Warnings: violence (blood/gore), coarse language, suggestive themes, tobacco usage, (future) adult situations, and various others in need of a warning sign. Read at your own discretion.
Chapter I: The Screaming Lotus Place
The glare of the screen against her glasses faded to black. All the data was stored on the hard drive and various other sources. The test subject lay unconscious after her extremist research concluded, though necessary change and data had failed to differ from the test conducted two days prior. She could cross them off, but she did not have that sort of authority.
Kurogane Akiye sighed, exhausted. She leaned back against the wooded chair, stretching out her numbed limbs as wide as the cramped computer space would allow her. Rubbing her sleepless eyes, she got out of her seat pushing a lock of tangled raven hair out of her face, surveying her surroundings.
Akiye wondered how long she spent studying the human brain while tidying up her workspace. Although after seventy-two hours, without a wink of sleep, doing the same research she grew to abhor, a small realization came to mind.
"Captain Kurotsuchi!" she called, stifling a yawn.
"What do you want, you bothersome girl?" the peculiar captain questioned, peeking into the smaller room.
"I quit," she said dismissively. "After seventy-two hours of inconsistent wavelengths and brackets…I've had just 'bout enough of the human brain to determine how dumb they are." She disliked humans. They were a waste of cells and blood vessels. Studying them only added onto her hatred and her captain's imposing nature didn't aid the cause one bit.
Her captain entered her small room, looking around slightly bothered by her excuses.
"I'm leaving for today," she said, walking over to a small table by the doorway. She pulled on a pair of large, round glasses over her smoldering crimson eyes. "All the information is still in the databases if you wanna look it over."
"Were you able to extract any samples?" her captain asked, intrigued.
Akiye turned around to face him as she reached the door. "No, but I kept the subject in the freezer if yer interested."
"Be early tomorrow for when the next subjects come," he ordered, uninterested in her sudden leave but what would arrive the next morning.
"Actually, I have plans on helping my brother gather them." She shrugged her small shoulders. "But if it's an order, I'll jus' comply." She struggled little to retain a proper level of equanimity when being around such priceless subjects, but her coordination was off and legs a bit heavy to pick up. She spent too much time buried neck deep in studies and experiments to realize her lack of sleep or rest until she stretched out her small frame. It was her duty to circumvent that level of exhaustion, but as one of the primary researchers of the Science Department and their newly appointed Ninth Seat, there was hardly enough time to relax or take things easy. "I'm sure he can have someone else help 'im."
"Good." The Twelfth Division's Captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, was more than excited for the new test subjects.
Akiye nodded wordlessly and excused herself, leaving the research facility with a quick shunpo. She had to make two more stops before allowing herself to rest. Her muscles were tense from constant manual labor and the relocation of strange specimens, along with other peculiar settings most women would be disinclined to go near. She was a lover of science, and her curiosity was her unstoppable drive. Where most shinigami fought to protect her world—sounding a tad too heroic for her tastes—she helped those poor heroes survive as they attempted to do so, liking the idea of standing outside the inner circle than within. Battles weren't interesting unless she learned something out of them, much like studying and understanding the abilities and capabilities of another. Aside from that, nothing of significance ever came about in fighting.
She shunpo'd towards Eleventh Division, the day was still young, although it was nearing sunset. Oddly enough, the days were growing darker much faster than usual. She knocked against the gate of Eleventh Division, ignoring the suspicious bloodstains on her white uniform.
She brushed aside bits of hair from her face, gaining no response from her first knock. She kicked the door, hearing a noisy altercation from within.
She arched an eyebrow, interested.
"Asleep again, you lazy bastard!" the voice of Zaraki Kenpachi rang loudly.
Akiye sighed. Zaraki Kenpachi knowingly referred to her brother with that sort of terminology whenever the latter irritated him.
She pushed the doors open and followed the captain's voice to the nearby dojo. She took quick steps, hopping over the small jagged stone walkway, feeling strange, inquisitive glances shot her way.
She glimpsed at her surroundings through the corner of her ey, men stared at her oddly starting to use her as subject to their usually battle-oriented conversations to something less glamorous. Some even shuddered at the sight of her, set on believing she would use them as scientific research. Though it was silly of them to consider it, only because she wanted to dissect every person in the world to see how they ticked, did not mean she wasn't organized enough to keep a waiting list. Such feeble-minded fools, she insulted through narrowed eyes before shifting her attention back to the clamorous dojo.
The shogi screens showed a sign of damages with crumples at their feeble wooded corners from the large hands of the animalistic captain who had thrown them open. The man was standing at the threshold without his pink-haired lieutenant on his back, considerably more threatening than usual with deep scowl as he continued shouting at the rest of the useless members of in Eleventh Division.
"Captain Zaraki," called Akiye monotonously, hopping onto the slippery floors of the verandah.
Kenpachi whipped around, facing her with a huff and rolled of his eyes. "Take your bastard and get outta my sight, Kurogane," he ordered. He gave the rest of the members within the room a sharp glare before storming off elsewhere.
She slipped inside the dojo, catching the attention of everyone inside the room, to find her sleeping brother drooling all over the once-sparkling floor. The big lug lay as innocently as he was known to do within their residence, golden blond hair a wavy mess and a calm expression on his usually sullen face.
She put her foot against his lean body, giving him a light push. "Kaito, we're going home now."
There was a brief silence within the room except for a few whispers she heard clearly, when Kaito's eyes snapped open, he jolted to an uneasy position. His eyes met with her spectacles, and he relaxed.
"Oh, that's great," he mumbled groggily while rubbing his face. "Where's my zanpakutō?" He looked around the ground and noticing the sour looks plastered on everyone's face.
Akiye shrugged.
Kaito stood up, wiping the excess drool on the collar of his shihakusho.
"Kurogane, here," a bald man called, throwing a silver-hilted zanpakutō his way.
He caught it with ease. "Thanks Madarame."
"Could ya hurry, I aint got all day," she stated, heading out the door.
"I'm coming already," Kaito stated, following his younger sister.
There was talk about her inside and outside, as always, but she figured she preferred other's being weary of her than aware. Since many were quick to categorize her as an idiosyncratic youth since before her acceptance to the Gotei 13, those around her passed rumors about her—terrible ones, though she hardly cared for their severity—that ranged from being a sociopathic loser with a cruel tendency of eviscerating defenseless animals to her immeasurable hatred towards anyone outside her family tree and the occasional genius comment. Though she proudly took upon the last remark because she had been revered to be one of the smartest students to grace the Shinōreijutsuin's walls, while not being very capable in the physical aspect of being a shinigami which was the reason why she was perfect for the Science Department. Of course, she didn't make ninth seat sitting around passing test tubes and yelling at new recruits all day, with the help of her siblings she managed to achieve the rank. Then again, she never asked them to train her; they decided it on their own after living nightmare after the next during their time in Rukongai.
She was never like other children, since she was raised in a different environment than everyone. After uniting with her makeshift family, they took notice of her insatiable curiosity when it came to old folklore and urban legends. Things of that nature drew her into the most absurd situations, a number of them so dangerous they were lucky to have escaped unscathed.
It wasn't until Kaito was at the brink of death that she was forced to promise she would stop looking for trouble. Since her attachment to him was far more important than troublemaking, she heeded his warning and behaved at the best of her ability. That was all until she was caught trying to dissect a small Hollow she stabbed with a fallen shinigami's zanpakutō. The group of shinigami that caught her encouraged her to join the Gotei 13 by attending the academy. Emphasizing the idea for the while, it was her older siblings that were the first to leave to pursue their dreams of becoming shinigami.
"Did you finish early today?" asked Kaito, yawning.
"Not quite, I stopped," she answered stiffly. "Studying the same useless specimens for three days straight was weighing on me."
The taller man gave an uninterested shrug, stuffing both hands into his pockets and squinted his eyes under the harsh rays of the afternoon sun. Her brother towered over her at six feet—slouching or straightened out made no difference in their heights— with willowy-like features and a jovial yet masculine jawline. He took pride in being blessed with such handsome assets that it never surprises him when he catches others staring. Regrettably, most stared for reasons unknown to him, and she found it difficult to give him reason to circumvent the nauseating guilt, which followed the revelation. From time to time, she did use them against him, mostly when he pointed out how petite she was in comparison to everyone in her household.
She moved closer to her older brother, pressing her arm against his and used him as her own makeshift shield against the ultraviolet rays of the sun. It was quite possibly the best thing about being short, hiding behind other's shadows kept her skin from harm.
"Where are we heading?"
"I'm taking yer ass to the Love Shack, and I'm heading off to the Screaming Lotus," she stated, tilting her head up to face him through her thick lenses.
"Why're you dropping me off at a gay historian's coffee shop to go drink the night away?" he asked, bristled.
"I thought ya were one for the coffee shops and the ladies who flock there?" she said, playfully nudging him with her elbow. "What does my drinking problem have to do with anything?"
"Well, nothing, just—" Kaito glanced over to the shorter unkempt woman with a sharp glare, disinclined to being dropped off at a coffee shop. He didn't even like coffee and no one of importance ever crossed the threshold into the pick lacquered shop. Sure Captain Aizen took Lieutenant Hinamori there from time to time, but who the fuck cared? They were wallflowers aiding with the girlish decorations. And he was more interested in visiting a popular place like the Screaming Lotus Place—hearing all the it people frequented it—but had to wonder what an outcast like his sister had been doing at such a hip joint.
He dwelled on the idea that she might have been seeing someone, but she was strange—wicked, unfriendly, vindictive, and scary. Her thoughts were clouded with experimenting. No man would dare to go near her in fear of leaving without his family jewels. "Are you seeing someone?" Kaito asked curiously, to confirm his own ideas.
Akiye scoffed, rolling her eyes behind her spectacles. "What gives you the stupid idea of me seeing someone? As if there was a man alive in the Seireitei that ever caught my interest," she dismissed quickly. Of course, she wasn't entitled to put a reason on how she gets her extra money to have access to more detailed experiments, since the whole dark business she involved herself in wasn't necessarily the type that was in her character. Even with Kaito's awareness of her double life, he meant to address her as she was—cynically disturbing—and there truly was no man of interest within Seireitei. "If there was…well…I suppose he'd end up splayed over a table naked, whilst I work on his—"
"As intriguing as that seems," interrupted Kaito, disregarding the picture his sister had created in his mind. "I'm not interested in the things you do to men when they are splayed naked on your work table."
"You just need to work on yer sense of humor," she replied, shaking her head.
"And you need to stop being so imposing with your other life by abandoning me in the worst hellhole in all Soul Society," he argued, deepening the frown on his face.
"Yer a little on the imposing side yourself, nii-chan. And simply because I leave you there doesn't mean you can't use yer legs to take ya elsewhere," she replied. "Yer stupidity doesn't justify my reasoning. Besides, I only go to that area because it's cheap and I don't hafta worry 'bout paying right off the bat. Lala's gotten me a tab and she trusts how reliable I am when paying it."
"Why can't I go with you then?"
"A grown man like you can find a better way to waste your life on something productive than following around yer imouto to watch her get criticized and drunk," she replied, bringing some attention to details. Small, pestering details that may have been able to crack Kaito's thick skull that she didn't enjoy his imposing company, but if he didn't get it…she was on the verge of creating a serum that would help him understand simplified yet very in-your-face rejections.
"Where's Toki-nee?" He changed the subject.
"Trainin' with Lieutenant Abarai Renji," she answered, having followed her older sister's every move with an insect-like camera the entire day. She searched for entertainment in viewing her sister's attempts to maintain her cool around her crush.
"And Nao-nii?"
"He's been on a mission since last night. He comes back tomorrow."
"So we're the only ones free?"
"Yes."
"Hmm."
Before taking care of her other pending arrangements, like sleeping, she would have to make that stop at the Screaming Lotus. To check in to her other job, which she has been neglecting and it was odd for Iko to take such extensive breaks in betweens encounters. She let out a curt sigh, running her hands over the white half of her uniform, moving her hands around her waist and over her shoulder. She forgot her zanpakutō in her workplace, but decided to ignore the fact since she'd go back tomorrow morning.
"I think I will have a latte after all," Kaito decided, vanishing from her side without giving her enough time to ask questions.
Liar. He disliked visiting the Love Shack, but was quite a fan of caffeine, not that he liked admitting to it either.
She shrugged and shunpo'd the rest of the way.
The Screaming Lotus was a two-story building, tavern in the bottom with a kitchen and full bar that served every type of alcoholic drink thinkable at a cheap price. White paper lanterns hung loosely underneath their billowing welcoming sign and through the second story window she saw a flash of green fabric cross assuring her there would be someone in to greet her. Though the bar had yet to open, it was usually teeming with well-known shinigami, ranging from important figureheads, captains, lieutenants, and shinigami she may have never heard of, and she was allowed to enter whenever she pleased.
Akiye walked inside sighting the buxom owner of the bar behind the counter lazily drying the glasses sitting in front of her. She glanced up, bored eyes piqued with interest and mouth open to shoo whoever had entered, when it was only the dark-haired bespectacled woman. "You're early," she commented.
"Excuse the absences, Lala," she said, hopping onto the nearest stool. "I was neck deep in provisional work, that Captain Kurotsuchi can really work a girl to death."
The hot brunette smirked proudly, sliding another glass underneath the damp cloth. "It's good to have you back."
She leaned into the counter and back, fingers curled over the edges. "Do I have any new appointments?"
"Right to the point, I see," she said, setting the cup aside. "Are you in need of money?"
"No, but I have a week off coming up and I was just hoping to get a few dates crossed. Not much of a hurry though."
Lala walked a few steps from her, pulled out a three envelops from inside a drawer and slipping them underneath Akiye's thin fingers. She inspected their contents, amused to have more than enough money inside to satisfy her greed, and smirked.
"This'd be nice ta buy myself a new kimono," she said thoughtfully.
"Yep, your top customers brought in the money this morning. The third envelop is from everyone else though," Lala replied. "As for new appointments, here's the list of people who have asked for you." Lala placed a slip of paper in front of Akiye.
She scanned through names, some familiar, others old, while some were new. "This might take up an entire month," she said, feeling a bit reluctant to work with so many people in a month. She shrugged. There would be a time and place for everything and she hardly had any to spare then. "Would you like to come with me ta get a new kimono?"
"Sure, when's the date?"
"I dunno prolly tomorrow after work, I'll turn up at the same time if ya don't mind."
Lala nodded. "Then, I'll leave the bar to Kishi."
Akiye let out a yawn. "Get me something strong," she ordered. "I'll prolly end up leaving soon or somethin'."
The brown-haired woman turned away, taking out a bottle and serving Akiye.
Akiye recognized she had crossed the point of no return, as far as inebriation came along, but Lala only continued serving her strong alcoholic beverages of all shapes and sizes, allowing her to indulge in induced-tranquility. She was a quiet drunk, who enjoyed the silence, which may be impossible when she was seated in the center of a cheery cacophony of voices. It disturbed her, but not as much as the promise she made to herself about only having one strong drink.
Chimes of new voices came to her ears. She glanced over with the corner of her eyes to see four lieutenants enter. She recognized each of them from Matsumoto Rangiku and the two men she often asked to drink to Abarai Renji, who occasionally accepted their invitations. They all stopped at the door at the sight of her, mostly the large-breasted woman than the rest.
"That killjoy is already here, let's go look for another place," Matsumoto Rangiku suggested.
"Let her be, she looks so far into her drinking that she probably won't care," Abarai Renji retorted in her defense.
"Besides, she's not one to speak to anyone she's not interested in," Kira Izuru added knowingly.
Hisagi Shuuhei would go wherever the woman requested and remained silent.
"Fine," Rangiku conceded.
That wasn't pleasing at all, at least not to her. Matsumoto Rangiku had every right to not want to be in her presence after what she told her around a month ago. In her state of mind, the exact words hadn't come to mind, but it involved her ridiculously large bust and Matsumoto didn't take it as a joke. After all, Akiye wasn't one for jokes…
She crunched the ice in her mouth before downing the drink, which left a bitter aftertaste on its way down her esophagus.
"Another," she called, lifting her hand up with her glass in hand. She felt someone brush against her, before Lala could catch her order and do her job. When she turned back, her dilated eyes met with the face of Ninth Division Lieutenant Hisagi Shuuhei…and he has never looked so handsome.
She blinked.
Something strange managed to creep its way past the many barriers surrounding Akiye's brain and it wasn't the normal disturbing sensation one would get the minute monotony was knocked out of clockwork, where things were known to explode. At least, metaphorically in this sense since allowing actual items or people to explode where she was would be classified as abnormal. As if, she wasn't anomalous enough. So, as caverns and wild habitats caught fire in the most godlike form, she stared dumbly at the brusque face of the man that was Hisagi Shuuhei. Tall, dark-hair, vigilant gaze, along with a passion, though being overly obsessed with Captain Tōsen's ideals and talks of justice may not be a healthy hobby for any man, in protecting all was what probably made Hisagi Shuuhei—for a lack of better words—sexy. Going back to the exploding volcanoes that found their way into the creatively imagined fantasy world she profoundly created—she heard a familiar voice calling to her and for a minute, it sounded like heaven.
In retrospect, Lala was nothing like heaven and the only plausible way she would fathom such notion hit her like a sack of bricks. She was drunk. And, she had the goofy grin to prove it.
A concerned Lala waved her hand over Akiye's face, attaining her attention but quickly losing it. The dark-haired woman had returned to her tranquil reverie where ponies burned to a crisp and she found the magical Know-It-All-Serum. Continuing with her weak excuse of a fantasy, Kurotsuchi Mayuri appeared to fight her to the death for the lucrative serum…and unmistakably so, he destroyed her—snapping her out of her delusions to hear the barwoman speak.
"Akiye, you're beginning to drawn attention to yourself," Lala stated, shaking the woman's shoulders avidly drawing her away from her trance.
She shook her head in mild denial. "I was fantasizing, please excuse me while I find a better excuse to cover my tracks," she slurred, turning on her seat and jumping off, lucky to have landed on her feet.
Lala turned her attention back to the passive lieutenant, smiling apologetically for the display of one of her praised customers. "What was it that you ordered again?" she asked, preparing herself with a notepad and pen to scribble down his order without interruptions.
Akiye had been around to bear witness to the final interaction of words, fighting against her own fantasy from taking over reality. She took the obvious hall that would lead her to the bathrooms, unsure if it would or not. In her current state, telling left from right was proving quite difficult. Disregarding the fact that picking the right bathroom would be hard, she stormed inside like a bolt. No female shrieks or males laughing at the mistake of the poor drunken woman—the coast was clear.
She found her way to the sink, opening the faucet and letting the water run. She pulled her spectacles off, placing them on the small counter underneath the mirror. Her eyes curiously met with her reflection, glistening red orbs looking back at her, amusingly styled hair she refused to brush that morning, along with the matching bloodstains over her lab outfit. To her defense, she wasn't one for cosmetics or the mandatory law that women had to be made-up and tidy everyday—as her older sister insisted. The difference between her and her wise kin was she was in love with a man; Akiye was in love with her work. Both jobs proved to be wonderfully indulging in their own way.
She cupped her hands over the running water, leaning in, and splashed it over her face. She used her uniform to dry her face carefully when the door opened.
Akiye panicked in drunken stupor, putting her glasses back on, turning to see Abarai Renji staring at her by the doorway.
"Kurogane-san," he called slowly.
"Lieutenant Abarai," Akiye recited, attempting to keep her voice monotonous, though a slur managed to find its way into her words.
"You're drunk, aren't you?"
"I'm beatin' 'round the bush," Akiye responded, walking over to him and patting his arm. "Now, if you'll excuse me…I think I'll continue my bush-beating."
"Kurogane, if you need to be escorted home, I'll take you," he stated. "I'm sure your sister wouldn't appreciate you getting home—"
Akiye burped. "'Cuse me," she said, walking past him.
Abarai Renji was the man her sister was in love with, but the idea of it being reciprocated held Akiye at gunpoint. Not that imposing on her sister's happiness was her intention. She merely wanted all source of men to stay far away from her, or she'd regrettably snap their necks. Call it a sister complex or whatever the norms refer to it as, but she felt strongly about keeping her sister at arm-length.
Akiye made her way back to her seat at the counter, stumble-free. She saluted her only friend in Screaming Lotus Place—whatever smartass was to blame for that title for a restaurant needed a new brain. She wondered if she had always been so hateful when mildly inebriated, or had the lava begun to disturb her functioning head. Nah, she probably was resentful, working late shifts to achieve perfection, wasting away the spring of love—courtesy words from her lovely sister—to indulge in strange intellectual discoveries and scientific assemblies among other members of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. After hours when the tiresome and stressing work of Twelfth Division ended, she allowed stress to leave her being through secretive means that involved much…surreptitiousness?
She took another gulp of her drink, no longer feeling the burn as the liquor made its way down her throat. Her vision deteriorated slightly with each swig of alcohol. As she looked at her hands, sitting against the dark countertop, she noticed her fingers giving her comic relief. It was in the way they moved while not doing anything at all. It was when they started speaking to her that she began to freak out.
Lala was too busy speaking to an old fart asking her for accommodations with Iko all low-key and such, but the busty woman seemed a bit reluctant to give her approval. Akiye only heard said conversation because where her eyes failed, her ears prevailed. Even she didn't approve of the old man; Iko had standards and didn't attend any rambunctious man, unless the right price was offered. Lala submitted after two more offers, each grand in their own way, adding another name to Iko's to-do list.
The timbre of voices was in harmony in every direction making it hard to distinguish one from the other. Surely enough, the cheerful voice of Matsumoto Rangiku found its way to her ears when the buxom woman mentioned her name. The possibility of her entire group being drunk was quite present, probability rising with each slosh of liquor. They were served two hours ago, according to her mental estimation and the amount of time her ass had been suffering on that stool listening to the allegations of Lala and the old fart. Rangiku's voice chimed with mischievous delight as she asked Hisagi Shuuhei to go on the ultimate dare, "go sit by Kurogane Akiye and talk to her." Immediately, none of that felt right. She was an anti-social creep with nothing interesting to pitch into a normal conversation, and she may have thought the man was exuberantly sexy without intending to pursue said notion.
Expecting the man to reject her persuasive dare, she feigned ignorance when said man took a seat beside her. Akiye took charge of avoiding a conversation by drinking long gulps of her strong-scented alcohol, hearing Renji's protests to Rangiku's dare as if disapproving. Kira meekly objected, but remained unheard by the others. She felt the uneasy glances shot her way like butterflies and bubbly hearts smashing against the side of her face. She hated both. She disliked anything that assumed her girly persona. What girly persona? She debated internally, until the ice inside her glass shifted, a smaller piece hitting her top lip.
"Lala, give me another," Akiye ordered gruffly. "Make it stronger this time."
Lala was still talking to the gentry on the left, too busy to aid a friend in need.
"You're Kurogane Akiye, right?" Hisagi Shuuhei queried, regretting that question immediately after he had mutter it.
"That's what my ID says," she answered cynically, slapping herself mentally for responding.
Suddenly, another volcano erupted and she figured it might be symbolic. Shuuhei cleared his throat, watching Lala hand Akiye another drink before turning to him. "Would you like something else, sugar?"
Akiye's round glasses slipped over the bridge of her nose, and she pushed them back, taking a sip of her liquor. It began tasting better and the nervous conversation starters shot her way were getting harder to turn down. Finally, her fantasy world crashed down, and she went into conversationalist-mode. Even Hisagi Shuuhei managed to loosen up in the slightest, still hearing the mocking laughter of Matsumoto Rangiku, clamoring about how difficult it must be being in Akiye's presence for so long. Renji, being mildly inebriated, told Rangiku that Akiye's hearing was better than anyone gave her credit for.
Renji was right.
Turning her head slightly, she resumed to ignoring the sequencing. She disregarded her surroundings when something cold fell over her clothes.
Akiye bolted out of her seat, staring down at the beer that had drenched her torso, and she heard an apology. She looked up and saw Hisagi Shuuhei staring shocked at her with a half-empty glass of beer in his hand. The laughter from the room reverberated in her brain, and she uttered an insult to him as she glared.
"What?"
"Nothing." Akiye reached for the cloth Lala offered her. She wiped the white coat, but the stain looked horrendous. She'd have to beg Tokiwa to give her money to get a new one because it was widely known that she never had any. She hated Hisagi Shuuhei at that moment. Before she sat down, she pulled off the white piece of her uniform, leaving herself in her shihakusho. She bundled it up and handed it to Lala, who stared at her incredulously. "Throw it out."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." Bloodstains never bothered her, but suddenly spilled beer had.
Lala merely shrugged, dropping the white robe into the trash bin. "Akiye, you should consider leaving soon."
Akiye stared at her wordlessly. She shook her head, reluctant.
"Really, Akiye, in no time you'll be beyond wasted and I have a feeling you may do something you will regret." Akiye could have sworn she saw the emphasis on that word.
Akiye shrugged it off. "Ya know me Lala; I've never regretted anything in my entire life." A strange hunch assured her those words would return and bite her in the ass. Her assumptions were a good percentage of truth, if she based them on simple deductions. Social situations weren't her forte unless she was living another life, but she was a wiz with numbers—that's all that mattered to her.
"Don't count on me when you come crying in tomorrow."
She snorted. Her? Cry? That would be an unsightly situation; children would cry out of fear and flee to their mothers if she ever shed a tear. "I have better things to do, like buying a new uniform." She shot a sideways glance at Shuuhei, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she overlooked her thoughts prior to their situation.
Shuuhei had been drinking, but after she made that statement, he placed his drink down and turned his body towards her. He rested his right arm on the counter, propping his hand up to rest his cheek against it. "Does antagonizing other people make you feel better about yourself?"
Akiye took another sip from her bitter alcohol before reciprocating his actions, turning to face him and lounging in the same position, a look of confidence on her face – though the large round glasses hid the determination in her eyes. "No," she began. "Watching people like you flaunt their meaningless existences makes me feel better."
Bothered by her response, he glared. "And you wonder why everyone ignores you," he stated, turning his face slightly.
"I don't wonder," she snapped. "I know why everyone disregards my existence, but that simple ideal never bothered me. If those are fighting words, you seriously need to think up better insults."
"It's not my intention to insult you, so if you took it that way, I apologize."
Akiye huffed, turning her body back towards the counter. She reached for her glass of liquor and drank the rest of it. "Rest assured, I'm not easily offended," she replied, attempting to embody her non-sarcastic alter ego.
"Was that a joke?"
"I was being serious." Another phrase left her mouth and it was dripping in derision. Her intentions were purely situated in settling their growing altercation, which she began, in a civilized manner, like how she would deal with unsettling situations dressed as Iko.
"Your comments are embellished in derision."
"Thank you, I take much pride in that prospect of life. Cynicism is my pride an' joy," she commented sardonically.
He laughed.
Akiye looked at him through the corner of her eyes, observing him. She brushed aside her earlier thoughts, being inebriated clouded her better judgment. He chortled in response to her disrespectful comment. She glared at him through her spectacles and took a drink. As soon as the burn settled in her throat, she began feeling lightheaded. She lowered her head and took a deep breath through her mouth. A strange sensation overwhelmed her, stopping her body from functioning normally as she continued breathing laboriously.
Shuuhei reached over, patting her back lightly, and she coughed. She pushed his hand off her, looking back up to search for her friend. Lala was on the other side of the counter tending to a shady customer. Akiye frowned inwardly, knowing that corner belonged to certain patrons she would have to meet.
She forgot to thank him and reached over the counter to the nearest bottle of liquor, fingers scarcely coming in contact with it before the lieutenant decided to help. Setting it down in front of her to receive a rather courteous grunt from the small woman as she plopped back into her seat, pouring more liquor into her half-empty glass and mixing two different—yet equally strong—alcoholic drinks.
At first, she hadn't felt the full effects of the alcohol, but after downing that drink…they began. Voices whispered strange things in her ears while she stared blankly at the wall in front of her, unaware of the misplacement of her glasses. Her imagination broadened, bringing beasts and princesses into her wonderland. It was something she wasn't used to having. He body felt lithe and easy to handle for once. Her vision was slightly impaired, but not enough to ruin her actions.
Nothing bothered her any longer. Everything was tranquil. Her mind was at ease. Time continued moving around her and she didn't bother taking part in any activity. She continued drinking, unaware of the fact that she was sharing her bottle with the man sitting beside her. She never realized Hisagi Shuuhei didn't leave with his posse either.
Akiye looked up at him, arching an eyebrow. He wasn't looking at her. He looked as if he was caught up in some sort of daydream. She nudged him with her elbow, catching his attention. He turned to her and blinked.
"Your glasses…" he said slowly.
"Am I suddenly extravagantly beautiful without 'em or what?" she asked derisively. "If there's no change, stop gawking at me." She turned away, staring back at the clock on the counter.
Lala leaned forward, close to her face with a glare.
"Lala, yer quite upfront about this aren't ya?" she said, smiling wryly.
"I'm going to be tastefully blunt, Akiye," Lala began through gritted teeth. "I'm sure you'll listen. It's three hours past closing time and as much as I enjoy having you here—" she glanced over at Shuuhei who was still in a mild stupor as he looked at Akiye "—and your company!" She caught his attention instantly. "I need both of you out, now!"
"Oh, please, Lala-chan—"
"Don't Lala-chan me!" she snapped.
She frowned, drinking the last of her liquor and setting the glass down. "This is why you should always be careful which night ya go to, Hisagi Shuuhei," she said, looking at the shorthaired man. "Tuesday through Thursday are Lala's nights, while Kishi takes Monday, Friday through Sunday. He's lenient, patient, funny, and won't care if you're throwing up—"
Lala covered her mouth. "You have work to do, just get going, take the lieutenant and make sure not to fall on your face on your way out."
Akiye glared at her and licked her hand. Lala pulled it away letting out a disgusted gasp. "You brat!" she shouted, about to lunge herself towards her. She jumped off, grabbing a hold of Shuuhei and pulling him along with her.
"She's entered dragon-mode, best thing ta do is let 'er steam on her own."
Something cut through the air and smashed into the wall in front of them. Both drunkards snorted in amusement as they bolted out the threshold, turning in time to see and hear Lala throwing a whirl of obscenities their way before pulling both screens shut noisily. Akiye burst into hysterics, managing to take a few steps until she had to hold her sides. There was water brimming in the rims of her eyes with the growing laughter, but after things stopped being as funny as they were she stopped.
The sky was dark and scattered with stars and a high moon. Paper lanterns adorning the streets had been put out except for taverns that stayed open longer than the Screaming Lotus but weren't very popular until after three in the morning. The streets were oddly quiet except for her quick breathing and the shuffling Hisagi Shuuhei was doing with his feet.
"Never noticed this place was so far from my place," she said sourly, stumbling forward.
Quiet footsteps followed close behind. She glanced past her shoulder to see the lieutenant dizzily walk behind her, eyes on the ground and mouth opened while muttering to himself.
"You followin' me Hisagi Shuuhei?"
He looked up at her, bemused. "N-not necessarily, I go in the same direction," he slurred wearily.
"Ah right, yer with…" She paused, attempting to remember what division he was in before making a slip and possibly getting lecture for not knowing a thing. He looked harsh.
"Ninth Division," he answered quickly, before she said thirteenth.
She blinked, bulb lighting in her mind. "You've got a couch, don't ya?"
His eyes narrowed suspiciously, like she was hiding an unsheathed dagger behind the back and asking him to come closer so she could stab him in the back. The femme fatale mentality, except being unattractive with dorky glasses and a continuous bad hair day, she read it scrawled all over his tattooed face.
"Why?"
"Look, it's enough of a pain walking from here to your place, to add the fifty miles it takes ta get ta mine in this condition…it's just pathetic." Akiye stood in front of him, hands on her hips, looking up with a resolute expression. "And 'cause Lala don't want me 'round her place. I've no choice but to ask you."
"Yeah, I've got a couch."
"I'm borrowing it."
"I never—"
She grabbed him by the arm. "Come on. Let's get goin' already, yer slowing up the line."
She might have fallen, maybe slipped, but she hazily looked from half-lidded eyes at the man who was lying beneath her, eyes closed and mouth open with sweat running down the side of his face, and felt movement beneath her. Feeling nails dig at her sides and a moan fall from her lips synchronizing with the rickety creak of wood, she bucked her hips and welcomed strong arms, which drew her against his well-defined chest. His hot lips met hers, and his swift touches worked out every nerve in her body to exhaustion, until the tingling had numbed her limbs, and he finally took control.
Only then did she for a split second consider…I didn't fall at all.
Akiye woke up with a crude taste in her mouth and the scent of various familiar smells, similarly the tart aftertaste of alcohol mixed with something tangy lingered on her tongue. She groaned quietly in attempt to roll her body onto her back, a strange tingling spreading through her tired limbs, dissuading her from the throbbing headache. She patted her head and opened somnolent eyes—requiring more sleep—meeting with an unfamiliar ceiling, in an unfamiliar room, and an unfamiliar place. It didn't look like the antiquing interior of the Screaming Lotus, or that of Hosokawa or Kawahara's private rooms, and it wasn't anything she ever came across.
Thoughts were racing wildly in her head, going from calmly thought out to exaggeratedly stupid until a sudden rustling besides her disturbed her. The thin sheet covering her body had been stolen by whoever was next to her and when she looked down she saw her boobs in all their glory.
Shit.
The familiar smells made sense now. It was sweat, liquor, and shameless sex.
Shit.
She turned her head and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of Hisagi Shuuhei. He was on his stomach, his body near hers with the sheet draped around the top half of his torso and as far as the bottom half of his body went, Akiye got away with a quick blush.
Shit.
Out of all the men in Seireitei, she had to get drunk and wake up naked next to a lieutenant.
Shit.
Shuuhei shifted closer to her and she got up in search of her clothes, but found nothing within the room.
Damnit.
She turned to him and kicked him awake, hoping to make amends…somehow.
He looked up startled while rubbing his eyes when he noticed a naked woman was standing in front of him. His eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.
"Did you like…rape me last night or something?"
"W-who are you?" he coughed out, pulling his bed sheets to cover himself.
Shit.
"Kurogane Akiye…" she answered to see him fret at the sound of her name, "Though I hear the norms have a tendency of calling me crude nicknames."
Shuuhei gulped trying to keep his eyes on her face, but having already seen her differently from the bustling socially awkward woman who ran around with a bad hairstyle and a pair of glasses that didn't suit her.
"So, did you…?"
He was looking straight into her eyes, the first crimson orbs he had ever seen. "Seeing as there are no signs of resistance, it might have been consensual," he replied awkwardly, a blush tinting his face.
"What time is it?" Akiye glanced around the room until she found a clock sitting on the ground.
She was late.
Shit.
Later than anticipated. She stumbled about the room in search of her clothes, dressing hastily on her way out the clothes littered hall between his bedroom and bathroom. She bolted out of his room without a peep and tore down the streets of Ninth Division hopeful of getting away with tardiness with a good excuse but her mind was already clouded with pessimistic thoughts.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri did not tolerate tardiness.
She never even had a chance to inform her brother she would be unable to meet him that morning for delivery. She was under the impression that she would only have one drink that lazy afternoon, not down seven liquor bottles.
Oddly enough, upon approaching the exit to Ninth Division, she saw Naoto standing at the front questioning Captain Tōsen. He saw her and excused himself from the dark-skinned man, rushing towards her.
"Nao-nii, what brings ya here?" she asked calmly, saluting him.
He wore a saccharine smile as he closed the distance, short silver/white hair perked up with a gust of wind. He stopped, lips upturn in a sour frown and eyes narrowed in scrutiny and frustration.
Naoto took her by the ear and gave a harsh tug, always concerned about what was good for everyone…so long as his authority as the eldest wasn't overlooked. What she had done by falling asleep elsewhere was just that and she read it in the twitch of his left eyebrow.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Don't think you're getting away with this easily," he stated.
"Out of what?"
"Tokiwa managed to get the information of yesterday night out of Lala—"
She arched an eyebrow once he cut himself off, fulminating and dropping his increasingly strong grip on her ear. She feigned ignorance to forget the encounter that she was unable to recall in the first place.
"—I'm sick and tired of having to hear rumors about you behind my back, but you just don't stop, do you?" He jerked her forward by the arm, leading her toward the exit. "By the looks of things, you may be out of an important job for a while."
Akiye stared at him in disbelief. "You're lying!"
"Captain Kurotsuchi is livid, he asked me to track you down before I became a victim."
She feared the worst.
Naoto turned to her, glaring suspiciously. He grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close. "Did you sleep with a man in Ninth Division?"
"It was consensual," she managed meekly.
"I want a name, blood type, birth date, a detailed description, and a location," he ordered, gritting his teeth.
She stared at him blankly. "You think I'll tell you anything about my personal life?"
"Anything that has to do with your intimacy has everything to do with me!"
"No, no it doesn't." She stared at him viciously. "Get off my nuts, Naoto!" She shoved past him, bumping arms harshly before shunpoing to her division.
