Chapter 6: The Prize


You must remember this:
A kiss is just a kiss,
And a sigh is just a sigh,
The fundamental things still apply
As Time Goes By.

To say that Hanatarou was nervous was an understatement. He had practically been handed one of his most precious daydreams on a silver platter. Isane Kotetsu, going to dinner. With him. He still was having a hard time coming to accept it as real. Hanatarou was terrified that this evening could only end in disaster.

Fortunately, the other 4th Division members were prepared in the event that he tried to weasel out of it. They showed him the next week's prospective task list, which was nearly twenty pages long.

The only name assigned on it was his.

He would just have to try and screw up as little as possible and hope that Isane would still speak to him afterwards. With a sigh he continued to comb his hair as two shinigami fluttered around him, making adjustments to his outfit, commenting on how good he looked and how the lieutenant was going to swoon at the first sight of him.

He wore a fancy green robe with two golden dragons embroidered around the front and back. The often misplaced and forgotten Hisagomaru had been dusted off and polished, looking as good as the day it first changed shape. It was held in place by a dark colored sash that complimented his outfit.

Looking in the mirror, surely even he had to admit he didn't look half bad.

"Isane will probably hate it." He said optimistically.

The two helpers fell over, twitching.

"I give up, he's hopeless!" one cried, throwing up his hands

"Jeeze Hana with an attitude like that, it's like you almost want her to dislike you."

"I..I'm sorry, it's just my nature. I try to keep my hopes down rather than up, in the event they turn out false." He said timidly

"You need to work on your confidence, and that's why we got a specialist to come help you." The man grinned, looking over at his equally excited partner in crime

"Sp.. specialist?" The 7th Seat gulped

Hanatarou did not like where this was going at all. In fact he felt like this was the last place in the world he should be right now and started to dash out of the room, but bumped into something.

Something warm.
Something soft.

"Why Hanatarou, how forward of you. I guess I wasn't needed after all!" Matsumoto said, grinning down at the 7th Seat who's nose was firmly planted in Seretei's most Heavenly Valley…

"L….. LIEUTENANT MATSUMOTO!! I'm suh-suh-so v-very sorry!" He stuttered, leaping backwards and making many rapid bowing motions

"Oh that won't do at all." She pouted "How are you supposed to impress her if you can't even talk without stuttering?"

"I-I don't stutter!" He cried in indignation "People only stutter when they're nervous."

"You just did." Matsumoto rebutted flatly, crossing her arms

"Ok ok, so I'm nervous about tonight." He admitted, quite easily defeated by her glare

He rubbed the back of his head and looked rather like a sheep.

"The question is WHY are you nervous?" she asked, causing him to look at her as if she had just asked why the sky was blue or why onions smelled.

"Because it's Isane!!" Hanatarou declared

"So Isane makes you nervous?" Matsumoto inquired

"No!… well… yes." He blushed

"You're blushing! That must mean you really like her. Aww Hana that's so cute!" she beamed

"I-I've always liked Isane." He said

"So if you like her, why do you get nervous?" She probed, leading him along

As he talked he started to get angry at himself, and Matsumoto saw that her plan was working.

"It's really stupid. I screw up because I'm a klutz, and I'm a klutz because I'm nervous and I'm nervous because I think I'll screw up! God, I'm such a wuss." He said, feeling disgusted with himself

"So.." she said, poking him in the sternum "What are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, surprised

"Are you going to hide in your room and clean sewers for a week, or are you going to tell the girl whom you care about how you really feel?"

"I'm going to tell her!" he shouted, excitement rising inside

"Yeah!"

"I'm going to sweep her off her feet!" he declared

"That's right!" she cheered

"I'm going to--"

"Totally reach second base!!" Matsumoto finished, holding up two fingers in a V.

Hanatarou's jaw hit the floor, she couldn't possibly be serious. The puzzled look on her face however said that she was.

"On a first date?? Lieutenant… that's just not right."

"Oh.. I suppose I'm just used to people trying to feel me up all the time." She said contemplatively with the tip of her finger on her beauty mark

"Well it's not like you make it very difficult for them." He whispered to himself

"JUST WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING?!" She shouted, shaking her fist (and incidentally her chest) at him

The 7th Seat caught himself staring and wanted his mind elsewhere, and fast; otherwise the consequences could be catastrophic. In fact he may not even live to SEE his date.

"N-Nothing Lieutenant."

"Hey, I thought I told you not to stutter." She growled "Now you're going to practice talking to a woman."

"But… we've been talking the whole time." He said, bewildered

"Dummy! Not like this, it's too casual."

She had a table brought in and set up as if it were a restaurant. Hanatarou looked at it as if it were a snake that was going to bite him.

"I'm Isane and we just arrived." She asked "What do you do first?"

"I… sit down?" he tried

"NO STUPID you pull her chair out for her, and here I thought you had good manners.."

"Oh, how dumb of me." He said, moving over to the table to pull out her chair

As he held out his hand Matsumoto made the sound of a buzzer going off.

"WRONG! That was a trick! First you take my coat or whatever else I'm wearing and THEN you sit me down." She stated

He looked frustrated. What he didn't seem to realize was that she was purposefully irritating him, hoping he would show a little spine.

"But you're not wearing anything else!" He complained

"We're pretending, or did you forget that too?"


Isane stood in front of a full length mirror, admiring her new white robe. It had a sky blue floral print running along the edges, bellflowers of course. She wore her hair in curls, looking much less messy than she normally kept it. Her tassel still hung in it's place however, it was the one thing she refused to compromise on. Itegumo was held in place at her side with a silk cord.

"Ohh you look so pretty!" her sister Kiyone gushed "I hope Hana doesn't get too nervous."

That was when she noticed that although the Lieutenant was smiling, her hands were shaking.

"You're trembling!" Kiyone cried

"I… I'm just… a little nervous myself." She admitted

Her second (and even less cheerful than usual due to being drafted) assistant scowled at her.

"Nervousness is a sign of weakness. Move in on the target with absolute focus, then strike." Soifon commanded

"She doesn't want to kill him Captain, although I see your point. However creepily you put it." Kiyone said, rolling her eyes

"It's just that Hanatarou is… well… HE'S SO DAMN CUTE!" Isane puffed

"So you really like him?" Soifon inquired

"Of course.. I just wish I knew how he felt about me."

Kiyone was stunned. How could her sibling, the wise Isane be this oblivious?

"You can't be serious! Hana's crazy about you!" She shouted

"He is?" She asked surprised

"Everyone knows that! It's so obvious. He does all those extra chores to make sure you don't have to assign them to people, so nobody gets mad at you! He goes out of his way to make sure Captain Unohana gets to spend as much time with you as possible since you love her so much. Isane, that man practically worships the ground you walk on. Then he cleans it!" Kiyone declared

"I never… knew any of that." she said, averting her eyes to the floor

"Good thing we didn't apply her make up yet." Soifon commented, ever the pragmatist

Isane was crying.

"I've ignored him just as much as anyone, I've taken advantage of him, used his kindness… I'm HORRIBLE!" she shouted at the ceiling

Her sister wrapped her in a warm embrace, patting the lieutenant on the back.

"Oh sis, it isn't your fault. Everyone loves him to death but Hana's a wallflower. He can't speak up for himself and that's why it's natural to forget that he has needs too." Kiyone reminded her

Isane sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"Give me the lipstick." She said

Soifon could never understand for the life of her why other women did this crap.


The Swansong Grill was one of the most popular restaurants in Soul Society, partly due to the exquisite menu and partly due to it having live (or technically, dead) birds in a glass enclosure in the middle of the dining area. It wasn't the tacky display which some restaurants that had animals used either, it looked half portrait half zoo exhibit.

Twelve female swans of pure white swam around in a little pond, while a solitary black male watched over them protectively. Isane watched in fascination and then noticed the 7th seat doing the same out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, Isane you're here already! Wow, you look spectacular." He exclaimed

"Thank you Hana, but you're the one who looks good here not me." She said

Something was different about him, not just the rather handsome outfit or the fact that he actually had Hisagomaru with him either. It was something about the way he carried himself that had changed, he wasn't avoiding eye contact either. He came forward and took her by the arm, leading her to a nearby table. It was a forward gesture, not like Hanatarou at all.

Who was this attractive, confidant man beside her?

He pulled out her chair for her in perfect gentlemanly fashion before taking his seat.

Soon a very attractive waitress in an interesting uniform featuring swan feathers around the edges and a rather short skirt appeared, bowing slightly.

"Champagne?" She asked, holding a bottle and glasses

"Please." He replied, apparently not even noticing her looks

"I didn't know you drank…"

"Oh I normally don't touch the stuff" He started "But this is a special occasion."

Isane was starting to get a little warm, where was Hanatarou Yamada?

"What makes it so special?" She asked

"…Because you're here with me." He said, smiling

Her heart skipped a beat. Was this really the leader of the 14th relief squad?

"Here are your menus madam." The waitress said, handing her the bill of fare "My name is Nanase and I'll be your waitress. If you need anything please let me know."

She bowed again before leaving them alone, and Hanatarou still had not so much as looked at her. The lieutenant was very impressed, most men would be oogling her even though they were already on a date.

What she didn't know was that he had spent the last hour and a half up close and personal receiving dancing instructions from a woman with an even curvier figure and even better looks than Nanase. After dealing with the Heavenly Valley for that long, Hanatarou was prepared for anything.

"Wow, everything looks so good. I don't know what I want." He said, looking through the menu

"That's easy for me, I'm having salad." Isane replied, overwhelmed by the prices

"Don't worry about the bill, I'm paying for everything." Hanatarou stated

"Oh no you're not. Remember, tonight is your reward." She admonished

He blushed slightly and rubbed his head. There was the Hanatarou she knew! Even that gesture was one of her favorites.

"I-I sort of forgot." He admitted

Isane smiled, he just wasn't the same without that adorable stammer.


"And so then she tried to make me swing her all the way over the bar." Jen grinned "I told her mommy would get mad if I did that, so she said 'Ok daddy only half ways up.'"

Unoahana laughed as he told her about his life. The more time she spent around him the more she came to realize how much deeper he was than the picturesque God of Death she had first met. She now fully understood why he had come to her; despite all his mirth, the memory of his loss had left a hole in his heart that only kindness could fill. All in all it was rather flattering.

"She really does sound like Yachiru." The captain said, as the grandfather clock against her office wall chimed.

It had reminded her that the meeting would be soon, and she regretted having to go.

"I'm sorry Jen," she began "The Shinigami Women's Association Meeting is starting shortly. I need to be on my way."

"It's alright Captain, I wouldn't want the President to be kept waiting!" he chuckled "Also, please give Vice-President Ise my regards."

She couldn't tell him how happy she was that he had seemed to find an interest in the 8th Division lieutenant. Some men who lost loves swore off relationships of any sort, like the aloof Byakuya Kuchiki.

Unohana was reminded of her own heart then.
How long? How long would she have to wait to say what she truly felt?

The 4th Division captain drove these thoughts from her mind; she was the great healer, pillar of strength and comfort for all of Seretei.

Unohana Retsu did not hurt.
But inside, her heart quivered.