Title: A World of Ink and Ideology
Author: Eeevee
Genre/Rating: general/romance (sort of?)/PG—unless you find book abuse detestable and check the spines of every single copy of manga before you buy one O.o
Disclaimer: It's still not mine.
Challenge: Pairing challenge from Fyyrrose
Warnings: Shoujo-ai
Pairings: hinted Na-nao-chaaan/Nemu and just a dash of Yourichi/Soi Fong
Soi Fong was grateful for the frayed, thick carpet beneath her feet. It made it that much easier to stalk around in proper silence. That was the only thing she was grateful for, however.
Her lip curled as she stalked around another towering, majestic, outdated bookcase. Dusty tome spines were faded and tattered. They were useless relics of wisdom from the past centuries. She reviled them. What was the point in saving such worthless information?
Angrily, she tossed her head making the braids click softly. The ching was muted as it met resistance of moldy paper and dust-choked air.
All she needed to do was find the book, and then she could escape the bowels of this cursed library. She wasn't a captain who sat at a desk and did paperwork all day. The enclosed space was making her skin crawl and frayed her notoriously short nerves. It was the perfect place for an ambush, her instincts informed her. There was no room to maneuver or avoid offensive attacks from close range and there was no way to hold out with long-range attacks, not that she relied on those. In addition to that, she didn't trust the wooden bones around her; they were so old and flawed. Several tons of books could kill even the most resilient fighter beneath their falling weight.
Why did they have to pack them so close together? It was ridiculous to squeeze to get past an abandoned, empty cart or edge around a rickety ladder for reaching the precarious top shelf.
She assumed that the only mice she would find down here were four legged, whiskered ones. Not like the ones that squeaked and fled with black robes trailing above. In her opinion, the librarians were far weaker than any Fourth Division member and the only reason they weren't harassed was because they never left their papery sanctuary, and the Eleventh Division, likewise, would never come into such an institution on their own initiative.
The last one she saw was some time back, and the young woman had bravely warned her not to break anything with a shaking finger.
That deserved an icy stare of contempt and reproach.
Now she wished she had pretended to be civil because she had no idea where the object of her search was exactly. It wasn't something she wanted to share, which is why she didn't send her vice-captain. He would have messed it up somehow anyway. While the librarians wouldn't dare throw her out, she could easily see them flocking around and ganging up on the big idiot.
After another five minutes of fruitless searching, she was seriously considering using some kidou to simply blow a person-sized hole through all the shelves so she wouldn't have to walk around each and everyone. No one would even notice; these books had been long abandoned by even the Twelve Division.
Turning another corner, her sharp ears heard a low humming noise. The voices were low and even and Soi Fong was disgusted with the fact that no public place was off limits for lecherous behavior. Certain things should be practiced in privacy, so as not to upset the rest of the populace with stomach-curdling displays of affection.
Although she was sure the other captains considered her opinions too harsh, and some would even accuse her of being jaded and bitter, she was in utter agreement with Captain Kuchiki that some things were simply not done.
Fully intending to give the couple an earful, she glided out, intending to startle them first. People who were originally surprised were much easier to panic and intimidate.
Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't the two seating before her. They were seated at a table in the middle of the cramped study hall. Dark heads pressed together gently and breath mingled as they bent over some obscure copy of ancient writing. The two were lost in a world of ornate ink and primitive ideology.
A gentle melody of half sentences lead questions and short, crisp answers were returned. The low voices flowed together in a dance of tones that swirled lazily with familiarity.
She didn't have to see their long, slender fingers twined together loosely or the way their dark hair shared static, their heads were so close.
She was certainly surprised, although a grudging smirk fought with her usual frown. Wouldn't that just throw everyone into an unjustified frenzy? Certainly no one would expect it, not even the people close to them. Yet it made so much sense.
Like magnets, they attracted, not conflicted.
It only took seconds for the two to detect her, as one would expect from vice-captains. While Soi Fong disagreed with the methodology of how Captain Kyouraku and Captain Kurotsuchi controlled their vice captains, she could not disagree with the results. Both were extremely capable and collected.
"Captain," Captain Kyouraku's vice greeted her coolly, moving away from the other woman and hitching up the end of her glasses. It was obvious she was annoyed at the intrusion, although she didn't seem particularly fearful of what Soi Fong saw. "It is a rare pleasure to see you in the library."
Soi Fong nodded curtly, "I require a book that is no where else."
"If you tell me, I will fetch it for you." The pale vice-captain added in a hushed whisper with her head bowed and her hands folded in her lap. A blush of plum made a finger shaped necklace against chalky skin and Soi Fong glared, reminded why she dealt with the Twelfth Division as little as was necessary.
As the little cracked china doll slid off into the maze of books, Soi Fong ignored the pointed glare of the other woman. She even wondered briefly if the strict vice-captain wore glasses simply for the effect of glaring over them. It certainly added an air of non-nonsense to her anal appearance and attitude.
"We wish that our…" The bold little vice-captain paused, trying to get the right, inoffensive phrase.
"Your relationship." Soi Fong supplemented in a casual, cold tone, "It is none of my business. I just came down here for a simple book, not more fodder for the rumor mills."
"Ah, your discretion in this matter is very much appreciated."
Soi Fong distinctly heard a teasing, bell-like voice in her memory, 'and just what kind of ninja blabs their mouth all over the place, Soi Fong?' That had been a long time ago where she was young, inexperienced, and just stupid enough to fall in love.
Moodily, she snatched the book and turned on her heel with a frown and furrowed brows. She would never catch up on her paper work after wasting half a day lost in this dusty, rotting hall.
Beta (fyyrrose): sigh cheated again. It was cute, yes I'll be the first to admit it was c.u.t.e.
A/N: haha, yes, I'm such a cheater! And it was cute… disturbingly so. I'm going to the dark side! And it only took one psychology class… my blah filter was running hot! Blah blah blah Freud blah blah Anna O. blah blah Penis envy blah blah repression blah… it was actually kind of soothing.