The dust shifted around our feet as we stared at each other with so much intensity, you could practically see the lightening bolts flashing from our eyes as it met in the middle, causing a tiny spark.

Meanwhile, my tiny cheer squad, which consisted of Yachiru and Kenpachi, were silent as ever as the battle between me and the cueball continued. His even tinier cheering squad was poor Yumichika and Yumichika only.

"Give up Sumi, you'll never win this! I can see the tears in your eyes already!" Shouted Ikkaku while a smirk plastered itself onto his face.

"I will never give up!" I shouted back as the tears finally overcame my lower lids. They streamed down my face, but still I wasn't giving up.

It had been about three minutes since the epic battle of stupidity between me and Ikkaku began, and so far, both of us were dead set on winning. If you're curious as to what exactly we were doing I'll go ahead and tell you. We were currently engaged in the epic battle of a dramatic stare down, and sadly, I was losing.

I can't take this much more! I'm-I'm going to...dang it. I blinked.

My sweet surrender came as moisture returned to my eyes as the upper lids closed quickly. Tears that were dripping now started like a waterfall down my cheeks.

"Ha! I told you! It was my lucky dance that did it!" Ikkaku shouted while performing his signature lucky dance. One foot on the ground while the other was pointed out behind him, his arms stretched on front of him.

"Oh shut up! It was a fluke! Dust blew in my eyes!" I shouted while furiously rubbing my eyes and wiping away the stray tears.

Ikkaku had stopped his dance and started over toward me, but I couldn't see that because of my current activities. I felt something wrap itself around my shoulder and when I opened my eyes, they met the playful ones of Ikkaku. So you can guess what happen then. My face lit up brighter than Renjis hair in the sun.

"You know what that means right Sumi?" He asked while I scowled and look away quickly, trying to avoid more eye contact than there already was.

"No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me, aren't you?"

He let go of me and then did a small little twirl, stopping and pointing a finger at me. "Of course I am! Since you did in fact lose the battle, you also lost the bet. That means you have to do what I say for the rest of the day! Hahaha!" He had put his hands on his hips and began laughed loudly.

Meanwhile, Kenpachi, Yachiru, and Yumichika made their way over to be. You could practically see the small thundercloud of depression over me, raining down unholy drops of sad, cold, water.

"Hey, Hey, Sumi! What does baldy mean?" Shouted the small pink girl that seemed to make her home on the large captains shoulders.

"Hehe, well before the staring contest we kind of made a bet. The loser of the staring contest had to do what the other says for the rest of the day." I hung my head low, letting the rain fall on my head. The things Ikkaku would want to do. Great.

"Alright then move over!" Ikkaku said as he pushed Yumichika away so he could stand clearly in front of me. He leaned down to my level and said, "I know exactly what I want you to do for me."

I blushed a nice shade of crimson and managed to stutter out, "Y-yeah. What?"

"I want you to go on a date with me tonight." His voice that had been filled with playfulness had now been swept away by the utter seriousness. And me...I was at a loss for words.

Not really knowing what to say, this was a really big shock for me, I nodded my head up and down, showing him that I understood. He leaned back up and patted me on the head.

"Meet me at squad 11 barracks at eight tonight! Oh, and dress formally!" He said while sprinting off to goodness knows where. I on the other hand was a little...off.

"Hey, Sumi. You alright?" Asked the overly large Captain. He waved his equally large hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my daydreaming. It took all my might not to pump my fists in the air and squeal like the girl I was.

It was then the laughing of Yumichika caught the attention of all of us. "Oh please Captain, I'm surprised you don't know yet! Sumi is in love with Ikkaku. The fact that he just asked her out on a date is like seventh heaven for her!" After managing to get all that out he stated laughing again.

The tiny pink haired wonder hopped off her best friend shoulders and onto my own, startling me a bit. "You mean that Sumi has a crush on Baldy! Wow, I never thought anyone would actually like him!"

"Come on Yachiru he's not that bad!" I glanced at the nearby clock and I swear I felt my soul leave me a bit. It was already 6:30. Wonderful.

"Oh no! I have to get ready for my date!" Wow, never though those words would come out of my mouth in that order. Oh well, I have to find something to wear, somehow manage to out on make up, style my hair, and find some shoes...all in an hour and a half. Well, there's only one person I trust enough to do that.

10 Minutes Later

The door burst open to Captain Unohanas office and she almost choked on her green tea from the sudden action.

"Captain Unohana! I need your help, please!"

Appearently my face was one of great horror so when she saw me, she panicked a little. "Sumi, what's wrong? Are you ok? You seem...scared?"

I hurried in the door and did a quick and sloppy bow in front of her before rising up again and ranting about how I needed help with my date. "I need your help! I have to find a dress, shoes, do makeup, do hair, and-"

She reached out and put two fingers on my lips to silence me, but she did it in a nice way. I mean she could have just slapped me right then and there, but that wasn't in her nature. She was a kind person, which is why I came to her.

"Sumi, you're going on a date tonight? With who?" She said after removing her fingers.

I felt my face flush and I looked to the ground, whispering out his name. "Ikkaku."

I swear this woman switched personalities with Rangiku for a moment because she clapped her hands together, smiled a smile so big I thought her cheeks would tear, and her eyes sparkled for a moment. "Oh Sumi, that's wonderful! You're going on your first date and you're asking me to help with the preparations. I am so honored!"

And then just like that she was back to normal. Her eyes were soft and delicate, and her face was calm and collected. All in a span of about two seconds.

"Would you please help me Captain?" I asked her with my fingers intertwined in front of me face and the puppy dog look was going on.

"Of course Sumi, I'd love to. Now let's go see what we can find in your closet."

We both flashstepped to my small house and up into my bedroom. She asked me if she could look in my closet and I replied with a small nod. She smiled gently and went into what I called the closet of doom and or terror. I swear I don't know how I manage to find stuff in there.

"Is this a casual date or more of a formal?" She asked while neatly folding clothes and setting them on my bed.

"He said to dress formally, so formal I guess." I said while helping her with the never-ending mountain of shirts and pants.

"Aha! Here we go. How about this Sumi?" She asked while holding up a dress I didn't even know I had.

It was a strapless white dress with red ribbons going down the waist in a belt like fashion. She also found a pair of red heels that rose from the ground about an inch, so I wouldn't kill myself while walking.

"Oh wow, I didn't even know I had a dress like that. Better make sure it still fits." And it did like a charm. It hugged me in all the right places and flowed down at the bottom, almost like a blooming flower.

"Now to do your hair and makeup. If I may?" Captain Unohana asked sweetly.

I sat down in a chair and responded, "Oh yes, of course. Have at it Captain."

She styled my hair to where it was up in an elegant bun. A few stray strands fell on the sides but it gave it a sort of look that made it simple but beautiful. She put on my makeup which consisted of a light foundation, black mascara, light eyeliner, a red smoky eye, and just a smudge of clear gloss on my lips.

She helped me put on the shoes and then up on my feet. "You look beautiful Sumi. Absolutely stunning."

I looked in the mirror and dang was she right! Not to honk my own horn or anything but she did a good job! No wonder her hair always looks so perfect. I glanced at the clock and it read 7:45.

"Well Captain, I have 15 minutes to get to where I need to be. Thank you so much for all your help. I really appreciate it." I told her while bowing to show just how much I really did appreciate it.

I rose up and was greeted with a gentle and almost mother-like smile. "You're very welcome Sumi. Good luck with Ikkaku. I hope you the best."

With that being said, we exited out my front door and went our separate ways. I ended up at the squad 11 barracks a little early, about 7:55. Thoughts began to race through my already overcrowded mind.

Why would Ikkaku ask me on a date? I mean he hasn't shown any traces of liking me. Unlike myself who turns into a tomato every time he's brought up into a conversation, let alone being in front of me. That almost makes me faint.

A small cough was heard from behind me and I quickly turned around to see Ikkaku...dressed in a suit. It was black with a white undershirt and a red tie. Strange that we match huh?

"You look very...nice Sumi." He said and then quickly looked the other way. And dare I say it, but I swore there was a small blush on his face. He got some nerve and looked back to me and began to walk toward me. Once there he held out his hand and I took it with slight hesitation.

"So umm...where are we going?" I asked while admiring the scenery we were greeted with.

"It's a place called the Red Lotus. One of the fanciest places to eat here in the Soul Society." He said while looking down at me, a small smirk of approval on his face.

We got there moments later and he really wasn't kidding when he said fancy. Dare I say it, I felt a little underdressed! The place where we sat was pretty secluded from everybody else. Literally, we walked in, took a left, and then walked across this long bridge and onto a floating gazebo thing. That's where our table was. It was open and we could see the water rippling below, the frog jumping from lily pad to lily pad, and the fireflies were illuminated by the candles on our table.

"Oh Ikkaku, this is a beautiful place!" I said while admiring everything that was around me at the moment."

"Well, I figured that for someone who is a pretty as you are, they should be treated with nothing but the best." He said while looking straight at me.

I averted my gaze away from the open water and looked at him, "You-you think I'm p-pretty?"

I felt my face turn to a nice shade of red from his comment. That intensified by a thousand when he said, "Sumi...I think you're the prettiest girl I've ever seen in my life."

I was about to say something, or try to at least, but I was interrupted by the waiter when he set our food down on the table. He asked if we needed anything and we replied no, then he was on his way without another word.

As we were eating I noticed that Ikkaku was trying his absolute best to be polite and not just chow down. Unfortunately for him, all those manners were only making things worse for him. Some how, that poor child managed to get a small splatter of sauce on his forehead and he didn't even notice it.

I let out a small giggle and looked at me strangely. "What is it Sumi?"

I got my napkin and leaned forward a bit. "Come here Ikkaku."

He leaned forward and I gently wiped away the offending sauce that dare interrupt our date. I saw him begin to lean closer and I swear my heart was pounding so fast and so loud I thought the gazebo would sink. Finally he reached his destination and we shared only for a moment a soft tender kiss.

Pulling away and sitting back normally both our faces were in fact as red as you could get.

"Sumi, I was wondering...you know if maybe you would like...to be my girl...girl fr-...my girlfriend." Ikkaku said while looking away into the open night air.

"Be your...girlfriend?" I said with shock.

"I understand if you don't want to be, I mean with me being bald and a-"

I cut him off with another kiss. Not sure why but in one day he had made me the happiest girl alive. "Don't worry Ikkaku, I like you bald."