"Izuruuuuuuuuun!" The shrill, demanding cry caused the blond to sigh as he braced himself. The tiny bundle of hyper energy collided with the back of his head, and when he tried to turn, he was met with the inquisitive face of the eleventh division lieutenant. "Cans we play with Doggy?"
"I think Komamura-taichou is busy, he has many things to do as a captain," Another shinigami tried to emulate the paternal tone of the thirteenth-division captain that seemed to work so well on youngsters.
"Well, you're not so busy, Inky-kun, and neither is Izurun, so why should Koma-Koma have stuff to do?" Her challenging but happy-go-lucky question made both shinigami glance at each other in exasperation. What were they doing, vice-captains baby sitting the girl?
"Zaraki-taichou is out on a mission, what makes you think any other captain isn't?" Hisagi shot back, barely concealing the growl in his voice. Unabashed, she blinked.
"I dunno. Ne, Scar-face, how 'bout we go to Byakkun's and get some anpan?" The blond laid a warning hand on shaking shoulders, worriedly looked at the vein throbbing from his boyfriend's head. The new nickname obviously irked him.
As Yachiru babbled about hijacking 'Ukki's' delivery of candy to 'Grumpy Dwarf-chan,' Kira turned his back for a moment on the child.
"You don't have to stay with me, you know," The younger man murmured soothingly. "Normally, she could care less who she's hanging out with, but when it comes to her way, she's pushy. I guess I'm the object of interest today."
"But today's my day off, and now we can't… do anything with her around!" The tattooed man whined. Kira suddenly looked even more haggard than usual and fixed the complainer with a ghastly stare.
"I don't decide how the inner workings of Lieutenant Kusajishi function, but I can say I'm not pleased either. Please, Shuu, not now." He begged, utterly exhausted. Hisagi exhaled. This would be a long day.
With her ideas on cutting off 'Gramp's' beard or having and "having an adventure in Mayurin's science-y lab" they realized the dire situation they were in. So the two proceeded to chase around the giddy child as she brought about chaos, wreaking havoc on the once-tidy workplace. She was ecstatic that she could now play tag. In minutes, books were strewn upon the floor, chairs had been knocked askew, and there were numerous teeth marks on the desk's legs.
But the mayhem continued for hours, ending with her propelling off Kira's head skywards. Both men were gasping for breath, the elder furious that the little terror could outwit them. Now she sat imperiously atop the bookshelf (which had magically been turned so all the contents were sealed by the wall), smiling in delight at her new playmates. "Can't catch me, can ya? Yep, I've got lots of practice from Pinball Head and what's-his-name- - Mini Mustache? Oh, I mean Maki-Maki."
Hisagi clenched his jaw as the door burst open. "Hello, Kira-kun, Hisagi-kun, I-" Their colleague smiled sweetly before there was a resounding crash. All three cringed as a vase shattered, the destructive girl having pounced on a stack of paperwork. Trying to be heard above the din of fake hissing and meowing, the meek girl spoke. "Well, I was going to give you a report, Hisagi-kun, and your sixth seat said you were here… but… Is Zaraki-taichou gone?" Hinamori surveyed the slowly disintegrating office, extending a manila envelope.
"Ah, yeah. So she wants to play with Kira." The report was aggressively yanked from her hands while the new owner of the papers sourly looked on. The conversation quickly died, as the three stood in an uncomfortable stalemate. The tiny vice-captain was now humming a rather vulgar tune she had heard Ikkaku sing, occasionally bursting out with the lyrics, most often a loud swearword or slang term.
Hinamori's anxious gaze shifted between her friends. The brunet was leaning on his shorter companion, both radiating fatigue, and she bit her lip. Hisagi-kun's occasional days off are the only time they really get to spend together, because Kira never takes vacation. She glimpsed the bullet of pink and black bouncing off the walls. Kusajishi-fukutaichou doesn't look like she'll be worn out anytime soon…
Without warning, Yachiru let loose a slightly derailed squeal, hopped over the mangled desk with frightening speed and smashed the men's heads together, yelping "Izurun loves Scar-faaaace!" The result left the victims on the ground. The brunet jumped up, cursing, while glowering murderously at the seemingly-naïve shinigami. Kira stumbled to his feet, patting his head gingerly, and threw a helpless look at their bystander.
Snarling, Hisagi began the hunt anew, the deviant oblivious to his rage. Hinamori squirmed as the blond broke his desperate gaze, instead sliding to the ground in defeat. She watched Yachiru launch herself into her hunter's unexpecting arms, glomming on him with a happy "Scar-face is a nice guy buddy!" This effectively extinguished the anger of the pronounced 'buddy' who now grumpily pat her head. Finally, the fifth division lieutenant sighed.
"How about I take Kusajishi-fukutaichou off your hands for today, Kira-kun?" The room suddenly was quiet, and the girl chanted to herself, I'm doing this for them, I'm doing this for them… Her friend's blue eyes were wide, while the otherwise occupied vice-captain's jaw had dropped with disbelief.
"Ah… o-or maybe…" She stuttered, but now the child had stopped pulling at Hisagi's face and set her sights on the older girl, whom she hadn't noticed. Pink eyes lit up.
"PEACHES-CHAN!" Yachiru trilled, and barreled straight at this new friend. Realizing the new nickname was hers, Hinamori paled at the sight of the deviant's gleaming eyes. The cause was past the point of no return.
Already the two men were halfway out the door. "Remember - don't let her do anything involving captains, sugar sedates her temporarily, and if she want to send a Hell Butterfly, don't let her, she'll eat it!" The new caretaker opened her mouth, but Kira added something else, "Sorry Hinamori-kun, we'll make it up to you somehow!" Then the door shut, the pair no doubt headed for the ninth division.
Hinamori gulped as she turned to face her charge. "Ne, Peaches-chan, how 'bout we steal Nana's glasses?" As the timid fukutaichou protested, barricading the windows while shooting a binding spell at the door, she knew this would be a long day.