Um, I sincerely apologise for this chapter. It was the last week before mid-semester break, so everybody decided that my work should be due this week and left me no time for fun writing, and there is now only twenty minutes of Saturday left. Aargh!

Anyway, this chapter comes to you at the slightly altered request of Substitute Shinigami 95, who wanted Nemu to go on a date Mayuri didn't approve of.

Title: Nemu's Day Off

Featuring: Mayuri, Akon, Rin, Nemu

"Nemu!" Mayuri shouted impatiently, his mouth twisting into a frown. "Where are you, you stupid girl?"

"She's not in today, Taichou," Akon answered, not looking away from his computer screen. "It's her day off."

"Day off? What does she need a day off for? She exists merely to serve me; she has no needs of her own!" Mayuri shouted. He turned and paced across the room, muttering angrily under his breath.

"S-she said there was s-somewhere she n-needed to be today," Rin stammered fearfully. Mayuri's teeth had begun to audibly grind together, and his hand was absently stroking Ashisogi Jizou's hilt.

Mayuri stopped dead. "Where?" he asked, his voice low and deadly.

"The real world," Akon said as Rin fainted out of fear. "Maybe she's meeting someone."

"That's it!" Mayuri exploded. "I will not have her doing things like this without me knowing. I'm going after her!"

x

Nemu walked down the street, flexing her shoulders uncomfortably. Her gigai always made her itch, but they were necessary when moving around the real world. Besides, she couldn't meet him without one.

x

Mayuri ducked into a doorway as Nemu paused to glance behind her. After a moment, she continued on her way, occasionally looking over her shoulder.

When she disappeared around a corner, Mayuri let out a quiet sigh of relief and stepped out onto the street. "Meeting someone, is she?" he muttered. "It must be a boy. Why wouldn't she tell me if she was meeting a boy? I'm her father, aren't I?"

He began walking, still thinking aloud. "If she did not tell me, then it must be a boy I would disapprove of. I don't care if she chooses to mate with any male shinigami, so why would she come to the real world to hide her meeting?"

He stopped dead. "Unless he isn't a shinigami. Who…? That Quincy! She was unusually weak against him, even for her. She must have developed emotional attachments to him!"

He took off down the street after her at a flat-out run, eyes blazing. "I'll kill both of them!" he shouted.

x

Nemu slipped through the door, making the bell jingle. "Welcome, how may I… oh, Nemu-chan!" said a man, coming out from the back. "It's good to see you."

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Tenchou-san," Nemu said with a bow.

"Everything's ready for you in the back," he said.

And as Mayuri ran past the window planning murder, Nemu returned to her part-time job at the florist.

'Tenchou' means manager, assuming I've spelled it right. Next week's episode may be a little delayed, as next weekend is Manifest! If you're coming and see a girl wandering around dressed as Soi Fon, come and say hi!