Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its affiliates. Anything that you recognise is property of its respective owners. Any relations to persons living or dead are purely coincidental.

Base/s: Bleach

Title: Our Captain

Summary: Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind.

Music used for inspiration: I Stand Alone – Godsmack, Next Contestant, Because of You – Nickelback, On My Own, Riot, Gone Forever, Get Out Alive, Pain, Burn, Wake Up – Three Days Grace, Storm – Vanessa Mae, Cold - Crossfade

Our Captain is better than yours.

Rangiku Matsumoto hated her Captain. Nothing was ever going to change that, she decided. He would never be a captain in more than name.

Captain Hiroshi had been a good captain while he was still alive. As an older man, and married, he had not ogled her face and body nor tried to coerce her into sleeping with him. He was kind and she respected him above all else.

Then one day the call had come through. Three Menos level Hollows had appeared over a small town in the north of Germany. Her Captain and six others had been assigned to deal with the situation.

'Man the fort until I get back wont you Rangiku? I'll do those papers tomorrow.' Were the last words he said to his lieutenant who so revered him.

Captain Hiroshi never did come back.

She had run things for a few months before the new Captain was assigned. She had almost drowned in work and she had to do it all sober! She shuddered just thinking about it.

Then the new Captain had arrived. She had never met him and feared for how piggish he would be. Rumours filtered through to her and she gradually drew a mental picture in her mind. Child prodigy, graduated in three years instead of the usual seven. Equalled arrogant. By the book = up himself. Cold = unfeeling.

One rumour that had been more like an anecdote told of how, as a lieutenant of Squad Five, he had been the only one to return. Not a scratch on him and all of his team members dead. The report delivered in clipped tones, 'Seventeen hollows destroyed, four casualties. Mission success.' was overheard by a passing shinigami who quickly spread the story. So Toshiro Hitsugayas reputation as a stone cold bastard grew.

When he had arrived at the large square area usually reserved for training, his new squad had been waiting, neatly lined up and standing to attention, for their first glimpse of their new Captain.

Sweeping through the doors was a sight some had almost laughed at. When they had heard 'child prodigy' they didn't think said prodigy would still be a child.

His demeanour however was anything but childish. Clipped and professional, Squad Ten learned to see their leader as a Captain first and a boy second. He expressed little emotion save annoyance and this was usually accompanied by a sharp drop in temperature. Bartenders throughout the Soul Society were filled with regular Squad Ten members bemoaning their fate.

One incident was ingrained into the minds of those in Squad Ten. Two shinigami, both lower ranked, eighteenth and twenty third seats respectively, had had an altercation.

Shouting obscenities at each other and later drawing swords. A capital offense. Before the fight could begin both their blows were stopped by the presence of another blade. This was one shining with a crystal hue, the metal glistening.

When they looked to see the owner of such a unique zanpakuto, they saw their Captain standing, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword and fury in his eyes.

He jerked his sword and both shinigami had their blades were ripped from their grasp. He proceeded to lead them to his office, where he could be heard shouting. Squad Ten was covered in snow that day. The shinigami had exited quickly looking like the devil was on their heels. Captain Hiroshi would have kindly asked what the problem was and done all he could to help while gently chiding them on why violence was not the answer.

Captain Hitsugaya didn't care what the problem was as long as it didn't interfere with the Squad.

If you had a problem it was your job to fix it yourself.

Rangiku hated her Captain more after that.

He called her into his office and she did her best to be as stubborn and unhelpful as possible. He eventually turned to her and demanded to know what her problem was. She replied that it was nothing sir. He said that if this was how she was to all her superiors, it was a wonder she was still a shinigami. She had bristled and snapped that he wasn't her superior, he was a child. She was sure that he almost hit her.

"Get out." He had growled, shaking with anger.

She felt a twinge of guilt and made to apologise. This was a Captain after all.

He had interrupted her apology by yelling at her to get the hell out of his office. She had done so.

She had still felt that little ebb of guilt the next day but she refused to apologise. He had his chance and he told her to get out. Captain Hiroshi would have told her that there was no need for an apology.

The call came through that day. Several high level Hollows spotted over a farm in Italy.

Her Captain had assigned her and four others to the situation. Captain Hiroshi would have come to see them off. Captain Hitsugaya stayed in his office.

The intel was wrong. 'Several' was more like 'too many'. She refused to call her Captain for aid. She could do this herself, no need for the high and mighty Captain Hitsugaya to get his coat dirty.

She had no choice after her first teammate was killed. Choking back grief for the fallen comrade and friend, she called for help. She had expected a contingent of lower ranked shinigami that were only useful as cannon fodder but when she asked how many Soul reapers they planned on sending, their answer surprised her.

"One."

Fighting and being pushed back for another ten minutes while her backup arrived she wondered who they would send. Hopefully Gin would give her a hand.

She missed a blow and braced herself for the pain of the Hollows claws but it never came. What did come was the sensation of burning in her lungs as she breathed in sub zero air. She opened her eyes and almost keeled over with shock. Her comrades were much the same.

He looked back at her from where he was holding off the Hollow claw.

"What are you doing? Don't just stand there idiot!" he snapped.

He disappeared in a Flash Step. He reappeared and paused, in a catlike crouch with his blade steady in his hand as the Hollow bellowed in pain as wounds opened up on its body. It faded into nothingness.

Rangiku stared for a moment as her Captain stood and expertly flicked his blade, cleaning it of blood.

The she had jumped into action with a scowl of annoyance at the insult. Bolstered by the thought of a Captain fighting beside her, even if it was who it was, she fought back.

However, it was not to be. She was forced back to where the other Shinigami were fighting back to back when a large Hollow hit her with its tail.

She turned to see her Captain still going strong, cutting the arm off a large lizard like Hollow before burying his sword in its chest and jumping to another before the first had even hit the ground.

She heard a scream and looked on in horror to see her comrade who was only a second ago fighting beside her, being lifted up by a Hollow and squeezed until his bones broke. Being busy with her own Hollow she yelled for her Captain.

Distracted, he half turned before her was flung to the ground where he left a small crater.

She heard a horrible gurgle from her comrade in the fist of the Hollow before he fell still. She called out his name and struggled against her own foe who held her at bay.

She found an opening and buried her sword up the hilt into the neck of her foe. She was distracted and didn't see the scything bladed tail that swung her way. There was a deafening clang and the horrible screech of metal on metal and she whipped her head to the side to see her friend, her hair bloodied and matted, holding it off with both hands.

She jumped back and he used Flash Step to avoid the heavy tail. The shinigami beside her busied herself with fighting the monster who used it's prehensile tail to slice her cheek.

She turned and ran towards her fallen friend who had been dropped by the Hollow. She could think of nothing but getting to him and saving him, bringing him back to the Soul Society and being safe.

She felt a hand close on her arm and drag her back with a fierce grip. She struggled and clawed and screamed at whoever it was to let her go but the grip didn't slacken.

She turned and saw the familiar white hair and hard eyes of her Captain. There was blood running from a large gash at his hairline and his coat was torn and bloodied. She really didn't care.

"Let me go!" She screamed at him. "I have to save him!"

She struggled again and he grabbed her other arm to stop her from moving.

"No Matsumoto! You can't do anything for him!" He argued back pulling her away.

"I have to save him, let me go you bastard!" she howled.

"He's dead Matsumoto! You can't save him, you can save your other friend and yourself!" he shouted.

She glared, tears bubbling from her eyelids.

How could he just say that? That her friend was dead. Gone. Not coming back. Simple.

She struggled but he held her fast, surprisingly strong for one so small.

"Goddammit Matsumoto, leave him! That's an order!"

She screamed her frustration. She had to save him. She just had to. She didn't take orders from someone who wasn't her captain.

She drove her elbow back with such force she felt her bone send jarring pain along her arm.

She was free. She paid no heed to her captain clutching his stomach and yelling at her to stop.

She fell to her knees at the body of her friend. His face wasn't peaceful, like he was sleeping. He was a mess. From his shoulders downwards was a pulpy mass of flesh and blood and bone. His eyes were open and blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

He was dead. The though struck her suddenly. Why? She was here to save him wasn't she? He shouldn't be dead.

She heard a roar and the hollow with the bladed arm was above her, blotting out the watery grey sunlight. She felt her mouth drop open and her lungs fill with blood scented air.

It roared again and brought its blade jabbing forwards. She closed her eyes. There was a horrible noise. A wet sort of crunch. She cracked open her eyelids.

White. A white coat. Her eyes travelled up. Red. A red coat. Her eyes widened. A thin, bone like substance that came to a vicious edge stuck out of his shoulder.

He turned his head to he could look at her out of the corner of his eye. They were hazy.

"Run. That's an order lieutenant." He rasped.

Before she could say, do or even think anything, a large, bone white fist smashed into him. The Hollow shrieked. She heard him cry out.

But he wasn't down. Not yet. The beast moved its bladed arm, swung it and him to the side where he slid off the appendage and hit the ground with a thud. He rolled and lay still.

Operating on autopilot, she was vaguely aware of her own voice shouting something. She was moving and then the Hollow was dead. She rushed to the heap on the floor and panicked. She touched his shoulder and gave it a shake. He responded by giving a wet, pained cough.

"S-sir?" she asked.

"M'still here." He answered. Trying to pull himself up. "Just a couple of broken ribs s'all." His voice was slurred slightly. He coughed, there was blood. She stared. Just a couple of broken ribs? And being run through.

She offered an arm. He gave her a look, before accepting.

"Sir? Tha-" she started to say before he cut her off.

"Don't thank me yet." He said gruffly. "Thank me when we get back by doing some of that paperwork."

She dared to smile. She had refused to fill out any paperwork save complaint sheets.

He shrugged her off and at her protest, limped his way to a clear area arm clutching his wound. There were no Hollows left. Matsumoto had a thought.

"Where is she?" she asked, panicked.

"Who? Our seventh seat? I sent her back."

She was relieved. She frowned.

"Why?" she asked.

He looked at her like she was stupid.

"Why do you think? I wasn't going to leave her here."

Matsumoto suddenly felt very heavy.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out. He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry." She repeated. "For everything. I-"

"Matsumoto." He interrupted what was sure to be a long and heartfelt confession. "If we could continue this another time?" he winced and clutched his shoulder.

She nodded, feeling silly and spent a few moments opening an emergency Senkaimon.

"Matsumoto." He said sharply before they were about to step through. He swayed on his feet. She bit her lip. "Don't ever disobey my orders again." He said, his eyes piercing. She drew a shaky breath and nodded.

"Yes Captain."

After all, he was her Captain wasn't he?

End

Finally. Sorry, the fight scene has to wait. Sorry! I hope you like this...