Adult-FanFiction.org : Bleach

Oh Captain! My Captain!	By : BlueDragon Category: Bleach > Het - Male/Female Views: 38885 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
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
- 3
- 4
- 5
A/N:

- So sorry for the wait. I was struggling with the dialogue on this chappie.

- I may have been thinking of the following show & movie when naming the caterers...: Shin-chan (i.e. Shinnosuke “Shin” Nohara); Kill Bill: Vol.1 (i.e. Hattori Hanzo and his bald assistant)

- I totally quoted Family Guy... This is something I never thought I’d do —or see— in a Bleach fanfiction, lol. I don’t feel overly bad about this, though. It’s one of my favorite/most-used lines regarding food. I also borrowed lyrics from the song “Show Me The Way To Go Home” by Emerson, Lake & Palmer as sung in Jaws and tried to recreate one of my favorite scenes from Medicine Man. As usual, I mark my citations with an asterisk (*).
Enjoy.

**~*~****~*~**
Chapter Four
**~*~****~*~**
Toshiro wiped his brow and stared up at the black sky moodily. Cold, heavy rain drops splashed remorselessly into his eyes and made it impossible for him to glare convincingly.
The rain that he'd been predicting all week had finally shown up.
Thursdays were one of the long days of the work week, but today had been non-stop, balls to the wall for every single minute. If Rangiku hadn't scheduled them time to eat and locked everybody out of the office for the fifteen minute breaks, he'd have lost his damn mind.
He was lucky in that he could actually escape inside and let his irritability cool the room off, but he'd still had to spend most of his day out in the smothering heat and humidity. The wind had been nonexistent and multiplied the mugginess by a thousand; it had honestly felt like they’d been in a bog. After his lunch break, he’d run home to take a quick, revitalizing shower and change his sweat-drenched uniform, but that clean feeling hadn’t lasted long. It wasn’t an hour after he’d returned that he’d gotten fed up with his clinging uniform and ripped off everything but his hakama to go bare-chested the rest of the day.
The blistering heat and steamy air hadn’t exactly made for the greatest working environment and he hadn’t been the only one whose temper had been on edge. It had just been one of those days. He’d either been needed to settle squabbles between his squad and another or between his own officers. Several pieces of equipment had broken out in the courtyard that had needed his attention and, after he’d sent his seventh officer to the infirmary for overheating, he’d ended up dismissing almost everyone by 5 o’clock.
That had actually been kind of funny. Watching them disperse and pathetically drag their feet toward any of the buildings that had floor and ceiling fans almost had him laughing out loud at their plight. Although the Soul Society didn’t have air conditioning, you would have thought that the sorry lot had been trekking the desert for a week without water and had suddenly found Shangri-La when the doors opened up.
That was the thing about that kind of weather; if you couldn't take refuge inside, about the only thing you could do outside was hide under a tree in the shade with a hand fan and be miserable. He’d understood exactly where they were coming from. He was out there with them being miserable and everyone knew he hated hot weather.
Interestingly enough, the common misconception that he hated summer merely because Hyorinmaru’s element was ice and Toshiro was the snow-loving embodiment of his zanpakuto, was simply not true. Well, not entirely, at least. It was more specifically because he was a very hot-natured person. So when you emit heat like a damn furnace and the temperature is in the triple digits, like it had been today, that sucks. Hyorinmaru constantly had to work to cool him off but his efforts didn’t matter much when the last of the year’s heat was dying and trying to take you with it.
By 7 o'clock —when he should have been getting off work— the wind had gone from zero to boisterously blowing 30-50 mph currents of air from the northwest. The enthusiastic squalls had announced themselves by blowing his unlatched windows open and practically everything off his desk. It'd been the first time he'd sat down since their 3 o'clock snack break and he'd just stared at the opposing wall despondently. It had been enough to send Rangiku bursting into a fit of gut-wrenching laughter for several minutes.
Ignoring his desk to get up and look out the window, he’d smirked when he heard the grateful cries from those outside and saw the huge line of thunder clouds racing their way.
Rangiku had rushed to join him and stared in disbelief as he looked northward. Like an angry, colossal leviathan rolling across the sky, it had wiped out the beginnings of what promised to be an attractive sunset and painted the sky a dark, boiling gray.
He’d known with one sniff that that charcoal gray monster wasn't going to go around them.
At 10:00 pm, he'd been closing up the office for the night when the downpour came upon the Seireitei like the wave of a tsunami.
Normally this wouldn't have been an issue. You go home; do your typical end of day things; go to bed. No big deal. Right? Wrong.
When Toshiro had told Jushiro and Shunsui last week that he couldn't hide his presents for Rangiku inside his home anymore, he'd been dead serious. Guess whose birthday present was not only not in his quarters but also not within the Squad Ten grounds or even inside? Yeah.
After Monday's incident, he'd felt relatively confident that Rangiku wouldn't come in to raid his home any time soon. So, this is what he got for procrastinating all week.
He'd hidden in the safety of his apartment for as long as he could. Several hours of constantly checking the windows for improvement in the weather had failed him. By 1:00 am, he’d known the weather gods had had it out for him and —if he wanted to get any decent sleep and not be a grumpy ass by the time her party started— he’d decided to leave promptly.
Opening his back patio door and seeing how hard the rain had been coming down had made him laugh bitterly at the sight. The deluge outside made something like a raincoat rather absurd and he’d tossed his Captain’s haori onto the kitchen table.
So here he was! With a shovel... out in Zaraki's training facility... digging another hole in the ground... at 2 o'clock in the morning like a serial killer.
Toshiro grit his teeth and glared when a fat raindrop to the eye made him jerk. His hair was plastered to his head and he was soaked to the bone.
When he'd initially arrived, to his utter disbelief, his stone marker —his veritable ‘X marks the spot’— was gone. No one should have noticed the damn thing in the first place! He'd picked this rock out specifically because it was medium sized, flat, and inconspicuous!
To make matters worse, Zaraki didn't see the point in caring for the yard. Normally he wouldn’t give a rat’s ass what the man did, but the rain flooded the barren wasteland and made the dead grass and clay loam a frothy, sticky slop that only got worse as the downpour progressed. He'd already had one of his sandals sucked off, had to find the damn thing in the muck, and was currently digging barefoot to ensure that he'd retain his footwear.
And that was if he was digging in the right spot! He knew the general vicinity of where he'd buried her present and he could feel the traces of his reiatsu that was tied to the barriers, but he'd already dug four holes.
Toshiro was praying this fifth hole was it. He'd used a double incantation of Bukudo No. 8 and 26, Seki and Kyakko. He'd said it with enough oomph that, should anyone try to dig it up, they'd be zapped so severely they wouldn't be able to move for a couple of hours; it was his hope that they wouldn't be able to feel their damn face or hands for even longer. If anyone was actually able to find and see the buried treasure, leaving the victim in a twitching, drooling pile on the ground would be most satisfactory.
The only way to deconstruct the spells was to know which ones he’d utilized and the exact way he'd worded the combined incantations to set it up. Seeing as there were always a number of ways to combine spells, it was unlikely that anyone would try. Once he found the stupid barrier, the only tricky part would be to reverse it before he went and stunned himself stupid by accidentally hitting it with the shovel. If that happened, with his luck the rain would intensify the shock and he'd get hit by lightning for good measure.
Toshiro closed his eyes and took a deep, meditative breath; smelling the cool rain and feeling it splash and roll off his face. He took a few moments to appreciate it. He would have killed for this earlier today. Well, he guessed it was yesterday if he wanted to be specific. Despite the fact that he'd rather be sleeping right now, the rain felt pretty good. The constant pounding into his back and skull felt soothing and helped to cool his temper.
At least the bulk of the lightning had passed. With Hyorinmaru as his zanpakuto, ice and storms were kind of their thing, but the constant building and releasing claps of sizzling energy put his nerves on edge.
As he focused on the cool, incessant rain with his eyes closed, Toshiro felt it stop completely for the tiniest fraction of a second before smoothly removing his sword from the sheath behind his back. The glare of their blades flashed like lightning before he actually heard the jingle of bells or opened his eyes.
Toshiro blinked the water away, “Do you mind? I'm kind of in the middle of something.”
Kenpachi Zaraki smirked, “Yeah, I noticed. You've been digging up my back yard like a damn gopher for over an hour.”
Toshiro sighed and they both put their swords away, “I asked you weeks ago if I could hide something out here.”
Zaraki grinned wickedly, “And you chose tonight to get it, huh? Nice.”
Toshiro looked at him contemptuously, “Yes. Thank you for pointing that out.” Recommencing his digging, he growled out, “And I wouldn't be out here digging up half your yard if my damn stone marker hadn't disappeared.”
Nonplussed, Zaraki shrugged, “No idea, Hitsugaya. Sounds like Yachiru's doing.”
It did indeed.
As he focused on the ground and slowly scraped layers of runny mud away, his eyes narrowed as small static sparks popped and followed the shovel head. He was close.
The next graze of the shovel sent an electrical charge straight up his arms and shocked the crap out of him. Dropping the yard tool, he swore viciously, “Shit!” Toshiro shook his hands out angrily; it was stupid to have pushed his luck like that. It felt like someone had stabbed tiny needles through the tips of his fingers and he cursed again when he realized his hands were starting to tingle with numbness.
Clenching his fists, he glared at the laughing Zaraki before looking down at what he’d uncovered. He crouched and let the rain wash the remaining mud off the barrier. To the untrained eye, it looked like another layer of mud, but it was actually the Kyakko part of the double incantation that bent the light around it to blend it in with whatever was nearby.
Concentrating on the barrier, he placed his hands inches above it and muttered the counter spell. Within seconds the barrier disappeared and water and mud sloshed down into the newly revealed space. Grumbling, he quickly shoved his hands into the sloppy mess and pulled out the plastic bag covered shoe box.
Cursing his tingling hands, he forced his fingers to tie the bag more securely around the box. Zaraki, apparently bored after he'd electrocuted himself, turned and left without a word. Toshiro rolled his eyes at his departure. Thank the gods for small miracles. He didn't know how much more of his presence he could take. The man was insufferable during the best of times, much less when you were foolishly rutting around in the mud like some wild boar.
Retrieving the shovel, he refilled the hole with the soupy soil. As a way of making sure he didn't dig up the same place twice, he hadn't been refilling as he went but he quickly did so now. He was seeing a light at the end of the tunnel of this aggravating night.
Finally done, he grabbed the box and flashstepped home. Squad Eleven was right next to Ten, so it wasn't far.
Landing on his patio, Toshiro set the wrapped box on the deck. After untying his zanpakuto from around his shoulders and the sandals from his obi, he stripped off his shitagi and kosode. Wringing them of as much water as possible, he opened the door and tossed the garments into his nearby kitchen sink. Stepping inside and closing the door and curtain behind him, he deposited the package on the counter and rid himself of any remaining clothing in the middle of his kitchen. Dropping the sopping wet bunch into the other side of the sink, he snatched up the towel he’d left for his return and swiped it over his body.
Once he’d finished roughly moving it over his hair, Toshiro used the plush material to wipe the box's outer plastic bag off. Gingerly untying the knot, he inspected the shoebox; he was pleased to see that it hadn't gotten overly saturated and wasn't too dirty. The box had merely been an outer shell for what he wanted to protect inside. Lifting the lid, he saw the relatively clean and dry, towel-enfolded bundle and breathed a sigh of relief. Removing the towel reacquainted him with his gift; complete with obnoxious bow and sealed in not just one but two water tight bags. Unzipping both, he took out the gift and gently shook it to hear the item move inside.
Everything seemed in order.
Throwing the shoebox and bags into the trash, he left his clothes in the sink to deal with tomorrow and walked naked towards his bedroom. Just in case she dropped by in the morning with breakfast, he set the present inside his bedside table. He'd sleep with the damn thing, but he didn't want to accidentally roll over it.
Heading toward his bathroom to take a quick, hot shower, Toshiro heard the wind and persistent rain beating outside his bedroom window and frowned. Although it had slowed down considerably, the storm had been charging south like a freight train and he hoped its momentum would see to it being gone by morning.
If Rangiku was forced to move her party indoors, she would not only be a pouty little rain cloud herself but also a supreme pain in the ass. She tended to blame bad weather on him —even though he’d told her repeatedly it didn’t really work that way— and he’d rather avoid that particular confrontation.
Seriously. Did she really think her little rebellious naptime breaks would even take place if he could control the weather? He’d have a blast figuring out which microburst of climate would be the newest and greatest alarm clock. She’d have to reevaluate all of her current hiding spots and be far away from windows if he had that ability.
He smirked as he twisted the hot water knob.
A great thunder clap sounded above and Toshiro listened as the secondary rumbles boomed and resonated on for many miles.
He frowned and stepped into the hot spray of water. Rangiku deserved to have her special day and he really did hope that the rain would clear up. She did have to put up with him every day.
*~****~*
As Fridays were prone to the same schedule, it came as no surprise when Toshiro walked into his open office doors at 8 o'clock sharp and spotted Rangiku scribbling away at her desk.
She hadn't lifted her head yet and he spoke warmly, “Happy birthday, babaa-chan.”
Rangiku laughingly scoffed and looked at him, “I'm choosing to ignore that nickname and say ‘thank you’ instead.”
She immediately returned to writing viciously, but continued speaking to him. “You look a little rough around the edges.”
He walked over to lean against his desk and glared disagreeably, “Is that your way of telling me I look like crap?”
Rangiku looked up in astonished amusement, “No, that's me saying you look tired and have bed-head.”
Startled, he ran his fingers through his hair and eyed her suspiciously.
She chuckled and finished writing on whatever it was that she was working on and placed it in her horrible pink outgoing box.
Toshiro's hand rose to cover his jaw-cracking yawn before he sniffed and blinked watery eyes, “Didn't get much sleep last night.”
Grabbing a paper from her sparsely filled and equally awful incoming bin, she skimmed over it quickly before remarking, “I thought I heard your patio door slam shut last night, but I figured there was no way you'd be outside in weather like that at that hour. What the heck were you doing?”
There was no way he'd own up to the fact that he'd been digging for buried treasure, so he decided a little bit of partial-truth telling was in order. “Let's just say I avoided the rain as long as possible and that a certain someone's present wasn't in Squad Ten...”
Rangiku chuckled merrily, signed the document she'd been reading, and tossed it in the outgoing bin before looking up and grinning, “A certain someone's?”
He hummed noncommittally.
She smirked and stood up. Propping her hands on her hips, “I propose an exchange,” she announced.
Toshiro's eyebrow rose curiously, “Oh really?”
“Yep!” She sashayed over to him with a pink folder she’d grabbed off her desk, “My birthday present for my stupid homework.”
He sighed forlornly, “And here I thought I might get something special, too.”
She bit her lower lip mischievously, “Well, in my attempt to further entice you, I have also brought you breakfast and your coffee finished brewing right before you got here.”
His eyes brightened, “You should have started with that first. Breakfast for present. Deal. Done. It would have saved you at least a minute.”
She snorted before stating in a factual manner, “I also almost have my paperwork done and will hand some of that over to you shortly. I believe those were your requirements for leaving early today?”
She smiled hopefully up at him and he couldn't help the small smile, “Well, since you got everything done, I'll let you off the hook.”
“Yes!” She bounced around in a funny little happy dance before handing him the pink folder.
He shook his head in amusement and reached inside to pull out the gift he'd slipped into his breast pocket. Her eyes twinkled in excitement and he handed it to her smiling, “Happy birthday.”
Rangiku inspected the four inch, white square jewelry box and bright pink, glittery ribbon and bow with glee. She smiled up at him before sliding the pretty ribbon off and onto her wrist like a bracelet. He hadn't taped the box shut and it lifted with a little wiggling.
She gasped when she got a look at its contents. It was a necklace, but it was the pendent that had her squealing like a girl. Everything was encased in a light, sunny gold. A vertical diamond accent held two separate circles of cheerfully colored jewels. The gemstones were round and appeared to all be the same size at a little less than a 1/4 inch. The inner circle, which was something like 5/8 an inch in diameter, was a ring of sunny yellow gems and the surrounding outer circle, about an inch and a half in diameter, consisted of a ring of perfectly pink jewels.
Watching how the light made them sparkle, she whispered, “It's gorgeous!” Looking back up at him in surprised wonder, she murmured, “Thank you!”
Toshiro wore a small, satisfied smile as he watched her, “You’re welcome.”
Pulling the necklace from its foamy protector, she held the gold chain and settled the pendent in her palm. By the weight of it, she could tell that these weren't artificially made gemstones. They had to be the real deal. She couldn't recall any yellow semi-precious or precious stones besides yellow diamonds and the only thing pink she could remember was rose quartz or rubies. These bright pink little jewels didn't look like either. It was definitely not rose quartz, but she'd never seen rubies that were this light in color. They were always a deep, dark pink that leaned towards the red side of the spectrum. If he’d gotten her a diamond and ruby necklace, he’d had to have spent a small fortune.
His snort brought her head up.
He didn't look annoyed, but remarked dryly, “They're real. Would you like me to get you a jeweler's magnifying glass?”
She blushed, “I wasn't trying to see if they were real! I just can't figure out what they are...” Examining the cheerfully pink stones, she murmured, “I've never seen rubies this color before.”
He smiled at her, “That’s because they’re not rubies, they're yellow and pink sapphires.”
She blinked in surprise, “Sapphires? I thought they were blue.”
He shook his head, “Well, that's the most sought after color, but they come in a few varieties. Depending on the impurities in the mineral and its chemical composition—”
Rangiku rolled her eyes humorously and interrupted him before he got too far into professor-mode, “—You're ruining the moment!”
His startled expression at her outburst made Rangiku laugh, “Although I’m a fan of jewels, I don’t exactly want a mineralogy lecture, Sensei.” At his dry, put-out expression, she grinned and pat him lightly on the cheek, “A simple, ‘Nope!’ would have been good enough for me.” She eyed the dazzling pendent and she smiled warmly up at him, “It's pretty and it's sparkly and I love it!”
He huffed in amusement, “I'm glad you like it.”
Remembering what she'd rambled on about with the necklace she'd gotten him, he smirked, “It reminded me of you and I had to get it.” Pointing to the pink sapphires, “The pink is obviously you, but the yellow reminded me of the sun and how... you're the sunshine in my life...”
The way he sarcastically drawled out the last part of his sentence with every wry, facetious bone in his body, made her burst into a fit of hearty chuckles. She batted her lashes in a cheesy display of naivety, “Do you really mean it?”
He snorted and replied dryly, “Oh, yes.”
She laughed and smacked him on the shoulder before she went to fiddle with the clasp. She paused in thought before stating, “You know what? I'll wear it to the party!”
As she placed the necklace back into the foamy cushion inside the box, Rangiku casually remarked with growing fire, “You better show up tonight... I even made sure to get beer just for you, Mister. So, I don't care if you have to take a nap sometime today just to make sure you can make it. You're coming and you will not be Mr. Grouchy Pants!”
Properly chastised, Toshiro saluted her theatrically, “Yes, ma'am!”
Rangiku tried not to laugh and pursed her lips, “Are you making fun of me?”
He feigned surprised innocence, “I would never do that.”
Rangiku snorted, “You're such a pain in the butt.”
Toshiro grinned, “Right back at ya, sweetheart.”
The endearment made her heart flutter excitedly but she shook her head in amusement, “Go ahead and sit down, Frosty. I'll bring you your breakfast and coffee.”
Toshiro fought the urge to laugh and walked over to one of the light yellow sofas. As he sat down, she walked out of the kitchenette with a serving tray.
Setting it in front of him on the coffee table, she smiled, “It's just rice, miso, and a sliced up tamagoyaki.”
He popped off the lids to the different containers and breathed it in greedily, “Thank you.”
Opening the thermos, he took a fortifying sip of the scalding manna from heaven. Snatching up the chopsticks, he went to work. Plucking up a slice of the omelette and popping it into his mouth, he marveled at the soft, salty-sweet egg, “Where on Earth do you get these tamagoyaki? I can't see you waking up that early to run across the Seireitei to go and pick them up.”
Already sitting at her desk, she looked up, “Oh, I don't. I make them before I leave.”
He stared at her; momentarily stunned speechless, “You made this?”
Unsure if he was about to make fun of her cooking skills, she shrugged, “Yeah... That's usually why I'm late in the mornings. Breakfast time is sacred time.”
Amazed, he just blinked at her for a few moments before blurting, “This—!” He reached down, snatched up an omelette slice, and wiggled it at her, “—is freaking awesome. I'm not kidding, Rangiku.”
She smiled self-consciously, “Really?”
Toshiro popped it into his mouth and chewed slowly before answering, “Yes. Seriously one of the best I've ever had. You really make these before you come in to work?”
Rangiku blushed at his praise, “Yeah... It was always my favorite growing up and I made sure to get Tanaka-san to teach me how to make it like he did.”
She had this every morning? “I can't believe you've been holding out on me this whole time.”
She chuckled, “You need to finish up. There’s only 30 minutes before the meeting.”
She went back to reading and signing and he continued eating happily. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, he slurped up some of his soup before commenting, “Oh that reminds me. We're probably going to sign up or vote on who will be on the War Games Committee and I want you to keep the lieutenants from leaving until I get there. I want some of you to be on it.”
Rangiku set a paper into one of the bins and then looked at him and nodded, “Okay. Do you think they know about the Games yet?”
Toshiro frowned before swallowing, “No clue, but don't worry about it. I'll update everyone when I get there.”
She nodded, “Alrighty.” Grabbing the last paper out of her incoming bin, she blurted, “Oh! Sign me up for P.R. or something. That sounds like fun.”
He shoveled the last of the rice into his mouth and washed it down with the last of his miso, “Okay.” Toshiro stood up with the tray and chugged the rest of his warm coffee before heading towards the kitchenette. “Think about who you want as assistants. You’re going to need a think-tank for all that advertising and poster making.”
As he walked back in, Rangiku stood and grabbed the small stack of papers in her El Capitán bin. She met him at his desk and handed him the documents, “For you.”
He accepted them with a sigh. He'd do his own paperwork after the meeting.
Having not looked at the clock yet, he asked, “How much time do we have?”
She walked toward her desk and called over her shoulder, “Fifteen minutes.”
He growled. “God, I hate these meetings.”
Rangiku chuckled and stuffed a deck of cards and a package of plastic spoons into her backpack, “And that's coming from you.”
Toshiro grunted, but didn't say anything as he gathered some papers involving the Games and placed them into a file folder. They both walked towards the office door in sync and Toshiro let her go out before exiting himself and shutting the door.
As he did so, Rangiku glanced outside the open back door, “I sure am glad the weather cleared up. I would've hated to move the party inside.”
Toshiro concealed his grin at the reminder to his thoughts before bed and hummed noncommittally.
They walked out onto the stone porch and he looked skyward. It had passed sometime in the few hours that he'd slept and left behind a cool, mildly blustery wind in its wake. Toshiro nodded, “It should be nice tonight.”
Rangiku happily chattered away about a few details of the party as they both flashstepped across the rooftops toward the First Division Headquarters. Before they parted ways, she pointedly reminded him to relay what time the party would start to some of the other captains. Demanded was a more apt term, but he took it like a man and rolled his eyes obstinately before doing exactly as ordered in the minutes preceding the meeting.
Like it always did, the End of Week Meeting started at exactly 9 o'clock and, like they always had, they went over the same topics and covered the typical updates from the World of the Living. Maybe luck was on his side but somehow they finished up a little earlier than usual and he was able to get through the War Games mumbo jumbo pretty fast. No one really wanted to vote, but he was able to convince Ukitake to be President of the Committee. The older, white-haired Captain had been around the last time the Games were held and had a better idea of what they were about to get in to and how it should be run. Plus, due to the instability of his good health, he'd have plenty of time on his hands to relax behind a desk and handle things.
Toshiro hadn't wanted to be the main one in charge to begin with. He wanted to be involved in the decision making, but not the Numero Uno. So, when everyone thought he'd be a good Vice President, he was satisfied with that. His idea to allow some of the lieutenants to get involved with the Committee was widely accepted and a few had offered suggestions on who would do well in certain positions.
Overall, he left the main hall feeling pretty good about the whole thing. He had a signup sheet for three more available slots and had some printouts of their job descriptions. As he read over them, he headed down the hallway to the Lieutenant's Conference Room. Loud cackling from within made him pause in the hallway briefly, but curiosity made him stealthily make his way to the open door.
They were all sitting on the floor in a large circle with randomly dispersed plastic spoons spread out inside and a small money pile off to the side being guarded by Isane. They were busy passing individual cards to the next person to their right and the more boisterous ones were laughing and trash talking each other. He smirked and watched them for a few minutes, observing the game. He wasn't sure what the objective was but one person, Nanao, had gained a card that she approved of and sneakily swiped up a spoon; hiding it under her leg, she continued passing cards like nothing had happened. A few of the other quiet ones spied her doing so and stealthily swiped up and hid their own spoons and looked at each other conspiratorially. On it went, more and more lieutenants cluing in to the disappearing utensils, until it came down to the biggest trash talkers: Tetsuzaemon, Renji, and Rangiku.
There were only two spoons left and everyone was just letting them talk back and passing cards until one of them figured it out. Toshiro grinned and leaned into the doorway. This should be interesting.
Lieutenant Iba’s eyes widened suddenly. There was no way he could reach for a spoon without being seen, so he lurched forward violently and grabbed the nearest one.
Rangiku gasped and scrambled toward the last spoon, “Ah! Not again!”
Renji moved the same time she did, “Oh, no you don't!”
The room erupted into uproarious laughter and Toshiro watched with great amusement as the two dove for the very center, wrestled, and pushed each other out of the way. Renji thought he had it and laughed triumphantly until Rangiku, in a surprising moment of agility, slid onto her side and shoved him with a well placed foot and quite a bit of force; sending him sailing across the circle and plowing into Tetsuzaemon, Hisagi, and Izuru.
She smacked a hand over the plastic utensil and hopped up onto her feet in the center. Holding the spoon out like it was an amazing prize, she yelled out, “Ha!”
The guys groaned and shoved Renji off of them and Rangiku looked around laughing her ass off, “Now who bet Renji would be the loooser?” She dragged out the last word comically and raised her hand along with Tetsuzaemon, Nemu, and a hysterically giggling Yachiru. “Alright, you suckers! Pay up!”
The others grumbled and paid the four what they owed; Rangiku laughed and kneeled down, collecting her money.
It was Izuru who spoke next, “So, who won the game?”
Nanao adjusted her gleaming glasses and smirked, “Read 'em and weep, ladies and gentlemen.” In a flashy display, she slapped down her cards, “Four fours.”
Some of the others laughed and some of them groaned.
Yachiru smacked down her own set and giggled, “Four Jacks! Candy store, here I come!”
This time they all groaned. While Nanao went through the process of splitting the pot for the two of them, the others went about getting set up for another game.
Toshiro decided to make his entrance and walked in, “Morning everyone.”
Rangiku hopped up and accepted the handouts he immediately held out for her and eyed them inquisitively. As she did so, all of the other lieutenants stopped what they were doing and stood up to politely greet the Squad Ten Captain.
Toshiro smirked at his Lieutenant, “That's an interesting way to keep them occupied.”
Rangiku grinned and curtsied, “Just doing my job!” She started handing out the papers and eyed him saucily, “Besides, it's my birthday and I can do whatever I want.”
“Now that's a scary thought,” he muttered dryly.
Many of the conference room occupants smiled or chuckled at their bantering and Toshiro sighed before turning to address the whole room, “Thanks for waiting everyone. I'll try not to keep you too much longer. Now I'm not sure if your Captains informed you last week, but we decided to re-establish the Thirteen Court Guard Squad War Games.” He paused when several of them gasped or chuckled in excitement and he smiled knowingly, “We haven't figured out any of the details or even know when it will be, but that’s exactly why I’m here today. A War Games Committee needs to be set up so we can get this ball rolling and we would like some of you Lieutenants to be on the council. Captain Ukitake will be President, I'll be V.P., and Rangiku has already signed up to be in charge of P.R. What she just handed out to you are the job descriptions of the two other available seats.”
He walked over to the conference table and placed the signup sheet on the end with a pen. Silently indicating to Rangiku that she needed to sign her name next to ‘P.R. Manager’ while the lieutenants murmured eagerly to each other, he leaned against the table and gave them a few minutes to read before he continued. “These last two spots are extremely important and need to be taken seriously.” He looked around at the attentive faces, “Now, for Treasurer, I know the handout says it's required for you to be ‘organized, good with numbers, and proficient in allocating funds’, but it would be preferable,”—He paused and caught the interested deep blue eyes of Lieutenant Ise—“that that someone also be able to handle my Lieutenant's penchant for wasting money,”—He paused briefly when she squawked in halfhearted outrage—“and to actively coordinate with me, Captain Ukitake, and whoever signs up for Secretary.”
Nanao slid her glasses up and nodded at him with determination before marching up and signing her name next to ‘Treasurer.’
Glad that she took the hint, he grinned, “Excellent. Now, for Secretary, it's pretty straightforward. In addition to what the handout states, you'll be in charge of setting up meetings and schedules; be there for the meetings; coordinate with all of us; and be able to handle a mountain of paperwork without it affecting or interfering with responsibilities to your own squad.”
He waited as there was some deliberation amongst the lieutenants. Some of them seemed unsure and others were calling out who they thought would suit the job, but it was Nemu who came forward demurely with a resolute twinkle in her eye and signed up for the seat.
Toshiro smiled and pushed off the table. She'd be able to handle that job brilliantly. Satisfied, he snatched the signup sheet and turned to face them, “Awesome. So, for those of you who didn't want to be seated on the Committee but still want to help, there will be many opportunities for you to do so. Rangiku will definitely need assistance with all the posters and advertising and I'm positive we'll need help with things we haven't even thought of yet.”
Toshiro settled his hands on his hips casually, “One more thing, the Head Captain wants all of us to keep relatively quiet about the War Games until it gets officially announced.” He looked around once more before nodding, “Alright, thanks again for sticking around. You're all dismissed.”
An energized vibe filled the air and they all started talking at once.
Rangiku walked up to him and whispered enthusiastically, “That went well!”
As the lieutenants finished cleaning up the room and started making their way out the door, speaking animatedly to each other, Toshiro remarked, “I think so. Everyone who's on the Committee will be good at what they've signed up to do and I think we'll work really well together.”
She nodded wholeheartedly.
Nanao and Nemu walked up to them to inquire about the first meeting and, while Toshiro gave them the details, Rangiku walked over to where she and the others had been playing their game. Someone had been nice enough to tidy up and placed the spoons and cards into their appropriate containers for her. Watching as the last of her comrades exited the conference room, she stuffed them into her bag.
Toshiro sighed, “I guess I'll go tend to my stack of paperwork.” He walked towards her and the door, “And then I'll have lunch and take a nap.”
At his determined nod, she chuckled, “Good. You want me to come and wake you up when I get a break?”
Walking out into the hall, Toshiro pondered, “I don't know. I guess you could come check on me around 4 or 5 o'clock.”
They exited the First Division Headquarters and flashstepped back over to the office. As they walked in through the back door, Rangiku spotted a stack of papers in the bin attached to the wall outside the closed office door.
Just as a frustrated pout was starting to form, he snorted, “Just look through them and see if anything's urgent. Otherwise, it can wait for Monday.”
She smiled gratefully, “Thank you!”
He opened the door, allowed her to precede him, and they both walked to their desks. While she unpacked her floppy backpack, he got settled into his chair and asked, “So, what do you have to do to get ready for the party?”
Tossing her bag into one of her desk drawers, she looked at him, “Well, Shunsui swung by before our meetings and said the area by the pond wasn't too muddy from last night’s rain. He thinks it'll dry up throughout the day, but I’d still like to run out there and check it out.”
He nodded and she flipped through the newly arrived papers, “Other than that, it's just a matter of setting up all the paper lanterns, tables, chairs, and whatnot and waiting for the caterers to arrive.”
He shook his head in amusement, “I still can't believe you hired them.”
She grinned, “I know, but I got to thinking how stressed out I get, with all the running around to get food and making sure everything is perfect, and it's my freaking birthday! If I'm going to enjoy myself, I don't want to have to worry about all that. You're going to love it. I'm so excited! I have that original guy coming with the bar and sushi set up, but I was also able to finagle these two brothers into setting up yesterday. They’re really funny and compete for everything; one has a ramen stand and the other a yakitori stand.”
Toshiro's eyes brightened, “That sounds good. How the hell did you manage that?”
She shrugged, “Well, I told them how many people were probably showing up and the kind of appetites they had and said that if they made their normal awesome food that it would likely bring them a whole lot of soul reaper business afterward. I may have also dropped something and had to lean way over to pick it up...”
He snorted, “That's more your style.”
Rummaging through his own papers, he asked curiously, “How much did it set you back?”
She dropped most of her stack into her incoming bin and waved her hand flippantly, “Oh, they were both really reasonable. I offered to pay for the equivalent of them selling out for the night and for the trouble of coming all the way up here, but they both gave me a discount for buying in bulk. I've already paid the first guy, but these two said I could pay half now and half later.” She chuckled, “They seem to be worried that I'd pay for all that food and it won't get eaten but, considering who's coming, I don't think it's going to be an issue.”
Toshiro grinned, “Well, you can count on me to do my part. I won't eat anything after lunch so that I go in there starving.”
She laughed, “That's the spirit. I've already told the others to basically do the same thing.”
As she quickly read and signed a few documents, he asked, “Are you going to need any help?”
Rangiku smiled, “Well, a couple of the guys and girls offered to help me out once they get out of work and we'll be busy setting up until the party officially starts. I told everyone to show up at 8 o'clock and the food guys said they'd show up between 6 and 7 to set up.”
She walked over and placed the papers in his incoming box, “They aren't urgent, but you should take a look at them before you leave for the day.”
He glanced at them, “Okay,” and then looked up at her to ask, “What about before the others get off of work?”
She casually propped her hands on her hips, “Well, I feel pretty confident —with all the help I have coming my way— that we'll be able to get everything set up in time. Before that, I'm not sure what else there is to do. I've been preparing for this for about a month. The guys helped me move all the tables, chairs, and heavy things into a storage closet in Squad Eight earlier this week. So, I really just need to run out to the pond, check it out, and figure out if my floor plan needs to change.” Rangiku looked up at the ceiling and tapped her chin in thought, “I guess, if it's still a little too damp out there, I could go and find some area rugs to lie out...” She looked at him curiously, “Do you have any idea how cool it might get tonight?”
Toshiro smirked and shook his head, “You know... I know you like to blame bad weather on me, but I'm not some sort of soul reaper barometer.”
Rangiku chuckled, “I have those portable fire pits stored, but I don't want to lug them out there unless it's pretty much guaranteed to get chilly. Besides, you have a knack for predicting that sort of thing, Storm Boy.”
He rolled his eyes and thought about her predicament, “I don't know. Weather isn't exactly known for being 100% predictable...”
She smiled, “Come on; give it your best shot. You're better than those weather men in the World of the Living.”
He smirked at her attempt at flattery and pondered out loud, “Well, it's blustery and overcast right now but if those clouds burn off, which I think they will, it'll warm up. So, if this northerly continues and there are no clouds to keep the heat in, it'll definitely drop once the sun starts going down. If that happens, you're looking at probably the lower 70's until the sun sets and then anywhere in the 60's after that.”
She frowned, “So, I should probably get the guys to drag out one or two, then.”
Toshiro shrugged, “Honestly, with those food stands cooking and everyone drinking, you shouldn't need them. Maybe set one up on the opposite side from the food stands just in case.”
Rangiku nodded, “That's a good idea.”—She clapped her hands together enthusiastically—“Okay! I won't keep you from your paperwork and future nap any longer!”
He snorted as she headed for the door and called out to her retreating back, “Let me know if you need any help.”
She turned around but continued walking backward and smiled, “Will do! See ya later!”
She bumped into the door frame and waved at him before she took off. Toshiro shook his head in amusement.
Huffing when he glanced at the state of his desk, he mentally galvanized himself and went to work. About an hour later and making a good dent in the mountain on his desk, Rangiku interrupted him with lunch. She'd been in the mood for The Shrieking Eel and had brought him a regular sized unadon. He'd just worked up the will to make a food hall run when she’d arrived, but this had saved him the trip and the sizzling, saucy eel bowl was infinitely better than the melon pan he'd been meaning to buy.
He'd sucked it up like a vacuum along with the green tea she'd made him. She'd teased him, saying that there was no way he could enjoy it if he ate that fast but there was no way he could possibly not enjoy it; no matter how quickly he shoveled it. He wished he could just suck on it to keep the flavor in his mouth, but it was too freaking good to not swallow.
Toshiro had soon been back to the never-ending paperwork with much resentment. Maybe he should have slowed down to eat his eel bowl... However, once he’d gotten over his pity party, it hadn’t taken him long to get his second wind and he'd gotten into the zone pretty quickly; plowing through documents like a train. He got interrupted more then he cared for, but it was primarily from those who were just passing through to verify the time and place of the party. A few times he had to leave the office to deal with squad issues, but they never took long to take care of.
He finally finished up all of it a little after 2 o'clock and sighed deeply, slouching into his comfortable office chair. The caffeine from breakfast had long worn off and the hours of sleep he'd missed out on had caught up to him seemingly the instant he'd set his pen down. He blinked and looked around the office tiredly.
The sofa was calling his name and he stood to stretch. Looking at his outgoing box, he sighed in resignation and grabbed the documents as he headed for the door. He'd walk down to the Officer's Lounge and see if anyone was in there. Maybe he could delegate this off on someone...
As he stuck his head in the Lounge's open doorway, his Fifth Seat walked around the nearby corner coming from the breezeway. “Ah. Miss Sonoda. Are you busy at the moment?”
She smiled warmly and gently corrected him for the couple-hundredth time before answering him, “Yuri. And, no I'm not, Captain. I was just checking on something for Third Seat Nakahara before I left for the day. Did you need something?”
He handed her the papers, “After you finish up with that, could you deliver these for me? There's only a few, but I'd feel better if they didn't wait for Monday.”
She flipped through them quickly and smiled, “Of course, Sir. Anything else, Captain?”
He shook his head, “No, that's all. Thanks for the help. Have a good weekend, Yuri.”
As he turned to take his leave, she blurted, “Are you going to Lieutenant Matsumoto's birthday party, Sir?”
He scoffed and grinned, turning back toward her, “Are you kidding me? She'd kill me if I didn't go. Are you planning on coming?”
She smiled bashfully, “I wouldn't want to intrude...”
He smiled, “Nonsense. Everyone's invited, including all of Squad Ten; you should know that by now. There's going to be tons of food and drinks. You should come.”
A light pink modestly fanned across her cheeks, “I think I may drop by, then... The Squad's been abuzz all day wondering what she'll have going on. I didn't realize her parties were such a big deal.”
He snorted, “Yeah, she goes all out.” He started turning toward his office again, “Don't worry about presents, though. Some of her buddies bring them, but she doesn't expect them from anyone else.”
Covering his mouth as he yawned, he called out quietly as he headed for his office, “Enjoy the rest of your afternoon, Miss Sonoda.”
She watched him move down the hall and whispered, “Yes, Sir.”
*~****~*
Rangiku buzzed around her quarters happily. Having taken her own advice, she’d had herself a long, leisurely nap after lunch and had filled the hours by lazily rummaging through her closet. It was a quarter to 5 o'clock now and she'd pretty much decided what she was going to wear. She had this pretty eggplant colored shirt with 3/4-length sleeves and a relatively deep v-neck, but she couldn't decide if she wanted to pair it with this cute white skirt, which had a purple floral print that would match, or these breezy, light khaki colored shorts. The skirt was super cute and feminine, but the shorts were comfortable and would allow her to sit cross-legged should she want to do so. Although the place she'd chosen had dried up significantly, she still intended to lay out large area rugs for lounging and Rangiku wasn't sure how she’d spend her time meandering throughout the congregating guests.
Deciding a necklace test was in order to determine which bottom garment would be best, she suddenly realized that she'd left the jewelry on her desk. “Crap,” she huffed.
Oh well. She needed to check up on Toshiro anyway, but she had to hurry. Everyone was about to get off of work and she still needed to meet them out there to set everything up.
Laying the clothes out on her bed, she quickly made her way down the hall and out the door. Jogging around the stairs that led up to Toshiro’s door, she aimed for the gate that lead to the backyard and peered over it to look for any sign of him. Huffing, she opened and closed the gate behind her and jogged up to the stone patio. Walking into the hall she noticed the office door was closed and approached it quietly. Silently sliding the door open, she poked her head inside to look around.
Pulling her head out, she chuckled quietly. Carefully opening it enough for her to squeeze through, she slid the door shut behind her and walked up to their sitting area.
He was too big for the couch but still looked fairly comfortable. His right leg was bent and leaning up against the back of the sofa and his left was unfolded to the left with his foot planted on the floor. As a result, Toshiro's muscular thighs were spread pretty wide and a lightning-fast visual of her sensually waking him up snuggled between them flashed through her mind.
She blinked and swallowed dryly.
Bad, Rangiku. Bad! Now was not the time to be fantasizing! She had somewhere she needed to be!
His left hand moved to rest on his stomach and she whispered his name. Toshiro scratched his chest through his uniform but didn't wake up. Man, he was out.
His right arm was stretched out beside him, palm relaxed and spread out across his upper thigh, and she had to force herself to not reach out and touch him. Even asleep, he had this raw, sexual aura that surrounded him like some sort of invisible, poisonous cloud. It was all she could do to keep from running her fingers and palms anywhere and everywhere she could.
Taking a step back, she blinked rapidly and took a few fortifying breaths to clear her head. He still hadn't really stirred and she moved away from him towards the kitchen. Maybe brewing up some strong coffee would do the trick and she wouldn't have to go in there again...
Leaving the door open, she walked in and rummaged around a teeny tiny bit louder than normal as she went about the routine of making coffee. She added two extra scoops of fine ground into the filter, flicked the lid down, and pressed the start button. It was too bad she didn't have any beans so she could utilize the coffee grinder. Surely doing that inside the doorway would work...
As the coffee maker gurgled to life and started wafting out one of his favorite aromas, she grabbed a magazine that sat on the counter and used it to fan the scent into the office for a minute. Not wanting to hover at the door, she settled for leaning against the counter and staring at the coffee maker, willing it to hurry.
Rangiku sighed. How on Earth was she supposed to keep her hands to herself tonight if she could barely keep herself from rubbing all over him while he slept? What was wrong with her? It was like, now that she’d acknowledged that she wanted him, the dam had broken and her mind was flooded with sex. It was really frustrating because he had a lot of nuances and tendencies that got her hot under the collar. Little things like stretching in his office chair —emphasis on chest, shoulder, and arm muscles—; leaning against his open window —emphasis on back and butt—; or heaven help her if he gets all dragony and dominating. Even his frowns were sexy!
It was like she was in heat! It took all of her willpower each day to act like everything was normal; that she wasn’t internally drooling while he ran around bare-chested or squirming in her seat to relieve the ache when he growled, laughed, or did anything remotely agile or athletic. Sometimes she really did feel like beating her head repeatedly against a wall.
Hearing him groan in the other room, she smiled. That was a good sign. Walking over to the door, she poked her head into the office and saw him stretching on the sofa.
She made her way back to the counter and lifted the lid to the water reservoir. The steam burned her fingertips and she hissed in pain and jerked her hand back as the lid fell back into place. Rangiku glared at the appliance and rubbed her fingers together. She always did that; always got impatient. Inspecting her fingers revealed that she hadn’t truly burned herself, so she sighed and grabbed a cup from out of the cabinet. The coffee maker was almost done; she pressed the lip of the cup into the wide, curved button underneath the coffee reservoir and watched as the dark, rich brew released and poured down inside. Pulling the cup away when it was just right, she fixed it up for him and walked into the office again.
She called out in her normal volume, “You awake yet?” Rangiku moved toward him and saw his lids slowly lift as he looked up at her.
Confusion knitted his brow and he asked in a murmur that was rough and smoky from sleep, “What time is it?”
Rangiku purred internally at the texture of his voice and distracted herself by setting his coffee down on the table in front of him, “5-ish.”
His eyes pinched closed and he let loose a sound that was a combination of groan and growl and it sent goosebumps racing up her arms.
Pushing himself up, he unfolded his legs and swung them out in front of him. Resting his elbows on his knees, he rubbed his face with both hands. Taking a deep breath and yawning, Toshiro's eyes opened and brightened when he saw the full coffee cup. He reached out and grasped the handle and brought it to his face to breathe it in for a moment. “Thanks,” he murmured, and took a sip of the steaming liquid.
She smiled, “You’re welcome. Afraid I can't stay, though.” As she walked over to her desk, she plucked up the white jewelry box, “Gotta go meet everyone to start setting up.”
She hurried toward the office door and called over her shoulder, “There's more coffee in the kitchen!”
As she exited the room and turned to close the door, she winked at him as he blearily watched her leave and slid the door shut.
Not wasting any time, she flashstepped back over to her apartment and dropped her necklace off before racing over to the Squad Eight entrance to meet her friends.
*~****~*
Toshiro was a little over 20 minutes late, but it wasn’t like he was supposed to be there right when it started. Most people didn't show up right on time for parties, anyways. Rangiku called it being fashionably late and she did it all the time.
With a fleeting glance at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he wondered if wearing his uniform to the party would land him a whiny lecture from the birthday girl. He knew she'd jump at the chance to not wear hers, but he felt uncomfortable doing so with everybody showing up. With Monday's incident being a rather juicy piece of gossip, he just didn't feel like dealing with all the drama and teasing it would likely inspire; even if it was just jeans and a t-shirt. It wasn’t like he really cared what everyone was saying or thinking, but a man can only take so much ribbing before he gets pissed off.
In a passing display of rebellion, he grabbed the agate necklace she'd given him. As he walked out onto his private deck, he messed with the clasp and shut the sliding glass door with his foot. Successfully fastening it, he looked up at the sky and admired the panoramic vista. The sun had fallen below the horizon but bequeathed some rather spectacular pinks and sherbet-oranges that glowed and lingered. Already countless stars were twinkling and steadily getting brighter as the ethereal light faded and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky to mar the sight.
A healthy, cool breeze floated over his face and he breathed it in. Hearing the faint tinkling of music drifting between the gentle puffs, he hopped off the deck and crossed the rooftops toward Squad Eight. Surprising a few soul reapers when he landed at the entrance with a cold whoosh of air, he smirked before cracking his neck left and right and walking through. As he crossed the courtyard, Toshiro spotted some tiki torches and colorful, globe-like paper lanterns announcing the entrance to the correct trail and headed in that direction.
Following the warm-hued pathway, he paused when it opened up. The cherry trees gave way to an open region and there was an area about 100 feet around lit up with the attractive paper lanterns. Reflecting the warm light, the fall colored leaves fluttered calmly in the breeze and he couldn’t help but think how closely they resembled butterfly wings; as if the trees were covered in hundreds of thousands of them.
Rolling his eyes at the lame detour his thoughts had taken, he started when something brushed against his arm. A few soul reapers were trying to politely get past him and he stepped to the side to let them before continuing along. The inviting atmosphere and amiable laughter was magnetic and, as he walked along the path, more and more people were arriving to join in the festivities.
The three food guys were set up close to each other on the edge of the camp near the main entrance and many black uniforms were waiting in line. Two food stands on wheels were manned by two middle-aged looking men that were bantering back and forth and he could only assume those were the brothers. The third man had some tables set up, but he'd barely processed that before a glimpse of golden skin caught his eye.
Zeroing in on Rangiku's long, glorious legs, he almost glared in contempt at all that smooth epidermis. Forcing his eyes to travel up, he saw her beige shorts, purple shirt, and the necklace he'd given her. Her outfit was surprisingly simple and sexy as hell and he knew that he'd have to watch himself tonight.
She was laughing and talking animatedly with Renji and Rukia Kuchiki, but someone walked between them and blocked the three from his sight for a moment. Looking around, Toshiro grumbled when he found himself standing behind a low hanging string of lanterns. Ducking under it, he walked into a group of guys from his own squad standing in line. Several of them greeted him enthusiastically, but he was in search of Legs and soon excused himself.
Walking past the food carts made his stomach roar to life and beg for mercy. The smell pouring from them was like a fog of flavor but he pushed past it to stand beneath a tall cherry tree. There were quite a few people he knew milling about and, as he got a better look around, he noticed three places along the perimeter of paper lanterns where she'd rolled out these large, vibrant rugs.
The farthest one away was near the koi pond. It had numerous floor pillows and others of various sizes and shapes to lounge around on and he spied Kyoraku already out there drinking sake with Ukitake.
Another large rug with similar floor pillows was set up closer to the main entrance, but along the boundary on the opposite side of the caterers. Tetsuzaemon and Ikkaku were out there laughing between bites of food and slurps of sake and Toshiro smirked and nodded in greeting when he caught their eye.
The last rug was a long, rectangular one out to the right and adjacent to the food vendors and had short tables and sitting pillows set up along its median that many were using to eat at.
However, lots of people didn't limit themselves to the plush, lounging sections. A large number of soul reapers were outside the irregular ring of lights and wandering around amongst the cherry trees.
“You just got here and you're already hiding?”
Just the woman he was looking for. He turned around, “I am not hiding. I was looking around.”
She wore a cheeky grin and glanced about, “Uh huh. So, what do you think?”
In the back of his mind he knew she was talking about the party but, now that she was so close, he couldn't help but check her out. She wore some neutral beige flats and he definitely appreciated the view as his eyes traveled up her shapely calves, knees, and the generous amount of thigh that was exposed before her shorts got in the way. The shorts weren't obscenely short, but they weren't long either. He liked her shirt, too. It hugged her curves in so many good ways and the shade of purple looked great on her. It was a darker color, but seemed festive and really brought attention to the bright pink and yellow sapphires that glittered upon her sternum.
So, when she asked her question, he wasn't thinking about the party or the great turn out, “I think you look great.”
They both blinked in surprise.
He couldn't believe he'd said that out loud. He frowned and grit his teeth in embarrassment, but Rangiku's body language and the myriad of emotions that came alive in her beautiful features distracted and fascinated him. Momentarily forgetting his own discomfort, he was mesmerized as light pink fanned across her cheeks; dazzling, lilac-hued eyes hid bashfully beneath fluttering, long lashes; and —as she slid a luminous, blonde lock of hair behind her ear— her mouth curved into a barely-there smile before she self-consciously bit her luscious lower lip.
Folding her arms beneath her breasts, Rangiku murmured, “Not the reply I was expecting,”—She laughed softly and looked up into his teal eyes with a small, beguiling smile—“but still a very good answer...”
Forcing himself to behave normally, he smirked and remarked arrogantly, “Well, in case you've forgotten, I was a child prodigy. Good answers are sort of my thing.”
Glad that the moment hadn't turned awkward, Rangiku chuckled, “Keyword here being, ‘was.’ ”
He chuckled at that, “Look who's talking smack.”
She laughed, “I believe I reserve that right for putting up with your rude,”—She poked him in the chest to emphasize her point—“and surly behavior every single day of the year!”
He paused as if to argue and then shrugged, “Okay, I'll give you that.”
Rangiku chuckled and nodded playfully, “That's what I thought.” She waved her hand around, indicating their surroundings, “Have you gotten something to eat yet? I've been hearing good things about the food.”
He glanced at the lines, “No, it smells good, though. Recommend anything?”
“Well, the Nohara brothers always have awesome stuff and I've been seeing some beautiful sushi coming from Hanzo-san.”
“You haven't tried anything yet?”
She shrugged, “Well, no. The lanterns took longer than we anticipated. I had to beat those ginormous rugs before the food arrived; which wasn't easy or fun, by the way. I had to resort to getting Izuru to use kido on the stupid things. Then we had to dig high and low for all those pillows and beat them out, too. I barely had enough time to run home, take a shower, and change before everyone started arriving and I've been greeting everyone ever since.”
He shook his head, “This is your birthday. Start enjoying it.”
Isane and Kiyone called out to her and Rangiku waved back smiling. “I am enjoying it,” she replied.
Before she could scoot around him and say hello to the girls, Toshiro gently grabbed her upper arm and started pulling her towards the food. “Stop being a social butterfly and come stand in line with me.”
Rangiku let herself be dragged off and gave the two women an amused, helpless shrug. He stopped at the yakitori line first with the specific purpose of being able to eat something while he waited in line for a bowl of ramen.
She wasn't in the mood for soup and went to stand in line for sushi. The chef had three tables. The first one Hanzo-san personally tended to, generating a wide assortment of nigiri and artistic sushi rolls with extraordinary speed and good humor. An imaginative presentation of a variety of sweets and tiny desserts occupied the middle table and the last table was set up like a bar and being run by the older man's younger, bald assistant. He was busy flirtatiously making fruit-flavored “sake-tini's” for many of the women and serving everyone else small, perfectly heated sake bottles and the beer she'd requested on tap.
Getting enough sushi for the two of them, Rangiku walked with Toshiro over to where Shunsui and Jushiro were set up and joined the two.
While he got situated, Rangiku went to go get him a beer and one of her special, only for her, sakes hidden and guarded by the bartender.
Still feeling a bit guilty and wanting to socialize with all her guests, Rangiku only stayed for about 5 more minutes before she got antsy. Needing to eat something just so the sake didn't go straight to her head, she quickly finished off one of her rolls, “Okay, I can't be a bad host any longer. You guys enjoy yourselves. I'm sure you'll be seeing me check up on you after a little while.”
She placed some of her sushi onto Toshiro's plate. Standing up with pieces she could politely eat with her fingers and her personal little bottle of sake, she winked at Kyoraku and eyed Toshiro sternly, “Drink beer. Be merry. Don't be a tight ass.”
He snorted and saluted her sarcastically, “Yes ma'am!”
She chuckled and walked away. Shunsui understood that wink. It was to make sure that Toshiro did in fact drink beer and be merry. She wanted to see him get buzzed tonight. Not rip-roaring drunk —he'd definitely cut himself off before he got to that point— but she was hoping he'd get at least a little loopy and have some fun. Perhaps, if he got just a tad smashed, she could even take advantage of him just a teeny tiny bit...
Rangiku spent the next couple of hours flitting between friends, games, the food, and what everyone was referring to as the “Captain's Corner.” She had gone to check on the guys several times, usually on her way to the bar for a refill, and it looked like Shunsui was taking his job seriously. She'd only asked him to see that Toshiro had a good time and the sake connoisseur had wanted to see it happen wholeheartedly. He didn't need to know that getting Toshiro intoxicated tonight was a small, anticipatory step in her grand scheme to ultimately seduce him much further down the road... Yeah, he didn’t need to know that.
However, every time she made her rounds over to that side, she spied Toshiro actually smiling and always with a full cup. The way he was interacting with the other captains —and there were several— had her constantly cracking up throughout the evening. One time in particular, she'd caught a glimpse of Shunsui trying to nab something off of Toshiro's plate only for him to snap his chopsticks kung fu crane-style at the older Captain’s greedy fingers. Luckily Nanao and Isane had witnessed it, as well, and no one thought she was crazy or drunk for bursting into laughter as result of Toshiro’s impudence.
Pleasantly enough, he wasn't a complete hermit the whole night and didn't stay out by the koi pond for too long. Rangiku suspected that he'd run out of food and that's why he ultimately got off his butt but, regardless of the reason, after he'd gotten his fill out there —and several cups of beer under his belt— he started being social and made a few rounds. Although with each round, he seemed to have new food in his hands...
He'd eventually caught up with her at the rug Ikkaku had taken over. It had become a hot spot for loud and rambunctious drinking games and she was currently laughing outside the oval of friends.
Rangiku acknowledged him with a smile as he walked up, but her attention was immediately diverted when Ikkaku cackled and flicked his card so that it shot into Renji's face. Renji hollered in surprise and growled at the man next to him, instigating an elbowing and smacking match that had his sake cup spilling onto the remaining deck of cards.
Rangiku snorted when Rukia smacked Renji upside the head. She remarked in the direction of Toshiro's ear, “Sure am glad I brought my waterproof deck this time.”
Toshiro’s mouth quirked but they both recoiled a bit when the little prim and proper Rukia Kuchiki cursed loudly. She smacked her card down, took her shot of sake, and stood up in a huff. Rukia gave Renji —who was laughing the loudest— a dirty look before she hummed a tune and commenced the Chicken Dance. Everyone laughed and joined her in the song, clapping when she did, but kept going in the game.
Rangiku giggled hysterically when Rukia flapped her arms like chicken wings and then shook her butt in time to her humming. She’d already had her bottle refilled a few times with her specialty sake and was definitely feeling the happy warmth it always gave her. Nearly reduced to tears after Rukia skipped around the group, she informed Toshiro, “She has to do that until someone draws another heart card or it's her turn again.”
He snorted and took a generous pull on his beer before he brought one of his yakitori up to his mouth.
The brother that grilled this up was damn good at his job. He only did chicken but he grilled up almost every part on a stick. White meat, dark meat, hearts, gizzards, chicken skins, chicken feet, the list went on.
He was about to bite into his chicken skins when Rangiku looked at it, pursed her lips, and flared her nostrils in dramatic disapproval, “How can you eat that?”
Toshiro smirked, “Like this,” and ripped in to the top piece.
She cringed but couldn't help but laugh at his behavior, “You know what goes hand and hand with chicken skin? Chicken fat. Slimy, clumpy, gross, chicken fat.”
Toshiro licked his lips and grinned wickedly, “They usually scrape most of that off.”
She gasped and reached out to smack him but he dodged her, “That is disgusting!”
He laughed loudly and dodged another swipe, “What’s the deal? You weren’t complaining when I ate them at the Wind Festival.”
She sighed in an irritated fashion, “I was trying to ignore you.”
Toshiro smirked, “Well, you are missing out. It's the best part of the damn bird! What's the one crunchy bit that's your favorite part of every bite; the part that people are willing to steal off of other people's plates? The chicken skins. That's what.”
She held a hand up, “I'll pass.”
Toshiro chuckled and ripped the last piece off his skewer, “Your loss.”
She was about to disagree but got distracted when the entire game group suddenly jumped up onto their feet, spun around in a circle three times, and sat down as quickly as they could. Seeing as most of the participants had been drinking for some time, the end result was a bit varied. Some managed it quite well, like Yumichika, but others, like Ikkaku... not so much. He'd spun in such rowdy and ferocious circles that he'd ended up ricocheting off of Renji and both landed flat on their backs.
Renji growled, got onto his knees, and punched Ikkaku in the shoulder; commencing a rolling, grappling match between the two. Everyone erupted into laughter while they watched and a few even placed wagers on who would end up winning the impromptu scuffle.
As the two called it a drawl and crawled back to the rug, Rukia called out with a superior chip on her shoulder, “That was real mature.”
Renji plopped back down on the rug and eyed her sarcastically, “Says the woman still doing the Chicken Dance!”
Rukia's eye twitched and Renji grinned and waggled his tattooed eyebrows victoriously.
Rangiku was bent over, laughing hard at the whole ordeal and Toshiro shook his head in amusement. If those two were sleeping together —which he secretly thought they were— Renji was going to be in the dog house tonight.
He brought his cup up to his lips and emptied it. Looking at the plastic container, he tried to recall how many he’d had, but wasn't exactly sure. Someone was always taking it from him and topping it off and that wasn’t easy to keep track of. His so-called friends were probably plotting against him but, with his current warm and fuzzy buzz, he just didn't care that much.
Nudging her arm, he held his cup up for her to notice, “I'm going for another.”
Rangiku smiled, “I'll go with you.”
Aiming for the bar, they meandered through a group of black uniforms waiting for food. Many more had showed up once the party really got started, but it was starting to thin out as the evening wore on.
Looking around at all the soul reapers scattered about the entire area and the celebratory atmosphere, he remarked, “This feels like a festival.”
She smiled, “That's sort of the theme I was going for. I had so much fun the other day that I thought it’d be neat to recreate it a bit.”
They arrived at the bar and, as they waited for their refills, Toshiro spied a couple cuddled up side by side out in a darker spot talking and pointing at the stars. Several had brought blankets and set up their own little picnic areas outside the irregularly shaped oval of paper lanterns and he had to admit that it sounded nice. A quiet little romantic spot that was just far enough away that no one was really paying attention to what you and your companion were doing...
A cold cup touched his waiting hand and he glanced at the bartender and nodded his thanks. Grasping the cup, he took a sip and licked his upper lip. Rangiku already had her sake and was looking toward the yakitori guy waving her politely over. Having an idea of what the man was about to inform her, he decided to split.
Rangiku turned to tell Toshiro that she'd be right back, but he was nowhere to be seen. She blinked and looked around; no white hair. A bit miffed that he’d disappeared like that, Rangiku sighed, “Whatever.”
Walking over to the stout, animated men, she called out their names jubilantly when she reached them, “Shin-chan! Ken-chan!”
There wasn't anyone in line and they walked around their carts smiling at her with rosy cheeks. Ken Nohara bowed politely before smacking his brother over the head to do the same. Shin Nohara glared at his older brother and smacked him upside the head in retaliation.
She laughed, “There's no need to be so formal, guys!”
Ken smiled, “Matsumoto-san, we only wished to let you know that we are both running low on food.”
Shin's chest puffed out, “Although, I will probably run out first because your guests prefer my yakitori.”
His older brother's eye twitched and Rangiku smiled fondly, “See? I told you that wouldn't be a problem!”
The brothers were looking at each other with a competitive gleam in their eyes and Rangiku chuckled, “So, what do I owe you two?”
They stopped glaring and looked at her in surprise. Ken was the first to speak, “But, Matsumoto-san, your bill has already been paid.”
Her head bobbed in surprise, “What?”
Shin spoke up, “Yes, ma'am. The white-haired Captain,”—He paused to smirk at Ken—“that kept coming back to my cart. He covered the rest of what you owed us.”
Rangiku's eyes narrowed, “Shorter white hair, right? Big attitude?”
Ken eyed his brother grumpily, but nodded and smiled, “Including a most generous tip. He didn't tell you?”
That sneaky rat... She smiled, “No, but that's fine; great, in fact.” She grinned and winked at the brothers, “More money for me to come and see you two with!”
The two middle-aged brothers’ chests puffed out and they both grinned and nodded simultaneously.
Since it was getting late for the two businessmen, they wanted to start packing up but both assured her that they wouldn't officially leave until they were out of food. She was a little surprised at first because it was already after 11 o'clock, but she suspected their jam-packed tip jars had something to do with it.
Wanting to hunt down a certain arrogant Captain, she concluded her business with them quickly and went to speak with Hanzo-san. The sushi chef had just run out of rice and was organizing his supplies when she popped over to his table. Although he was getting ready to leave, his assistant was staying behind to tend the bar —as they'd previously arranged— and load up the rest of their stuff when he was done for the night, which would be until either Rangiku dismissed him or they ran out of booze.
As she thanked Hanzo-san and wished him a good night, Rangiku finally spotted a peeved Toshiro being harassed by Captain Zaraki near the Captain’s Corner. Heading their way, she chuckled when it looked like Toshiro had made some sort of irked comment that had the other Combat Captain nearly busting a gut he was laughing so hard. Beating him brutally on the back, each vigorous clap of cheerfulness made her irritated Captain's expression darken and his cup slosh more of its golden brew onto the ground.
Toshiro jerked out of Zaraki's reach and switched his cup to the other hand. Shaking his hand of the liquid, he cursed loudly, “Damn it, Zaraki! Watch the beer, man!”
The older Captain didn't stop laughing and Rangiku interrupted them with a coo, “Aww! You've made a friend, Captain!”
Toshiro's aggravated face blanked out to form the best deadpan yet and she burst into a fit of giggles. Gasping for air, she addressed the older Captain, “I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to steal him, Captain Zaraki.”
He was still grinning but shrugged, unconcerned. Rangiku’s mouth pursed in amusement and she towed Toshiro away by his elbow; he'd want another beer and she steered him toward the bar.
Pulling him up to walk beside her, she grinned mischievously, “So, are you two dating now?”
She laughed at her own question and Toshiro scoffed, “Zaraki can go to hell in a hand basket for all I care.”
He swallowed the rest of what was in his cup and handed it to the bartender.
Rangiku nodded playfully, “Hilarious visual, by the way.”
Toshiro snorted as he received his full cup back.
She smirked, “I think he's taken a liking to you.”
He rolled his eyes mournfully and sighed, “I think you’re right about that. Ever since they designated us as a combat squad, he's been driving me crazy; popping out of trees and bushes, roofs and alleyways; just to fly at me with a sword. I'm beginning to understand how Ichigo feels.”
They found themselves under the tall cherry tree in the center of camp and Rangiku poked him in the chest, “Speaking of sneaky captains... The Nohara brothers told me something really interesting...”
He smirked behind his cup, “You’re welcome and happy birthday.”
She took a small step closer and looked up to give him a beguiling smile, “You are a horrible person, Toshiro Hitsugaya. Spoiling a girl like that can have consequences, you know.”
The corners of his mouth quirked, “Consider it recompense for next week's homework assignment.”
Her expression instantly soured, “Thanks for reminding me!” she squawked.
Using both hands, she playfully shoved against his rock hard stomach in retaliation but it was like trying to push against a brick wall. All she managed to do was have him “Pfff” at her efforts and push herself away from him and, unfortunately, gravity had plans for her. The combination of an unhelpful gnarly tree root and a decent amount of sake had her stumbling and pitching forward. Rangiku crashed clumsily into his warm, hard body and gasped when her breasts smashed against his abdomen and firm pectorals, pinning her hands between their bodies. Strong arms wrapped around to steady her the second she started to fall and his protective embrace tucked her face into his throat. Able to breathe in his wonderful scent, Rangiku sighed when his arms tightened around her and she wondered... How does one smell like autumn in the first place? Did he roll around in leaf piles and then stew in his own pheromones just to tempt her?
She was there for only a moment —the span of a few slamming heartbeats— but in the few seconds before she regained her equilibrium, she thoroughly enjoyed the exhilaration of being wrapped up in the safety of his arms.
And then she remembered where she was: at her birthday party surrounded by her comrades.
Recalling how she got there in the first place, she grumbled into his collar, “Stupid brick wall...”
His resulting chuckle rumbled through his chest and into hers, sending a shiver up her spine. Feeling her nipples tightening in response, she gruffly pushed away from him in sensory overload. Gingerly stepping away, she looked at the ground and made sure not to step on any more wayward roots; muttering the entire time, “...didn't even budge when I put some effort into it...” Gaining good footing, she planted her hands on her hips, “I can’t believe you’ve been drinking beer all night and yet I’m the one falling on my face. I'm not even drunk,” she announced.
Rangiku swayed a tiny bit when her foot slipped on a rock and she blinked, “Well, not that drunk...”
Toshiro smirked and folded his arms across his chest while he listened. He wasn’t as sober as she thought; he was definitely buzzed, but hearing her grumbling —especially about him— was always entertaining. Currently, it was distracting him and helping to alleviate the consuming need to drag her off into the dark and back into his arms again. She was like a damn disease and he was being plagued with tingling skin and heat from where she'd been pressed up against him; hell, his heart was still trying to recover...
His stringent will reminded him why those thoughts were dangerous, but the warm, toasty feeling that was permeating his brain was seriously diminishing his ability to give a damn.
She sighed in amused irritation, “Well... I suppose I should thank you for paying them. For the record, I really must protest, but since you're a sneaky devil—”
“I prefer the phrase, ‘Sly like a fox’,” he interrupted pompously.
Rangiku's expression dried out but she finished her sentence, “—I'll just save that money for something else... Like clothes.”
“Like you need any more of those,” he scoffed.
A golden brow rose saucily, “Or lingerie...”
His mouth opened in retort but all the possible snappy comebacks flew right out the window when he realized what she’d said. His mind was instantaneously bombarded with images of her trying on and flirtatiously showing off different risqué garments and his brain screeched to a halt.
A few moments of silence ticked by before Toshiro snapped his mouth shut when he became aware of it hanging open and his cheeks heated at her knowing smile. She’d set him up; purposefully injected salacious imagery into his brain.
Ha. Rangiku chuckled, “You totally opened yourself up for that one.”
Toshiro grumpily glared at the sky. He couldn’t think of anything to say; she’d won that round and she knew it.
Rangiku giggled at her genius moment but, before she could truly celebrate her small victory, her name was hollered in unison by those at the game rug.
They both jumped in shock and then heard Ikkaku scream obnoxiously, “Stop flirting and get your asses over here!”
Toshiro sighed dryly, “One of these days, I’m going to beat him to death with something really random; like a broom or a chair.”
Rangiku laughed loudly as she headed their way. Toshiro followed and with a few strides walked beside her until they stood before their friends.
Several of them smiled and moved out of the way to reveal two large white cake boxes filled with at least five dozen cupcakes in the center of the large area rug.
Momo Hinamori smiled engagingly, “We knew you didn't get a cake this time, but every birthday girl deserves birthday cake!”
Rangiku's face lit up as she eyed the delicious assortment, “Aww, you guys shouldn't have!”
Yumichika smiled and continued where Momo left off, “So, we all chipped in and, instead of one big cake, we got you these beauties.”
Ikkaku snorted, “We couldn't agree on a flavor.”
He grunted when he got elbowed on both sides and Rangiku laughed, “They're so pretty!”
Toshiro snorted at her girly reply and Momo laughed, “Well, choose one so you can blow out your birthday candle!”
Rangiku walked around to eagerly kneel down between Isane and Momo and inspected the variety of colors.
Rukia pointed to the different cupcake sections, “There's red velvet with vanilla buttercream, strawberry with strawberry buttercream, double-dark chocolate with vanilla buttercream, and—”
Renji interjected eagerly, “And white with pineapple jelly filling and cream cheese icing!”
Rukia looked at him dryly for interrupting and Ikkaku snorted, “Pineapple...”
Several of the others chuckled at Renji's expense when he glared at the bald soul reaper.
Rangiku bit her lower lip and sighed, “They all look so good!”
After a few moments of indecision, she ended up grabbing a strawberry cupcake and Renji laughed, “That figures.” When she looked at him questioningly, he smirked, “When we asked Captain Hitsugaya what flavor he thought you'd like, he said, ‘I dunno; something pink.’ ”
He pointed to what was in her hand and Rangiku looked at the pink cupcake with pink icing. Looking up at Toshiro, his lips quirked before he shrugged nonchalantly and she chuckled, “What can I say? The man knows me.”
Holding the cupcake up like an offering, she called out reverently, “I choose pink on pink!”
Momo giggled softly and gently took it from her and set it on a paper plate. She looked at Toshiro, “The candle, please.”
Toshiro reached into his breast pocket, grabbed the hefty wax lettering, and tossed it to her.
Momo caught it easily but, once she got a look at what the letters formed, she laughed behind her hand, “Oh my god, Toshiro you're horrible!” Still, she gently pushed it down into the robust pile of rosy pink buttercream and lit the wick.
Rangiku saw the candle and gasped; jerking to glare at him while several others burst out laughing, she yelled, “You got me a candle that says ‘OLD’!?”
Toshiro’s features screamed innocence, “Well, they didn't have a number candle that went that high and we couldn't very well put that many single candles on a cupcake. That could be a fire hazard.”
She clenched her fists and squealed in outrage.
Toshiro's sincere expression broke into a wicked grin and he couldn't stop the laugh from escaping his lips.
Rangiku sighed dejectedly, “Oh my god, you suck.”
Laughter erupted around her and someone started singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ causing the others to join in. She laughed and looked around at all of her friends while they sang; wishing the few from the World of the Living could be there to join in the fun. Her eyes caught sight of Captain Ukitake smiling and Shunsui winked at her. Finally getting to the handsome man that was her own Captain, she noticed he wasn't singing. He was watching her with a small smile on his face.
For just a fraction of a second, his intense, teal dragon eyes flared with heat and her skin tingled hotly as sexual tension sizzled between them. As everyone got to the last words of the song, she shakily picked up the paper plate and looked at the burning flame. Her eyes collided with his again as she thought about what she'd wish for; his nostrils flared slightly as he breathed in and Rangiku wondered if his burning eyes could read her thoughts.
She quickly looked away and down at the candle. Praying that no one noticed their visual encounter, she made her wish and blew out the flame. Rangiku smiled when cheers followed and she plucked the candle from out of the pale pink icing and decided to hurl it at Toshiro in pretend retaliation. Hopefully, if anyone thought they’d seen something going on between them, they’d get distracted...
He caught it easily, like he’d expected nothing less from her, and smirked, “Thanks. I was hoping to save this for next year.”
Rangiku looked up comically at the black velvet sky and bright stars and sighed dramatically. Everyone laughed and she pouted as she peeled away the decorative paper liner from her pink cupcake.
She took a bite and moaned as the sweetness hit her tongue and overtook her senses. Unknowingly instigating the beginning of a cupcake feeding frenzy, her eyes rolled in bliss tasting the juicy chunks of strawberries in the moist cake and the fluffy, delicious buttercream. She sighed with her mouth full, “Oh wow...”
As she hummed in delight after another bite, she looked on, almost unseeing, as her friends dug in.
Momo had given up trying to hand them out and was currently enjoying her own pink cupcake beside her. Most of the circle of friends had quickly chosen their flavor and dispersed to allow the others access to the colorful cupcakes and Rangiku was glad for the company. She didn’t want to get up just yet and was content to glance around and see what everybody was eating while she worshipped her own.
Momo giggled beside her and pointed toward where the guys had gathered. Ikkaku was standing in front of Toshiro cackling manically and Rangiku started laughing at her Captain’s expression. One second he was standing there casually with a red velvet in his left hand, looking up at the sky, like “Why me,” and then the next his face twitched in supreme irritation. Whatever Baldy had said to taunt him had Toshiro clenching his jaw and in a blur of motion he hauled off and punched Ikkaku in the face.
"Oh!" Rangiku exclaimed.
The circle of men —and all those nearby that saw— erupted into uproarious laughter as Ikkaku crashed into the ground, but what amazed Rangiku was that he sat up with a bloody nose, shook his head dizzily, and started laughing heartily right along with them.
Rangiku blinked and then looked at Momo. Her mystified expression mirrored her own and they both finished off their cupcakes and headed straight for the men.
As she got closer, she saw Toshiro shake his head in aggravation, “You’re an idiot,” he called out.
Ikkaku just laughed louder and accepted Toshiro’s hand when he walked over to haul him back up onto his feet. Still chuckling mirthfully, he wiped his gushing nose with the back of his hand, “That was a good one, Captain.”
“I’m glad you liked it,” he remarked dryly.
Rangiku walked up to them with a comically dumbfounded expression, “I’m trying to decide if I even want to know...”
The corner of Toshiro’s mouth twitched, but he replied wryly, “You don’t.”
Ikkaku walked back up to them with a piece of napkin stuffed up each nostril; grinning, he commented nasally, “It was just a love tap.”
Not impressed, Rangiku repeated, “A love tap...” She pointed to the napkin plugs, “He broke your nose, Ikkaku.”
He shrugged with a grin, “Meh.”
Several of the guys snickered and Toshiro was obviously trying to control his features.
Rangiku’s eyes narrowed; of course he’d think this was funny. “Why men take joy in hurting each other is beyond me,” she contemplated aloud.
Momo, who’d been observing the whole time, looked perplexed and pondered, “Must be a guy thing...”
Considering that, Rangiku raised a sarcastic eyebrow, “Guys are dumb.”
Momo nodded in agreement and Toshiro grumbled with a huff, “Don’t clump me together with that idiot.”
Rangiku snorted, “You’re the one that hit him!”
“He deserved it!”
Ikkaku and the guys watching the exchange nodded their heads emphatically in agreement.
"I did," Ikkaku further emphasized with a sincere expression.
Toshiro looked down; waggling the fingers of his right hand and clenching his fist, he shrugged and smirked, “Actually, I do feel a little better.”
Rangiku rolled her eyes and laughed, “This is a perfect example of why women are superior and live longer than men!”
Toshiro looked at her like he was about to burst out laughing at her line of thought but was interrupted by Renji walking up and groaning comically, “I feel a man-hate speech approaching...”
Rangiku snorted, “Well, it’s true! Your brains are so clogged with testosterone that you think all things can be solved with violence!”
Ikkaku waggled his eyebrows belligerently, “You mean they can’t?”
Renji snorted, “You’re kind of barking up the wrong tree, Rangiku. I mean, we’re soul reapers; it’s sort of what we do...”
Ikkaku nodded, “Yup.”
Their ridiculous conversation was starting to draw a crowd and Rangiku barely spared a glance when Ikkaku started casually walking around their growing group of friends.
She shook her head and scoffed in amusement, “You guys are a bunch of Neanderthals; you know that? Isane--” Her pretty silvery head jerked when her name was called and Rangiku asked her, “You see more guys than girls coming in to your squad with injuries, right?”
Isane’s brow furrowed a bit, “Well, yes but—”
“Ha! You see?” Rangiku interrupted triumphantly.
Toshiro snorted and interjected, “Before you start making ridiculously inaccurate conclusions, statistically speaking, there are more male soul reapers than female. So, Squad Four is going to see that anyway.”
Rangiku pursed her lips and huffed, “Yeah, but statistically speaking, women still get hurt a lot less than men do. While guys are running around getting hurt in fights, women try to avoid confrontations by making smarter choices!”
A pair of hands reached around her from behind and aggressively honked both of her breasts. On reflex, Rangiku twisted in her molester’s arms quickly to elbow him in the solar plexus. As he bent forward on a wheeze, she stomped her left heel down onto his foot and, as he jerked straight to shout in pain, she brought the back of her fist up to strike him in the face; followed rapidly by swinging the same fist down to slam into his groin.
Ikkaku hit the ground for the second time that night. Curling into the fetal position, he cupped his crotch with one hand and tried to stem the renewed flow of blood that poured from his nose with the other.
Rangiku stared unseeing and panted, frozen in her self-defense pose. Sound flooded back to her in the form of screaming laughter. All around her men were clapping in applause, grimacing in sympathy, or jostling each other about in their enthusiasm and Rangiku still wasn’t even sure what had really happened. Someone had groped her and she’d reacted.
Whirling around to face Ikkaku, Rangiku yelled down at him, “What was that for!?”
Renji was shaking with laughter as he and Yumichika helped him up and Ikkaku held a new napkin to his nose. Even though blood was leaking profusely and he was having a hard time standing, he grinned lecherously before growling out, “To prove a point.”
At her baffled expression, Renji grinned and Ikkaku asked, “And just what part of ‘avoiding confrontations’ was that, exactly?”
Yumichika’s eyes twinkled and the other two men burst into hearty guffaws. Rangiku blushed and glared halfheartedly before protesting loudly, “Unwanted physical contact is an entirely separate issue!”
Rangiku gave up and pouted when the guttural laughter only spread and increased in volume.
Her eyes found Toshiro laughing right along with all the others. Although with a bit more control, his white teeth flashed and his eyes sparkled with mirth and warm approval; like he was proud she’d incapacitated her attacker so easily. Good lord, he was attractive when he laughed like that...
Toshiro’s teal eyes danced and he pointed at her before announcing, “You, madam, are a hypotwit.”
She pouted comically and glanced over at her wingwoman. Momo was trying hard not to, but her face was bright red as she laughed gaily behind her hand. Rangiku sighed miserably but it wasn’t long before the contagious laughter had her joining them.
Pausing to catch her breath, she pursed her lips and grumbled, “You guys suck.”
Ikkaku wiped his nose with the now red napkin and laughed, “You act all high and mighty but you’d take somebody out just the same as all of us Neanderthals!”
She rolled her eyes, “I never said I wouldn’t, you moron! I said guys get their dumb asses hurt while girls make better decisions!”
Rukia walked up and wiggled between her and Renji. She too was rosy-cheeked from all commotion, but she remarked casually with a twinkle in her eye, “You know... He proved your point by getting his face smashed in...”
Rangiku’s face brightened with glee, “Ho-ho! You’re right!” She adopted a comical martial arts pose and began karate-chopping to emphasize her words, “Through wicked-fast reflexes and mad skills, I remain unharmed while you,”—She pointed to Ikkaku—“fell victim to my Avoid-Amorous-Man Technique!”
Ikkaku grinned, but shook his head in denial, “You still resorted to violence, you cavewoman!”
Rangiku shrugged flippantly, “Still, who is bleeding and who is not?”
Ikkaku stopped smirking and glared in answer, causing her to burst into laughter. He muttered, “I’m only giving in ‘cus it’s your birthday...”
Rangiku chuckled and winked, “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Ku-chan!”
After a few minutes, the excitement died down and many that had gathered around them had broken off into small groups to chat leisurely; spreading out randomly, but still remaining relatively near the area rug.
Momo commented pointedly, “Well I don’t know about you, but I want another cupcake.”
Rangiku nodded in approval, “Totally. It’s probably all going to go straight to my thighs, but I’m going to gobble up each flavor without shame!”
Toshiro rolled his eyes. The woman was a living, breathing goddess and she was worrying about her waistline. Following the two back to the area rug, he muttered, “There’s not a damn thing wrong with your thighs.”
Rangiku’s eyebrow quirked. A quick, sidelong glance at Momo indicated that she’d heard it too. In fact, she looked as surprised as Rangiku felt. Toshiro might throw in a sarcastic jab about her boobs every now and then, but he’d never admitted to something like what he’d just muttered. Didn’t he basically say he liked her thighs?
Her eyes brightened and she bit her lip mischievously. Maybe this whole ‘Get Toshiro Drunk’ scheme of hers would actually work!
The sudden spark of hope prompted her alcohol-warmed brain to clutter up with a whole slew of inappropriate responses to his thigh comment. A sultry voice inside her head whispered, “Then why don’t you swing by my room tonight and I’ll wrap them around your face...”
It was so deliciously scandalous that it almost had her in stitches, but she never laughed because the resulting visual of him huskily smirking at her from the apex of her thighs had her feeling lightheaded with desire. She stopped walking and had to fight the urge to clench her thighs together. A hollow ache pulsed between her legs, reminding her just how long it’d been since she’d had an actual, flesh-and-blood man inside of her, and Rangiku blinked and shook her head to clear it.
Holy crap! She needed to think non-sexy thoughts right now because thinking about him and oral sex was seriously dangerous, panty-puddle territory!
Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine the dullest, most boring things possible... Watching the Head Captain play a game of chess with himself or... Her homework! An instant feeling of both annoyance and dread washed over her and she sighed in relief. There.
“Rangiku.”
The sudden deep timbre of Toshiro’s voice nearly made her jump out of her skin, “Gah!”
Clearly scaring the crap out of her, his slightly concerned expression morphed into surprised amusement when her hand flew to cover her heart and she heaved, “Don’t do that!”
His lips curved, “Don’t do what? You stopped walking!”
Rangiku looked around and considered why she’d stopped. Her eyes met his astute gaze and her face went candy-apple red.
Toshiro paused in surprise at the intensity and speed of her flushing cheeks. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her blush quite like this before. He knew she was tipsy but that didn’t matter in the least. She had a longstanding relationship with alcohol and, regardless of what state she was in, Rangiku had no shame. She was just as likely to flash her panties or show some skin dead sober as she was hammered.
Surely embarrassment at being caught daydreaming wouldn’t warrant such a reaction... If she could smother someone in her cleavage without blinking an eye, then she should have been laughing at herself and waving off something as simple as getting startled. She was acting like she’d been caught red handed... and doing something bad enough to have her resembling the rubies she loved so much..
A slow, wicked grin curved his lips as he pondered aloud, “So what kind of thoughts go through Rangiku Matsumoto’s brain to make all the blood to rush to her face?”
Rangiku’s hands rushed up to cover her hot cheeks and she laughed helplessly behind them. Oh, if he only knew what was going on inside her head... Maybe she should tell him that she’d been fantasizing about him eating her out just to wipe that cocky grin off his face.
With Toshiro implying that Rangiku’s mind was in the gutter, Momo —blushing rather brightly herself— tried coming to her rescue, “Oh, stop being a big bully, Shiro-chan!”
Toshiro scoffed at her, “Even you have to admit that her blushing is highly suspicious!”
Trying to get the X-rated, extremely non-platonic images out of her head, Rangiku focused on coming up with an excuse for her behavior. Thinking fast, Rangiku laughed flippantly, “It’s nothing! Nothing at all! I was just thinking that, umm...” She paused to look up in mock horror, “Well, if those cupcakes didn’t go to my thighs, they’d probably go straight to my boobs--!”
“If any more weight goes there, I’ll kill myself,” growled Nanao as she walked up.
She huffed and planted herself next to Momo and Rangiku laughed, “I’d share some with you if I could, Nanao-chan! I really would!”
Nanao rolled her eyes behind the glare of her glasses and a small, wry smile lifted the corner of her mouth, “How kind.”
Rangiku chuckled and her eyes met back up with Toshiro’s amused face. He didn’t miss a thing and she knew he wouldn’t let this slide; so she smiled and shrugged, “Anyways, I was trying to figure out if I really could fit any more in here...” She looked down at her chest and cupped one breast in each hand. Noting with satisfied amusement that she had his undivided attention, Rangiku playfully bounced them together a bit, “I mean... I just don’t see how it could happen without the girls spontaneously bursting out of my uniform...” Settling her hands on her hips, she said pointedly, “And I don’t think I hafta tell you guys how inconvenient that would be!”
Nanao replied with a straight face, “Not to mention dangerous. You could poke someone’s eye out with those things.”
Toshiro chimed in dryly, “Or change the tides...”
Rangiku laughed and shook her head, “You know what? I’m tired of catching grief from all you haters, so I’m going to go eat some cupcakes.” She sauntered past them and called out, “And by some, I mean enough that all of you should be on your guard for the next couple of days...” She reached the rug and looked over her shoulder mischievously, “You never know when they might just pop out like ninjas and give you a black eye.”
Toshiro was the first to follow after her. As she laughed at her own joke, he contemplated aloud, “Huh. Ninja Boobs...” He made it to the other side of the rug and faced her, “I guess that’s an appropriate term considering how many times you’ve tried to murder me with them.”
They kneeled down simultaneously and Rangiku laughed, “And that’s why you should be afraid. Very afraid,” she replied with a flirtatious wink.
He snorted as she looked into the cake boxes. Rangiku saw that there were still loads of each flavor, but she spotted a red velvet with a particularly hefty pile of white buttercream and reached out greedily. Just as it was almost in her grasp, her fingers softly collided with another’s.
She and Toshiro blinked at each other in surprise. She chuckled softly and sat back on her heels, “Go ahead.”
Toshiro smiled but shook his head, “It’s your birthday,” he murmured.
Something in his tone made her pause. No one else probably would have noticed it, but she did. It was deeper, husky almost, and her eyes were drawn to his like a magnet. A tiny, residual flare of warmth heated his dragon eyes and Rangiku got lost in their swirling depths.
Behind Rangiku, Momo giggled at something Nanao muttered. She and Toshiro both blinked and snapped out of it as Momo sat down a few feet from her. Toshiro was the first to react and plucked up the cupcake they’d both wanted and held it out for her; his warm fingers brushed against her own as he set it into her open palms.
Rangiku couldn’t help the flutter of her lashes as she looked down into her hands, but she quickly looked up and smiled, “Thanks...”
Toshiro smiled in return and snatched up a red velvet cupcake from out of the box, “Not a problem.”
Nanao knelt briefly to snatch up a double-dark chocolate and a pineapple filled cupcake. Her eyes met with Rangiku’s and she shrugged with a smile before excusing herself and heading for Shunsui.
Momo giggled and pointed at Toshiro’s cupcake, “Like the red velvet, do we?”
Toshiro smirked and shrugged, “I didn’t really get a chance to enjoy the last one.” At their identical clueless looks, he sighed, “I only had two bites before I hit Ikkaku and I sort of squished it... in my enthusiasm...”
Rangiku chuckled, “Aww! You murdered the poor, innocent cupcake?”
He sighed forlornly, “I did.”
Momo giggled and crooned, “Poor little red velvet...”
Toshiro snorted but got distracted when a male voice called out to him. Looking in the direction Nanao had gone, he saw Kyoraku waving him over. His snowy eyebrow arched sarcastically and he could hear the older man chuckle in response. He was standing with his Lieutenant and Ukitake and this time both men grinned and started waving him over.
Toshiro sighed and adjusted his legs to prepare to stand, “Ladies,”—Both smiled and watched him get up onto his feet before he smirked—“I know it’ll be difficult, but try to enjoy yourselves in my absence.”
Both women snorted inelegantly and his mouth quirked.
As he turned, Rangiku raised her voice and called out playfully, “No more beating up my birthday guests!”
Toshiro had only taken a few steps, but stopped to face her with a mischievous light in his eyes. “What better orders to follow then your own,” he remarked casually before bestowing a never-before-seen wink and turning.
Momentarily in a daze at the fact that he’d actually winked, Rangiku admired his profile for a moment as he walked away before she realized what he’d said and squawked in outrage. Setting her red velvet on a paper plate, she crossed her arms beneath her ample bosom and huffed, “I suppose I deserved that...”
Momo laughed softly, “Well, when comparing what shape Ikkaku was in after Toshiro hit him versus after you were done with him...”
Rangiku’s halfhearted melancholy melted and she chuckled, “Oh, hush.” She dipped her finger into the bright white buttercream piled high onto the dark red-brown cupcake and brought her finger up. Sucking the smooth, sweet icing off, her eyes rolled in pleasure and she sighed, “Okay... Buttercream icing is my new favorite thing.”
Momo smiled while she chewed around a bite of her pineapple filled cupcake. Swallowing, she grinned, “That reminds me of this lady we saw at the bakery. I think she ended up getting a 12 ounce container of cream cheese icing; said it was her favorite part and, ‘Why waste the cake?’ ”
Rangiku smirked and nodded in approval, “Now that sounds like a woman who's living her best life. I’d have trouble narrowing it down to one flavor, though.”
Momo adopted a sincere facade, “Well, that just gives one an excuse to visit the bakery often...”
Rangiku gasped, “Momo Hinamori, look at you being a bad influence!” She sniffed and pretended to wipe a tear away, “I’m so proud!”
Momo chuckled and reached for the peach sake-tini she’d left on the area rug previously.
Nanao suddenly showed up and plopped down on the opposite side of the cake boxes. At their amused, silent inquiries, Nanao shrugged with a twinkle in her eye, “There’s only so much of him I can take before I either, A, start beating him or, B, take my frustrations out on something sweet.”
Rangiku nodded, “I, too, am familiar with this method.”
Reaching over and snatching up her forgotten sake bottle, she took a generous sip before remarking, “Although, instead of beating on Toshiro, I usually disa-freakin-pear.” The other two women smiled knowingly and Rangiku chuckled before peeling off the liner and taking a bite of the moist red velvet cupcake. Moaning in delight, “Oh my god, there’s an orgy in mouth!”*
Momo choked mid-sip and Rangiku sighed deeply before holding her cupcake up at eye level and speaking to it, “Oh, snowy white buttercream! How much I love thee!”
Momo cleared her throat and laughed, “Uh-oh, she’s talking to cupcakes now!”
Nanao smirked, “An orgy? Really?”
Rangiku sighed like a cat enjoying the spoils of her stolen cream, “Oh yes. It’s so good I want to smear it all over my naked body,”—Momo gaped, Nanao raised an eyebrow, and Rangiku smiled wickedly—“and find myself a gorgeous cabana boy to lick it all off!”
Momo blushed and laughed despite Rangiku’s salacious comment. A cute and mischievous look took over her features and she remarked casually, “Shiro-chan doesn’t like the heat, though...”
Nanao immediately clued in and smirked.
Rangiku was in the process of stretching herself out onto the carpet next to the cake boxes, but paused in bewilderment, “What has that got to do with anything?”
Momo rolled her eyes playfully and acted like it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Well, he’s your ‘cabana boy,’ isn’t he?”
The hand that had been supporting Rangiku’s weight chose that moment to slide and, although she only had a little way to go before she was lying on her side, she still crashed down the rest of the distance with an audible, “Ooph!”
Nanao snorted and Momo carried on like Rangiku wasn’t literally floundering on the ground, “ ‘Cabana boy’ indicates the Caribbean--”
“Or anywhere in the hot tropics, really,” noted Nanao.
Momo nodded, “--and you know that weather simply wouldn’t do with our frosty friend. I’d like to suggest some place cold,”—She looked Rangiku right in the eye and smirked—“like Siberia.”
“The Himilayas,” Nanao offered helpfully.
“Or Iceland! They have hot springs!”
Rangiku laid there agape and Nanao graced them with a grin and said matter-of-factly, “That way your cabana boy would be happy in the cold and you could have your body licked clean of icing in front of a blazing fireplace.”
Momo laughed and nodded, “Very romantic.”
Nanao’s face lit up, “Maybe even on a bed of furs!”
Momo nodded eagerly, “Like a Viking princess!”
Rangiku lay on her stomach, leaning up on her elbows, and she’d watched them up to this point, head moving back and forth between the two like a ping pong ball, before she interjected by exclaiming, “Oh my god, stop!” She couldn’t decide if she was mortified that they’d seen through her so easily or laugh because they were so right.
The two women burst into laughter and Rangiku sighed forlornly, took a bite of her cupcake, and rolled over onto her back. Staring up into the black, twinkling sky, she chewed and swallowed before interrupting their laughter with a begrudging grin, “Okay, either I’ve really been rubbing off on you two or you’re three sheets to the wind!”
Momo giggled before pausing comically, “Both?”
Nanao got a superior look, “Neither.” Rangiku snorted but Nanao spoke before she could, “Oh, no you don’t! You’re not getting out of this topic so easily, Blondie.”
Rangiku’s golden eyebrow rose and her voice was airy and much higher in octave when she replied innocently, “I don’t know what you’re talking about...”
Momo giggled and tried to say seriously, “If you think we haven’t seen you two making googly-eyes at each other...”
Nanao glared playfully and finished Momo’s sentence, “Then you’re dead wrong.” She paused briefly to lower her voice, ensuring that only the three would hear, “When we were all singing the birthday song, you two were practically having sex on top of those cupcakes!”
Rangiku gasped and rolled onto her side, “We were not!”
Nanao snorted, “You lie like a rug!”
Rangiku sputtered into laughter at the remark before she covered her mouth with her hand like she was caught. She looked up at the two women and bit her lip in indecision. Should she confide in them? It was always good to have girlfriends when guys were the topic, but what about Momo? Toshiro admitted to not being interested in her but was she interested in him?
Whether she knew of Rangiku’s plight or not, Momo sighed in exasperation, “I know Toshiro is convinced that I’m some sort of naive little porcelain doll and...” She took a sip of her sake-tini before continuing, “I know I’m gullible, but I’m not blind. I see the way you two look at each other...”
Rangiku’s eyes widened, but Momo kept going, “And it’s okay... Really...”
Momo smiled and there wasn’t an ounce of negativity or insincerity in it; just genuine I’m-truly-happy-for-you feelings. She pursed her lips in mild irritation, “So many people can’t believe that he and I aren’t knee-deep in kids by now...”
Rangiku smiled. Momo and Toshiro were definitely a hot topic among gossipers; maybe not as juicy as she and him screwing around, but still very popular.
At her continued silence, Momo whispered uncertainly, “I hope you don’t feel that I’m pushing him off on you or something...”
Rangiku blinked and smiled, “Nah... I was just thinking...”
Chewing around a bite, Nanao leaned forward and ordered encouragingly, “Spill.”
Rangiku snorted, but heaved a great sigh before going on, “I just... I know it’s corny, but I’ve watched him grow up... Seen him transform into a man in more ways than just his physical appearance... and it’s absolutely not fair how well he’s turned out!”
Momo nodded and smiled in complete understanding, “I know.”
Rangiku picked at the edge of the cake box distractedly, “And I know it’s not exactly favored in the higher ups, but I can’t help but... want more from him...”
Her two friends smiled at the admission, but it was Nanao that spoke, “Central 46 is filled with a bunch of anal-retentive, obsessive-compulsive, bitter old farts--” Rangiku and Momo burst into laughter but she kept going, “--that have never actually been soul reapers, know from personal experience what we go through, or even understand what the term ‘empathy’ means. All they care about are their precious rules.” Nanao’s jaw clenched in determination and she looked at Rangiku with a very knowing look before holding her sake cup out, “Fuck Central 46.”
Rangiku laughed hard, but held her bottle up to clink against Nanao’s cup, “Yeah, fuck Central!”
Momo blushed hotly and clinked her martini glass against the others’ before muttering, “I hate that word, but yeah!”
Rangiku and Nanao chuckled and they all took a hearty sip from their drinks.
Nanao was the first to speak, “So how far have you two gone?”
Rangiku coughed a bit before exclaiming, “What the hell, Nanao? Has alcohol unleashed your wayward tongue?”
She laughed, “Maybe... And maybe I’ve been waiting for you two to hurry your butts up so I can have someone to relate to!”
Momo giggled and Rangiku laughed but whispered in exasperation, “Nothing’s happened!”
They both looked at her in surprise, but it was Momo who blurted, “Seriously?”
“Yes!” she whispered, “Absolutely zilch, zero, nada; haven’t kissed; haven’t even admitted anything to each other!” She trailed off, “I mean... I know things have been steadily changing between us the last few years, but I’ve only recently felt that I might have a chance with him; that the feelings could possibly be mutual...”
Nanao eyed her, “How recently?”
Rangiku’s eyes narrowed sheepishly, “...I’d rather not say...”
Nanao sighed and shook her head sadly, “You’re such a blonde.”
Rangiku sputtered in self-defense, “He’s very hard to read!”
Momo giggled, “That is an understatement.”
Nanao took a sip from her cup and daintily nibbled on her cupcake before murmuring, “You two are so obvious.”
Rangiku huffed and flicked a glimmering lock over her shoulder before glaring petulantly, “Unlike someone I know that spouts words of love like a damn cherub,”—Nanao adjusted her glasses and a light pink fanned across her cheeks—“he is about as easy to read as a hurricane! The only thing I can tell for certain is when he’s laughing at me!”
Momo burst into giggles and added, “Now give yourself some credit, Rangiku. You’ve definitely got a knack for predicting when he’s hungry.”
Rangiku laughed and shrugged, “Yeah, kudos to me for that. I’m so good that, when I pull food out of my sleeves, he thinks it’s creepy; calls it witchcraft.”
All three women chuckled and took sips from their drinks, but Nanao was the first to whisper playfully, “Okay, fine. I’ll cut you some slack. He isn’t exactly known for being a drunken poet...”
Rangiku snorted and rolled her eyes. Flopping onto her stomach again, she put her elbows down and supported her face in her hands. Taking a deep breath, she sighed heavily, “It’s so frustrating. Nothing has happened beside a few accidental touches and some serious eye contact moments; the most intense of which you saw for yourselves...”
Nanao frowned thoughtfully, “Hmm... Well, at least you’ve admitted to yourself what you want. That in and of itself is a pretty big mental step...” She paused briefly to smile reassuringly, “Believe me; I know what you’re going through.”
Rangiku’s eyes widened in surprise at the admission and then she smiled. She was truly touched. Not only did Nanao understand and support her but she also trusted her enough to share something this private. Yes, she’d known what was going on from toppling through Shunsui’s window, but it was nice to know that Nanao wanted to share.
Unsure of how much Momo knew, or had figured out, she glanced at her. She was happily chewing and, when Rangiku caught her eye, she smiled engagingly. Talking around her food, she waved dismissively, “Don’t worry. I’ve known about them for a long time.”
Rangiku blinked in disbelief before she chuckled, “Okay, that’s the second time you’ve read my mind tonight, you weirdo.”
Momo laughed and frowned thoughtfully, “When was the first?”
Rangiku grinned, “When you were like ‘I’m not blind’ and gave me permission to go after your pain-in-the-butt best guy friend.”
Momo chuckled, “Ah, that. Yeah, I’m cool like that,” she said impishly.
Rangiku snorted and heard someone call her name. She looked around and spotted Shin and Ken Nohara waving at her. Their carts were completely packed up and they were both strapped in to their respective harnesses, each like a horse to a buggy. Rangiku raised her arm up high and waved, yelling out, “Thanks again!” Both Nohara brothers grinned and nodded before plodding along onto the trail that led to the courtyard.
Rangiku smiled and settled back down onto her hands and elbows. By this time of night, the only soul reapers still at the party were mainly her personal friends and they were all spread out and doing their own thing. No one expected her to make rounds anymore and if they wanted to talk to her they came to the cupcake rug. However, she spent most of her time laughing up a storm and drinking large quantities of sake with the girls. Sometimes they had to stop their typically naughty conversation when someone stopped by to steal a cupcake, but as soon as they were out of earshot they would burst into giggles and snickers and continue where they left off. The only time they separated was when they ran out of alcohol; then they took turns making bar runs to get the three refills.
She was having a great time and couldn’t honestly remember ever having so much fun on any of her previous birthdays. She never had to worry about food or running out of liquor, almost all of her friends had shown up, and the man that most occupied her thoughts was here enjoying the party right along with her.
If she had one complaint that evening, it would have been back at around 10 o’clock in the form of Yuri Sonoda’s brief appearance. Of course the first thing she’d done was politely wish Rangiku a happy birthday and rave about the party, but after that she’d practically bee-lined it for Toshiro. It was obvious —to Rangiku, at least— that the young woman hadn’t shown up to her birthday party for her sake. And that hadn’t bothered her in the least. Moochers show up to parties all the time for free food and drinks; the bigger the party, the more likely it was going to happen. However, Miss Sonoda never ate any of the tempting food and she never went to the bar because she didn’t “drink alcohol”. Who went to one of her parties and didn’t drink alcohol? But, whatever, she could get over that. What really had Rangiku grinding her teeth had been watching Sonoda laugh and flirt with Toshiro. Although she was a good distance away, hearing the warm murmur of his appealing voice followed by Yuri’s alluring giggles almost made her crack a molar. She’d had to force herself to keep smiling at whoever she’d been talking to, act like she hadn’t a care in the world, and not glare daggers into the young woman’s back. Talk about a killjoy.
Thankfully, Sonoda hadn’t stayed long; she’d actually left the party hours ago and Rangiku hadn’t really thought about her again until Momo curiously asked about the pretty brunette who’d been hitting on Toshiro. Rangiku hadn’t really wanted to talk about her —Sonoda wasn’t exactly on her list of favorite soul reapers— but Nanao whined and nagged until she’d buckled and she’d ended up filling them in on everything anyways.
In fact, verbalizing what she’d felt earlier that evening, toward Sonoda, made her recognize the negativity for what it was —impulsive hostility— and Rangiku looked away from her two friends in guilt. She was lying on her stomach again, resting her chin in her hands, and she murmured, “No one has a problem with her but me; everyone else says she’s a nice and good person and yet I find myself instantly irritated the second I see her.”—Rangiku looked at both of them—“This isn’t me; I’m not like this... How am I supposed to be a good leader and role model when I have such negative thoughts about one of my own squad members?”—She sighed and rubbed her face tiredly—“I must be the worst Lieutenant ever...”
Nanao and Momo looked at each other and smiled softly. Momo was the first to speak, “First of all, you’re a terrific person.”
Nanao nodded and grinned, “While you might be one of the laziest lieutenants on record...”
Rangiku interjected wryly, “Thanks.”
Nanao chuckled, “You’re one of the nicest, most honest people I know.”
Momo smiled, “I second that.”
Rangiku smiled at her friends, “You two are sweet,”—She frowned a bit—“but even Toshiro has noticed a tension between us. I told him I’d talk to her, but I’ve been putting it off until next week...”
Nanao surprised her by chuckling, “You really don’t see it, do you?”
She blinked dumbly, “Uhh...”
Nanao laughed softly and shook her head, “You’re jealous!” Rangiku sputtered, but she kept going, “I don’t see how, but you are!”
Momo’s eyes widened with the same realization and Rangiku hollered, “I am n--” Looking around to see if anyone was paying them any attention, she quickly lowered her voice to hiss, “I am not jealous!”
Momo whispered with a grin, “You totally are; she’s diverting his attention elsewhere and you’re practically green!”
Nanao watched her blonde friend huff and she chuckled, “Even though you’ve convinced yourself that you’re being a bad person, there isn’t a mean bone in your body. You just see her as a rival, that’s all.”
Frowning, Rangiku repeated, “A rival?”
Nanao nodded, “Think about it. When does she tick you off the most? When she’s flirting with your Captain?”
Rangiku’s lips pursed, “Maybe.”
She tried to deny it, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense. She’d never really been jealous of anyone before. She wasn’t the jealous type; she was a laidback, fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants kind of gal. When it came to her vocation, she knew that there were always going to be soul reapers stronger than her or more talented at something than she was and she’d accepted that fact a long time ago. That’s just how the world worked. It was pretty much the same regarding her love life. There were scores of beautiful women that got men’s attention more than her, but she’d always stood out enough that she’d never had a problem finding a man. With her blonde hair and big boobs, she stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the droves of dark haired, Japanese women; the fact that her blonde head topped off at a little over 5’10” made her even more conspicuous. She’d also never been a very possessive person; even with Gin, the one person she’d probably ever been in love with. People had always tended to think he was creepy and not once had she ever needed to fend off other women or establish that he was hands off.
So, the fact that she felt the need to do so with Toshiro was almost a foreign concept for her. Although she had found Gin to be attractive, Toshiro was clearly no troll; he was quite the opposite, actually. He was strikingly handsome, powerful, and charismatic. Despite being surly and rude half the time, he was easy to relate to and people readily sought him out for his opinion or advice. So, with people tending to gravitate toward him, she shouldn’t have been surprised to see a young, pretty thing like Sonoda trying to get his attention, but she still felt blindsided by it all.
After a few moments of watching her silently contemplate, Momo asked quietly, “Have you ever seen anyone show interest in Toshiro before?”
Rangiku frowned and shook her head, “No, not really. People always stare when we’re at the World of the Living, but no one person in particular comes to mind.”
Momo thought about that for a second, “Well, maybe that has something to do with how you’re feeling, too. Seeing him being pursued for the first time can’t be easy to take in.”
Nanao nodded in agreement, “Add to that the fact that you’ve just come to terms with realizing you like him and it’s no wonder you’re feeling hostile. What you’re going through is perfectly natural.”
Rangiku rested her cheek in her palm, “It just never even occurred to me that I might see her as competition... Yeah, she’s a busybody in the squad, but a rival?”
Nanao shrugged with a smile, “It doesn’t make sense to me either. I never thought I’d see the day that you, of all people, would see another woman as a threat; especially someone like her.” She paused to wave her hand around in exaggeration, “Yes, she’s very pretty and may have the office skills of a saint but—”
Momo interjected with a snort, “She’s got nothin’ on you.”
Rangiku chuckled and Nanao smirked, “That’s right. You’re Rangiku Matsu-freaking-moto. Someone rumored to be so beautiful,”—She waggled her fingers around mystically—“that a choir of angels sing every time you flick your hair...”
Rangiku was laughing by the time Nanao finished, “A choir, huh? Nice,” she smirked cockily.
Nanao chuckled, “Seriously, you being jealous is absolutely absurd. You’re beautiful and funny and smart and I’d bet money that Miss Sonoda is intimidated by or envious of you in some way.”
Rangiku’s eyebrow arched skeptically and Momo nodded in agreement, “And, from what I saw earlier, Toshiro wasn’t even really responding; it looked like he had no clue that she was making passes at him.”
Nanao nodded, “He seemed to be acting professionally from my standpoint.”
Rangiku sighed irritably, “I still don’t like it.”
Momo shrugged thoughtfully, “I saw nothing in his behavior to indicate he was attracted to her.” She saw Rangiku frown and Momo took a sip of her drink, “I just think he was being friendly. I mean, he is at a party.”
Rangiku’s eyes narrowed and she grumbled, “Damn hussy had her hands all over him.”
Momo laughed lightly, “She touched his forearm.”
Rangiku frowned stubbornly, “And his chest.”
Nanao took a sip from her cup and said dryly, “I see you do that all the time.”
Rangiku pouted, “You could totally tell where she wanted to slide her hand down to.”
Nanao snorted, “Don’t confuse what you want to do to him with what actually happened.”
Rangiku thought about denying it but shrugged with a grin and chuckled, “You’re right. I totally want to do that.” Momo looked skyward and shook her head in exasperation and Rangiku laughed, “What? I’m curious!”
She pouted unhappily, “You said you’d stop talking about body parts!”
Rangiku sighed in amusement, “I know, but I can’t help it! I mean... He has such nice, big, strong hands; I bet he has heft—”
Momo squealed and plugged her ears with her fingers, “I’m not listening! Fah-lalalala-lahhh!”
Nanao nodded as if they weren’t talking about another Captain’s junk and Rangiku grinned. She and Nanao glanced at each other and burst into laughter and it wasn’t until they’d calmed down that Momo stopped humming and warily unplugged her ears.
Nanao sighed and looked at Rangiku thoughtfully, “I don’t think you have anything to worry about with Miss Perfect. Besides,”—She paused with amused eyes—“he’s so busy mentally ripping your clothes off that I doubt he’s even aware of her feelings.”
Rangiku smiled hopefully, “You think so?”
Momo nodded with a small grin and added, “He did mention your legs...”
At Nanao’s confused look, they both updated her on what had happened. By the time Rangiku was done explaining why she’d been blushing, Momo was bright red and Nanao was almost to the point of tears she was laughing so hard.
Rangiku shrugged sheepishly, “Yeah... So, I sort of crashed and burned down in the gutter...”
Nanao breathed deeply before replying with a chuckle, “Evidently!”—She pushed up her glasses—“But that’s great news! Whether he realizes it or not, Mr. Sarcastic Snow Man has admitted to liking your thighs and you should use that against him.” Rangiku and Momo laughed and Nanao grinned mischievously, “With him consuming beer at the rate he is, you should do something tonight while you have the chance.”
Rangiku bit her lip and smiled, “That’s what I was thinking, but I still haven’t figured out what I should do or how far...”
Momo blurted, “You should kiss.” Both women blinked at her and she blushed, “Well, you should...”
Nanao smiled, “I agree... and when you do —which I have complete faith in you— I expect a report of all the dirty little details!”
Rangiku laughed, “What has Shunsui done to your poor, fragile mind?”
Nanao glared playfully, “Hey, he isn’t the only one to blame!”
Rangiku grinned, “I don’t see how my warped mind even comes close to being as bad an influence as his has been,”—She mentally prepared herself to get smacked—“seeing as I’m not the one fucking you...”
Both women gasped and Rangiku laughed; before any one of them could say more, a last call was hollered from the bartender, instantly distracting them. The three looked at each other and Rangiku groaned because she knew it was her turn to fetch the drinks. Huffing to her feet, she swayed tipsily before righting herself and looking around for her shoes. She’d kicked them off at least an hour ago and it was Momo that pointed to where they were.
Smirking while she slipped on her beige flats, Rangiku chuckled victoriously while she headed for the bar. Take that, Nanao.
Taking loose-limbed steps around a cherry tree, Rangiku breathed in the chilly night air deeply and blinked blurry eyes. Although the cupcakes had helped soak up some of the sake in her stomach, she was still pretty loopy. It was a good thing the bartender was only able to fill her bottle about halfway before her personal stock was depleted. It wouldn’t take much more before she was smashed and in danger of having a hell of a hangover whenever she woke up.
Somehow she made it back to the rug without spilling anything or falling flat on her face and she handed Nanao and Momo their drinks. She plopped down onto the colorful rug and sighed in remorse. She had no idea what time it actually was, but had a feeling it was already after 2 am and that meant the party was coming to an end. Although she was getting tired, she’d thoroughly enjoyed herself tonight and was sad to realize it was almost over.
Stretching out onto her side again and kicking off her shoes, Rangiku looked around at the remaining guests. Her eyes found their way to Renji and something caught her attention. He was standing with some of the guys nearby and had a half-eaten pineapple filled cupcake in his hand. The guys were laughing about something but his attention was diverted elsewhere. Close by and standing with a bickering Kiyone and Sentaro, Rukia was devouring her double-dark chocolate with enough enthusiasm to have Pineapple Boy staring at her in tipsy, lustful wonder.
Rangiku chuckled quietly. Those two were funny. They just thought they were being sneaky, but she was on to them.
Her eyes scanned the area lazily, seeing who else was still hanging around. She spied Shunsui and Toshiro lounging out on the floor pillows of the Captains’ rug. She didn’t see Captain Ukitake anymore so she guessed he’d taken his leave for the evening. The waving hand of the bartender caught her eye and she waved back. Having already told him he could leave when she’d gotten her drinks, she wasn’t surprised to see him packed up and ready to head off. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Toshiro turning his head toward her and she turned her own toward the girls, pretending to listen to their conversation. She swore she felt his heated gaze on her so she decided to be a tease. Sighing, she flopped over onto her back and stretched her arms over her head and her legs out, provocatively pointing and then wiggling her bare toes.
Her two girl friends eyed her in amusement and she brought her knees up to her chest, rubbed her palms over the cool flesh of her calves, and grinned at them. Barely moving her lips, she whispered mischievously, “Is he looking?”
The two women grinned. It’d be way too obvious if Momo turned to look, but Nanao’s blue eyes saw all and she chuckled, “Um... Yes, I’d say so.”
Rangiku chuckled wickedly and set her feet down, making sure her bent knees touched. Rubbing her hands roughly over her chilled thighs to warm them up, she looked up at her two friends and smiled, “You think I should scoot over here a bit so he can try to look up my shorts?”
Nanao shook her head, “Nah. You don’t want to make it too easy for him. Besides,”—She smirked—“he probably already is trying.”
Momo burst into giggles and sighed in frustration, “I wish I could see the look on his face!”
Nanao chuckled, “Well, imagine him trying to set her clothes on fire with the power of his mind and you’ve got it.”
Rangiku laughed heartily and pointed to both smiling women, “You know what? I’m going to try to get you two drunk more often.” She waggled her fingers mystically, “It’s like your inner prude has been shoved into a padded room for the night. You’re way more fun this way!”
Momo whined, “I’m not a prude!”
“And I’m not as bad as I used to be,” grumbled Nanao.
Rangiku barked out a laugh before whispering with a wicked grin, “That’s because you bump uglies with the biggest pervert in the Soul Society!”
Both Momo and Nanao turned bright red and Rangiku chuckled zealously, “I’m impressed that you have a sense of modesty at all by now. Why,”—Her grin returned full force— “with him making you scream like a banshee every morning, I’m surprised you’re not a nudist.”
Nanao gasped and, when Rangiku started robustly cackling, she did the first thing that came to mind.
Toshiro was having a hard time paying attention. Kyoraku kept talking about this bar in the southern Pleasure District that he wanted to drag him out to, but Toshiro was barely listening. It was official; Rangiku had the hottest pair of legs on the damn planet. One was currently bent before her —as she lay on her back— and the other was crossed over onto her knee, the shapely calf swaying back and forth enticingly. His eyes roamed up the exposed golden skin and were drawn to her face when her resonant laughter got his attention.
He knew Shunsui was getting a kick out of all this, but he really didn’t care anymore. It was obvious the older man had figured him out and there wasn’t any point in hiding it from him. Kyoraku asked him something and Toshiro blinked and looked at him. Just as he was about to ask him to repeat his question, the craziest thing happened over at the ex-gaming rug. Nanao, looking highly displeased, reached down, snatched up Rangiku’s half-eaten cupcake, and squashed it into her face.
Toshiro’s eyes widened in disbelief as the three women gaped at each other, stunned speechless. Momo was peeking from behind her fingers and Nanao’s eyes were the size of saucers as she gawked at her hand still suspended in the air. Rangiku slowly wiped a bit of buttercream off her cheek and looked at it; as if what her friend had done just registered, she shrieked in shock. That certainly got everyone’s attention. The next thing he knew, Rangiku scooped up the smashed cupcake that had fallen onto her breasts and threw it at Nanao where the red and white mess connected with her forehead. At the sound of his Lieutenant’s victorious laugh, Nanao screeched and grabbed a fresh cupcake out of the box and hurled it at her blonde friend.
Not really knowing how he got there, Toshiro found himself about 12 feet away from the scuffle. Hiding behind a tree, avoiding the airborne dessert shrapnel; he watched in amused fascination as the two —and eventually three— women really got in to the food fight. He wasn’t the only one on the sidelines. Although only about a dozen people were left, pretty much anyone still there had come in to see and laugh at what was going on. The next several minutes were a blur of flying chunks of cake and icing, outraged squeals, and flailing women. When there was only one cupcake left, Momo covered her face with her hands again and the other two launched themselves toward the cake box. Nanao snatched it first and shoved it down into her friend’s deep cleavage.
Rangiku’s eyes widened and she squealed in disgust at the feeling of the sticky mush squishing down in between her warm breasts. All three women were staring at each other panting and then suddenly they burst into laughter. Rangiku plopped down onto her butt, laughing so hard she was blinking away tears. When she tried to dig out the strawberry globs and wasn’t very successful, she pouted pathetically and the other two erupted into another bout of wailing laughter. Their faces were smeared with different colors of icing and bits of cake and the tears running down their cheeks made an even bigger mess of things. All three of them had cake and icing chunks stuck in their hair —Rangiku more so, due to it being down and long— and their clothes were the exact opposite of clean.
Toshiro was leaning against the tree casually and remarked, “Well, I guess that means we’re done with dessert.”
His dry comment made the women gasp in surprise; they looked around and blushed, as if realizing for the first time that attractive women going all out in a cupcake wrestling match might draw attention to themselves. Kyoraku’s deep laughter rumbled to his right and when Nanao’s eyes met with those of her lover, her rosy cheeks turned beet red. Toshiro chuckled when he saw the heated look pass between the two. He knew what Kyoraku was thinking; it was what every man still left at the party was thinking. With a beautiful woman covered in a pasty mixture of cake and buttercream, there was only one very right way to clean them off and it involved your tongue. And Shunsui Kyoraku was going to be the only lucky bastard here to see it happen tonight.
Toshiro looked at Rangiku. She was a goofy, hilarious mess and, despite the layers of sweet grime and tear streaks, all he wanted to do was toss her over his shoulder and find someplace quiet to give his tongue a delicious workout. The urge to do so in his inebriated state was alarmingly overwhelming. Blinking hard a few times, his gaze connected with warm, lilac-blue eyes and he smirked. Walking over to her, he held his hand out for her to grasp. Her long lashes fluttered and, when she placed her cool, sticky hand in his, he hauled her up onto her feet.
Rangiku swayed tipsily, but was soon being guided off toward the Captain’s area rug. “Where are you taking me?” she laughed.
Toshiro called over his shoulder casually, “You need a bath.”
Seeing as they were headed for the area rug that was next to the koi pond, Rangiku dug her heels in and gasped, “You wouldn’t dare!”
Toshiro stopped and looked at her; the most mischievously evil grin adorned his face and Rangiku tried to pull away from him and screeched in dismay. “No!” she cried. Trepidation filled her when he jerked her to a stop several feet from the pond and she struggled with every drunken bone in her body to get free of his grasp.
Toshiro’s grip held firm —a surprising feat considering his own inner world was spinning a bit— but it was like trying to hang on to the tail of a bucking, oil-slicked donkey. She was thrashing, screaming, and beating on him with her free hand and he was having the hardest time not laughing his ass off. Toshiro was honestly a bit surprised she hadn’t resorted to biting yet and hurried things along in hopes she wouldn’t get any ideas.
Rangiku was certain she was going to be shoved into the pond any second. She heard Ikkaku yelling encouragements to her assailant and Renji laughing further back and knew it was at her expense. Stupid friends. Silently vowing she’d get them back, she locked her knees and heaved backwards as hard as she could.
Suddenly, like a cable had snapped, his hand released her.
At first she was just glad to be free, then she felt herself flying toward the ground and screeched in dizzy horror right before her butt crash-landed into the hard earth. He was still close enough to grab her but before she could get her legs underneath her to flee, a cold, sopping wet cloth slapped into her face and stuck. She sat there, frozen in shock as the cloth slithered down her face and plopped down onto her chest, and blinked dumbly at the man crouched in front of her.
A wickedly sinful chuckle escaped his throat as he watched her confusion. He smirked, “You didn’t think I’d actually toss you in there, did you?”
Rangiku’s expression deadpanned and she grabbed the wet cloth and threw it at him. He caught it easily and laughed lightly as he wrung out the fabric a bit and handed it back to her. Sighing, she took it and realized it was one of his monogrammed handkerchiefs. Rangiku had wondered how the heck he’d found something to throw at her so quickly while she’d been trying to get away. Un-scrunching the wet cloth, she used it like a hand towel and took a few minutes to wipe it over her exposed skin. Toshiro waited patiently on one knee and watched her quietly. His warm eyes followed the damp path of the handkerchief as she dragged it over her breasts and Rangiku’s pulse quickened. For some reason, this quiet little moment felt incredibly intimate. Like she wasn’t really wiping off cupcake grim, but was actually soaking in a bubble bath sensually dragging a sudsy rag over her skin and he was watching her do it.
The cool breeze wafted over her damp flesh and she shivered. Toshiro’s sharp eyes noticed and he started to remove his haori, but she stopped him, “I’m fine. I’ll stand next to one of the heaters and be good as new in a minute.”
He stopped what he was doing, “You sure? I don’t mind.”
She nodded, “Yep.”
Toshiro helped her up and remarked, “It’s not like I ever get cold.”
She smiled and turned to point out the flames popping happily in the heater nearby. He knew it was there, of course; had seen it all night. She’d had that one and another one set up on the other side of the rug she’d occupied with Momo and Nanao, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to wrap his haori around her like a blanket.
Rangiku’s hips swayed appealingly as she headed for the flaming contraption. “Never?” she asked. She made her way around the cylindrical heater and looked at him curiously.
He’d been too busy checking out her dirt-stained bottom to understand the question, “Never what?”
She rolled her eyes playfully and held her hands out to warm up, “You never get cold?”
“Oh.” He casually walked toward her, “Well, let’s put it this way. I’ll be the last person on this planet to die of hypothermia.”
As she rubbed her heated hands over her arms, she laughed at his comment. “Must be nice,” she grumbled. Rotating so that her back was facing the flames, she announced, “I get cold all the time. Sometimes I even have to sleep with more than one comforter... But I’m okay with that,” she shrugged. Toshiro snorted at her compliance and she looked at him over her shoulder with a smile, “What? I like it when it’s cold at night... because then I can burrow down into my fluffy comforter and make myself a cocoon.”
Rangiku made another rotation, turning back to face him. He smirked and nodded as if he understood completely, “Ah. Like a tick.”
Her eyes widened in outrage and he laughed at her expression. She was about to retort but someone talking loudly further in camp momentarily distracted her. Toshiro turned his head to see Renji flipping off the switch to the other heater and laughing at something Rukia was griping about. It looked like everyone was getting ready to leave.
Her sigh made him turn back around and Rangiku flipped the switch on the heater. The low hum of the gas quieted and the flames went out with a puff. Still peeved, she grumbled with annoyance, “Like a tick...” He snorted and she walked around the heater, heading in the direction of the others with a huff, “You know most women —and I’m not saying all— but most don’t like to be compared to a parasite.”
Toshiro laughed warmly and had to tease her, “I think it’s a perfect analogy. Once a woman sinks her claws into you, she uses up all your resources, takes over your home, and sucks the life out of you.”
Rangiku erupted into laughter and smacked him on the shoulder in outrage, “That is so not true!”
They walked up to where their friends had gathered at the paper lantern entrance and Toshiro argued, “It is and you know it.”
When Rangiku or any of her friends had a party, it was an unofficially accepted rule to never clean up before noon the next day. So when Shunsui smiled and said, “Ready?” everyone followed the lit path and un-soberly headed for the exit. The tiki torches had already been blown out and the last person to step into the courtyard was responsible for unplugging the primary paper lantern cords. As Toshiro grumbled and did this, Rangiku hugged her girl friends goodnight.
When Toshiro walked back up to them, Ikkaku was drunkenly wrapping his arms around her in a goofy yet warm embrace and Rangiku was laughing into his shoulder and patting him on the back, “Aww, Ku-chan needs a hug too.” The bald man’s hands started sliding lower toward her behind and she quickly smacked him upside the head, “Annnd the moment’s gone.”
Not long after that, finished with their farewells, Toshiro and Rangiku exited Squad Eight cheerfully mellow. Everyone else had left back in the courtyard, flashstepping off to home, but they had decided to take the long way and enjoy the cool night air. Rangiku honestly thought flashstepping in her current state was probably a bad idea and Toshiro was in no rush.
There weren’t any street lights and, although it had taken her eyes a lot longer than his to acclimate in the darkness, their path was bathed in moonlight and the helpful illumination made the task of seeing in the dark an easy one. As they walked down the quiet, deserted street toward their division, she was in awe of the nighttime sky. The full moon was a beacon overhead and the stars and far off planets couldn’t quite compete with its bright glow; some of the fainter ones she couldn’t see at all.
Rangiku swayed as she looked up. They stopped walking and she slowly swirled around to look in all directions. In the north, the cup of the Little Dipper was pointing almost straight down and, looking to the east, she latched on to Toshiro’s right arm and pointed, “Woah, look at Orion! It’s so bright!” Seeing a vivid star-like object close by, she blinked uncertainly, “Is that Saturn?”
Toshiro was looking up to where she pointed and pondered aloud, “No, Saturn’s always by Venus and follows after the sun... By this time of night--”
“Morning,” she quipped.
His eyebrow arched sarcastically, “By this time of early morning that was previously night,”—Rangiku chuckled, leaning her head happily on his shoulder—“that’s probably Jupiter,” he finished.
“Ah.” Rangiku let go of his warm arm and hopped over to the right and flung her arms out.
Rolling his eyes, he kept walking, “If you fall down, don’t expect me to do anything besides laugh at you.”
She stopped and swayed a bit. Bringing her hand dramatically to her heart, like she was touched by his concern, she announced, “Your gallantry is truly inspirational.”
Toshiro laughed warmly and reached out to grab her wrist but she dodged him and laughed at his efforts. Suddenly feeling inspired to break into song; she spun playfully in slow, tipsy circles and loudly sang up to the moon, “Ohhhhh! Show me a way to go hooome!”
Toshiro couldn’t stop himself from chuckling as she grinned and hopped down the street to the beat, “I’m tired and I wanna go to bed!”
He snorted at her silly behavior and started walking toward her with purpose in his stride and a roguish smirk.
Rangiku saw him coming and started walking quickly as she laughingly sang, “I had a little drink about an hour agooo,*”—He was almost to her and she started running for her life, laughing and screaming in fright—“ooooAhhhaha-No, no, no! GAH!” she shrieked when he snagged her arm.
Toshiro laughed deeply when he caught her. She spun in his arms unsteadily and her back fell into the cradle of his left arm. His next move surprised the hell out of her and she screeched when gravity seemed to stop working. Instead of picking her up bridal-style, he bent over, shoved his right hand and forearm between her thighs so he could grasp her butt and lifted.* She squealed as he brought her up parallel to the ground and clamped her thighs tightly around his forearm so she wouldn’t slip. He swung her around at waist-level and a resonating peal of laughter erupted from her and echoed loudly around them for several moments. Toshiro whorled her around in lazy circles in the middle of the street and she couldn’t stop laughing. His hand was between her legs, for crying out loud!
As she looked up, seeing the dark blue sky and moon spinning around his amused face, she giggled without restraint. Not once did it ever cross her mind that he’d drop her. Even at this precarious angle she felt safe and flopped her arms over her head and yelled out keenly, “Woo-hoo-hoooo!”
Toshiro was seriously amused by the woman in his arms. Her howling laughter and shrieks were loud enough to wake the dead and he was silently apologizing to all the light sleepers within the vicinity. Swirling her one last time, he slowly bent over and released his hold on her bottom. She squeaked in dizzy alarm when her feet touched down and it took all of his discipline not to cop a feel. However, his beer-warmed brain didn’t see any harm in sliding his hand up the cool, smooth skin of her outer thigh on its trek to secure her hip. He was just making sure she was steady, that’s all...
Rangiku shivered, his warm fingers leaving scalding trails in their wake, and she stumbled into his chest. The world was still spinning and she pressed herself into him and held on to both sides of the collar of his uniform. Toshiro’s arms wrapped around her and she trembled when his warm hands slid down her back to settle on her hips.
Breathing in his wonderful scent for a moment, she decided to test her luck. Leaning away from the warm column of his neck, she looked up into his dark blue tourmaline eyes, “Whew... dizzy,” she whispered fluttering her lashes. His dragony pupils were fully dilated in the darkness and looked almost normal, but when his eyes connected with hers they narrowed considerably. Rangiku’s heart leapt excitedly and she slowly slid her hands up his collar and touched the hot skin at the back of his neck. Bit by bit she saw the good humor drain from his handsome face only to be replaced with heated awareness and she nearly whimpered in anticipation.
Yes! Please! Kiss me!
Rangiku’s eyes lowered to his mouth and her lips parted eagerly. She swiped her tongue slowly across her upper lip in preparation and she felt his warm breath whoosh from his lungs in response.
Then his hands gently removed her arms from around his neck and he took a step back. What? He turned his warm body away from her and took the heat with him; the chill of the night air washed over her like a bucket of ice water. No! She blinked in confusion. He was a few steps ahead of her, avoiding her searching gaze, and taking slow, deep breaths.
Rangiku wanted to cry. No! You were supposed to kiss me you stupid man!
Toshiro stood where he was and didn’t turn. Holy shit, that’d been close! Her lips had been inches away, drugging him with delicious promise, and then his scruples had gotten in the way. Through the hazy fog that filled his brain, his conscience had whispered and told him that she was drunk. In fact, they probably both were and they’d both regret this in the morning. The suggestion had been enough to give him second thoughts and snap him out of it and he’d pulled away. He didn’t have to see her face to see bewilderment; his sensitive ears could pick up her quiet, unsteady breaths and her reiatsu was a chaotic swirl of confusion. Damn, he was an idiot.
When he spoke next, his voice was calm but rough, “Come on... We’re almost home.”
Rangiku watched him closely as she tried to collect herself. Although he was attempting to act like what obviously almost happened was no big deal, his shoulders were tense and his cold reiatsu was fluctuating the tiniest bit, revealing its presence. She sighed. She refused to let frustration screw this up. If she went and got angry, then he’d get angry. So she’d just have to go along with this charade and end her birthday on a good note. Even if it killed her.
Taking a deep breath, Rangiku expelled it slowly and, with a note of acceptance in her voice, she said, “Alright.”
Toshiro turned slightly and Rangiku walked up beside him. He was mildly surprised she hadn’t found something to throw at his head in a fit of temper.
She looked up into his eyes and her soft smile instantly relaxed him and he smiled in return. Her soft hands wrapped around his forearm and she took his arm hostage again. As they headed for the corner that was up ahead, he found himself enjoying the quiet.
Turning right and seeing the main entrance to Squad Ten a ways up, Rangiku snuggled further into his side and sighed pleasantly, “You’re so warm!”
Toshiro’s heart thudded in his chest but he ignored the fuzzy feeling the innocent comment filled him with and snorted, “You get any closer and I’ll be able to medically claim you as a tumor.”
She huffed as they entered the complex and let go of his arm as they turned down a sidewalk that led to their quarters. He let her go first and followed close behind, smirking at her irritation and unable to keep from watching the gentle sway of her hips.
Almost to the stairs that led up to his balcony, Rangiku muttered, “First I’m a hypotwit, then a parasite, and now I’m cancer?” His wicked chuckle made her sigh, “You know sometimes you make me feel so good inside.”
His teal eyes flashed mischievously when they reached her door, “Rangiku the Teratoma. I think it has a nice ring to it, actually.”
She punched the passcode testily into the keypad above her door handle and sputtered, “Yeah, no. I’m going to have to disrespectfully disagree with that.”
Rangiku cracked the door open and turned to face Toshiro as he grinned and argued playfully, “Hey, at least I designated you as the type that has teeth and hair!”
Her eyes widened in horror and Toshiro was so sure she was going to say something snarky, but then she clasped her hands together and bat her eyelashes flirtatiously, “Does that mean you think I’m pretty?”
His mind came to a screeching halt and he gaped at her in bafflement. Rangiku erupted into giggles, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Toshiro dragged a hand over his face in exasperation while she laughed and maybe it was the beer in his system, but his next gruff words surprised them both, “Shut up, woman; you know you’re gorgeous.”
She felt her face heat up, but couldn’t stop herself from smiling. There was just something about verbal proof like that that made a woman’s heart soar. She lightly bit her lower lip. He thinks I’m gorgeous...
Toshiro looked over at the stairs in mild embarrassment. It was true; she was breathtaking and he was so hot for her it was ridiculous but he’d never intended to tell her. Just like at the beginning of her party, when he’d let it slip that she looked great, her reaction fascinated him and overrode his discomfort. It was like she took physical pleasure from his compliments...
Whether she was trying to give him a break or not, Toshiro was relieved when she smiled and whispered, “Well... Not to sound clichéd but... I had a great time...”
He smiled; his warm breath whooshed out his nostrils in a puff of amusement. “Me too,” he murmured.
Rangiku smiled in return and took a step in his direction, “You know, I think this was my favorite birthday to date. And just think,”—She smirked—“you actually drank alcohol and you weren’t nagging the whole time.”
Toshiro snorted and leaned down to whisper pointedly, “That’s because you had beer.”
Rangiku chuckled and surprised him by slipping her arms around his ribs and snuggling into him. Initially taken aback, he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her with a small smile, hugging her close.
Rangiku breathed in the scent of his warm skin and sighed happily. “Thanks for coming,” she mumbled.
Toshiro’s chest moved against her as he laughed lightly, “Are you kidding? Not going meant my impending doom.”
She loosened her arms and surprised him again by placing a soft, lingering kiss low on his cheek. Her eyes sparkled impishly, “Correction: Thanks for not making me stomp over here to kill you.”
His teeth clenched in an effort to control his chuckle and he cleared his throat before murmuring deeply, “You’re welcome.”
Rangiku laughed lightly; still pressed against him, she fingered the warm agate lying over the sexy pit of his throat. “You wore it,” she smiled up at him.
Toshiro’s heart skipped a beat at how her breasts were flush against his chest. Despite the layers of clothes that separated them, he felt her nipples rub against him in the chilly night air and had a hard time concentrating. Her beguiling smile was disarming, but he tried to maintain his composure and say something halfway normal. “You just now noticed?” he smiled in amusement.
“No, I saw it when you arrived...”—She smiled—“I just didn’t say anything until now.”
Releasing him and stepping back, her lips quirked mischievously. Toshiro felt the loss of her soft body and had to stamp down the urge to drag her back into his arms. She settled her hands on her hips and bat her eyelashes playfully, “Want to come in for a cup of coffee?”
His eyes widened at the universal invitation and she laughed at his expression, “Relax, I’m kidding.”
Toshiro expelled the breath he’d been holding and grumbled, “You’re a pain, you know that?”
She shrugged, “And you’re a butthead, but it’s all good. Besides,”—She paused when he snorted at her name-calling and her eyes glittered in the moonlight—“you couldn’t handle all this...” She illustrated her point by using her hands to trace the symbol of the female hourglass figure over her form.
Her expression was teasing, but her eyes were taunting him, making his heart hammer in his chest. Oh, he begged to differ. He was absolutely confident that he could handle anything the temptress threw at him and his hands were itching to accept the challenge.
Toshiro took a deep breath; he needed to get out of there before he did something stupid. They’d already been bantering away at her doorstep for at least 5 minutes and he knew it had to be past 3 o’clock. He was tired, had drunk way more alcohol than he was used to, and, damn it, he was turned on. He might not be sporting a hard-on, but his nerves were on edge and his senses were highly tuned in to the beautiful blonde in front of him. He needed to get out of there.
Deciding no reply to her alluring comment was the best course of action, and not caring if it was awkward, he blurted, “Well... I guess I’ll be going then...” God he was an idiot.
She smiled, as if knowing he was trying to escape, and slowly slid a luminous wave behind her ear. After a long, soul-searching look from her sparkling eyes, she sighed out, “Okay...”
Before he could step away, Rangiku deftly snuck in close and hugged his torso. “Thanks again for coming,” she mumbled against his throat.
Toshiro almost groaned. All those feminine curves snuggling into him and the feel of her lips against his throat had his body screaming Hallelujah and his nerves humming with desire. He slid his palms over her shoulders and she shivered. The response sent a wave of heat to his core and he whispered roughly, “My pleasure.”
Rangiku leaned back again and looked deep into his eyes. With all the shades of blue the night and moonlight were casting, he was fascinated to see her eyes were almost the color of light lavender flowers. His sharp eyes focused on the racing pulse on her delicate neck and how her heartbeat seemed to resonate and make her soft breasts bounce just the tiniest bit. Her parted lips were inches away and closing in and he found himself frozen in place, focusing in on her pouty lower lip and tantalizing beauty mark with anticipation. Her warm breath puffed across his lips and his eyelids felt heavy and almost closed.
Rangiku pressed her soft lips lingeringly at the corner of his mouth and whispered, “Goodnight...”
Toshiro’s eyes jerked opened as she started slipping away. What? Every fiber of his being screamed in retaliation; the icy dragon that was his soul and companion roared in frustration. Get back here!
His hand shot out and snagged her elbow. Rangiku looked at him and his heart slammed inside his chest. Written on her face was longing, uncertainty, and then determination. Suddenly her body was flush against his and her arms were snaking around his neck. Toshiro’s hands slid up her back to bring her closer and their lips collided.
For a few seconds it was only urgent nips and tangling arms, but Rangiku pushed against him on the tip of her toes and moaned when he lightly bit her lower lip, demanding access.
Taking advantage of her parted lips, Toshiro’s hot tongue slid inside and commandingly glided against her own. She tasted like fine sake and when he breathed in the scent of cake and powdered sugar, he groaned into her sweet mouth.
In an effort to get closer, Rangiku hooked a knee around his hip and an animalistic growl rumbled from his throat. Toshiro’s hand slid over her ribs and her heart almost leapt into her throat —thinking his hot fingers were finally seeking her breast— but they left a sizzling trail down to her hip and lower still. Roughly palming her thigh, she whimpered raggedly when the doorframe met her back and he pushed her up against it. Mouths separating for just a second, they crashed together again; devouring each other ferociously in an intense, carnal battle of tongues. Rangiku moaned fervently into his mouth. He tasted like beer and liquid sex and it set fire to all the lonely places inside her that she’d been ignoring for so long.
Toshiro took a step closer, intending to support her trembling legs. Aching to grind his erection against her core to relieve some pressure, his right hand reached blindly for the door and pushed roughly against it for leverage. But it disappeared. His mouth ripped away from Rangiku’s as he stumbled forward off balance and the door came crashing back to crack into his shoulder and side.
Rangiku squawked in surprise and hung on to him for dear life; Toshiro grabbed onto the top of the doorframe with one hand, wrapped the other hand around her back, and shoved his feet to the sides where the frame met the floor.
Rangiku slowly opened her eyes, realizing they hadn’t fallen, and blinked blearily. Staring into a muscular, male neck she sucked in a deep breath and sighed in relief. How on Earth had he stopped that from happening? Feeling hot, solid muscles pushing against her as his chest heaved, she shakily put both feet on the floor.
Toshiro tried to catch his breath. After he felt her sigh and get her feet under her, he relaxed a bit. Releasing the doorframe above, he rubbed his right shoulder, shook his scrambled head and growled, “Ow.”
Rangiku’s alluring lilac eyes reflected the moonlight and a sensual chuckle left her puffy, thoroughly-kissed lips. When their eyes met, reality set in. Yeah, they knew they had just kissed. But holy shit, what a kiss! Even though it had only taken place for maybe a minute, he’d been so far gone... that it would have taken something like a damn door hitting him hard enough to rattle his teeth to snap him out of it.
As she smoothed out his collar and took a step back from him, her eyes were wide with stunned awareness and although her mouth was parted, as she tried to get her breathing under control, one corner was raised with a hint of a smile that clearly said Wow!
Wow was right and he knew his expression mirrored her own as he fought to steady his thundering heart.
Needing some space, he stepped back from the doorway and took a deep, fortifying breath. His eyes briefly went to the stairs to his right before landing back on her. With his head a little clearer, he knew that this —him and her— couldn’t happen. All the reasons why they shouldn’t get involved flooded his tired brain, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how mindnumbingly fantastic a few heated moments had been with her. He felt like a starving man who’d tasted crème brûlée for the first time and was then told he couldn’t finish the dessert that sat right in front of him.
Unsure of how to proceed, Toshiro awkwardly stammered, “I should, umm... get going...”
Rangiku stepped into the doorway, nodding dazedly in understanding, and Toshiro backed away from her. Barely remembering to duck in time, before his head clunked against the underside of the stairs, he turned the corner and paused at the base of the steps.
Looking her way, taking in her tousled form —something he’d taken great pleasure in being responsible for at the time— he allowed his eyes to meet with hers one more time. Seeing the remnants of heat swirling in their depths, even from this distance, he swallowed and whispered roughly, “Good night.”
Rangiku folded her arms beneath her breasts and leaned against the doorframe before whispering back, “Night.”
He nodded and Rangiku watched him flashstep up to his door directly above her. Hearing him murmur the normal incantation while he punched in his code, he was inside his apartment in record time. Breathing in the cool night air for a moment, she wondered if he was freaking out; or even worse, regretting...
Stepping inside, she quietly closed the door; pressing her back into it, she slid down and sat. Just thinking about where his hands had been and how he’d dominated her mouth made her pulse jump. Whew! It’d been a long time since she’d been kissed like that. Kissed by a man who made her lose control and forget everything other than feeling as much as she could for as long as it lasted...
She brought her fingers up to gently touch her tender lips. Rangiku’s lashes fluttered in pleasure and she smiled.
Toshiro Hitsugaya? Prepare yourself... because I’m coming after you whether you’re ready or not.

**~*~****~*~**
A/N: Please R&R! Thanks again for staying with me!

- Buah-haha! You just thought I was going make them suffer and then BAM! Sweet glory, they finally kiss! You have no idea how hard it was not to make that happen last chapter!

- I’ll have you know that many gin & tonic and super dirty martinis were consumed in order to make some of the drinking dialogue between the girls more —umm— realistic... because I’m dedicated like that... I kept forgetting to write it in a drunken-esque style and this helped, lol. I hope it’s consistently believable...

- Back when Rangiku used her “Avoid Amorous Man Technique,” I sort of referenced Miss Congeniality for the self defense moves that encompass “S.I.N.G.”...

- To those of you who dislike long chapters, I apologize. I just couldn’t cut this one in half.

- No clue when the next chapter will be out. You are now as up-to-date as I am with this story. Please be patient and thanks for reading!

P.S. I wanted to give a quick shout-out to my reviewers so far. Dragonick, Canadiangirlloveshp, Escapades, Lala, GaijinSamurai, Ketresia, YOU GUYS ROCK (^_^) Thank you!
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Oh Captain! My Captain!