31. Couch
Yuzu and Shuhei eventually did straighten out what they meant to each other. Right on the couch in his office. It was just their luck that Lieutenant Tsukino walked in and walked right out again during without either noticing. Later, as Yuzu walked towards Squad Four, she felt like every soul reaper she passed knew that she'd just been necking with a captain in his office. Little did she know, they most likely did.
Unfortunately for her, she did not learn this until she was woken the next morning in the Squad Four barracks by a persistent knocking at her door. With a groan, Yuzu crawled out of bed and opened the door.
"Ye-"
"That's my girl!" Rangiku squealed, embracing Yuzu like a proud mother. Yuzu struggled in the woman's grasp, her mind racing as she tried to think of what she could have done to make Rangiku proud of her while simultaneously thanking the powers that be that she'd grown tall enough to avoid being suffocated. "Rangiku, please let go! You're crushing me." Yuzu pleaded. Rangiku released her with a Cheshire cat grin and went straight to eyeballing Yuzu up and down, particularly her neck.
It was then that Yuzu realized what Rangiku was over the moon about this morning. She turned red head to toe just as Rangiku let out a tiny squeal. "Well looky here! Hisagi left a little mark. Pretty smart of him to put it where you could hide it with your kimono." Yuzu's hand automatically slapped to cover the apex between her neck and shoulder. "Other side, sweetie." Said Rangiku. Yuzu switched sides, growing redder by the second.
Rangiku's grin finally subsided into a simple pleased smile. "I'm so glad you two finally stopped chasing your tails and got together. Really, I'm happy for you two and so proud of you for going after what you wanted, Yuzu." She said.
Yuzu felt like a child again under Rangiku's motherly smile. She gave the older woman a sheepish smiled as she asked, "How'd you find out?"
Rangiku gave Yuzu a sympathetic look. "Everyone in the seireitei knows. First rule of relationships, Yuzu: always lock the door."
"Duly noted." Yuzu sighed.
32. Blindfold
"I don't think this is much better than William Tell." Hisagi asserted as he put on the blindfold. "I told you, Hisagi. William Tell isn't a game. Breaking the Pinata, on the other hand, is." Yuzu said, handing him the bat. One of the children at the daycare had a birthday today and so Yuzu decided to throw a small party for him. Unfortunately, none of the children managed to break the pinata she ordered for the occasion. Hisagi, who had come to pay her a lunch time visit, had volunteered to break it for them, but Yuzu would only allow it if he did it the proper way.
"Humans have strange customs." Hisagi commented as Yuzu and the kids spun him in circles to make him dizzy. "Didn't you used to be a human?" Yuzu asked. "I died when I was a toddler. It hardly counts." Hisagi answered as he stumbled in the direction of the donkey-shaped pinata hanging from the tree. The children began to cheer loudly and bounce on the balls of their feet in anticipation of candy.
"Smash it, Captain Hisagi!" Some children called out.
"Break it! Break it! Break it!" Others chanted, grinning madly.
"Come on, Shuhei!" Yuzu shouted over the clamor. "Show that donkey who's boss!"
Hisagi's lips curled into a smile as he took a single swing and practically obliterated the pinata, sending candy raining everywhere. All the children screamed with glee and swarmed to Hisagi's feet to grab their long awaited treats. Hisagi pulled off his blindfold and smiled across the sea of children at Yuzu.
"So where's my treat?" He boldly inquired, making Yuzu flush bright red.
33. Hate
Ever since the Monopoly Incident, Hisagi had suspected that Isshin Kurosaki harbored a fatherly hatred towards him. Not because he was an insanely protective father (though he was), but likely because he thought Hisagi was going to end up leading Yuzu on. Captains weren't exactly known for their marriagability, or even their dateability. Isshin likely did not like the prospect of Yuzu, his most domestic child, ending up chasing after a man who would never give her the things she wanted out of life because of his position.
That in mind, Hisagi wondered how the man would react to his and Yuzu's relationship after it went public. In all honesty, he expected a lengthy discussion about shovels and the mysterious disappearances of captains becoming an unquestioned tradition.
Instead, Hisagi got a firm pat on the back on the way out of a captains' meeting and a sentence that made him even more uncomfortable than the aforementioned shovel talk would have: "It'd be really cool if you named your future son Isshin."
34. Fire
"Campfires seem a whole lot more romantic in the movies." Said Yuzu, clasping her hands to her mouth and nose to fend off the stench of the fire pit. "That's because usually the couple is alone by the fire." Karin grumbled, giving all the other couples gathered around the pit a disparaging look. Ichigo feigned no guilt where he sat between his sleeping wife and daughter. It was just like him to bring Mikan along on their camping trip, which Yuzu thought was cute, but she wouldn't tell Karin that.
"I kind of like it." Hisagi admitted. "It's like a family get-together."
"That's better than calling it a triple date, I guess." Karin's boyfriend Naoki said. Karin gave him a light punch in the arm. "That doesn't excuse the fact I wanted us to be alone this weekend." She whispered harshly. Naoki rolled his eyes but apologized anyways, promising their next weekend off would be just the two of them.
Ichigo took that as his cue to take himself and his family back to their tent, and not long afterwards, Karin and Naoki disappeared into theirs, leaving Yuzu and Hisagi curled up alone next to the dying fire. "I see why Karin was riled." Yuzu whispered. "I mean, I feel the same way. It would have been nice if we had more time to ourselves, that doesn't involve me playing secretary or you popping in on the daycare at lunch time." Hisagi tensed beside her.
"I'm sorry. This must be a poor start to our relationship, spending my first weekend off with you in the company of two other couples." He quietly apologized.
Yuzu shook her head. "No, no, like you said, this was a nice little family get-together. I love spending time with my family, and you being part of that is great, Shuhei." She faltered. "I just hope that in the future, you and I can sit by a camp fire without my siblings snoring in the background."
"I can't promise another camping trip (in all honesty I got my fill of the woods as a child), but I can promise that I'll make an effort in the future to do more couple things in the future with you. Alone." Hisagi said, casting a meaningful look at the nearby tents. Yuzu looked forward to the day Hisagi fulfilled this promise.
35. Luxury
"Yuzu Kurosaki's birthday is coming up soon." Komamura remarked casually. "Have any ideas what you'll get her?" He asked. Hisagi's grip on his cup of tea grew tighter. "Komamura, I know you aren't much for romance, but do you have any idea what women like?" Hisagi asked rather than answering. Komamura gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Hisagi." He said. Hisagi let out a long sigh.
"This is her first birthday since we got together. I want to get her something nice, something, I don't know, luxurious?" Hisagi lamented his plight. "Before, I would just take her to the world of the living to visit Karakura Town or Tokyo for a day, or simply to a nice restaurant for lunch. And when she was younger, I got her little things like hair clips or sweets. Now that we're in a relationship, I don't know what to do. What do men get their girlfriends for their birthdays?"
"Perhaps you could talk to Ichigo or Yuzu's sister Karin." Komamura suggested.
"That might make a poor impression, don't you think, Captain? I mean, shouldn't I just know what to get her?"
"True." Komamura hummed thoughtfully before smiling. "You could ask Captain Kuchiki. He was married once. And if he's unwilling, I'm sure Lieutenant Hinamori and Rangiku could be helpful. Those two are dear friends of Yuzu." He said.
"I suppose I could ask Captain Kuchiki, though I'd like to avoid crawling to Hinamori and Rangiku just yet. I feel like they'd be disappointed in me for not figuring out what to get Yuzu on my own." Hisagi admitted sheepishly. "Thank you for your advice, Captain."
Approaching Byakuya was the hardest part of asking him for advice, mostly because Hisagi had never been especially friendly with the man and finding an excuse to talk to him was difficult. Hisagi eventually paid him a visit at the Squad Six barracks after deciding fall pretenses might only annoy his fellow captain.
"Captain Kuchiki, I apologize for bothering you, but I'd very much like your advice on a personal matter." Hisagi started.
"And that would be?" Kuchiki replied.
"Well, Yuzu's birthday is coming up, and since we've gotten together recently, I'm unclear as to what I'm supposed to do now. Gift wise, I mean."
"And you come to me why exactly?"
"Well, you were married once, sir." Hisagi answered awkwardly. He hoped he wasn't overstepping his boundaries.
Kuchiki was quiet for several moments. "You truly care for Ms. Kurosaki, correct?" He finally asked.
"Of course." Hisagi replied without hesitation.
"Then the official status of your relationship has so bearing. Give her a gift that reflects how much your care for her, just as you always have, Captain Hisagi."
That makes so much sense. I was an idiot to think anything needed changed. "Thank you for the advice, sir." Hisagi said.
To commemorate Yuzu's sixty-first birthday, Hisagi cooked her her favorite meal, just the way she taught him.
A/N: Yuzu is a simple person. She appreciates things like a home cooked meal way more than something luxurious.
Thank you for reading! Please review!
(PS. This story will only run for ten chapters, meaning 15 more prompts and then it's complete.)
