Return of the SUWA
Classes had been back on for a week, and already Rangiku had 'forgotten' to do her readings and hadn't looked at her assignment instructions, but she had done an online quiz and managed an eight out of ten, so winning.
Monday of the second week wasn't as Hellish as the first because this time Rangiku had something to look forward to – the social clubs were back on!
Rangiku's club was the Seireitei University Women's Association, or SUWA, which occasionally tried to improve the lives of women on campus, but mostly involved fundraising events and party planning, A.K.A. Rangiku's calling – outside of fashion, of course.
She did love SUWA though, and had made a great group of girl friends through it.
Last year, President Retsu Unohana, Vice President Isane Kotetsu and Treasurer Soi Fon had all graduated, so the positions needed to be filled. Nanao, who was previously the club Secretary, took over as President, and Rangiku claimed Vice President quickly – mostly because Nanao didn't want Nemu as her second in command. Nemu took on Treasurer, and Rangiku convinced Orihime to come on board as the Secretary.
The four of them had a brief meeting the previous night – which largely pertained to eating cheese and drinking wine on Rangiku and Orihime's couch – about their vision for the year going forward. After having so many seniors leave the club at the end of last year, it was clear the first order of business would be to recruit at Monday's 'Club Fair', which was where Rangiku currently was, standing in front of a plastic fold table and under a lame banner, handing out flyers to passing women.
"Why are these girls not interested?" Nanao hissed, when girl number thirty-nine walked past, ducking her head like she couldn't see them. "Is feminism dead?!"
Rangiku chuckled, Nanao was so highly strung.
"Maybe it's because you're glaring at them?" Rangiku suggested. "Try smiling!"
Nanao's glare increased tenfold for a moment, but Rangiku did see her making an effort (though terrifying to witness) to smile at the next girl, who yelped and ran away quickly.
Her eyes turned back on Rangiku, accusing her like the idea to smile had made things worse, but Rangiku waved her off, unconcerned. She had just spotted Rukia over at the Art Club's desk.
"Rukia!" she called out, her voice sing-song.
Violet eyes looked up at her and Rangiku beamed, waving her over.
With a suffering eye roll, Rukia left the Art Club's table and came over. With her, a petite, short-haired blonde girl followed; she kind of looked like if Ichigo's twin sisters combined into one person – she looked a lot like Yuzu, but with Karin's fashion and mannerisms.
"Hey girls!" Rangiku grinned at them when they approached the table.
"No," Rukia answered harshly. "I'm not joining the club, Rangiku."
"Aw come on, Rukia," Rangiku giggled. "It will be fun! And look at the state of our banner – we need an artist!"
"Hey, I made that banner!" Nanao squawked.
Rangiku threw her a look, and all four of them looked up at the banner tied overhead. It was plain. White writing on a navy background (because 'it's our university's emblem colour!') but there was no other colour, no design or patterns to it – it looked like protest and it was no wonder why people were giving them a wide berth.
"My brother wouldn't approve," Rukia sighed. "He's pushing me to join the Calligraphy club. I was hoping to get away with the Art Club by telling him that Calligraphy is an art they worship."
Rangiku pursed her lips together to stop from laughing.
"Well you could do both!" she suggested. "Work on your SUWA art in Art Club? Or tell your brother that you're joining SUWA to help you find a husband-"
"That is the exact opposite of what we're about," Nanao cut in.
Rangiku shrugged, "Byakuya doesn't need to know that. Besides, we discussed running some dating events this year."
Rangiku's argument was 'we are women, we have rights, and we have the right to not be single'. Nanao had rolled her eyes so hard they almost got stuck, so then Rangiku came at it from another angle: 'we can create a safe space for women to meet male students and get to know them. It's meeting guys on our terms, not theirs.'
That actually worked, despite the utter shit Rangiku had been talking, though she did like the idea of helping singles meet in a safe environment, since apps and internet dating were all the rage now, and of course they had all heard the horror stories before.
Surprisingly, the dating event idea did make Rukia and her blonde friend perk up.
"Oh," Rangiku hummed, her face turning cheeky and knowing. "Interested now, are we?"
"I am trying to find a man for Kiyone here," Rukia gestured to her friend and realisation dawned on Rangiku then; the blonde girl was Kiyone, Rukia's friend from working at Ukitake's Chocolate Café together, and now they were roommates.
"What kind of dating events?" Kiyone asked then.
"Well we've only tossed a few ideas around," Rangiku told them with a small shrug. "Perhaps a singles mixer or a speed dating night?"
"Speed dating would be fun," Kiyone grinned. "My sister met her boyfriend at one of those. You might know her actually, Isane Kotetsu?"
"My predecessor!" Rangiku's eyes lit up. "See now you have to join SUWA! You're a legacy."
Oh and Kiyone did look interested. She shared a look with Rukia that said 'come on, join with me'. Rangiku stared at them, putting the pressure on to make a decision. Rukia threw her a look that said she was questioning Kiyone's sanity.
"I don't think you know what these girls are like, Kiyone," Rukia smirked at Rangiku. "This group is chaos."
"Fun chaos," Rangiku clarified quickly, ignoring Nanao's indignant squawks in the background.
"I was just thinking that it could be fun to plan some of these events," Kiyone shrugged, defending her position. "We could convince Mr Ukitake to let us use the café one night for the speed dating event."
Rangiku gasped, clapping her hands together. What a good idea! The atmosphere would be much nicer than if they did it in their little meeting room in the back of the library.
"Kiyone, you're born for this," Rangiku gushed. "Rukia come on, think of all the banners and flyers you'll design for us."
Rukia inhaled deeply. She still looked reluctant but in the end she sighed and nodded her acceptance.
"Fine," she murmured. "As long as I can draw Chappies on anything I want."
"You can draw whatever you want," Rangiku grinned, handing over the sign up forms to both of them. "You have free rein, just don't make them boring."
Again, Nanao squawked, and again they ignored her.
"Oh dear," a deep and familiar voice drawled, approaching. "She has joined the dark side. I had higher expectations of you, Kuchiki."
"Don't listen to him," Rangiku held up her hand, covering Toshiro's face from their view as he moved closer to them. She had seen him approaching from the corner of her eye – the white hair was a beacon, even on the brightest of days. He was wearing his navy blue soccer kit, with his bag slung over his shoulder and a university water bottle in his hand. His face was still a little red and sweaty, so she figured he'd come straight from practice.
"I am going to regret this," Rukia sighed, humouring him anyway as she handed over her completed form to Rangiku. "Just couldn't look at that banner anymore and not help them, you know?"
"And you can do some of it calligraphy-style to appease your brother," Rangiku chimed in quickly, sensing a retort on Toshiro's tongue.
Rukia hummed in agreement, eyes thoughtful.
Kiyone handed her form to Rangiku then too.
"Thank you," Rangiku smiled, handing both forms to Nanao to file in her binder – yep, she brought a binder, and a hole punch. Apparently stacking the forms and placing a rock on them so they wouldn't blow away was 'unprofessional'. Rangiku turned to Toshiro then, and gestured to the newest SUWA member. "Toshiro, this is Rukia's roommate, Kiyone."
"Nice to meet you," Toshiro smiled at her. "You're in Orihime's course, right?"
Oh that's right, Orihime had mentioned that too.
"Midwifery," Kiyone nodded enthusiastically. "My sister was studying nursing so it runs in the family I suppose."
"It's a great thing to do," Toshiro grinned back, again that medical enthusiasm reared its head. He loved hospitals, the only person Rangiku knew who did.
"Hi Toshiro!" a new voice chimed in from out of the blue.
A petite girl with a dark bun and big doe eyes appeared suddenly at Toshiro's side. Rangiku recognised her as that girl from their freshmen mixer a year ago – she had been with an older date, a senior named 'Aizen' who was actually friends with Rangiku's ex, Gin. Aizen had quickly lost his temper with her and threatened her in front of everyone. Toshiro had stepped in, and of course got a black eye out of it, but this girl had been crushing on him ever since.
What was her name again? Coco? Popo? Roro?
"Hey Momo," Toshiro greeted her.
Momo! That was it.
"Are you joining this club?" the girl asked brightly.
"The women's association? Uh no, not today," Toshiro answered as Rangiku smirked. If Rangiku had asked that, he would have given her one Hell of a snarky remark, but Momo got away with it. "You should join though."
"Okay," Momo's eyes lit up and she turned to Rangiku and Nanao, hand outstretched for the sign up papers.
Rangiku handed them over, almost on autopilot with surprise.
"What sorcery is this?" Nanao whispered, in just as much shock as the two of them stared at Toshiro in awe. "He just says 'you should join' and it worked?"
"Well he has sexy man pheromones, doesn't he?" Rangiku frowned, processing that. Toshiro, sexy?
That made Nanao huff and cross her arms.
"Typical men," she muttered.
Rangiku broke from her shocked retrieve to chuckle at that.
"Is there a reason you're here, Toshiro?" she shot the man a look, straightening her back and sticking her chin out a little. "If you're not going to join our feminist movement."
"I'll join your feminist movement when you start moving like feminists, Matsumoto," Toshiro snorted, well offending Nanao but Rangiku grinned and held her arm out to stop the president from launching herself at him.
"Hey now, we're organising dating events."
"Ah yes, the first priority of the suffragettes."
"You're a menace."
"I am a menace," Toshiro conceded with a grin, "but I am a menace that made Soccer Team Captain today."
Rangiku gasped, clapping her hands together before she pulled him for a hug. He was sweaty, but she didn't mind – he actually smelled wonderful, like his familiar natural scent, only stronger.
"Congratulations!" she gushed. She knew Toshiro was hoping to become captain this year – he had played for the University squad all last year, but they had lost a lot of games due to poor management and frequently being short of numbers since games were held on Saturdays, after big drinking sessions the night before.
"Congratulations, Toshiro!" Momo squealed too. "I'll have to come watch you play!"
"Maybe SUWA could be at the games?" Kiyone suggested then, seemingly keen to get involved. "Helping encourage school spirit?"
"We don't support the men's league," Nanao injected. "SUMA do that, they just don't do a good job."
SUMA – the Seireitei University Men's Association, and the bane of Nanao's existence.
"I spoke to the women's team captain," Toshiro shrugged. "Their league is moving their games to Saturdays so we can play back to back and they'll get the crowd numbers."
Nanao blinked, and Rangiku knew she was pleasantly surprised.
"I will speak to the women's captain myself," Nanao decided eventually. "Who is it?"
Toshiro sighed. "Hiyori Sarugaki. She's in the year above."
Rangiku grinned in mirth for Toshiro's luck. Of course Hiyori would get named the women's team captain position.
The reason for his sigh, and Rangiku's schadenfreude, was the love-hate relationship he had with the older girl. Well… sex-hate relationship might be more accurate. They instantly got off on the wrong foot last year, and developed a hateful relationship which generally involved Hiyori throwing insults at Toshiro and him gritting his teeth in response. Apparently that fuelled some sexual desire in them both and they had ended up having 'hate sex'… for three months.
It was odd, because Toshiro wasn't much of a casual sex kind of guy, but Rangiku supposed this was college and he had been recently dumped by Karin at the time, so she chalked it up to a rebound more than anything. What was unexpected was his one night stand with Rangiku's previous roommate, Nel, towards the end of the year.
Imagine the bewildered look on Rangiku's face when she found Toshiro sneaking out of her roommate's room the next morning, his clothes inside out and shoes in his hand. Classic walk of shame, but what really surprised her was that Nel seemed to be the exact opposite of his type (A.K.A petite and tomboy-ish), but hey, kudos to him. Rangiku thought the whole thing was hilarious of course.
"I wish you the best of luck," Toshiro told Nanao, his tone only the slightest bit sarcastic before he checked his phone. "I've got to go meet Ichigo, I'll catch you all later."
Rangiku waved him off with a shooing motion, but Momo bounded after him like a lost puppy.
"Is Toshiro your boyfriend, Rangiku?" Kiyone asked, nodding at Toshiro's retreating back.
Rangiku snorted, "Gods, no. He's my best friend."
Most people found it weird that she had a male best friend, or at least a straight one, but Kiyone didn't.
"My best friend is a dude as well," she sighed. "He's the worst, but I love him."
"We'll if he's single, bring him to the speed dating event," Rangiku chuckled. "We'll find him a lovely lady."
"I'll bring mine if you bring yours," Kiyone smirked.
Oh. Okay, this was interesting. Rangiku tilted her head and Rukia too looked highly fascinated again.
"Toshiro?" Rukia asked pointedly. "That's… actually, that's probably a good match."
Kiyone's cheeks were dusted with pink as she shrugged slightly.
"He seems cool," she explained oh-so-deeply. "And hot."
Rangiku laughed loudly at that. She supposed Toshiro was rather good looking, but sometimes it was hard to think of him that way when she remembered the skinny nerd holding onto his Oma's handbag. He'd grown though, wow had he grown. Not tall necessarily, especially next to the likes of Ichigo and Renji, but he'd bulked out a bit, developed his arms and abs, and now had a jawline so sharp it could cut girls' knickers right off with one glance… or so she'd heard from Nel – it might have been a translation error.
"I think I can convince Toshiro to come," Rangiku smirked at Kiyone.
The blonde girl grinned and straightened her shoulders, though the blush was still bright on her cheeks.
"Cool," she said casually, bobbing her head a little.
Well, Rangiku didn't know much about Kiyone, but she seemed nice enough and Rukia seemed to think she and Toshiro would be a good match. Playing cupid aside, Kiyone looked like a keen new addition to SUWA, and now they had Rukia on board as the club artist too, and both had a connection to Ukitake's for a potential venue. Momo had signed up as well, and… well, she would have something to bring to the table.
SUWA was going to thrive this year, with all this fresh blood and enthusiasm.
"Welcome aboard, you two," Rangiku grinned between Kiyone and Rukia. "Meetings are at six p.m. on Wednesdays, in the library, study room four. Bring your own wine."
…
The Seireitei University Women's Association inaugural Charity Speeding Dating Night event finally arrived!
It had been three weeks since the Clubs Fair at which Rukia, Kiyone and Momo were recruited. Rangiku and Nanao also managed to recruit three freshmen who looked lost and overwhelmed at the fair, torn between all the options. Rangiku was particularly proud to have snagged Hanataro Yamada, SUWA's first male member. Of course, he seemed to only sign up after she leaned over with the forms, chest first, but still, a new recruit was progress, and Nanao was happy they had a face for her UN-inspired '#HeForShe' campaign.
The weekly meetings were utter chaos of course, but under Nanao's firm leadership, the group got it together to plan and promote their first ever speed dating event. The SUWA president got on board rather enthusiastically when Rangiku suggested they make it a ticketed event, with all proceeds going to a charity.
Ukitake's Chocolate Café opened its doors to them, provided the charity chosen was the local children's hospital where Mr Ukitake had spent a lot of time growing up with a chronic illness, and somehow they managed to wrangle over forty people!
Rangiku had to use force on some, such as Toshiro who found himself deep in her chest, gasping for breath until he relented (can you believe he actually wanted to spend his Sunday night studying?!). Saying Rukia would be there dragged in Ichigo, and the promise of Ukitake's campus-famous chocolate protein balls was enough to drag in Renji. Naturally, Ikkaku and Yumichika gave it a miss, but Chad the champion came with just a simple 'please, it's for charity'.
The concept was simple. The women would stay seated, one at each table, and the men would rotate around, each 'date' lasting only three minutes. There were a couple more women than men, so for each round two women would be without a date, but the lovely wait staff on duty, Kaien and Miyako, would bring them a hot chocolate while they waited patiently for the next partner.
Nanao, the only person not actually participating, was in charge of timing and ringing the bell to tell the men to rotate. She observed them with strict eyes, waiting for all the girls to get seated and for the boys to pick a place to start, and once ready she rung the first bell.
Rangiku smiled politely as the first man sat in front of her. She didn't recognise him.
"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez is the name," he smirked at her. "Modelling is the game."
Rangiku raised an eyebrow at the man's confidence (and shitty introduction line). Model, he says?
She supposed he was rather good looking, in that classically handsome kind of way; tall, lean but toned, sharp jaw, high cheekbones and eyes that undoubtedly pierced through the camera lens. The blue hair, however, was the stray from the classic look into something more… indie.
"Rangiku Matsumoto," she told him. "Fashion Design Major and SUWA Vice President."
"I know," Grimmjow grinned, his smirk reminding her of that creepy cat from Alice in Wonderland. "Women like you don't go unnoticed around campus."
Definitely heading into creepy territory now.
Rangiku chuckled lightly, tucking her hair behind her ear to distract from the heat in her cheeks.
"What do you do when you're not modelling then?"
"Economics," Grimmjow told her and immediately Rangiku switched off. Gin had been studying economics, with his buddy Aizen.
Thankfully, the next two and a half minutes breezed by without much input from Rangiku. As it turned out, Grimmjow liked to talk about himself, which didn't surprise her in the slightest.
When the bell rang, the man purred as he stood.
"I'll see you around, Rangiku," he winked at her.
Rangiku traded the shudder for an awkwardly polite smile.
The next guy sat in front of her.
Short, deceivingly so because his hair stood up straight almost two inches higher than his scalp.
"I'm Sentaro Kotsubaki," the man told her, his tone rather brash. "Kiyone might have told you about me."
"Oh right," Rangiku chuckled. "You're the dude best friend, right?"
"That's right."
He's said all a dozen words to her, but Rangiku got the sense this guy had big dick energy (but probably not a big dick). Still, he seemed nice enough, though not at all Rangiku's type. Apparently he also worked at Ukitake's and he went on a passionate tirade about how the customer is NEVER right.
Again, Rangiku mostly tuned out, and she found her eyes wondering around the room. Grimmjow had moved on to Nemu on Rangiku's left, and seemed to reciting the same spiel to her until she straight out told him 'nope'. Social skills of pumpkin, that one. Not that Grimmjow seemed much better.
She spotted Toshiro and Rukia matched up for this round. They were having a thumb war, apparently uninterested in having much of a date. To be fair, they were already good friends, having a number of shared classes last year since they were both doing engineering-related courses.
Ichigo was on Toshiro's right, meaning he had started with Rukia (of course he had), and was still eyeing her from his new position in front of Momo. To be fair, Momo was eyeing up Toshiro at the same table, so Rangiku was sure she hadn't noticed Ichigo wasn't paying her any attention.
Kiyone was talking to an unfamiliar head of black hair, and one of the new SUWA freshmen girls had Renji and was watching with wide eyes as he appeared to be showing her how many protein balls he could fit in his mouth. Meanwhile little Hanataro was shaking as he spoke to Hiyori, who was explicitly telling him how boring he was – poor kid. Orihime had Chad and as high school friends, they seemed to just be chatting amicably.
The bell rang, and the boys moved along.
Rangiku had another three strange guys visit her table in a row. One was literally sobbing as he spoke to her, another seemed too old to even be a college student, and the last one straight away asked her what kinks she was into.
Rangiku mentally put X's over all their faces in her mind, and forgot their names as fast as possible.
Eventually she got Hanataro, which she had hoped would be a pleasant one. He'd gotten a nosebleed thirty seconds in and had to rush to the bathroom.
Then she got Renji, and watched him get a whole seventeen protein balls in his mouth. Chad followed, and Rangiku finally got a normal, albeit quiet, conversation. She asked him if he had met anyone he liked yet, and he responded in true diplomatic Chad fashion.
"I am keeping an open mind," he murmured softly.
After that was Ichigo.
"What's up?" she asked him, seeing his crestfallen face.
"Nothing," he muttered.
Rangiku could hear Rukia's laughter in the background, and she spotted the raven haired girl across the room. She was with Grimmjow, and he'd just tried his 'modelling is the game' line on her and apparently she thought it was hilarious. Undoubtedly she was mocking him though, because Rukia was too smart to fall for a line like that.
"Chin up, Ichigo," Rangiku told him. "It's just a bit of fun. Open up, maybe you'll meet someone."
"I've already met them," he muttered under his breath but Rangiku caught it.
She rolled her eyes; she loved Ichigo, she really did, but gods he was a broody bastard at times.
She reached forward to pinch his cheek and giggled as his glare landed on her.
"Orihime looks really pretty tonight," she commented casually, gesturing in the girl's general direction. "Don't you think?"
Orihime was sitting a few tables over; she had a cute pink top on her, and her hair pinned back by her favourite blue clips. Her eyes occasionally shifted to Ichigo, but she was more subtle than he was with Rukia.
Ichigo didn't spare her a glance, nodding and murmuring 'oh yeah, she does'. He wasn't even listening to her. Bloody men.
Rangiku exhaled in exhaustion and leaned back against her chair, shaking her head slightly. Ichigo was deep in thought and Rangiku let him, taking a moment to pull out her phone to check her notifications. She had a text from her mother wishing her luck tonight, but that was it.
The bell rang again, and Rangiku grinned as Toshiro stood in front of her.
Finally, someone who wouldn't creep her out or bore her to checking her phone mid-date.
"Toshiro Hitsugaya is the name," he smirked at her, sitting down. "A lame braggy pick-up line is my game."
Rangiku lost it. Instantly, she was in a fit of giggles, and trying to quell them before anyone, particularly Grimmjow, noticed.
"You're terrible," she hissed at him between the laughter, and kicked his shin gently under the table.
Toshiro shrugged casually.
"Couldn't resist," he told her. "How were the rest of your dates?"
Rangiku groaned softly.
"That bad?" Toshiro laughed.
"Surprisingly so," Rangiku sighed. "Especially Mister Mopey over there."
She jerked her head to Ichigo at Nemu's table beside them. He caught it and glared back but they ignored it.
"How have yours been?"
"Not bad," he admitted, seemingly really considering it. After a moment, his expression turned panicked. "Though Hiyori called me 'Baldy' and I don't know why. Am I going bald, Matsumoto?!"
He tilted his head down and leaned over the table for her inspection. Rangiku smirked and poked his head.
"Oh yeah, you are balding," Rangiku lied. "I can see it here."
Toshiro gasped and reached up to feel where she had poked, and instantly Rangiku burst out laughing again. Toshiro's panic quickly turned to a glare.
"That's mean, Matsumoto," he pouted and this time Rangiku shrugged casually, like she didn't care at all.
Across from her, Kiyone's laughter caught her attention, and she spotted her on her three minute date with her best friend Sentaro. In a way, they mirrored her and Toshiro in that moment.
"Hey, have you spoken to Kiyone yet?" Rangiku asked Toshiro then, remembering the conversation she'd had with the blonde girl at the Clubs Fair.
Toshiro frowned and glanced over his shoulder, spotting the girl on the other side of the room.
"Not yet," he answered, turning back around. "Looks like I have her towards the end."
"Oh good," Rangiku clapped her hands together. "She thinks you're hot."
Toshiro's expression was surprised as he raised his eyebrow at her. "She told you that?"
Rangiku nodded. "Rukia thought you two would be a good match too."
"Not sure I trust either of your judgments," Toshiro rolled his eyes, but Rangiku smirked, noticing him spare Kiyone another glance.
Nanao rang the bell, and Rangiku sighed as Toshiro stood to leave. She'd enjoyed that one, mostly because teasing her best friend was her favourite pastime.
"Good luck with the creeps and mopes," Toshiro farewelled.
"Happy flirting!" Rangiku sang back to him, which earned a fearful look from Toshiro's next date, Nemu.
The next guy Rangiku had was cute, albeit rather shy and lacking a lot of confidence. His name was Izuru Kira, and then Rangiku forgot the rest of what he had said, only because his monotone voice and lack of enthusiasm quickly bored her into zoning out.
By the time her two-man break came along, Rangiku was kind of glad for it. The speed dating night was great fun, don't get her wrong, but she was so far a little bit disappointed she hadn't met anyone she wanted to exchange details with. The guy next guy on her left, the one that would eventually make his way to her for the final round of dates, didn't give her much hope either – he was handsome though, with dark spiky hair and arms that Rangiku kind of wanted to lick whipped cream off, but he had a '69' tattoo on his face (his face!), so she doubted he was the type of guy she wanted to get to know.
Kaien brought her a hot chocolate with some marshmallows on the side, and Rangiku stirred it aimlessly as her eyes swept the room again.
Hanataro was talking to one of the freshman girls, and he actually looked to be having a good time with her. While they flirted and enjoyed their three minutes, poor Izuru was struggling against Nemu, Momo was being repulsed by Grimmjow, Orihime was trying to engage Ichigo, who was still looking at Rukia, while Rukia was looking at Renji, who was once again showing his current date how many protein balls he could fit in his mouth. Rangiku sighed and shook her head – why were they all so blind?
The second last round got underway then, when Rangiku was still on her break, but she became far more interested in drinking her hot chocolate this time. Toshiro had finally made his way around to Kiyone, and the two appeared to be hitting it off. Toshiro was smiling shyly at her, while Kiyone giggled and blushed. Rangiku couldn't help but grin into her mug and shake her head – she knew they'd hit it off.
The only other thing of mild interest that round, was that Renji now had Rukia and apparently didn't feel the need to show her how many protein balls he could fit in his mouth. Mind you, he almost looked ill at this point. Rukia chuckled, and rubbed his forearm sympathetically, which no doubt Ichigo's hawk vision would have caught.
Nanao rang the bell again, more aggressively, indicating her patience with the evening was well up. Still they had one last round to go, and the '69' tattoo was suddenly standing in front of Rangiku's table.
"Good evening, I'm Shuuhei," the man said, far more politely than Rangiku had expected. "May I please sit with you?"
Rangiku nodded quickly and gestured to the seat, too surprised to utter the sarcastic comment on the tip of her tongue about how he kind of had to, since it was the rules.
"I'm Rangiku," she managed instead, getting over her stunned expression. This Shuuhei, with the '69' tattoo on his face (his face!), had her attention.
Shuuhei's smile was almost shy then.
"I saw you when I came in," Shuuhei told her. "I was hoping to speak to you last."
"Oh?"
"I wanted to be the one left lingering in your mind," Shuuhei smirked cheekily at her.
Rangiku chuckled, flushing a little.
"Well you'll have to make quite an impression on me, Shuuhei," she flirted a little, letting his name roll off her tongue. "I've met many wonderful men tonight."
"I don't doubt," Shuuhei conceded, his eye twinkling.
Rangiku leaned back in her chair and raised her eyebrow, as if to say, 'well go on then'.
Shuuhei straightened, his chest opening up.
"I'm twenty-one, a third year journalism student," he informed her quickly. "I am Chief Editor of The Seireitei Bulletin, and the tattoo was a bet lost to my mentor, Kensei. I intend to get it removed before I graduate next year."
She recognised Shuuhei's name now, from the university's weekly newspaper, 'The Seireitei Bulletin'. Nanao had a good email rapport with him, since she was a regular reader and often wrote in to give her opinions. She also got SUWA an ad spot, which undoubtedly was where Shuuhei had heard about the speed dating event.
"Won't that scar?" Rangiku raised an eyebrow.
"It shouldn't," Shuuhei shrugged.
"Shame," Rangiku commented dryly. "Scars are hot."
It was Shuuhei's turn to raise his eyebrow at her, and the slight dusting of pink on his cheeks didn't go unnoticed.
"Maybe I can pick the scab?" he offered awkwardly, and Rangiku frowned slightly. Gross.
"You're interesting, I'll give you that," Rangiku tilted her head at him.
"Maybe at dinner on Saturday night I can show just how 'interesting'," Shuuhei smirked.
"Smooth," Rangiku chuckled. "Though you haven't even asked about me yet."
"I didn't need to," Shuuhei told her. "You're Rangiku Matsumoto, SUWA Vice President, Fashion Design Student."
"Nanao?"
"Nanao."
"I think there is a bit more to me than that, Shuuhei."
"Oh I'm sure," Shuuhei smirked again, "but you'll have to accept my dinner invitation to tell me more about how you're so 'interesting'."
Rangiku couldn't help but smirk, eyeing him up. He was strategic, that was certain, a little ballsy which she liked. Despite the '69' tattoo on his face (his face!), he was polite and well-educated. Also those arms-
"I'll think about it," she settled on, her expression giving nothing away.
Shuuhei nodded and grinned, like he expected as much.
"As I said," he murmured, "I'll be the one left lingering in your mind."
That son of a b-
The bell rang. Loudly and aggressive. Nanao was done, and she wanted everyone to know. Shuuhei smirked and got up from the table, winking at her before walking away, his arms flexing as he went.
Bastard.
Nanao found herself quickly crowded. Those who liked someone had to register their interest with the SUWA president, and if both sides registered interest in each other, Nanao would pass along the guy's contact details to the girl to make the next move.
Rangiku was frowning as she stood up from her table. She hated to admit it, but Shuuhei was indeed lingering in her mind. Cheeky git.
Still, she wasn't one to show desperation. Instead of rushing over to Nanao, she started packing up, helping Kaien and Miyako with the chairs and helping Rukia take down their fancy new SUWA banner (it was a smash of pastel colours and an almost absurd about of Chappy sketches, but hey it was better than Nanao's plain one, and it kept Rukia compliant).
"Did you meet anyone interesting?" Rangiku asked Rukia as they folded the larger banner together.
"Plenty interesting," Rukia snorted. "None I'd date. Hate to say it, but I think the best conversation I had was with Hanataro."
Rangiku chuckled, remembering her own session with the freshman
She noticed how Rukia didn't mention Renji, though undoubtedly she'd date him if he asked. She didn't mention Ichigo either, which Rangiku had no intention of telling him.
"What about you?" Rukia asked then. "Anyone you liked?"
Sighing, Rangiku told her about Shuuhei and Rukia smirked.
"I suppose you didn't see the '69' tattoo on his face then?"
"Saw it, thought it was weird," Rangiku shrugged, "but then I saw his arms and instantly forgave him."
Rukia rolled her eyes and Rangiku giggled innocently. To be fair, she wasn't really looking for a relationship at the moment. Things with Gin, though it had been over four months since he broke her heart, were still fresh with her. The wound had scabbed over, but it hadn't healed completely. She wasn't really sure what she wanted right now – a simple fling? Just sex? Just casual dates?
Even if she did register her interest for Shuuhei and he reciprocated, she would have to think it through before she considered texting him.
Rangiku busied herself packing up, and caught up with Orihime who had registered her interest for Ichigo and Ichigo alone, but had told him she was still thinking about it when he asked her if she met anyone she liked when passing to go to the bathroom.
Toshiro and Kiyone must have hit it off, because they were still chatting, albeit while pretending to pack up the decorations together since Nanao's watchful eye was scanning over all of them.
"Rangiku," she greeted in her clipped tone as she approached Rangiku. "Are you registering any interest? You had a lot of fans tonight."
Rangiku frowned, trying to remember how many of her dates actually went well.
"I suppose Shuuhei," she sighed. Damn that man and his stupid arms.
Nanao jotted it down, nodding as she turned and took a seat at one of the tables. Serious as she was, no one could fault Nanao's work ethic, as the girl immediately started matching all the mutual interests, and shooting off text messages. It was only three minutes later that Rangiku felt her phone buzz.
Nanao
Thank you for attending SUWA's Charity Speed Dating Night. You and Shuuhei Hisagi have registered mutual interest in each other. Go on, Sister! Make the first move.
A phone number sat at the end of the text; Shuuhei's number.
"'Go on, Sister!'?" Rangiku read, bewildered.
"It's casual language," Nanao pushed up her classes, speaking matter-of-factly. "I am 'hip', Rangiku."
Now that made Rangiku snort.
"Oh got a mutual interest, did you?" Toshiro's cheeky drawl snuck up on her.
"Facial Tattoo," Rangiku scrunched her nose up. "He was surprisingly flirty."
Toshiro chuckled. "If you say so."
"How about you, Baldy?" Rangiku nudged him. "I saw you talking to Kiyone, well past the three minutes."
Toshiro's cheeks were reddening slightly as he shrugged.
"Yeah," he chuckled nervously. "She's cool."
"Did she get one of these 'hip' texts from Nanao?" Rangiku queried cheekily.
"Uh no," Toshiro smiled sheepishly. "We missed registration because we were still talking, but I gave her my number anyway… after I asked her on a date for Friday night."
Rangiku's jaw dropped. Since when was Toshiro such a smooth operator?!
"You sly dog," she chuckled at him. "I can only assume she said yes to the date?"
"She did," Toshiro grinned then, "but then she had to run off to finish an assignment that's due tomorrow."
"Woman after my own heart," Rangiku commented dryly, and Toshiro rolled his eyes.
They finished the pack up quickly after that, and left so Kaien and Miyako could close up the café. The walk back to campus and the dorms was fairly quiet as everyone seemed pretty tired. It was Sunday night after all, since it had been the only time Ukitake's could allow them to hold the private event.
Despite it not being her favourite SUWA event, Nanao was actually in high spirits, realising they had raised more money than expected for the local children's hospital.
Toshiro had his nose buried in his phone, likely distracting Kiyone from her assignment, while Orihime, Ichigo and Rukia walked in silence (Renji had left early, sick from all the protein balls – Chad had to carry him). Rangiku found herself also quite distracted by her phone – she had saved Shuuhei's number and was staring at the blank text message box.
She didn't know what to say, or if she even wanted to say anything.
…
That same indecisiveness followed her through the week, and soon enough it was Friday and she still hadn't texted Shuuhei, or made her mind up about whether she wanted to.
On Monday, Kiyone had been swooning about Toshiro from the speed dating event the night before, and every time Rangiku saw Toshiro that week, he was gushing too about the messages he had exchanged with the blonde.
Rangiku was happy for them; she could see them becoming an official item and staying together a long time. She did, however, feel an uncomfortable emptiness in her stomach from watching them.
She missed that, the early stages of a relationship when everything was exciting and new. She did love the comfortable element of a long term relationship too, but it was going to be a long time before she knew that again.
The whole thing made her feel awfully nostalgic, to the point she had to turn her phone off and put it in her sock drawer one evening because she had been frighteningly close to texting Gin.
Things were tragic when Rangiku had to study to distract herself.
Toshiro was excited for his date. He told Rangiku all about his plans for it and asked her for advice.
"She's a bit of a gamer, so I'm thinking I'll take her to that arcade at the Pier?"
"Sounds like fun."
Probably. Rangiku wasn't much of a gamer or an arcade-lover.
"Then there is that nice tapas bar by the water, so that might be nice for later."
Well that sold Rangiku more than the arcade, but then again, this wasn't her date.
Kiyone was just as excited. She kept asking what Rangiku knew and what she should wear.
"A dress?" she asked after Wednesday night's SUWA meeting. "Or jeans and a nice top?"
Rangiku discussed some style ideas with the blonde girl but decided it was just better that she go over to Kiyone's dorm and dress her herself. So that's exactly what she did on Friday afternoon.
Rukia sat on Kiyone's bed, watching with an expression that was equal parts amazed and terrified, as Rangiku spun Kiyone around, throwing clothes and accessories at her to try on. It took three hours but finally, Rangiku settled on a look for Kiyone, and not to toot her own horn, but the girl looked great!
Tight black high waisted jeans, and nice purple cropped top. She showed no cleavage or even stomach, just arms, and yet she showed her lovely shape. Casual, but nice, classy and practical, no matter what arcade games they played. Rangiku forced her into a pair of black ankle boots that had a low but chunky heel, and the girl suddenly looked like she had legs as long as Rangiku herself.
"I'm… tall?" Kiyone asked, blinking as she stared at herself in the mirror. "And I have hips?"
"Yeah you do," Rangiku grinned, finding a cute silver necklace in Kiyone's drawer and clipping it around the girl's neck. "It's nice to see them out to play."
Kiyone's face went beet red and Rukia chuckled from the bed.
Rangiku rounded the blonde girl and swept her eyes over her form, trying to work out what was missing from the look. Rukia had already done Kiyone's makeup, going for a more natural look since Kiyone didn't normally wear cosmetics. Her hair was cute too, a short cut but it was a little fluffy, no doubt from washing it that morning. The only problem with short hair, should you have the face to pull it off (Rangiku didn't), was that there was only so much you could do with it. Kiyone probably preferred the low maintenance of a short cut, but Rangiku only sighed for the lost opportunities.
"We've got to do something with your hair," Rangiku murmured, reaching out to brush the fluffier bits in front out of Kiyone's eyes. "Maybe a clip or… hey, do you have a beret?"
It had been weeks since Rangiku was in Paris, but she mentally she never left those high-end fashion stores.
"No," Kiyone answered.
"I do," Rukia offered, getting up and running to her bedroom next door.
Rangiku clapped her hands together with excitement. She loved a beret, and anyone could pull one off, no matter the length of their hair or shape of face.
Rukia returned a moment later with a black beret and Rangiku was giddy with excitement as she placed it gently on Kiyone's head, adjusting and tucking her hair where needed.
"Perfect," she breathed, stepping back to admire her handiwork, and even Rukia whistled lowly from the bed.
"Damn, girl," she smirked. "Toshiro won't know what to do with himself."
Rangiku snorted and giggled. No, he wouldn't. Kiyone was looking like a badass bitch. She looked feminine but she hadn't lost the tomboy quality, looking equal parts fierce and cute.
At that moment, there was a knock on the dorm room door and all three girls squeaked in excitement – well, Kiyone might have squeaked out of nervousness, but oh well.
Rukia pushed Kiyone out of her bedroom, with an expression that clearly said 'go get him, Tiger!'
She stumbled out into the main dorm room, glaring back for a moment before heading to the door. Rangiku and Rukia stuck their heads out of Kiyone's room and watched as the girl opened the door, revealing her date for the evening.
Toshiro was well dressed (Rangiku had picked it out for him yesterday – he was easier to dress than Kiyone, since Rangiku had bought most of his clothes for him and knew exactly what she was working with after years of experience) – he wore faded jeans with nice dark shoes, and a light grey-blue button down, his sleeves rolled up to just below his elbow. His jacket hung over his arm, and in his hand he carried a small bouquet of white daisies.
Rangiku raised an eyebrow – she hadn't told him to take flowers. Her boy was stepping up his game; he must have really liked Kiyone.
"Wow," he breathed when Kiyone opened the door. "You look beautiful."
"Awww," Rangiku and Rukia swooned simultaneously and loudly, and Toshiro, just noticing their presence, shot them a glare, though his reddening cheeks took away the authority.
His cheeks weren't as red as Kiyone's though.
"Matsumoto, Kuchiki," Toshiro greeted them with a curt nod. "I guess I should have known you would be here."
"I live here," Rukia explained dryly.
"And I'm a gossip," Rangiku smirked, "with excellent fashion taste."
Toshiro rolled his eyes before he turned back to Kiyone, and handed over the daisies.
"These are for you," he murmured. "They're your favourites, right?"
"You were listening," Kiyone's eyes lit up.
"Of course," Toshiro grinned.
Rangiku watched, feeling that same weird feeling in her stomach return. She missed this, the pleasant surprises on the first few dates, the realisation that maybe the guy liked her as much as she liked him, the way his attention and focus would turn to her as he tried to impress her.
She also felt a slight tug on the jealousy thread that she sometimes got when Toshiro met a girl or made a new friend. It wasn't a romantic jealousy, but that she felt her friendship with him threatened (since girls rarely liked how close they were), or at least that amount of time they could spend together. Still, he had been single for a while now, and even Hiyori hadn't been a good experience for him on a mental level, so Rangiku had to squash her uneasy feeling, and wish him the best with Kiyone.
Kiyone seemed chill too, so hopefully she would allow Toshiro to maintain his friendship with Rangiku at their current level (kissing aside – that would have to stop again).
Kiyone was still blushing madly as she took the flowers and grinned into them.
She turned and handed them to Rukia, asking her to put them in a vase for her, clearly wanting to get started on this date as soon as possible. Toshiro gestured for her to go first and then the two left, the door clicking shut behind them.
Rangiku internalised the sigh, staring at the closed door for a moment.
Her unease grew.