"So..."

Rangiku smiled at the other shinigami across the table while they waited for the hostess to return and take their order.

Chessebelle didn't return the lieutenant's friendly attitude, instead opting to stare into her glass of water.

The silence grew longer as Rangiku thought of what to say-Chessebelle creeped her out a bit, if she was honest. But Ikkaku seemed to like her for... a reason that she would never understand. Shuhei asked her to scope out the twelfth division member, 'to get a good idea of what she liked,' so that Ikkaku didn't really embarrass himself in front of her.

They had hung out before, from what Shuhei explained, but he didn't need the bald man to screw something up with a woman in the twelfth division. After all, there was no telling what kind of fucked up things she would do to him if he broke her heart or offended her in some way. And more than that, Ikkaku wouldn't shut up about her so if he didn't do well on this date, he'd probably never shut up about how awful it went.

Rangiku couldn't tell what he saw in her, her blue eyes looking the other woman over with a morbid curiosity.

She wasn't the most curvaceous woman, her sex appeal lacking in her physique.

She wasn't talkative, it felt like pulling teeth trying to get a response from her.

And, well, she was rude from the very few exchanges they had in the past.

Still, though, Shuhei had asked her for a favor and with the bribe of unlimited drinks on a night of her choosing, Rangiku was game.

"Are you excited for your date?" The lieutenant tried her best to sound interested in her response, her eyes shining as she took a drink of her sake.

Chessebelle shifted suddenly, slate hues meeting brilliant blue. A thick white brow arched high, unsure of what she just heard.

"Date? What are you talking about?"

This time Rangiku's eyebrows shot up, dumbfounded by her words. She scoffed in disbelief, bringing a hand up and pushing her hair over her shoulders.

"What do you mean? Ikkaku asked you out on a date to the Laughing Dragon in Karakura, didn't he?"

Chessebelle felt the heat rising in her body, refusing to let her face flush at this question. It was a date? She thought they were going for a meeting to discuss the twelfth division working with the eleventh on an upcoming mission. Remembering the way he was avoiding eye contact and acting so sheepish... Chessebelle wanted to crawl under the table. Why did she ever agree to going out with Rangiku in the first place? Again, she realized a little too late that she had been ordered by this lieutenant to join her rather than asked her to join.

"I... I was under the assumption that it was a business meeting. I admit, now that you mention it, it seemed a little strange for just us to be going... and meeting at a restaurant in the world of the living," The white-haired shinigami tried not to groan as she admitted how stupid she was, cupping the edges of her face with her hands and looking down at the table. How was she supposed to get out of this now?

"Oh, no... You didn't know? Shuhei made it seem like Ikkaku made some grand gesture asking you, I didn't think there was any way that it couldn't be a date... Oh, this is too good," Rangiku went from caution to amusement in a moment's notice, grinning at Chessebelle as she gulped the rest of her sake down.

"I can't believe that you didn't think it was a date! Poor guy probably beat himself up trying to gather the courage to even ask you! Shuhei kept saying how much he went on about you ever since you two had gotten paired up to investigate the Dangai mishap," The lieutenant was giddy, laughing obnoxiously as she flagged down the hostess to give her their order and get another round of sake for herself.

Another interesting bit of information came from Rangiku, Chessebelle glancing at her curiously.

"He's been talking about me? Since then?" It had been two months since they had been on that mission, how could he possibly still be talking about it? It was strange though, ever since that mission it seemed the pair continued to bump into each other. Moreover, they had even been matched up on a few missions since then...

Rangiku, again, gave her a look of disbelief. It was annoying how oblivious she was to the eleventh division member's advances.

"Wow, I thought the twelfth division only recruited the smartest people..." Rangiku grumbled the words to herself, shaking her head. Before Chessebelle had the chance to open her mouth in response, the lieutenant held up a manicured hand.

"We've got a lot of work to do... Have you ever been on a date before?"

Chessebelle blinked, even more offended by this question than by her previous insult. But then, she remembered that the last date she had been on was over a century ago with...

"No, Lieutenant. Please, enlighten me on what a date should be like. What do I wear? Do I meet him there or have him meet me here? What should we talk about?"

The questions came out flat, unexcited, but underneath her cool exterior, Chessebelle felt a spark of something. It might be worthwhile to give this whole dating thing a try now that it had been so long. Maybe Rangiku could give her some advice on what to say to Ikkaku-or maybe she could direct Shuhei in her direction.

A strange, yet familiar, wash of nerves suddenly consumed her.

Her stomach felt like it was tying itself into knots in anticipation.

She was going to go on a date, with a very handsome man.