Hitsugaya closed the door behind him quietly. He looked around his office.

Good, no one around. Finally…

He walked over to his desk and pulled out a key. Kneeling on the floor, he unlocked the bottom drawer of the desk. Anticipation was written over his face as he pulled out the drawer.

The grin that lit up Hitsugaya's face was a rare one. Relishing the moment, he let his eyes feast on the sight.

It was all his.

The bright colours of the candy reflected in his eager eyes, a kaleidoscope of sweets occupying the drawer.

So what if he liked candy? It didn't make him any less of a man. He just liked the bright colours. The frosty blue ones. The frigid pink ones. The icy-green ones. The glossy yellow ones. The glistening red ones. He would have liked to sit and look at them for a while, but his time was short. Best to hurry…

He picked out two of them, a green and a blue. He quickly shut the drawer and locked it, returning the key to his pocket. The coast was still clear, the corridor outside was silent, not a soul stirred…

Maybe…Maybe he had time to eat one of them…

He unwrapped the green one carefully. Watermelon flavored candy was his favourite, he loved the tangy taste. A smile playing on his lips, he popped it into his mouth.

Sweet Bliss…The candy melted slowly on his tongue, swirling around in sour and sweet ripples, a fruity juice filling his mouth.

His squad members would never see this side of him. It would only strengthen their belief that their Captain was a kid. If only he looked older, it wouldn't matter if he ate candy all the time.

No one teased Ukitake about all that candy he owned. Maybe he should grow out his hair too, he might look older.

Just as Hitsugaya swallowed the last of his candy, the office door creaked open. Hitsugaya clutched his fist around his other piece of candy, and tried to look anything but guilty.

Matsumoto entered, unsteadily, humming to herself. She saluted her captain when she saw him.

His eyes were too bright, thought Matsumoto. What has he been upto?

"Taichou!" she squealed, walking over to him, her hands swinging around. She put her face close to his and stared into his eyes, blinking.

"Erm…What are you doing?" asked Hitsugaya, uncertainly.

Matsumoto looked down at his closed fist. She suddenly grabbed it, and forced it open.

"Candy?" she asked him, confusion all over her face.

Darn it, his cover was blown! What was he to do, if word got out…Desperate times called for desperate measures…Maybe he could try freezing her brain. Ugh, was that even possible without it being lethal?…No matter, he had to try…

He turned his back on her, and pulled out his sword silently. When he turned around, she was gone. He chanced to look down and saw her sprawled on the floor, making sounds which were very close to…mooing.

"Matsumoto? Are you drunk?" he asked her.

She didn't reply as she passed out. Hitsugaya sighed with relief and sheathed his sword. Now to get that bit of candy out…

Her hand was under her. In a position, which involved the possibility of touching her in places where he preferred not to, if he wanted to extract the candy.

He scratched his head, and gave up. He would handle this later.

_______________________________________________________________________

When Matsumoto woke up, groggy, she stared at the candy in her hand.

"Taichou!" she called out.

Hitsugaya stiffened immediately, sensing her upcoming question.

"Taichou, do you know where this candy came from?" she asked, still staring at it.

Hitsugaya put on his stern face and snatched the candy from her.

"Matsumoto, I've told you several times to not snack in the office, especially during office hours. I'm going to have to confiscate this."

He walked away, a sneaky smile on his face. He hoped Matsumoto wouldn't ask where confiscated items went to.