A/n: Thanks for the favourites, follows and readers. As I promised, I would post around the 25th due to my urge to post something up around the same time. Unfortunately I am going to be home on the 25th without the internet therefore I would have to post it up today instead. Also, I read the Bleach chapter and I hope it goes on from where it left off.
I miss writing HW and MoI like crazy!
Warning: Swearing, violence and grammar errors.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach - that is all... But the following OC characters are all mine :D
Chapter 52: Triumph with Sake 2
"Ah... it fits you perfectly!"
"Matsumoto-san..."
The kimono weighed down on Laria like a ton of bricks, but she didn't deny of how... unique it was. It was a lovely shade of cobalt blue with white floral patterns on both of the sleeves. This kimono looked like the kind of kimono to match Tahani, not someone like her.
But on top of that, Laria was embarrassed that she was forced to dress in front of her lieutenant. Sure they were both females, but Laria was never the one to get dressed in front of others. She got too embarrassed for her own good sometimes.
"Come on Laria-chan," Rangiku gushed and showed the brunette her full body image, thus increasing the embarrassment that the poor brunette had to endure. How dare the captain do this to her? After all of her loyalty that she presented with him and this was what she had in return. "All we need to do is your hair, have you ever wondered if you would get your hair shorter?"
A mental image of her shortened hair flashed in Laria's mind's eye and made her clutch her brown locks immediately. "Never, I don't think I want to see this hair short ever again." One reason was because once it got short, it got extremely frizzy and Laria loathed it. She was happy enough with just the way it was for now. Seeing the action with a sharp eye, Rangiku perk a brow at Laria's sudden actions before she shrugged it off dismissively.
"Fine," she busty woman said in defeat. "We won't give you short hair... just get it fixed I promise!" As Laria looked up, she saw the desperate look in her lieutenant's eyes. There was something about that look that made Laria feel uncomfortable. It was bad enough that the heavy kimono was making her use effort to move (great – now she sounded like Hozumi) but seeing the devious look was a whole different level. Finally, Rangiku noticed the blank stare from Laria and pouted. "What's with that look?"
"Nothing much," the brunette replied shortly before meeting a stern gaze with her lieutenant. "It's just I get a bad feeling whenever you smile like that."
"It's nothing," Rangiku replied a little too quickly for Laria's tastes, which made her scowl form on her face. Why did that lieutenant always have some hidden motive behind her tricks? Rangiku appeared to be bothered by the stare and she protested her fact, "I promise there's nothing going on! Serious!" Even though Rangiku did promise nothing was going on, Laria still couldn't find her way to be able to trust her lieutenant so easily.
Silently, Laria cursed the captain for setting her up with this stuff. She wasn't one to be cursing others, but being forced to do something was never a favourite action of Laria's. Now she was stuck with a scheming lieutenant and for once she didn't have her captain to bail her out.
Maybe she did something to someone unintentionally and now she was dealing with karma.
"Matsumoto-san," Laria spoke up softly to gain Rangiku's attention. Her bright eyes met with Laria's and it made the brunette feel nervous. "I don't think I've asked this... but how are you doing with everything?" Out of the trio seated officers from the tenth division, Rangiku was the one to feel the worst – she had so long believed that Gin was with Aizen. He abandoned her to drink in her sorrows, only for Rangiku to discover that the former captain had tried to do the right thing in the end, because it was all for her. Even though his intentions were good in the end, Laria couldn't help but feel the same way.
Sure, he had his reasons to join Aizen but Laria had never enjoyed the spine chilling feeling that she had whenever she looked at him. She remembered him being the Captain she disliked the most because of his mere presence that made her feel like a helpless child. That was before everything happened with the ryoka invasion, then Laria loathed Aizen for betraying her trust and harming her captain.
"I don't know," The lieutenant replied quietly as she went to grab Laria's hair. At first, Laria was about to pull away; she was never one to like others touching her hair. Currently she was afraid that Rangiku would grab some scissors (or even her own zanpakuto) to hack it all off. It took Laria years to grow the hair out, there was no way that she was going to let it go short again.
However there was a reason why Laria didn't go through with pulling away. She had enough trust in Rangiku's promise to believe that she wasn't doing anything fatal to her hair (that and the fact Rangiku held her hair). Her body relaxed when she saw that Rangiku began to plat the hair with her fingers.
"There's a part of me that wishes that I knew about Gin's plan," She began softly to start her story. "If I had known, I could've stopped him – stopped him from making the wrong choices but I realise that he knew that already so he kept it from me." Laria looked back to acknowledge her lieutenant, her eyes flashed with sympathy as she continued, "But I know that I can move on, because he left me nothing to remember him by."
"Don't forget Matsumoto-san," Laria spoke to get her attention; which it did. "You have your friends – don't be afraid to talk to any of us because we really care about your wellbeing. Ichimaru could've been better, but you cared about him because of the way he was..."
"Thank you Laria – Tahani must've raised you well to have such an open heart." Rangiku lightly smiled at Laria's offering before she hummed to herself in approval to return to the hair. The truth was that Tahani did often give Laria advice, but nothing to do with friendship. Back then, Tahani had told Laria that she should be careful with who she trusted and cut down anyone who stood in the way. Sound familiar? It was basically watching Tahani which caused Laria to realise that Tahani needed someone to guide her.
Even though that didn't help sometimes – Tahani did whatever she wanted and never really listened to Laria. Now that Laria realised it, Tahani's major injuries happened because the raven haired woman never listened to her smaller companion. Her scowl arrived back on her fact and she crossed her arms over her chest at her silent conversation in the back of her mind.
Tahani and her needed to have a nice little chat.
"And viola! You're ready for tonight!" Rangiku declared proudly as she showed Laria the new look with a mirror. At first, she was shocked to see that Rangiku pulled her hair into a simple braid. Her bangs were clipped back, except for a tiny strand that was too short to be pinned back like the rest of her hair was. Since Laria was speechless, Rangiku's squeal managed to talk for her, "It looks amazing!" Laria had to admit, she felt slightly happier for having a slight makeover – even if it wasn't Laria's to-do list. "I should be a stylist, imagine the paperless work that I wouldn't have to worry about." All in that moment, the cheerful mood shattered and Laria sent a glower to Rangiku.
It appeared that Rangiku realised what she had said, holding her mouth to keep from saying any more. But it didn't mean a thing to Laria, she just knew that the captain wasn't going to be happy with the results. "You did this to get out of paperwork?"
Rangiku looked around the room sheepishly. "Well..." As she trailed off, she visibly flinched at the sight of Laria's glare. "Yes... yes I did." At first Laria was surprised that Rangiku openly admitted that she was doing it to avoid the paperwork but she instantly realised the situation.
Annoyance crossed Laria's face at first, and then she remembered why she was in this terrible situation in the first place. She sighed and turned away with an annoyed scowl as she silently cursed the captain, "I won't say anything this time Matsumoto-san – but it's only because the captain was definitely asking for this!"
Rangiku hugged Laria cheerfully. "Thanks Laria! I owe you one!"
Laria's scowl deepened. "No... You don't really..."
Back in his barracks, boxed in by his paperwork (as well as Matsumoto's and Alfero's) Hitsugaya sneezed. He scowled in annoyance as he rubbed his nose.
"I must be getting sick..."
-:-
"Now, if you look closely – you will see the incredibly rare species... the woman..."
A vein of irritation throbbed on Tahani's head as she focused on sweeping. The anger only bubbled up when she heard the failed to hide snorts and snickers. Why? Why now did they have to act like one of those annoying human documentaries back in the living world?
"The woman is a dangerous creature... however when it is in its good mood, it resides in the eleventh division barracks of Seireitei, mostly spending its days cleaning up for the rest of her men." Oh she was really going to enjoy beating up the asshole who kept teasing her. "In return, they will offer her protection for being rescued by Captain Kuchiki and possible pleasurable-!" The man couldn't continue because a foot had slammed into his face and sent him flying into a wall. Each of the remaining males screeched out in shock as Tahani's eyes gleamed like she was possessed by a demon.
Tahani clenched her fist in rage as she glowered at the yelping moron, "Ya wanna keep talking ya stupid asshat?" She snapped, already in the bad mood due to her door being locked. Before the man could raise his head to speak, she pulled off her sandal and slammed it against his face to force him into the wall again. By then, each of the remaining group had let out another yelp of fright before they decided to retreat the raging tiger. Of course, they would've called her the raging dragon, but they were so use to calling her a tiger it just went with the flow.
Since she ran away from Kenpachi, it turned out that Yachiru (the speedy little brat) had locked her room with a note that said "the broom is in the next room for you" with a stupid smiley face to boot. So basically, Tahani wasn't able to sleep in her room until night time. It was shocking because Tahani didn't even know that her own door could lock, if she had – life would've been much easier.
Her head slumped in defeat, looking at the beaten man before she moved on to continue her cleaning. It was stupid, pathetic... and did Tahani mention stupid? Well she had a list of words that she could describe this situation but there wouldn't be enough ink and paper for it. The sound of feet scuffling behind her didn't make her flinch, but she could recognise the reiatsu from anywhere.
"What's up Renji – here to gloat?" She turned with a scowl to see the redhead with a frown. He was surely confused over the fact that she had a broom in her hands instead of a bokken. It was strange seeing him frown in front of her, but then again she had seen crazier things.
Like a giant ass espada for one.
"Hey Rosa..." The lieutenant began awkwardly, and then it was Tahani's turn to frown at his strange actions. Renji wasn't embarrassed; he was only uncomfortable if the whole world was staring at him weirdly... even so, he wasn't the kind of shinigami to get awkward. "It looks like Captain Zaraki wasn't too happy about you getting saved by the captain."
"Pretty much," Tahani snorted and turned away from him to keep sweeping. If Yumichika found her slacking off, he would probably nag in her ear all day like some housewife. At the thoughts, Tahani paused and let the realisation hit her. Were the roles between Tahani and Yumichika reversed or something? She shook her head to dismiss the thoughts of the fifth seat and continued with her punishment, "So what's up?" The raven haired woman repeated her first question and look towards Renji as she cleaned, "Surely ya didn't come just to check on my injuries right?"
For a moment, Tahani would've sworn that he eyed the scar on her right arm but she immediately squashed the thought when he returned his gaze. He wouldn't care about some scratch she had on her arm right? After all, it was Tahani's fault that she wasn't being careful when she fought against the espada.
His eyes briefly went wide in realisation and he stubbornly turned away from her, "No." Renji quickly replied but then he realised what he had said, "I mean yes... I am worried but I know you can handle your injuries. You've been through worse," Tahani's eyebrows shot up as he suddenly avoided the suspicious look in her eyes. She was definitely confused by his weird actions, it wasn't every day when he would act... like this. He appeared to steel himself and he gave her a blank stare, "I came here because we're going to the festival tonight and I'm inviting you, is that a problem?"
Suddenly shocked by his bluntness, Tahani blinked slowly, "No... It's not a problem... and who's 'we'?" It was the festival tonight, she didn't realise they were having one so soon after the whole Winter War fiasco. Maybe it was the Head Captain's idea of getting everyone to relax. For someone who was completely strict, he was a pretty decent guy to allow festivals to go on. And did he mean 'we' as in, him and her? Her and him?
"Rukia as well some of the other lieutenants," Renji explained as he crossed his arms over his chest as if he was hiding something. His brown eyes met with hers and Renji suddenly scowled, "So are you coming tonight or what?" Again with the blunt attitude, maybe there was something bothering him more than she could tell.
He really was moody. Renji had never been the kind of guy to be moody and strange, but when he was – the raven haired woman had to admit that she didn't like it. It clearly meant that he had something bothering him and he wasn't completely focused. Her eyes narrowed in a mental annoyance.
Tahani didn't realise that she was nodding until she spoke up, "Sure... I'll come – there isn't anything better to do around here anyways and I'm free for tonight. I'll meet ya there," She smirked as Renji accepted the answer and went his merry way. Slowly, she kept her excitement from bubbling up to the surface. Maybe this was the chance to finally tell him about the way she had been feeling, it would be better now than never.
Hearing someone clear their throat behind her, Tahani slowly turned to see the annoyed looking Yumichika with his arms crossed over his chest. She felt a growl of irritation forming through her own throat as the fifth seat snorted at her.
"Do you really think that the Captain will let you get away with this Rosa? I don't think you should be allowed to go out." Yumichika sneered snidely as the heated duo met glares, "Besides I won't let you go until you cleaned every inch of this disgusting place." His face showed a hint of disgust at the rest of the mess that Tahani had to deal with. But when he heard the sound of cracking knuckles, he frowned towards the fourth seat and realised her intentions.
"Yumichika please," She snorted as she approached Yumichika. "Captain Zaraki doesn't give a shit, ya know how he says it 'ya gotta have fun before ya work' so ha! I win, I'm badass." Yumichika let out a wail of shock as she suddenly wrapped one arm around his neck and used her knuckles to painfully dig into his skull. "Ya such a neat freak," She teased lightly, purposely messing up his hair and it wasn't long until Yumichika broke out of the hold and shrieked in rage.
"How dare you, barbaric beast!" He snapped, drawing his zanpakuto to cut her in half, "It took me all morning to get my hair done for tonight!"
"Easy there peacock boy," Tahani laughed loudly as she dodged the wild attacks. He really was like a peacock, acting all glorious until they were enraged. As she leaped away from him, she saw his enraged eyes and chuckle, "It took ya all morning just to do that? Bloody hell, it looks like a bird's nest – no pun intended."
Even her light hearted humour wasn't calming down the beast, "I'm going to kill you for this!" He tackled her into the ground and the duo began a mini brawl fest. Tahani was laughing loudly as she enjoyed the challenge and Yumichika's rage was only fuelled by the sounds of her amusement.
Oblivious to them, Ikkaku slowly walked into the scene with a cup of sake in his hand. A migraine shot through his head as he witnessed the brawl and he watched with a dull expression. Tahani had somehow managed to bite Yumichika's leg like a dog, while he was viciously screaming and pulling her hair to let her go. In his shinigami life, Ikkaku never met a duo that fought as much as these two did. Both Tahani and Yumichika were definitely siblings while Ikkaku was the parent in another life – he just knew it. He raised a brow to watch the arguing duo then he slapped his own face with his free hand.
"I really need better friends that I can fight with."
Like Ichigo. Ichigo was a great friend, he was probably everything that Ikkaku could ask for: strong, not constantly annoying, great name, and he didn't have the personality of Yumichika – if only he didn't lose his powers. It was a bummer to see such a good comrade leave so suddenly.
A/n: So we get some Matsumoto, Renji, Ikkaku and Yumichika all in one chapter. I miss writing Yumichika, especially for his nature of being the perfect being when it comes to beauty. Anyhow, enjoy.
22-01-2016*
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