A ripple of chuckles followed Rangiku to table Eight that Wednesday evening, most from deeper voices, a few from feminine ones. She ignored them, able to pinpoint most of them to a name. Especially Ikkaku, who practically hooted when he wasn't cackling.
She swept back the heavy strand of ivy intertwined with eucalyptus that had fallen across the entryway to the table, finding it empty. She sighed, more expectant of the match than she realized. She hung the foliage back to the side and slid behind the table, scooting to the center in hopes of giving her match an equal chance at immediate chumminess.
She set her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm. She wasn't sure opting for a third match was such a good idea: the pickings were getting slim. Izuru was absurdly happy with his new friend in Kiyone, and her captain now found all sorts of excuses to personally deliver paperwork to Fifth Division.
She sifted the names of viable shinigami males through her mind. Ikkaku and his pretty buddy Yumichika were already at table Eleven when she'd passed, and Shunsui was sitting alone at another table, giving her a nod and chuckle when she saw him. She hadn't lingered to talk, but made a direct line to table Eight. It didn't look to her like he was making much progress in his own pursuits at table Eight, not from what she'd heard.
She blew a strand of strawberry-blonde hair out of her face as she ran farther down the list of eligible shinigami males, her mind coming to a screeching halt when she got to Hanatarou's name.
"It better not be Hanatarou," she mumbled, then raised her eyes to the alcove's entry as Shuuhei Hisagi looked in.
He grinned upon seeing her, laughing as he entered. "Hey, it's about time, Rangiku."
She smiled as he sat beside her, a contagious grin on his face. "Well, well. This isn't bad at all."
"Glad you agree." He looked around at the draped greenery encompassing the table inlet, nodding. "Not bad, not bad for a captain's table. Ours is just ferny things. All lost on Tousen."
She nodded and left off speaking as the gray-robed server entered the alcove, bowing to each of them.
"Good evening, vice-captains," the girl said, setting two menus on the table. "May I take your orders or would you like to consider the menus?"
Shuuhei looked to Rangiku. "What do you want?"
She picked up one of the menus and opened it, glancing over the items quickly. "I'll take an order of your finger food sampler with extra sauces and a large bottle of dai-ginjo."
"Same here, and an order of umeboshi," Shuuhei said, grinning at her order as they handed back the menus. The server bowed and left. "You're going to make Captain Kyouraku pay heavy tonight, aren't you?"
She nodded smiling. "Why not? This was his idea."
He shrugged, sitting back in the booth and stretching an arm across the back of the seat behind her. "So what's this about giving up on blond men?"
She lifted an eyebrow. "That wasn't supposed to be heard at the reading circle, Shuuhei. Momo was tipsy."
He nodded. "That's when you learn the most out of people. In vino veritas. That's not a haiku."
She shook her head, bringing with the movement the scent of almonds and heliotrope. "Oh, I know what it means." She looked to the glass candle holder where the light of three candles danced in shimmering wicks. "Izuru was always good for news when he was drunk."
He nodded. "He's been keeping to himself lately." He looked to the doorway, hearing Ikkaku's low grumble of a tone followed by Yumichika's response. "Actually, Izuru hasn't been alone in keeping to himself. It's been good to see him preoccupied with something other than his moods."
She nodded, smiling. "He's not a fun drunk after the first hour." Her fingers tapped on the table in unison. "Fortunately that first hour he's pretty lubed and spills secrets. Lots of good stuff there, Shuuhei."
"Yeah? You got the goods on someone?"
Her smile widened, watching his eyes. "Kinda heavy on the cologne, aren't you?"
Part of his grin dropped. "Too much?"
"No. I like it." She sniffed, nodding. "Woodsy, musk, slightly coniferous."
He huffed. "You can't smell coniferous, Rangiku."
"Sure you can. Sprucey."
He wasn't sure, but he could swear she was laughing at him. "You're highly fragrant yourself. What're you wearing? Something from him?" He shook his head, immediately regretting the words. "I shouldn't have said that, Rangiku."
Her eyes narrowed only momentarily before her hand gave him a pat on his cheek. "No, it's not from him." She took a closer look at the lines running down his cheek, her eyes softening on the scars, fingers remaining light on his skin. "I never realized how close that came to your eye, Shuuhei." Her finger paused on the bottom of one line. "You were lucky."
He nodded as her hand left his face and was about to say something more heartfelt when she took up the conversation.
"Speaking of drunken Izuru, what's this about a snowball fight fantasy?" she asked, giggling at his surprise.
Before he could answer the server returned with a tray laden with food and bottles. She began to unload the items on the table as Shuuhei stared at Rangiku, who smiled mischievously at him.
They watched the table be set for a moment before Rangiku's knee nudged Shuuhei's beneath the table.
"You want to get this for take-out? Find somewhere less conspicuous?" she asked. "This spot has become something of a spotlight lately. The dining room is always crowded at eight-thirty now."
He nodded, grinning, and looked to the server who was doing her best not to eavesdrop as she unloaded her tray. "Would you please pack this up to go?" he asked her.
She nodded. "Yes, Vice-Captain Hisagi."
* * *
The Seireitei streets were warm and near dark, with little foot traffic as Rangiku and Shuuhei made their way down them, their dinner in a basket tote at his arm. Their early exit from the Canteen was met by a brief flux of hushed chatter, not the least of which came from table Eleven.
It was one reason Rangiku was anxious to leave, another being the balmy night too serene to waste indoors. They walked for a while, heading to what she realized to be Ninth Division, which actually was closer than her own Division.
When they got there it was late evening and Shuuhei's modest quarters dark and quiet, as was most of the Ninth Division grounds. He turned on a light as they entered the main room to his quarters, quickly looking around at the place, deciding it wasn't as much a shamble as he recalled leaving it.
Rangiku surveyed the room, which was similar to most other vice-captains' quarters she'd visited, nodding at the personal touches like the guitar and tall bookcase and a few other trinkets that made the room distinctively Hisagi. "Not too bad," she said. "I thought it would be more lived-in looking."
"It usually is."
He set the basket of take-out on the small table at the foot of the futon, but Rangiku was already heading to the back door that led out to the porch overlooking the woods that backed up to Ninth Division's boundary. She glanced back to him.
"Let's eat out here. Do you mind?"
They took a few moments to set up dinner on the wide wooden deck of the porch, the moon and stars the only light except for what little spread out from the single inside lamp. They settled at the porch's single step to the grass between the posts that supported the rail that ran around the entire deck.
They each found their orders and arranged the dishes and bowls for easier dining, and Rangiku poured the potent saké into two cups and handed him one. "To deserters and idiots," she offered, holding up her cup.
He nodded, tapping her cup with his.
They downed their drinks and she poured more, feeling him looking at her, and decided not to ignore the attention.
"We always drink at my place or Izuru's," she finally said, dipping a fried shrimp into the small dish of ponzu sauce. "Why never yours?"
He shrugged. "Because mine is usually such a mess, I guess. Izuru always wants to be close to home when he's smashed, and you always invite us over."
She nodded, sighing, looking out over the dark yard and woods. "But you've got the best view."
He chuckled, following her gaze. "How can you tell, Rangiku? It's dark."
She shrugged, inhaling deeply. "Can't you smell it? All that wisteria and lilac. Tenth isn't bad, but nothing like your division."
He'd never really thought about it before. "Yeah, I guess."
She shook her head, gesturing to where the woods met the yard. "All that lovely floral -- it's got to be beautiful in the daylight -- wasted on a bachelor. You'd think you could use it to your advantage, Shuuhei. Izuru's got all weeds and brambles out the back of his quarters to look at. Haven't you ever noticed?"
He thought back on the times they'd spent drinking on the back porch of the Third Division lieutenant's quarters. "I never realized that."
She gave him a sideways look. "You men. If you took a few moments to look at things from a woman's perspective you'd see a lot of things differently."
He was quiet for a few moments as they lent their attention to the food. "I know you've got pines out the back of your place, Rangiku," he said after a few moments. "Those tall ones that canopy way up high and lay a bed of needles so thick on the ground that nothing grows." He grinned at her look of surprise. "Didn't think I noticed, did you?"
She smiled. "No, I didn't."
He cleared his throat, unsure he wanted to clarify his next statement. "About that snowball fight fantasy," he said, "what did you hear?"
"You really want to know?"
He frowned, looking down to the cup of saké. "Probably not, but I want to know how much hell to beat out of Kira."
A smile stretched slowly across her coral lips, eyes on him until he looked at her. "I believe it was something about a snowball fight that had turned serious, and I'm the damsel in distress. 'Oh, save me, Shuuhei, from the evil Kira. Oh, Shuuhei, can you dry me off? I'm all wet from the snowballs.' Sound familiar?"
"That's not how I said it," he growled, eyes narrowing on her.
"Hmm, well, something like that. He was pretty drunk when he told me," she said, enjoying his sudden scowl.
"That was supposed to be kept in confidence," he finally said, frowning more at her. "Damn Kira. What's he telling you for?"
"Oh, Shuuhei, I think it's cute." She ribbed his side with her elbow. "Come on, we all have moments of fantasy."
"Yeah, but they're not supposed to be blabbed all over Soul Society." He glared down their plates of food. "Just wait until I get my hands on Kira."
"He was drunk. Probably doesn't even know he told me." She filled their cups again with saké, shaking her head at the dark pout on his face. "Shuuhei, it's cute. Don't be mad."
"Hell, now you make it sound like a new recruit's crush."
She sighed. "I shouldn't have told you."
"You shouldn't have known at all."
"Oh, Shuuhei, it's flattering. I like it."
He glanced at her, watching her drink her saké in a swallow. "Yeah?"
She nodded. "Yeah." He watched her for a moment as she turned to lean back on the rail post behind her, her eyes going to her empty cup. "That stuff's a lot stronger than our usual brand."
His eyes dropped to his own empty cup, and he took a moment to refill both cups before looking back to her. "Are you really looking to move on or are you here because the Women's Association was obligated to fill out two forms each?"
"A little of both, I guess." This time her smile was more forced. They both finished their cups of saké, and she turned to sit beside him on the porch step facing the woods. "What about you? Did Momo coerce you into submitting a questionnaire or were you hoping to get matched up with Isane?"
He chuckled and leaned to her side, pouring their cups full from the bottle again, the finger food getting cold behind them. "No, I wanted a match."
She nodded, looking at the moon's reflection in the pale liquid in the cup. "So, Shunsui and this matching stuff aside, what do you really think, Shuuhei? You and me."
"It's worth a try, don't you think?"
She looked down to where his bare arm rested against her black sleeve. "I admit, I am curious if you live up to all that fan fiction about you."
He grinned, tapping her cup with his. "Then here's to a second date."
She smiled and tapped his cup back. "To a second date, Shuuhei."
Final Match: Thursday Evening
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