Chapter 13: Quality Time with the Fox
*Posting this the day before I head out of town. ^. ^
Gin: *waving a handkerchief* Bon voyage EmpressSaix.
I finished my outline for Brother and Sister. So now I can start editing/rewriting it, but I won't touch the version I already have posted until I finish the new version. I went to the State Fair and I ate deep-fried pumpkin pie and it was delicious!
The Serene Dancer, in the next chapter we're going to see how well these two can do fighting on a different kind of battlefield. Ryouji is adorable and I'm glad you like him. I've only scratched the surface of their father; he has many layers of deviousness about him that you'll see later in the story.
The term "safety" can be defined and interpreted in different ways. There is a difference between being kept safe and being kept alive. I like the plot and intrigue in Game of Thrones and I love the characters in Star Trek. Chekov is so freaking cute!
And exactly one week from today will be my birthday! So please enjoy and review as sort of a gift to me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach only a lot of OCs.*
"I like to think that as I get older I'm getting better at spending time with people who have qualities that make them worth spending time with." ~Samantha Power
"Hell no."
Naomi knew he wasn't going to be easy to convince and she knew he wasn't going to agree after just asking once. But she couldn't help feel a pang of disappointment and her shoulders fall.
She tried again but this time she batted her eyes a little, "Please?"
It didn't work.
Ikkaku forced himself to stay firm, "I said no."
Naomi gave up trying to win him over with girlish charm. He was either immune or she was bad at charming men. She tossed her hands up in exasperation and frustration.
"Why not?"
"Why do you even want me to go? This is a party for nobles and sorry but that is not my thing. Can't you take someone more fitting? What about Naoko? She's a freaking princess! Or your captain? Isn't she a noble? Captain Shihoin? One of the Kuchiki's?" He suggested.
"Naoko is busy with school, Captain Ishida is a Quincy and I don't know how well my relatives would take that," Naomi was only half-lying about the last part. She didn't want Ikkaku or anyone to know how one of her aunts was behind the almost assassination of her captain's husband last summer. There would be a blood bath if aunt Akane and Captain Ishida saw each other.
"I don't know Captain Shihoin that well and I wouldn't feel comfortable asking her." Naomi's voice then took a decidedly sharp turn, "Hell will freeze over before I ever ask anything of a Kuchiki. I would rather walk into Hueco Mundo and throw myself into the mouth of the first Hollow I see."
Ikkaku looked at her with a bit of surprise at hearing such a bold statement, "Alright but you still didn't answer my first question. Why do you want me to come?"
"Because… Because…" Naomi was grappling for a plausible reason. Because for some strange reason I feel safe and comfortable when you're around. I feel like I can take on that collection of vipers when you're nearby. But Naomi was not about to say that.
She continued to fumble until a thought hit her, "Because Ryouji asked!"
He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at hearing that. "Really?"
"Yes, really. I know these parties can be a pain for someone as young as him and having a friend there along with me might make it more bearable for him."
He wasn't completely convinced, "If you want to bring a friend for him then why not Yachiru?"
Naomi gave him a flat look, "You want me to bring an energetic, nearly untamable, and chaos bringing child to a formal party filled with uppity prude nobles?"
Ikkaku opened his mouth to argue but paused giving her words some thought. His shoulders fell and he sighed, "I guess you've got a point."
"She's got more than just a good point," Yumichika's voice came up from behind them. He looked closer to his regular well put-together self but his skin still seemed paler than normal and his gait was a little slow. "It wouldn't be in anyone's best interest if Lieutenant Kusajishi was brought with. We all know how… disorder happens to follow her whether she's the cause of it or not."
"Thank you," Naomi said kindly. "I do like her and I know my brother adores her as a friend but I don't think having a pink miniature bringer of chaos would be a good idea." She turned to Yumichika, "So Unohana finally let you out?"
Yumichika nodded instead of answering since his chest convulsed and he started coughing. Naomi and Ikkaku looked at him worriedly but Yumichika waved them off and forced his coughing to stop.
"Are you sure Captain Unohana should be letting you go?"
The lieutenant nodded and cleared his throat, "It's just a mild cough and Unohana is sure that it will clear up soon. She thinks it's a side effect from the water I had in my lungs after I was attacked."
"What about Captain Flynn? How is he?" Naomi asked.
"He's better but he's still being kept for another week much to his dismay. After that he's going to have go through some physical therapy and then take it easy for a month." He answered.
Realizing they had drifted off-topic Naomi brought it back around again, "All that aside will you come with me to my family's party?"
Ikkaku knew he could say no and keep refusing her. But he also knew Naomi could be persistent and would keep asking until he agreed. Or she would get creative and find other ways such as using Yachiru and her rank to get him to agree.
He sighed. I'm going to regret this. "Fine, I'll come."
Naomi gasped with delight, "Oh, thank you, thank you."
Out of pure impulse she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. It took two seconds for them both to realize what she just did. The couple broke apart, blushing like mad.
"Sorry, sorry about that I-uh I'll see you later," Naomi babbled before running off.
The two men stood where they were. Ikkaku was still a little dazed at suddenly being hugged and he was sure his face was still red. He then noticed Yumichika was looking at him and wearing a sly knowing smile.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Hmm? Oh nothing. It's just that from now on you have no right to poke fun at me when Naoko asks me to do something for her."
"I'm not doing this for Naomi; I'm doing it for her brother," the still-blushing man argued.
"Sure you are," Yumichika humored.
Naomi met him at the Eastern Gate at almost nightfall two days later. He was leaning against the wall wearing a dark gray hakama and navy kimono. It was odd, but not unpleasant Naomi decided, seeing him in casual civilian clothing and not the usual black uniform, though his sword was at its usual place on his hip. She unconsciously tugged and adjusted her coral colored kimono trying to correct any nonexistent imperfections.
"Thank you again for doing this," she said once she reached him.
Ikkaku shrugged, "Yeah well… you're welcome. How long are we going to be there?"
"The party is almost a daylong event so we'll be spending tonight and tomorrow night there," she explained. Naomi couldn't bring herself to address that place as home.
"And what exactly do you do at one of these parties?" Better to ask questions now and be prepared.
"Not much. Eat, drink, talk about people behind their backs, have sex with anyone, willing or unwilling, and then use that as blackmail."
Naomi said it so casually that Ikkaku looked at her and waited for her to smile and say she was kidding. But she didn't.
"You're kidding right?"
Her green eyes looked up at him, "Hmm? Not really. The food is usually top-notch and the saké is good too I think. I remember my relatives drinking copious amounts of the stuff so it must've been good. Nobles use parties like these to spread vicious rumors about their enemies and brag about themselves too.
"If they're feeling daring or just plain horny then they might grab someone and fuck them either in a secluded part of the garden or in some room in the house. Sometimes the partner is willing, or too drunk to know what's going on, or they are unwilling. Then that act can be used as blackmail to either make a person look unfaithful, a whore, or completely ruin them in general."
The Third Seat looked at her with wide disbelieving eyes. She... She grew up with all this? This was actually normal for her?!
"You never… You never actually saw any of this did you?" He asked slowly and with trepidation. A part of him knew he shouldn't know but a morbidly curious part of him just had to ask.
Naomi slowed her pace and her eyes suddenly turned serious, "No, I didn't actually witness anything like that. But I have heard them going at it like animals. The savage, uncouth animals they really are."
She resumed their normal walking pace but didn't speak until they reached the mansion. Naomi was quiet and busy with her thoughts about the upcoming party and reintegrating herself back into her family. Ikkaku kept his silence too, his mind too preoccupied by what he was just told.
Right before they reached the main entrance the door slid open to reveal Kazue and Ryouji. The little boy's face lit up at seeing his sister. He bounded down the short distance between them and launched himself into her arms.
"Sister!" He squealed with joy. "You came back!"
Naomi chuckled, "I told you I would."
The tyke broke away from his sister and latched his arms around Ikkaku's legs. The sudden display of affection caught everyone off guard for a moment. Kazue and Naomi giggled at the adorable scene while the poor man was at loss as what to do.
He ruffled the boy's hair, "It's nice to see you too, kid."
"I take it you both would care for something to eat?" Kazue asked already knowing what they would say. She had a keen sixth sense when it came to figuring out what people would need or want before they asked.
"A small dinner would be nice," Naomi answered as they walked inside.
"I thought so. As you know milady etiquette dictates that you dine with the head of the household," the maid said calmly.
Naomi cringed and tried to bite back a groan, "I know. I don't suppose we could ignore that bit of etiquette and perhaps take our meal in my old apartments?"
A sly grin crossed the hetrochromic eyed maid's lips, "I took the liberty of making such an arrangement in advance."
The blonde lieutenant smiled and shook her head, "I swear Kazue I think you know me better then I know myself."
The trio followed the maid down each identical looking hallway until they reached a pair of slightly ornate looking sliding doors. Naomi looked at the doors with a mixture of nostalgia and unease. This part of the house was her sanctuary, her place of peace and safety from the dark vicious world she was growing up in.
Kazue parted the doors and the stepped inside. Naomi did a quick look around and saw that everything was still the same. The wall art, furniture and décor were still in the exact same spots they had been when she left. But everything was clean and dusted for she could not spot a bit of dust or grime on anything.
There was a pair of doors on the left that she knew led to her actual bedroom and she idly wondered if everything in there was just as spick and span as it was out here. The doors straight ahead that led out into the large well kept courtyard. A little farther out Naomi could see the small collection of cherry trees and the lone plum tree.
She stared at the tree. Something about it was drawing her attention. Odd, because the tree looked perfectly normal…
"Something wrong?"
Naomi jumped at being suddenly jerked from her thoughts by Ikkaku's question. "No, nothing's wrong."
He didn't look completely convinced but didn't push her. Instead he sat down on the veranda with Ryouji and Naomi following, sitting across from him. Kazue departed after serving the small but delicious looking dinner to the trio.
Ryouji talked animatedly through almost the whole meal. He was like an excited innocent puppy that even Ikkaku had to admit was cute. Naomi talked easily with him like she was used to dining with her little brother. But during the meal Ikkaku couldn't help but look at Ryouji and wonder.
Just how innocent was Ryouji?
Naomi may have been around his age the last time she was home and she knew very well what went on in her privileged world. She knew the dark details and disturbing actions of her family at such a young age that she was now desensitized to such things.
So what about Ryouji? Was he just as aware and only feigning innocence or was it genuine?
At some point after dinner the boy had worn himself out and was now sleeping with his head in Naomi's lap. She looked at him with sisterly adoration as she gently petted him.
"You're really good at this sister thing."
Naomi looked up at him with mild surprise, "Really?"
The Third Seat nodded, "Yeah, you know how to talk to him and you do it so easily. He loves being with you and I can tell you love being with him too. You two instantly connected."
She smiled, "Thank you."
The pair lapsed into oddly companionable silence broken softly only by Ryouji's breathing and nature. It was calm, tranquil and Naomi had never felt so safe in this house then right now.
She hoped this feeling wasn't fleeting and that when the sun rose she would still feel this way.
*A nice little filler/fluff chapter for you all before I go. I'll post again Sept. 20th. Please review, it'd be a nice little birthday present (hint, hint).
Me: Now everything is still going to be in order when I get back right? *Looks mainly at Gin*
Gin: Of course EmpressSaix. We wouldn't dream of wrecking the place or throwing any wild parties with you gone.
Me: I sense sarcasm but I don't have time to deal with it, I've got to go. *grabs suitcase and walks out the door*
*Kisuke appears and looks at Gin*: The party's still on right?
*Gin pushes a button, confetti and balloons rain down*: Of course!*