Chapter 2: And So It Begins
After ineffectively calming each other down, the five men inside Renji's bedroom decided that they should indeed retrieve Renji's clothes from the yard before Captain Kuchiki came across the discarded robes.
Renji stood up, his chest aching from the violent laughter that had only just died down. He pulled the top half of his Shihakusho back on as he got off of his bed.
"I'm going to go find the Captain," said Renji, "I'll go ask for the keys to the back gate to grab the stuff."
The others mumbled various agreements and turned back to the small, wooden table where Shuhei had started dealing out a deck for another round of cards.
Renji, satisfied that his room would not be blown into oblivion during his absence, headed towards his Captain's office.
The floorboards creaked quietly under Renji's feet, the sound muted and dull. He made his way down a series of long hallways, all set aglow by the warm lanterns that hung throughout the Barracks.
At last, Renji found himself at Captain Kuchiki's office. He stood still for a moment, pondering as to whether he should knock before entering, or head right in. Renji was not sure if the Captain was in his office or not.
Deciding to take the safe route, Renji knocked on the door.
"Captain?" Renji called, his voice a low whisper, "Captain Kuckiki? I need to ask you something, sir."
Seeing that there was no response, Renji determined that he should enter, especially if the Captain had only just left, and planned to return soon. Quickly, Renji grabbed the door handle and pulled the door aside, stepping into Byakuya Kuchiki's office.
Renji hastily shut the door behind him while attempting to be as quiet as he possibly could.
Renji turned around to face the room, and had to cover his mouth to stop himself from shouting.
The Captain's office, decorated with heavy wooden pieces of furniture, was beautifully illuminated by the silver moonlight that streamed in through the single, wide window. The curtains fluttered daintily in the breeze, the scent of the night pouring in with every gust.
Outlined in a haunting, white glow was the shape of Byakuya Kuchiki, seemingly asleep in a chair, facing the window with his back to Renji. What caught Renji off guard was the small, dark, lump of a person that was straddling the Captain while moving something around in front of Byakuya's face.
Renji, horrified and confused, was about to call out the intruder when he suddenly became aware of their identity.
The light of the moon reflected against two deep, dark eyes, and put a dazzling shine to a head of short, black hair.
Rukia, thought Renji, his heart still hammering from the shock of seeing someone tampering with his sleeping Captain. Just what the hell is she-
One more look at the Lieutenant of Squad Thirteen and Renji realized just what his childhood friend was doing in her brother's office.
Renji caught a glimpse of the black permanent marker in Rukia's grip as she raised it in preparation to bring it back down for another line.
She is drawing on his face, thought Renji, his eyes wide. He then fought the urge to burst out laughing right then and there. She's going to get us killed.
Just then, a deep, lazy moan came from the far side of the room as Byakuya's head abruptly lolled to one side.
Renji took a step back, startled. Oh no, he's waking up.
Rukia jumped up, Flash Stepping across the room in the blink of an eye, but in the process, slammed straight into Renji's body. She dropped the marker on impact, and Renji bent to pick it up.
When Rukia discovered that Renji had just seen her vandalize her brother's face, she simply forgot how to move. All she could think about was the amount of trouble she'd be in, or how her brother might even disown her from the Clan. Rukia felt downright terrified.
However, when she looked up at her friend's face and saw the bold grin he had on, Rukia realized that she had nothing to fear.
Renji passed the marker back to Rukia and motioned for her to follow him outside into the hall. She nodded, trailing behind the red headed Lieutenant.
Renji led Rukia far enough away from the Captain's office so that they stood in front of the doors to the meeting room. The muffled sounds of glasses clinking and women laughing could be heard from beyond the doors.
Renji turned to Rukia. "Though that was funny," he said, crossing his arms, "just what the hell were you thinking?"
Rukia too crossed her arms, a defiant look taking over her features as she shoved the marker into the pocket of her capris. "I was upholding my honor as a woman of the Kuchiki household?"
Renji scoffed and looked away. "By drawing on your brother?"
Rukia uncrossed her arms, and wrapped them around herself instead, her hair bouncing a bit as she began to giggle. "I was dared to do it," she said, smiling faintly.
Renji, clearly perplexed, looked back at Rukia as he put his hands on his hips. "You were dared to do something suicidal?" Renji asked, but then, a look of realization crossed his face, "You guys are playing truth or dare at a meeting?"
"It's not exactly a meeting," confessed Rukia, dropping her arms to her sides. "It's a sleep over, actually. Brother was the one who gave the others permission to have one."
"Huh," Renji said, narrowing his eyes at the small girl, "And why wasn't I invited to this?"
"It's for the Women's Soul Reaper Association," explained Rukia, her tone challenging.
Though, this might more interesting if the guys joined us, thought Rukia.
Renji pondered over Rukia's reply for a bit, but before he could say anything, she interrupted.
"Why don't you join us then?" she asked, "But, it might be a bit awkward with just you in a room full of women, talking about bras, and boys, and-" Renji cut her off.
"I'm not here alone tonight," said Renji, a faint blush creeping into his cheeks, "Shuhei and the guys are playing cards back in my room. If I'm invited…"
"Fine," said Rukia, looking away, "they can come. But, you have to play the game with us. All of you."
"You want us to play truth or dare," clarified Renji.
"Yes, I do."
Renji pursed his lips. Well, we've got nothing better to do, he thought. Besides, just how bad could playing a little game be? I mean, it's just truth or dare. It's not like we're lighting things on fire or anything.
"All right, I'll go grab the guys and head back here," finalized Renji, "We'll knock before we come in."
Rukia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she smiled brightly at the tall Lieutenant. "All right, see you soon."
With that, Renji and Rukia parted ways.
Rukia turned back to the door, preparing to open it, when it was pushed open from the inside instead.
Out came Captain Retsu Unohana, Captain Sui Feng, and Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, all carrying their uniforms in their arms.
"Oh, you're leaving?" Rukia asked. She'd expected the Captains to stay the entire night. She was curious as to what she'd discover about the two women in during the game. I guess it'll have to be another time then, thought Rukia.
"I'm afraid we are," answered Unohana, smiling apologetically, "Sui Feng and I have important business with a few of the other Captains in the morning, and it is far past Yachiru's bed time. We need our rest, but you girls go along and have fun," smiled Unohana. "But, do not assume that we do not know about Lieutenant Abarai and company joining you this evening," she said, her face innocently smiling, though her voice hinted at concealing a more sinister message. "Try not to cause too much trouble, okay?"
Rukia nodded earnestly.
"All right, well, goodnight, Ms. Kuchiki," said Unohana, waving as she and the other women left the Barracks.
"Goodnight, Captain," said Rukia, but by this time, the trio had already left.
Rukia sighed, relieved that the two Captains were not upset about inviting other Soul Reapers to a sleep over for the women. With that thought in mind, Rukia went back into the meeting room.
The other ladies, particularly Rangiku, were joyous over the news of having new, male players join the game. Minutes passed, but, after the boys noisily entered the room and took their seats along the cushioned floor, the group was finally ready to continue the game.
"Well done, Rukia," said Rangiku as she flipped through the photos Rukia had taken of Byakuya's face on her Soul Pager. "I almost didn't recognize him. The monocle was a nice touch," smiled the older woman.
Rukia grinned back, laughing lightly.
"All right, Rukia," called Orihime as she dropped down next to the pixie-like Soul Reaper, "You get to ask someone now."
Rukia panned her eyes over the room, unsure of who to pick.
Finally, her eyes settled on Shuhei.
"Shuhei," she said.
The spiky haired boy turned to Rukia, a daring smirk on his face. "I pick dare."
The group made a collective murmur. "All right, well, shut your eyes, plug your ears and go 'la la la' until we decide on something," stated Rukia.
Shuhei complied and began to chant a mantra of strange phrases in order to block out the sound of the other players' voices.
"I think we should dare him to let us give him a makeover," crooned Orihime, giddy with excitement.
Rukia shook her head, "That's good, but there's got to be something that'll really bother him-"
"Make him striptease for us," interjected Rangiku. The smirk on her face mirrored the one Shuhei had worn only minutes before.
The girls all exchanged looks of agreement.
"All right, someone tell him to stop with the chanting," announced Rangiku.
Ikkaku promptly whacked Shuhei on the back of his head with the flat of his hand. Shuhei glared at the bald headed man before addressing the girls.
The ladies of the Seireitei all giggled before Orihime choked out the dare.
"We dare you to striptease for us."
A chorus of female cheers followed her statement.
The men in the room all laughed consecutively. Shuhei's eyes went wide momentarily, but not long after, the look of initial shock was replaced with one of amusement.
"As you wish," he said, his voice a low purr.
Shuhei slowly got to his feet, his eyes half lidded with what appeared to be lust, as he enticingly ran his hands over his chest and stomach. He kept his eyes on the ladies of the room as he bit his lip, and tugged on the collar of his sleeveless shirt, raising an eye brow at the females.
The guys groaned, turning away from the sight of Shuhei.
Rangiku whistled, raising a bottle of sake, urging Shuhei to continue.
Shuhei slid his hands back down, grabbing at the hem of his shirt.
He managed to tug it half way up, revealing a fair portion of his toned body, eliciting cries of "damn," and "take it off!" from the women, before Ikkaku let out an enraged yell and brought a wooden kendo sword straight across Shuhei's midsection.
The weapon hit its mark with a crack, and Shuhei doubled over in anguish, clutching at his stomach as he cried out in pain, whilst falling to his knees.
The girls shouted at Ikkaku for ruining their show. Rangiku even threatened to hit the man with her bottle of sake.
"You are unfit to be called a man!" proclaimed Ikkaku, his face a deep shade of red, due to the ridiculous amount of alcohol he consumed. He menacingly pointed the end of the kendo sword over Shuhei's back, as if preparing to bring it down once more.
The other males immediately grabbed Ikkaku and hauled him away from Shuhei's now hunched figure, tearing the sword out of his grasp.
Shuhei coughed, his head bowed as he muttered, "Go fuck yourself," to which Ikkaku proceeded to challenge Shuhei to a fight to the death.
"Hey!" cried the girls in unison.
The boys stopped what they were doing, and turned slowly towards the girls.
"You're all going to stop this crap, and we're going to move on, or we're kicking you out, and by out, I mean outside of these Barracks," threatened Rukia.
The guys assumed their original positions, murmuring various apologies. Shuhei simply curled up on his side against a futon, clutching a pillow to his throbbing chest. He decided to sit out the next couple of rounds.
"So," called Shuhei weakly from his sidelong position, "Do I ask someone now?"
"Yep," answered Orihime as she crawled over to the fallen Soul Reaper. She gingerly helped him sit up, and handed him a steaming cup of tea. He thanked her, and took a sip of the sweet smelling drink before deciding on his choice.
"Rangiku," said Shuhei, "Truth or dare?"
Rangiku smiled mischievously before answering. "Dare." The Lieutenant of Squad Ten proceeded to plug her ears, close her eyes, and sing loudly, cuing the others to decide upon her dare.
The group formed a large huddle around Shuhei's stationary form, pitching different ideas.
Rangiku snuck a peek through a barely parted eyelid, noting the rapid hand movements of the players, watching the others laugh as different scenarios were voiced.
About a minute later, the group had decided upon a dare for the wild Rangiku.
"All right, Matsumoto," said Renji, his lips pulled into an honest smile, "We dare you to prank call Captain Hitsugaya."
The group cheered in response.
Rangiku began patting her chest, feeling around for the bump that was her Soul Pager. Upon finding it, she reached her hand into her shirt and pulled out the small flip phone.
She exhaled, running a hand through her hair as she laughed nervously. She smiled at the group.
"He's going to kill me," she laughed.
The others agreed.
"Just do it," coaxed Renji.
Rangiku sighed. "All right," she said, flipping the device open, "fine."
She punched a few keys, and hit the 'speaker' button. The sound of a dial tone filled the room. The members of the crowd hushed each other, gathering around Rangiku in order to hear the call more clearly.
After a few seconds, the ringing stopped. The eyes of everyone in the room grew wide. It was silent enough to hear the sound of a heart beating. Yumichika was forced put a hand over his mouth to stop himself from making any noises.
"Hello?" said a very tired sounding voice from the other end of the line.
Everyone exchanged excited looks. A majority of the players assumed Captain Hitsugaya would be busy, or asleep, and would not answer the phone.
"Captain?" said Rangiku. Her face had panic written all over it. Her voice was a high plea, one that sounded terribly desperate. The other members of the room couldn't help but wonder what kind of prank call Rangiku had planned for her Captain.
"Mmm?" said Hitsugaya. The Captain had obviously been asleep, and was still very much doing so. He must have been quite unaware of what was going on.
"Captain," said Rangiku, her voice a sweet growl, "I need you."
"Yuh need me?" said Hitsugaya, his voice muffled by what was probably a pillow.
"I want you," said Rangiku, her face morphing into a mixed expression of pain and hysteria.
"I wan you too, babe," said Hitsugaya, his voice still stuffy.
Rangiku inhaled sharply and hastily hit the mute button, letting out loud, sobbing laughs.
Renji fought to stifle his laughter as he instantly wrapped both of his hand around his mouth. Izuru was on his side, shaking once again. Rukia was outright wheezing against Rangiku's side.
Shuhei was leaning against Orihime, complaining about how his stomach hurt, but that he couldn't stop laughing.
"I can't do this!" exclaimed Rangiku, "I can't! It's Hitsugaya! This is just weird!" She stared at the small device. "Did he just call me babe?"
Momo, who was battling her own bouts of giggles, shook her head. "You should continue."
Rukia nodded in agreement. "Please do."
Rangiku, now wearing an over exaggerated pout, unmuted the phone.
Calming her breathing, Rangiku said, "Tell me how much you want me," her voice low and seductive.
There was a pause, followed by the sound of ruffling fabrics, coming from Hitsugaya's end.
"I wan you so mush," murmured Hitsugaya.
In a moment of pure genius, Rukia whispered something to Rangiku, a line to say to Hitsygaya, one she'd heard in the World of the Living.
Rangiku pinched her wrist in order to stop herself from laughing.
"Talk dirty to me," she said. She quickly hit the mute button and allowed herself and the others to relieve themselves of their suppressed laughter.
She unmuted the call just as Hitsugaya replied.
"Hmm?" he said, his voice much less muffled.
"I said, talk dirty to me, Captain," whispered Rangiku as she turned away from the phone, gasping. Her face was bright red, her eyes wide with diluted pupils.
There was another pause, longer this time.
"Is that you, Rangiku?" said Hitsugaya. His voice now held an angry edge that it had not previously.
Everyone looked at each other. Renji swore, and Rangiku clapped the phone shut, ending the call.
It was quiet then, for a good minute, after which, the room erupted in an epiphany of laughter. Tears were shed, stomachs ached, and Rangiku was congratulated for her bravery.
In the midst of the frenzy, Rangiku jokingly said, "I wouldn't be surprised if he came down here himself."
The crowd of friends laughed in response, shrugging the joke aside.
Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya frumpily sped through the Seireitei, angrily tugging his pale, blue blanket around his pajama clad body in an attempt to fight off the biting cold wind of the night.
Damn that woman, thought Hitsugaya, I cannot even sleep without her doing something idiotic.
He'd spent the last five minutes tracking down his pitiful Lieutenant via Soul Pager. After discovering that she was in the Squad Six Barracks, he immediately began to make his way there in order to speak to Byakuya, and determine why the man would be allowing such a thing to occur under his watch.
This nonsense needs to stop before it gets out of hand, he thought, grimacing as various scenarios crossed his mind.
The images were wiped from his head with a large gust of wind. It pushed against Toshiro, shuffling him forward a few steps. His hair was whipped about wildly, the silver spikes thrashing violently in the gale.
Captain Hitsugaya made an exasperated noise, and increased his pace.
Toshiro gingerly cracked open the, private, side door to Captain Kuchiki's office.
Light from the outside washed over the interior of the office, bathing everything in a silvery white glimmer.
The beam crossed the room, and Toshiro was forced to stop in his tracks, pausing where he was with the door partly ajar.
Seated in a chair, facing a window was the Captain of Squad Six. He sat peacefully, his body relaxed in slumber. It would have appeared to be a completely natural thing to Toshiro, considering that he too had fallen asleep in his office on multiple occasions. However, it was quite unnatural for someone with the status and rank of Byakuya Kuchiki to fall asleep with their face covered in graffiti.
A crudely drawn monocle, mustache, goatee, and a certain aspect of the male anatomy, all adorned Captain Kuchiki's placid face.
Toshiro's eye twitched in rage. With that, he shut the door, and began to head back to his bed, cursing his Lieutenant all the way there.
I have never wished to see daylight so dearly in my life, thought Toshiro as he flipped open his Soul Pager. The time read 10:47 PM.
Toshiro Hitsugaya groaned loudly, praying for the sun to rise, and for the night to end in peace.
"Orihime, truth or dare?" asked Rangiku as she slid next to where the young woman sat.
Orihime pursed her lips, making a fish-like face as she thought over the question.
"Ahh… Truth!" she replied, enthusiastically shooting both her arms in the air, one of which nearly succeeded in punching the poor, injured Shuhei in the jaw.
"All right, you know the drill," said Rangiku.
Orihime got to her feet and moved to the opposite side of the circle to allow her friends space to determine a question.
Only seconds after she sat down, Momo called out. "We're ready!"
Orihime sat, eagerly awaiting her question. Though she did feel awfully anxious about answering a question, she was not bold enough to perform a dare. She hoped her friends would respect her boundaries when choosing a question.
"All right, well," started Momo, glancing at the others before continuing, "We all know that there's something going on between you and Ichigo."
Orihime's eyes widened as her cheeks grew warm with a rush of blood. She laughed shyly, rubbing the back of her head with one hand. She'd known that her feelings about Ichigo were strong, but she hadn't known that everybody else had noticed as well.
"So, how do you really feel about Ichigo?" asked Momo, her eyes filled with a genuine kindness that reassured Orihime. That look in Momo's eye reminded her that these were her friends, and that they would not judge her upon what she said.
Orihime dropped her hands to her lap, her eyes following suit. She stared down as she rubbed the fabric of her shirt between her fingers.
"I…" she started, looking back up at her friend's anxious, caring gazes, "I really care about him. I want to protect him like he protects everyone else, and I…" she paused, glancing down again, but quickly righted herself, "I just want him to be happy." Orihime smiled a tender smile, her eyes lighting up as she did.
The others mirrored the human girl as a collective sense of security and compassion filled each person in the room. It took bravery to pull a practical joke on a Captain, but it took strength to bare your feelings to a room full of people who you only hope trust you as much as you trust them.
Rukia, Momo, and Rangiku all ran over to where Orihime sat and pummeled her with a group hug. The boys stood aside, smiling and allowing the girls to have a moment to themselves. Eventually, the group dispersed, once again forming a large circle.
Yumichika was now seated next to Orihime, who was timidly tugging at her shirt. He reached over and gave the girl a friendly pat on the back. Orihime, only slightly startled, turned to him.
Yumichika smiled at her. "Thank you for sharing that with us. That was very brave of you."
Orihime sat staring blankly at the member of Squad Eleven before she returned his smile with one of her own.
The moment between the pair ended when Nanao Ise called out to Orihime.
"All right," said the bookish Lieutenant, "Who would you like to go next?"
Author's Note: I hope you're enjoying this fic as much as I enjoyed coming up with these scenarios xD This was incredibly fun. Let me just say that chapter three is by far my favorite one. I hope you stick around to read it :D. Any and all reviews are welcome. I would love to hear what you thought of this chapter, the concept, my writing, anything. And as always,
Thanks for reading.
-Shan