With a Little Help From My Friends
Disclaimer: Bleach does not belong to me.
Warnings: None really. T to be on the safe side (one use of language) and only hints of pairings; no spoilers.
Italics = thoughts.
To L., for introducing me to Bleach and for editing this. Thank you!
Part one: Plotting
"Shunsui, are you sure Ise-san will be okay with this? Wouldn't a small dinner or tea party seem better suited for her birthday?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Jyuushirou – dinner and tea are too simple to celebrate my favorite vice captain's birthday properly. How else should I show my appreciation than with a surprise party? I'm sure my lovely Nanao-chan will enjoy the party, I've already got Matsumoto to help us prepare. Now this is where you come in."
"I hate to ask."
"It's nothing. I just need her out of the 8th division long enough to set up the party and then you need to bring her back here for the surprise. Can you take her away to 13th for a bit and keep her there for a couple of hours at least?"
The white-haired 13th division captain looked over at his best friend before shaking his head and smiling. "I'll do it."
"Great," Shunsui clapped his hand on Jyuushirou's shoulder, "I knew you'd do it. The party's the day after tomorrow, and I was hoping you could have her out of here from about seven to nine…at any rate, she can't be back before at least nine. Also, is there any possibility you could get the senkai gate open, too? Matsumoto wanted to invite a couple of the kids, something about a themed party and help from Inoue Orihime, and we figured since you're generally at the gate openings…"
"I'll see what I can do. Now, I'm going to go finish up some paperwork before I get roped into any more of your ideas."
"Sayonara, then, Jyuu. And do whatever it takes to get Nanao away from the office!"
"Afternoon, Shun," he called out over his shoulder as he headed over to his own division.
---
The next morning, a slightly hungover Matsumoto Rangiku found herself tiptoeing into her division office in an attempt to enter unnoticed.
"Oh, Hitsugaya-taichou!"
"Yes, Matsumoto?" her captain wearily asked over the piles of paperwork threatening to topple off his office desk.
"Could you pass me part of that stack of forms?"
The temperature of the 10th division office plummeted. "What did you do this time, Matsumoto?"
"Oh, nothing... a vice captain is supposed to help her captain, no?" Smiling, she continued, "And anyways, I figured if I helped you with your paperwork-"
"This is your paperwork, Matsumoto-"
"-you could help me with a few preparations for Nanao's surprise party! After all, you have the most incredible zanpakutou and it would be unnecessary to hire someone to make an ice sculpture what with you having Hyourinmaru. After all, aren't you always telling me to save money? And that way, more of the party budget can go towards sake."
"Hyourinmaru is my zanpakutou, not a party accessory."
"But wouldn't it be beautiful!" said Ayasegawa Yumichika as he gracefully sidestepped the mountains of paperwork while carrying over a large binder full of photographs and notes. "I brought over some stuff that you might want to look at, Rangiku-san, and thought we could decide on the party look together."
"But," Hitsugaya started.
"Don't worry, Taichou, I invited Yumichika-san over to help us plan."
"Well, of course, you'd never finish preparations in time on your own," Yumichika stated as he flipped his hair shampoo-commercial style over his shoulder while making his way over to a chair near Matsumoto's desk.
"Wait a minute! Why are you doing this here, and during office hours no less?" Hitsugaya demanded.
"Kyouraku-taichou said planning the party in either the 8th or 13th division would be a bad idea since Nanao would figure out what was going on if it was planned in 8th and if done in the 13th, there's always the chance she'd come in while looking for Kyouraku-taichou."
"Not to mention those idiot third seats couldn't keep a surprise to save their life; they'd be too busy arguing over who could better keep a surprise party a surprise," Yumichika added.
"True," Hitsugaya found himself agreeing. "But if I allow this to go on here, Matsumoto, you have to work overtime after the party to make up for hours lost, and you have to clean the office."
Hitsugaya suddenly found himself the recipient of one of Matsumoto Rangiku's infamous hugs. "I knew you'd say yes!"
A knock on the door spared the white-haired captain from suffocating between Matsumoto's breasts. "Matsumoto-fukutaichou? I have some visitors here to see you." Having barely finished his announcement, the messenger found himself pushed aside by a skirted orange blur headed straight towards Matsumoto.
"Inoue!"
"Matsumoto-san! I missed you!"
"I'm happy to see you, too. Hello, Kurosaki-kun and Sado-kun," she said, glancing around at the room to see Kurosaki Ichigo and Sado Yasutora carrying boxes and bags – and in Sado's case, one very pink papier-mâché donkey piñata.
"Well, Kurosaki-kun, Sado-kun, Ishida-kun, and I all got your message, but Ishida-kun couldn't make it. As soon as I heard I started running around getting ready, though. The party's tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, Inoue, you can stay with me tonight, and I've arranged for Abarai to take you two," she nodded at Kurosaki and Sado. "Thanks for coming and for helping with the party. I thought a real-world themed party might be fun, and who better to help out than you guys?" said Matsumoto with a grin.
"Of course, so we brought a few things to help out. I didn't have much time to grab things since we had school this afternoon otherwise I would have gone grocery shopping to help with the food, too."
"Thank the gods," Hitsugaya muttered under his breath.
"I brought along some games and had some ideas for some activities, but I'm going to need your help to set some of these up," continued Inoue.
"Sure, what'd you have in mind?"
At that instant, Shunsui strolled into the office. "Am I late?"
"You're just in time, Kyouraku-taichou," Matsumoto replied.
"Excellent! Let's get to the essentials, I can only stay a little while before Nanao-chan notices I'm gone," he said as he pulled out a bottle of sake from his sleeves and set about pouring some for everyone.
"I think I'm going to step out for lunch. Don't make a mess," said Hitsugaya, preferring to slip out of his office as it turned into party planning central.
"Ok," Inoue began, "I brought along a karaoke machine and a game that my brother bought for me a long time ago. I also have a list of ideas for some other activities and Sado told me about birthdays in Mexico and piñatas so he brought one along for tomorrow."
"What's a piñata?" added Matsumoto.
"Sado-kun explained piñatas to me as containers that people string up and have the birthday person try to break open with a bat or stick to shower the insides on everybody."
"What's it supposed to have inside?" the shinigami asked.
"Candy," said Sado.
"Candy?! Where's the candy?" demanded Yachiru, who had suddenly stopped by check in on Yumichika. Seconds later a white blur appeared in the office as Jyuushirou shunpoed in.
"Shunsui, Ise-san just noticed your absence, she's going to start looking for you soon if you don't get back quickly."
"Candy! I want candy!"
Shunsui exchanged looks with Jyuushirou before grinning. "Kusajishi-fukutaichou, if you want candy you need only ask," he smiled, "but I don't carry it on me. If you go back to the 8th division office, Nanao-chan can give you the candy I keep there. There's a lot of candy there, but she might try hiding it from you so you have to keep asking until she gives it to you."
"Yay! Candy! Thank you, Kyouraku-taichou." With that, the pink ball of energy sped off towards a promise of candy and an unsuspecting vice captain.
"If she ever decides that she's put up with you too much, Shun, I'm going to steal Ise-san and take her into the 13th."
"You know I'd never let you," Shunsui grinned. "Ok, so what were these activities you were thinking of, Inoue-san?"
"Well, aside from karaoke and the piñata, I was thinking of this game, Twister, and maybe Pin the Tail on the Donkey, but I need to get some sort of poster for that. You get a big poster of a donkey that doesn't have a tail and then hand out tails to the party-goers, blindfold them, and then they try to put the tails on the poster where they should go. The person who gets the tail closest to where it should go wins…however, we can change the poster to something else besides a donkey and have people try to pin something else up. Besides that, Kurosaki-kun and Sado-kun were going to help set up the karaoke, and we figured maybe Matsumoto or someone else could take over the board game, and Ise-san can break the piñata open sometime, too. Any ideas?"
"Excellent!" cried out Shunsui. "I have just the idea. I'll get a poster for this donkey game… Jyuushirou, care to take a walk with me?"
"But, we have to get back to-"
"No buts, Jyuu. I spare nothing for my Nanao-chan. Let's go!" And with a nod of his hat, the 8th division captain disappeared, dragging along his reluctant accomplice.
"Okay, well, onto food and decorations, then! I've asked Hisagi, Kira, and Abarai to help out by picking up the liquor and setting up the bar – you can never have too much sake, you know, and Kyouraku-taichou said he'd get some help from the 8th division cafeteria and some of the Kyouraku family servants for the food, so we don't need to worry about that. I've got Hitsugaya-taichou to do ice sculptures. What do you guys think for the rest of the decorations?"
With that, the group organized the specifics of the next day's party as they sipped sake and debated over color schemes and flower arrangements.
---
Two blurs moved quickly across rooftops before slowing down as they reached the roofs overlooking the 13th division pond.
"Why do I have to take this? This is your idea, not to mention Kurotsuchi-san is my neighbor and more than likely I'm going to have to be the one to clean up this mess." At this, Jyuushirou glanced at the roofs behind them.
"Jyuu, you worry too much. Kurotsuchi won't bother you – not for a while anyways."
"What did you do?"
"Well, when you were running out with this," Kyouraku pointed to the bulky form wrapped up in white paper that was currently under his arm, "I may have pushed some buttons, and, accidentally, of course…caused Kurotsuchi to partially revert to his liquid form."
"You what?!" he managed to get out after a brief coughing fit.
Shunsui pretended not to hear him. "We needed to borrow his printer machine, and we have – mission complete!"
"You needed to borrow the machine."
"What's the difference," he smiled, "now that we've got what we needed? Nanao-chan's going to love this game! I just need you to help me hide it for now."
"Shun, if anyone sees me with this..." he said as Kyouraku shoved the oversized item into his hands.
"Only for tonight. I can't take it back to the 8th with me now - I'm sure Nanao's on the prowl. I just need you to hold onto it a while. I'll come by tomorrow morning when I can sneak it back to my quarters."
"Okay, but it has to be gone tomorrow. If people saw me with this-"
"They won't."
"-then we're going to have to put up with the whole Shunsui and Jyuushirou are secret lovers rumor again. The last time that went around I had to have a long talk with my girlfriend. She nearly set my hair on fire with kidou before I could explain myself." At this, Ukitake ran his fingers through his hair as if to reassure himself it was undamaged.
"No worries, no one's going to see this until tomorrow night." With that, he handed his best friend the bulky item he'd been lugging. "Thanks, Jyuushirou – and don't worry about Kurotsuchi, I'll take care of him if we have to. Well, I better be getting back to the office to help out with the paperwork. Nanao-chan won't be too happy about that visit from Yachiru." With that, Shunsui flash stepped towards his office while Jyuushirou bounced down to his quarters below, taking the wrapped package with him.
---
"I'm going to kill that man," Nanao muttered aloud as she returned to her work. So he wants to keep me busy. Underestimated me again, taichou, she thought to herself just as she picked up the familiar reiatsu moving towards the office.
"Nanaaooo-chan!"
"Afternoon, Taichou. Your stack of work awaits. Oh, and Taichou?" she asked as she picked up a stack of forms an inch-and-a-half high off her desk.
"Yes, Nanao-chan?" Shunsui said suggestively as he bat his eyelashes at his vice-captain.
"I used up the rest of the office emergency supply of jellybeans and licorice, so I decided to adjust the budget in case you find it necessary to feed the walking cavity that is Kusajishi-fukutaichou again. Here's form 147 for food purchases, form 323 to approve the use of Candy Candy as an acceptable vendor, form 323B should Candy Candy accept vendor status, and forms 1501A, 1501B, 1508, and 1608 to adjust budget allocation accordingly," she said as she slammed the pile of forms on top of her captain's desk with the tiniest of smirks on her face. "Of course, Yachiru-san and I had such a lovely time catching up and discussing Shinigami Women's Association affairs, I just had to thank her for spending her afternoon with me – so I cleaned out the chocolate stash you had in your desk drawer and decided to send along a little something for Zaraki-taichou and the other eleventh division officers for letting me borrow their fukutaichou."
Comprehension dawning, Kyouraku raced over and looked behind the bookshelves, under the couch cushions, and in the bottom drawer of his file cabinet.
"Nanao-chan, where's the sake?"
"Kyouraku-taichou," she said, adjusting her glasses, "I thought I just told you – I sent the 11th division a little thank-you. After all, aren't you the one always telling me there's nothing better than sake? Sir." Nanao collected her belongings and headed towards the door, ready to end her work day a little early so as not to be persuaded into helping her captain do the paperwork she had given him as payback. She paused by the door, stopping to bend her head towards her captain's ear as he sat dejectedly on the couch. "You didn't really think you'd get away with that so easily, did you, Taichou?" With that, she left the office to retire to her quarters.
Part two: The Party
"Ise-fukutaichou, I wanted to thank you for coming by to help Kiyone and Sentarou sort out the preliminary squad member selection files. May I offer you some tea?"
"You're welcome, Ukitake-taichou. As for the tea, thank you, but that is not necessary. I should probably be on my way back to the 8th so that I can go find where Kyouraku-taichou misplaced our own squad member selection files."
Oh, no. I have to keep her here another twenty minutes.
"Surely not, Ise-san. Just one cup of tea? I'm sure Shunsui can manage the office a little while longer without you."
"Ok, Ukitake-taichou. One cup."
"Kiyone, Sentarou, can one of you make a fresh pot of tea? This one is cool already."
"But, Ukitake-taichou, that pot-"
"- is a bit overbrewed, really. A fresh pot won't take long at all," he said, looking out the window at his garden.
He was able to keep her a while longer by talking about the new tea blends Yoruichi had brought him from Urahara, his current landscaping projects, and complimenting her superb organizational skills, but when the grandfather clock in the corner struck nine, Nanao decided she should get going.
"Thank you for tea, Ukitake-taichou, but I think I'll be on my way now."
"Ok, Ise-san, but I'm also headed towards the 8th myself to see Shunsui. Will you please wait for me while I… while I…" Think, think, Jyuushirou, "while I go grab a handkerchief. Yes, I'll be right back," he said as he headed towards the dock leading to his private rooms.
"But, Taichou, I could get you a handkerchief," interrupted Sentarou before being elbowed in the stomach by his co-third seat.
"But, Taichou, you already have a handkerchief in your pocket so you have no need of Sentarou!" shouted Kiyone.
Damn, I really ought to get a new vice captain one of these days. If I could only get Kuchiki-taichou to reconsider… "Umm…well… I need the one I have in my room because, because…it's my lucky handkerchief! Ise-san, one moment."
With that, Ukitake ran towards his quarters on the pond before a confused Ise Nanao could respond. He ran back in a couple of minutes later making a great show of his "lucky" handkerchief (which seemed to Nanao to look exactly like the one he'd had sticking out of his pocket only minutes earlier).
"Shall we shunpo over?" Nanao asked, picking her big book off the table.
"It's such a lovely night out, Ise-san, let's walk over to 8th instead," he replied as he wrapped a navy scarf around his neck, "and…and…it's better for my health."
Nanao raised an eyebrow at this.
"Well, that's what fourth division told me at my last check-up."
"As you wish, Ukitake-taichou." Nanao was too busy thinking of the mountains of work waiting for her ahead to notice the hell butterfly making a beeline towards the 8th division.
---
"Ok, everybody," Shunsui boomed after listening to the message Jyuushirou had sent, "we've only got a few minutes before Jyuushirou arrives with Nanao-chan. Last minute preparations and then everybody hide!" The crowd of partygoers, mostly 8th division plus many of the other divisions' top officers, made minor adjustments and took their places in the office.
"Since when does Yamamoto-sama allow the use of hell butterflies for personal messages?" asked Isane.
"Since when have Kyouraku-taichou and Ukitake-taichou followed regulations?" grinned Hisagi before Matsumoto ushered her fellow vice captains into appropriate positions before leaving to find her dear captain.
"What's Kyouraku-taichou doing in the yard?" whispered Rukia to Renji from their place behind the brown leather office sofa.
"Beats me," he responded. As if reading their minds, Kyouraku winked over at them before covering a large item with a flowery pink haori identical to the one he was currently wearing.
"It's time for people to hide – I'm going to be turning the lights out in a minute!" Kyouraku shouted as he came back inside.
"Hitsugaya-taichou, there you are-"
"I know, I know," the youngest captain mumbled before unsheathing his zanpakutou, Hyourinmaru, and set about quickly making ice sculptures per Matsumoto's instructions in the office and the large courtyard which had been set up and decorated for the party. "This is the last time I use Hyourinmaru for-"
"Shh!" Kyouraku hissed before hitting the lights as he felt the familiar reiatsu of his best friend and his lieutenant come through the 8th division gate.
---
"Ukitake-taichou, I don't think Kyouraku-taichou will still be in the office. You'd be better off looking for him in his own quarters or maybe the roof."
"All the same, ISE-FUKUTAICHOU," Ukitake practically shouted at the open office windows as he and Nanao headed for the door, "I don't mind stopping by the office first." With that, the 13th squad captain pulled Nanao up the stairs, down the hallway, and into her office.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NANAO!" rang out from the well over a hundred guests who'd come to celebrate Nanao's birthday as they jumped out from their positions, a beaming Kyouraku Shunsui in the center on bended knee with bouquet in outstretched hand.
Nanao walked over to the well-wishers through a path of sakura trees made of ice while Yachiru threw rose petals at the shocked lieutenant from her position on Zaraki Kenpachi's shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that all the work for the day – in fact, the work for the rest of the week – had all been completed by her captain.
"For my dearest Nanao-chan, a birthday kiss-"
Shunsui was hastily interrupted by Nanao's fan.
"Well, maybe later," said Kyouraku as he rubbed his nose where she had hit him. "These are for you." He held out a large bouquet of pale pink roses.
"Thank you, Taichou, you shouldn't have-"
"Nonsense, anything for my Nanao-chan. Now, let's go to where the real party is," he said before taking Nanao's hand and leading her out back. They went into the courtyard behind the office where the party attendees milled about the open bar and various activity areas. Dozens more of the sakura trees of ice glittered in the courtyard while banners with pink proclamations of "Happy Birthday, Nanao-chan" hung from the balconies surrounding the courtyard.
"For the first activity I have to thank Inoue Orihime for her help," Shunsui nodded at Inoue who was standing with Kurosaki, Sado, Rukia, and Renji. "So, ladies," he said, pulling off a pink haori to reveal a life-sized cut-out of himself, "let's pin the zanpakutou on the taichou! Whoever pins my zanpakutou closest to its sheath while blindfolded wins a kiss." With this announcement, Shunsui pulled out the dozen zanpakutou tags he'd made and started pushing them in the hands of the nearest women, making sure to save one for his vice captain. "Of course," he winked at Nanao, "my Katen Kyōkotsu is really quite… larger," at this Nanao felt her cheeks turn the color of her captain's haori, "but this makes the game more fun."
"Jyuushirou," he whispered to his friend who stood beside him, "help me make it so Nanao wins."
"Shunsui, when my third seats entered my quarters this morning with my tea – as you failed to come at an early hour – I had to explain to them that the cut-out was for the party tonight, that I was not constructing a shrine to Kyouraku-taichou, and – to answer Kiyone's question – yes, the Shinigami Women's Association can still list me in their eligible bachelors of Seireitei special newsletter. I will not help you cheat at this game so you can kiss Ise-san."
Before Shunsui had a chance to respond there was an explosion and purple smoke billowing out from a corner of the courtyard and an angry blue-haired man dressed in plain black shinigami robes was charging straight towards him.
"Fiend!" cried out Kurotsuchi Mayuri, pointing his zanpakutou at Shunsui. "You jammed my machines, you skirt-chasing drunk, and for this!" With that, he pulled out Ashisogi Jizou – though he kept it in its sealed state – and sliced off the cardboard Shunsui's head.
---
"Is that really Kurotsuchi-taichou?" Kira asked Hisagi, pointing at the commotion near where Kyouraku and a group of women were standing.
"Nah, couldn't be – this guy looks too normal." Hisagi answered.
"Oh," Kira stared at his sake cup, "maybe I should have some water instead."
---
"Well, if you wanted a kiss that bad, all you had to do was ask." Shunsui grabbed the twelth division captain and gave him a big, wet smooch right on the lips. "But in any case-" he shunpoed out of the courtyard and back in a matter of seconds, "it's a good thing I made an extra." Before Kurotsuchi could protest the other captain pushed a now blindfolded Inoue towards his cardboard counterpart.
"I give up," muttered Kurotsuchi to his vice captain and daughter, Kurotsuchi Nemu. "I'll be heading over to the bar to wash my mouth."
"But, Mayuri-sama," Nemu started, "you rushed out without your body modifications and –"
"Don't coddle me," he snapped. "You may stay here if you wish, I don't care." With that, he marched off in search of the bar as he knew any major event in the 8th division would have one.
"Stay a while, Nemu-san. Here's an extra for you," said Shunsui, pressing a tag into the quiet lieutenant's hand.
Inoue's Katen Kyōkotsu tag landed on the cut-out's biceps and was followed shortly by Nemu's on cardboard-Shunsui's chest. After several others had gone, the cut-out captain had small Katen Kyōkotsus from head to foot but none near the captain's sash where Shunsui carried Katen Kyokosu. Finally only Unohana and Nanao were left. Unohana approached the cutout and placed her tag right beside Katen Kyōkotsu's spot in the captain's sash, leaving the birthday girl to go last. With a coy smile on her blindfolded face, Nanao approached the cutout and placed her own tag near the cardboard taichou's throat.
"And the winner is Unohana-taichou!" cried out Matsumoto.
"But how did you-" Rukia started.
"She's a doctor," Nanao responded, "and I've had to drag Kyouraku-taichou to his fair share of physicals at fourth division." The party-goers whistled and cheered as Unohana collected her prize with a kiss on the cheek from Shunsui.
---
Over at the outdoor bar, Renji spoke with Kurosaki and Sado about what was going on in Karakura town and with Urahara's shop before conversation turned to the other guests, specifically those of the female persuasion.
"So, Renji, you ever gonna get the guts to actually ask Rukia out?"
"Shut up, Kurosaki. It's complicated."
"Yeah, sure, complicated. You're just afraid. I'll help you out. Yo, Rukia!" Kurosaki waved his hands over at their friend who had been in the middle of a conversation with her captain. "Renji wants to talk to you!"
"Idiot!" Renji punched Kurosaki in the shoulder, "What was that for?"
Rukia left her captain and had just come to ask Renji what he wanted to talk about – all the while oblivious to the death glares Renji shot Kurosaki – when a small hand reached out and grabbed her.
"Big-boobies, I found Rukia!"
Rukia stuck her hand out and grabbed Renji's sleeve, dragging him along with her as Yachiru, who was busy sucking on a rainbow lollipop, pulled Rukia towards a mid-sized crowd.
"Great, Yachiru-chan – and Renji too! Perfect, we have a full four to play," Inoue said, pointing at a mat with four rows of blue, green, yellow, and red dots. Beside the mat stood a less-than-thrilled Hitsugaya, who'd been volunteered by his vice captain, and Soi Fon, who had decided any activity was better than watching her pig of a vice captain stuff his face a second longer at the buffet.
"What's this?" asked Soi Fon.
"It's Twister," said Inoue before explaining the basics of the game.
"How bad can it be?" said Renji to Rukia, glad that Rukia had forgotten Kurosaki's comment.
---
After a few minutes of direction from Yachiru, Hitsugaya had conveniently fallen on his rear as Soi Fon swung her right leg over him to move it to green from red rather than give Matsumoto the opportunity to take compromising photographs. He had a sneaking suspicion embarrassing photos just might end up in the next issue of the Court of Pure Souls magazine which Matsumoto, through Hisagi, was slowly turning into a tabloid.
Several turns later, Renji found himself sandwiched between the object of his affections and the leader of the second division.
"Renji?" Rukia asked.
He grunted a "yeah" as he moved his arm over Rukia's to reach a yellow spot available at the top of the mat.
"So, what'd you want to tell me?"
"Well," Renji started, looking over at a grinning Kurosaki. The hell with it, I'll do it. It's been so long...
"Do you want to go out sometime?" he practically whispered as he moved his other hand to a blue circle near Rukia's head, mindlessly following Yachiru's shouted directions.
"I can't hear you over them." Rukia moved her head a fraction of an inch towards a makeshift stage where Yoruichi was leading Hinamori, Kiyone, and a couple of other shinigami in a rendition of "Spice Up Your Life."
Renji repeated himself again only to get a "What?" shouted in his ear.
"I said," he started, at which point a tipsy Isane tripped over and accidentally unplugged the karaoke speakers, "WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO OUT SOMETIME?"
All of the guests turned their heads to look at the sixth division vice captain who was turning as red as his own hair, all the while precariously holding himself over Rukia's form while Soi Fon was stretched over him.
"Left hand red!" cried out Yachiru, the only one oblivious to what was going on.
Sado quickly hurried over and reconnected the speakers, the last chords of the Spice Girls song coming back at full blast to mask the rest of the conversation from the crowd. Rukia felt her cheeks flush as she shyly nodded.
Ha, thought Soi Fon, they're distracted. She quickly took advantage of the pause by sliding her arm over to the red dot in the upper corner, brushing Renji's arm just enough to make him fall right on top of Rukia.
"I win!"
---
"Ah," Shunsui threw an arm over Kuchiki Byakuya, who'd witnessed the scene from his spot on a balcony overlooking the courtyard, "young love."
"Wonderful," snapped Byakuya.
"Why so glum, Byakuya?"
"There's a distinct possibility that I'm going to end up with that baboon as a brother."
"Well, technically, the baboon comes with him. Anyway, here's to new beginnings," he said as he motioned to a passing shinigami to refill Byakuya's empty martini glass while pulling out his own sake bottle. "Evening, Byakuya."
---
Over at the bar, Kurotsuchi Mayuri continued his rant on "idiocy," "those devious miscreants," and "that idiot's slobber" over his fourth beer in an hour, oblivious to the fact that aside from Nemu, Kyouraku, Ukitake, and a couple of others, nobody at the party knew who he was as they never saw the twelfth division captain in his original form. He, too, was unused to being in his real body and so had forgotten just how much he relied on his modifications, throwing back drink after drink without thinking about physical consequences of such actions on a normal body.
"Oi!" a slightly tipsy Matsumoto called out to the bartender. "Another prosecco, please," she ordered once she'd gotten his attention, seating herself next to the blue-haired stranger. "Hey there, handsome, I've not seen you around here before – you're not from the eighth, are you?"
"Absolutely not. I could never work with that clown. I'm twelfth," he replied, never thinking that he could be taken for anyone besides captain.
"Oh, that so? You twelfth division guys seem to always be researching something new…eh, I suppose you don't get out much with that captain of yours."
"Yeah," he slurred ever-so-slightly, "it's been a while."
"Well, then," she grabbed her prosecco with one hand and pulled him to his feet with her other, "you've got to take full advantage! Let's join the others and play a game."
---
Over at a table covered in rose petals, Ichigo and Orihime sat drinking punch as they discreetly watched Renji and Rukia talking over in a corner of the courtyard.
"Finally," Ichigo turned to Orihime, "it's about time they got together, don't you think, Inoue?"
"Yes, Kurosaki-kun, I agree," she said, giggling as they drank their punch.
"This stuff is good. Do you know what's in it?"
"I think I taste some coconut and maybe a little bit of pineapple, too. I just saw Kyouraku help stir it. It is really yummy. Let's go get some more." Inoue had no idea that the captain had also decided to add a little something else to the punch – namely a bottle or three of Malibu rum (which he'd received as a gift from Matsumoto after her last real world trip).
After a couple more cups each, they were giggling over anything and everything. They were in the middle of a round of "Renji and Rukia, sitting in a tree" when they were intercepted by Matsumoto hauling a golden-eyed, blue-haired man behind her.
"Let's play!" she squealed before waving some people over to join them. "Inoue, so what games can we play?"
"We only brought one game, the only thing I see is a ton of empty bottles."
"Well, there is one game you can play with a bottle," Ichigo said.
"Oh, what's that, Kurosaki?" Matsumoto asked.
"Kurosaki-kun, I don't think-"
Before Inoue could object, Matsumo was gathering more people and the next thing Inoue knew, she and Ichigo were explaining – over fits of giggles – how to play spin the bottle.
Hisagi and Kira, having heard Matsumoto was going to play, were quick to volunteer themselves. Matsumoto drafted Ichigo and Orihime with little resistance. A tipsy Isane agreed to play, as did Yoruichi who figured why the hell not. Shunsui briefly considered volunteering Nanao before realizing that she'd smack him and, even more importantly, there was a chance that someone else could kiss his Nanao.
"Eh," Shunsui said, "Jyuushirou wants to play."
Jyuushirou spat out the sake he was sipping in bewilderment. "But-"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"No."
"Are you contagious?"
"No, but-"
"Ok, he's in!" Shunsui announced.
"Oh," Omaeda said, looking over Inoue, Matsumoto, Isane, and Yoruichi. "That looks like fun. I wanna join!" he whined to Soi Fon.
Horrible images of the oaf attempting to kiss Yoruichi flashed in her head. "Actually," she cracked her knuckles as she curled her hands into fists at her sides, "I think the game's full."
"Ok, so who starts?" Matsumoto asked.
"Here," Shunsui guided Nanao to the table where they sat around, "let the birthday girl spin to see who the first person is." With that, Nanao spun the sake bottle and everybody held their breath as the bottle slowed, finally stopping at Ichigo.
"Don't mess up, Kurosaki," Renji called out. He whispered to Rukia, who started laughing.
"We thought you could use some guidance," Rukia smirked, "so here." She whipped out a sketchpad with a hastily-made drawing. A strawberry with big, pouty lips was poised to kiss something that looked suspiciously like Chappy.
Ichigo rolled his eyes at them before crossing his fingers and spinning the bottle to see who he'd end up kissing.
"Me?" Inoue whispered, the bottle pointing at her.
Ichigo leaned across the table, his lips moving steadily toward her own. She closed her eyes just before he kissed her, forgetting about everybody watching. She could taste the fruit punch lingering on his lips as he brushed his fingers through her hair.
"There's Icchi, Ken-chan!"
Of course, they both thought.
They moved apart with only the slightest hesitation, both teens more than a little disappointed about the early end and trying to hide it
"Ichigo, you didn't come and say hello," Kenpachi growled, clapping the substitute shinigami's shoulder.
"Eh… I was so busy helping set up that-"
"And Yumichika!" Kenpachi yelled when he saw his fifth seat standing around, drinking a cosmopolitan. "What the hell sort of girly drink is that?"
"Ahem," Inoue cleared her throat, distracting the 11th division captain from losing his temper, "I'll spin to see who goes next."
The bottle landed on Hisagi, who stole a glance over at Matsumoto as the bottle slowed as it neared her. However, it crawled past her and stopped in front of Kira. Matsumoto giggled as her drinking buddies, who she didn't realize had been hoping to kiss her, puckered up and kissed each other. Kira spun afterwards, muttering to himself as it landed on Matsumoto.
"Well, let's see who I get," she said, spinning the bottle. It landed on Kurotsuchi – who most everyone assumed was just another shinigami out for a night of fun.
He practically leapt over the table, cupping her face as he kissed her. Surprised by the stranger's zeal, Matsumoto decided to deepen the kiss.
Ichigo coughed into his sleeve. "You two do realize you've got an audience," he complained.
"Who is that guy?" Kira asked. Jyuushirou was about to reply when Shunsui squeezed his shoulder and gave a tiny shake of his head.
"Some lucky bastard," Hisagi mumbled into his sake.
Ichigo and Orihime excused themselves, claiming that the game was simple enough that their involvement wasn't needed. A couple of other shinigami slipped into their seats. The spinning continued, with pecks and kisses exchanged between the people seated, the alcohol having relaxed them enough not to think much about who they were kissing. Nanao raised her eyebrow ever so slightly at her captain's best friend.
Kyouraku really isn't paying much attention if he hasn't picked up on the fact that Ukitake-taichou is using kidou in this little game. She glanced over at her captain, who was making sure to take many photos, particularly any with Kurotsuchi-taichou – surely all for future blackmail. Then again, no one at this table is quite as good as kidou as I am, save perhaps Isane-san, and Ukitake-taichou sure is using subtle spells. The birthday girl continued to admire his skill in unspoken kidou, watching him manipulate the bottle just enough so that it never quite stopped on him.
---
After a few more spins, the game died down when Kiyone and Sentarou came over to announce that the piñata was ready. Inoue started pulling Nanao towards a corner of the courtyard where Sado had hung the piñata from a tree. The piñata was a huge, pink donkey with a crown made of fuschia and purple tissue-paper flowers.
"Ok, so you use this," Sado explained as he pulled out a baseball bat he'd brought along with him from the real world, "and hit the piñata to break it open, but first you have to be blindfolded and spun around and Kyouraku-san," at which point he pointed to the captain, "gets to move the piñata up and down to make it harder."
"When it breaks open, everybody can start grabbing the candy that falls out," Ichigo said, winking at Sado and Inoue.
"Nannnaaoo-chan, do your best!" Shunsui called from his spot beside the tree where he held onto the string that gave him control over the piñata.
Nanao grumbled as Matsumoto came over, blindfolded her, and spun her around ten times before handing her the bat.
Nanao moved forward slowly, trying to calm the spinning sensation in her head before she started to swing. She raised the bat above her head and swung down suddenly, the bat making contact with a thump.
"OW! But, Nanao-channnnn," Kyouraku whined, rubbing the top of his head.
"Wrong ass," Kurotsuchi laughed.
"Sorry, taichou," Nanao said as she tried to calculate Shunsui's position from where his voice came from and tried guessing at where the piñata might be in reference to him. She swung again, this time hitting the piñata which began to crack. Shunsui raised and lowered the piñata as Nanao swung so as to lessen some of the blows' strength but never so much that Nanao missed the piñata.
Finally, the piñata broke and a mad crowd of guests jumped at the chance to grab the insides. They hadn't counted, however, on Kurosaki, Sado, and Inoue to have dumped a bag of flour in the bottom of the piñata. A crazy, white dust cloud settled over the guests wrestling on the crowd to pick up the candy. Nanao pushed up the blindfold on her face and rolled her eyes at the sight of the guests – including some of her superiors – grappling on the ground in an attempt to hoard more candy for themselves.
"Ahhh!" yelled Matsumoto as two strong pairs of arms picked her up and turned her upside down, causing all the candy she'd stuffed in her cleavage to fall out. "What was that for?"
"This is for those pictures you took," Hisagi said, Kira nodding along as they shook her to make sure all the candy fell out.
"Candy! Candy!" Yachiru would have been skipping for joy if she wasn't so busy collecting all of the candy that was falling out of Matsumoto's robes.
---
"Ukitake, you were picking up candy, too?" Hitsugaya asked as the thirteenth division captain walked over to where he was watching the madness next to Nanao, both sipping punch.
"Of course," he said, offering one of the goodie bags he'd collected to Hitsugaya. "Shiro-chan, would you like one?"
"I'll pass."
Shrugging, the 13th division captain dug through his bags before deciding to eat a chocolate. They were joined shortly by Ikkaku and Yumichika. Yumichika held up his own bag of spoils before sipping his fifth cosmopolitan. Hiccuping, he looked longingly at Ukitake's hair.
"Ukitake-taichou, just what do you do to your hair? It's so…beautiful," Yumichika choked out, tearing up. "It glows."
"Ah, um…I just condition often," he said, stepping away from the overly-emotional drunk shinigami.
Yumichika sighed, dreaming of having long locks like Ukitake. "What do you use?"
"Oh, something Matsumoto-fukutaichou bought me from the real world. John Frieda something… ah, yes, Brilliant Brunette!"
"Ukitake, your hair is white," Hitsugaya said.
"But it smells like coconut!"
---
After the madness died down, Shunsui came over to Nanao and offered her his arm.
"Shall we go sit and watch some karaoke?"
"Yes, Taichou," she said as she slipped her arm through his.
He led her to a couple of fold-up seats in front of the stage in time to catch Sentarou push a reluctant Jyuushirou onstage to join Hisagi, Ikkaku, and Tetsuzaemon for "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)". Shunsui pulled the camera out of his sleeve to snap a few shots before turning the camera to Nanao. "Smile!" Resigned, Nanao shook her head to herself before smiling, pulling Matsumoto – who was sitting next to her – into the shot with her.
He then turned around in his seat to see who else was in the crowd. "Hello, Sado-kun," he said to Chad, who was sitting right behind him. "No hard feelings from our last meeting, I hope," he said, offering a sake bottle as a peace offering.
"Thank you, Kyouraku-san, but I'm still underage."
Shrugging, Shunsui leaned back into his seat. He turned to watch the rest of the song, laughing as Tetsuzaemon thrust a microphone in front of Jyuushirou's lips, forcing his friend to sing along, before turning to Nanao. "Now, my lovely, lovely Nanao, a song from your captain." He winked at her before rushing to grab the microphone from his best friend's hands as he exited from the stage, taking a minute to look over a large catalogue before pointing out his selection to Ichigo, who had taken over karaoke supervision duty from Sado.
"This one is for the birthday girl – my lovely, lovely Nanao-chan."
"You won't admit you love me," his voice boomed over the speakers, "and so how am I ever to know? You only tell me," he paused momentarily, "perhaps, perhaps, perhaps." Kyouraku continued through the rest of the verses, oblivious to the growing crowd – his eyes were riveted on his blushing lieutenant who was half-heartedly hiding her face behind her fan. He finished, arms outstretched, with rose petals falling over him and Nanao while the audience clapped and whistled.
"And now," he announced before Nanao could get the opportunity to take her glasses off and glare at him, "everybody gets to sing to the birthday girl!" Everybody began to sing "Happy Birthday" to Nanao, Kyouraku's voice the loudest among them all.
At that, Hanatarou and Kiyone pushed a cart carrying a huge three-layer red velvet cake covered in cream cheese-flavored buttercream frosting and glittering candles. On the top layer in bright pink script – which Nanao recognized immediately as her captain's – read 'To Nanao-chan, all our love on your birthday – your friends.'
"Now, Nanao, your wish!"
Nanao smiled before blowing out all her candles. She cut the first slice – as was lucky for the birthday person to do – before Kiyone shooed her away, telling her not to work on her birthday. Kiyone and Hanatarou set to work, cutting slices and passing them to the waiting guests.
Nanao was guided over to a table by Shunsui, who was followed by Jyuushirou and a few others. Matsumoto pulled out her own camera and took a few photos of the group, a smashed Kurotsuchi Mayuri leaning on her for support. Nanao was only all too aware Shunsui was glad for any excuse to put his arm over Nanao but decided against drawing attention to it, smiling instead as Matsumoto snapped away.
"So," Kurotsuchi said, wrapping his arm around Matsumoto's waist, "how about we go back to my place? We can study together," he grinned.
"But, I don't even know your name," she giggled.
"Don't be silly, Matsumoto. It's me," he hiccupped.
"Oh, there you are, Mayuri-sama," Nemu came running over to her father, "I didn't know where you were, I ran back to twelfth to pick up some of this for you," she said as she held up a small vial full of an amber liquid that had a label reading "hangover remedy" on it.
Matsumoto stared at Kurotsuchi, her surprise leading her to faint just as Mayuri passed out in an alcohol-dazed stupor. Hitsugaya burst out laughing before pulling out his own camera.
---
After making a few social rounds and eating a second slice of cake, Nanao collected the roses and other gifts she'd received before she slipped out from the crowd and made her way to her quarters. She entered to find every available surface – bookshelf space, coffee table, kitchen counters – covered with violet irises, a note next to the largest bunch reading "They remind me of your eyes." On her desk sat a small scroll tied with rose-colored ribbon.
After placing the roses in a vase, she poured herself a glass of water and went out to her private balcony to look over the party below. She saw Rukia slip her hand in Renji's as he started to walk her back home. Fourth division was distributing aspirin to those who had over-indulged while Yachiru leap-frogged over drunk shinigami in pursuit of her last bag of candy which Ikkaku was trying to keep from her. Jyuushirou was guiding the human teenagers towards the thirteenth division, having agreed to host them overnight before opening the senkai gate for them the next morning. Nanao was half-convinced he did so to have an excuse to leave, probably dreading Kyouraku's latest attempt to fix him up (which almost certainly would include a round or two of "Have you met Jyuushirou?" at the bar).
Nanao sat down on the porch swing on her balcony and thought of birthdays past before reflecting on the past year and all the changes it had brought with it. As she looked over the faces of her friends, she knew that despite any outward protests she may have made over the grandiose nature of the party, she was happy. She smiled to herself as she felt a familiar reiatsu near before assuming a neutral expression seconds before she heard a knock at her door. She got up and went to open her door.
"Nannnaaaooo-chan, leaving already?"
"Kyouraku-taichou, it's getting late."
"True," he said, leaning against the doorframe. "So, Nanao-chan, what did you wish for?"
"Taichou, you know I can't tell you my wish."
"Well," he drawled, "I hope it comes true." Smiling, he kissed the top of her forehead. "If I'm lucky, maybe mine will, too," he whispered. "Happy birthday, Nanao." With that, he tipped his hat and left to rejoin the party.
Moving to her sofa, she sat and read the letter Kyouraku had written her before pulling out a box from the top of her bookshelves where she gingerly placed the scroll next to the other letters already laying there.
"Thank you, Shunsui."
Hope you enjoyed!
I'd thought of splitting this into parts, but couldn't come up with any way to divide it to really make me happy so I decided to post it in its entirety.