"Onsen" = spa
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach; Kyuuten Hikari is my own original character.
Kyuuten Hikari pulled open the large, glass doors of Rukon Onsen, a small spa where she worked as a part-time massage therapist, almost tripping on the thick welcome mat as she entered the building. "A-ah!" she voiced her surprise as she tried to catch herself, clinging to the door handle for support, which only resulted in delaying her less-than-graceful fall.
"Kyuuten-san! Are you okay?" Yamada Hanataro asked as he scurried from the reception dest to help the young college student.
Hikari put on as dignified an expression as possible, dusting some imaginary dirt from her jeans before casting a disdainful glare at the offending rug. "I'm fine, thank you Hanataro-san." The pair made their way back to the reception desk together, where Hanataro shuffled through a few stacks of paper before pulling out Hikari's schedule for the day. Hikari kindly thanked him and headed to the back of the onsen.
The first level of Rukon Onsen served as a reception area and waiting room with a few saunas and medicinal hot baths for private use. After taking the stairs to the second level, where all of the massage therapy rooms were located, Hikari entered her security number to the employee break room and was greeted by the sight of Matsumoto Rangiku, her good friend and manager. Hikari had barely put away her things before she was enveloped in a double-D-sized hug.
"Hikari-chan! I'm so glad you're here! I've been here all by myself all day and I got so lonely!" Rangiku tended to be a bit dramatic, but was one of the most kind-hearted people Hikari had ever had the good fortune of knowing. The smaller girl did her best to return the hug, but soon had to wiggle out of her friend's death-grip-a feat much easier said than done.
Hikari smiled brightly at her long-time friend, "I've missed you too, Rangiku-chan. How has your day been?"
While Hikari changed into her work uniform-black pants and a traditional, short-sleeved sage green top-Rangiku covered the events of her day in magnificent detail, though her shift had only started three hours prior. "...and at 7:00 Shuuhei is bringing in a bunch of his friends for a group therapy massage, so just about everyone had to come in on short notice..."
Hikari and Rangiku had met about 4 years ago, when Kyuuten had a job at a specialty body shop across town, which Rangiku's boyfriend at the time happened to own. Hikari relished in the female company whenever Rangiku would stop by because, as one might imagine, there wasn't much room for girly companionship in the steel world of fast cars. The two made a great pair, and after Hikari left the shop 2 years back in order to go to school, and Rangiku's relationship went south, the duo remained good friends. Once she began her classes at the University of Tokyo, Hikari found that she needed some extra money for books and spending allowance. Rangiku strongly recommended her for a position as a part-time masseuse at the onsen, and after a quick certification course, Hikari started at Rukon Onsen and had been working with her friend at the onsen ever since.
The break room door suddenly clicked open to reveal a rather flustered-looking Hinamori Momo, who greeted her co-workers with a sunny smile and a wave. Hikari didn't often get to see the girl, but it seemed that with every day that passed, she grew more tired and sickly-looking. It was obvious to everyone that Momo was stretching herself too thin nowadays. Hikari and Rangiku exchanged glances.
"Ne, Momo-chan, let's all go out for drinks after work and catch up, okay? We've hardly seen you since you started your internship at the TPD," Rangiku suggested as they prepared to split up and make for their separate appointments. Hikari nodded in agreement as she pulled her long, dark hair into a high ponytail and swept the bangs away from her eyes with a green clip.
Momo seemed to think about it for a moment, but kindly declined the invitation. "Sorry Ran-chan, Hikari-chan. I have a lot of things to do this weekend-I have to be at the precinct early, too- and I'm pretty tired. Another time?" she asked as she speared her hair into a quick bun using two chopsticks that matched the onsen uniform.
Rangiku had expected Momo's typical 'thanks-but-no-thanks' response as of late, and smiled softly, "Of course, Momo-chan. You look exhausted. Try to get some rest later, okay?"
Momo nodded and smiled brightly at her friends. "Thanks. Well, I've got a three o'clock in room five, so I'd better get going. I'll see you later!" she said as she left the break room in a hurry.
Hikari sighed and looked at the closed door that their friend had just left though. Momo was taking on too much, she thought. It was only a matter of time until she crashed. Yoruichi, the owner of Rukon Onsen, had offered time and time again to give Momo time off if she needed to focus on her studies or her internship, but the young girl refused each time.
"That chick is running on fumes," Rangiku said disapprovingly, but obviously concerned. Hikari nodded in solemn agreement. "Well, you're still going out with me, right Hikari-chan?" the busty blonde asked, more upbeat as she tried to shift the somber mood.
Hikari smiled brightly, as was her nature, "Of course, Rangiku-chan! What time are you off?"
"Eight-thirty. You?"
"Eight. I'll wait for you in the lobby until you're done, then?" Hikari asked, already wishing it was the end of her shift, rather than the start.
"Great!" Rangiku cheered enthusiastically.
With that, the two departed for their separate rooms, where their clients awaited them. The day hadn't been that bad for Hikari; she had appointments for one athletic massage, two deluxe body massages, a thirty minute break, a facial, and a mud bath. She was thankful for only having to give one facial today; she disliked those the most. She now had another thirty minute break in her schedule before the arrival of Hisagi-san's massage group. Hisagi Shuuhei was something of a regular, though Rangiku and Hikari had both first met him back at Ichimaru's Body Shop, which he also frequented. Hikari saw little reason for him to come to the onsen nearly weekly, bust suspected it had more to do with being oiled and rubbed down by Rangiku than "correcting an old high-jump injury".
When Hikari walked back into the break room, she was surprised to see her other good friend, Kuchiki Rukia, sitting at the table reading a book. Rukia looked up from her reading and greeted Hikari with a friendly smile. "Hey, Hikari," she said as she stood from the table and stretched, placing her textbook face-down on the wood.
Hikari smiled back with a 'hey' and pulled out a chair from the other side of the table to sit down while simultaneously removing her sandals. "Did they call you in just for this group massage?" she asked. After receiving an affirmative nod, Hikari curiously peaked at the book's title and frowned a bit, recognized the copy of the same criminalistics book that she used last year. It was a fleeting interest-just another detour in what had been the fourth time that Hikari had changed her major. "Since when do Art History majors take Forensics 1101?" she asked suspiciously while noting Rukia's progression in the book-it looked like she was having some trouble.
Rukia defensively picked up the book and held it close to her chest, frowning. "I'm just keeping my options open." However, Hikari didn't miss the small glint of dejection that crossed her friend's expression.
Hikari heaved a deep sigh and rubbed her sore feet a little; she had been standing all day. "Byakuya-san still doesn't approve of your art?" Of course, Hikari knew that he didn't and probably never would. Rukia's brother and guardian, Kuchiki Byakuya, was the top lawyer of the attorney general's office with an impeccable record and completely disapproved of his sister's interest in the arts. He had threatened to cut off the funding for Rukia's tuition if she didn't change her major from Art History to something more "functional". Hikari had known Kuchiki Rukia for long enough to have learned that even though she seemed tough and invincible, she desperately sought her brother's approval and his actions hurt her. Rukia was an amazing artist with enough talent to take her anywhere she wanted, but she was constantly being put down by her older brother, for which Hikari despised him.
Rukia shrugged nonchalantly, but was grateful for Hikari's insight and ultimate support. Hikari had been a good friend to Rukia since last year, when Rukia had enrolled at the university and they met in pottery class-another experimental route in Hikari's search for her major. Hikari had encouraged Rukia to apply for a part-time position at the onsen, since Rukia had expressed her fear of asking her brother for any spending money, and had offered a lot of useful advice since Rukia was a first-year student and unfamiliar with the university. Hikari was something of a mentor to Rukia, but Rukia often found herself envious of her friend. Hikari was light, like a bird, and fleeted from major to major, not having made up her mind yet. Though Rukia was positive that art was what she wanted to dedicate her life to, she envied Hikari's freedom to choose to do whatever suited her. Rukia had no interest in law or criminology, as her brother so frequently insisted she pursue, and she loathed the forensics class she was taking merely for his sake. Rukia loved art: the sound and feel of a paintbrush on canvas, the small of acrylic and charcoal, even the history of it. And she was good at it. Rukia had been accepted to the top college of art and design, but came to the University of Tokyo to please her brother.
Hikari's voice pulled Rukia from her thoughts. "Do you need any help?" the older girl offered, gesturing to the forensics book which Rukia was still holding to her chest.
Rukia sat down across from Hikari, putting the text between them. "Well, actually..."
The pair of university students reviewed the finer points of bullet trajectories and ballistics for the next half hour, until Rangiku burst through the door. "There you two are! It's 7:00 and Shuuhei's group is already here! C'mon!" She waited by the open door while Hikari strapped her sandals back on and Rukia put her school work back into her satchel. Hikari sighed and stretched her arms a little while turning to Rukia, "Rangiku-chan and I are going to get drinks after this. Wanna come?" Rukia looked a little surprised at first, since she was only nineteen and it wasn't legal for her to drink yet. Hikari registered Rukia's hesitation and corrected herself, "Non-alcoholic beverages for you, of course."
Rukia felt a little silly at this- of course Hikari wouldn't let her drink being under-aged. She eagerly nodded and the trio headed out the the general meeting room where a group of six rather rugged-looking gents were waiting with Taika Haruhi, a full-time masseuse a few years older than Rangiku, Youko Kanone, an older woman who had been doing her job for longer than Rangiku had been alive, and Momo.
It wasn't uncommon to not see one's co-workers often at the onsen, because each therapist's schedule of clients frequently overlapped. However, in the case of a group massage such as this, when the onsen called in most of its workers just for the occasion, Hikari was glad to be able to see her co-workers. Haruhi and her husband had just celebrated their second anniversary and had taken a short vacation, so it had been an especially long time since Hikari had seen her. She smiled amiably and waved, though it was a little awkward across the group of people gathered in the lobby area.
Hikari had immediately noticed that the group of men was a little rough around the edges, but they appeared even rougher up close. The one closest to her was extremely tall, lanky, and leering. Hikari moved away from him as discreetly as possible, in the direction of her friends.
"Everyone, welcome to Rukon Onsen! Friends of Shuuhei's are friends of ours," Matsumoto stepped forward from where all of the onsen workers had congregated and politely bowed. "I'm Matsumoto Rangiku; it's a pleasure to meet all of you." Hikari smiled; Rangiku had such an addictive personality.
The rest of the massage therapists stepped forward one by one, introducing themselves as well. Hikari went last, and tried to hide her annoyed expression as the tallest, leering man, pigishly looked over all of her co-workers-with the exception of Youko-san, who was probably thirty years his senior.
Shuuhei stepped forward from his friends first, continuing the formalities by introducing himself, even though all of the therapists knew him already. Hikari was fond of Hisagi. He was a good guy, even though the scars, tattoos, and general aura of bad-ass typically lead people to believe otherwise. The next member of the group stepped forward to continue introductions. He was a gargantuan man with fiery red hair and even more tattoos than Hisagi who introduced himself as Abarai Renji. Tall-Lanky-and-Leering was next, Jiruga Nnoitra by his introduction. His long, oily hair contributed to his slimy-seeming personality and he wolfishly looked over the therapists again. Hikari decided that she didn't like him. Avoiding his gaze, she looked instead to the next client. He had a messy head full of shocking blue hair and cerulean eyes, which gave him a wild look. He gruffly stated that his name was Jeagerjaques Grimmjow, and seemed wholly disinterested in the onsen. The next client had snow white hair, piercing teal eyes, and was not as tall as his comrades, which made him short by no means, as all of the others were easily over six feet tall. Hitsugaya Toshiro seemed to be the most refined of the group, though. Lastly, the guest with bright orange hair and unsightly scowl introduced himself to be Kurosaki Ichigo.
'...strawberry...?' Hikari thought, puzzled, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Rukia very obviously stifled a laugh. She had clearly thought the same thing. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the younger girl and his scowl deepened.
"It means 'he who protects'," Ichigo clarified, still glowering at Rukia.
Rukia opened her mouth to fire off what was sure to be a smart-ass reply, but Rangiku beat her to it. "Alright, if you'll follow us, we will escort you to the group therapy room," she announced, taking off down the hall with Hisagi hot on her heels. Hikari made a little bit of small talk with Haruhi about her vacation time, but stopped when she heard Momo's uncomfortably stuttering voice from her left.
"N-no thank y-you, J-Jiruga-san," she heard her small friend mutter.
Hikari's eyes narrowed at Nnoitra's sleezy smile as he slung an arm over Momo's shoulder, making her turn all shades of red. "C'mon, cutie. We'd have lots of fun," he coaxed, all too suggestively.
Momo's voice failed her, caught off guard by Jiruga's forwardness. Momo wished she had Kuchiki's quick wit or Kyuuten's backbone for times like this. Not that this happened often, since Hinamori kept herself so busy all the time.
Hikari frowned and stepped between her friend and Nnoitra, effectively shoving his arm from Momo's shoulders with her elbow. She trusted that Rukia or Matsumoto could handle themselves in such a situation, but sometimes Momo was too sweet for her own good. And Hikari wasn't about to let some scumbag take advantage of that. "Sorry, Jiruga-san, but Momo is very busy and doesn't like you," she said with a faux smile that contradicted her blunt statement. Nnoitra looked shocked and displeased, his slimy smirk instantly disappearing, but said nothing.
Momo sputtered some more, but Hikari ushered forward, depositing her behind Matsumoto, who was standing by the door. "Please go ahead and disrobe, and lay face-down underneath the towels. We'll give you some privacy," Matsumoto instructed and closed the door after the last of the group had gone inside, one still fuming.
Waiting outside, Rangiku quietly checked to make sure that Momo was fine while Hikari continued her conversation with Haruhi about her recent vacation, filling her in on any news that the older woman had missed while she had been gone. Hikari excused herself from the conversation when Youko-san returned from the supply room with Rukia in tow, who was pushing a massive cart of oils, lotions, masks, and various products. Matsumoto announced their entrance as all of the masseuses filed in, Hikari and Rukia being the last, pushing the cart. Hikari set up the zen music as Rukia prepared each tableside with the necessary towels, oil, and lotions. When Hikari returned, everyone was set up at a table except for Youko-san and herself, and she was glad to see that Youko-san indicated with her pointing finger that she would take Jiruga Nnoitra's table. Hikari offered a grateful smile to the older woman and stationed herself at the table where Abarai Renji lay.
After an hour, Hikari was completely exhausted. Abarai kept requesting that she push harder, and she felt a little sore just from exerting so much force. However, the group of rugged men tipped well-extremely well-so Hikari couldn't complain. Even so, she was more excited to go out with Rangiku and Rukia after a long day of work and school. Hikari and Rukia had both clocked out at eight and waited for Rangiku in the lobby after bidding Youko-san, Haruhi and Momo goodnight. Rangiku often had to work later shifts in order to file any paperwork or bills, since she was the manager of the onsen.
Finally, Matsumoto bounded down the stairs of the onsen and into view. "Phew! I'm beat! Let's go get drinks!" Rangiku's cheerful and carefree attitude was one of the things Hikari loved most about her. She couldn't help but smile whenever her bubbly friend was around.
Rukia expressed her agreement and stood up from where she had been sitting in one of the receptionist chairs reading her forensics book again. Hikari had been drawing designs in the miniature Zen garden in the waiting area, and joined her two friends with an enthusiastic fist-pump. The fact that today was Friday hadn't occurred to Hikari until moments before, and she found herself in a delightful mood that the weekend began tomorrow. Even if she was just going to be working, there was something special about weekends.
She tugged her jacket on over her simple yellow t-shirt and ripped jeans, as she and Rukia stepped outside into the brisk autumn air while Rangiku set the alarm behind them. "Ne, Rangiku-chan, Hisagi-san's friends seem a bit...sketchy, don't you think?" Rukia pondered aloud as the trio began walking towards Umaeda's Pub, a popular and comfortable nearby bar.
Rangiku laughed and shrugged off Rukia's statement. "Shuuhei's kinda sketchy, too, so it makes sense that his friends would be the same," she reasoned.
Hikari chimed in then, "I think it was their hair. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it in my life. I mean, blue? White?" She smiled at her friends who voiced their incredulous agreement.
The three continued to recount the stories of their day, talking about clients, school, or random events on the subway as they walked. They somehow came back to the topic of Shuuhei's group when Rangiku commented that, despite their oddities, they were all strikingly handsome in their separate ways.
Rukia shrugged. "Ichigo wasn't bad looking, but I'm not sure if I'd call him devastatingly handsome..." she mused aloud, missing the strange look that her friends exchanged.
Hikari lifted an eyebrow at her younger friend. "'Ichigo'? I wasn't aware that you two were so close," she teased.
Rangiku smirked, "'Oh, Ichigo-kun...!'" she sighed, making kissing faces and noises at the smaller girl, narrowly missing Rukia's swinging fist of vengeance.
"Shut up!" Rukia yelled and chased her friends to the pub, all of them laughing like children at recess.
Breathless and still giggling, the group finally reached the pub and opted to sit at a small, street-side table. The sidewalk was illuminated with decorative string lights, where were quite beautiful. Hikari and Rangiku played rock-paper-scissors to determine who had to go inside to order the drinks. Hikari's rock lost to Rangiku's paper and she grumbled as she left the table to place their orders.
"Sprite, please!" Rukia called at her friend's back.
"Sake! And quickly, woman!" Rangiku hollered as she lit up a cigarette, blowing the translucent smoke into the night sky.
Hikari told the barkeep her friends' requests, ordering a rum and coke for herself, and waited at the corner of the bar for her order. Umaeda's Pub was actually a pretty nice place. Not fancy, but nice. The floors were made out of a dark, polished wood, which was accented in the tables, door frames and moulding. The booths, tables, and stools were made with a soft-stuffed red leather, and the whole joint was mostly clean. Comfortable. The bartender had her drinks made quickly and Hikari carefully carried the glasses out to their patio table.
"What a terrible, filthy habit, Matsumoto Rangiku," Hikari mock-chided as she plucked the half-burned cigarette from Rangiku's mouth and put it to her own, taking a long drag and enjoying the soothing feeling of the smoke in her lungs and back out again. Hikari took her seat, having no intention of returning the cigarette.
"Hey!" Rangiku half-heartedly protested.
"You bum them off me all the time. So pipe down and drink your sake," Hikari replied with a teasing smirk.
Rangiku happily obliged, throwing back a cup with a grin. The trio of girls picked up on their chit-chat from before, emptying their glasses as the conversation continued, but it wasn't very long before they were interrupted. One of the waitresses approached their table with a fresh tray of drinks and boredly announced, "From the gentlemen at the bar." Hikari and Rukia exchanged confused expressions before looking over to the bar through the glass window. Despite the tinting, she could make out a group of figures that has suspiciously familiar heads of red, orange, blue, and white hair among them. Hisagi came out to the patio, pulling up the spare chair next to Rangiku and sitting on it backwards with his arms folded over the top. Hikari offered a lopsided smile in greeting, which he returned.
"Say, Rangiku, why don't you, Hikari, and Rukia come inside and join us?" Matsumoto looked uncertainly at Hikari and Rukia, unsure how long either of them had intended to stay. In honesty, Hikari wouldn't mind going home, seeing as how it was already half past ten, but she shrugged anyways. It would be nice to spend a night out with some friends, too. "C'mon. Drinks on us," Hisagi offered and Rukia face-palmed. Rangiku never, ever, turned down free drinks.
The busty blonde agreed, and gathered her purse from the back of her chair as Rukia and Hikari made similar movements to gather their things. Hikari let Hisagi and Rangiku trail in front and turned to Rukia, "When does Byakuya-san want you home?" she asked.
"Actually, I'm staying this weekend at the university because Byakuya-nii-sama is out of town," Rukia explained, rather upbeat. Hikari smiled at the girl beside her, glad that the elder Kuchiki seemed to be slowly easing up on his strictly-enforced rules. As far as Hikari knew, Byakuya had required Rukia to come home almost every weekend since she started school, only letting her stay if she had a paper or research that she needed to use the university's resources for.
"Yo, Midget!" Kurosaki greeted as Hikari and Rukia approached the bar where Rangiku had already made herself comfortable and had another cup of sake in-hand, compliments of Shuuhei. Hitsugaya was at his side and offered a lazy wave as he took another swig of his beer.
"What?" Rukia asked incredulously, stomping forward and spouting off logic about how it was better to be short than a carrot-top.
Having lost her companion, Hikari took a seat on the stool next to where Abarai was standing. She had to admit that he was much taller in person than he looked on the massage table. She noted that, despite the dim lighting at the bar, and it being completely dark outside, he had not removed the mirror-like sunglasses from his head. Hikari wrote off his strange look as some kind of fashion statement.
Abarai interrupted her thoughts when he spoke, "Thank you for the massage today. It was excellent. I feel much better."
Hikari smiled back broadly. "Sure thing. Thank you for the drinks," she said, raising her glass a bit and taking another drink from it. Abarai may have been a little strange and coarse-looking, but Hikari decided that she liked his personality.
Abarai's eyes had followed the movement of her glass, or at least she thought they had-it was hard to tell in the dim lighting. "Kyuuten-san, how old are you?"
"Twenty."
Abarai nodded slowly. "You don't drink alcohol, though?" he asked, gesturing towards her dark glass, which she realized could easily be mistaken for plain soda.
Hikari took another sip and shook her head. "Rum and coke," she corrected with a light smile. Seeing his eyebrows raise, she shrugged. "It's Friday. And it's been a long week," she said, feeling justified when he grinned.
"I hear that," he agreed, clinking his beer bottle to her glass before they both took a drink to their unofficial toast.
Feeling that the conversation might come to one of those awkward points where the talking should continue but isn't initiated, Hikari changed the subject. "So, Abarai-san, what do you do?"
He took a quick swig of his drink and cleared his throat. "Just Renji is fine," he told her and cleared his throat again. "I do little odd jobs here and there. You know how it is," he brushed off her question, taking a more sizable gulp from his beer before deflecting it back to her. "How about you, Kyuuten-san? Aren't you in school?"
"Hikari," she corrected, figuring that if she was using his given name, he could use hers. "And I am. I'm a third-year student at the University of Tokyo," she explained before polishing off her rum and coke.
"Ah, and what are you studying?" he asked, seeming genuinely interested.
Hikari smiled as another drink was almost immediately placed in her hand. Damn, these guys were some kind of suave. She vouched for just sipping her new drink for a while, already feeling the affects of the two that preceded it. "Right now my major is International Business with a concentration in translation, but who knows?" she said with an off-handed shrug. She really liked her major as of now, and felt it was the closest to what she wanted to do after school, but she wasn't about to make any commitments.
Renji let out a low whistle. "I wouldn't have pegged you for the business-type. That sounds kinda interesting, though," he speculated. The pair discussed her previous majors-all four of them, courses, aspirations, and schedule for a while longer, although it didn't escape Hikari's notice that every attempt to redirect the conversation from herself to Renji had be thwarted. He seemed to dance around topics involving himself, and tried to distract her with more drinks or questions.
Her conversation was interrupted when a rather tired-looking Rukia tapped her shoulder, seemingly worn-out from her debating with Kurosaki all night. "Ready to go home, Rukia-chan?" Hikari guessed.
Rukia nodded. "I'm beat," she said and stifled a yawn as if to prove her point.
Hikari threw back the remaining contents of her fourth drink, setting the empty glass on the bar. "I'll walk you back to the dorms," she offered, even though it was the opposite direction from her off-campus apartment.
Rukia frowned. "I'm not the one that needs walking back," she countered, while lifting an eyebrow and and crossing her arms.
It was Hikari's turn to frown. She didn't like the thought of Rukia walking home alone. "Oi! Kurosaki-san! Would you mind very much please to walk home my lovely friend Rukia? It's not far. I fear I'm unable," she said in a ridiculous way, making her seem more drunk than she was. Problem solved. Hikari didn't miss the glimmer in Rukia's eye which indicated that she was pleased with the idea.
This earned her a suspicious look from Renji, but he said nothing.
As it turned out, Renji and Kurosaki were roommates, so they both left to escort Rukia back to the dorms. Hikari grabbed her bag and scanned the bar for Rangiku. Her busty friend wasn't hard to miss, but Hikari did a double-take to ensure she wasn't there.
"She left with Hisagi a while ago," an deep and unfamiliar voice from behind her stated the answer to her unvoiced question. Hikari turned to face Jeagerjaques Grimmjow, who was looking down at her with a strange expression.
"Oh. Thank you Jeagerjaques-san," she said. What a mouthful of a name, especially when tipsy, she thought. "I guess I'll be lea-"
"I'll walk you back. I'm leaving anyways," he interjected, grabbing his coat from the stool beside him, throwing a few large bills on the counter and swinging his leather jacket over his shoulder. He started walking towards the exit, but noticing that Hikari wasn't behind him, he turned to look at her over his shoulder. "You coming?" he asked in a voice that was clearly bored and hedged on irritation.
"Uh, y-yeah," she mumbled, confused by his actions. What a strange fellow. She hadn't ever spoken to him except for the introductions at the onsen, which didn't really count. And made everything delectably awkward. "T-Thanks," she muttered as he waited for her by the door.
"Don't stutter. It makes you sound stupid," he deadpanned.
Hikari did a double-take. What? She looked up to check his face for any signs of joking, but found none. Hikari didn't have the patience to try to think of a comeback to his strange insult, so instead, settled for sticking out her tongue.
Grimmjow rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything for a few minutes. Finally, he broke the silence. "You the same Kyuuten Hikari that worked at Ichimaru's a few years back?" he asked casually, as if he hadn't just insulted her intelligence.
Hikari glared up at him, but he was looking straight ahead. "Yeah," she answered tersely, though it was easy to tell she was curious of the nature of his question.
Seeing the confusion in her face, Grimmjow provided an answer to her unspoken question yet again. "I'm there a lot. He talks about you. Ever think about going back?"
Hikari sighed. Every few months Ichimaru Gin would call her up and offer her more money, more this, more that, if she would come back to his business. Apparently, they were understaffed. But Hikari was happy where she was, and not really interested in working with cars much anymore. "Nope," she answered off-handedly and began swinging her bag with the momentum of her walk.
She could have sworn she saw Grimmjow smirk, but he didn't say anything for a while. "You work with cars much anymore?" he asked as they turned down the street that lead to her apartment.
Hikari didn't see how it concerned him, but didn't really care enough to tell him so. "Not a lot. I got out of the business," she said a bit more sharply than necessary, which earned her a look from her tall companion. "If you're looking to get some free work done, you can forget it. I'm-"
"I'm not. I have a guy," Jeagerjaques cut in for the second time that night.
Hikari huffed in annoyance. "Interrupting is rude, you know," she said bluntly. She was grateful that her apartment was only a few doors down, so she wouldn't have to put up with Jeagerjaques's lack of manners for much longer.
He shugged off her chiding, but realized that they were at her apartment when she stopped walking an fished a key out of her pocket. Aizen would kill him if he didn't take the opportunity.
Hikari turned on her doorstep, halfway into the apartment building, to bid him goodbye. "Goodnight, Jeagerjaques-san. Than-"
"Let's get dinner. Tomorrow night," he interrupted her again.
Hikari just stared. Seriously, who did this guy think he was? "You've got to be kidding! No way!" she exclaimed, but after the words left her mouth, she felt a little bad. She hadn't meant to so vehemently reject him, but her irritation got the best of her. She figured she could just blame the rum, even though she felt perfectly fine after their short walk in the crisp fall air.
Grimmjow looked at her blankly from her doorstep, blinking once. "I'll be here at seven thirty to pick you up, then," he said before turing on his heel to leave. "Goodnight, Kyuuten Hikari," he called over his shoulder, leaving her dumbfounded at the door of her complex.
"Ugh!" Hikari grunted in frustration, slamming the door with all her might. Where did he get off acting like he owned the world? "Ridiculous," she muttered as she climbed the stairs to her floor, still grumbling when she reached her apartment. She unceremoniously kicked off her shoes and hung her jacket on the rack by the door.
She quickly stripped and put on a comfortable night gown, and was hit with a powerful wave of sleepiness. It had been a longer-than-usual day. Dragging herself to her room, Hikari had nothing more on her mind than a nice, lengthy reunion with her pillow.
Author's Notes:
I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of my first multi-chapter fic! I just want to point out something in case there was any confusion: the legal drinking age in Japan is 20. Hikari isn't underage, but Rukia is since she's only 19.
Please review! No flames, but criticism is welcome. I would like some feedback! I have the basics of the plot planned, but I want the readers' inputs as well. Let me know what you think! My chapters tend to be around 5,000 words... too long? Too short? Just right?
I'm also in dire need of a beta reader, which you may have noticed since this chapter is probably riddled with mistakes. If you're up to it, let me know! Thanks!