Well here's the second chapter. I'm pretty sure you guys and gals know who the lieutenant is by the title :D Hope I did him justice!
Oh and thanks to LaliLali and Wulf 4 Life for your reviews!
The Baboon's Howl
"You've got some nerve causing a commotion during the graduation ceremony like that!" the fukutaicho currently barking at Tomohiro was intimidating to say the least. His bright red hair (not too dissimilar to Akane's), crazy eyebrow tattoos and toothy grin sent a shiver down Tomohiro's spine; this guy was made to be angry.
The two of them were some distance away from the large training fields, down a quiet alleyway out of the way from everyone else. The ceremony had finished a few minutes ago and everyone had returned or were in the process of returning to their regular duties. The new fully fledged shinigami had made their way to be briefed by their new taichos or had returned to the academy where they were selecting their future division; Tomohiro would give anything to be there now.
"Don't you know how important that ceremony is!"
"I do sir…" Tomohiro kept his head bowed and his eyes firmly on the ground. He couldn't bear looking at someone when they were scolding him, especially when they were shouting. Whenever he was told off as a child his eyes used to water as if he was crying. He had hoped he would grow out of it, but something about having someone in his face and lecturing him always made his eyes run.
"Do you think everyone from Gotei 13 were there for you to gawp at or something?"
"No sir…"
"Are you even listening to me? At least look at me when I'm talking to ya, don't bow your head like that!"
"Y-yes sir…" Tomohiro raised his head slowly, wiping the sleeve of his shihakushō across his eyes in an attempt to stop them from seeping water. He wasn't crying, he didn't cry. He winced, expecting the fiery haired Shinigami to start howling at him again, but instead the man seemed to relax and frown a little.
"Hey, come on, you don't have to ball your eyes out like that," the lieutenant rested his arm on Tomohiro's shoulder as if to reassure him. "I know what it's like to get into trouble in front of a bunch of people and I'm sorry for having to shout at you like that, but I had to, otherwise Kuchiki-taicho would have been on my back."
"I'm not crying sir … it's just you shouting at me and …"
"I didn't say you were crying and besides you have nothing to worry about. When I removed you from the ceremony it was practically over, the old geezer had finished his speech and everyone was waiting to file out." The tattooed man cracked a smile, "Come on you're a fully fledged member of the Gotei 13 now right? You've gotta be tough unless you wanna get trodden on by everyone else," Tomohiro smiled as well, not because he felt like he should, but because no one had ever talked to him like this. He had always been lectured at or scolded, like he was some sort of idiot, but this guy seemed to understand him.
"I will sir! Oh and about being a fully fledged member…," Tomohiro paused. He hadn't actually being initiated into a division yet despite graduating, he was probably the only one left to choose. "H-hey, how would I go about joining a division now? I mean like Jūsanbantai for example."
The fukutaicho raised one of his heavily tattooed eyebrows, "We-ell, you should probably go back into the academy, there should be someone who can help you there." He paused for a moment in thought. "Or I guess you could go straight to Jūsanbantai's barracks … unless of course you wanna join Rokubantai! We always need new members and I'm sure you'd fit in alright."
Tomohiro considered the offer for a while, but quickly remembered that Akane would be waiting for him in the barracks. He wasn't sure if he could face her right now and besides, the red-headed man was probably only being polite. "No, I've already made my decision, b-but thanks anyway sir."
The red haired man ruffled Tomohiro's already scruffy hair, "Well if you change your mind just come find me and I'll sign you up." The man looked as though something terrible had just popped into his mind. "I should probably get back to my own barracks, with all the new recruits coming in there's a lot of paperwork to sort through."
The Rokubantai fukutaicho jogged past Tomohiro, which quickly developed into a run. He turned back briefly to shout, "Good luck with joining thirteen!" before he disappeared round the corner.
Tomohiro now stood alone in the silent alleyway, puzzled as to what to think about what had just happened to him. Was he just let off the hook or was he still in trouble? It seemed as though there were reasonable people in this world.
Before he could gather his thoughts a familiar figure walked around the corner where the red headed man had ran down.
"Haven't you caused me enough grief today?" he was surprised at the tone of his voice, but he was still angry with her. Akane had got him into trouble countless times before and he had simply shrugged it off, but this time was different. This wasn't in the middle of a lecture or during a Kido instruction course. It was in front of every other student in their year and almost all of the leadership of the Gotei 13, this time she had taken it too far.
"I'm sorry…"
Any ounce of rage that had filled his body had been quelled the moment she said those words.
"Wait…, what?"
"I said I'm sorry. I shouldn't have started talking to you, I shouldn't have shouted at you and I certainly shouldn't have let you take all the blame."
Tomohiro was stunned. Was he hearing this correctly? Akane was apologising to him.
"I've been horrible to you ever since I've met you, Tomohiro, and you've just stood there and accepted the blame for everything."
"L-look it's not that bad really…"
"No! I shouldn't be such a bitch and get away with it. I'll do anything to make it up to you, I'll even go on a date with you like you've always wanted to."
"Really it's fine…, wait when the hell did I talk to you about going on a date?"
Akane giggled wickedly and gave him a cheeky wink, "Oh don't be coy. I know you've always wanted to go out with me!" Tomohiro couldn't stop himself from blushing a little.
"What just because a guy happens to pay a girl a little attention doesn't mean he's in love with her..."
"I don't remember saying anything about you being in love with me. Look how the truth comes out!"
Tomohiro was bright red now. "Don't turn this around on me!" he stopped suddenly taking a deep breath, he realised what she was doing to him. "Wait a minute, I know what you're doing." Akane's grin seemed a little less impish now.
"Well it's made you feel better hasn't it? I am genuinely sorry though." She turned to look at the crisp winter sky; the sun was already about half way across its pale blue course. "Anyway, I should follow Renji-kun towards the Rokubantai barracks. I don't want to miss my introduction to Kuchiki-sama."
She let the sentence hang in the air before noticing that she failed to get the desired reaction. "Come see me when you have time. I like our conversations." She smiled at him before dashing around the corner disappearing the same way that 'Renji-kun' had gone.
Tomohiro stood in the alleyway for a few moments, processing all that had taken place in this isolated spot, before heading towards the Jūsanbantai barracks and, in turn, his future.
As he made his way across the tiled pathways he couldn't shake the image of Akane's smile from his head. For a moment, at least, he thought she had blushed.
Well there you have it, it was Renji after all! Hope it wasn't to mushy, especially at the end. Next chapter will see Tomohiro join a division. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed :3
