Author's Note: This story takes place 100 years prior to the current Bleach events.
Learn Japanese!Hoshigaki means 'Dried Persimmon' and Kaki means 'Persimmon'.
Fizugaki Hoshigaki opened her golden yellow eyes to the sounds of sparrows at her window, a daily routine for her ever since she came to live in the Rukon district. She immediately sprang out of bed, pumped and ready for work. She turned and frowned at her appearance in the mirror. Her two hair-buns had come loose as her knee-length light blue hair exposed the two white fox ears her hair-buns were supposed to conceal. She sighed and sat down in front of the mirror, re-doing the former hairstyle and tying each of them with a black ribbon. The buns were ridiculously huge for her small form. Some thought they were humorous, some thought they were cute. Others absolutely hated them. She sighed again, thinking about the silver-haired, fox-faced teen that made it his personal duty to remove the ribbons and let the tresses of her blue hair fall.
She quickly put on her semi-formal blue and white kimono, careful to conceal her tail, and walked to the front of her house, which was a small restaurant she owned. She sold mainly candy and sweets with the occasional tea and food she served, all for a reasonable price. She grabbed one of the dried persimmon candies she made, deeming it her favorite creation. The process was quite simple in her eyes, as all she needed to do was cut bite-sized pieces of dried persimmon, boil it in sugar water and let them dry again. She grabbed another piece, munching down on the sugarcoated persimmon candy when the little bell to her shop jingled.
"I-Irashiamase!" The shy kitsune beamed as four people entered her store.
Ichimaru Gin grinned his usual sly grin as he walked with Hinamori Momo, Kira Izuru and Abarai Renji.
"Ano, what are we doing here, Ichimaru-fukutaicho?" The academy student, Hinamori Momo, asked.
"I'm just treatin' my three pupils to a well deserved lunch." He replied, eyes never leaving the shy Hoshigaki. Dried persimmon were his favorite food so, naturally, she became his favorite toy.
"She's cute, ne, Izuru-kun?" Renji smirked, nudging his fellow peer and motioned towards the blue-haired beauty walking towards them.
"Yes, but her hair-style is… interesting." Izuru stifled a chuckle at the girl's huge hair-buns. Gin's grin never faltered, but if one were to look closely, they could see a tiny vein on his forehead.
"W-What will you have today, I-Ichimaru-sama. I-I've made a new candy I think you'll like." She smiled nervously, as she led them to a table, ignoring the fact that Gin was inching closer to her. That is until he reached for one of her ribbons. She quickly dodged, the black silk brushing his fingers.
"Not today Ichimaru-sama, please." She pleaded, regaining her original composure.
"Whatever are you talkin' about, Hoshigaki-chan? I'm hurt." The shinigami said with mock hurt. Hoshigaki fidgeted and took out a notepad from the sleeves of her kimono.
"S-So, um, what would you like?" She asked, the shy smile plastered on her face.
"Ano, do you have anything with peaches?" Momo asked politely, wanting to satisfy her craving for her favorite food.
"Of course! We have peach tea, candy, onigiri, Momo no Kanten and peach sorbet." Hoshigaki grinned, a contrast to her usual shy behavior.
"I'll have the Momo no Kanten and peach tea, please." Momo smiled in return. She wrote down the order and turned to the red-haired student.
"And you, sir?" She asked sweetly, quickly warming up to the group (With the exception to Gin). Renji grinned, leaning in close to her.
"I'll have white tea and anything that's not spicy." His replied in a way that made the girl blush.
"A-Alright. And you, Kira-sama?" Hoshigaki said with much politeness to the noble.
"Do you have Agar Agar?"
"The best Mizuyokan in the district. 20 Kan a piece." Hoshigaki grinned again, as he placed an order for ten pieces and some green tea. Then, she turned to Gin.
"W-What about you, Ichimaru-sama?" She stuttered, going back to her shy self.
Gin noticed this and mentally growled. Why did she act so casual to everyone else but him? He pushed that question away to be answered later and ordered.
"The usual, Kaki-chan." His grinning face looked up at her as he used his nickname for her, causing Hoshigaki to blush. She squeaked and nodded, quickly scurrying to the kitchen to prepare the food.
Hoshigaki balanced three trays, one on her head and two in her hands, careful not to fall as she walked to the shinigamis' table.
"Here you are." The kitsune smiled, setting the trays on a table nearby. She placed the jellied peach desert in front of Momo along with her tea.
"Wah! It looks deliscous!" She beamed, taking a bite as Hoshigaki set down the other three dishes.
"How did you know Taiyaki was my favorite?" Renji asked skeptically.
"I-I just assumed…" She blushed lightly, placing Izuru's dish in front of him and then lastly, Gin's Dried Persimmon. She heard the shop's phone ring turned to answer it.
"Oh! And Kaki-chan, can you make me a bag of those candies you were talking about?" She nodded and answered the phone. Hoshigaki got an order for a bag of dried sweet potatoes as she was preparing Gin's candy. She set it on the counter along with the bag of dried sweet potatoes.
"Neh, Kaki-chan. We'll be going now." Gin grinned, taking one of the bags and set the money on the counter.
"Alright. Please come again!" Hoshigaki smiled sweetly as the group of four left. She put the money in a box under the counter and temporarily closed the restaurant to deliver the bag of dried sweet potatoes… that weren't on the counter.
"Oh no! Gin must've grabbed the wrong bag!" The kitsune fretted and grabbed Gin's candy and ran out the door.