A/N: Hi everyone, here is chapter 2! Thank you to everyone who reads this and to Blacksilo for beta-ing! Having no reviews makes me a little nervous, but I hope that the readers are enjoying this story.

Chapter Two

Captain Ichimaru was sitting at his desk in his quarters when he heard knocking sounds from the door.

"Enter," he said and the door opened.

Two beauties stepped inside. One was a tall woman with dark blonde hair that reached past her shoulders and a voluptuous body that would draw any men's eyes towards it. Her clothes left a large part of the chest open to view the cleavage and her brown shorts left parts of her skin bare until her knee length boots. It made her outfit seem seductive, yet careless. The other was a black haired girl whose height just reached past the shoulders of the first. Her hair barely touched her shoulders and the left side was held back by a ruby decorated gold clip. Her red attire was worn properly with long sleeves and black trousers tucked in her boots.

Gin Ichimaru could see why each was called by the nicknames of 'Scarlet Goddess' and 'Ruby Princess' respectively.

"Have a seat," Gin pointed towards the two empty chairs opposite him.

Scarlet, as she called herself, confidently strode towards the indicated chairs and sat down with a 'humph' on the left chair. Meanwhile Ruby silently followed and gently seated herself on the right chair. Gin's smirking smile stayed the same as always as he addressed the women:

"How was ya night? I hope the beds were as comfortable as the ones you had before."

[This man… is obviously thinking that we were some kind of prostitutes.] Rangiku was boiling inwardly.

Something warm touched her clenched hands and Rangiku noticed Momo's shake of the head.

"It was not much different from our cabin back at the Benihiko," Momo calmly replied.

"Is that right? Tis good ta hear," Gin leaned back in his chair.

Momo's lips pressed together and she slowly breathed in and out. The silver haired captain's ever so slightly mocking actions was also starting to affect her.

"What positions did ya have there?"

"Quartermaster and mate to the sailing master," Momo answered while first pointing to Rangiku and then herself.

"Quartermaster, eh?" Gin mumbled.

Rangiku wondered why he specifically picked that word. She didn't have to wait long for the answer. After propping his elbow on the table, lightly resting his chin on his fingers and staring at the two girls long enough until they felt uncomfortable, Gin finally opened his mouth. Rangiku thought to have seen his smirk grow wider by a tiny bit.

[There's no way. I must be seeing things.]

"Ya see," he started, "We really need an proper quartermaster. Maybe ya can do tha job? I'll ask fer a trial period?"

"Can ye just decide things on that?" Rangiku inquired.

[This is too sudden. Didn't he just try to kill us yesterday?] Rangiku thought sceptically.

"On this ship, strength is everything," Gin clarified, "Plus, Karin can't handle all that stuffs alone. She's jus here fer an apprenticeship since her brother asked me."

"Karin?" Rangiku echoed, "You mean the Karin Kurosaki?"

Gin nodded.

"T' think you had connection with 'em…"

"Tis just an event in tha past that led us together", Gin offhandedly explained, "We just set out ta raid, so we ain't gonna return fer a while an' I can't have ya sitting around like ducks doing nothin' on this ship."

Beside Rangiku who was thinking of what to retort, Momo nodded in understanding.

"Fine, Scarlet can do it, right?" Momo nudged her friend in the ribs.

"Y-yeah," Rangiku flinched upon touch and hurriedly agreed.

[What is Momo planning?]

"What shall be my work?" Momo further enquired.

"Our sailing master doesn't have a mate yet so why don't cha do what ya used ta do? We'll let ya off once we reach harbour again."

"… Deal," Momo dipped her head once in acknowledgement and shook the outstretched hand of her new captain.

On the other side, Rangiku was flabbergasted at Momo's actions while she just went with the flow.

[We're going to have a nice long talk later Momo….] A dangerous thought flashed through Rangiku's head.

#####

"What were you thinking Ruby?!" Rangiku burst out the minute they had their new room to themselves.

"I was ensuring our survival Scarlet," Momo grit her teeth together, "if I had not, then he might have just thrown us off board again – this time with no boat. Did you see the glint in his eyes? That guy's not right in the mind."

Rangiku felt a twinge of pain when Momo badmouthed Gin.

[Do I still think that he might be him afterall? For all I know is that he grins the same way although this one's is a lot more sarcastic and disdainful. He is also called Gin and he's got silver hair. If I could just see his eyes, then I could be certain.]

Lost in her own thoughts, Rangiku didn't notice Momo realizing that she wasn't listening anymore.

"What's wrong?"

Rangiku didn't immediately answer Momo's question.

"Hey…" she said after a while, "D'ye think our captain is who I think it could be?"

Momo immediately caught onto what her best friend was trying to say.

"Yes," came the definite answer, "That polite yet taunting demeanour… I say that it's him."

"So you think like that," Rangiku sighed. [He wasn't like that with me though…?]

"Anyway, we need to be careful to not let our identities slip. Who know what he might do then."

"Alright," Rangiku consented.

#####

There were altogether four females on the ship. With the new addition of Rangiku and Momo, the number rose to six. The first woman the duo met was the sailing master whose mate was going to be Momo.

"Morrow mate. Call me Nemu. I'm the sailing master of this ship," a tall black haired young woman greeted Rangiku and Momo.

"Good day to you as well. My name is Ruby. I have been assigned as your mate," Momo gave a small bow.

"I hope that our teamwork'll be good. And this is?" Nemu gestured towards Rangiku.

"I'm Scarlet. Gonna be a temporary quartermaster for now."

"Provisional?"

"Aye."

Rangiku briefly explained the events leading up to it and Nemu nodded after comprehending the situation.

"Well I hope that ye can get along with the crew. The men here may be complete battle freaks and rude – plus they're muscle heads – but they aren't so bad that you'd want t' kill them every second. They aren't very interested in the opposite sex and treat everyone equally, though the brainless part gave the Cap'n troubles finding a new quartermaster."

"I see why Captain Ichimaru made that deal and why there are no qualms about having females on board," Momo commented after remembering the discrimination against her gender regarding pirates.

"Aye, tis one of the more liberal ships, you may say," Nemu asserted.

"Tis good mate," Rangiku agreed, "If not, we'd have been on the way to hell by now."

"There're three others on this ship. Doctor Unohana, the master gunner Soifon and her mate Karin", Nemu informed, "You'll meet them soon."

Rangiku and Momo appreciated the information.

"Shall we go then?" Nemu asked Momo who nodded and bid goodbye to Rangiku.

After seeing the two women leave, Rangiku went under deck to the kitchen, feeling somewhat thirsty. The smell of cooking food drifted over to Rangiku's nose as she neared the kitchen area. The door was open, so she just entered. On the opposite side was a man facing the wall and stirring a large pot. He had short silver-greyish hair.

[Is that soup? Is that what we'll have for lunch?] Rangiku wondered.

She sat down on one of the chairs facing the counter and called out, "'Scuse me, but do you have some water here?"

The man turned around to see the person asking the question. Rangiku waved a hello to the man to indicate that she was the one who called his attention. A frown appeared on the man's face.

"Hmm, aye I do. Grab a glass from the cupboard to the left and open up the barrel at the right," he answered and turned around to continue stirring his pot again.

Rangiku was stunned for a moment at the attitude and remembered what Nemu said. Annoyed but not willing to get into trouble just yet, Rangiku did as she was told and finally got herself some water to drink. She sat down on the chair again and leisurely drank her cup empty.

"Kensei, give me something to eat," sounded a female voice from beside Rangiku.

Rangiku did not recognize the voice and turned to look. She found a woman of similar age with short black hair and two long braids bound in white cloth reaching her hips.

The man called Kensei grunted an 'aye' and pulled out some bread and cheese from a cupboard. He cut them into slices before handing them on a plate to the woman. The black haired woman was about to eat when she noticed Rangiku.

"Who're you?" she asked.

[Shouldn't that be my question?] Rangiku sarcastically thought but answered anyway.

"I'm Scarlet, the new provisional quartermaster."

"Oh, the one Gin introduced earlier?" she raised an eyebrow, "Hmm, I wasn't on deck, so I didn't see ye."

"Is that so?"

"Call me Soifon. I'm the master gunner of this ship," she introduced herself and started eating.

"Pleased t' make your acquaintance."

"Likewise."

A brief silence befell them as they had nothing to talk about. Rangiku didn't mind and stood up after a while to leave.

[Let's take a look around the ship, shall we?] Rangiku decided.

She had just stepped out of the kitchen when she bumped into a short girl with shoulder length black hair.

"Ow," the person fell butt first to the floor.

"Are ye alright?" Rangiku asked concernedly and held out her hand.

The girl in front of her looked up with annoyed expression but quickly discarded it and grabbed the offering hand.

"Tis fine," she replied.

"Sorry 'bout that."

"Nah, I wasn't lookin as well."

Rangiku smiled in relief.

[This girl is really young. She seems to be around sixteen? The same age when I had to set out.]

"That's great. I'm Scarlet and you are…?"

"Karin. I saw ye when the Cap'n introduced you. I'm the mate of the master gunner, Soifon."

"Ah, if yer looking for her, I jus met her in the kitchen," Rangiku recollected and pointed with her thumb behind herself.

"Oh, thanks. Ye read my mind Miss."

"Call me Scarlet."

"Thanks again Scarlet."

Karin entered the kitchen and Rangiku finally started her exploration of the ship. Now she had already encountered three of the four females on board. Rangiku went through the rooms of the ship and remembered their functions. She did not hesitate to ask any of the members nearby if she had questions. As the quartermaster, she should become acquainted with the crew and the ways of the ship. It was her job after all.

After thinking that she had enough of sightseeing, Rangiku went up on deck again. There a rather unusual sight greeted her. Many of the men had retreated to the sides and cleared the middle of the deck for two men. One was a tall blue haired man who had light blue eyes with green lines under them. He was grinning like mad at the man opposite him.

[Green tattoos? It looks like make-up] Rangiku felt.

The other man was even taller than the first. He was a two metre giant with long spikey black hair combed back, reaching past his shoulders. His right eye was covered by a black rectangular eyepatch and his left face had a scar running down. He was grinning with delight like the former.

Both men had wooden swords in their hands and kept to a somewhat crouching position as they circled each other. They were waiting for an opening, a way to reach victory. Without further warning both men clashed. The swing from the blue haired man pushed the black haired back, but he didn't topple. Instead he countered with a kick followed by a slash of his sword when the blue haired man jumped. The blue haired raised his sword and blocked the incoming blade. As he was in the air, he had no halt and the force pushed him back. With a backwards roll, he caught himself and went back into a crouching position.

Rangiku wondered what was going on and found Momo and Nemu in the crowd of spectators. She went over to them while the men continued to fight each other. When she arrived, she whispered to them, "Hey, what's goin on here?"

"Jus some training. They does it often," Nemu explained, "They love fighting, ye see?"

"Hmm, I see."

Rangiku's attention went back to the two men from before. They were still in a deadlock. Neither wanted to give in and exchanged a series of blows and swings with the other. Every time one of them got pushed back, the surrounding crew cheered.

[This is undoubtedly a form of entertainment for them – with all the boring hours of being on sea with almost nothing to do when there's no other ship in sight. Who are they anyway?] Rangiku noticed that she forgot to ask for their names.

She was about to ask her friend when another man stepped into the ring. He was shorter than the other men, approximately 170 cm tall with fairly short and messy black hair and striking green eyes.

"Grimmjow, Kenpachi, you two are taking too long," he called out to them.

"Pah! What d'ye want Ulquiorra. Can't ye see that we're busy?" the blue haired man growled at the interruption.

"Grimmjow's right. We ain't finished yet!" the giant, who by elimination would be, Kenpachi yelled and rushed towards Grimmjow again.

Grimmjow naturally foresaw this and his grin widened as he abruptly pointed his sword at Kenpachi's nearing figure. The scar faced man barely managed to sidestep the pointed tip and had to forgo his attack. Kenpachi had a look of sadistic bliss on his face as he went to hit Grimmjow with his off hand. However, being as slick as he was, Grimmjow ducked underneath the punch before delivering a serious blow to Kenpachi's abdomen. But to Grimmjow's surprise the blow barely fazed the giant, who then grabbed Grimmjow's arm to prevent him from avoiding the powerful strike Kenpachi was about to deliver.

The newcomer Ulquiorra showed no emotions at the blatant slight. He merely dashed towards the men with a wooden sword in the hand and flipped over Grimmjow with it and tossed over Kenpachi by grabbing his cloth. Ulquiorra stood in the middle with Grimmjow on his back and Kenpachi on his stomach as the sole victor.

Rangiku couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the previously engaged men lying sprawled on the floor with confused faces. Her laughter cut through the air and reached the defeated men's ears. Their heads turned to Rangiku with angry faces and they challenged her.

"Ye damn wench, what's there t' laugh about?! Get yer ass here and fight me if ye dare!" Grimmjow shouted.

"Back off mate, she's me prey!" Kenpachi declared, "I ain't lettin her off for that!"

Rangiku stopped laughing, [These men… I'm sure I can handle them. I need to show my strength on this ship to gain enough respect.]

"Sure, I'll deal with ye two," she accepted the challenge, "Who'll be the first?"

"Are you sure about this?" Momo whispered from beside her.

"Yeah," Rangiku nodded, "Gin said it, didn't he? That 'on this ship, strength is everything'."

Momo gave a wry smile, "Be careful Scarlet."

Rangiku did not reply and strode confidently to confront the men. In the meanwhile Kenpachi and Grimmjow were on their feet again. Once Rangiku was near enough, Ulquiorra called out to her, "I'll be the judge for this, d'ye mind?"

Rangiku shook her head in denial.

"Then Grimmjow can be the first t' go up. Kenpachi, ye wait till the fight's over."

"I ain't interested in fightin the losers!" Kenpachi growled.

"Then I'll fight ye first," Rangiku lightly decided.

Ulquiorra glanced at her and at Kenpachi. He saw the unwavering will to fight in Rangiku's eyes and the eager desire to fight in Kenpachi's. He sighed, "Very well. Grimmjow leave it t' Kenpachi this time."

"But!"

"Ye can challenge her 'nother day."

He made Grimmjow back off to clear the ring and threw Rangiku a wooden sword which she caught mid-air. Rangiku twirled the sword around a few times to get a feel for its weight and size.

[It's not as heavy as a real sword, but heavy and sturdy enough I guess] she judged.

Rangiku did not take a particular stance as she waited for the start. Ulquiorra threw a metal coin and when it hit the floor, Kenpachi charged at her and swung his sword. Rangiku did not squarely take the impact but rather let it slide off her sword and circled around her opponent. She slashed horizontally at Kenpachi who even though he lost his balance, turned around just in time to block Rangiku's sword. Rangiku backed off a few steps before running at Kenpachi again with her sword pointed behind her, ready to swing. She noticed that Kenpachi had a blind spot on his left side due to the eyepatch that he wore and planned to use that to her advantage.

Kenpachi finally regained his bearings and also went at Rangiku with his sword raised high. As he swung down, Rangiku darted behind him instead of slashing him like it looked. She swung her blade and it connected with his back. Even if her strength wasn't enough to smash him to the ground, it was enough to make him stumbled. She did not hesitate and kicked behind his knees, fully bringing him to the ground and pointed her sword at his neck.

"Enough!" Ulquiorra shouted before Kenpachi could retaliate.

A round of cheers erupted with a few whistles here and there. Rangiku saw Momo give her a thumb up and she flashed a grin in return.

Kenpachi grinned wildly at Rangiku when he stood up.

"Yer a good lass," he approved of the young woman, "Ne'er thought that underestimating ye would lead to me downfall. What's yer name?"

"Scarlet."

"I see, Scarlet, I'll remember it!"

He burst out laughing before retreating under deck. Rangiku was somewhat confused at the display.

[Is this what the captain meant by 'strength is everything'?]

"That's it fer today. Get back to ya posts!" a voice reverberated through the deck.

[Talk about the devil…] Rangiku grimaced.

It was the captain who had arrived. Gin had been in his quarters when he heard a slightly different commotion from the usual. He stepped out and saw the exchange between Kenpachi and his new subordinate Scarlet. He was definitely impressed at the display, but knew that if it was the usual Kenpachi, it wouldn't have been so easy. He had a feeling, that his new quartermaster would become very useful.

A/N: Feel free to give your thoughts if you feel like it!