the third last installment into the past
Soi was nervous, nervous beyond her own recognition; her body felt hollow and trembling, her mind was in a daze, sitting next to the source of all this tension, fidgeting with a loose thread of her jeans it's just a date, that's all…she smells so good, even from over here, if only- jumping visibly in her seat when Kuukaku had turned her way to observe the opposite side of the road she hid her face by staring out the window, pretending to be interested in the passing scenery.
"You okay Soi? Been kinda quiet since we left town."
She was still focussing on ridding herself of the blush which had settled in a few seconds ago and with Kuukaku's warm hand, her fingers reaching to brush over the top of her palm, it was near impossible to calm herself. This only made the Shiba woman tense more, worrying that she had said something too pushy, that Soi did not want conversation, or worse; that she got car sick on long drives. And I just took it for a valet.
"Do ya get car sick? I can pull over-"
But as suddenly as she had uttered the words, Soi had taken her hand, entwined their fingers and turned to her with a look of disapproval…blush still in tact.
"I'm fine, it's, it has just been a while since I-"
Eyes widening at the realisation of what she was trying to say she gave the Shiba woman a quick side glance before smiling to herself. Been more than a while since you went on a date, actually Fong now hasn't it?
"I'm just a bit…"
Seeing the younger of the two struggle; made her feel less worried about her own insecurity and with a hearty laugh she let go of the tension inside of her, grinning at the girl in the passenger seat.
"Nervous…you? I thought ya don't get nervous?"
"I don't! I'm not nervous!"
Huffing as she protested, she felt the car come to a halt and nearly jumped when a warm mouth enveloped her own, lips pushing gently, moving slowly over hers and tugging at her lower lip as they pulled away. She was shocked silent, inhaling sharply as she remembered to breathe while the warmth of Kuukaku's breath washed over her face, smelling of mints and tobacco.
"Neither am I."
The road which they were on previously had vanished and the winding trail snaking its way through the heart of the forest was beautiful to behold; Soi loved the sense of being isolated in these surroundings, for the peacefulness it lent her, that calm she found nowhere else.
"Are we going hiking?"
Kuukaku only smiled and changed the position of her hands on the steering wheel, not giving anything away. How do you hide like that? I can never read your thoughts. The road wound yet again, this time up a ground path, climbing the long incline which seemed to have no end. They were quite a way from the city now, yet not too far away as the view from the rear-view mirror showed a brilliant flash of the ocean and small buildings, no larger than matchboxes. Maybe I should panic…we're miles away from anything oooh.
The expression on Soi's face was priceless as the hill they had been crawling up with its various potholes and rocks had transformed into a small dip, and an almost valley-like scene lined with trees and a rather large lake.
"Do…do you normally come here?"
The car came to a halt once again and Soi, still perplexed as to how the rugged woman knew of such a serene place could not help but ask the obvious.
"Yeah. Sometimes, when it's really quiet ya can go all the way down to the south-end and fish."
Kuukaku smiled as she said this, her voice carrying a different air to its normal brashness and the image of the buxom woman holding a fishing rod made Soi burst out in a fit of not-so-successfully-suppressed giggles.
"Oi, what's so funny?"
"You…you and fishing…hehe…it's, it's…"
"Pah! Ya act like I don't do anything but make a racquet."
A playful smirk formed on the Shiba woman's face, Soi's laughter, her eyes sparkling with humour like that, it was something she had missed in the days passed.
The ride from the lake was quiet, filled with the satisfied sighs of shared content between the two of them. It was strange to Kuukaku that they seemed to understand one another so effortlessly, almost too effortlessly and she chided herself for letting something so small bother her.
"So…"
Soi met Kuukaku's gaze, pulling herself away from the scenery once more.
"Yes?"
Indicating onto the freeway, Kuukaku steered the vehicle into the sharp bend, turning her attention back to the woman next to her as soon as she found a secure lane.
"Did ya think bout the offer yet? It could help a lot y'know…and we need someone on the piercing side…you are doing a course in anatomy aren't ya?"
Nodding, Soi looked at the road ahead; Kuukaku's driving was fast, but not reckless and oddly enough, she felt safe in the passenger seat, it felt like she belonged there. Pulling her thoughts from the realisation she looked to the woman beside her and gave a small smile of reassurance.
"I don't wish to work for you though."
"For me? I think ya got it all wrong, you won't be working for me, ya be working for Zaraki – he's a nice guy underneath that rough ya know."
"Z-z-zaraki Kempachi?!"
"Hmmn."
"He's insane! How could you employ someone like that?!"
"I told ya I don't run the piercing department…he does."
"I don't think I could stomach that."
Laughing as she turned onto the main road, Kuukaku smiled at the younger woman, noticing the tension radiating off her.
"Hey, normally Ganju would be in charge of that, but if that's what's bothering ya…"
"I'm just saying work and this won't mix."
"So it's a no?"
"No."
"A yes then?"
A nod.
"Then come in tomorrow after class, Ganju will run you through most of the protocol and you'll be working with him on counter duty for a while…if that is okay with ya."
Kuukaku did not want to push the girl, but she knew that there was a definite interest in body modification and she wanted to offer her the platform to learn from; it was a tough business to get into and even worse when you were a woman.
"We'll see, Shiba Kuukaku."
yes i still breathe, love it when i write a couple of chappies then give them away like i never even put some effort in it - not ¬¬