A/N: Still sleep-deprived for some reason but hopefully it's getting better. I've been getting a flood of ideas for this story so I'm really interested to see where it goes now, although I'll have to filter through some of the ideas and see which ones really work and which don't. Hard to believe it's already chapter ten, it doesn't feel like I've really done much but it's getting there. Thanks for all the reviews!
"So who's going to be your partner for today?"
He gave a soft roll of his eyes as he stirred through the caramel-like color of the hot tea in front of him; eventually setting the spoon aside as he carried the cup with him back into the living room. "What? You mean you're not going to be my partner? What happened to us, Ikkaku?"
"You replaced me with someone taller."
"And prettier and who has a head full of hair." Yumichika added as he eventually made his way to the other end of the room and peered out of the near ceiling to floor window; the streets outside seemed just as busy and dirty as ever. He wasn't entirely sure if the Society was even as crowded or as busy as these streets were; maybe during the holidays or such but… he still doubted it then. "Plus I think it helps to get back at you for all those times you and Mizuho just couldn't help yourselves when you didn't think anyone else could possibly be sleeping in the middle of the night."
"For the love of- we forgot you were in the same room, okay? Can't you let it go?"
"Do you know what I had to listen to? I didn't even think she was the type of lady to dirty talk like that, it was terrible. I still have nightmares over it."
"Never once before have I wished to not be in a room." Cho remarked as he eventually pushed himself to his feet at the sound of knocking at the door. "As… 'intriguing' as this conversation must sound, I do not believe I wish to know anymore than what has already been said."
"Look at what you did." Ikkaku replied towards the violet-haired man.
"Me? You're the asshole here." Yumichika reminded.
A light shake of his head followed as the two seemed to continue their playful bicker and banter back and forth between one another; he just wanted to answer the door. He lightly straightened out the pinstripe vest he wore over his white-wine dress-shirt before he pulled the door open; not really seeming all too surprised with the three women on the other side. "Decided to drop in for a visit now?"
"Well there's nothing wrong with seeing a few good men on the side, right?" Matsumoto flirted lightly as she leaned against the open doorframe. "But we just thought that we could drop by and… see what you boys were up to and maybe merge our plans a little bit."
"That means she's looking for trouble." Ikkaku warned playfully. "You can't trust her."
"Oh shut it, you know you're always my partner in crime anyways." she retorted with an equally teasing tone before she turned back to the First Lieutenant. "So? What are you guys planning?"
"As I was telling these two before, we should get more observation data collected but… I would heavily advise to watch yourselves out there; I've picked up on a few signals now and again but they were strongest this morning, so be careful." Chojiro answered. "Feel free to walk where you want but do keep track of your location just in case something does happen and I feel that it'd be much safer if you brought someone along with you or moved in a small group."
"So, we're going with a buddy system now?" Kiyone asked.
"I suppose you could describe it as such, yes."
"Would you like to be my partner then?"
A soft chuckle escaped him for a moment before he nodded. "I would enjoy having the honor of escorting you around today, Kiyone."
Isane gently rolled her eyes and waited for the man's attention to shift for a moment before she dug her elbow into the short woman's shoulder. "You have a boyfriend, just remember that." she teased quietly.
"Yeah and so do you." Kiyone replied in an equal tone of matter.
"I do not-" she started only to silence herself in mid-thought; she wasn't going to play that game, nor did she even want to get a start on it. She only shook her head and turned back to whatever the topic at hand was.
"Come on Ikkaku, you know you just have to be my partner." Matsumoto called with a sudden emphasize as she glanced towards the silver-haired woman just a few feet away for a brief second. "Besides I think I mapped out some pretty interesting places for us to visit."
"Well then, I know I'm going to love that." he replied.
Yumichika shook his head lightly and finished off the cup in hand. "Careful, you do have a girlfriend you know."
"So do you."
He stopped himself from making a comeback and only walked back towards the kitchen long enough to drop off the ceramic cup into the sink. It seemed to take a moment for everyone to make the simple motion of getting out of the middle of the doorway before he stepped out into the corridor; locking the door closed behind him. He turned back towards the only one remaining and watched as she seemed withholding of a soft chuckle before it eventually came forth in the form of a grin.
"Looks like you're stuck with me again." Isane remarked.
"And you with me." he noted. "So does that make this an unfortunate situation or a lucky one?"
"I'd go with lucky."
As much as she would have liked to avoid the park after the warning from this morning… it seemed like throughout the day, they were constantly walking past it more and more. It was easier for her to just try and avoid conflict before it started and take care of what happened after it left; unfortunately again, with this few of members and such an upcoming, potential risks… she couldn't just step around the situation. She wouldn't be completely helpless in battle though, again she did know how to wield a sword and she was an expert in kido-based attacks so that would have to do something for her, right? Given the correct direction, angle and distance, she could probably provide a decent form of back up.
"What are you so concentrated on?"
She snapped lightly from her thoughts and turned her attention back to her partner at hand. "Ha, sorry about that, I was just going through possible outcomes should we actually run into anything out here; I mean, as much as I'd like to avoid something like that, if I don't have a choice I'll have to do something."
"I think we'll be okay in terms of fighters, even if we brought just six; it's not like we're looking to take out a higher form of any kind of Hollow after all. And as long as you'll be there to take care of injuries, I think we'll be able to manage."
"I do hope so." Isane sighed a little more to herself before she watched as they seemed to pass the park entrance once more; it was like something kept drawing them unknowingly to it again and again. "Well maybe we should go in for a little look around and see if we can't find something."
He paused momentarily and looked over at the full field that opened wide to a multitude of playgrounds, benches, obstacle courses and plenty of other trails that seemed to weave off and disappear into a mess of trees. It was probably one of the more decent areas he had seen before out in the human world- although the piercing shrieks of children echoing about did quite a bit to hinder his enthusiasm for exploration of the place. "Well… with all those high-energy… 'things' running about, I wouldn't be surprised that a Hollow would make this place its new hunting ground. But if this is the place, then we might as well see what we can find in it."
She chuckled lightly and pushed inward along the cobblestone path from before; the trail seemed a bit different now, although it might've been from the massive groups of people that they now had to share it with. "I take it you don't like kids then?"
"I wouldn't say that… actually, yes I would." Yumichika answered; watching as several large groups of people seemed to be enjoying themselves around home-brought grills; tables were folded out and chairs scattered around to accompany for all the numbers. On the other side of the massive lake seemed to be a few people tossing around a Frisbee; a small dog yapped back and forth as it chased the disc from one person to the next. "As long as we stay away from those cursed jungle gyms, I'll be able to keep a decent view on the creatures."
"Well that's an interesting thing to call them." she remarked as she chose to pick a different path this time; the cobblestone beneath turned into nothing more than a patch of dirt really. It seemed to twist and grind every other direction before ultimately giving way to a much cooler-looking path; the trees overhead provided a bit of coverage from the afternoon sun that seemed all the more bearing down on everyone.
"What about you? Do you like kids?"
She gave a light shrug at the question and ducked down as a low-hanging branch just briefly skimmed above her. "To be honest, I haven't a clue. I haven't really been around any and… well I don't have experience with them either. It's not like anyone in Soul Society has a child or really any children; I imagine that my greater sense of patience would help me around them though. But again… they're just so small, what if I trip over one? Or God forbid, drop one?"
"I hear they're pretty resilient so I'm sure it would be fine." he shrugged just the same. "They're just so… well, let's be frank, ugly when they're born and they don't really get much better for a long time."
"I'm sure you'd say otherwise if it was your child." she chuckled. "You have some pretty good genes, I'm sure they'd pass on well."
"They better." He remarked. "Although I'd have to find someone with equally good genes, then they would converge into the perfect mix of traits; can you imagine what that kind of child would look like?"
She chuckled and shook her head as she looked over to see where the trail seemed to open up onto a small recreational area; it seemed like it had been completely abandoned as no one else was in sight. "I'm thinking your Wisteria eyes would look gorgeous."
"Ugh, they're honestly quite a hideous color and it would be difficult to match with a decent shade of hair too." he remarked with a slight cringe of disgust. "I'd almost prefer something light to balance it out; something like white maybe… or gray, maybe silver."
"Hmm, yeah I can see any of those; but you know, it's all random it seems… well it's a mass effect of genetic coding and chromosome switching- Nemu could probably explain the whole process." Isane nodded.
"Hell, that woman could write out the entire chromosome process and give you perfect statistics on it." Yumichika chuckled; eyes too busy watching a bird ruffle the branches overhead to notice that the taller woman behind him paused in her tracks.
She watched as he kept going on for a few more feet before he seemed to finally take note of her absence at his side. A light shake of her head was followed with a brief grin almost. "I'm sorry I just… I think it's a little odd that here we are talking about kids and… you haven't even tried to kiss me yet."
"Ah well… you see, certain circumstances have inhibited such an action…" he started; almost stumbling yet not over his words. "I didn't want to give everyone else the 'satisfaction' of being witness."
"Well… they're not here now…" she started as fingers seemed to lightly tug at the ends of her sleeves; it wasn't like she was nervous in the approach, maybe it was a little off but… well she couldn't really describe what she was feeling right now. Medically, it wasn't much but an upset of chemicals and hormones. "Nevermind, just… this is so silly-"
"No, but I-"
She had paused the moment he started to talk but watched as he seemed to do just the same. "But you?" she questioned; hoping to lightly provoke him to finish even though he didn't seem to be working. It took a short glance to notice the sudden tension in his body and the look of pure stillness on his face. "What… is it?"
He took a slow breath and tried his best to not make the situation worse with panic. "Don't move."
"What are you-" she started once more before feeling a rush of hot air spread across the back of her neck; it was strong enough to blow through her hair and push her small braids over her shoulders. She felt her chest freeze up for a moment as the rush of air was followed by the small gurgle of strums in the back of the throat. "… It's right behind me, isn't it?"