A/N: Hello again! I'm so sorry I haven't been updating; finals ended recently, and I've finally gotten back into my writing mood. Although, many readers haven't helped me much in that category. I don't expect for the reviews to pour in, but for a person to favorite and alert my story without taking five seconds to tell me your opinion on it is really quite annoying!

But, setting that negative note aside, I (finally) present to you the second chapter! Enjoy .!

Chapter 2

Kind Lies

Hitsugaya groaned, his head falling onto his arm, as he heard the obnoxious, shrill call of his fukutaichou. "Matsumoto…" he ground out, and yelled back, "You are supposed to be doing your paperwork right now! And I doubt you've finished those five stacks already!"

Silence. "T-taichou?!?!?!" came a screech, and both members of the room winced. The shriek was followed by a barely audible muttering, "Damn. I should've known he would be here. Stupid taichou."

"Matsumoto…" a very irate captain growled, and Hinamori burst into laughter.

The person whom Hitsugaya was currently annoyed with suddenly rushed into the room with a mischievous sparkle in her eye.

"Neh neh neh, Hinamori-chan!" she whined pitifully, giving the startled girl a huge hug with both arms and assets, "I was dying in there! And all I wanted to do was just come to see you for a bit and relieve some of that awful stress and those cricks in my back and arms and fingers and everywhere! But…" she sniffed loudly, "I guess I'll have to be going now. Taichou insists that I finish that grueling work, shut in that horrid office all alone, with only stacks and stacks of paperwork to keep me company…"

Her devious ploy worked magnificently on kind and sympathetic Hinamori. Hitsugaya groaned as she turned her teary eyes toward him; he already knew what was coming and what it would result in.

"Hitsugaya-kun," Hinamori cried out, returning Matsumoto's hug, "Poor Rangiku-san! Have some pity!" Matsumoto nodded ferociously.

Hitsugaya turned away from those pleading eyes and let out an annoyed hiss.

"Hitsugaya-kuuuun…"

"Fine fine fine!" he snapped, still not turning his head back.

"Hitsugaya-kun!" she squealed happily, letting go of his vice-captain to throw her arms around him. He barely got a chance to appreciate the feeling of her body against his before his face was suffocated by two... well, the usual.

"Taichoooouuu!" Matsumoto shrieked happily, "I love you soooooo much!"

"Mmmgtmm!"

"… Taichou?"

"MmmGTMM!"

"Hitsugaya-kun? Are you okay?"

"…MMMGTMM!!"

"Taichou?" Matsumoto asked again, this time letting go of him to see his face.

"I said, LET GO OF ME!" he finally got to yell out, panting loudly. Hinamori giggled at his disheveled appearance.

As the embarrassed Hitusgaya growled at the laughing Hinamori, Matsumoto's obnoxious grin was replaced with a soft smile. She wished this could go on forever.

Hell, if she was going to wish, she might as well wish for as much as she could. She wished Gin hadn't betrayed her. She wished he would come back. She wished this war didn't have to happen. She wished she, or her taichou, wouldn't have to participate. She wished that Hinamori's memories hadn't been forgotten. She wished taichou could tell her what really happened, and who she really is. Hinamori would find out one day; they couldn't keep the secret forever.

Most of all, Matsumoto wished that this little moment, one in which two young people in love bantered with each other, would last forever.

But it wasn't meant to happen. The shinigami would set out the day after tomorrow, to fight the final battle that would decide the fates of both them and the arrancar. Hitsugaya would leave Hinamori; he would be struggling on the bloody battlefield as she sat in this hospital bed, oblivious to the violence and the danger that he would be in.

"Hey, Hinamori?" Hitsugaya asked seriously, and her laughter was replaced with a cheerful smile. "Hm?"

"We'll be leaving… leaving on a long mission the day after tomorrow," he said softly, as Matsomoto whipped her head around to look at him disapprovingly. He ignored her. "Actually, many… if not most, of the shinigami will be going. Preparations will take all of tomorrow. So… so this'll be the last time I can visit you in a long time, okay?"

"Oh… okay, Hitsugaya-kun," her face fell, "I'll miss you and Rangiku-san. Is it a dangerous mission?" She looked at him worriedly.

"… No. It's not dangerous, just long," Hitsugaya replied quietly, and Matsumoto grit her teeth.

"Okay then!" Hinamori smiled happily, "Stay safe, and come back soon!"

"Yeah…" Hitsugaya smiled faintly.

Matsumoto wanted to scream. You're going away to war, where there's no promise that you won't be frickin killed, and that's all you leave her with?! If anyone she knows dies, what will be told to her?! If you die, what will I tell her?! Are these lies all you're going to leave her with?!

Hitsugaya rose, and turned to leave. But then he turned around, suddenly, leaned down, and placed a soft kiss on Hinamori's forehead.

She blushed furiously, speechless, and he gave slight grin. And then he was gone, in a whoosh of his white captain's robe. Matsumoto gave Hinamori a quick hug as the girl wished her well, and followed her captain.

They walked side-by-side, in silence, for a while.

"Taichou?" Matsumoto finally asked.

"… Yes?"

"You'd better not die out there."

"… I don't plan on it."

"… Good. I don't want to be the one explaining to Hinamori-chan why the person she trusts most lied to her."

He had nothing to say to that.

A/N: Well, that was a short chapter. I pondered on whether to end it there or not; it seemed too short, but adding another section didn't seem to fit. So, in the end, I decided to leave it as it was. The next update should be much sooner than this one, though, as well as longer .. And the humor pretty much ends here, too, I think…

I estimate that there will be about… oh, maybe two to three more chapters before this story ends. I already have another one planned :P (HitsuHina, 'course, set in a universe in which the shinigami lost the Winter War). Which actually isn't good, because I tend to get sidetracked by my new idea and discard the old one T.T (it's a horrible habit of mine). Reviews do help in that area, though... hint hint :P… Ah well. So, if you're interested, keep an eye out for my new story :D! … which is currently titleless -.-…

Constructive criticisim and corrections are welcome!