The next day, Mikiko woke with a slight headache. Why do I...oh that's right... She then remembered how much she drank the night before. I actually had a pretty good time with those guys. They aren't half bad. She thought. Maybe we will do it again sometime.
She realized she was still in last nights clothes and decided to go for a bath. As she let her bath warm up, she took a look in the mirror. The tattoo on her right arm was unfinished. She decided today would be a good time to go get it finished. She needed a little sake to loosen her up before hand though. As it was already afternoon, she figured that was as good as any time to start. She pulled out the sake bottle she had stashed under her bed and poured a cup. She took a sip and walked over to the bath. She set the bottle and the cup on the stand and climbed in. She took another sip and settled into the bath to relax.
After her bath, Mikiko dressed and made her way towards her old district. She knew the tattoo parlor would be open. He was most always open. Out of habit, she slid through the unused back alleys of district seventy-nine. Soon she was standing in front of Ruchi's tattoo parlor. She pushed the door open and entered.
The stench of sweat hit her as she went through the front door and she gagged. "Hey, Ruchi!" she called out.
A heavy set man came through the door from the back room. He pulled out a rag and wiped the sweat from his face. "Yo, Mikiko. Back for the rest, huh? Been a while, was wonderin' if ya forgot about little ol' me."
She wrinkled her nose at the sight of the man. He was a large man, what muscles he had were hidden beneath rolls of fat. He had a habit of constantly sweating. Mikiko was forced to get her tattoos there as he was cheap as dirt and the only place in the district. Fortunately for her, he also did pretty decent work. "Hah! Of course I forgot about ya. Easy to forget an ugly mug like yours. Just haven't had the time to get here and get this finished."
"Bitch! I'm not ugly!" he protested. "So what do you have in mind for today? Shall I tattoo your breasts as you've always been wantin'?"
"Not today, pervert. I want to finish my right forearm. That's not too complicated for you now is it?" she glared at him.
"Oh, of course not, Tanuka-sama!" He said as he backed up and put his hands up in defense. "Come on back and I can start on you right away!"
She grinned triumphantly as she followed him to the back. Despite being overweight, the man was a tough fighter. She had witnessed that a few times. When she came to get her first tattoo he had also learned that she was a better fighter than he was. Mikiko was smarter and faster, and had successfully broken his nose and jaw on her first visit. Being the kind of man he was, he was unable to resist when a girl entered his shop. She was used to that type of treatment. Only about one in twenty men she came across did not attempt to have their way with her. It had molded her, for better or for worse. Ever since her first visit, Ruchi had all but kowtowed to her now when she entered.
A few hours later, she emerged with a fresh tattoo. Mikiko appraised the work and paid the pudgy man. The alternating wire and bones wrapped once around her forearm in a snaking pattern, then wrapped around her wrist. She had started that tattoo about a year ago and only had her shoulder and upper arm finished. This completed the pattern on her full arm.
"What a great day! I feel spectacular today. What shall I do with the rest of my afternoon?" She mused out loud as she wandered back towards the academy. I know, I will invite Kazuki out for drinks again, we had a blast last night and there are no classes tomorrow. She made her way to Kazuki's room and pounded on the door.
"Kazuki! Open up!" She yelled at the door.
"Just a minute!" she heard him yell from inside. Soon the door cracked open and Kazuki stood in front of her. It was almost evening, but all he had on was a pair of pants. "Hey, Miki. What's up?" He said rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, hey there sexy!" She teased, unphased at his half dressed state. It had been some time since she had last seen him without a shirt. He's growing up nicely. He will have the girls all over him soon enough. She thought as her eyes traveled over his toned chest and arms and rested on the necklace he was wearing. Her expression softened for a moment as she lightly ran her fingertips across it. "You still have that old thing?" She asked quietly.
His hand instinctively reached to touch the necklace, as he often did. "Yeah, I like it." He chuckled. The beaded necklace had been a gift from Mikiko. She made it for him when he was quite young from pilfered beads. He never took it off, but he would never tell her that.
Dropping her hand quickly, she laughed off her reverie. "Only half dressed?"
He blushed slightly. "Um, well you caught me." He grinned at her. "I was still lazin' around in bed."
"Bed? It's super late. Look, I spent the afternoon at the tattoo parlor!" She showed off her freshly tattooed arm.
He took her left hand and lifted it up for a better look. "Ah, very nice." He said appraisingly. "Finally finished off your right arm, I see. I was wondering when you would do that. I like it."
"Thanks! I knew you would love it!" She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. He stumbled backwards a step. She released him and walked into his room. "So, any plans for this evening?"
"Plans? None here. Why, what's on your mind?"
"I figured we'd go drinking, what do ya say?" she smiled sweetly at him.
"Ah, we did have a good time last night, huh? I will ask them to come along again, eh?"
"Do it."
"Alright, meet you at the gate then." He said as he pulled on a shirt and left.
Another fun night! She thought happily as she walked towards the gate. It's kinda nice to have a few friends even if only for a short while.
Soon, she saw Kazuki approaching. There was a new face in the group, apparently replacing Shouta. The group comprised of Renji, Kira, Kazuki and an unfamiliar girl.
"Hey, Mikiko!" Renji yelled and waved.
"Yo, Red." she smirked at him. "So, who's the newbie, and what happened to Shouta? Too much for him?" The girl was shorter than she, with blond hair and green eyes.
"This is Kaiyo-san. She's a sixth year with us, and in our advanced placement class." Kira stated.
"Sup, I'm Mikiko."
"Hi, Mikiko-san, nice to meet you." Kaiyo replied.
"Shouta said he wasn't up for coming out tonight." Kira said.
"I guess it was too much for him then! What a wuss!" Mikiko spat out. Kaiyo raised her eyebrows as she chuckled at the girl.
"We going back to the same place as last night?" Renji asked. "That was the cheapest sake I've had!" He grinned.
"Of course we are, where else would we go?." Mikiko said. Renji shrugged his shoulders.
They successfully navigated back to the seventy-ninth district and settled themselves into the same table as the night before. The evening passed quickly as they shared stories and laughs. They decided by the end of the night, it would be a weekly occurrence. They kept their word and went out together on the weekends. The months flew by and pretty soon graduation was upon them.
The day before graduation, Kazuki was heading towards the dorms with Renji and Kira.
"Graduation tomorrow, huh?" Kazuki said to Renji.
"Yeah, 'bout damn time too!" Renji said as she slammed his fist into his hand.
Kira nodded. "Yeah, we don't know what divisions we are going into yet though. Well, I think Kaiyo-san does. She is joining the ninth division under Captain Tosen."
"I hear he's a good captain." Kazuki replied.
"So have I." Renji said. "We've talked about it a bit and I am thinking the rest of us will join the fifth division along with Momo Hinamori-san. We still have until tomorrow to make up our minds though"
"Captain Aizen, huh? He seems like a pretty nice captain from what I've heard." Kazuki said.
"Yah, Hinamori-san is pushing for us to join with her." Kira said.
"Hey, where's Mikiko?" Renji asked.
"Ah, she already went to her dorm. She wanted me to remind you that we are going out tomorrow after graduation."
"Awesome! Can't wait!" Renji replied. "Catch ya tomorrow then!"
They parted ways and prepared for what the next day would bring.
The next day the graduation ceremony dragged on for hours. Mikiko yawned and fidgeted next to Kazuki for the entire duration. This takes forever. I'm going to dread when it's finally our turn to graduate. She thought.
If this doesn't end soon, Miki is going to explode. Kazuki thought as he watched her fidget. He placed a hand on her wrist and she visibly calmed down. She glanced over at him and made a conscious effort to remain quiet.
"...and that concludes our ceremony. Congratulations graduates!" the master of ceremonies said.
A round of applause went up and Mikiko jumped out of her seat. "Finally!" She shouted. "Let's get outta here and get ready to go out!" She grabbed Kazuki's hand and dragged him towards the dorms. "Ok, go change." she ordered as she shoved him down the hall towards his room. "See ya at the normal spot!"
Minutes later, Mikiko was standing at the gate. She was dressed in her normal black tank top and cargo pants. I can't believe they are going to be gone now. I suppose I won't see them again after tonight. At least I still have Kazuki. She sighed.
She spotted the others coming her way and waved.
"Hey, all grow'd up now huh?" She joked as the group neared her. She threw her arm around Kaiyo. "I see our Kai-chan is entering division nine under that Tosen guy. I hear he's blind, that true?"
"That's Captain Tosen, and yes he is blind." Kaiyo replied as she smiled widely. "He is a respectable leader, he believes in justice and peace and I think I can follow a man like that." she grinned at Mikiko. Over the year, Kaiyo had grown quite fond of Mikiko. She surmised it had been since they were quite opposite. She would tolerate her brash behavior and oftentimes even mother the girl. Even though she disagreed strongly with Mikiko's love for fighting and instigating, she refrained from mentioning it. She had made the mistake of trying to explain that not everything had to be a fight with bloodshed, but it did not end well. She thoroughly enjoyed Mikiko's stories though. It seemed to her than the weekends they spent together brought them all closer together as friends.
"Whatever! I don't think I'd wanna join that division anyways."
Kaiyo chuckled at the woman. "I think the boys here chose differently."
"That's right, we are going into the fifth division along with Hinamori-san here." Kira said as a small woman popped out from behind him.
"Oh, shit! I didn't see you there!" Mikiko said, somewhat surprised as she spotted the small woman. Normally when surprised like that, Mikiko would lash out. Her momentary flash of anger quickly dissipated as the girl smiled sweetly at her. She was small and almost childlike in her features.
"Sorry! I'm kind of short, you see. I'm Momo Hinamori, nice to meet you!"
"Yah, short is right! I'm Mikiko!" She patted the short girl on the top of the head, not being mindful of her hair that was pulled back into a bun. "Going to celebrate with us then?"
"That's right!" The girl grinned widely as she tried to put her hair back in its place. "Are you sure it's safe to go to the seventy-ninth district?"
"Of course, we've been goin' for months, plus Kazuki and I used to live there. It's as safe as a daycare." Mikiko replied as she grinned somewhat sadistically. "Well, good to have you along. I hope you can hold your sake!"
"Hah! You should see Miki-chan drink! She could shame most men!" Renji interjected.
Mikiko knocked him on the top of the head. "Only Kazuki can call me that, idiot!"
"Hey! I can call you what I like!" Renji yelled.
"You may have just graduated, but I can still kick your ass!" With that, she punched him into the wall.
"Why you little bitch!" Renji said as he popped up and rubbed the side of his face.
"Are they always like this?" Momo whispered to Kaiyo.
The blond girl chuckled. "Yeah, mostly. Until Kazuki-san stops them. Don't let it fool you though, they are good friends." Momo blinked as they continued yelling at each other.
"Ok, guys," Kazuki put a hand on Mikiko's shoulder. "Enough, let's party, huh?"
"Hell yeah!" she replied as she glanced back at Kazuki and took a deep breath to recompose herself.
Renji threw and arm around Mikiko's shoulders and pumped his fist into the air. "Damn straight, let's go!"
Once they made it to the Rusty Dog, they took up their usual table. Mikiko sat on the far side of the table with Kazuki on her right and Renji on her left. The other three sat opposite. The barmaid brought them each two cups to start with as normal.
Mikiko stood up. "A toast! To the recent grads! Red, Kira, Momo and Kaiyo!" she raised her cup.
"Here, here" They said in unison and downed the sake.
"So," Mikiko started, "why aren't you guys going to join the ninth division with Kaiyo? Why the fifth?"
"They have a case of hero worship, I do believe." Kaiyo replied, winking at her.
"Shut up! We do not!" Renji replied.
"Captain Aizen is a great teacher and mentor." Momo replied.
"Plus, he saved them from a bunch of hollows." Kaiyo said.
"He saved you as well Kaiyo-san." Kira pointed out and she nodded.
"Oh? So, did he appear in a flash of brilliant light or anything?" Mikiko asked in all seriousness.
"You could say that." Momo laughed. "We were sent on a field exercise to the world of the living to exterminate some hollows in one of our advanced classes."
"Oh, how excitin'!" Mikiko exclaimed. "I wish I could go to the world of the living!" She sighed and downed another cup of sake.
Momo smiled at her. "You two are second year students?"
"Yeah, we are." Kazuki answered. "Miki-chan and I are in advanced placement classes. A real pain sometimes"
"It's not a pain! Idiot!" Mikiko said as she smacked him on the back of his head. "It's a fuckin' challenge and I like challenges!"
Kazuki rubbed his head as he gave the woman a half smile. "Yeah, it's a challenge alright."
"Ah, you should be able to conduct some exercises in the world of the living when you are sixth year students for sure." Momo replied.
Mikiko grinned. "Sounds fun! But, please Momo, continue with your story!" She said as she downed more sake.
Momo nodded. "There were many hollows. And our group leader, Shuhei Hisagi-san, told us to run. It was quite scary. Numerous huge hollows had appeared in the area. We were about to run, but I saw that Hisagi-san was about to be overwhelmed. I couldn't bear that. I turned back to help him. The other three here decided to turn back as well."
"Yeah, we saw you turn back and we couldn't let you go alone." Kira commented as he finished his sake.
"Very brave of you, Kira-kun." The small girl said. "Hisagi-san was in trouble, but the three of us were able to help him out and defend against some of the attacks." She sighed. "But soon, there were too many and we were unable to handle them all. They had already killed two of our classmates, we feared we were next."
"Damn hollows! I wouldn't let them touch anyone!" Mikiko stated emphatically as she downed another cup.
"That's our Miki-chan! She'd slaughter 'em all!" Renji said.
Mikiko elbowed him hard in the ribs and held up a fist to his face. "You better watch it, Red!"
"Hey, ouch!" He feigned a pained look and stuck out his bottom lip. "That was a compliment!"
"Yeah right, ya big baby." Mikiko scoffed. "Continue, Momo!"
"Well, just as we were about to be overwhelmed, Captain Aizen and Vice-captain Gin Ichimaru showed up and finished off the hollows. They were pretty impressive." Momo smiled. "They were smooth and quick, and I decided right there, I would join the fifth division."
"You were right Kai-chan! It is hero worship!" Mikiko joked as Kaiyo smiled, her eyes sparkling. "So why aren't you going to the fifth? I know you said you liked that Tosen guy, but what made you decide that?"
"Well, Hisagi-san, the one that led our expedition, entered the ninth division and he gave me a good idea of how things are run. I believe in justice and as long as that's what they stand for, that is the division for me." She smiled.
"I see...I have plenty of time to figure out what division I want to go into!" Mikiko stated.
"Yes, four years to be exact" Kazuki said.
"Don't remind me!" The girl groaned.
"I just hope I can do my best for Captain Aizen. I would hate to think he could have me transferred out if I didn't perform well." Momo said.
"You will do just fine, Hinamori-san." Kira replied.
"I have every confidence that each of you will do very well in the Gotei Thirteen." Kazuki stated.
Momo smiled at him. "Thanks, Ito-san."
"Damn right we will!" Renji said and Kira nodded.
The rest of the night went smoothly as they discussed what it would be like in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Each offering their own opinion. After the evening was finished, they said their good nights and parted ways. Mikiko happily stumbled to her room and locked herself inside. Flopping onto her bed, she promptly passed out.