A real disclaimer that actually means something. Ryuuji Hideki is not my OC, he belongs to a friend. So, any credit goes to that person, whose identity you'll probably never discover unless you have a Gaia account. Enjoy!
"Hisagi-fukutaichou, please wait up!" Ninth Division's third seat, Ryuuji Hideki, approached his superior and immediately stooped into a quick bow.
"Is something wrong?" Hisagi still had his back turned to the shorter shinigami, his head cocked over his shoulder to survey the other. When he received no answer, he turned to face the younger one, arms crossed over his chest. "Can you make it quick, Hideki? I'm kind of busy right now."
Ryuuji kept his head in a slight bow, autumn-brown hair shielding a small blush that colored his cheeks. He chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully and shifted back and forth a couple times before nodding. "Hisagi-fukutaichou, I was wondering...that is to say, I was curious if you would...erm..."
Hisagi quirked an eyebrow. "If I would...what?" Ryuuji had been acting odd lately, Hisagi noticed. He had always been quiet, but more in the shy sense of the word rather than the withdrawn sense. The past few weeks he had become more reclusive, turning tail whenever Hisagi would show up and mumbling whenever he did have to talk to his superior.
Ryuuji wasn't an attention-getter like Renji was, but as he got to know the division better, he had opened up a bit and was never hesitant to voice his opinion on things that he felt strongly about. At the same time, he seemed very loyal to his division and never argued with an order, only questioned some things he didn't understand. Now, though, he had started acting like he did when he first arrived-- solitary, at least from what Hisagi saw. Not that the lieutenant was complaining much. He preferred subordinates who made good soldiers; it took pressure off of him to maintain an orderly division.
Hisagi shook his head and focused on Ryuuji. "If there's nothing you want to say..."
"The festival!" Ryuuji blurted, eyes widened slightly. At Hisagi's shocked and slightly wary look, he cleared his throat and regained his composure. "I wanted to ask... if you were going."
"Oh, is that all?" Hisagi shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know, perhaps if things are quiet around here at the time." He then gave Ryuuji a suspicious look. "Why are you so curious about my plans?"
The brunette shrunk back slightly and gave a slight shake of his head. "I was just curious. That's all."
Hisagi peered through coal black eyes, catching the other's blue-green ones in his gaze. "You sure that's all? You've been acting odd for a while now."
"Have I...?" Ryuuji murmured, mostly to himself. He gave a defeated sigh and hung his head. "You're right, I...I have been thinking a lot lately. This isn't the time for that conversation, though. You said you were busy..."
Hisagi cursed under his breath. "You're right, I am. We can talk later tonight, if that's alright. Do you want to meet somewhere?"
A series of thoughts ran through Ryuuji's mind, making him flush again. "You mean like your office?" It was the most innocent place he could think of at the moment.
"I was thinking somewhere away from work," Hisagi said, motioning around. "I look at this place enough while I have to be here."
"Good point," Ryuuji agreed softly. "Where do you want to meet, then?"
"There's a sake house Matsumoto always drags Kira and I to," the black-eyed shinigami suggested. "I think I'll need a drink after work today."
A sake house? Well, it wasn't his place to judge. Ryuuji nodded and gave another bow. "I'll meet you there, then."
"Give me a couple hours," Hisagi told him, waving a hand as he continued where he was headed previously, leaving Ryuuji to watch him disappear from sight.
"I guess I'm early," the brown-haired shinigami muttered to himself. He scanned the sake bar quickly, but came up empty-handed. Resigning himself to waiting for his lieutenant at a table towards the back, he waved off the first attempts of a drink, insisting he was only waiting for a friend.
"Ya gotta order somethin', or ya can't stay here." The waiter looked disgruntle, like he had dealt with many people who took up customer's seats without ordering anything.
"Um...can I just have a glass of water, then?" Ryuuji asked. He wasn't fond of drinking much, especially alone.
"I'll bring ya a bottle," the waiter responded, seemingly not at all hearing the brunette's request.
"But I don't want any sa-" Before he could even finish, the stocky man had shuffled off. "What will Hisagi-san think if he sees me here with a whole bottle of sake next to me?" What a disaster.
Not five minutes after the pushy man had delivered the unwanted drink, Ryuuji spotted Hisagi walking through the front door. He quickly snatched the unopened bottle from the table and hid it behind his back. With his free hand he waved his superior over, a sheepishly suspicious grin on his face.
"I got here a little early, so I got us a table," Ryuuji explained as the taller male joined him. "I hope that's okay."
"It's fine." Hisagi was exhausted from staring at dozens upon dozens of papers for the past two and a half hours. He was grateful to finally relax, and sat across from his subordinate. Quirking an eyebrow, he pointed to the arm Ryuuji had held behind his back. "Are you hiding something?"
"Huh? This? Oh..." With a nervous laugh and a wave of his free hand, Ryuuji shook his head. "No,no, I'm just...uh..."
"Just...?"
There to save the day, or perhaps make it worse, was the waiter once more. "Ahh, Hisagi-san, so nice t' see ya again. Would ya like the usual? I already brought one bottle out for yer friend 'ere. Didja drink it all already, kid?"
Frozen on the spot, Ryuuji's blue-green eyes darted back and forth between the evil waiter and Hisagi. "Erm, no, I..." With a sigh he revealed the sake bottle hidden behind his back and set it on the table.
"Weird kid," the waiter muttered and set a cup down in front of Hisagi. "Call if ya need anything."
Hisagi dismissed him with a nod, then turned his attention to Ryuuji. "Why were you hiding that? If you want it that bad..."
"No!" the younger one said hastily. "No...I just didn't want you to think anything...that's all. I didn't even order it, he just brought it out and..."
"It's fine," the black-haired shinigami assured him, reaching across the table and grabbing the bottle. In one, fluid motion, he popped it open and filled his cup, then gestured the sake towards Ryuuji. "Want some?"
Hesitantly, the brunette pushed his cup towards the bottle. He didn't want any, really, but he would rather drink than answer all the questions that came with turning down a free one. He watched as the clear liquid filled his cup nearly to the brim and carefully lifted it to his mouth.
Hisagi watched from behind his own cup as the boy across from him sipped at his sake before tilting his head back and flooding the liquid down his throat. He smirked to himself-- this one was obviously not a drinker. He chuckled just the slightest as tears sprung to the sea-colored eyes and a harsh cough erupted from Ryuuji's throat.
"Not big on drinking, are you?" Hisagi asked, sipping his own sake a bit more carefully.
"It burns," was all that Ryuuji could say, rubbing his throat as if it would diminish the hot sensation.
"You'll get used to it." A slight nod and Hisagi refilled the other's cup along with his own. As he watched Ryuuji knock back another one, he wondered to himself just how the third seat would act when he was drunk.
And he shall find out...next chapter. ;P
