Hey there everyone! This short oneshot fic is especially for the discord server, The Seireitei! Right now, we are celebrating HitsuMatsu week! Special shoutout to Geishaaa for giving me an idea for this!
This fic is mildly edited so there will be mistakes (sorry about that). There IS M/M interaction here. If you do not like the idea of slash or Byakuya/Ichigo, please get out NOW. If you still ignore this, then there's no stopping you I guess. Also, this is my first fic that's not ByaIchi main and for HitsuMatsu so I apologize for that in advance.
I hope you enjoy the story!
"Ichigo, please!" The sickly sweet voice of Kuchiki Rukia, best friend of Kurosaki Ichigo, echoed in the orange head's ears. The two were in the 13th Division barracks lobby since Ichigo thought that Rukia's request was important when he received the Jigokucho from her.
"No, I won't," Ichigo grumbled.
"But you owe me for last time!"
"That time was different," the orange haired retorted, "Like hell I'll ask Byakuya to do that!"
Rukia huffed, "Don't make it sound like I'm asking nii-sama to do something so vulgar."
"It might as well be," Ichigo rolled his eyes, "Why do you even want to do this?"
"Hitsugaya-taichou is too stubborn for his own good," she countered, "I'm just giving a little push."
It was no secret that Rukia and Ichigo had gotten closer with the captain of the 10th Division, Hitsugaya Toshiro, and Rukia was definitely close with Matsumoto Rangiku, the lieutenant of the 10th. Hence, the situation. Rukia had asked, more like demanded, Ichigo to help her play cupid for the pair and hopefully get Kuchiki Byakuya, her brother and lover of Ichigo, on board.
Ichigo sighed, "Fine! You owe me big time, midget. I'd be lucky to not get killed by your brother."
Rukia waved her hand dismissively, "You'll be fine. He loves you too much, anyways."
The orange head flushed as he glared at the raven haired lieutenant, "Kami, can't you say that in a less embarrassing way?"
"Nope," she then pushes him out of the lobby, "Now, go! I need to finish up some paperwork before we start planning. See you later at the manor."
Ichigo slightly stumbled and tried to glare back at the raven. Only to find out she had already disappeared. He sighed and shook his head. He'd be lucky enough if he really didn't get killed by the captain of the 6th Division. Being a lover wasn't exactly a shield from the man's zanpakuto at all.
He slowly walked back to the Kuchiki Manor, Byakuya's place and now, Ichigo's as well. The orange head racked up in his brain on how to convince the noble to join. Either way, he'd receive death by both Kuchiki siblings.
"Relax, King," Zangetsu, his zanpakuto, spoke, "You know he won't be able to resist you."
Ichigo rolled his eyes, "Well, I guess there's a chance he would agree. He's good friends with Toshiro, anyways."
"That's the spirit. Now, stop being a wuss and go talk to him."
The orange head glared but then soon realized he was already by the Kuchiki Manor gates. He was greeted by an old servant and was told that Byakuya was already in his study. Ichigo gave a small smile and a 'thanks' before using shunpo to quickly head over there.
When Ichigo finally arrived by the study, he peeked in first and saw the captain by his desk, practicing his calligraphy. He stepped inside and grinned, "Yo, Byakuya."
Byakuya looked up as he set down his brush, "Ichigo, welcome back."
"Thanks," Ichigo said and sat down on the floor. His nerves were suddenly back and he still didn't know what to say to the older.
Byakuya noticed the unsettling reiatsu from the other and raised a brow, "Is there something bothering you?"
"Nothing."
"Ichigo…"
The orange head raised his hands, "Fine! I got something on my mind and a blade to my throat."
Byakuya glared when he heard the second part and Ichigo shook his head, "Don't worry, it's figuratively." He knew how protective the captain could be.
When he saw the noble relax, Ichigo continued, "I have a favor."
The noble tilted his head, "A favor? If I recall correctly, you are not fond of such things."
"I know," Ichigo admitted, "But this is Rukia we're talking about."
"I see. So, what did my sister request this time?"
"She asked me to convince you to set up a date for Toshiro and Rangiku," Ichigo mumbled.
"Excuse me? How is that possible?"
Ichigo shrugged, "I don't really know. She must think her great nii-sama might have a way to do the impossible."
"Are you mocking me now, Kurosaki Ichigo?"
The orange head chuckled, "More like mocking her extreme brother complex." He looked at the noble, "She said that I could convince you since it's me."
Byakuya merely sighed. His sister was making up another mischief and this time she was involving a lot of people. He wouldn't mind helping her if she asked but of course she resorted to Ichigo, hoping that it would have a greater effect.
"So," Ichigo asked slowly, "Could you help? Please?"
Byakuya pondered for a moment before raising a brow in amusement, "I believe I deserve a reward for my cooperation?"
Ichigo chuckled and stood up from the floor. He walked towards Byakuya and gave him a peck on the lips which made the noble form a small smile, "Of course. Well then, Rukia said she'll be here later."
The noble sighed and shook his head, "When will she learn to not meddle with one's affairs?"
"It's Rukia we're talking about," Ichigo shrugged, "Well, it was also with her meddling that got us together in our own mess." And to that, they were grateful in more ways than one.
"Excuse me? Could you repeat that, Kuchiki-taichou?" Toshiro raised a brow as he set down his brush in disbelief. It was early in the morning and Byakuya went to his division to visit him.
"Would you like to have dinner with me in a restaurant tomorrow evening?" Byakuya said in an almost strained voice. It was quite an awkward question.
"What's the occasion?"
"None," the noble replied, "I believe I wanted to show you my belated gratitude for being a great comrade in the previous wars."
"There's no need for that," Toshiro leaned back on his chair, "And wouldn't Kurosaki be angry with someone that was being asked for dinner by his lover?"
The older captain cleared his throat, "I am certain he would join us, along with Abarai."
"I see," Toshiro muttered. It was weird that the captain who wasn't known to be the most sociable person asked him to go with him to dinner. The white haired captain guessed that it was Ichigo's doing since the orange head could be very persuasive.
"Well?" Byakuya asked.
Toshiro nodded, "I'll go. 8pm at the Rivermoon restaurant, correct?"
The noble nodded, "Yes. I shall see you tomorrow, Hitsugaya-taichou."
"Likewise."
"Rangiku!" Rukia called her out when the raven noticed the lieutenant was walking from the 10th Division, presumably heading home.
Rangiku stopped and waved at Rukia who was walking closer to her, "Hey, Rukia! Do you need help with something?"
"Not really," the raven replied, "tomorrow is your day off, right?"
The strawberry blonde lieutenant nodded, "It is! Why?"
"I would like to invite you to eat at a restaurant just here in Seireitei tomorrow evening. Ichigo and Renji are going too."
Rangiku pondered for a moment, "Well, I'm not technically a fan of those restaurants."
"Don't worry," Rukia winked, "It's Ichigo's treat."
Rangiku's eyes lit up mischievously, "Could he add bottles of sake too?"
"We could surely convince him," Rukia giggled.
"I'll go, then," the lieutenant said, "But, wait, is Kuchiki-taichou alright with letting Ichigo get drunk?"
"It'll be fine. You know how the fool has that good effect on nii-sama," the younger Kuchiki replied, "So, 8pm at the Rivermoon restaurant tomorrow, okay?"
"I'll be there," Rangiku winked, "Don't forget the sake!"
"Who would?" The remark made both women giggle in excitement.
Toshiro sighed as he finished his last paperwork for the day. His lieutenant had his day off today and it usually made no difference even if she did attend work. He slightly stretched out his body as his thoughts of Rangiku lingered in his mind. He wasn't dense or awkward with his feelings that seemed to bloom along the way.
Yes, he was in love with his lieutenant.
She was a drunk, lazy with her paperwork, blew most of her money with sake and clothes but she was also kind, caring, and Toshiro couldn't deny that her 'pestering' gave him quite joy. It was weird for him, an all serious and sarcastic captain to fall for someone opposite of him but he loved every part of her. Yes, even her flaws.
Opposites do attract.
The white haired captain shook his head to shake off idle thoughts. A few hours ago, he received a Jigokucho from Byakuya and the colder captain suggested that he wear something more casual. It was still odd to the younger captain to receive an invite from the Kuchiki head the other day but he just shrugged it off.
Toshiro fixed everything up in the office before heading to the captain's quarters. He might as well take the suggestion Byakuya gave him and freshen himself up before heading to what he found out this morning, was a high end restaurant. Typical of the noble.
After a few more hours, Toshiro checked the time as he looked up the clock that was hanging up on the wall. He still had 30 minutes left. The captain figured he might take an easy walk going there.
The white haired captain furrowed his slender brows when he felt eyes on him. He couldn't sense any dangerous or familiar reiatsu around him so it must be some weird anxiety. He then shrugged it off and pulled his light blue yukata close to his body. He wasn't sure if the noble meant that it would be this casual but he could care less now.
When he arrived at the restaurant, a waiter that was holding a clipboard approached the young captain with a small smile.
The waiter bowed, "Good evening, sir. Do you have any reservations?"
Toshiro nodded and the waiter asked again, "Under what name?"
"Under the name, Kuchiki," the captain replied.
The waiter's eyes widened when the name Kuchiki dawned on him. Of course, the noble's name would scare anyone who knew them just by their status and name. The waiter kindly escorted him to a secluded booth in the corner of the beautiful restaurant that he just arrived in.
Toshiro eyed the restaurant carefully. All he could see were nobles and other higher class in the Rukongai dining and it irked him seeing some familiar stuck up and rotten faces of the elite class. Sometimes, Toshiro despised them.
He slid in the comfortable booth and he had his eyebrow raised when he noticed that there were only two plates on the table. That was odd. The waiter told him that Kuchiki-sama had already ordered a three course meal for his guests. It was too suspicious already.
He patiently waited as he took a sip of the red wine that the waiter had poured for him as he waited for his companions. It was weird that it was almost time for their appointment. He was used to the noble and even Ichigo to arrive earlier than the said time. Toshiro snorted in amusement. Byakuya's habits really rubbed on Ichigo as time passed.
Toshiro's eyes widened when he sensed a familiar reiatsu coming his way. It was a reiatsu he didn't expect to feel at this time. He looked back to see his lieutenant, who was wearing an elegant pink kimono, walking towards the booth he was in. When they locked eyes, Rangiku's face broke into a smile and waved at him to which the captain awkwardly waved back in response.
The waiter escorted her to the seat across from the white haired captain and told the both of them that food would arrive shortly as he poured a glass of wine for Rangiku. When the waiter left, the strawberry blonde woman leaned on the table as she looked at Toshiro,
"Taichou, what are you doing here?"
Toshiro raised an eyebrow, "I could say the same thing, Matsumoto."
Rangiku huffed as she folded her arms, "Rukia invited me to dinner tonight! She said that Ichigo and Renji would be here too."
"She did?" Toshiro questioned, "Kuchiki-taichou invited me and said that Kurosaki and Abarai would be joining us."
Suddenly, something clicked in the young captain's mind.
Toshiro inwardly facepalmed, "They set us up. I could smell Rukia all over this plan."
Rangiku's eyes widened, "You know, taichou, it sounded like they set us up."
The other blinked. He didn't expect the woman to realize it soon. He nodded slowly, "I guess they did."
The lieutenant took a drink of the red wine, "Wow, this is some fancy drink. I think we should enjoy this while we can, taichou."
"Toshiro."
"What?" Rangiku's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Tonight," the captain muttered, "Just call me Toshiro."
Rangiku blinked once. Twice. Perhaps, even more. She was taken aback when she saw those turquoise eyes looking at her softly. Her heart suddenly skipped a bit.
"Okay," she replied, "But, I want you to call me Rangiku, then."
"Of course, Rangiku."
The lieutenant wanted to squeal. The way her name sounds coming from her captain sounded so good in her ears. The other rarely called her by her first name and always shouted her last name angrily so to see such a change was definitely doing something to her in more ways than one.
On the other hand, Toshiro had his face in a calm facade but deep down, he was excited somehow. The way Rangiku's name was rolling down his tongue felt quite satisfying to him and to see the flushed cheeks of the woman that it was him that caused that reaction and not by sake was oddly good.
They chatted comfortably. Their aura of their rankings in the 10th slowly dissipated under the calm and comfortable aura of the night with the help of the wine and good food. As they talked, it was unavoidable that Toshiro still kept his snide and sarcastic remarks and how Rangiku pestered him to no end as she pouted.
"Oh, c'mon! Give me less paperwork next week?"
"And let me and the 3rd seat suffer? I think not," Toshiro replied with a somewhat fond glare.
Rangiku even tried to feed him some chocolate cake to which the captain declined. The lieutenant didn't know when to give up, however.
"You know you like this, Toshiro. I promise I won't tell anyone about your secret love of chocolate."
"With your big mouth, I doubt you would uphold such a promise."
"You have such little faith in me!"
After a few more glasses of wine, they decided that they would call it a night. Well, it was mostly Toshiro insisting for Rangiku to stop and preventing her from finishing another bottle of wine. To much of his surprise, the strawberry blonde agreed. When they were finally outside the restaurant, they somehow stopped in their tracks and looked up at the sky with beautiful stars scattered around the darkness.
"We should do this again," Toshiro said which surprised both of them.
"You mean like we should actually date with our own plans?" Rangiku cheekily asked.
"Yes," Toshiro said, "That reminds me. I shall talk to them soon."
"Don't be too harsh on them, Toshiro," Rangiku said as she hugged him which earned an embarrassed grunt from the latter.
"Fine," Toshiro muttered as he wrapped an arm around her waist and Rangiku was satisfied with the almost innocent touch.
"I think I should thank them for this," the lieutenant said as she pulled away to look at Toshiro in the eye.
When Toshiro looked at those warm eyes, he couldn't help but offer a small smile, "I think I should as well."
Rangiku's heart skipped a bit when she saw the gesture the captain gave her and couldn't help but smile back.
"But after I talk some sense into them that they should not mess with people's lives."
"Taichou!"
"It's Toshiro to you."
"You what?!" Ichigo clasped his hand over his mouth as he held back a laugh. He avoided looking at the noble who gave an irritated sigh.
"I am not kidding, Ichigo."
"I know," Ichigo couldn't help but laugh, "But imagining you asking Toshiro out with a straight face is just-" The orange head let out another string of chuckles. He didn't know about Byakuya's plan on how he would convince Toshiro and finding it out now was very amusing to him.
Byakuya walked closer to the other and held his chin as he leaned closer which made the other's laugh falter, "I believe you owe me something."
Ichigo chuckled and pulled the man closer, "Yeah, you believed correctly."
Thank you for taking your time to read this! I hope you all enjoyed the fluff (which is surprising for me). Don't hesitate to leave a comment and a fave!