Hiyas everyone! I'm back and this is the 3rd story to my first story (which most of you probably know of...) Just Friends. I'm so glad that I was able to make it here; believe me without the reviews I got in the last 2, I probably wouldn't have created this one. So I guess...review if you want more...but reviewing is TOTALLY OPTIONAL. I don't want to force people to review for a chapter, I find that cheap and really pathetic (no offense to ppl out there!) Well, enough of me and I hope you guys enjoy this one!!--HotarunoYami
"Man this is so boring!!" Rin sighed as she tipped her chair back and snacked on a cookie as she boredly stared at the screen in front of her that showed no sign of activity. She sighed and yawned and stared up at the dark, clammy ceiling. She was about to doze off when someone yelled at her.
"RIN, GET BACK TO WORK!" Akon scolded her as he stopped by her little desk area.
"AAH!!" She screamed startled and fell onto the ground since she had lost her balance on the chair that was perched on 2 of its 4 legs. "Akon-san, you scared me!" She whimpered as she set her chair upright and resumed her work.
"Well that's what you get for not working" He told her. "Don't let taichou see you slacking off, you know how he gets when things don't go his way" He reminded her.
"Yeah, yeah I know" She sighed. "But this is so boring! There's nothing happening at all!!" She whined. "All because we are allies with the arrancar and the 3 traitorous captains are back with us under constant watch" She added on as she rested her chin on the cold desk blankly staring at the screen.
"Well, think of it this way: do you want to live a boring life with no danger or a life with a lot of danger but a ton of action?" He asked her. She gave him an 'mmph' and shrugged. Deciding that she was impossible to get through, he left her in her gloomy, bored bubble.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
A tiny little alarmed beeped in front of Rin. "Finally, something's happening!" She said to herself as she looked up at the tiny flashing icons across the screen. "Wait a minute…that's…it can't be!" She gasped as she stood up suddenly knocking her chair back onto the ground. The echo of the chair clattering against the hard floor attracted minor attraction for a short moment. "F-Fukutaichou-sama," Rin started calling her. "Take a look at this!" She said and pointed at the screen where 2 vibrant crimson icons flashed across the screen.
"Oh, thank you so much for coming again!" Rukia said as she hugged Rina for the 3rd time in the day.
"It's nothing, besides your kids are adorable!" Rina told her.
"Anyways, guess who's here again?" Rukia asked with a look of grimace on her face as she hinted over to the kitchen where a bunch of people were conversing. They both knew who was in there; the Kuchiki elders and another noble family that regularly visited as of last week.
"Not again…" Rina sighed as she zipped past the kitchen hoping not to attract any attention. Those nobles had really ticked her off on the first day she had met them. They would usually rant about how commoners were so lowly, dumb and poor while the nobles were the exact opposite. In fact, because of their remarks on the commoners, Rukia and Rina had raised Emiko and Shinn to 'attack' those nobles any time they mentioned something negative. It worked quite effectively as they stayed quite quiet whenever people of lower class passed by them.
"Hey Rukia, I'm heading out now!" Ichigo said as he grabbed his captain's haori which had the kanji 5 on it. "You know where I'll be if you or the kids need anything" He said cramming a bread roll in his mouth. "Oh and if those noble idiots say anything to tick you guys off, just mention koalas" Ichigo said stepping into his zori and sliding open the door. "Love you Rukia!" He yelled out before running off to his division.
"Kurosaki, Tsukiyomi! What a pleasant surprise!" A woman dressed in regal clothing made of fine silks exclaimed as she approached them.
"Umm…I live here…" Rukia reminded her.
"Yeah, and I come here everyday…" Rina added on.
"Oh right, right! How could I forget?" She asked herself as she laughed slightly to herself.
"Mommy, Shinn won't let me play with him and Emiko!" A little boy shrieked from the room next door.
"Oh Akio, just ask nicely!" She yelled back to her son without venturing through the sliding doors just to see what was wrong.
"Say, did you hear that the zoo just got some koalas?" Rina asked winking at Rukia.
"Oh right, they just came in today! How about we bring our kids there?" Rukia asked the female noble in front of them whose face was drained of color.
"Thanks for the offer, but I must decline" She squeaked out before rushing back to the kitchen.
"By the way Rukia, where's Byakuya?" Rina asked her as she looked around the room.
"Oh he's getting tortured in the kitchen" She told her.
"Ok, I have to tell him something that I heard from Nemu who got it from Yamamoto-soutaichou" She explained.
"What is it?" Rukia asked curiously.
"You should come with me too, since you need to know this" Rina said and dragged Rukia into the kitchen which was full of stuck-up, snobby nobles. "Oh joy" Rukia and Rina said sarcastically as they observed the kitchen. "Sorry to interrupt ojii-sama" Rukia said bowing down to an elder that was in the middle of a conversation with a man. "Have you seen nii-sama anywhere?" Rukia asked wonderingly. He pointed towards the center of the mob of nobles and the two girls darted past people just to get to the center.
"Taichou, can you get off your ass and come here for a sec?" Rina asked him. He sighed and gratefully left the room.
"What do you want?" He asked boredly.
"Urgent message from Yamamoto-soutaichou," She started. "The arrancar are active and are passing through the human world continuously; you have a meeting in 3 hours" She told him. "…Any questions?" She asked them since they hadn't really given a reaction to the news.
"Yeah, since when do you follow orders?" Byakuya asked her giving her a strange look making sure she wasn't sick or anything. She swatted his hand away from her forehead and gave him the look that she was serious about the news. He caught on fast and tried to escape the noble 'party'.
"Good luck" Rina said rolling her eyes as she ran off with Rukia where Rukia's twins were.
"Hiya Ken-chan!" Mika greeted her former captain as she hopped into the room happily. Zaraki gave a grunt as a sign that he had acknowledged her presence and kept on working on his work that was handed to him.
"HI MIKA!!" Yachiru squealed bouncing up and down excitedly. "So, why are you here today?" Yachiru asked her curiously.
"I'm just ditching work!" Mika beamed proudly. "Then I'm gonna go down to 4th division to grab some extra bandages for Renji, then ask Unohana advice on how to deal with a loudmouth who talks too much" She said explaining her day to Yachiru.
"…You're going to see Unohana-taichou?" Zaraki asked raising his head looking at Mika.
"Yup" Mika answered.
"Could you pass a message to her from me?" He asked.
"…What is it?" Mika asked getting suspicious.
"Could you…" Zaraki whispered the rest into Mika's ear. Her eyes widened and started to giggle uncontrollably.
"OK, if you insist!" Mika said trying to hold her giggling fit in. "I'll send the message onto her cupid!" Mika winked and dashed out of the room.
"Does that mean Unohana is going to be my mommy?!" Yachiru asked excitedly.
"…Am I your daddy?" Zaraki asked confused.
"Yup" Yachiru nodded with a smile.
"Then in that case, you're not allowed to date until you're married" Zaraki told her.
Yachiru cocked her head to one side with a confused expression on her face. "What's a date?" She asked him confused.
"Er…a date is like…" Zaraki stammered unable to define what it was without giving Yachiru any ideas. Ikkaku walked in all wrinkled up and steaming—obviously he had spent way too much time in the hot springs. "…a prune" Zaraki told Yachiru as Ikkaku started to work.
"I can't eat prunes til I'm married? Ok!" Yachiru cheered and ran out cheering happily.
"Smooth move taichou" Ikkaku smirked as he had overheard the whole conversation.
"Shut it Prune-head!" Zaraki growled as he dumped another workload on top of Ikkaku's pile.
"Shiro-chan, guess what!" Tori shouted out excited.
"I dunno what?" He asked boredly.
"You're supposed to guess!" Tori told him.
"I don't want to" Hitsugaya told her showing her that he had no intention of playing silly little games with her.
"But you have to!" She whined.
"Whine all you want but I'm not going to" He told her.
"Rangiku guess what!" Tori shouted out to Rangiku.
"You ditched taichou for Ulquiorra because he wouldn't play with you!" She shouted out.
"What?" Hitsugaya asked bolting up from his seat alarmed.
"Well you don't play any games with her so you should've expected it" Rangiku shrugged.
"…YOU GOT A CAR!" Hitsugaya shouted out.
"Nope" Tori shook her head.
"YOU GOT A BUNNY! YOU HAVE A MILLION DOLLARS! IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!" Hitsugaya shouted out getting into the game.
"Nope" Tori shook her head; before Rangiku snuck out, Tori winked to Rangiku as a thank you.
"So, the arrancar are active and now they're prowling through the real world?" Rukia asked once again as she absorbed the sudden news.
"Yup, that's what's been reported anyways" Rina responded.
"I'm so glad we're not captains!" Rukia said cheerfully. "We don't have to deal with so much work!" She beamed.
"You got that right!"
"Mommy, can Nariko, Yachiru and I have a sleepover tonight?" Emiko asked Rukia with pleading violet eyes.
"Smart kid equals celebration" Rina told Rukia.
"Sure why not, don't make too much noise and mess okay?" Rukia told her.
"Ok mommy!" Emiko's face lit up with joy as she went to call the other two.
"What about me?" Shinn asked wanting to feel included.
"Well, what do you want to do?" Rukia asked him.
"I wanna know how to play football!" He said happily.
"…ok…we'll get your father to teach you once he gets back!" Rukia told him.
"Thank you!" He cheered happily and ran off to some other part of the house.
"Nice timing guys" Rina said as Ichigo and Byakuya returned only to meet something they weren't expecting.
"I have to teach him football?" Ichigo whined.
"I have to let Yachiru in my house?" Byakuya moaned.
"There's nothing wrong with it right?" Rina asked them.
"How late are they going to stay up for?" Byakuya and Ichigo asked in unison.
"Emiko," Rukia called out. "How long are you guys planning to stay up for?" She asked her.
"As long as we possibly can" Emiko stated.
"You heard the girl" Rukia said.
"No" Both men said in unison.
"What's wrong with it daddy?" Emiko asked pouting.
"Its way too late for you guys anyways, besides you guys have a bedtime" Ichigo explained.
"Okay, before you captains ruin their night let me tell you guys something…" Rina started. "People who can't stay up past 9:00 are total losers, can't past 11:00 are lame and boring people, 12:00 and over are the best people!" Rina explained. "And that's only for sleepovers, normal bedtimes are whenever you want it to be"
"Uh-huh…and that's true how?" Byakuya asked her not believing her little theory.
"People that can stay up past 12:00 AM are great people who work during the graveyard shift… for some reason nobody likes that shift" Rina told them. "Oh by the way, how'd the meeting go?" She asked him.
"So when's Ken-chan's first date?" Tori asked Mika excitedly with a wide grin on her face.
"He said that he'd think about it and wants tips from us" Mika said.
"Of all the people he could ask, why us?" Tori asked confused.
"He says that our relationships are a lot better than a bunch of other people's" Mika explained.
"Hmm…how did I first meet Shiro-chan and like him?" Tori pondered.
"Sorry, but the price is far too high" Hitsugaya sighed as he started to walk away from a vendor selling fruits and vegetables, including watermelons.
"Wait, how about 5,000 yen?" The vendor yelled out not wanting to lose a sale.
"…I don't know if you know this but, we shinigami don't get paid much" He informed him.
"Please just buy one stupid piece of fruit!" He begged. "I have a wife and 3 kids to support you have to buy something!!" He pleaded.
"…You're just a 5 year old brat that's ripping people off" Hitsugaya said with a raised eyebrow.
"DADDY," The young boy shouted out; out stomped out a huge man towering Hitsugaya by a foot and a half.
"Uh-oh…" Hitsugaya muttered thinking that he had just made a huge mistake.
"HUZZAH, human ping-pong ball coming through!!" A feminine voice shouted out as a blur whipped around bouncing off of walls, the floor and sometimes people. "HEY GET OUTTA MY WAY I'LL HURT YOU!" She warned as she smacked into the huge man knocking him over onto his back. "Ow!" The girl whimpered as she got back onto her feet and dusted herself off.
"Take whatever you want for free, but just let us go!" The man pleaded.
"…Ok…" She shrugged and grabbed the biggest watermelon there.
"But you," The man pointed at Hitsugaya. "You're going to pay for the damages here"
"Hey that's not fair!" The girl protested. "It's not his fault that you're so freakishly huge and ugly that I hit you!" She yelled out.
"Hey you wanna make something of it shrimp?" The little boy asked the girl.
"Oh you're asking for it twerp!" She fumed. "…Kiritsukeru!!" She shouted out having one hand outstretched at the feet of the two people. Large slicing gusts of wind shot out suddenly at their feet. It obviously terrified them and told them that they could take whatever they want. "Here ya go" She placed the watermelon in Hitsugaya's hands.
"What? Are you sure about this?" He asked her as she started to walk away.
"Yup, I don't have a use for it right now so you might as well have it, besides that's what you wanted right?" She asked him.
"Well, yeah but it doesn't seem right…" He muttered.
"I know how you can pay me back!" She said suddenly which made him jump slightly.
"What?" He asked wanting to pay her back.
"Bail me outta class for the day and we're even!" She told him.
"Uh…sure…" He shrugged.
"By the way, what's your name?" He asked her.
"Tori" She responded.
"What about your last name?" He asked her; she stopped and looked around warily hoping no one would just sneak into their little conversation.
"Can you keep a secret?" She asked him; he nodded confused. She rolled up her long white sleeve of her academy uniform up to her shoulder which had a feather-like tattoo on it.
"Oh, so you're one of them" He said recognizing it.
"Yup"
"I'm Hitsugaya Toshiro, nice to meet you" He said as they stopped in front of the academy.
"Ok Snowflake, work your magic and get me out of class for the day!" She told him.
"…Snowflake..." Hitsugaya muttered.
"Oh yeah, Shiro-chan got me out of school that day!" Tori remembered smiling even more.
"…How did I like Renji…?" Mika wondered.
"Go!" Ikkaku shouted out as Renji and Mika squared off having their hands rested on the hilt of their zanpakutou, circling each other staring each other in the eye analyzing their moves. In an instant they disappeared and swung down at an amazing force down at each other in mid-air. They disappeared again and reappeared somewhere else.
"Dammit she's good!" Renji muttered to himself as he panted heavily wondering where Mika had disappeared to.
"Man he's an idiot!" Mika thought to herself as she landed a nice hard kick on Renji's backside sending him flying over to where Zaraki, Yachiru and Ikkaku were.
"Heh, nice try" He smirked and quickly jumped back up into the air releasing Zabimaru onto her. She dodged with ease and chucked a rock at Renji's head. Somehow, just somehow Renji didn't see the rock so he was clobbered and sent down to the ground unconscious.
----
"…Are you dead?" Someone asked him as his eyelids rose to see a blinding light stream down onto him.
"Where the hell am I?" He moaned as he sat up in a hospital bed.
"Alright you're alive!!" Mika cheered announcing it out to the rest of the division. "Phew! I thought I killed you!" She said releasing a breath of relief.
"Psh, like you could ever kill me" He muttered trying to recollect the memories before he was owned by a rock.
"Oh yeah, I'm Mika!" She said outstretching her hand for a handshake.
"Abarai Renji" He said and shook her hand. "What's your last name?" He asked realizing that she had only mentioned her first name.
"Let's play Hangman to find out!" Mika decided and pulled out a mini whiteboard and drew in 5 blank spaces. "Guess a letter!" She told him.
"…A…" He said.
"Yup" She filled in the 4th space; eventually Renji got the word without getting to the arms of the man being hung.
"Oh, so you're part of that clan…I get it now…no wonder you kicked my ass!" Renji said now knowing how Mika had beaten him so easily.
"Oh yeah, kicking Renji's ass…" Mika remembered.
"So we need some people to go down to Hueco Mundo to see what's going on?" Rina asked Byakuya.
"That's right" He nodded.
"I'll go" She volunteered.
Byakuya flinched slightly but Rina noticed it instantly. "What's this, the noble has feelings? Who would've guessed?" She asked sarcastically.
"I just don't want you to get hurt" He said looking away.
"Reminds me the first time we met, you would've never have said that if I went on a mission" Rina said remembering it.
"Ayaka, what're you looking at this time?" Rina asked her brunette friend that was peering out from the class door to the hallways.
"Shh!! He's coming, how do I look?" She asked turning towards Rina.
"…You look like an academy student like the rest of us" Rina stated.
"Ok good, I don't want him to think I'm a freak or anything!" She said getting excited.
"Who are we talking about?" Rina asked blankly.
"Kuchiki Byakuya, isn't it obvious?!" She asked her.
"…cookie…baka…who--?" Rina asked confused.
"No, it's Kuchiki Byakuya; he's like the cutest guy of all time!" Ayaka explained looking out the door again.
"…Co…Kooky…Kookaburra!" Rina shouted out thinking she had gotten it.
"No it's, Kuchiki Byakuya!" Ayaka corrected her.
"Kuchiki Byakuya…ok" Rina said getting the name right. "Now I'll know how to address him when he breaks your heart" She said out loud.
"Don't speak nonsense Rina, I know this guy and all he needs is someone to melt his icy heart!" She said dreamily.
"…3…2…1…" Rina counted down.
"Rina, he didn't even look at me and he told me to get lost!!" Ayaka cried as she reentered the room.
"I was prepared" Rina sighed as she got up from her seat and ran down the hallway. "Hey, dumb idiot, get your ass back here!" Rina yelled out as she approached them. Immediately, a guard unsheathed his sword and pointed it at her. "Oh my god," She gasped looking at the blade.
"What?" The guard asked confused.
"Your sword is in the worst condition I've ever seen!" She exclaimed. "You should really consider polishing it" She suggested.
"Hey thanks!" The guard thanked her and turned around to the rest of the group who just stared at him incredulously. "What? It'll make it prettier!" He protested.
"OK, listen here mister! You don't go telling people to buzz off without looking at them ok?" She told Byakuya poking him in the chest emphasizing her points. "You probably don't know this, but my friend Ayaka, who is way down the hallway, really, really likes you so I suggest you go back and apologize to her!" She almost yelled.
Byakuya just glared at her and started to turn around and walk away but Rina became his second shadow and followed him wherever he went, complaining about how rude he was to her friend and wouldn't stop talking at all. Eventually he gave in storming off to where Rina's friend was since Rina herself wouldn't ditch him until he did. "Get over it" He simply stated to Ayaka and proceeded to walk away; he surely shouldn't have thought that was going to cut it since Rina followed him around again. "What do you want?" He asked her.
"You didn't think I'd leave after something so inconsiderate like that right?" She asked him. He didn't respond which led to her shout-out to Ayaka, "FIND A DIFFERENT GUY, THIS ONE'S DEFECTIVE!" This earned her a well-earned glare from Byakuya once again. "I'm just speaking the truth, there's nothing wrong with that right?" She shrugged as she continued to follow him.
"Why are you following me?" He asked her.
"Why are you such a jerk?" She asked him.
"Why do you ask such irrelevant questions?" He asked.
"Why do you use long words that I don't understand?" She countered.
"Why am I talking to you?" He asked himself after realizing that he was conversing with a lower class person.
"Why are you talking to yourself kookaburra?" She asked him.
"I don't appreciate you insulting me or anyone else with your atrocious behavior" He told her.
"Well, I don't appreciate you using words I don't understand!" She countered.
"Would you please leave?" He sighed in defeat.
"Ok" She shrugged and walked away. "Bye Byaku!!" She waved to him as she walked away.
"Wait!" He shouted out after catching sight of her palm.
"First you want me to leave; now you want me to go back…will you make up your mind?" She complained. He didn't answer like usual and just grabbed her arm and studied the palm. "…Are you reading my palm?" She asked him confused. "Hey, how long am I going to live?" She asked him. He looked up and released his grip on her arm.
"10 seconds if you don't shut up" He answered. "So you're a Tsukiyomi…" He started.
"I can't believe we still argue" Rina responded. "Over the stupidest things too" She added on. "…I can't believe you're following me home!" She exclaimed now realizing that Byakuya had been walking alongside her.
"You and your short-attention span" Byakuya shook his head.
"You and your fancy words" Rina grumbled.
"Ok, guys I have a mission tomorrow so you guys are gonna have to handle everything tomorrow!" Rina yelled into her home as she walked in.
"OK!" Tori piped up poking her head out of the kitchen. "Where are you going anyways?" Tori then asked.
"Hueco Mundo, Flappy and Qui-Qui are screwing something up" Rina sighed.
"Tell them I say hi!" Tori told her.
"Will do"
"Oh yeah, this girl was looking for you today" Tori added on getting out a tub of ice cream from the freezer. "She wants to talk to you tomorrow" She added on.
"…Did she leave a name?" Rina asked trying to figure out who it could be from all the girls she knew in her life.
"Ay…something…I think it's Ayaka" Tori said spooning ice cream down her throat.
"Uh-oh…" Rina said with wide eyes.
"I heard an uh-oh, what's going on?" Mika asked walking in with snowshoes on.
"Oh I hope she's not mad with me!!" Rina groaned.
"Mika, why are you in snowshoes, a sombrero, oven mitts, a hoop skirt and a winter coat?" Tori asked confused looking at Mika's strange attire.
"Oh, Ren-Ren and I had a deal that we'd throw out whatever we didn't wear in a week's time" Mika explained putting on a gas mask. "I'm not going to throw out anything so I'm gonna wear whatever we have!" She declared putting on hundreds of bracelets and a hula skirt on top of the hoop skirt. "You guys are my eyewitnesses!" She told them.
"…Go to the attic and find the dress-up chest, you'll find a lot of stuff there!" Tori advised her.
"Aye-aye, Tori!" Mika saluted her.
"…Since when does she have all that stuff?" Rina asked.