This is basically taken from my friend's fanfic on deviant art called Mint:Shinigami. In it, Mint Pongrujikorn, the title character is the 13th squad fukutaicho with a crush on captain Ukitake Jyuushirou. The other OCs in this are Di Danabalan- 2nd squad fukutaicho and her best friend, Jai Tailor- 10th squad sanseki (third seat with a crush on Matsumoto) and their friend and Nat Vilasdechanon- 6th squad sanseki and also their friend. This is basically a little bit of fun which my friend and I came up with! Hope you like!
Full character profiles can be seen on her profile which is 'talespirit' along with pictures of the characters. The OCs are my friend's and the plotline's mine.
Mint looked up as a hell butterfly glided through the open window. She'd just woken up to bright sunshine in Ugendou. Haru-chan wagged her tail appreciatively and basked in a sunbeam which spilled onto the floor. Mint felt psyched for the upcoming day. She had been training Nat and Jai for five days solid now and they seemed to be making good progress. She stretched the aches out of her muscles and slipped her jacket on.
"Alright! Let's see where we get to today!" she grinned, tying her hair back from her face and neck. The dark butterfly caught her attention with its jingling arrival.
"Huh?" She let it land lightly on her finger. It fluttered its wings once before the message crackled through.
"Sorry Mint, we're on a very serious mission today, we can't train." Mint's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"What?"
What could be that important to involve both 6th and 10th squad? She sighed in annoyance and shrugged.
"Oh well. Can't be helped." She was just about to go and see if her taicho needed anything when another message came over the intercom system.
"Attention all squad fukutaichos. Please report to the Court of Pure Souls Level One for today's event preparation immediately." Mint blinked.
"Eh? There's an event on today?"
Oh goody I wonder what it is.
Meanwhile, in gensei, Di and Renji were sitting down to breakfast with Urahara, Jinta, Tessai and Ururu. Di glanced at Renji and sighed in annoyance.
"Oi, freeloader, try and chew with your mouth closed for once. That's disgusting!" Renji gave her a look before leaning possessively over his bowl again.
"Oh be quiet."
"You're making the most noise though." Di pointed out. "I've never heard someone eat cereal as loudly as you!"
"Yeah freeloader." piped up Jinta.
"Ah shut up the pair of you! I'm trying to eat!" Renji snapped, shovelling more cereal into his mouth.
"Ahh...Abarai-san...don't forget you have chores to do after breakfast!" Urahara remarked cheerfully, getting a scowl from Renji.
Di started as her cell phone went off. Renji paused, a spoonful of cereal half-way to his mouth as his began to beep too. Di switched it to loudspeaker as the message crackled across the airwaves.
"Attention all squad fukutaichos. Please report to the Court of Pure Souls Level One for today's event preparation immediately."
"Huh? What event could be so important to drag us out of gensei?" Di wondered out loud. Renji looked crestfallen.
"I haven't finished my breakfast yet!" Di stood, brushing herself off.
"Sorry to eat and run Urahara-san, but we have to go." Renji scowled and looked at his half-finished cereal bowl. Di caught him looking and grinned.
"Come on, you- that was an order! Besides you already pigged out on three bowls already!" Renji huffed.
"I need my strength!" Di rolled her eyes and prepared to pop a Soul Candy pill into her mouth.
"Yeah yeah."
Mint reached the Court of Pure Souls as quickly as she could and was surprised to find all of the fukutaichos there including Di and Renji.
"Hey guys!" she greeted. "What's up? You came back as well?" Di nodded, crossing her arms.
"I have no idea why, but, this had better be important." Renji was still sulking.
"Yeah. I had to give up my breakfast to get here on time." Di shot Mint a look.
"Don't even think about feeling sorry for him- he ate nearly the whole box of cereal!" Mint gulped.
Wow.
The rest of the fukutaichos stood around restlessly, talking amongst themselves. Matsumoto flicked her waves of hair over her shoulder.
"Does anyone have the faintest idea what's going on here?" Kira looked sad and confused and shook his head. Shuuhei on the other hand had a massive grin on his face.
"Don't worry about it you guys...this is gonna be fun!" Everyone stared at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Iba demanded. Di raised an eyebrow.
"Wow. He even wears those sunglasses indoors." She whispered to Mint, suppressing a grin. Everyone started as another message crackled over the loudspeakers.
"Attention fukutaichos and squad members."
"Oh here we go." Di muttered.
"Now that all fukutaichos are present it is time to start this year's team building event: Hug your fukutaicho day!" Horrified looks appeared on most of the fukutaichos faces.
"Whaaat?!" Renji roared. "They must be joking!"
"Tell me I'm dreaming." said Di, vaguely horrified.
"What kind of event is this?!" Mint gasped. The communication continued.
"As outlined in last week's Seireitei Communications, the rules are as follows: the first person from each squad to land a hug on their respective fukutaicho will win a prize. This is: a week in gensei paradise for them and an accompanying colleague on that fukutaicho's expense!"
"A hug?!" Mint said, nonplussed. "Why a hug? Whose idea was this anyway?"
"Over my dead body!" Di snapped. "Who the hell agreed to this stupidity?"
"Conversely, the squad which fails to hug their fukutaicho by the end of the day will have to fund their fukutaicho's trip instead."
"Oh boy." said Iba. "This isn't going to be pretty."
"Other rules are as follows: fukutaichos may use any means to escape potential hugging, however, the usage of zanpakutous, shunkou and high level offensive kidou incantations are prohibited." There was a groan from everyone.
"Damn." said Mint in annoyance. Di glanced around.
"Has anyone noticed that Yachiru isn't here?"
"Finally, you may only win if you hug the fukutaicho of your squad. If you hug any other then it doesn't count. So...good luck and happy hugging!" The loudspeaker fell silent leaving the fukutaichos in a silent, stunned huddle.
"I can't believe this is happening." Di said slowly. "I don't think that even in my worst nightmares I imagined this." Conversely, Shuuhei was beaming. As, surprisingly, was Renji.
"Buck up everyone! We basically have to avoid getting hugged for one day. It should be a piece of cake for us! Plus we get a free holiday at the end." Mint grinned.
"Yeah...he's right! It might not be so bad!" Di crossed her arms and scowled.
"Well no one's going anywhere on my expense and that's final!" A frown reappeared on Renji's face.
"I can't believe they'd spring this on us while we were away." Something was still puzzling Mint.
"Out of interest...whose idea was this?" she asked. Kira thought hard before replying.
"It was mainly the 10th squad sanseki's idea- he took Rangiku-san's place at the recent fukutaicho meeting. However...if I remember correctly....the idea was heavily backed by Hisagi-san here, and by 6th squad's sanseki who was there instead of Abarai-san." Mint shook her head.
Honestly! I should've known! She looked at Di who'd obviously reached the same conclusion.
"Nat-"
"-and Jai!" Di finished, a look of annoyance on her face. Matsumoto was instead looking confused.
"Shuuhei? Why?" she asked, looking at him.
"Well...come on everyone! It's pretty much a free vacation opportunity for us! I thought we could all use a break! Right?" He grinned when he saw everyone's faces change. "And besides...who apart from our taichos- who, let's be honest, won't bother with this event- can catch us?" Nanao looked dubious.
"I somehow don't think that all the taichos won't be involved." A mental image of Kyoraku-taicho chasing her crossed her mind and she shuddered, pushing her glasses up.
"I wouldn't say that so lightly if I were you, Shuuhei!" Kira cautioned. "You don't know what the squads are capable of as a group!"
"Also," Mint continued, "I think that Rangiku-san and Renji should watch themselves." They turned to her.
"Why, Mint-chan?" Matsumoto asked.
"There's no telling what Nat and Jai are capable of if they suggested this in the first place. And, also, I trained them so treat them as you would a fukutaicho."
"Ahh. OK. Gotcha." said Renji. Suddenly there was a scuffling noise outside the courtyard and the sound of many feet running.
"Oh shit they're here!" gasped Mint.
"Everyone disperse!" yelled Di and with that the fukutaichos shunpoed in opposite directions as a crowd of shinigami spilled into the central courtyard room yelling, "Fukutaicho!"
Di laughed quietly to herself as a stampede of people passed by the alley where she and Mint were hiding.
"I could do this all day." she grinned.
"We should move before they come back!" Mint hissed to her. Di nodded and followed her down the alley, turning back occasionally to check whether they were being pursued.
"I can't believe how long this day is going to be." Mint said over her shoulder as shouts from various squads floated in the air around them.
"I know. Tell me about it." Di grimaced. "I find it slightly odd that I haven't sensed a peep out of my squad yet, though." As they walked past a pile of wooden crates an announcement crackled over the Seireitei airwaves.
"8th squad fukutaicho, Ise Nanao, is down ladies and gentlemen!" Mint and Di stared at each other.
"Already?!" Di gasped.
"Well....I guess that figures." Mint said with an awkward grin. Suddenly Di felt a flare of reiatsu. She whirled round planting a kick squarely in the ribs of the 2nd squad member sneaking up behind her.
"Not in a million years!" she snapped as he flew into the pile of crates with a loud crash. Mint gasped as there was a sudden stampede of feet and a large group of shinigami appeared at the mouth of the alley. As far as she could make out there were a group of people from 13th squad which were led by Kiyone and Sentaro and a group of 2nd squad seated officers behind them. Di and Mint sweat-dropped.
Oh boy.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the barracks area, Renji stopped for a rest. He'd barely managed to get away from his own squad and was cursing the fact that he wasn't allowed to use Zabimaru. He leaned against the wall and looked around him for any signs of pursuit.
"Psst! Abarai-fukutaicho!" Renji nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked round to find Jai grinning at him.
"Quickly! Come and hide here!" Renji frowned.
That's odd. Why's he helping me? Jai, as if sensing his doubt, put on a concerned face.
"I just feel sorry for you guys having to run around all day. I feel slightly responsible in a way." Renji let out a breath.
I suppose I can trust him...after all...he's not in my squad. He followed Jai around the corner and let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks Tailor sanseki."Jai smiled innocently.
"My pleasure. Anything I can do to help." Behind him, Nat sniggered quietly. He had cloaked himself and his reiatsu using Magius earlier. Due to Magius's ability to enhance his kidou, Renji was completely unaware of his presence.
Until, suddenly, he heard, "Bakudou no. 63: Sajo sabaku!" Before he could move, his arms were pinned to his sides by locking stripes of metal bindings. Nat appeared looking pleased with himself. Renji glared at Jai.
"You-!" Jai grinned awkwardly.
"Sorry Abarai-fukutaicho." Nat pounced.
"6th squad fukutaicho, Abarai Renji, is down ladies and gentlemen!" came the announcement seconds later.
"What?!" Di hissed, punching one of her squad members into several others.
Nat and Jai strike! Mint thought, dodging as Sentaro made a grab for her.
Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of 11th squad, was having an odd morning. Yachiru seemed to be awfully intent on staying on his shoulder- not that he minded...it was just she was in a particularly giggly mood. Also, there were weird messages floating around the airwaves announcing that people were 'down' despite the fact that they weren't in an emergency situation. He'd seen Kira Izuru and Iba Tetsuzaemon running away from their own squads and had almost been run into by a disorganised 10th squad. Also, he couldn't seem to locate most of his squad.
A quarter of them, including Ikkaku and Yumichika, seemed hell bent on following him around all day and it was starting to piss him off big time.
"I don't know what the hell's going on today!" he grumbled to himself, bells jingling.
"Oi, Yachiru- what the hell's going on today?" Yachiru grinned happily.
"Something fun, Ken-chan!"
"So, ka?" Kenpachi replied. He didn't like the sound of this.
There was suddenly a stampede of shinigami across his path. He resisted the urge to grab one and shake them. And those idiots were still following him!
He finally turned back and glared at them.
"Why the hell are you guys following me around?!" His squad cringed and looked at each other.
We are never gonna get her down. Ikkaku thought to himself as Yachiru stuck her tongue out at them and waved.
Not in a million years.
Mint looked at the pile of 2nd squad members in disbelief.
Wow. Di really didn't want to get caught.
13th squad had taken off again due to a combination of Mint's dodging and Di's melee of attacks which sent 2nd squad members in different and potentially dangerous directions. Di sighed hard and brushed off her hands meticulously.
"That'll teach them." Mint goggled at her.
"I guess that's you sorted for the day then." Di grinned at her.
"Don't bet on it. I trained these guys. And besides...these weren't the strongest ones. Those guys'll come gunning for me eventually- they hate losing just as much as I do!" Mint sweat-dropped.
How can she be so happy about it? Shouts filled the air again, making them whirl around.
"We should split up!" Mint suggested. "That way they'll have to split up too!" Di nodded.
"Good point. I thought it was a bit fishy when both our squads turned up at the same time." Mint sprinted to the mouth of the alley.
"Good luck!" she yelled back at Di, who grinned and gave her a thumbs up.
As Mint sped off in the direction of the 13th squad barracks, Di leapt onto the roof of the nearest building. She spied Shuuhei and Kira crouched on a nearby rooftop and ran over to them.
"Hi Di-chan." Shuuhei greeted. Kira managed a small smile before casting a worried glance over the streets below. As Di watched, 9th and 3rd squad converged at an intersection and the sansekis began talking to each other. Shuuhei sighed.
"This is going to be a long day." Kira cast a glance over the side of the building.
"Umm...Di-san...aren't those yours?" Di risked a peek over the side of the building and saw Omaeda and what looked like a good portion of 2nd squad. She shuddered.
"Unfortunately, yes."
"S'all right then." Shuuhei replied, stretching. "Just sit tight up here and no one should notice." "How can you say that?" Kira asked incredulously. "We're only safe because they haven't looked up here!" Shuuhei lay back on the roof, folding his arms behind his head as a louder babble of chatter broke out from below them as 2nd squad joined in the conversation.
"I wonder how Rangiku-san's doing?" he wondered out loud.
Matsumoto stopped briefly to catch her breath, congratulating herself on successfully losing her squad. It had been a stroke of genius to lead them through the intersection between 11th squad and 12th squad's barracks and she'd felt Kenpachi's reiatsu from a mile off. That had definitely slowed them down. She suddenly heard a familiar voice.
"Psst! Rangiku-san!" She blinked in surprise as a familiar red haired, tattooed face poked round the corner.
"Renji?!" she hissed in surprise. "How? I thought you got caught!" A look crossed Renji's face and he scowled.
"I did get caught." Matsumoto looked around as voices shouted out from several streets before turning back to Renji who was looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"By who?" Renji sighed heavily.
"By them!"
Suddenly Matsumoto heard, "Bakudou no. 63: Soja Sabaku!" Before she could react, she had been trapped the same way as Renji. A grinning Nat and Jai appeared before her.
"Renji! You traitor!" Matsumoto snapped, furious at having been tricked. Renji held his hands up defensively.
"Hey! Hey! I didn't enjoy having to do that you know! And besides...they said that if we went along with this they'd use the extra tickets to take us along!" Renji turned away, disgusted at himself. "I'm sorry, Rangiku-san."
"All yours, Jai." Nat beamed. Matsumoto braced herself as Jai ran towards her with a huge smile on his face.
"Fukutaicho!!!"
Di started as another announcement broke through.
"10th squad fukutaicho, Matsumoto Rangiku, is down ladies and gentlemen!"
"Nooo!!" yelled Shuuhei and Kira.
"Oh dear." said Di, shaking her head. "I have a feeling Nat and Jai have something to do with this." Shuuhei looked heartbroken.
"Lucky bastards!" he sniffed, the mental image of him and Matsumoto cavorting in the surf together shattering. Di looked down into the street. 2nd squad, 3rd squad and 9th squad didn't seem to be going anywhere quickly.
Suddenly she rolled and leapt backwards as several members of the OnmitsukidÅ patrol corps appeared out of thin air.
The head of the group turned to Di before saying, "My apologies Commander, however, we heard about the pay cut." Di grinned.
"Don't worry about it. I have no hard feelings." With that she leapt off the roof and shunpoed towards the tightly packed crowd of three squads. There was complete chaos as she shoved through all of them and out the other side. She suddenly realised, as she watched the squads try and make sense of what was going on before the OnmitsukidÅ crashed into them, that she was having far too much fun.
Mint, in Ugendou, heard the announcement and wasn't surprised.
"Huh. I taught those guys too well." She mused. "Now they're just running rampant." She looked around the room, checking for sounds of an approaching squad. The sun was moving into the evening quarter and the room was cool and dark.
Perfect. Mint thought. I'll just hide right here and no one will find me for the rest of the-
"Fukutaicho?!" Mint yelped and jumped as though she'd been electrocuted.
Damn! They're here!
She looked round to see Ukitake-taicho smiling at her. He waved cheerfully.
"Hello Mint!" Mint shook her head and put a finger to her lips.
"Sshh! Taicho, if anyone asks for me- please say I'm not here!"
Ignoring the confused look on his face she whispered, "Bakudou no. 97: Kokudorikaku." She immediately disappeared from sight. Ukitake turned round as the other members of 13th squad came running in. Kiyone and Sentaro came to a screeching halt in front of him.
"Taicho! Have you seen Mint-fukutaicho anywhere?"
"Umm..." Ukitake-taicho said, casting a glance over to where Mint was concealing herself. She shook her head violently, well aware that he could see her. Ukitake turned back to the squad and smiled.
"Unfortunately, no. She doesn't appear to have come this way." Mint heaved a quiet sigh of relief.
Thank you taicho!
The squad looked downcast and Kiyone sighed before saying, "Please let us know if you do see her, taicho. Or better yet...help us! Because if none of us hugs Mint-fukutaicho by the end of the day...we'll all get a paycut!" Ukitake looked horrified.
"Oh my, really? Everyone?" Mint cringed.
Damn you Kiyone! Pulling out the guilt card- that was low! Once again, Ukitake smiled before saying,
"Well...I'll certainly keep that in mind. Good luck everyone! Try your best!" Kiyone bowed.
"Thank you, taicho." With that, they dispersed. Mint breathed a sigh of relief.
That was too close. However, when she revealed herself, Ukitake looked troubled still.
"Is it true about the pay cut?" Mint took one look at his worried and concerned face and inwardly cursed.
"Yes, sir, but if I get caught, the entire amount times two comes out of my pocket." Ukitake looked even worse.
"There must be some way round this." he mused. He paced backwards and forwards. Mint knew he was concerned about the squad. He always put their happiness first. She herself couldn't think of a way to resolve the situation. Ukitake's face brightened.
"I have an idea! If I hug you and then pay for my own trip...that would work wouldn't it?" He turned to Mint beaming, completely oblivious to the fact that she was flushing at the very thought.
"That would save everybody wouldn't it?" Mint's heart was suddenly pounding very loudly in her ears and her face was on fire.
"Yes...I think it would...."
Oh my god! He's going to hug me?! He's actually going to hug me! Ukitake smiled and hugged her gently.
"Is that okay?" Mint flushed even darker and nodded very hard, lost for words, her face buried in his haori.
I'm in heaven! The day was looking up.
Di stopped her conversation with Renji as another announcement came through.
"13th squad fukutaicho, Mint Pongrujikorn, is down ladies and gentlemen! And this concludes today's event! Congratulations go to: 8th squad taicho Kyoraku Shunsui, 6th squad sanseki Nat Vilasdechanon, 10th squad sanseki Jai Tailor and 13th squad taicho Ukitake Jyuushirou. Thank you for your cooperation and good evening." Renji and Di stared at each other.
"What?! Mint got caught?!" said Renji incredulously. "How the hell did that happen?" Di sniffed.
"I have a fair idea."
Hmph. Congratulations to Ukitake-taicho eh? I swear she must have hugged him!