff of slightly cooler air grazed the red-head's skin and he smirked.

'I've been waiting for you, captain Hitsugaya…' Kenji said calmly, eyes sill glued on the landscape in front of him. A soft growl sounded behind his back.

'Bastard…' Toushiro hissed, pale hand gripping tightly the hilt of his sword. Kenji let out a small lazy chuckle, before slowly stretching his arms and turning around to face the prodigy.

'Tell me, third division taicho, what did you come to fight for? Your honor or the woman?' the red-head asked in a mockingly avuncular manner. As an answer, Hitasugaya released a nice amount of reiatsu that turned the ground between the two in ice.

'Aaahhh!' Kenji nodded knowingly as he made few steps towards the diminutive shinigami 'I see. So it's the woman, isn't it? That's interesting...'

'Interesting?' Hitsugaya replied dryly, eyebrow rising.

'Well… She broke your heart, didn't she?' Kenji's lips formed a gloating smile as he eyed the boy in front of him up and down before adding 'I don't see any point in fighting for something that isn't even yours… And has never been in the first place…'

Jackpot.

The red-head's smile grew wider as he watched with some sort of a sick satisfaction written all over his face the other captain's reaction. It was a silent, passive one, but it carried the whiff of utter pain and thousands of hot unshed tears in it. Hitsugaya just stood there for a couple of seconds, unable to move, with helplessly and somehow vulnerably widened jade eyes and involuntary parted pale lips.

'Oh, yes.' Kenji snickered, crossing his arms in front of his chest 'Truth hurts, doesn't it?'

Suddenly, Hitsugaya's face hardened and the expression that was there a moment ago disappeared without a trace, leaving only the one of cold determination.

'Look… This isn't about having and not having... You want to ruin my reputation, my life? Fine! But I've warned you…' the boy begun, voice low and slightly hoarse as he lifted his zanpakuto and pointed it at Kenji 'Not to touch Matsumoto… And you did a great mistake to overlook what I told you…'

Overwhelmed by anger, irritation and growing worry, Matsumoto punched the solid surface of the ice wall in front of her. Dammit! If only she had been more careful! Hitsugaya would've been still here, not god knew where, possibly after Kenji, and this thing that was preventing her from escaping would've still been a broken window with a hole to pass through. She growled, glaring at it the same way she'd glare at her worst enemy on the battle field. The wall responded with cold composure and irritating stillness.

'Why you…' she begun and landed a powerful kick on it – a kick that succeeded only in making her slip and fall on her back. She groaned before rolling to a side and looked at the place she had dropped Haineko some time ago while fighting Toushiro. She would've used it if it hadn't been stuck on the floor under a hill of ice that had been most likely created by Hitsugaya on the following purpose – to keep her away from him.

The thought made her frown as she stood up again to gaze at the wall thoughtfully. Running a hand through her soft locks, Matsumoto bit her lower lip in wonder. What was she going to do now? Stay here and just wait? That was definitely not an option. She had to figure out a way to get out of this place and find Toushiro and fast. She didn't want even to think about what could happen to him if he fought Kenji. That new captain was no someone who you could trust – he had no honor, deserved no trust and was very much willing to play dirty. Hitsugaya on the other hand… he was precisely the opposite. And maybe exactly his pride and honesty was going to get in his way to defeat someone like the red-head.

The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the cold air again and again and again, caring the whiff of the battle and the blood that was about to be spilled. The weapons clashed, sliced and slashed, blades gracefully performing their deathly dance, a beautiful art on its own. This was not a usual fight for Soul Society… This was not an ordinary thing to witness. Captains from different divisions did not tend to duel, not to mention duel with such ferocity and seething anger. The spiritual pressure around them was increasing fast along with the force of the blows; the layer of ice on the ground was becoming thicker, the wind –stronger, dodging the assaults - harder.

'Mmm, aren't you one tough little dragon…' Kenji noticed, pushing away Hyourinmaru and grinning at Hitsugaya gloatingly 'This is going to be more fun than I thought…'

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed:

'You're sick…' the boy hissed through tightly clenched teeth. Kenji raised both eyebrows and shook his head with amusement.

'At least I'm not a pathetic excuse for a captain, a brat who wants to play with the adults…'

'I am not pathetic!'

'Oh, yeah?' Kenji let out a loud snicker, before suddenly rushing forward and slashing at Hitsugaya's head. The boy's eyes went wide as he blocked the assault with his own katana and tried pushing his enemy away. However, this was not an easy task to accomplish, for if nothing else, the red-head's brutal force was incredible.

'If not… then tell me, third division taicho…' Kenji whispered, eyes widening and smirk growing with some sort of a wicked satisfaction as he leaned over the crossed blades near Hitsugaya's face 'Aren't you the only captain with not enough strength for a complete bankai?'

The words did their job and hit the right nerve. The boy's face lost any sort of expression for a moment, before pure anger twisting his features.

'DAMN YOU!' Hitsugaya yelled before pushing the red-head away from him, then jumping above his opponent's head and performing an attack from the open air. Kenji managed to get away just in time by jumping back, but the force of the youngster's assault created a large crater into the solid ground and a cloud of ice dust. It wasn't long after as the silver-haired one leapt out of the pit and slashed at his opponent's chest. The hit was blocked and pushed away in no time and the red-head quickly returned the favor with series of swift and powerful attacks. Fortunately, Hitsugaya's strongest points were his incredible speed and amazing agility and he succeeded in dodging all the blows and slipping in behind Kenji's back.

'What the…?' the red-head begun as his eyes focused on the empty space in front of him. His mind registered the lack and what it meant within a second and he begun turning around to meet Hitsugaya's assault but nevertheless it wasn't fast enough. Although Kenji did manage to partially block the blow, the blade of Hyourinamu still cut him in the left shoulder. Splashes of hot blood landed in a deathly contrast on the white gauzy ice-covered ground.

'Hmm…' Kenji glanced at his wound with a frown, before his eyes drifted to Hitsugaya 'Maybe I did underestimate you, boy… I don't remember the last time somebody managed to cut me.'

'Get used to it.' Hitsugaya snarled 'Because this isn't the only cut you're going to get today.'

Ikakku gulped as he and Hisagi approached the front door of Hitsugaya's apartment.

'I really don't think this is a good idea…' the bald guy noted 'If they find out we're eavesdropping…'

'They won't.' Hisagi assured him calmly as he leaned close to the frozen door with a serious and concentrated frown on his face. Ikakku didn't come close to him for a couple of seconds and just stood a meter or so away with his hands crossed in front of his chest, but eventually the curiosity took over and he made a step forward.

'Do you hear anything?' the bald guy whispered.

'Not really…'

'Not even a little bit?'

'Well, there is some noise…'

'Like what?'

'I don't know. Just some noise.'

'Come on! Try to identify it!'

'Well… It's like… footsteps. Approaching.'

There was a short pause, then the two of them glanced at each other.

'Footsteps?' they both questioned in unison. At that point a loud bang came from inside the apartment, which made Hisagi pull away harshly and stare at the door puzzlingly. Another bang followed right after. And another one. And another one.

'Doesn't it sound like someone is trying to break this thing from the inside?' Ikakku suggested, raising an eyebrow. Hisagi chose to eye his friend oddly.

'Ikakku? Is that you?' a female voice shouted from the apartment, making the two jump startled.

'Y-yeah… Uh… Rangiku?' Madarame stepped forward carefully, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

'Yes! OH, YES! I'm SO GLAD you're here! Ikakku, get me out of here!'

Clutching his now bleeding side, Hitsugaya glared at his enemy. Kenji simply answered him with the same. They were both wounded now, with small cuts and bruises on random places and one serious injury they had inflicted on each other during the fight.

'This is taking a bit too long, don't you think?' Kenji said with a small smirk 'How about we just get to the real thing…'

'The 'real thing'?' Hitsugaya repeated, raising an eyebrow. The red-head let out a low chuckle and shook his head somewhat condescendingly.

'Why don't you show me what your pathetic incomplete bankai is capable of?' he suggested, eyes gloatingly widening for a second before returning to their original size. Hitsugaya snarled.

'I don't need a complete bankai to defeat you!' the boy hissed through tightly gritted teeth. In return Kenji chuckled again and pointed the tip of his katana at Toushiro.

'Show me then.' The red-head suggested, his voice low and calm as his spiritual pressure started to increase. Hitsugaya's glare hardened for a moment as an odd thrill, something like a strange kind of warning caused by his intuition, crept up his spine. He couldn't say what was wrong, just that something told him bankaiing wasn't a good idea. It told him that Kenji wanted him to do that for a reason. And a reason that wouldn't be according to Hitsugaya's liking.

'Bankai.' Kenji sang merrily and within a few seconds thick black armour with sharp spikes covered his shoulders, chest and back. The katana blade started glowing in dull white color, then it begun to change along with the handle. The metal seemed to lose shape and become a changeable water-like material for a second – fidgeting and twisting – while the handle seemed to prolong and become rounder. And just like that, seconds later, Kenji wasn't holding a sword anymore – but a halberd with a huge curved blade and long lacquered red shaft.

'What? Aren't you going to bankai?' Keni asked, raising an eyebrow at Hitsugaya, who was still weighting his options. Seeing the boy's obvious hesitation, the red-head decided to simply take advantage of it and charged at Toushiro. Caught completely off guard, the young prodigy's eyes widened and he jumped out of the blade's way rather clumsily comparing to his usual litheness. He met Kenji's next blow more prepared but against the heavy violent assaults of a bankaied shinigami the boy knew he had no chance. The slashes were extremely hard to block or dodge, every each one of them was pushing him backwards and for less than a minute series of new cuts covered the silver-haired captain's body. Growling with irritation, Hitsugaya squeezed the hilt of Hyourinmaru. He had no choice.

'Bankai!'

A large gloating grin formed on Kenji's lips as he observed with growing satisfaction the way the pair of graceful wings, the long pliable tail and the elegant dragon-like body of ice fused with Hitsugaya's pale flesh.

'Good boy.' The red-head nodded to himself.

Hitsugaya glanced at the ice petals above his head and frowned. From the moment he had bankaied everything had turned into some sort of a ticking clock… It did every time, unfortunately, since he was too young to have a complete bankai. It was often troublesome. If he didn't win this battle on time, he was, to put it simply, doomed.

'Fine…' Hitsugaya hissed through clenched teeth 'Let's get this over with.'

Kenji's eyes narrowed as observed closely how his opponent lifted his sword horizontally and something begun to form in front of him. It was seconds later when the body and head of a giant creature of ice and water opened his shining blood-freezing jaws and filled the air with his quaking roar and frosty breath. Glossy crimson orbs were focused on the red-head, filled with the dangerous anticipation and the refined wrath of an impatient heavenly being. In one short second the dark mantel of clouds in the sky became even thicker and the biting winter wind was back once again, carrying the feeling of nearing death and utter emptiness…

'Would you look at that…' Kenji murmured, lips slightly parting as he examined with quiet admiration the enormous scaly body of the mythical beast and the unfathomable depths of its opened mouth 'So this is it… this is the famous Hyourinmaru…'

Suddenly, the ice dragon let out a long loud growl and before Kenji could even comprehend completely what was going on, he rushed towards him. The sound of a crash filled the air, along with fine ice dust, leaving Hitsugaya in a short ignorance of what the assault had caused. It was merely seconds later when the wind finally cleaned his view…

'Ah…' a voice noted calmly 'Not bad… Not bad at all, Hitsugaya-taicho.'

Hitsugaya's eyes widened at the scene that was reveled in front of him. A tall wall of ice spikes had grown out of the frozen ground, as it seemed, to protect the new captain of the tenth division from Hyourinmaru's attack.

'Wha-?' Toushiro begun, blinking with confusion. Was it just him or was his own element actually turning against him?

'Oh, yes…' Kenji softly replied as he walked out of from behind the wall with a smug smirk on his thin lips 'My zanpakuto is capable of creating spikes from any non-leaving material it gets in touch with. Works very well with rocks and stuff, but I think ice would do just fine as well.'

Before Hitsugaya had time to understand the true meaning of this, the red-head lifted his weapon and crashed it down on the ice-covered ground in front of him. The next thing the younger captain knew was that within a second something long and sharp grew out from under his feet and made an almost successful attempt to turn him into a shish kebob. The spike was quickly followed by another one that was obviously aiming at his back… and another one… and another one…

'What the hell…?' Toushiro yelled, quickly rising above the ground so he could be away from the dangerous area. He glared at the forest of sharp ice spikes, before his eyes drifted to Kenji.

'You don't honestly think you can beat me with that, do you?' Hitsugaya asked, raising an eyebrow. The red-head opted to simply shrug.

'Go ahead then, attack me, boy.' Kenji replied, consciously emphasizing on the last word. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes and let out a low throaty growl through his tightly gritted teeth.

'Fine…'

Without losing a second, Hitsugaya gripped the hilt of Hyourinmaru tightly and bore down upon his opponent. Kenji didn't move, just calmly prepared himself to meet the blow.

'That's it… come closer…'

Weapon clashed loudly into each other, releasing a wave of air resembling the one of an atomic bomb, but just as Hitsugaya pushed away Kenji's zanpakuto and was about to deliver a fast second hit, a sharp ice spike grew from under the boy's feet and almost stabbed him. Hitsugaya's eyes widened as he pulled away as quickly as he could, only to be forced to once again go forward so he wouldn't be impaled on another picket. One after another, in impossible speed, they continued to pop out from random places and prevent Toushiro from actually combating. Finding himself in a situation where he could do nothing except for trying to dodge the products of Kenji's partial control over his own element, Toushiro once again rose above the ground.

What was Kenji doing? Was he trying to prolong the battle as much as possible or something? If the continued like that it could take forever to…

Hitsugaya's eyes widened with realization.

No, it wouldn't take forever…

Simply because Hitsugaya's bankai was incomplete. His time was limited.

Ikakku rubbed his palms together with a very concentrated look across his face, then took a deep breath and picked up his sword. He eyed the frozen door carefully, then brushed the tip of his zanpakuto against the ice-filled slit of the door.

'You think you can do it?' Matsumoto's voice rang from inside Hitsugaya's apartment.

'Yup.' Ikakku nodded 'The effect of Hitsugaya-taicho's reiatsu is much weaker now. The ice doesn't contain the former unnatural solidity. Now, let's get you out…'

Ikakku nodded to himself for what seemed to be some sort of self-assurance, before finally giving a powerful push on the sword. The blade thrust through the ice with a cracking sound and created a rain of tiny white snowflakes. Eyeing the result carefully, Madarame decided the job was done fine, then changed his position to the side of the zanpakuto.

'Right. Now we use it as a lever…' he murmured, nodding to Hisagi. The latter unfolded his arms and approached his friend, taking his place next to the baldy.

'Alright... Now push!'

Another cracking sound filled the air, this time much louder than the first one. The ice in the slit started to fall on the floor in the form of big and small pieces and after another strong push, the door flung open, surrounded by a cloud of snow dust.

'Good job, boys!' Matsumoto said as she walked out of the darkness of the apartment, looking around 'Now… I need both of you to go find some help and then search for Hitsugaya-taicho.'

Hisagi and Ikakku exchanged worried glances.

'What's going on?' Madarame asked carefully. In respond she looked down for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully.

'I'm afraid what's going on is that our little blizzard is fighting my new captain at the moment. And we have to stop them.' At that point her hand intuitively reached for the Soul Slayer that was supposed to be hanging next to her hip. Not finding it there, she looked back at the apartment 'Help me get my zanpakuto back and then do what I told you to.'

'What are you going to do?' Hisagi asked, cocking an eyebrow. Matsumoto slowly redirected her serious gaze towards him.

'I'm going to try and find Toushiro as soon as possible… I can't wait for the help.'

A low and almost imperceptible moan escaped Hitsugaya's lips and he clenched is teeth as the pain shot through his whole body. Glaring at the spike that had gone straight through his right shoulder, the boy tried to ignore the terrible burning sensation and lifted his sword after tossing it to his other hand. He slashed at the ice stem and pulled back just in time to dodge another growing picket while the rest of the peculiar weapon was still piercing his body.

'Dammit…' the young captain groaned and reached to pull out the spike, but was cut off when Kenji delivered a blow that barely missed his stomach. Toushiro narrowed his eyes as he tried to return the attack. However, that turned out to be rather difficult as ice spikes popped out on random places, getting in the way of his attacks and also forcing him to make impossible manoeuvres so he wouldn't get stabbed.

'Are you alright, Hitsugaya-taicho? You don't look so well…' Kenji pointed out with mock concern as he dodged a slash. For that same slash, Toushoro was yet once again forced to pull back and increase the distance between him and the new captain and all that only by a single picket of ice. Growling, the boy grabbed the spike that was sticking out of his own shoulder and was by now dripping with hot blood and jerked it out. Immediately, the burning pain, similar to the one he had felt during the stabbing shot through his whole body, making him squeeze his eyes shut and bite his bottom lip to swallow another moan. He didn't even have time to recover as Kenji attacked him. Hitsugaya lifted Hyourinmaru in front of himself for protection, but his weakened and slightly trembling right hand couldn't comprehend the blow as well as it usually would and he was sent flying backwards, his back hitting the trunk of a tree. Of course, he wasn't left to just lie there and the second his body slumped against the tree in question, the frozen ground underneath him cracked and he had to roll to a side to get away from the ever so persistent spike.

'Tired yet?' Kenji asked, cocking a brow as Hitsugaya rose above the ground with his left hand squeezing the wound on his right shoulder. Toushiro didn't reply, just let go of the gash and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his blood-covered hand. Then he glanced up at where the ice petals were hanging. The second one was already half the way gone.

'The clock is ticking, lil fella…' Kenji sang, smirking up at the boy from his place on the ground. Hitsugaya's frown deepened as he unintentionally bared his perfectly lined white teeth.

'Screw you!' Toushiro growled, narrowing his aqua eyes. An amused smile spread across Kenji's face and he was just about to reply when the sound of steps running towards them came clearly from somewhere behind him.

'Seems like we have company…' the red-head murmured absently. It was then that Matsumoto jumped out of from behind a group of trees, panting. She lifted her pale blue eyes and looked around. Immediately her gaze was locked on Hitsugaya and she bit her bottom lip with worry.

'Ah, Barbie, so nice to see you!' Kenji greeted, eyeing the woman calmly. However, she didn't respond him as she was too busy staring at Toushiro and how half of his clothes were soaking with blood.

'Hitsugaya-taicho, I beg you, stop this!' she yelled, making the boy raise both eyebrows in surprise.

'Matsumoto…?' he begun, frowning slightly. The sentence, however, remained unfinished for Hitsugaya wasn't completely sure what he wanted to ask… So he just stood there, staring at her and she stared back.

Raising an eyebrow, Kenji shifted his gaze from Rangiku to the young prodigy.

'Well, isn't this just adorable…' he murmured, eyelids lowering wearily. Well, if Barbie wasn't one hell of a joy-killer… And here he was just starting to have real fun with the boy.

Kenji narrowed his eyes.

He was so not going to let her interfere.

Matsumoto couldn't help it and let out a small whimper of pain as someone shunpoed behind her and a large hand grabbed her hair, roughly pulling her head back. Immediately, she reached for her zanpakuto, but Kenji was faster and before she could even touch Haineko, he had already grabbed the sword and tossed it to a side.

'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU BASTARD! LET HER GO!' Hitsugaya yelled, eyes wide as he watched Rangiku desperately trying to break free. Kenji just lifted his gaze from her for a moment to give the boy a small condescending smile, before once more the deadly black orbs locked on his captive.

'So…' the red-head begun 'This is in fact the woman because of whom you are here now? The reason why you're fighting? This… wench?' at that point he pulled harder on Matsumoto's hair, earning another whimper of pain.

'She has NOTHING to do with this! It's between you and me! Release her!' Hitsugaya insisted, frown deepening and eyes sparkling with growing anger.

Kenji let out a low wheezy chuckle as he eyed Matsumoto from nose to tail carefully.

'Oh, but that's not true, now is it, Hitsugaya-taicho?' he purred softly 'It's ALL about her. All about gorgeous little Barbie… and her power over you…' his smile grew into a dangerous smirk as he looked up at the boy once again 'I've been wondering… how does it feel… to finally attain the forbidden fruit… And then lose it. Along with everything else…'

Hitsugaya didn't reply, which only made Kenji snigger.

'Well, she is beautiful now, isn't she…' he noticed, his eyes now lingering along her exposed beautifully long neck and lower… 'I can't even blame a little boy like you… for falling for her… However, it's still a mystery for me the fact that you actually dared to tell her that… Because honestly, if you did that, then you had at least a tiny bit of hope that she'd return your feelings… And that's simply absurd.'

As Matsumoto caught a glimpse of Hitsugaya's face, she thought her heart would shatter into pieces right there and then. His features had softened drastically from the hard unforgivable glare and the deep frown, he was biting his lower lip in what seemed to be attempt to suppress some sort of unwanted emotion and his big aqua eyes, filled with hurt and sorrow, were staring down at the ground…

…She swallowed with some difficulty.

He looked so broken…

'No…' she begun quietly, for her voice had suddenly weakened 'No…' she swallowed again, summoning her strength NO! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! Hitsugaya-taicho, I l-…Mphf!'

Matsumoto's eyes widened when suddenly a pair of lips brutally crushed into hers. She tried to pull away, but the hand in her hair prevented her from doing so and when she attempted to struggle and push him away, he just tightened his grip on the strawberry locks, giving her a painful remainder of who was the captive.

LET ME GO! She wanted to scream but with his mouth on hers that was simply impossible and all she could do was purse her lips as much as she could so he wouldn't be able to deepen the kiss. And no matter how hard she tried to hold back, somehow tears still made their way under the lashes of her tightly squeezed eyes. God, she felt so helpless, so humiliated, so… guilty…

After what seemed to be one horrible century, Kenji finally pulled away and before she had time to do anything, threw her to the ground, wiping his mouth with his other hand in the process.

'Well, Hitsugaya-taicho,' Kenji begun, letting a smug smirk form on his lips as he eyed the shocked boy whose eyes were wide and unseeing and whose pale lips were slightly parted from the shock 'I believe you'll have to get used to see this woman with others starting from now… Especially if you intend to continue being a captain…'

With that done and said, the red-head glanced at Matsumoto, who was helping herself up on her elbows and knees. Tears were still quietly streaming down her cheeks as she intuitively reached with trembling hand to fix her completely messed up hair. Her eyes were locked on the ground. She felt so ashamed for letting this happen...

What made her look up in fact was a strange cracking sound that came from all four direction and which was followed shortly after by appearance of tall ice spikes that surrounded her and left her in some sort of a round cell. Matsumoto's eyes widened and she quickly jumped on her feet, frantically searching for some sort of a way out. However, without her zanpakuto she could do nothing to brake free from the prison.

'Right.' Kenji nodded to himself 'I hope we won't be interrupted anymore. Now let's get back to business, ne, captain?' he looked at Hitsugaya with expectantly raised brows.

What he saw was a pair of teal eyes, shining with utter ire, clenched fists with whitened knuckles and a body that was shaking madly for the unleashed emotions. The red-head smirked. That was what he was aiming for. The boy wasn't going to retrieve now. There simply wasn't a motivation stronger then anger and anger, born from love.,

…However, provoking Hitsugaya Toushiro like that was a terrible mistake and Kenji was yet to realize that…

'What's going on?' Ikakku asked, stopping dead on his tracks.

'Seems like Hitsugaya-taicho's reiatsu to me…' Kyouraku pointed out, raising a brow.

'Gah, the spiritual pressure is squashing…' Hisagi murmured, eyes widening. The rest of the group let out some pretty inarticulate sounds in agreement.

'Well, we have a direction, don't we? Let's hurry now…' Unohanna suggested, calmly as always.

Matsumoto blinked a couple of times as she stared wide-eyed at Hitsugaya. The overwhelming spiritual power around him seemed to be pulsing and growing like a giant beast that was beginning to awake. The saturated teal colour of his eyes had faded to pale icy-blue one and the sky above his head had become darker then ever, thundering dangerously. And God, she felt scared. She felt scared to death by this young boy's power, by the cold determination in those irises and mostly by his wrath that, fortunately, was not directed to her. For the first time, Matsumoto realized that she had never, ever seen her former captain truly angry…

'Let's end this, Kenji! Once and for all!' Hitsugaya yelled, successfully outshouting the thunder and the strong wind, which was by now bending the trees 'One. Last. Blow. All or nothing!'

Kenji smirked.

'Okay, boy, let's play by your rules!' the red-head agreed with a small nod and lifted his halberd in front of him 'Show me what you've got!'

Glancing up at the ice-petals, Hitsugaya had to note to himself that, indeed, he had time for just one single strike. Then he looked at Matsumoto and his features softened.

'I advise you to bend down, Rangiku-san.' He said gently, before once again redirecting his gaze towards his opponent.

'Toushiro…' she whispered, biting her lower lip in worry. He didn't hear her, though. The word sank in the unforgivable sound of the wind and the thundering. The next she knew was that the both captain were shouting the names of their zanpakutos and were preparing for their last attack.

What followed next resembled a powerful atomic explosion… A mixture of snow, pieces of ice, dirt, branches and such flew in all four directions, Matsumoto's ice cell was shattered into bits and she was also sent flying backwards until she hit the trunk of a large old tree. Then everything went black…

'Matsumoto… Matsumoto… Wake up!' a voice called softly and she felt a wave of cool air graze her skin. Groaning, she slowly opened her eyes. For a second or so everything was blurry but that didn't last long and soon she found herself staring into a pair of concerned aqua eyes.

'Hitsugaya-taicho!' she shouted and sat up abruptly. Looking around, she realized she had been lying on the ground and he was kneeling next to her.

'Did you…?' she begun, but was cut of when she saw Kenji prone meters away with his zanpakuto lying broken in halves nearby. He was not dead, she could tell, but he was wounded and unconscious. And he had lost.

'I'm glad you're alright…' Hitsugaya said softly and a small tired smile appeared on his face 'You passed out for a couple of minutes' at that point a soft sigh escaped his lips and for Matsumoto's surprise, he closed his eyes and let his head drop on her shoulder.

'Toushiro…' she whispered with worry. Eyeing him carefully she realized his clothes were soaking with blood, sweat and dirt. Too much blood… Way too much…

'I'm so tired…' the words spoken so softly, they painfully resembled a sigh.

'Shhh, it's alright…' she said, gently wrapping both hands around him and pulling him closer to her body 'Everything will be alright… Just… wait a little bit more… Help is coming… I hope…'

'Matsumoto…' he shifted a bit and a small pained moan escaped his lips.

She bit her lower lip with worry and reached for his hand. Taking it, she gasped. It was so cold! Even colder then the usual coolness of his skin… Deadly cold…

Only then did she catch a glimpse of his back. There was a long freshly cut deep gash across it.

'Toushiro, you…' she begun, but was stopped as the cold pale hand gently pulled away from her own and the tips of his slender fingers brushed against her lips to keep her quiet.

'I'm fine…' he replied weakly and lifted his face to look at her 'I'm sorry for everything, Rangiku…'

'What are you…?'

'I had to listen to you when I had the chance…'

'Toushiro… you…'

'I wanted it so badly, but I didn't anyways… Because I was foolish… And look where we are now…' his fingertips moved slowly to the side of her face to graze upon the bruised skin ever so lightly before dropping weakly 'This wouldn't have happened if I had listened… It's my entire fault…'

'Please, don't say that…'

'I love you so much… I love you so damn much… yet I was too proud to forgive you… Now I beg you for forgiveness…'

'You… You have nothing to be sorry about…' she replied, blinking back the tears that were threatening to leave her eyes. His voice was becoming quieter with every passing moment and she could tell he was feeling pain even when breathing…'Just hold on, ok? I'm here. I won't go anywhere…' at that point she buried her nose in the soft silver locks, squeezing her eyes shut 'I love you… So don't leave me now… Don't leave me…'

Matsumoto felt him shift beneath her as the three magic words finally left her lips and reached him. She pulled away and once again took his hand, giving it a light squeeze he had no strength to return. As she settled his head on her shoulder so she could look him in the face, she realized his eyes were just barely opened and his lips and face had lost any trace of colorfulness. She attempted to lift him in her arms and try carrying him but as soon as she did that he let out a loud pained moan and she gave up, scared to increase the bleeding.

'Oh, God, Toushiro… Stay with me…' she whispered, trying to bite back the raising panic and fear in her voice. A weak smile slowly formed on his lips as he half opened his eyes to look at her.

'I'm… just a child, Rangiku… Don't forget that… You can have anyone…' he replied. Her eyes widened. Hitsugaya never, ever called himself a child. Dammit! Things were terribly wrong…

'But I want you!' she insisted as tears finally begun sliding down her cheeks. That actually made Hitsugaya frown. Although this frown was a ghost compared to the way he usually did that.

'Don't cry, Beautiful… Don't…' and with that his features softened and his eyes closed completely, body going limp. For a moment Matsumoto felt as if her heart had stopped beating.

'No…' she whispered, shaking the boy a bit 'No, no, no, no… NO! NO, DON'T YOU DARE DIE! TOUSHIRO! DAMMIT! TOUSHIRO! TOUSHIROOO!' at that point she was already losing it. She was screaming and shaking him, tapping his cheeks and searching for some sort of a hint that there was still some life in him. But there was none.

It was then that the group of helpers finally showed up, led by Ikakku and Hisagi. At the scene that was revealed in front of them, they all stopped dead on their tracks. First to react was Unohanna…

'Kenji Takeo, captain of the tenth division of Gotei 13, we are informing you with great compassionate that you are removed from you post as such because of no fulfillment of your duties, disrespectful treatment to your subordinates and physical harming of the selfsame. We are asking you to leave the office and the division immediately after your rehabilitation is complete …' at that point Kenji gave up on reading, balled up the letter and angrily threw it into the bin next to his bed. He didn't even know for how long he had been in the fourth division and yet he received this now?! Pfeh!

He shook his head with annoyance.

Was this some sort of a very successful attempt to irritate him more??

Wasn't the fact that he lost from a mere kid enough?

He growled slightly as he pulled the blanked up his bandaged chest.

'Where's the justice?' he murmured 'The kid wins, gets to survive… somehow… gets to stay a captain, gets the woman and what do I get? GAAH!'

Hitsugaya rubbed his eyebrow with his slender white fingers and sighed. First day of work. Sheesh, that simply sucked… At times like this he wished he had actually died right there and then after beating Kenji…

'Thank you for helping me…' Hitsugaya murmured as he glanced over his shoulder at Ikakku who was walking right behind him and was carrying a large cardboard box.

'Ah, not at all, Hitsugaya-taicho…' the bald guy replied as he peeked over the side of the box 'It soothes my conscience. Besides, you are in no condition to carry any heavy objects.'

Stopping dead on his track Toushiro glanced down at his body, hidden under the captain haori and the black robes. He had to agree on that one. He had so much bandages wrapped around his chest, back, arms, forehead, ribs and shoulder that he could open a factory without much trouble.

'Uh? Hisugaya-taicho?' Ikakku raised a brow, this time he being the one to look over his shoulder 'Are you coming? 'Cuz this thing's pretty heavy…'

'Oh, yes… Let's go. I want to see what that moron did to my division… It'll probably need tons of arrangement after being let to be led practically only by Matsumoto.' Hitsugaya murmured as they once again started to make their way towards the tenth division. It was a strange fact that he didn't think he'd miss the third division. Yes, it was true that Momo was a very responsible fukutaicho and did her work so he finally had some free time, unlike when he worked with Matsumoto, but she was so boring and so hopelessly quiet and taciturn when doing her job, he felt as if he was all alone in the office. And that eventually turned out to be quite annoying, even for a person who usually didn't mind solitude that much.

As they were passing through a yard a couple of voices and loud laughter reached Hitsugaya's ears and made him stop.

'…Greeeaaat, if it isn't that midget boy-genius…'

'So he left the fourth division? Hehe… I wonder what happened with him and that hot chick…'

'I've heard she recorded his love-confession. Ya think we can find it somewhere on the market?'

'Doubt it. And even if we can, that kid's humiliation must cost a fortune! Hehehe… Can you believe him? Falling in love with her? Pathetic…'

'Look at his height…'

'He looks like a mere child… How could he become a captain?'

'Pathetic, indeed.'

At that point Hitsugaya was already livid, his lips were pursed and his fists were clenched. Those damn rumors hadn't disappeared yet, huh? Alright then… In that case he was going to make them, starting with those annoying shinigami…

Hitsugaya turned around abruptly to face the buggers but instead his view was blocked by a pair of very familiar assets.

'Matsu-…' he begun but was cut of when she bend down and playfully put her finger on his lips.

'Nuh-huh, Toushiro! What did we discuss this morning, mmm?' she pouted. Hitsugaya sighed.

'Rangiku.' He corrected himself, a small blush tinting his pale cheeks 'What are you doing here? I told you to wait for me in the tenth division office…'

Rangiku stood up straight and thoughtfully chucked her chin. After a few seconds she finally nodded to herself.

'Ah, yes, you did say that.' she agreed, grinning sheepishly 'But I opted to neglect it.'

'I can see that.' Hitsugaya murmured, for a moment catching a glimpse of the stupid shinigami who had been talking behind his back. He realized with great pleasure they looked very, VERY puzzled. Of course, knowing Matsumoto, that was yet to change to worse… for them.

'However, I have a very, very good reason for that!' Rangiku pointed out.

'Yeah?' he folded his arms in front of his chest 'And what's that?'

Matsumoto's grin grew wider as she bent down again.

'I've missed you. And you owe me one for making me worry so damn much about you!' with that she captured his lips in a long loving kiss, that almost made the shinigami at the background faint. When she finally pulled away, she noted to herself that he looked very dizzy. Giggling, Matsumoto pinched his nose playfully.

'Don't you dare die on me anymore, you hear me!' she purred. Hitsugaya had to blink a couple of times before finally comprehending what she had said. A smile quickly formed on his lips as he pulled her into another kiss. More passionate than the first one.

'I won't leave you, my love. I promise.'

The End.

A/N: Whooo! I was just a teesy-weensy hair away from making this a tragedy! Be grateful oh, happy-ending lovers! And review.