A/N: I'm going to go ahead and say that I, shamelessly, still enjoy this couple from time to time. When I first started reading Bleach, this was the couple for me- till I read further along and my opinions changed. Now and days, I can be on and off about them but I decided to buckle down and do something about it. The story itself is a typical cliche kind of thing, I'll admit that, and oddly enough it kind of mirrors another one of my stories. This is also probably one of my few Shinigami stories so I apologize ahead of time in case of any character slaughtering that's probably bound to happen.
You're not looking well today.
"I just ate something bad at lunch."
Are you sure you're okay?
"I'm fine, don't worry about it."
How long was she going to have to keep lying about it? It wasn't like she would be able to keep it a secret forever but… she didn't want anyone to know. Not now at least but maybe further down the road when it would be near impossible to hide. It was just… all the stress right now and everyone running around trying to recover… it wasn't a good time to bring it up. She had a fear that it would never be a good time to bring it up. And that fear seemed to well up in her chest and break her down into suffocating tears that ruined every night.
Aizen had left just weeks before.
Soul Society felt like it was in ruins over it.
Everyone was running around trying to fix this and that. People were beginning to question each other and the amount of trust between one another was deteriorating at a startling rate. As upbeat as she tried to be, as much as she tried to manage a smile everyday, she couldn't avoid those looks of pure hate. She got the feeling that people were blaming her for it; people were blaming her for Aizen's betrayal, like she was supposed to know it was going to happen. She thought he was dead. How could she have known his grand master plan behind faking his own death? How could she have looked past the fake body and realized what he was up to? It was near impossible… but that didn't stop people from blaming her.
She wasn't alone in it though
Hisagi and Kira received the same looks but they seemed to brush it off so easily. Something she couldn't do. Those looks stayed with her night and day. It was like they knew…
The days were lined with stress and hard work, which left little for anyone to take comfort in but she appreciated the small things. Hitsugaya was too busy working with the other Captains to listen to her but she completely understood and she tried not to get in his way. The great amount of work the Captains were putting into dealing with the situation left most of the Vices with little to nothing to do on a regular basis. A few of them would get together and waste an afternoon together, which was really easier to do than one imagined. She took comfort in the Lieutenants who still spoke to her as one of their own and not some kind of… outsider, like some of the others did.
And if plans went accordingly for this evening, then she would be able to get in some relaxing time with some of the other female Vices.
The slight knock on the Division house door drew her away from the whistling kettle on the stove before she heard the sound of the door opening regardless.
"Knock, knock! Anyone home?"
"I'm in the kitchen!" she called back as she pulled the kettle off the heated stove top and set it aside. "Just make yourselves at home!"
"I already have!"
She chuckled lightly and went on to sorting through the different assortment of tea cups she had collected throughout the years. The kettle would need to cool down for a few minutes before she could touch it again. Which left her just enough time to go out and greet her guest. Brushing her hands on her pants, she moved out of the small kitchen and out into the small sitting area just outside.
"Well I see you weren't kidding."
"Hinamori, how long have you known me now?" Matsumoto questioned as she laid out on one side with her head supported on one propped arm. "After having to deal with running after Hitsugaya all day, I'm ready to sit back and unwound for a few hours."
"And that's nice to know but it doesn't really give you reason to sit so… inappropriately." Nanao commented as she seated herself neatly just a few feet away.
"Oh loosen up Nanao." Matsumoto teased. "What are you now? The manner woman? As if you being so book-smart isn't bad enough to deal with."
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Come on you two, can we not argue at least for the evening?" Momo chuckled. "I would really like to not have to rearrange the furniture again because someone decides to kick it all over the place."
"I was provoked. You were a witness." Matsumoto defended; watching as the smaller Vice only shook her head with a chuckle.
"Alright, well I'm going to check on the tea. Please don't knock over the furniture again." Momo replied as she turned back into the kitchen.
"No promises!" Matsumoto called after her. She waited for the door to swing to a slight close before she glanced over to the glasses-wearing Lieutenant. "Do you uh… do you see anything different with her?"
Nanao reached up and readjusted her glasses as she looked towards the blonde-haired woman. "Nothing that instantly stuck out to my knowledge, no."
"So she didn't look… a little pudgy to you then?"
"Matsumoto, that is a cruel assessment of her."
"All I'm saying is that… in that sweater… she looks like she's gained a bit of weight." Matsumoto continued; thinking back to the cream-colored sweater the woman wore with her Shinigami pants. She couldn't really blame her though, it was a bit chilly inside of the Division House. "You didn't notice even a little bit of it?"
"No."
"You're lying."
Nanao released a low sigh and looked back towards the woman. "You are being incredibly insensitive towards her right now."
"How am I being insensitive? I only asked if you had noticed." Matsumoto replied; watching as the woman shook her head once more and turned away from her. "I'm going to ask her about it."
"Don't you dare ask her." She warned sternly.
"And why not?"
"Because that's like against all female rules of conduct."
"Oh, shut up Nanao."
Carefully pushing aside the swinging kitchen door, she balanced the tea tray somewhat on her hip as she barely managed to squeeze herself through the small doorway. "Sorry about the wait, I think I need to get a new kettle or something. It doesn't seem to want to work quite as well as it used to."
"Hinamori, I have a very important question to ask." Matsumoto started somewhat seriously as she moved to sit up from the floor.
"Um... uh go ahead." Momo stammered slightly as she paused at the remark.
"Is there something going on that we should know about?"
"W-why would you ask that?"
The blonde-haired woman shrugged slightly. "You just seem a bit 'different' these days and I couldn't pinpoint it till now..."
"Matsumoto, seriously, stop it." Nanao warned as she readjusted her glasses.
"Okay look, I'm going to come out with it." Matsumoto sighed. "Look, you have gained like, a lot of weight and I'm just wondering if there's like a chocolate stash you're getting in."
She let out a heavy sigh of relief and shook her head. "And here I thought you were going to ask me something serious."
"Well I'm just saying, I didn't want you to lose that figure so easily." Matsumoto replied.
"I tried to stop her." Nanao sighed.
"No, it's just... I don't know... I guess I've been stress eating; I haven't really noticed." Momo spoke as she set aside the individual tea cups. "Now where did Isane and Nemu go? I thought they were going to be here?"
"Oh I'm sure they got caught up on something." Matsumoto assured. "You know how those two are sometimes."
She chuckled and took the tray back. "Well they better get here before their tea gets cold because I'm not making another batch just because they can't get here on time."
"I'm sure they'll get here soon enough and if not, they're missing out."
"Knock, knock." Isane called as she ducked through the doorway. "Hope you don't mind us just letting ourselves in."
"Nonsense, you know you're more than welcomed to." Momo chuckled. "I hope Nemu's with you."
"She is, although I swear she's like a vampire sometimes. She won't enter a room unless you invite her in." Isane replied.
"It would be improper etiquette to allow ones self into another's home without permission." Nemu spoke as she trailed behind the taller woman.
"It's like the whole 'you can take a horse to water but can't make it drink.'" Matsumoto chuckled as she sipped lightly at her tea.
"That kind of works with you too, only it's 'you can give a woman a bra but can't make her wear it.'" Nanao muttered as she wrapped her hands around the warm cup.
"I heard that."
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting though, I had to tie up a few ends at the Division House." Isane sighed as she welcomed herself to a seat. "It's been busy as ever trying to get things back under control after that last attack."
"I hear ya, I heard it was one of the worst too." Matsumoto nodded. "You know, this probably wouldn't have happened had we been able to stop them from retreating."
"Maybe so but it's just another 'What if' situation that can't happen now." Nanao replied. "It's pointless to even bother mentioning at this point."
"Yeah, it really is actually... can we not even start talking about it?" Momo asked.
"Oh... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even brought it up." Matsumoto started. "I can't believe I forgot-"
"It's okay. I'm getting over it." she spoke; trying to fake a soft smile.
"May I pose a small question?" Nemu asked.
"Depends. Was that just it?" Matsumoto replied.
Momo chuckled lightly and shook her head at the interaction. "Yeah, go ahead Nemu. Just ignore Matsumoto, she doesn't know what she's talking about." she teased; watching as the blonde-haired woman stuck her tongue out at her playfully.
"I was just merely curious as to when you became fertilized." the woman spoke.
She tightened her hands along the edge of the tray; almost hard enough to split her fingers open. "I... what do you mean?"
"You are pregnant, aren't you?"
"Nemu! You can't just ask someone if they're pregnant!" Nanao scolded.
"Yeah, I mean, she could just be fat." Matsumoto defended.
"Okay Matsumoto, that didn't help the least bit." Isane sighed. "Look, Momo, I'm sure she didn't mean anything by that. She's just-" she stopped in mid-sentence as she watched the tray slip from her hands and clatter loudly with the floor. "She's... just kidding... right?"
"I... I have to go!" Momo rushed as she stepped back before running out of the room.
"Was it something I said?"