Warnings: violence, tobacco usage, sexual situations


Venomously Attractive

ONE

The Graceless Noble


An old woman tended to the mistress of the manor, tugging out the bothersome knots from her hair, running a precious silver comb through it. The old woman could hear the woman's complaints, even though she spent the entire time mumbling them underneath her breath. "Damnit ol' woman tug harder and my whole head might just come off," she cursed, rolling her eyes, sulking. She had better things to be doing than being dolled up for a man, right. She inquired mentally. With the wondrous aid of her pretentious uncle, she was to meet a whirl of suitors to find a man to marry. She wasn't the only person under his care; he had an older son and a daughter, who he was not trying to wed.

"Ren-sama, it is necessary to brush your hair thoroughly to smooth it out," the woman replied, carefully.

"Nyoko-chan, it hurts," the dark haired woman complained, slumping over further, chin in her hands. She stared at herself in the mirror in front of her. She had dark marks beneath her eyes, a sign of her lack of sleep the previous day. She had taken Iseki Ryusaki skinny-dipping the last night, but she only wanted to see him naked. After seeing, she abandoned him in the lake and called his fiancée, so she could pick him up. Ren felt another tug at her hair as Nyoko struggled with yet another knot. "Old woman!" she shouted, angrily, her hand shooting up to her head.

"Forgive me, Ren-sama," Nyoko apologized with a bow.

Ren looked over, ignoring the apology. She knew regardless of what tone they used on her, they only half-assed their sorrys and compliments. She tugged at her round cheeks, making obscene faces in the mirror. "Ren-sama, have more grace," she advised. "If a man were to see you making faces in such twisted manner, he would not want you." Nyoko's advice was never acknowledged by the young mistress. She slouched in public, picked at her ear; she even joined the Gotei 13 against her uncle's wishes. She wears her kimono's wrong on purpose to expose more than the needed skin and she also lures engaged men into her bed, or so she heard one of the younger maids gossiping. In every aspect, Ren was the disgrace of the Takudaiji House.

Ren's blue eyes trailed back towards the mirror, watching the old woman's face pale. She knew that face anywhere, it meant she was cursing her existence in her head. She scoffed. "How much longer is this going to take? I'm tired of sitting," she complained.

"Not much longer, your hair seems to have smoothed out well this time," she commented. "I'll call in the maids to help you dress, but please remember the etiquette for today's dinner."

"Of course, don't speak unless spoken to," she recalled, running her long nails noisily against the wooden dresser next to her.

"Ren-sama, you'll damage your nails if you run them against the furnishings that way." Ren let out an exasperated sigh, followed by a low growl. Nyoko grabbed a hold of her black hair and bunched it together before slipping it over Ren's shoulder. Ren watched Nyoko leave her room, walking gracefully. Ren let her head fall against the wooden table in front of her, pushing the mirror off. She stretched her arms out letting out a sigh. She was craving Taiyaki, but Nyoko wouldn't allow her to indulge in sweets because they were bad for her figure. Ren pouted. She hardly had a figure, thin, with no curves (unless the obi was on tight); her chest size wasn't much to be proud of either, and everyone she knew had a bigger bosom than she did. She wasn't pleased with her body structure, or comfortable in it, unless she could hide it neatly underneath a kimono and stuff padding under her breasts to make them seem prominent.

"Fusae!" she called, lifting her head off the table.

A clumsy blonde-haired woman slid the door opened noisily, pulling up dark blue pinstriped kimono up by the hem. Large green eyes looked around the room until she caught a glimpse of her mistress's long black hair. Fusae reached into her obi pulling out a pair of glasses and slipped them on. "Forgive me, my lady." She bowed apologetically.

Ren brushed aside her apology. "How much longer do I have before the old man calls me?" she inquired, pushing the small threads of hair falling over her face.

"Not long," she replied. "I heard your kimono was being prepared. It's a beautiful shade of red, just the way you like it."

"Bring me my pipe," she replied, standing up and walking towards the window.

"Right away," Fusae said, leaving the room. Ren sat down on her windowsill, looking across the well-lighted garden. Across from the greenery were her elder cousin's quarters. He spent most of his time locked away in there and it was for a good reason as well. She had to admit, she had never seen anyone with so much sex-drive until she got accustomed to living with him. The lights in his room were off, but in the distance, she could see a meek candle outlining two bodies in the shadows.

Ren sighed, frustrated, there was nothing interesting to do inside this manor, which is why she joined the Gotei 13 ten years ago. Even then, she wasn't entirely fond of her duties. She was under Fifth Division, and curiously ranked seventh seat. It wasn't much for someone as talentless as her, who spent most of the time ignoring her vice-captain's orders. She usually left in between jobs to smoke, a bad habit she developed. It was ironic.

Fusae stumbled back into the room holding two boxes; she set them down on the small table by the door. Pulling lids off and preparing the tobacco, she would place inside the long pipe. Fusae handed Ren the long, thin pipe and bowed. Ren pulled it up against her lips and took a deep drag before letting a puff of white smoke crawl past her lips. She removed the pipe from her mouth, turning to Fusae. "Thank you, Fusae," she said. "You should consider running along before, Nyoko finds out you're the one who prepared the tobacco for me."

"Yes, please excuse me, my lady," she said, rushing out of the room.

Ren looked up towards the darkening sky, listening to the latest gossip carried over to her ears by the light breeze. She pushed her hair out of her face again, her red robe falling off her shoulder. She was devising a plan to get rid of her latest suitor, a man named Toshusai Shigeru. He had a common name for a lower-class noble. She heard her uncle's boastful voice resonating through the garden as she took another drag from her pipe. She carefully eyed a tall dark haired man with a good muscular physique, who was following her pudgy, balding uncle. They were both dressed in the appropriate robes and that's when her idea hit her.

She tapped her pipe against the window, letting the ash fall out before leaving it behind. She walked to her mirror and pulled open a drawer. She took out a small box and opened it. It was full of powder, which she used to fix the awful dark lines under her eyes and then she tinted her lips a crimson red. She got to her feet and slid the door open, watching three maids holding a red kimono walking her way.

"Where are you going, Ren-sama?"

"I'm meeting my suitor," she replied, pushing them aside and walking towards the gazebo where they were scheduled to meet. She took a shortcut through a window in the hall to get to the garden faster than having to go all the way around to find her way out.

Ren went to the meeting, smelling like tobacco, hair a mess, wearing sleeping robes, and no shoes. She also left her manners behind. She walked over to the gazebo, smirking at the sight of her uncle's eyes widening. He tried to keep Shigeru occupied so he would not look at his niece's appearance, but he turned around.

"Good evening," Ren greeted, walking up the stairs carefully. "I'm Takudaiji Ren, and you must be Toshusai Shigeru." The broad-shoulder man stood up quickly. Ren smiled and bowed, appropriately, but her attire was soiling everything her uncle had prepared.

"Ren," her uncle called.

"Dear me, uncle, I hadn't noticed you there." She giggled as she sat beside her uncle. "You should try to work on your presence."

"What do you think you're doing?" he whispered, harshly.

"You aren't gonna win this one ol' man," she whispered back, smirking.

"Excuse us, Toshusai-sama," her uncle suddenly said, grabbing a hold of Ren's arm, pulling her up with him. Ren smiled sheepishly as the short, pudgy man pulled her as far away from the gazebo as possible. He let his niece go and glared at her.

Ren crossed her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes. "Don't you roll your eyes at me," he began. "I want you to go back in there and dress appropriately! What do you think you're doing, showing up in your night robes?"

"If he does decide to marry me after this, it'll be easier than having to kill myself over wearing kimono," she replied, staring down at his balding head. She rubbed it affectionately with her sleeve and laughed, angering him further. "Kyozo, enjoy the show."

Kyozo snarled as Ren made her way back to the gazebo. He had something on his mind at that moment, if she ruined this moment for him…she'd definitely not get away unpunished. Ren may have been spoiled rotten since she landed in his care, but he wouldn't let that continue if she wasn't prepared to listen to his advice, which had always been to marry. She was too free-spirited for his tastes; an unsettling woman like Ren needed a man's dominance. It would do her good.

He slapped his face when he saw her tip the pot of tea too far, getting it all over the man's lap. Shigeru let out a loud yelp, while Ren laughed openly. She didn't even try to help him, instead Fusae rushed out to do the job for her.

"My lady," she cried, rushing to Ren before noticing the burning man.

"Not me, Fusae, my lord had tea poured over his lap, tend to his burns," Ren said, getting out of her seat.

The man looked up at Ren. "What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving," she replied. "I'm finished here, there's no need for me to stay and mingle." She laughed and made her way back to her room.

"I refuse to marry such a heartless woman!" the man cried.

Ren stopped, turning around to face the man. "I'm not heartless, I simply don't care," she replied, continuing. She entered the manor, taking a swift turn to the left to follow into her quarters when she heard light footsteps approaching her. She grinned, turning around. "Kazue, my dearest cousin, I failed to notice you looming around in the corridor," she said, staring at the hazel-eyed woman in front of her.

"That was quite a display," Kazue commented. "Though I wasn't looming around, I was passing through to meet my father; he's probably frustrated because of you."

"I should be the one angry, he's toying with my life," Ren replied, eyes narrowing.

"He's trying to do your family good."

"As you can tell, my family has already been done well," she began. "That's why they're dead."

Kazue's expression seemed disgusted. Ren shrugged after leaving her cousin speechless and continued on her way to her room where she would find something interesting to play with. She smirked at a single thought that slipped through her mind, well, that would be fun, wouldn't it?


"Well, then," Ren said, clearing her throat. She sat across from Kyozo and next to a half-naked Shigeru. "I didn't expect to be caught. But, on the bright side, it's nice to see you again, Kyozo."

Kyozo had a headache from the frustrations he had tried to mull over for his sake. After he figured Shigeru had left he planned to have a private chat with Ren when he caught her in a compromising position, well, it was mostly her male companion. Kyozo was fed up. "Toshusai-san, I want you out of my sight this instant."

"Forgive me, sir," Shigeru bowed, apologetically, pulling up his belongings and scurrying away.

Ren leaned back, waiting for her uncle to speak, but he glared at her for a short while. "I told myself that this would be the final time I deal with your inconsistencies. You have turned away more suitors than I could make up for, you've done nothing but disgraced your mother's noble house."

"She wasn't my mother."

"She groveled at your feet as if she was."

Ren scoffed. "I'm exhausted, can we deal with this tomorrow, besides, I have to wake up early for a mission outside Soul Society."

That's when he smirked, victoriously. "You will not be attending said mission."

"What?" she inquired, a bit shocked.

"You heard me, Ren; you will not be attending that mission."

"That's preposterous; I don't need to listen to you."

"I've made necessary arrangements and gave you a more suiting job…"


Ren had figured it was all a cruel joke concocted by her uncle, but the next morning where she turned up to Fifth Division, her captain redirected her to her nightmare. Surely, she hadn't been too out of control to be sent to serve under the one person she felt uncomfortable around the most. She made her way towards the captain…taking small steps, making sure the journey would last her at least half a day, before she met with him, Ichimaru Gin. What the hell was that fat pig thinking? She internally cursed, pouting as she played with her sword, pushing it out with her thumb, and then pulling it back into its scabbard. How the hell was being an errand boy a suiting job for her in particular? She didn't take direction well, and she hated waiting on others.

She suddenly hit someone's back hard. She moved back, rubbing her face, trying not to curse aloud when she heard a voice. She looked up, freezing, staring into the creepy face she never wanted to see. "I'm sorry…?" she said slowly.

"Yer a clumsy one," he stated walking away.

She mentally celebrated the idea that he had just stepped away from her, but she remembered her duty. "Wait, Captain Ichimaru!" she shouted.

The silver-haired man stopped, turning around to face her once more. She walked up to him, feeling awkward. "An' you are?" he asked, confused. It was obvious he wouldn't know who she was; she kept her fame down to a minimum and far away from men like him, creepy…This was probably the first time she was closer to him than the usual twenty meters.

"Takudaiji Ren, I'm your errand boy from now on," she replied, disdainfully.

The grin on his face grew wider. She wondered if he actually did expect a boy, but instead all he managed to get was a graceless noble, who looked and acted like a greenhorn. Not, that she wasn't, having only been promoted to Seventh Seat a month ago, then to spare the heart breaking details, taken out of said position.

Ichimaru Gin laughed. "Well, aint this a nice treat," he commented. "Welcome to my division."

Ren stared at him, trying to avoid the disdain from changing her expression. Her life would be horrible. "Thank you for welcoming…me…to your division…Captain Ichimaru," she said, slowly.

"Let's get goin'," he said, introductions aside, the torment would begin.

Ren shrugged and followed him close behind. "Where ya from?" he asked, throwing her off.

"Fifth Division…" she stated slowly.

He turned back to face her. "Were you now?" he inquired.

"Yes, if you don't recall my face it's simple, I spent the first years, while you were still lieutenant, playing cards with other unseated members," she admitted. The only reason he wouldn't remember her face was because she hid from him, but if he knew that…well, maybe it would offend him…or something.

"Ah," he began. "I think I do remember you."

Ren stared at the back of his head, feeling Goosebumps crawl all over her skin. He thought he remembered her, but that simple fact was impossible. She was hiding. "Do you, now?" she inquired.

"I heard ya cheated everyone out of their money," he stated, chuckling.

"Well, then, maybe you do remember me," she replied, turning away.

She looked around, when had they arrived to his division? Gin made his way towards his office, which he had told her about beforehand. She wondered what kind of job she'd have to do first, preferably something away from him. They entered and she looked around curiously avoiding his gaze.

"How about you make me some tea?" he suggested.

"Tea…?" she asked, staring at him blankly.

"I'm thirsty." He grinned.

"I don't make tea."

"Really…?"

"Don't you get like…lieutenants to get you tea?"

...


:\ My boyfriend told me I created an asshole, but...I think he's just jealous...

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