Chapter Soundtrack:
All Star - Mike Perry
A Cool Wind is Blowing - Djivan Gasparian
Gravity Falls Theme - The Cog is Dead
The Bug Collector - Haley Heynderickx
Unchain My Heart - Hugh Laurie
Rin awoke to Nakashima's alarm ringing. She cracked her eyes open and saw him slap the round, black clock by his side.
"You want the bathroom first?" His voice was thick with sleep.
"You go." Rin snuggled back into her pillow. "Why the fuck are you up so early? We still have today off." Groaning and sitting up, she changed into her uniform as Nakashima brushed his teeth. Rin grabbed her toiletry bag and waited for him to finish. They exchanged places and Rin saw his dark green toiletry bag on the sink. Putting her light blue one next to his, she opened it and combed her hair, tying it back into a ponytail. Next, she brushed her teeth and washed her face.
"I don't want to miss breakfast. We should get familiar with the division before we start training." Nakashima was already at the door. Rin dried her face and followed him out into the fresh morning air. "You as excited as I am?"
"Hell, yeah." Rin was trying to suppress her massive grin. They walked side by side to the barrack's dining hall and entered. Most heads turned their way, and Rin squared her shoulders and smiled politely at the officers she passed to get to the line. Nakashima followed her.
"Where are the other new recruits?" He muttered. Rin just shrugged, taking a bowl of rice, another of miso soup, and a small plate of fried fish and picked vegetables. Turning to look for a place to sit, she held her tray and took a few steps forward. A table to the far left caught her eye, so she led Nakashima to sit opposite three officers.
"Good morning. May we sit?" Rin greeted politely, but was already settling in her chair. Nakashima sank down next to her.
"Good morning, fresh meat!" A woman grinned at her. She had dark brown hair and green eyes. "You ready to be part of the most awesome division in the Gotei13?" Rin raised her eyebrows at the woman's excitement.
"Ugh, Tomomi, how are you such a morning person?" A man with his head resting on the tabletop groaned. He lifted his head and blinked at the two newcomers. His black hair was a mess, and his light blue eyes were still heavy. Rin thought he looked familiar, but couldn't tell.
"Serves you right for partying all night." Another dark haired man chuckled into his bowl of soup. Rin's eyes lit up in recognition as he turned his eyes to her.
"Hey, I know you!" She tilted her head. "You were following me last week."
"Good perception skills, this one." He told the woman over the second man's head. "Asked me to have lunch with her." They laughed. He turned back to Rin. "I'm Shinoda Ryouta. This is my brother Kosuke. This lovely lady is Tsubasa Tomomi." He introduced them.
"I'm Ayasegawa Rin, this is my partner Nakashima Kouji."
"Welcome to second division." Shinoda smiled at them.
"Where are the other recruits?" Nakashima looked around.
"You're it for this this year."
"That can't be right." Rin just shrugged at Nakashima's shock. He looked at her in disbelief. "We were the only ones to get accepted?"
"I nearly went to twelfth, and you were a done deal for sixth." Rin rolled her eyes at him. "Can you think of anyone who would fit in here?" Nakashima nodded in realization.
"So, you're smart?" Tsubasa Tomomi looked at Rin over the rim of her cup.
"Smarter than this turnip here, that's for sure…" Rin glanced sideways at Nakashima, who was still looking around. "Tsubasa-san, can you tell us what to expect from training?"
"Tomomi, call me Tomomi. Tsubasa-san is my mother." The woman waved her hand at Rin's formality. "Well, by your uniforms, I can only think of the strategy and tactical team." At Rin's and Nakashima's nods, she raised her eyebrows. "Huh. It's been a while since the Captain put anyone in my team."
"Your team?" Rin had finished her breakfast and was surprised to see a fourth division member come collect her tray. "Oh. Thank you." She smiled at the short girl.
"We're the third seat here." Tomomi grinned at her and slapped Shinoda Kosuke's shoulder. "You'll be trained in strategy by me, and tactics by my partner here."
"I'm going back to bed." He stood and shuffled away.
"You share a seat?" Nakashima watched the man leave.
"At second division, you're nothing without your partner. So yeah, the seats are shared. You sure you can work together?" Tomomi looked at each of them in turn. "Your life and the life of many others will depend on it. A mission can be easily sabotaged if there is the slightest weak link."
Rin looked at Nakashima, who stared back at her. They weren't friends, but they had come to an understanding. That and they seemed to have a connection, much to their dismay.
"Yeah, you can!" Tomomi watched the silent exchange. "Captain Soi Fon knows what she's doing. You two are gonna work great together." She stood, beckoning them to follow her. "You'll be trained in the strategy room. What happens in the strategy room, stays in the strategy room, is that understood?" Her tone became serious, and both new recruits straightened their backs.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Captain Soi Fon told me you have some kind of tracking ability?" She looked over her shoulder at Rin.
"Yes, ma'am. I'm still figuring out how to use it." Rin nodded.
"Great. So focus on that for now. You look motivated." Tomomi stared thoughtfully at her. "Kan for your thoughts?"
"I just realized how much we still have to learn. I really want to improve and make missions run more smoothly with my web." Rin glanced at Nakashima, who nodded. "We'll train really hard and do our best!"
"That's what I like to hear!" A voice startled them from behind. Turning, they bowed as their captain approached. She turned to the taller man. "How do you think your abilities can work together?"
Nakashima's forehead creased in thought. Rin knew he was someone who always thought twice before opening his mouth, and respected him for it. Finally, he glanced at her, but returned his eyes to their Captain.
"Rin's web can track and syphon reiatsu. She needs to learn to do that without compromising her position, suppressing hers and foreign reiatsu, while still concentrating on her task. My Zanpakuto's shikai is a whip, and can trap reiatsu within whatever it's wrapped around. I don't know if Rin can still use her ability while wrapped in Mijimena, but we could try and adapt." Rin knew about his sword, but had never thought about using his and hers together. She remembered when he'd sneakily wrap his shikai around her ankle in class, and she couldn't perform the simplest of kidos.
"Good. Enjoy your last day before training. Report to my office tomorrow morning." Captain Soi Fon seemed pleased with them, and turned to walk away after a last curious glance at Rin.
"The Captain has high expectations for you." Tomomi nodded at them. "I'll see you tomorrow after the captain dismissed you." She waved at them.
"You going back to sleep?" Nakashia turned to Rin.
"Nah, I'm gonna spend some time with my brother. Wanna come?" Rin stood and made for the door.
"So I have to spend my free time with you as well?" He raised his eyebrows at her. "Hell, no." Rin stuck his tongue out at him and left with a smile and a promise to meet up for dinner.
"Yumi-nii!" Rin knocked on his door. "You there?" She hadn't found him by the training grounds and had promptly evaded Ikkaku and his Captain, not keen on training today. No sound came from her brother's quarters, so she pushed the door open and let herself in. She padded to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and raid his pantry for snacks.
Settling on his balcony with a cushion under her elbow, she watched Ikkaku train the new recruits while sipping her tea. She thoroughly enjoyed the sun's rays as she lazed the morning away, only keeping awake due to Ikkaku's yelling and the clashing of training swords.
She wavered between wakefulness and her inner world, where she watched Chihari spin cocoons and lay her web. She could recognize some of the strands already, and felt the reiatsu from the other end. She followed Rangiku around Captain Hitsugaya's office, laughed at one of Ikkaku's recruits falling on his ass, looked for Renji, but he wasn't in Captain Kuchiki's office, waved at some recruits who were watching her, rolled her eyes at Nakashima, who was taking full advantage of second division's hot springs, then finally blinked her dazed mental state away as Ikkaku sat next to her and yelled at his recruits to run laps.
"You awake?" he asked.
"Barely." Rin rubbed her face and turned her head to look at him. "How are this year's recruits?"
"Eh." Ikkaku leaned back on his elbows and watched them. "Could have been worse. How was your night?"
"Eh." Rin smirked and watched the men pass them. "Could have been worse." She heard Ikkaku scoff and saw his shake his head out of the corner of her eye. "Everything's fine, stop mothering me. Feed me instead."
"Ask Yumichika to cook for you."
"He's out." Rin looked back at her brother's quarters, but it was still empty. "Please? It's my last day off!" Rin laid back and stretched, going limp a moment later. "Let me enjoy it."
"I'm not cooking for you, Rin." Ikkaku looked down at her, ignoring her pout. "Come to the mess hall with me after I finish training them."
"Just tell them to keep running. Endurance training, or whatever." Rin sat up and threw her cushion back into her brother's room. "Come on, I'm hungry."
"No, Rin, I can't leave them unsupervised on their first week."
"Ikkaku, they're grown men, they know how to train by themselves."
"I know they know how to train by themselves, and I also know they won't."
"Then just spar with them for like half an hour." Rin waved her hand dismissively. "Sparring with you is enough workout to last a week." She muttered under her breath.
"I'm not sparring with the new recruits."
"What, are you afraid you're gonna accidentally kill one of them?"
"I'm not worried about killing anyone by accident, Rin, I'm third seat, I know how to kill someone on purpose." By then, their bickering had caught the attention of the recruits, who stood on the other side of the training yard, looking at them curiously. Ikkaku turned back at the silence. "Did I tell you to stop running?" He barked at them.
"Ugh, I'm going to Matsumoto's." Rin stood.
"Her lunch is a bottle of sake and you know it." Ikkaku shook his head at her.
"It's my last day off. Gotta get drunk early to fight off the hangover in time for training tomorrow morning." Rin shrugged. "Tell my brother I dropped by."
"Yep."
Rangiku and Rin were currently trying to smother their giggling into their fists. It was three in the afternoon and they were sufficiently buzzed to believe it was okay to toss popcorn at each other across Rangiku's office and try to catch the salty treat with their mouths. They shushed themselves in fear of calling Captain Hitsugaya's attention across the hall, but the increasingly colder temperature was evidence enough they were failing miserably.
"Will you two shut up!" An ice spike pierced the office door. Rin paled and sobered up a little, but Rangiku wasn't fazed.
"Captain, it's Rin's last day off before she starts training, let her enjoy the day!" The busty woman whined.
"Why did you come here?" The short Captain turned his irritation to Rin.
"I-" Rin gulped. "The reasoning evades me, Sir."
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Before Rin could suffer another week of running errands, they heard Yumichika's voice from down the hall.
"Rin?"
"In here, Ayasegawa." Captain Hitsugaya called. Her brother looked into the popcorn strewn office and the clearly inebriated faces of Lieutenant Matsumoto and his sister with an air of exasperation and pity for the Captain. "Just take them both."
Yumichika frowned admonishingly at Rin and led them away, his sister hanging her head and Rangiku following behind with a fistful of popcorn.
"You actually went and got drunk in the middle of the day?" Ikkaku greeted them with raised eyebrows. The recruits were in worse shape than when Rin had last seen them, strewn around the training courtyard.
"In my defense, I did tell you what I was about to do, and you let me go." Rin plopped down next to him and accepted a glass of water from her brother.
"You what?" Yumichika glared at his friend.
"She said she was going to have lunch with Matsumoto!" He tried to defend himself. "I couldn't leave the recruits unsupervised."
"So you left my sister unsupervised?"
"Hey! What makes you think I need supervision?" Rin frowned up at her brother, who just gestured at her. "Fair enough."
"Sober up, and go back to your division." He had spent the whole walk to eleventh scolding her after having dropped Lieutenant Matsumoto at her quarters, and it seemed he wasn't done. Rin sighed and sipped her water as she watched Ikkaku finish up with the recruits and did her best to ignore her brother's voice.
After he was satisfied with his scolding, he retreated into his quarters to bathe. Ikkaku passed her and went into his own quarters, leaving the door open.
"You comin' or what?" He called. Rin stood and entered his living room, following his voice to the small kitchen. "Did you get to eat?" He asked, pulling a frying pan from a cupboard.
"If you're gonna cook for me, then the answer is no." Rin sat on the kitchen counter and looked excited at the prospect of Ikkaku's food.
"And if I weren't cooking?" He pulled three eggs from the fridge.
"The answer would also be no."
"Why don't you ever cook anything?" He asked as he pushed her butt to slide further away from the stove and make space for a bowl.
"If I wanted to poison people, I'd have insisted on twelfth division." Rin watched as he cracked the eggs into the bowl and added a splash of milk. Rin knew he was amazing with a sword, and his knife skills were nothing to sneer at. Like magic, red bell peppers, spinach, ham, cheese and onions were finely chopped and set aside in smaller bowls. "Why do you soak the onions in water?" She stole a piece of ham and popped it into her mouth.
"They taste sweeter." Ikkaku pulled the bowl of diced ham from her and pushed an egg beater into her hands. "Mix." He pointed to the eggs and milk as he dumped the ham into the hot frying pan. The sizzling sound made Rin smile. Ikkaku didn't cook often, but whenever he did, it was amazing. Rin lazily circled the egg beater around the bowl, watching him spread the ham evenly on the hot iron, then turn to her with a jar in his hands. He stuck his fingers in it and pinched some salt, sprinkling it into the bowl in her hands. "Come on, Rin, mix properly." He twirled his finger in a circular motion over her hand. Rin straightened and held the bowl in one arm as he had taught her and started beating the eggs correctly. Ikkaku added a few drops of mustard into the bowl, then a pinch of pepper.
"Nooo." Rin pulled the bowl away, making the pepper flakes fall on her knees instead. "No pepper."
"It's just a little!" He grabbed the bowl and pulled it back to him.
"No pepper!" Rin pushed his hand away with the dripping eggbeater.
"I'm the one cooking!"
"I'm the one with the bowl!" They glared at each other. "You're gonna burn the ham."
"No I'm not." He looked to the stove, giving Rin the opening to grab the jar from his hand. She leaned away from him and stretched her arm back, trying to keep it out of his reach, but he was taller, and easily grabbed it back by leaning into her. "Why won't you eat pepper?" He asked her.
"Because it tastes disgusting!" Rin argued.
"No it doesn't!" He stuck his finger in the jar, a single pepper flake stuck to it. "Here, try it." He held it to her lips, but she leaned away.
"Mm-mm." Her lips were firmly sealed.
"Rin, it's one little flake, it won't kill you." She shook her head. Ikkaku pinched her thigh and stuck his finger in her mouth when she yelped. "There, see?" She smacked her lips repeatedly with a grimace on her face, her tongue trying to expel the tiny flake of offending spice from her mouth. He watched her amusedly, his hand still on her thigh as he leaned on the counter between her knees. "Stop being so dramatic."
"No pepper." She repeated. Ikkaku sighed, shaking his head.
"Fine." He closed the jar and stepped back in front of the stove. "You know, one day I'll make you eat something spicy."
"But it is not this day!" Rin watched as he drained the onions and added them to the pan, right before the spinach, covering the pan with a lid and lowering the flames a little. She set the bowl down when she was finished beating the pepper-less egg mixture and watched Ikkaku rinse the used bowls and set them inside the sink to wash later. It still amazed her how tidy he was.
After a while, he opened the pan to check if the spinach was sufficiently cooked, then added the bell peppers, giving the pan a good stir. They watched in silence as the excess water evaporated. Ikkaku poured the egg mixture on top of the ingredients and added the cheese on top of everything, covering the pan again and lowering the flames to a minimum.
Rin hopped down from the counter and started washing the dirty bowls. Ikkaku stepped behind her and reached above her head to grab plates, his chest grazing her back. Setting everything he needed next to the stove, he checked the omelet. Now came Rin's favourite part. She watched, grinning, as Ikkaku grabbed the frying pan with one hand and shook it a little to loosen the food from the iron. It slid around the pan, one side already cooked. With a quick, practiced movement, he flipped the omelet in the air, expertly catching it without spilling a drop. Rin giggled and clapped her hands, Ikkaku smirking boastfully at his skill.
"If I ever tried to do that, there would be eggs all over the kitchen, except in the pan." Rin shook her head at her lack of cooking skills. Ikkaku chuckled at her.
"And when are you going to cook something for me for a change?" He asked, crossing his arms and leaning on the counter next to her.
"You know, I make an amazing boiled water." Rin nodded at herself.
"I'm serious." Ikkaku rolled his eyes and nudged her arm with his elbow. "You're not that bad. Just watch the food so you don't burn anything."
"I'll think about it." Rin shook her head. Ikkaku sighed and turned the flame off, cutting the omelet in half and sliding one piece on each plate. "Thank you!" Rin accepted her plate with a smile and padded away to the door. They sat on the balcony, watching the sun set.
Ikkaku looked down at her as she hummed appreciatively with her eyes closed, chewing her food. He watched her swallow and open her eyes, smiling up at him.
"This is amazing. Thank you, Ikkaku." She pushed another piece into her mouth. He smiled down at her and finally started to eat. He knew it was good, but he thought it somehow tasted better with her sharing the meal with him.
Their empty plates were set aside one on top of the other to be brought in later. As was usual for them, Ikkaku had his head on Rin's lap as she leaned against the wall behind her. Her hand rested on his chest, his larger one on top of hers. They watched the last rays of orange disappear and the first stars start to shine above. Rin sighed.
"What?" Ikkaku had his eyes closed, enjoying the silence.
"I gotta go." Rin straightened up and pulled her hand from under his to pat his shoulder, silently asking him to move. Ikkaku groaned and sat up, grabbing their plates and standing to take them into his kitchen. Rin stood and followed him, reaching for the sink to wash the dishes, but he waved her away. "No, come on, let me clean up."
"Go to your own division. Sleep." He grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards the door.
"You sure?" Rin turned back to face him.
"Yes. Get an early night's rest before you start training." Ikkaku grinned down at her. "Give them hell."
"Will do." Rin grinned back at him and waved as she walked away. "Thanks for the food, it was amazing." He just waved back and watched her leave.
"Ikkaku, you have to tell her." Yumichika was leaning against his own door, watching his friend watch his sister.
"No I don't." Ikkaku would never admit he was apprehensive about telling her his feelings. How she never realized it was beyond either of them, but for now he was content with their 'friendly' flirting. They had known each other for far too long to make him want to jeopardize their friendship. Maybe he needed to go out with someone. He'd talk to Matsumoto in the morning, she was sure to set him up with one of her friends.