I woke up the next morning to a silent barracks. It seemed as though everyone was asleep, or hard at work. I groggily got up and dressed myself. I slid the door open and walked outside my room. I looked around but didn't see anyone. I slipped towards the back of the base, and out the door into the large rock garden outside. I saw a familiar spiky head sitting on the ground, drinking tea from a small porcelain cup. I quietly walked towards him, not wanting to disturb him in such a peaceful setting. But he turned around anyway. I blushed at the sight of his defined facial features, and what he had said the night before was ringing through my head.
"Captain...you're so beautiful..." It sounded amazing, even repeated again the next morning. He smiled at me and beckoned me over. I hesitated, but went over anyway.
"Good morning Captain," he greeted, setting his tea down for a second. "Can I pour you a cup of tea?" I nodded, keeping silent. He gave me an unknowing look, clearly not understanding why I was so quiet. He gingerly picked up a cup and gently poured tea into it.
"Do you...remember anything from last night?" I asked abruptly, breaking the silence. He stopped pouring, his eyes widening slightly.
"...no. Should I?" he asked anxiously. I stared at him, unsure of whether I should remind him of what he said, and almost did, last night. I stared into his dark eyes, and decided just to tell him.
"Um...well. Last night, after we walked home from the bar, you brought me into your room and-"
"WHAT?" he yelled, almost dropping the teapot on the rocks. I quickly clasped my hand over his mouth and shushed him.
"Quiet! You'll wake everyone!" I said in a hushed tone. I looked away from him before explaining. "Its not what you think! You just...well you said I was beautiful and you...um...you almost kissed me. But, you didn't! You passed out before anything happened." I looked back at him and saw that his face was bright red. He set the teapot down and nervously clasped his hands together. He started to say something, but quickly shut his mouth again. I knew I had to break the tension.
"But, everything is okay! I know you only said that because you were drunk, so, no worries!" I exclaimed awkwardly. Even though that's what a said, a part of me didn't want that to be true. I secretly kind of wanted him to have said it for real, and for him to have wanted to kiss me. But he's my lieutenant, and I knew that could never happen. He stared at me intensely, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He inched closer to me, our faces close to touching.
"H-Hisagi?" I whispered.
"Maichou...you are beautiful. I meant it when I said that..." he said softly. There was such tenderness in his eyes now. Then, he leaned in and gently put his lips down on top of mine. Shivers ran through my body as he pressed down harder. I put my hands behind his head and laced my fingers through his dark hair. He placed his hands around my waist and massaged the small of my back with his muscular hands. He softly bit my lower lip, causing my mouth to open wider. He moved and kissed down my jawline and on my neck. He nibbled a little on my earlobe, and then moved to whisper in my ear.
"You really are...so beautiful, Maichou..." he whispered sensually in my ear. I shuddered with anticipation, not knowing what he was planning next. He pulled away from my ear and stared deep into my eyes. His face was emotionless, despite the growing passion of the atmosphere. A small smile emerged on his lips, like he knew something I didn't, which he did. He tightened his grip on my waist and pulled me down on top of him. I yelped but was quickly silenced by his lips crashing down onto mine again.
"Hisagi..." I managed to say between kisses. "What if...someone were to...see us?" He stopped and stared at me. He blinked a few times, then the intensity dropped from his face. He helped me up and sat next to me, his head in his hands.
"I'm so sorry captain...I've acted very unprofessionally..." His voice was muffled into his hands. I rubbed his back softly. I leaned over and whispered into his ear.
"It's okay Hisagi...I enjoyed it." I could see his ears perk up a little. He lifted his head and looked at me.
"Really?" I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him tenderly.
"Of course I did. I just...I'm not sure if it's such a good idea for us to kiss in such a public area. I'm still new here, and I don't want to get a bad reputation," I explained quietly, stroking his cheek. He smiled at me, and kissed me again.
"I understand. If you ever feel like doing it again, you know where to find me." He gave me one final, passionate kiss, then stood up and left. I watched as he left and then turned back to the cups of tea that were left on the table. I felt like I had just broken up with someone, but we were never dating. There was a part of me that wanted to chase after him, tell him that everything was okay. But I knew I shouldn't. It wouldn't look good for the newest captain to look so unprofessional. I just couldn't let my passions take over, I had to be professional. That was what I had to keep telling myself when I thought about him. It's not like I loved him or anything, I just met him. But...this world was just so new, it was nice to feel wanted here. I fell back onto the soft rocks in the garden and stared up at the clouds. I watched them peacefully pass by and wondered if they looked the same in the human world. I closed my eyes and let the warm sun beat down on my face.
"See, Jushiro? I'm not the only one who relaxes like this..." I heard a voice say. I opened my eyes and saw two unfamiliar men in captains robes. I immediately shot up and composed myself. They chuckled and walked towards me.
"Don't worry, calm yourself." I nodded, but stood up anyway.
"Hello, my name is Maichou Harumi, new captain of squad 9," I introduced, looking at both of them. One of them was wearing a long pink cherry blossom robe on top of his captains robe, and he looked very calm and laid back. The other one had long white hair, and looked sort of sickly.
"Well hello there Maichou, my name is Jushiro Ukitake, captain of squad 13," he said, before breaking out into a coughing fit.
"And I'm Shunsui Kyoraku, captain of squad 8," he said, tipping his hat at me. "Pleasure to meet you." I smiled at them.
"So...what can I do for you?" I moved from one face to the other, trying to read them. They were just standing there, blankly smiling at me.
"Well, we were sent to get you. There's a captains meeting now," Jushiro explained. I remember Byakuya explaining what captains meetings were, though the title is pretty self explanatory, so I knew that it was imperative that I be there. I nodded and followed them out of the barracks and towards the base of squad 1.
"...and that is what has been going on recently within the seireitei," head captain Yamamoto finished explaining in his deep, raspy voice. Everyone nodded in understanding and head captain Yamamoto slammed his staff on the ground, signaling us to be dismissed. He left, and the rest of the captains lingered and chatted with one another. I didn't recognize most of them, the only ones I did recognize were Toshiro, Byakuya, Jushiro, and Shunsui. There was a large man with the head of a fox, a small woman with a bitter face, an older woman with long dark hair, a large menacing looking man with many scars, and a man who looked somewhat like a robot. I suddenly felt very out of place. As if sensing my discomfort, Byakuya was beside me with his hand on my shoulder.
"Don't be intimidated, everything is okay," he whispered in my ear. Electricity shot down my spine as his hot breath touched my neck. I turned to look at him; he was wearing a soft expression on his face.
"Well, you're being uncharacteristically nice to this one Byakuya," the large one with the scars commented as he approached us. I felt as though I should back away from the advancing giant, but I chose to stand my ground. I gave Byakuya a sideways glance, and he returned it with a face that said don't worry, he won't hurt you. I stared up at the man, examining every detail. He had spiked hair, with bells on the ends, and he was wearing an eye patch. He had a menacing grin, large bulging muscles, and a hefty amount of scars, and yet the closer he got the less afraid I became. A surprising wave of confidence washed over me and I stood up straight and faced the man head on.
"Hello, I'm Captain Maichou Harumi, of squad 9," I introduced, thrusting my hand out at him. He cocked his head at me, and stared down at my hand, then back at me. He let out a large bellowing laugh and I stared at him in confusion.
"You've got balls kid," he exclaimed after he finished laughing. I was a little taken aback by his sudden forwardness, and slightly crass tone. And yet, it made him much less intimidating, he seemed a lot like a high school kid. I just laughed a little and smiled at him.
"The name's Kenpachi Zaraki, captain of squad 11." By then, many of the other captains I hadn't recognized were alongside Kenpachi. The woman with the long hair stepped up and bowed to me.
"Hello, my name is Retsu Unohana, captain of squad 4, the medical unit. Stop by any time." The man with the fox head stepped towards me, casting a large shadow over me.
"I am Sajin Komamura, captain of squad 7." I smiled at him, and resisted the urge to reach up and pet him. The small woman stepped up now. Her face was still bitter, but slightly less than before.
"Soi-fon, captain of squad 2." Her introduction was short and concise, the type of person she seemed to be. I looked around, but the other captain I didn't know what nowhere to be found.
"The other captain who was here, his name is Mayuri Kurotsuchi, captain of squad 12 and head of the research and development department," Byakuya explained, as though he read my mind. "We should get home, it's late." I turned to look at him and then nodded.
"It was so nice meeting all of you," I said with a large, friendly smile. Byakuya bowed to them all then led me out the doors. I turned to look back at the chattering captains then followed Byakuya out the door.
"Everyone is really nice," I commented once we were out of the room.
"They're okay, they all get irritating after a while though." I turned to stare at him. I guess that was what Kenpachi meant when he said that Byakuya was being 'uncharacteristically nice'. We continued the rest of the walk in silence. I wasn't sure what to say to him, and he didn't seem like too much of a chatterbox anyway, so I just kept quiet.
"Well, thank you for walking me home," I murmured when we got to the entrance to my base. He nodded, and cracked a small smile, but maintained his hard exterior. I stared at him for a second, then gave in to my emotions and hugged him. He was startled at first, but then hugged me back. I pulled away, and scurried into my base, taking one quick look at him before slinking into the darkness. While I stood there in the safety of my base, I felt my heart beating harder and faster, and I could almost still feel his arms around me.
"Captain?" The voice from within the darkness made me jump. "Is everything okay?" I turned to look at my lieutenant. I couldn't see him well, but he lit a candle he had been holding. It glowed in his hands, shedding a light orange light upon his shirtless torso. I could feel my face heating up as I stared at his defined muscles.
"Y-yeah...everything is okay, Hisagi," I reassured quietly. "Go back to bed."
"Oh, well, I never went to bed. I was...um, waiting for you," he mumbled. I gazed at him in surprise, then softened my gaze. I walked over to him and gave him a small kiss.
"Goodnight, Hisagi," I breathed into his lips. I stepped away from him, running my hand down his chest as I ventured off into the dark to find my room.
"Let me at least help you find your room." I was reluctant to say yes, knowing that when he made it to my room I may not have the strength to tell him to leave, but I said yes anyway. He led me by the light of the candle until I reached my room. I slid the door open and stepped inside. I could tell that he wanted to accompany me, but he respectfully stood outside my door.
"Thank you, kind sir," I joked, leaning against the door with my palms. He smirked at me and looked around. He leaned in and kissed me again, deeper this time than before. I wanted him, I knew I did. But at the same time, I knew I couldn't have him. Maybe that made me want him more. There was a lot going through my head, too much. I couldn't have him tonight. I pulled away from the kiss and gazed into his eyes. I kissed his cheek.
"Goodnight Hisagi." He understood by my tone that it was final this time. He bowed to me and made his way back to his quarters. I watched him walk away, then slid my door closed. I sighed to myself and walked to the back of my room to de-robe. I pulled off my captains robe, untied my belt, and stripped down to nothing but my short black under dress and my necklace.
"Well that's quite a sight..." I heard from within the darkness. Like a gazelle in the midst of hunting lions, I immediately felt in danger. My first instinct was not to cover up, but to attack. I ran to grab my zanpakuto, but a strong and forceful hand stopped me.
"Nuh-uh, you're coming with us..." Another voice said.
"Who...who are you people?" I demanded. I tried to seem strong, but I was terrified. One of them chuckled, so I could tell that my facade was just that, a facade.
"We're Espada, now shut up, we're leaving..." I didn't know what to do. I feared that if I screamed they'd kill me, or worse, my squad. I couldn't reach Tsubasa-Mai, and I had no idea how strong these guys were so I had no intention of trying to fight them hand to hand. So I did something I never thought I'd have to resort to. I bit my finger as hard as I could and quickly wrote the word "Espada" down on the floor in blood. I figured someone would find it sooner or later. Just to see what kind of situation I was really in, I tried to struggle out of this man's tight grip, but he just grabbed me harder. I couldn't see anything, there was no light whatsoever within my room, so I couldn't even see who was apprehending me.
"Stop playing around with her, let's go..."
"Alright, alright, don't get your panties in a twist..." The man holding my arm grabbed my other arm and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder. I thrashed around and I could practically feel his annoyance. The other one walked over to me and hit a pressure point on my neck. Then...everything went dark.