Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Oh Captain! My Captain!	By : BlueDragon Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 39319 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own nor make any profit off of Bleach and its characters. That all goes to Tite Kubo and affiliates.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
A/N:

- Movies quoted or manipulated*: The Best Little Whore House in Texas (Seriously, if you haven't seen this, I feel sorry for you.)

- I used/manipulated some great lines from two of Rachel Gibson’s books and will mark them with a caret (^): I’m In No Mood For Love, True Love and Other Disasters. It’s not that I’m not creative, I swear, she’s just a hilarious author and I love her way with words!

- I again claim my author's right to make things up. I am still doing a lot of research to make it believable, but some things I'm not quite sure about and don't feel like going through pages and pages of the Bleach Wiki to figure out if my hunch is correct or not. So, just roll with it and enjoy, please!

- There is a wind festival in Japan, but the timing is a little bit off in my story. Try to imagine it as not Japan's wind festival, but Karakura's. Additionally, since I have never been to a Japanese festival, there's only so much I can figure out online. So, I've made it as Japanesey as I can, but I threw a few American twists in there because that's what I know. Hope you don't mind and have fun.

- I apologize in advance. You're going to go through a food roller coaster at the festival in this chapter. Most of these are Japanese delicacies that I desperately wish to try and I hope you (a) don't get grossed out and (b) think they sound as fun and delicious as Google images, the Food Network, and my imagination portrays them. I started to put all their Japanese names in, but decided against it and put the translated food name in for you for most of them. I figured you would be Googling everything like I did and this would at least give you an idea before you saw a yummy picture.

- I put the name of a real life stuffed toy in here. You can Google it to see for yourself and I sincerely hope you do. I just saw it randomly in my search for “pink Japanese plush toys” and thought it'd be hilariously perfect for Rangiku.

- I do go into some serious detail on some clothes and items these guys will be wearing or seeing. I think AFF won’t allow me to put the hyperlinks in here. So, if you're genuinely curious about what something may look like, ask me in a review and I'll see what I can do about it. Sorry if those kinds of details bore you or drive you bonkers, but I have a clear image in my head, lol.

**~*~****~*~**

Chapter Three

**~*~****~*~**

Rangiku ran down the sidewalk. Crap! Toshiro got them access to the World of the Living and after work told her to meet him in one hour at Shunsui's own private Senkaimon --another perk for some of the higher ranking families-- and she was running ten minutes late! Literally. Running. Crap, she hoped he hadn't left without her!

Rangiku picked up her pace, but couldn't flashstep due to her attire, which was why she was late. After her little test on Toshiro yesterday, she'd decided that she was going to risk everything and seduce her surly Captain. He'd responded beautifully to her “How to Drive Any Man Wild” tactics. The chemistry between them was smoking hot and, by the way he'd been reacting to her lately, she was thinking the odds were in her favor.

When she'd found out that they'd gained “Recreational Access” from Headquarters, she'd immediately started thinking about what she wanted to wear: something that wouldn't be slutty but would knock his socks off. She'd gotten so wrapped up in the details that she'd lost all track of time.

So, now she was running as fast as she could in heels; praying that her dress wasn't hiking up too high on her thighs and flashing people as she tore down the sidewalk. Taking the shortcut over the rooftops was out of the question for the same reason. So she was stuck with the long way and couldn't even reach her top speed.

Getting aggravated, she slowed down and took her shoes off at a hop. Hooking the heel straps with a finger, she took off down the sidewalk again. She was only two blocks away.

Tearing around a corner, Rangiku plowed into a hard body and screeched when she bounced off backwards toward the hard concrete. Two pairs of hands caught her and steadied her before she fell and it took a moment for her to recognize the male curses.

“What the hell!? Rangiku?”

Ikkaku laughed heartily at Renji and asked her, “Is that some sort of new fighting technique? The Mowed-Over?”

Rangiku blushed but laughed, “Sorry, Renji.”

The two released their protective holds on her and she backed up a step and noticed Yumichika and Tetsuzaemon standing there with them, “Hey guys.”

Both smirked at her and nodded in greeting when Ikkaku whistled, “Look at you all dressed up. I didn't realize it was you trying to run us over til I caught ya.”

Renji snorted at him before giving her a once-over, “You look great.”

She smiled, “Thank you!”

A hand dangled her shoes in front of her and Rangiku plucked them out of Yumichika's fingers and chuckled, “Thanks, Yumi.”

Renji rubbed the part of his chest that she'd slammed into before asking, “Where the hell you running off to like that?”

The reminder made Rangiku gasp and she dumbfounded the guys when she hopped and scooted between them. Turning the corner, she took off again before calling over her shoulder, “Shopping!”

Ikkaku snorted, “Women.” When he turned back around, he noticed a telltale pink across both Tetsuzaemon and Renji's cheeks as they watched her run off. Renji shook his head in bafflement and Ikkaku smacked Iba upside the head when he started to lean down to likely catch a glimpse of her underwear.

The shades-wearing soul reaper sputtered, “What!?”

Ikkaku laughed, “You know what!”

Yumichika sighed dramatically, “Come on, perverts. We can't waste an opportunity like Ikkaku buying at the bar, now can we?”

Tetsuzaemon snorted, “He's only buying because we're cashing in on all of his IOUs.”

Ikkaku sulked, “Yeah, yeah...” Turning back to the direction they were originally headed, he paused when he saw all the male soul reapers standing and gawking past them in the direction Rangiku had headed.

Taking his ill temper out on them, he bellowed, “Get back to work!”

The guys chuckled when the other soul reapers jumped in fright and scurried off in every direction.

As Rangiku turned another corner and saw the entrance to Squad Eight, she breathed a sigh of relief. It was a short trip to cross the bit of courtyard that led toward Shunsui's training facility. She'd already been to one section of it yesterday, but the Senkaimon was in another area.

Trying to catch her breath, she walked barefoot past the trail that lead to the pond and followed the cherry trees. The wind felt nice on her skin and, as she admired the fall colors, it whipped her skirt around her thighs.

After a minute of walking, the path opened up to a stone laden entryway. From past experience, she knew once you passed under the beautiful, wooden cross-beams of the torii, there would be about 30-40 broad steps leading down to the Senkaimon.

As she approached the torii, she heard the murmur of male voices and hid behind one of the large, round wooden posts. Peaking around the side, she quickly found them. Toshiro was speaking to Shunsui near the gate, sulking against the wall with his arms folded across his broad chest. Rangiku dusted off the bottom of her foot and, in the process of trying to slip a shoe on, she nearly fell down at the sight of him.

He was wearing a white, untucked short sleeve button up. The crisp, yet soft, material was fitted through the chest, armholes, and sides. His shirt wasn't skin tight by any means, but the cool cotton hugged his pectorals and led you straight down to his narrow hips. He hadn't noticed her yet and she admired the way he moved when he pushed off the wall to speak more face to face with the other captain and casually stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Rangiku had a hard time not gawking at how his slim fit bootcut jeans hugged his butt and thighs. The jeans lightly flared at his heels to reveal his navy blue leather lace-up sneakers. The shoes totally suited him and, from what she could discern from up here, had three contrasting stripes of white, dark blue, and light blue along the widest part of the foot.

Dragging her eyes back up his hard body, she couldn't stop herself from appreciating how the short sleeves tightened attractively around his arms; showing off his muscular biceps and triceps. He also had the top few buttons undone exposing his throat and upper chest. Knowing her Captain, he probably did it to cool off, but all Rangiku found herself wanting to do was kiss the warm skin. Maybe nip that manly place where his collarbone met his upper sternum and the pit of his throat.

He was obviously aiming for casual, but he made it look damn good. How did he make the proverbial “jeans and a t-shirt” look so sexy?

Eying him as a delicious whole, she slipped on her other shoe and stood back up. Straightening her shoulders, she girded her loins before taking a step forward.

Toshiro lifted his head toward the sound of the light, sexy tap-tap of women's shoes walking down the steps towards him. He sucked in a breath as he took in the sight of his Lieutenant wearing a magenta-plum sleeveless dress that flowed over her curves and ended a few inches above her knees. It had a fairly modest square neckline, which revealed only a hint of cleavage, and soft, triangular shoulder straps. She had a wide, high-waist gold leather belt wrapped around her middle and matched it with her everyday necklace and a pair of strappy gold heels that would put her close to his eye level.

You couldn't ignore her bust but the overall effect de-emphasized her chest, flattered her normally covered up hourglass figure, and showed off her stop-traffic legs.

As she descended the steps, a brief gust of wind whipped her skirt up her legs. Just as he was sure his prayers had been answered and he was going to get a panty shot, her hands flew down to stop the fabric from misbehaving. The color of the dress really complemented her beautiful peachy, golden skin tone and his fingers itched to slide up those killer thighs. Hot damn, she had nice legs. He didn't get to see them that often but he always relished the sight when he did.

Some men were ass men; others liked boobs. He was most definitely a thigh man and she had the kind of legs he liked. He liked smooth, fleshy thighs that --if she was standing in front of him with her knees touching-- had that curvy space between them that was perfect for his hand to slide into.

Rangiku was almost to them and, as she held on to the skirt of her dress and tried to subdue her gloriously shining mane from getting too tangled, he caught himself gaping and snapped his mouth shut.

Glancing at Kyoraku, he swallowed as the older Captain smiled with a knowing look, “I totally get it.”

Toshiro frowned in apprehension. He needed to cool his jets. This was not a date, she wasn't his girlfriend, and he was definitely not going to have sex with her. No matter how deliciously hot he thought it would be or how enticing she became, it wasn't going to happen. As Rangiku playfully hopped down the last step, Toshiro was finally able to collect himself and control his features.

She walked up to them with a charming smile and Toshiro remarked dryly, “It took you long enough.”

Rangiku laughed lightly, “I knew you'd say something like that. You know, it’s not exactly easy running around in a dress and heels!" Illustrating her point, she looked down and swayed her hips smoothly from side to side watching the plum colored fabric flutter around her thighs.

Forcing himself to not admire the sight, he replied wryly, “I'll take your word for it.”

She laughed, “I couldn't flashstep! Well, not without letting everyone see my panties...”

Shunsui smirked, “And we can't have that.”

Rangiku laughed, “No, we can't!”

Toshiro sighed in exasperation, “As fascinating a topic your underwear may be, can we go now?”

Shunsui chuckled and nodded to the two members of the Kido Corps at the gate.

As they watched the doors open, Rangiku murmured, “Fascinating topic, huh? I knew someone had been through my underwear drawer...”

She laughed heartily at his thunderstruck look before following the Hell Butterfly and sauntering through the bright, white light that lead to the World of the Living.

Shunsui sympathetically patted him on the shoulder before chuckling, “Have fun!”

Toshiro blinked and shook his head to clear it before following his own Hell Butterfly, “It's going to be a long afternoon...”

*~****~*
He wasn't big on shopping and he really didn't need that many clothes. Not including his uniforms, he had a few pairs of jeans and slacks and shirts ranging from long sleeved button-ups to t-shirts. Soul reapers tended to wear their uniforms at all times and didn't go to the World of the Living that often. So, casual clothing wasn't really necessary. In fact, shopping for clothes was one of his least favorite things to do. Despite this, somehow he'd allowed himself to be dragged all around downtown Karakura while Rangiku tried on racks of clothing, inspected numerous handbags, and got this crazed look in her eyes when she discovered hot pink man-killer pumps in one of the boutiques.^

After the fifth store and numerous bags, Toshiro relaxed and just took it all in. He couldn't say he was having fun, but it was definitely interesting. Rangiku had her own style and knew what she wanted when she saw it. By the time he'd actually lost count of how many shops they'd been to, he could predict what would draw her attention.^

It was a good thing they'd taken off from work early. It'd been dead that day and they'd gotten out of there by 3 o'clock. Glancing at the clock near the cash register, it was now nearly seven and his stomach grumbled in protest. They hadn't even made it to a grocery store or tea shop yet.

Currently sitting in a comfortable bench near the front of the store, he looked around for his Lieutenant. He was pretty sure they were the only customers and was getting tired of being ogled by the young store clerk. She was cute but he was beginning to get irritated with the blushing and giggling. Shouldn't she be annoying Rangiku?

He folded his arms across his chest and growled out a sigh.

Rangiku's head popped out from the rotating jewelry stands, “Are you getting grouchy again?”

His eyebrow rose sarcastically and one corner of his mouth lifted in a small grin, “I crave sustenance.”

The clerk giggled at his remark and his features stiffened as he looked at Rangiku. He'd been a good sport so far and she decided to take pity on him by taking her items up to the register. The poor girl had crashed into a sunglasses display when she'd first seen him as they'd arrived and she'd been trying desperately to get his attention, but he wasn't the least bit interested. She definitely understood the girl's predicament.

As she rang up her items, the young woman paused on the necklace she'd selected and peaked over at Toshiro, who was blatantly ignoring them, and whispered, “Good choice.”

Rangiku smiled and winked.

As they left the store, she informed him matter-of-factly, “Okay. So, I think I remember there being a tea place a few streets over. We'll stop by there first and then food. There's this whole slew of street food vendors near the park that I want to try out and I think it's not far from the shop.”

Toshiro grunted and readjusted some of the many bags he was carrying for her. As they headed in the direction she indicated, her lips pursed in an attempt not to laugh. Oh, her Captain of many words. What a typical guy.

He might grumble about her being a classic shopaholic but it'd actually been pretty fun. Once he'd stopped complaining and loosened up, he'd been kind of handy to have around. Not only was he carrying all of her purchases for her --something he'd refused to do yesterday-- he also had a good eye.

Toshiro had style and was a sharp dresser; he was never sloppy or mismatched. He'd always had an attention for detail but he had apparently been using it this afternoon. Not only had he noted what items she'd been looking at, he'd silently been listening to her talk about why she'd picked it out; even if she was just talking to herself.

He'd usually just say that there was nothing better to do or that he was trying to hurry her along, but he had developed a knack, after the first few shops, for picking out things that she'd like.

Where she would hum a tune and constantly gab with the store clerks or to no one in particular, he was a silent hunter. One who would wander around with a single-minded determination that was beyond her abilities and occasionally hold a hanger up for her to see.

And, believe it or not, he was also a pretty good silent sounding board when she was trying things on. He'd stand there in a huff waiting for her, but his eyes would perk up when she came out of the changing room. Modeling for him had been one of her favorite parts of the day. He never said much; would merely frown as he perused her new outfit, indicate with a finger that she should turn around for him, and give her two thumbs up or one down. In fact, the majority of things she'd chosen had been Toshiro-approved.

He got a certain look in his eye when she had a dress on that he liked and she couldn't resist buying it. She'd noticed the look earlier, before they'd left for the World of the Living, and she ended up buying many more skirts and dresses than she normally did because of it. The way his guarded face would soften in male approval made her heart skip a beat.

Every day she wore that boring, genderless uniform. She did what she could to spruce it up, but it was no different than what every other soul reaper wore and that was what she disliked about it.

She loved color and beautiful clothes. She liked wearing pretty things and feeling like a girl!

And for the first time in a very long time, she felt beautiful and wholly feminine and he'd made her feel that way. He made her feel like a woman. Not a lieutenant. Not a walking pair of breasts. A woman.

They hurried across a crosswalk and Rangiku inwardly smirked when a man in his late twenties ran into a pole at the site of her. She was used to being leered at by men, but seeing women of all ages stop to do a double take of Toshiro was somewhat new to her. She couldn't blame them, though.

He'd developed a tan this summer from training with the squad and it'd made the contrast with his snowy, white hair even more striking. A simple tweak to his gigai's appearance --an attempt to make him look completely human-- made his eyes normal with standard pupils. However, the combination of those unusual teal eyes with tanned skin, white hair, and a drool worthy body encased in the clothes he was wearing; it was no wonder they left people gaping on the street.

It was possible that many of them were gawking because they’d never seen anyone with white hair; maybe some were prudes and didn’t approve, but she didn’t think that was it. The man was hot. Of course, she was biased...

It also didn't help that he exuded authority and confidence with every step. It practically oozed from his pores as he calmly navigated them both through the busy sidewalks. Even though these people didn't know what he did for a living, it was clear from his indifferent, self-assured presence that he wasn't some empty headed fool with a pretty face.

It was nice, actually. Everywhere they went, men ogling her took one look at him and gave them a wide berth. She didn't know if he was glaring at every one of them, which was entirely possible, but she felt completely safe and free to do as she pleased without having to be prepared at all times to knock some idiot's block off.

As they turned another corner, they paused to let a group of middle school girls pass them. As Rangiku spotted a large, green tea kettle up on a storefront further down the way, she belatedly realized the kids hadn't moved on. They'd just come out of an ice cream shop and were frozen in place staring at them. Toshiro's growing impatience manifested itself in the form of a growl that seemed to jolt them out of their stupor. Every one of them turned bright red and quickly started moving.

Rangiku laughed lightly and curled her hand around his elbow to pull him around the girls.

He allowed her to lead him away but rolled his eyes when the teenagers squealed in embarrassment, started whispering hotly, and giggling to each other as he passed. This was getting old.

Rangiku snuggled his arm possessively against her ample bosom and chuckled, “At least that wasn't as bad as that cougar in the lingerie boutique. The one that was trying to sell you that banana-hammock with the little silver snaps on the sides?”*

Toshiro groaned, “I can't believe you made me go in there.”

She laughed, “It's gotta be really handy to be able to just rip them off like that.” Pretending to grasp something and flinging it, “Just, whoosh!”

As they neared the shop, Rangiku continued to razz him, “What was it that she told you? Oh yeah--” Her voiced dropped into a low, mockingly sultry tone, “I bet a strong, virile young man, such as yourself, wouldn't have any problem filling these out.”

Toshiro's cheeks finally turned pink and she laughed so hard that his arm shook as she hung on to him. By the time they reached their destination, she was gingerly wiping away tears and trying to control her merry giggles and he was pensively glaring at his reflection in the store's window.

Another little chuckle escaped and she sniffed, “Oh man, I'll never forget that. Never.”

He sighed in misery and looked up at the name of the store, “The Kettle. Not very original.”

Trying to regain her composure, she sniffed and wiped under her eyes, “I think it's cute.” Grabbing his wrist and pulling, she opened the glass door and entered, “Come on!”

Shopping at The Kettle wasn't very different than the clothing stores. Rangiku chatted with the very knowledgeable older gentleman about what she wanted and he escorted her over to the area that had the countless varieties of green tea. They had several different kinds of matcha powder. The lower grades were typically used in cooking or for things like ice cream and smoothies and Rangiku barely glanced at them. They also carried quite a few decent quality brands for every day drinking that were reasonably priced, but the clerk was delighted to see that she wanted the good stuff.

Toshiro wandered the store while Rangiku did her thing. There were a few aisles and several small kiosks spread around the interior of the store that displayed tea accessories and products. Things like cast iron kettles, tea makers and infusers, gift and travel kits, different sweeteners. This place had everything! The sheer volume and the amount of variety this old guy had astounded him. He didn't know there were that many teas out there. On one side of the store, customers could shop by country and could choose from English teas, to African, to all over the place. Along the back of the store were loose tea varieties that ranged from herbal remedies for things like upset stomachs or liver health to wildly creative combinations like Orange Blossom Blueberry Hibiscus and something called Azteca Fire. Many of those, as indicated by the label, were apparently blended and packaged directly from this store and not made from some big brand name. He was impressed. It would take years to try every flavor in here.

Looking in Rangiku's direction, he noticed that that whole side of the store was devoted to Asian teas and organized by the types white, green, oolong, and black. The green section was humungous and probably the largest in the store.

The old man had an area set up on that side for demonstrations and taste testing and Rangiku was waving him over to check it out.

Exiting the aisle that he was in, he glanced out the window as he headed their way. The sun was much closer to setting than he had expected.

Arriving at the table and standing to Rangiku's left, he raised an eyebrow as she gently dug her fingers into some of the samples of matcha and rubbed the powder between her thumb and index. Hearing them discuss the texture and color differences, he wondered what she waved him over for if she still hadn't picked one out.

The old man already had everything set up for a taste test and was waiting for her to make a choice.

She pouted in thought then looked at him, “What do you think?”

She was the one raised by a tea master, not him. Eying the contents on the table, he asked, “Have you at least narrowed it down?”

Rangiku nodded and slid some cans out of the way, “These two. They're both great quality, about the same in price, but from different areas of Japan.”

Toshiro looked at the patient salesman, “Can we try both?”

The old man smiled kindly, “Of course, sir.”

Having already set out two glass measuring cups, the clerk added a small amount of powder from each can to a different cup and then poured in some water from a waiting kettle. Whipping out a small, hand held immersion blender, he had them tasting little one ounce samples of both teas in record time.

Rangiku still couldn't decide, “They're both so good and still so different!”

Toshiro shrugged, “So, get both.”

She looked at him in surprise, “They're kind of expensive...”

Toshiro's faced deadpanned, “Really? You're going there? Okay, how much money did you just spend--” Transferring all of her bags onto his left arm, he raised it perpendicularly to his body and waggled his arm, effectively shaking her purchases, “--on this?”

Rangiku gasped in dismay and turned bright red when the old man failed to covered up his chuckle.

Toshiro smirked and nodded to the salesman before speaking authoritatively, “We'll take three cans. One of each of the two and the third is a gift, so surprise me.”

Rangiku playfully smacked his shoulder and gave him a look that said she'd get him back later for being so high handed. He smirked at her in triumph as the old man bustled about and rang up the tea. Toshiro surprised her again when he paid for it himself.

As the old salesman placed the cans in a stylish, custom-printed paper bag, he smiled at the two of them, “You'll be very happy with both of those. Your girlfriend has great taste and you won't be disappointed.”

Toshiro froze for a heart beat before smiling easily and hooking the paper bag's jade-green cord handles with two fingers. It had been happening all afternoon as they shopped. Everyone thought they were a couple and it was just easier to go along with it.

Handing the bag to the strangely quiet Rangiku, he nodded to the old man, “Thanks for your help.”

The old man thanked them graciously and called out for them to stop by any time. Toshiro casually walked toward the door as Rangiku waved him goodbye, opened it with his still empty right hand, and allowed her to pass him before exiting himself.

Immediately transferring some of the bags to his right hand to balance himself out, he noticed two teenage girls with funky haircuts, tight black clothes, and thick eyeliner walk past. They looked at his mountain of bags with sad emo eyes and shook their sad emo heads at what was Rangiku's disgusting display of consumer greed and he chuckled.^

Rangiku gasped, “Oh, wow! Look at that sky!”

He looked up. Already it had lost its light blue and was being filled with neon pinks, yellows, and a blur of purples; only a few clouds, outlined in bright pink light, distracted the eye.

Toshiro grunted impatiently, “Food.”

Rangiku snorted and began walking again, “This way, Man of Many Words.”

The corner of his mouth quirked in amusement as he used a few long strides to quickly catch up to her. As they followed other pedestrians over another crosswalk, he noticed that there were an awful lot of people heading in the same direction. Almost no one, even on the other side of the street, was headed the opposite direction and he was pretty sure the sidewalks were getting more crowded. As they neared the next light and waited for the signal to cross, he noticed some orange and white road blocks three blocks down preventing all vehicles from coming or going further.

Making their way across the crosswalk and onto the next street, his eyes narrowed. He could have sworn he'd just heard his name being called.

Toshiro frowned, nudged his Lieutenant, and stopped walking. “You hear that?”

She stopped and turned to face him, “Hear what?”

Lifting his head and listening, he murmured, “I thought I heard someone calling my name...”

They both listened carefully for a few more moments before shrugging and continuing on their way. The faint tinkling of music could be heard over the growing hum of talking people as they got closer to the road blocks. The sound of music grew in volume and they both noticed several young women wearing warm colored yukatas.

Rangiku curiously looked around, “Guess there's some sort of festival going on.”

Passing the barriers, they both jumped when a familiar male voice bellowed from across the street, “Hey, Toshiro!”

He jerked to a stop, causing a bit of commotion in the growing numbers of people walking the same path, and looked to his left. Ichigo Kurosaki. Hearing Rangiku apologizing profusely to a few passersby for their abrupt stop, he glared as the younger man waved and jogged across the street near the blockade.

Belligerently turning and continuing in the direction he had been headed, he heard Ichigo holler, “Hey! Stop! Wait up!”

Rangiku chuckled and looped her arm through his right and pulled him to a stop.

Ichigo caught up to the two and came to a stop. Clapping him on the shoulder, he laughingly scoffed, “You asshole!” Rolling his eyes and grinning, he nodded his head at the man's busty Lieutenant, “Hey, Rangiku.”

She waved her fingers at him and winked flirtatiously, “Well surprise, surprise. Ichigo Kurosaki.”

Toshiro let out a dramatic, pitiful sigh and looked over his shoulder at the orange-haired young man. Turning around and recognizing some of his friends jogging to catch up, Toshiro nodded and smirked in greeting, “I thought I heard someone call me. I'm surprised I didn't sense your reiatsu.”

Ichigo shrugged, “Yeah, Urahara's testing this new gadget on me that conceals it. Says it should help decrease the number of Hollows being drawn here.”

Toshiro nodded his head in interest, “Ah.”

Ichigo frowned but his lips quirked in amusement, “I was wondering why I could feel your reiatsu around here but no Hollow, but, yeah...” Pointing at the good ten to twelve bags that Toshiro was hauling around, “Wow.”

Toshiro's face went dry and he gave a sidelong glance to a certain blonde, “We came for tea.”

Ichigo looked confused, “Tea?”

Rangiku held the one bag she carried up with an impish grin and Toshiro sighed forlornly, “This is the kind of damage she can do between the hours of four o'clock and fifteen minutes ago.”

Ichigo scratched the back of his head in amazement and Rangiku laughed at his choice of words, “You're just jealous.”

An airy feminine voice laughed and then squealed as the owner launched herself at the beautiful blonde, “Rangiku!”

She laughed and hugged the younger, bosomy redhead, “Orihime!” Squeezing her arms tighter around the shorter woman, she squished her cheek against her friend's gleaming auburn locks, “Aww, I've missed you!”

Toshiro rolled his eyes in amusement as the girls giggled and pulled apart. Noticing Uryu grin softly as he walked up watching them, the two men nodded to each other in greeting.

An attractive brunette, sporting a pixie-type haircut, walked up and frogged Ichigo on the arm, “You can't just run off and leave us like that!”

Ichigo grunted and then whined playfully, “Tatsuki! What have I told you about beating me in public?”

Toshiro smirked at the interaction.

She was on the tall side of average with an athletic physique and appeared to be around the same age as Orihime. Even though she was dressed casually in shorts and a tank top, she was very striking. Some men thought short hair on a woman was masculine, but her glossy, dark espresso locks seemed to fit her personality. The style of the cut was fuller and longer on top and at her crown and angled just slightly to the right; bringing attention to her lovely features and making her eyes and long, dark lashes appear more intense and focused. The fading light played off the strands and the rich, dark color seemed even softer. Toshiro found the look was feisty, if not passionate and sultry, and inherently feminine despite the somewhat dramatic length.

So when Ichigo frowned at him for looking a little too long, wrapped an arm around her and placed a possessive hand on her hip as she sidled up next to him, Toshiro grinned in mild defeat.

Her dark-chocolate brown eyes sparkled up at Ichigo in annoyance and gruff affection and just as she was about to give a, no doubt, snappy comeback, two more young women showed up on Ichigo's other side.

Toshiro's brow rose in surprise before he asked dryly, “Starting a harem?”

Ichigo scoffed, “Yeah, right. These are my younger, twin sisters.”

As he began introducing the three women to him, the last one seemed to break out of her shock and blurted, “Toshiro?”

Instant recognition slammed into his brain as he remembered Ichigo's little, dark-haired sister, “Karin?”

She exclaimed, “Wha--! What happened to you?”

He snorted, “Growth spurt. A really big one.”

Karin dazedly gaped at him, taking him in head to toe, “Wow...”

Orihime and Rangiku rejoined the growing circle of friends and his Lieutenant exclaimed, “Karin!? Look at you! You're all grown up!”

Toshiro agreed. She too wasn’t a little kid anymore and was certainly on the road to filling out in all the right places... She looked a lot like this Tatsuki person he'd just been introduced to. Similarly athletic, she was wearing shorts and a soft, clinging t-shirt, but Karin could no longer possibly be mistaken as a boy with those long, willowy legs. Her hair wasn't short anymore, either. Instead, the brunette's mocha hued locks gleamed up in a sporty ponytail with her long, wispy bangs tucked behind her ears.

Ichigo looked suspiciously between his blushing sister and his white-haired, so-called friend, “You've met?”

Rangiku saw both the substitute soul reaper's eye twitch murderously and also Karin trying hard not to gape at her Captain. She was cute and Rangiku admittedly didn't know much about his tastes in women, but Toshiro just wasn't the kind of guy to go after jail bait.

Trying to diffuse the situation and distract the two Kurosakis, she replied in a flippant fashion, “Oh, yeah; long time ago. So Karin,--” After gaining the younger woman's attention, she asked curiously, “How old are you now?”

Karin smiled gratefully at the buxom blonde and quickly responded, “Seventeen.”

Still glaring at the older soul reaper, Ichigo pointedly corrected his sister, “She's sixteen.”

Yuzu, the peacekeeper of the family, finally decided to jump in and added charmingly, “And we'll be seventeen in two and a half weeks, whether you’re ready to admit it or not.”

Toshiro had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from smirking when Ichigo looked down to frown at the other twin. She was cute, too. Whereas Karin looked similar to her brother, Toshiro suspected Yuzu had to look like their mother. She didn't look anything like her twin: short and curvy with sandy brown tresses cut in a slightly layered bob. He remembered Karin being bold and fearsome, much like her brother, but this young woman in the knee-length summer dress was obviously sweet and mild in disposition; nothing like her other two siblings.

Ichigo looked back up at Toshiro and when he saw the amusement in his teal eyes, his glare eased up a bit, “Where were you two headed?”

Before he could respond, Rangiku poked him in the shoulder saucily, “To feed the grouchy dragon.”

Ichigo smirked when Toshiro raised his eyes skyward and sighed in irritation.

Orihime bounced next to Uryu and chirped excitedly, “Why don't you come with us to the festival? The food is great!”

Rangiku looked at him expectantly, “Please?”

Toshiro looked down at all the bags in his hands and frowned, “I don't really want to carry all this around in a crowd like that and attempt to eat...”

Just as Rangiku's face started to form a pout, Uryu pointed down the street and suggested, “The department store on the corner up there has coin lockers. I think they close soon, but the lockers are accessible 24/7. I believe they have large enough units to store all your bags in there.”

Toshiro took one look at Rangiku and shrugged, “Sounds good.”

It only took the eight of them a few minutes to reach their destination. Toshiro thought the whole idea behind coin lockers was rather ingenious of the humans. Uryu explained that they have them conveniently all over Japan in malls, rail stations, and airports; right where tourists, commuters, and shoppers might need use of them. How handy was it to be able to leave all your things, heavy or light, in a locker of whatever size and pick it up later when you're ready to go?

Somehow they were actually able to squish all of Rangiku's bags into a large locker. He was impressed, but it was a good thing the majority of her items were clothes.

Walking out with his Lieutenant into the open air, where the others were waiting, Toshiro realized the park Rangiku had mentioned was actually the center of a very big town square. All four major streets entering it were blocked off and everywhere you looked you could see people milling about. All within the lush and beautifully landscaped area were games, booths, minor park rides, and tons of food vendors. The symphony of smells wafted over them with the breeze and Toshiro breathed it in deeply.

Rangiku chuckled at his eager, trance-like expression, “Food?”

Toshiro continued to look across the street, “Food.”

Rangiku grinned, “Where do you want to start?”

“Don't care.”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Everything.”

Rangiku chuckled at his curt replies. The aromas coming from across the street had apparently shut down all parts of his brain that didn't involve eating.

As they walked across the street towards the park, Orihime happily held onto Uryu's hand while he explained, “Although this time of year there is something going on almost every weekend, this is the big Wind Festival. It's one of the few that will last all week.”

Rangiku took in all the attractive paper lanterns and colorful booths, “Will there be fireworks?”

Tatsuki shook her head, “No, they only do that on Fridays and Saturdays.”

Ichigo remarked, “That's why it's not as crowded as usual.”

Yuzu was bubbling over with enthusiasm, “I read in history, that they started this whole thing to appease the wind god. That way they could gather and celebrate their harvest before the typhoon season.”

Karin looked around excitedly. Her eyes met briefly with Toshiro's before she bashfully shrugged, “I love the Wind Festival. It always has the best food!”

Ichigo smirked, “Which is why we are here.”

A group of teenage boys and girls excitedly waved and called the twins’ names. Ichigo frowned when they ran up to their group and started talking animatedly to each other. The boys seemed to feel the heat first. They'd all heard about the older Kurosaki and his troublesome friends and one look from him and the tall, white-haired guy had them nervously inching away.

Karin was the first to notice her friends’ dilemma and whorled around to face her brother, “Can we go with them?”

His frown deepened, “I promised dad I'd keep an eye on you two.”

Yuzu followed up with her best puppy dog face, “Please, Ichigo?”

Ichigo groaned and Tatsuki laughed, “Oh, come on. We all used to go unchaperoned.”

He growled in surrender and everyone but the two hopeful girls chuckled, “Fine.”

They both whooped for joy, but Ichigo loudly interrupted, “But! Nine o'clock we meet up at the normal place!”

They both nodded eagerly and he continued, “You both have your cell phones?”

Karin reached into her pocket and pulled it out to show him as Yuzu dug inside her purse to do the same.

“And they're on?”

Toshiro and Rangiku shared a look of amusement.

Tatsuki laughed and smacked him on the shoulder, “Ichigo!”

Placated, Ichigo grudgingly frowned and sighed, “Have fun.”

As the twins laughed and turned to join their friends, he called after them, “Be careful! Nine o'clock!”

Karin stopped and saluted him comically, “Yes, sir!” before jogging to catch up.

As the teens cheerfully walked away, one of the younger boys playfully elbowed Karin in the side and whispered loudly, “Dude, your brother is scary!”

Ichigo and Toshiro both grinned and snorted at the same time.

Rangiku remarked mildly, “Man, I feel sorry for their potential suitors.”

Tatsuki chuckled, “No joke! Their dad cries hysterically into their mom's photo almost every night I see him.”

It was about an hour later when Rangiku was laughing, for the up-teenth time, at Toshiro. He had a foil-wrapped, fire-roasted sweet potato in one hand; a stick stuffed with some kind of grilled meat in the other; and was munching on both of them while standing in line for takoyaki.

Ichigo and Tatsuki walked up hand in hand. He snorted beside her, “Don't you feed him?”

Rangiku looked at him sarcastically and exclaimed, “Yes! All the time! He's like a bottomless pit!”

Tatsuki pondered, “Maybe he's still growing?”

Rangiku gaped in comical horror, “Good lord, I hope not!”

Toshiro walked up and used one of her lines, “You're just jealous.”

Rangiku scoffed, “I am not! If I ate like that, I'd be as big as a house.”

He shrugged nonchalantly with a deviant twinkle in his eye, “Well, your boobs are already halfway there, so live a little.”

Rangiku saucily plopped a hand on her waist, “Woo! Look at you gettin' all feisty with food in your stomach! You are getting full, right?”

Toshiro smirked, “Getting there. I still want to try a few more things before I'm done.”

She shook her head in wonder, “And here I thought you weren't really serious when you said ‘everything.’ ”

He chuckled at that. Holding his arm up, he displayed three sticks of food in his left hand, “Here, I got you some takoyaki.”

Rangiku plucked one of the sticks that held the dumplings out of his hand and offered up his plastic cup of cold beer, “Thirsty?”

He eyed the cup greedily. So he could hold his sweet potato and yakitori in his left hand, he awkwardly moved the two skewers between his fingers and took the cup with his right. Taking a hearty pull of the cold brew, he sighed happily as he licked the bubbly foam from his upper lip.

Amused by the whole scene, Ichigo grinned, “I still think it's weird you like that. I never would have taken you for a beer drinker.”

He shrugged, “It comes and goes, but not much can beat a cold beer after a long, hot day.”

The high pitch call of Rangiku and Tatsuki's names from a gaming booth made their heads turn in unison. Orihime was waving them over to where she and Uryu stood. Laughing at her enthusiasm, the ladies went to join them.

Toshiro took a bite of one of the skewered dumplings and sighed while he chewed. Before taking another bite, he asked, “So, when did those two get together?”

Ichigo frowned, “Uryu and Orihime? Uh... Over a year?”

Toshiro blinked, “That long?”

“Yeah... I guess it's been a while since we've all been in the same place at the same time, huh?”

Toshiro frowned, “But I thought Orihime liked you?”

Ichigo uncomfortably scratched the back of his head, “Yeah, but after high school we all did our own thing and a lot of things changed. Tatsuki and I ended up staying here in Karakura to go to school and Uryu and Orihime both went to this big university that's a couple of hours from here.”

“And that's all she wrote, huh?”

Ichigo snorted, “Pretty much. They're good together, though. Uryu can handle Orihime when she's being... Well... Orihime. And Tatsuki and I... Being with her is so natural and... right, that I can't figure out how I didn't see it sooner...”

They were both quiet for a moment, contemplating. Toshiro hadn't expected the always-preoccupied younger man to elaborate. He supposed they'd all been doing a little growing up over the years.

They both looked up when Tatsuki cheered in triumph at the booth and Toshiro grinned, “I like her. She's feisty.”

Ichigo smiled, “Tatsuki? Yeah, she knows when to beat me up or give me a kick in the ass when I need it.”

Both men chuckled.

As Toshiro took a swig of his beer, Ichigo gave him a sly sidelong glance, “So, how long have you and Rangiku been seeing each other?”

Toshiro choked in surprise. After taking a deep breath and clearing his throat, “We aren't,” he frowned.

Ichigo raised a sarcastic eyebrow, “Could've fooled me. You spent all day shopping together and I heard her tell Orihime that you helped her pick things out. Now we're all here, eating and socializing and having fun... Sounds like a date to me.”

Toshiro’s frown deepened, “It's not a date.”

Ichigo smirked, “It is totally a date. Those are classic actively-dating-couple activities!”

Toshiro glared belligerently, “It's not a date.”

Ichigo looked like a light had turned on in his head, “Uh huh. It's nice living there, right?”

He wasn't following. “Huh?”

Ichigo nodded, “In the State of Denial. I hear it's real nice this time of year.”

Toshiro rolled his eyes and snorted, “You're an ass. I'm not in denial.”

Ichigo's humor faded and turned serious, “I remember that feeling. I was in denial right up until I seduced my childhood best friend...”

He looked at Toshiro pointedly, but Toshiro popped the last takoyaki into his mouth hoping to avoid talking altogether.

As he chewed and they both watched the women, Ichigo murmured, “I heard about what happened the other day.”

Toshiro swallowed and gave a humorless half laugh, “Good news travels fast, I see.” He looked at Ichigo seriously, “Listen... The stuff that Hollow hit me with messed with my head and I acted out because of something ridiculous that Rangiku did. It's as simple as that. Everyone's making it a bigger deal than it really was.”

Ichigo seemed to consider that for moment, “Okay. Well, let me ask you this: What were you feeling when you were chasing her down?”

Toshiro nearly dropped his cup. His eyes jerked over to Ichigo's in shock and he whispered, “What?”

Ichigo stared after a certain brunette, “Tatsuki and I had this huge fight right before we started dating. There was this douche volunteering at the dojo she works at and I knew he wasn't volunteering for the kids. The way he'd look at her when he thought no one was looking...”

His jaw clenched in anger and he glared at the ground, “I confronted her about it when she'd gotten off of work one night and it really pissed her off. She said that he was a nice guy, that she was single after all, and that it was none of my damn business who she saw...” Ichigo smiled but, instead of humor, there was torment in his eyes, “It was the first time in my life that my Hollow interfered while I was still in my human body. Just the thought of another man having her, touching her...” His jaw clenched tight, “It was like a vision; a crazy, vivid nightmare. I chased her from the dojo, like some psychotic monster, all the way to the bank by the river. I didn't even realize that he'd taken over until I had her pinned underneath me and my tongue down her throat.”

Toshiro watched silently as Ichigo relaxed his clenched jaw and blinked a few times. He took a deep breath and expelled it slowly, like the subject was still dangerous territory and made him want to kill someone.

“The whole thing scared me more then I scared her. Tatsuki somehow knew I wouldn't hurt her, but all I can think about is how consumed I was with the chase. The fact that she fought me off, ran, dodged my attempts to catch her... It... excited me...”

Toshiro listened intently. It was so close to what had happened to him that it was uncanny, but he knew that was Ichigo's point.

Ichigo looked him square in the eye, “So, I'll ask again. What were you feeling when you were chasing her?”

His brooding silence was answer enough and Ichigo gazed at their laughing friends, “Listen, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. You have your reasons. She is your Lieutenant and I can see why that makes things difficult, but you're gonna have one hell of a fight on your hands if your zanpakuto is anything like my Hollow. If you're denying yourself something, or someone, it really wants...” He trailed off and shook his head like the mental image of the consequences of that were overwhelming.

They were both quiet for a few minutes; the seriousness of the topic at odds with the sounds of the meandering people and the delicious aromas.

Toshiro mulled over what Ichigo had said. He'd never heard him talk so much but he couldn't help but see the glaring similarities in their circumstances. He'd just admitted to himself the other day how it was becoming harder and harder to resist her.

Staring at the curvaceous, minx turning their way, he admitted in a whisper, “I do want her... But... Just because I do, doesn't mean that I should.”

Ichigo looked at him thoughtfully; he never expected him to own up to it. As Uryu and the girls headed their way, a small smile curved his lips, “Well, if you want my advice...”

Toshiro snorted, “Not particularly, but that hasn't stopped you yet.”

Ichigo smirked at the anticipated reply, “Follow your instincts.”

The two men looked at each other in understanding and Toshiro chomped down on the last piece of grilled squid on his remaining stick before the others arrived.

Orihime had her arms wrapped around an obscenely large stuffed toy. To be honest, it looked like a giant, purple eggplant.

She was laughing gaily and bouncing next to her boyfriend, praising him, “That was amazing, Uryu! I've never seen anyone knock the bottom block out before! I can't believe the stack was still standing!”

Tatsuki was laughing her ass off, “I almost peed my pants when the block smashed into that smug bastard's face!”

Rangiku laughed, “I hafta admit, I was impressed.”

Uryu slid his glasses up a bit. The trademark move allowed the glare of light to barely conceal his small, confident smirk.

Ichigo grinned, “You dog!”

He reached into his pocket while he laughed at his four-eyed friend and glanced at his phone. He sighed, “Well, hell.”

Tatsuki looked at him, “Is it that time, Grampa?”

His eye twitched at the nickname, “Yeah.”

Orihime bounced over and hugged Rangiku voraciously, wishing her an early happy birthday. Her actions seemed to be the catalyst for laughing farewells and good-natured ribbing and soon it was just Toshiro and Rangiku again.

Rangiku sighed happily, “That was fun.”

Toshiro smiled, “Yeah. It was good seeing them again.”

He noticed a trash bin nearby and left her side to go and toss in his cleaned off skewers. Finishing off the last few bites of sweet potato, he crumpled up the foil into a ball and threw it into the trash while he drained the contents of his cup that soon followed.

Refreshed, he sighed happily.

Rangiku's soft chuckle got his attention.

She reached into her purse and handed him a paper napkin, “Where to next, big man?”

He knew she didn't want to leave yet and there were a few more food booths he wanted to try out. He wiped his hands and tossed the napkin into the trash, “First, beer. Second, I haven't figured that out yet, but after that, dessert.”

Rangiku laughed and pointed dramatically, “To the beer stand!”

Twenty minutes later, Toshiro had another cup of ice cold liquid gold and an assortment of grilled yakitori-style chicken skins, chicken meatballs, and pork belly.

He'd been in the process of trying to steal one of Rangiku's bacon-wrapped mushrooms when this heavy set, middle-aged man operating a twenty foot “High Striker” got his attention. Watching quite a few men try to show off and fail miserably, Toshiro thought he understood the technique behind successfully ringing the bell. He didn’t have an overwhelming interest in testing his theory out, though.

He'd just finished off his chicken meatballs and nudged Rangiku, indicating he was done watching, when the game operator pointed his big, sausage-like finger directly at him and challenged, “So, are you a man or boy, Snowball?”

Toshiro's eye twitched angrily. Those were fightin' words. The fool had blatantly baited him and he'd be damned if he was going to walk away.

Rangiku gasped in horror. There were just too many things wrong with that one statement for this to not end well.

The crowd cheered when he glared murderously, handed his food and drink to the beautiful blonde, and stepped forward to accept the challenge.

The stout game operator tossed the heavy looking mallet at him and he caught it easily, “That'll be 500 yen, kid.”

The man was trying to piss him off, to goad him into rushing and making a mistake, but he just tossed a 500 yen coin at him and glared.

Testing the weight of the instrument out, he cracked his neck left and right, before positioning his hands right where he wanted them. He was going to blow this thing sky high, just to see the look on that asshole's face.

The guy was confidently laughing at his stance, “This isn't kendo!”, but he had no idea who he was messing with.

Toshiro blocked him out; blocked out the catcalling; blocked out the crowd and focused his energy into the long, sledge-like mallet. The key was to hit the flat side down directly onto the rubber padded lever without rocking, rolling, or wobbling the hammer head. It had to be flat surface to flat surface and a hell of a lot of force.

Just in case the bastard had rigged the machine, Toshiro focused a bit of his reiatsu into the hammer. A small, cold breeze whipped around him and the mallet head. He took a deep, controlled breath and moved. Like lightning he brought the hammer down exactly how he'd planned and a loud crack was heard, like that of a thunder clap. He watched with supreme satisfaction as the puck careened skyward. It seemed to scream for mercy until it collided angrily with the school-like bell with enough force and sound frequency to make the people jump in surprise; the nearby, surrounding flashing red bulbs exploded.

He outright laughed.

The quiet hum his focus had created faded and the surrounding noises filtered back into his brain. Holding his hand up to cover his eyes from the falling colored glass, he watched the game operator as he cursed and shielded his own eyes. His expression said it all: he’d never seen anything like that before. As he gaped in stunned wonder, Toshiro smirked wickedly.

Holding out the mallet, they both jerked in surprise when all that was left in his firm grip was the long, broken handle. In the growing number of spectators, he heard a mixture of surprised laughter, gasps, and righteous, supportive cheering. He looked to where he'd left Rangiku and saw her hiding her mouth behind his cup but laughing hard.

Their eyes met and he grinned and shrugged, “Whoops.”

Hearing the volume of the people increasing as more came in to see what happened, he turned to the speechless operator and handed him the hammerless stick, “Do I get a prize?”

The man blinked at him and pointed distractedly to his prize booth completely covered in stuffed animals and toys, “Uhh, yeah... Anything on the wall...”

Toshiro quickly walked over and grabbed the first large, pink thing that caught his eye and started toward Rangiku. As he moved through the throng of people, some laughed and patted him on the back while others shouted things like, “Dude! That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!”

When he finally reached her, she was standing there laughing and looking beautiful; the urge to walk over and kiss her almost had his feet moving. Stamping it down inside as she came closer, he stuffed the large toy under his arm and took his drink and stick-food back.

She couldn't stop laughing, “Excessive force, much?”

She nearly doubled over in giggles, giving him a lovely eyeful of bouncing cleavage before he muttered loud enough for her to hear, “Yeah, we better get out of here before he makes us pay for it...”

Rangiku tried to take some deep breaths, before merrily saying between chuckles, “You murdered it! Look!”

They had stepped out of the mass and she pointed to the High Striker, “You broke the hammer, you smashed the lever-stand-thing, and you blew its brains out up top!”

He observed as she pointed to the things she was talking about and laughed.

She walked over to a nearby trash receptacle, trying valiantly to control her mirth, and threw her own yakitori sticks in before grabbing another napkin out of her bag to wipe her hands.

Remembering his prize, he turned his side toward her to bring attention to it, “Here.”

Reaching under his elbow, Rangiku pulled the weird, pillow-sized, pink and white thing out from under his arm, “Aww! For me?”

He rolled his eyes playfully, “Well, what the hell am I going to do with that?”

Getting a look at it, she laughed, “What the heck is it?”

He turned to face her and inspected it himself, “I dunno. I grabbed it because it was pink and looked obnoxious, like you.”

She laughed, “Oh, gee, thanks!”

Turning it around in her hands, she spotted a tag and brought it closer to read, “Yammy Yammy Hime Shrimp... Japanese Food Sushi Plush Toy.”* She paused, turned it around to face her, and started laughing hard, “It's a shrimp nigiri? Aww, look at her face! Now that I know what it is, it's so cute!”

As she hugged it to her chest and chuckled heartily, he snorted and fingered the bright pink shrimp tail, “Well, I would have lost that guessing game.”

Aiming to get far away from the High Striker in case that guy really did come after them, they snuck into another area of gaming booths. There were so many kinds of games and kids of all ages running about to play as many as possible before their parents deemed it too late.

After he'd eaten the remaining skewered meat and finished off his beer, they'd gone for the dessert lane. A whole slew of stands devoted to the sugary desires of everyone around them. Shaved ice, bebi kasutera, small candied apples, cotton candy, grilled caramel, taiyaki... You name it. They had it.

He’d gotten a large crepe wrapped up in a paper cone; filled with whipped cream and chunks of strawberries, kiwi, papaya, and mango. Rangiku had a Choco-Banana and was eating it as slowly and lewdly as possible.

They had just found this quiet little nook, just on the other side of the shrubs from the dessert aisle, when he softly barked at her, “Will you stop it!?”

Rangiku looked at him innocently, “Huh?”

He glared, “Can't you eat that like a normal person?”

Rangiku fluttered her lashes and a small smile curved her lips, “My, look whose mind is in the gutter...”

Heat rose up his neck to his ears but a fierce growl left his lips, “You are doing it on purpose!”

She flicked her luminous, blonde locks over her shoulder and gave him a sassy grin, “I can eat this banana any way I please and if that means I wanna do this...”--Twirling her tongue around the end and grinning with it in her mouth, she waited as his eyes widened then bit the tip off and chewed--“Then I will.”

Her humor was short lived when he snatched the stick away from her, “Hey! Not fair!”

Toshiro held both their desserts above his head, “Nope! You have just lost your Choco-Banana privileges!”

She squawked at him and hopped to reach for it, but even in her high heels she wasn't close to taking it from him.

He actually had the gall to lower it and take a bite out of her banana right in front of her face before jerking it up out of her reach again. Laughing around the bite, “Access denied.”

Rangiku glared at him and he smirked. She had to do something drastic to get that banana back... Sighing resentfully, she looked down for a moment and got an idea.

Batting her lashes seductively, she slowly made her way over to him.

He looked at her suspiciously, but stood his ground and kept the sweets up high.

She was one step away. Here goes nothin'...

Rangiku took the last step and pressed her breasts into his big, hard body. She allowed her eyes to travel up the warm skin of his throat and saw his adam's apple bob when he swallowed; felt his heart beat hammer into her chest... To say the flutter of her lashes and parting of her lips in response to him were part of an act would have been a lie. His body heat seeped into her flesh and burned her. The heavy, invisible fog of his testosterone surrounded her and clouded her vision and, had she not seen her dessert about to topple to the ground, she wouldn't have lunged from the strong arms that were making their way around her.

Catching the stick right as it left his fingers, she hopped away. Breathing a bit heavily, she tried desperately to recover. She'd let him get to her... Turning away from him, she blinked rapidly and tried to regain some composure.

Toshiro's lips parted and he breathed deeply for several moments. One single, full-bodied touch, for just one second, and she had thrown his whole world off kilter.

And that insolent little minx had done it on purpose. His only consolation was that she looked pretty shaken up herself.

He noticed her chocolate dipped banana in one hand and that ridiculous plush toy in the other. Then he realized his own hands were at his sides and he cursed; they were empty. He looked down and crouched to pick up his fallen crepe and dusted the paper cone off of any dirt. It had fallen into the grass thankfully and, inspecting the goodness wrapped inside, he was relieved to see he didn't have to buy another one.

Blowing off any possible dust, he remarked as casually as he could manage, “I forgot how those things can be used as weapons. Must be handy to have them in your arsenal...”

Rangiku smiled halfheartedly. That didn't exactly sound like a compliment. She wanted to apologize, but what for? For touching him? She wasn't sorry for that. For feeling the thrill of being intimately pressed against him? For that one second, time had stopped and everything had disappeared; it had just been the two of them. She'd just as soon go jump naked into a freezing river than apologize for that.

So, she opted for the next best thing. “I'm sorry if I upset you.”

He looked at her sincere, beautiful face and frowned. Somehow, they were only a few steps away from each other again and the familiar desire to claim her lips was back with a vengeance.

Toshiro sighed, “It's alright... but give a guy a break, Rangiku. How is holding a dessert over your head versus smashing your boobs in my face fair play? That's like me taking a slingshot to a fight and you bringing damn bazooka.”

Rangiku's melancholy evaporated and she laughed at the visual.

Her laughter made him adopt a dramatic, whiny tone, “Geez, talk about excessive force!”

She smacked a hand playfully against his chest, “I'm sorry! And I did not smash them in your face!”

They began walking again, back into the colorfully lit pathways.

His sarcastic snort made her reflexively smack him with her left hand, which happened to hold the stuffed sushi toy.

It nearly whacked his crepe and he lifted the item in his left hand before he threatened, “Don't make me drop this again, woman!”

Rangiku stopped walking. She had an idea and started digging around in her purse.

He paused and sighed in amusement watching her rummage around. She was such a girl sometimes.

She glanced up at him when he took a bite from his crepe, “I got you something.”

He looked surprised and then slightly suspicious and she laughed watching the change. Walking towards him, she stopped a few steps away and looked around. There weren't too many people around, just a few milling about; a few teenagers making out in the dark here and there.

She looked up into his curious face. His human eyes had her mourning the loss of his most dragonish feature for the hundredth time that day. She wasn't sure why she liked his reptilian eyes so much, she just knew she did.

Opening her purse up again, she grumbled to herself --something that had Toshiro fighting a smile-- until she found what she was looking for, “Ah ha!”

Grabbing hold of the black cord, she held out the necklace she'd bought earlier. “I saw it and it reminded me of you. So, I had to get it.”

Toshiro stared at her hand. Instead of a chain it had a simple black cord. The focal point of the necklace was a round, slightly oval shaped stone or mineral; maybe a little over an inch at its longest and a striking turquoise color that appealed to him. His seeking fingers brushed against her palm as he cupped the cold, hard pendent. It was flat on the back and smoothly domed in the front with a waxy luster. The black cord was strung through the upper quarter of the stone and a small knot was tied snugly on each side to keep it from moving along the necklace. As he got a closer look at it, he realized it wasn't just one color. It was a cloudy, indistinct swirl of milky white, light blue, and aqua.

He wasn't saying anything, just standing there and inspecting it. Before she could stop herself, nervous, rambling chatter began pouring out of her mouth, “The label said it's a mineral called agate. Apparently, it's the gemstone for protection and strength. It said it protects against stress and energy drains and I figured that would help you out with me around. Legend says magicians used agate to ward off or divert storms and I thought that might help me out when you're being ornery. I know you don't exactly wear necklaces or jewelry, but I thought this might be a good, solid first man-necklace for you. The color is pretty, but not girly and I thought it totally suited--”

“Rangiku. Breathe.”

She stopped to take a deep breath and breathed out a soft chuckle, “Sorry.”

He always smirked or gave sarcastic glances or dry glares, but right then was a rare, soft look. A barely there smile and an actual happy twinkle in his eye, “I like it.”

She blushed. She couldn't help it! When his eyes switched to a more humorous light, she sighed dramatically, “Oh, good! I was gonna beat you to death with it if you pulled one of those stupid, man phrases like, ‘I'm a man and men don't wear jewelry!’ 'Cus that's bullshit.”

He laughed at her rare use of an explicative, “Just shut up and put it on me.”

She huffed, handed him her Choco-Banana, and shoved the large plush toy into his stomach, “Here. Hold this, Mr. Bossy.”

Closing her purse and readjusting the bag on her shoulder, he turned his back and she walked up behind him fiddling with the clasp. Unhooking the blasted little thing and holding the two ends, she looked at the back of his neck. She wasn't sure how to do this without touching him. “Hmmm.”

“What?”

“Can you sort of lean back and down a little bit?” When he did as she asked, she held the two ends in her left hand and brought her right around his neck. Not able to help herself from softly feeling around a bit before she found her left hand, she deftly grabbed a hold of the other end of the necklace.

Pulling the two pieces apart to lift the gemstone and make sure it was facing the right way, “Okay, you can stand up straight.”

Bringing the two pieces around to the back of his neck, she fiddled with the clasp for a few moments before growling in frustration.

Toshiro smirked. He always liked it when she growled. It was like an unhappy kitten. You couldn't really feel anything other than amusement when you heard it. “Having problems?”

She huffed, “The clasp is just kind of small and my nails aren't helping.”

Getting more peeved, she stepped closer and firmly pressed her breasts into his back and rest her arms on his shoulders, “Sorry, just be still for one more second.”

Toshiro sighed heavily while she messed with the damn clasp. At least he couldn't see them pressed up against him and this time he knew she wasn't trying to be a tease. Well, he was pretty sure, at least.

She started to growl again but it morphed into, “Ha! Got it!”

Releasing him, she stepped around and looked.

Toshiro looked down, but he couldn't really see it, “It's a little short.”

The black cord was on the short side and it looked like a long choker on his neck. The aqua colored agate sat right where she’d hoped it would: right in the sexy pit of his throat. His open, bright white collar and tanned skin really made the stone stand out and it very much complemented his eyes.

Rangiku appraised him and blushed, “It looks really good on you.”

Stepping closer and taking her things back, Toshiro raised his left hand and fingered the stone, “It's cold.”

Lifting it in his fingers, he looked down and could see the multicolored turquoise end. He smiled at her, “And here it is, your birthday a little over a day away and you're giving me a present. Aww.”

She chuckled and sashayed past him, “Don't let it go to your head.”

He smirked and took a few strides to catch up to her. She took a bite of her dwindling banana and he followed her example with his crepe.

They finished up their desserts as they wandered around aimlessly trying to find anything else new and exciting. They'd seen pretty much everything they could on a week night.

Rangiku hummed in satisfaction as they made their way toward where they entered the park originally, “Wish we could have seen the fireworks. It's been years since I've seen some.”

They were walking along a quiet path that was lined with trees and other foliage. It was probably some sort of scenic trail meant for joggers that went around the park. Most of the civilians took the paper lantern lit route that was nearby. You could actually see it clearly through the randomly dispersed trees, but they were both enjoying the peace and comfortable darkness.

An excited squeal up ahead on the lit path got his attention. A young girl, maybe four or five years of age, was chattering away animatedly up to her parents’ amused faces. A small smile softened his features and he nudged Rangiku's arm, “Straight ahead: five year old in the yellow yukata.”

She looked forward and saw the adorable girl holding one of each of her parent's hands and hopping in between them. Rangiku breathed out a soft laugh, “How cute is that! I had a yukata like that when I was little. Only mine had daisies, instead of sunflowers all over it, and a pink obi.”

His eyes twinkled back at her, “I can see that. Pigtails, too?”

Rangiku smiled, but shook her head, “No. My hair is really thick and I never really liked my hair in pigtails. The boys always pulled on them and one told me I looked like I had dog ears sticking out the sides of my head.”

Toshiro chuckled, “Even that young you had boys flirting with you, huh?”

Rangiku looked over at him like she didn't believe him, “I was so mortified that I never did my hair like that again!”

Toshiro laughed softly, “Those are boys for ya.” He paused before admitting, “I used to spit watermelon seeds at Momo when I was little.”

Rangiku gasped in grossed out horror before laughing, “That's disgusting!”

He snorted, “I was like a gatling gun; had good aim, too.”

Rangiku snorted softly and shook her head, “Boys are gross.”

He smiled, “I think it's because girls figure out complex things like feelings way before boys do. Boys that age just know that ‘This girl makes me feel funny, so I'm going to throw mud on her dress,’ or something else equally horrifying to the girl.”

Rangiku pursed her lips, “That explains a lot, actually.”

Toshiro chuckled.

She sobered up a bit and frowned. Thinking of Momo made her want to ask him a question, but she worried it would ruin the companionable ambiance and make the day end poorly. She'd been wondering about this for a long time and, now that she'd made the decision to go after him, she wanted to know the answer. Her gut told her Momo wasn't going to be an issue, but there would always be that niggling feeling in the back of her mind unless she asked. She needed to know if he was even in the right state of mind to take this step. If he was helplessly in love with the one woman whom he'd known even longer than her, then maybe she should rethink this whole thing altogether before it got too far.

She wasn't even really sure what she wanted yet. Did she just want to have sex with him? Would a few fun times be enough? Or did she want more, like a relationship?

She felt like she'd been floundering for the last couple of years. The men were always lacking. If they were pretty to look at, then they had the mental capacity of a rock. If they had a brain, then they usually had an inferiority complex with her also being smart; or for being tall; or for being a Lieutenant; or for being all those things and a woman. It was always something.

And she was tired of it. She was tired of the game. Of going out to bars and trying to find someone worthy.

Toshiro was worthy. He was everything she was looking for, besides a boat load of surliness, and she wasn't going to figure out what she wanted until she got much closer to her goal.

“What's wrong?”

The quiet question made her blink, “Nothing. I was just thinking.”

He looked at her curiously, trying to read her body language, “About?”

She blushed. Hopefully he didn't see it in the dark. If he could read her thoughts his hair would catch on fire.

It was now or never. Taking a deep breath, she looked at him inquisitively, “I just... I wanted to ask you a question.”

His eyebrow rose, “Okay...”

“It's pretty personal and if you don't want to answer, I completely understand.”

Toshiro's eyes narrowed in intrigue, “Okay.”

She braced herself and breathed out, “I was wondering if you were, or are, in love with Momo...”

He stopped walking and looked at her in surprise. “That's what you were thinking about?”

She'd stopped when he had and was watching him closely. He didn't look upset, just thrown off a bit.

She nodded quietly.

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, “If I answer this, I want you to answer one of my own.”

“Sure.” That was fair.

He sighed as he contemplated how to answer. “I'm not in love with her. I think when we were growing up together and I first became Captain I may have been in love with the idea of loving her, but it's never been more than friendship. Maybe a crush, but even with the whole Aizen fiasco, I just wanted to protect her.”

Toshiro thought about her question and his answer. It was true. He may have had a childhood crush on her, but he didn't look at her as anything but a friend. That became more apparent when he'd started having sex. He soon realized that, although he found her to be cute, he wasn't attracted to her. He didn't even fantasize about her. Somehow it felt wrong to even think about fantasizing about her.

She was always so innocent and fragile and one thing he'd learned over the years was that he didn't like submissive women. They weren't his style. He liked fire and passion; he liked to give as good as he got. He liked a woman that wouldn't take his crap; would throw it right back in his face.

Glancing at the woman a few feet away, he wanted to growl in frustration because he knew that that described her. Why did it always come back to that? To her being what he wanted?

And why was she asking him that, in the first place? Why was she walking beside him happy one second and then looking troubled the next, thinking about if he was in love with Momo or not?

Why did she care?

He looked at her. She looked a little nervous, but she was waiting for something. Ah yes, his question. Technically, he could ask her as many questions as he wanted, but he didn't want to waste the opportunity on why she'd asked what she did. Fair was fair and he wanted to ask something that was equally as personal as his had been.

He wanted to ask her about something he'd been wondering about for a long time. He'd never felt that the moment was right or appropriate, but she'd paved the way for it this time.

“Were you in love with Gin?”

Startled, Rangiku blinked at him. She was so sure he was going to ask her why she wanted to know. She'd honestly been trying to figure out a way to answer it without throwing herself at him.

Rangiku was quiet for a while and Toshiro wondered if she'd answer. He wouldn't make her.

With a troubled sigh, she looked at him with a sad smile, “Gin... If there was one word to sum him up it'd be ‘complicated.’ Would you get upset if I said that I don't know?”

He sighed and looked at her sincerely, “You don't have to answer it if you don't want to.”

Her smile softened, “It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I'm not really sure myself. He never opened up to me. I could never figure him out. To be honest, I probably was in love with him, but in the back of my mind I always felt like he was lying to me about something. And you never really give up your whole heart when that's always there eating away at your conscience. I can never decide what hurt the most. The fact that he betrayed us trying to save us all, or that he was the one that saved me and yet I wasn't able to save him from Aizen.”

She sniffed lightly and cleared her throat. “I can't help but feel that whatever was wrong, I could have at least helped.”

Toshiro took a step closer, but stopped himself from reaching out and touching her. “I never really liked Gin, but... I'd like to think that he did that to protect you from Aizen.”

“Maybe... It's just... The last few times I got to see him, he looked so sad and... full of regret. Every time I think about him, I'm haunted by that face.”

This time he allowed himself to touch her. Grasping her arm gently in what he hoped was a comforting gesture, he murmured, “Gin chose his own path, Rangiku.”

She smiled ruefully, “I know.”

Toshiro let go of her and she missed the feel of his warm touch.

Stepping back, he looked into her luminous, crystal blue eyes, “I'm sorry.”

Rangiku gazed up at him. She knew that apology was meant for a lot of things: for asking her the question in the first place; for bringing up the past when she answered him; the ache from an old wound...

However, bringing it up like this somehow felt like a step in the right direction. She didn't like dwelling on Gin and her many regrets. It had taken her a long time to get over it all, well at least as much as one can, but she was never really sure if she'd actually moved on. Maybe that was why she hadn't made much progress in the love department. Maybe the reason she hadn't found a decent guy was because she hadn't been ready to find him. The fear of finding another lemon, of heartache, of making another mistake...

Looking at the man he'd become, she smiled because she knew that he wouldn't be a mistake. It somehow felt right.

Giving him a warm smile, she spoke impenitently, “It's alright.”

Toshiro watched her for any signs of distress but found her warm smile matched her balmy reiatsu. A small smile reached his eyes and he nodded to the fore, “Shall we?”

He stepped forward with his hands in his pockets and Rangiku decided to push her luck a bit. Sidling up next to him, she looped her left arm through the bend of his right and rested her hand casually on his forearm.

Toshiro hid his surprise and made his arm relax. She did it like it was the most natural thing in the world and he found his heart beating faster at the gesture. All afternoon she'd been doing little things like this. Acting like they were a couple. And he was either losing his mind, or she was coming on to him. A lot. It didn't feel like the insincere, flirtatious body language that she normally used to torment men. This felt real.

As they took their laid back stroll along the unfortunately romantic, moonlit path, he decided it wasn't so bad being like this with her. It went against his code of conduct that he'd mentally created to prevent him from getting involved with her, but they weren't really holding hands and it wasn't like he was going to sleep with her... tonight...

Who was he kidding? This was bad. He was getting all warm and happy just from her not even really holding his hand. This had to be a hair's breadth away from breaking Rule #12. Ichigo was right. This whole evening had been riddled with little incidences that screamed ‘We Are Together.’

He sighed unhappily at his lack of discipline. What was he supposed to do? Fling her off of him like she was some kind of leper? That was the last thing he wanted to do. What he really wanted was to kiss the hell out of her. Find some little secluded nook and do some serious making out. Make her forget her own damn name.

How could he throw her off of him when he craved to do the exact opposite? He didn't want to hurt her feelings when it was him that was having the problem. He didn't want to be forced to use one of those idiotic, overused lines like, “It's not you, it's me.” That just wasn't cool.

Rangiku's soft giggle made him glance at her, “What?”

“What's with that look? Heartburn?”

He snorted, “No. Just thinking.”

Luckily she just laughed lightly and didn't ask further.

As they rounded a wide corner, he noticed the area where they had entered the park with Ichigo and the others. Glancing around, looking at the many people still enjoying the fruits of the festival, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

A man wearing a dark hoodie pulled down enough to hide his face, walked into a young woman wearing a fall colored yukata. He hit her hard enough to make her stumble and ripped her purse out of her hands. As she screamed in alarm, the hooded figure took off at a dead run. “Hey! Somebody stop him! Thief! Police!” The woman's cries got the attention of a man in uniform that wasn't too far away. He spotted the culprit and quickly took off after him, but Toshiro knew he wouldn't catch him in time.

Normally he wouldn't bother himself with human affairs, but the problem was that the thief headed into the shadows, right for them.

He glared, “Shit.”

Rangiku, already on alert, waited to see what he was going to do.

Quickly taking his hands out of his pockets, Rangiku immediately released his arm and Toshiro quickly planned his next move. The thief was almost to them and it was pretty dark. His eyes likely hadn't acclimated and he probably didn't see them yet.

As the purse snatcher vaulted over the bushes without slowing down, the fool turned his head to see if the officer was still pursuing him. Thinking he'd gotten away and grinning, Toshiro made his move.

Faster than the human eye could see, he was out in front of the criminal. Standing firm, Toshiro close-lined the bastard so hard he jerked and flipped, heels over head, and crash landed onto his face before crumpling into a confounded, moaning pile on the ground.

Ripping the bag out from his grasp, he tossed it behind him to where he knew Rangiku would be. Seeing the man gain his bearings and spotting Toshiro for the first time, he tried to get up to flee but the seasoned Captain shoved him back down with a foot in the middle of his back.

He could hear several people running their way. Hopefully it was the officer coming to relieve him of this fool. The hooded figure panted in panic and started to struggle in earnest and Toshiro saw him grab for something in his pocket. He slammed his knee in the man's back and clamped his wrist in a bone crunching grip before his blade could do nothing more than reflect some of the moon light.

Leaning forward on his back, Toshiro growled, “I wouldn't do that, if I were you.”

The man raggedly cried out and Toshiro applied more pressure, causing him to scream in agony until he released the knife. The guy still put up a fight when he painfully twisted his arm behind his back, but something happened the instant his eyes peered up directly into Toshiro's for the first time. He saw an icy cold, annoyed stare; the confident look of years of fighting and killing; and the violent intent Toshiro was capable of should he continue to push his buttons. A cold shiver ran up his spine and his body went limp as he quit fighting.

Toshiro wasn't going to kill him. In fact, he smirked when his death-glare made the guy submit. He glanced at Rangiku in amusement, but when the police officers finally crashed through the shrubs, he gave her a look that plainly stated they needed to get lost.

As the cops came to a sudden, speechless stop, Toshiro looked at them and nodded casually, “There's a knife near his right side.” Remembering that they were the ones that needed to apprehend the thief, they came forward, took the knife, and worked with Toshiro in physically releasing the criminal and handcuffing him. As Toshiro went to stand, Rangiku stepped forward and handed one of the policemen the woman's stolen purse. The next time they looked up, the tall, blonde woman and white-haired man were gone. The men looked around at each other in surprise and the hooded young man went along quietly, oddly subdued.

Toshiro ran as fast as Rangiku's shoes would let them, which was considerably faster than any normal human being.

He smirked, “Let's get the hell out of here before something else happens!”

As they slowed down and made sure they got lost in the still substantial crowd, Rangiku was happily aware that he held her hand the whole way to the coin lockers.

“Aye, aye, mon Capitaine!”

**~*~****~*~**
A/N: Please Rate & Review (R&R)! Please and thank you!

- I was so excited about my reviews that I revised/posted this as fast as I could. Hope you enjoyed! I don’t know when I’ll have internet next, so please be patient for Chp. 4!

- Did anyone else think of Thor when I said “he brought the hammer down”? Or am I just a nerd like that?
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Oh Captain! My Captain!