No Illusion

Hinamori Momo prided herself to be a diligent and responsible vice-captain, and more often than not she could be found in the office a full hour before official working hours, preparing all required materials. But as it was, it was her second day back at work under the new (or old, really) captain and she was utterly, inarguably late. Momo could have burst into tears if she thought it would do any good as she sprinted along the hallways. This was hardly the impression that she wanted to make during these shaky first days.

Momo slid open the door, an apology on her lips. She expected to see her new captain looking annoyed, armed with a frown of disappointment that would make her feel guilty for the rest of the day. She expected a reprimand about how a vice-captain ought to act.

She didn't expect the blond man to be snoozing haphazardly in his chair, paperwork scattered over the desk and several sheets threatening to fly off the table with the light breeze coming in through the open window. One did indeed decide to make its daring escape and Momo caught it before it hit the ground, only to continue gawking at her sleeping captain.

During her years in the Fifth Division, she had never seen the office in such a state.

Aizen-taichou had never slept in the office, let alone with his mouth slightly open. Aizen-taichou had never played jazz music from a cd player in the middle of the afternoon, a light sound that filled the room and could be faintly heard when one passed in the hallways. Aizen-taichou did not draw doodles on the writing paper like the weird faces painted on the sheet in her hand. Aizen-taichou had never done any of the things that Hirako Shinji had been doing in the scant one day since he had been reinstated as captain.

Momo wondered, fleetingly, if this was what the Eight Division was like on a normal day. This led to an image of her imitating Nanao, heavy book in hand and glaring down at her sleeping captain.

The mental image was surprisingly humorous and a soft giggle bubbled out of her. She couldn't help but giggle a bit more as she glanced down at her captain's doodle.

Strangely, all the monsters had pigtails.

Shinji's well-honed instincts had in fact awakened him the moment the vice-captain had stepped into the office – he hardly needed to be on his guard with this child as he had been with Aizen, but old habits die hard – but kept up the pretense of sleep to see what the girl would do. The tinkling sound of a giggle made him crack one eye open to catch Momo looking happier than she had been all week. Dark bags still lingered under her eyes, but he mentally compared this girl to recent pictures sent to him and decided that she looked markedly better. The vice-captain didn't catch the movement as she turned towards her desk to start on her portion of the paperwork, a smile still on her face.

Well, break time was over, he supposed.

Shinji made an exaggerated show of waking up, stretching and yawning. The girl spun around immediately, straightening into a position of sharp attention. She eyed him rather nervously as she stammered out a flustered "H-Hirako-taichou! Good morning!"

He smiled lazily. "Good morning, Momo."

(Momo. He had never called her Momo either.)

"Ah, I'm sorry for coming in late, Taichou!" she plunged into a deep bow.

Shinji waved off her apology. "It's fine. Just don't make it a habit, okay?"

"Yes, Taichou!" The relief was palpable in her voice. She soon started bustling around the office at an almost dizzying speed, determined to make herself useful.

Shinji watched her organized fluttering for a few amused moments before returning to his work (no, he wasn't doodling… No, really, he wasn't).

Momo sneaked a look at her captain from behind the filing cabinet door just in time to see him let out a huge yawn. She stifled yet another giggle as she pulled out the necessary forms.

Hirako-taichou was nothing like Aizen-taichou – nothing like the man who she had admired so much yet had never existed.

But as she paused her work to take in the fascinating sight of a report being written completely backwards (First Division would no doubt send it back with orders to be rewritten properly, but she couldn't find herself to care at the moment), a weight lifted off her heart, just a little.

If this was how the Fifth Division was going to be like from now on, she could get used to it.

Please review! I'd love to know what you think of this.

Currently a one-shot, but an accompanying drabble chapter will be uploaded depending on reader interest.