Hi, guys! It's me again and I'm FINALLY getting to update UDS with another one-shot that was actually an idea given to me by another one of my precious reviewers…let's just say that it really made me want to go to the beach while I was writing it! (corny, I know, lol XD) Anywho, on with the story!
Unbound Deleted Scene #3:
"Saltwater Blues"
"ROAD TRIP!"
Orihime's sudden outburst had shattered the unusual tranquility of the morning, and had drawn the attention of everyone currently sitting in the dining area. From their seats at the table, Takuya and Renji looked over at the girl with groggily confused expressions, and from his place against the wall, Grimmjow looked absolutely murderous. Orihime flushed pink with embarrassment, giggling nervously as she slowly entered the room and took a seat at the table.
"Heh, ummm…so, I guess no one told you guys yet, huh?" she asked.
"Told us what?" Renji asked with a yawn.
"That we're going to the beach today! It's gonna be so much fun!" Orihime cheered excitedly. "Ichigo, Mizuiro, Keigo, Tatsuki and I set it up, and we've invited everyone to come along. There's gonna be grilling and sunbathing and sandcastle building and all that other awesome stuff that you do at the beach."
"Well, that does sound fun…"Takuya commented laughing lightly. "I've never been to a beach before."
"You haven't? Hmmm…then I guess you don't have a swimsuit either…" Orihime said thoughtfully. "We'll need to go out and get you one before we leave."
"A swimsuit…?"
The auburn-haired girl stood up and went over to Takuya, grabbing her by her wrist. "C'mon, I'm not sure when we're leaving for the beach, so let's hurry and get dressed so we can go and get back quickly."
"Oh…ok…"
At that, the two rushed out of the room to get ready to go out. Renji looked at the hallway entrance they disappeared in momentarily before placing his chin in his hand again, yawning broadly.
"Hmmm, a road trip to the beach…sounds interesting…" he mumbled loudly to himself.
"Tch…interesting my ass…" Grimmjow muttered in his half-dozed state against the wall. "What the hell's so fucking interesting about sand and salt water?"
Renji thought for a minute before answering. "Water fights…oh, and I hear that you can bury people in the sand while they're sleeping. Hehe, that sounds too good to pass up."
Grimmjow stared blankly at the red-headed shinigami for a second or so before directing his glare elsewhere, cursing profusely under his breath.
"You are going, right?" Renji asked after a brief pause.
The Espada shot the man an incredulous glare. "You make it seem like I have a fucking choice."
Renji laughed as he stood to his feet. "Yeah, dumb question. My bad." he said before disappearing into the hallway.
Grimmjow growled as he sat up from his previously slouched position and then slowly climbed to his feet. He really wanted to kill something now.
The journey to the coast was a fairly quiet one, a fact greatly attributed to the conscious effort to keep Rukia as far away from Grimmjow as possible during the ride. The only noise to be heard throughout the entire trip was that of a bubbly Orihime quietly sharing previous beach experiences with Takuya, both of whom were currently seated at the back of the fifteen-passenger van with Grimmjow, who had dedicated the whole of his own concentration to not throwing the endlessly babbling girl through the nearest window.
After about an hour of nonstop driving, the group finally arrived at their destination, and the comfortable silence was finally broken by murmurs of excitement.
"Welcome to Shizuka Beach!" Orihime cheered as she and everyone else climbed out of the vehicle and into the ocean-scented air. "Time for some fun in the sun!"
Takuya gazed curiously at all the sights surrounding her at the moment. They were parked in a moderately sized parking area located comfortably between two big hotels and directly in front of the beach they were visiting, which was partially blocked from view by a wooden security fence. The sound of laughter from children and adults alike could be heard echoing around the parking lot and even from the shore of the beach. She found herself smiling at this, suddenly more ready than ever to start enjoying her day.
"Okay everyone, the hotel to the right of us has kindly offered to let us use their restrooms to change in." Mizuiro announced. "Follow me, please."
At that the group trailed the boy into the hotel. Once inside, males separated from females and both groups went into their respective restrooms to change into their swimwear.
"Oh my gosh I'm so excited." Orihime chimed as she exited her stall, clad in an orange, flower-print bikini. "Takuya you are going to absolutely love it here, I know it."
"That is my hope." Takuya replied from her stall.
"Then we'll do our best to make that hope a reality." Tatsuki said, emerging from her own stall in an all-black bikini; she joined Orihime, who stood brushing her hair at the mirror. "I'm sure Orihime will teach you how to make awesome sandcastles. Me, on the other hand…I'll teach you guys how to win water fights."
Rukia exited her stall shortly thereafter wearing lavender bikini. "Ururu, you all set?"
"Yes." the girl's light voice echoed from her stall; she appeared seconds later in a deep red one-piece.
Last to exit her stall was Takuya, who now wore a royal blue bikini trimmed in white. Her hair was also pulled away from her back and secured into two low pigtails.
"Do I look alright in this?" she asked shyly as she stepped out of the stall completely.
"Yes, you totally do." Orihime said, almost squealing with joy. "That color suits you very well."
Takuya smiled in response, the compliment quelling her timidity. "Ok then, I'm ready to go if you all are."
"Great. Let's be on our way then."
After taking a moment to wrap themselves in their towels, the group of girls shuffled out of the restroom and made their way out of the hotel. Once outside again, they found their male companions gathered around the van, stowing their shed clothing away. Almost immediately after they'd made it to the vehicle to put their own clothes away, Keigo, who'd seen them coming from a distance, slinked his way over to Takuya.
"Takuya, my sweet, you're looking absolutely gorgeous as always." he cooed, taking one of her hands into his own. "I can't wait to see the rest of what you're hiding under that – OWWWW!"
Without the slightest warning, two fists collided brutally with the boy's face, and almost instantly, he sunk to the ground, holding his now throbbing jawbone with both hands.
"Wha-What was that for?" he whimpered.
"Not today, Keigo. Not. TODAY." Ichigo snapped as both he and Tatsuki towered over him, glaring menacingly.
"Oh come on, I was just paying her a comp-"
"Can it, you damn pervert! Keep this up and I'll stand by and watch while Grimmjow beats you into a bloody pulp!"
Keigo blinked confusedly through his pained expression. "What is she his girlfriend or – AHHHHH! Ouch, ouch…"
"Just…leave her…alone." Ichigo hissed through clenched teeth as he dug his heel into the boy's face.
With a frustrated sigh, the orange-haired boy redirected his attention to Takuya. "Sorry about him. He can be a real idiot sometimes."
"It's alright." Takuya said a hint of laughter in her voice; she placed her clothes into his outstretched hands. "Say…where is Grimmjow by the way?"
"Over there against the wall, my left, your right." Ichigo replied before turning back to the van to put her clothes away.
Takuya looked to her right, and almost immediately spotted the Espada leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and his arms folded across his bare chest. He wore dark blue shorts trimmed in a lighter blue that mirrored his eye color, and were hemmed just below his knees. With a small smile, she slowly made her way over to him and stood against the wall next to him.
"What do you want, girl?" he muttered after about a minute of silence had passed.
"It's shaping up to be a rather exciting day." Takuya said quietly. "I think we're going to really enjoy ourselves out here."
Grimmjow opened his eyes and glared incredulously at the girl. "How the hell do you figure that?"
"Well, despite all the people around here, this place has a really calming atmosphere…" Takuya replied. "The scent of the air alone is very relaxing, like it's helping you to escape the worries of your normal, everyday life."
The Espada released an exasperated sigh before directing his attention skyward. "I don't define relaxation as spending my day with a whole fucking army of humans."
"It may not be that bad…"
"Says you…"
"But…you will try to relax at least…won't you?"
"What the hell is it to you if I don't?"
"Well…it won't be right if the rest of us are and you're not."
"Who's caring?"
"I am."
A few seconds of silence passed between them then, in which time Grimmjow shot another incredulous glare at Takuya, who fiddled with the end of one of her pigtails. Cursing under his breath, the Espada pushed himself out of his leaning position against the wall, drawing the girl's attention.
"No promises." he finally said.
Takuya smiled warmly at him. "That's fine. At least I know that you'll try."
Grimmjow grunted in response, shifting his glare elsewhere.
Damn girl…
A half hour had passed since the group finally made it onto the beach. Urahara, Tessai, and Uryuu had fired up the grill, and had begun their cooking frenzy. Orihime, Takuya, and Ururu quickly got started on building the biggest sandcastles they could make. Ichigo, Renji, and Chad skimmed the water's edge on boogie boards, riding for as long as they can before falling off. Rukia sunbathed further up the shore. Tatsuki, Mizuiro, and Jinta continuously assailed Keigo with huge splashes of water, and Grimmjow stood a few feet away from the sandcastle-building females, watching it all.
"Alright! Sandcastle number one is complete!" Orihime cheered, marveling at their first, multi-tiered creation. "Now let's make a really big one!"
"One moment…" Takuya said, her gray eyes traveling back up the shore to where Rukia had been lying almost completely motionless for nearly an hour. "Is Rukia asleep?"
"Probably…people usually doze off while they're sunbathing unless they're talking to someone while they do it." Orihime replied. "Why, what's up?"
Takuya thought for a moment or so before responding, her eyes shifting back and forth between the dozing Rukia and Grimmjow; a smile slowly began curving her lips. "There's something we need to do."
"What's that?"
Takuya huddled the two girls closer to her. "I really want Grimmjow to have a little bit of fun while he's here. It's only fair, since the rest of us are enjoying ourselves, so…"
A sly smile appeared on Orihime's face at that moment. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"
"If you're thinking that I'm thinking about dumping buckets of sand and water on a certain sunbather…then yes."
"I'm in."
"Me, too."
"Great. Let's get these buckets filled up. Then we can get Grimmjow in on what we're about to do."
At that, the girls broke their huddle and hurried to the water's edge, giggling as they filled eight buckets with sand and water. When they'd completed that part of their "mission," they then approached the Espada, who eyed all of them suspiciously.
"No, I'm not building sandcastles." he muttered before any of the girls could speak. "I'd rather drown myself."
"Actually…that's not why we came over here." Takuya said. "We thought you might want to participate in what we're about to do."
Grimmjow's eyebrow arched at this, and his gaze shifted to the buckets in the girls' hands. "…And that would be what, exactly?"
"Two words: Rukia's sleeping." Orihime said, giggling as she raised one of her bucket-wielding hands.
The Espada frowned slightly at the auburn-haired girl before glancing over his shoulder at the dozing female shinigami. He then turned back to the three girls in time enough to see Takuya handing him two of her buckets…and almost immediately, a sadistic grin crept onto his face.
"Hell if I'm gonna pass this up." he said, taking the buckets from the girl and immediately making his way up to the shore, Takuya, Orihime, and Ururu right behind him.
Light snores reached their ears when the four reached the unsuspecting Rukia, confirming that she'd actually fallen asleep. They surrounded her as quietly as they could, standing on either side of her.
"On three…" Takuya whispered. "One, two, three…!"
The instant the words left her lips, the contents of all eight buckets were emptied onto Rukia, eliciting a startled gasp and a scream from the sputtering woman as she bolted upright out of her sleep.
"WHAT THE HELL?" she shouted frantically, instinctively trying to brush the wet sand off of her.
After finally regaining her bearings, the first thing she became aware of was incessant, near-hysterical laughter. And it didn't take her long to discover the sources…all seven of them. A few feet away from her now, Takuya, Orihime, Ururu, and – much to her great surprise – Grimmjow, were all doubled over and red in the face. From their place at the water's edge, Ichigo, Renji, and even Chad had dissolved in fits of snickers and guffaws, the trio having witnessed the act take place. Huffing, Rukia hurriedly clambered to her feet.
"Ugh, damn you all!" she shrieked.
"Ha, I guess this means midgets hate being wet!" Grimmjow managed to say before bursting into laugher again.
Seething, Rukia turned her full attention on the laughing Espada. "You! This was your idea wasn't it?"
Her accusation had only succeeded in making Grimmjow laugh harder, but before he could properly respond she charged at him, with the full intent of barreling right into him. When she was close enough, the Espada sidestepped, and the angry woman flew right pass him and face-first into the sand. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the three girls collecting their buckets and going back to the water with the obvious intent of assailing the female shinigami a second time, this time enlisting Ichigo's, Renji's, and Chad's participation. He smirked at this before returning his full focus back to Rukia, who was currently spitting sand out of her mouth. Heh, shit…if it's in the name of pissing off this eternally disgruntled dwarf…
"Tch, if it had been my idea I wouldn't have just dumped water on you…I would've thrown your pale ass into the damn ocean."
The comment angered the woman even further, and she quickly scrambled to her feet. Not wasting any time, she quickly charged again; this time she'd actually made it to the Espada, but was quickly restrained as both her wrists were now caught in his iron grip.
"Let go of me you idiot!" she shrieked as she thrashed about in her overkill struggle to free herself from his grasp. "Let go of me NOW!"
Glancing out of the corner of his eye again, Grimmjow saw that the girls and their enlisted helpers had made it back up the shore and were waiting for their moment to unleash their bucket loads of water on Rukia. Smirking, he managed to turn the thrashing woman so that, when he did let her go, she'd stumble right into their range.
"As you wish…" he said, releasing his grip on her just as she'd tried for the umpteenth time to yank herself out of his grasp.
It had worked all too perfectly. The instant he let go, she stumbled backward, and almost immediately after, she was bombarded by more sand and water. She seethed as she got to her feet, once again drenched in sandy, salty water.
"All of you are going to pay dearly for this!" she declared angrily, shaking her fist in the air.
Taking that as their cue to run, everyone – except Grimmjow and Takuya, both of which were still laughing rather uncontrollably – turned tail and made a mad dash for the water with Rukia hot on their heels. Tatsuki, who'd momentarily paused in her self-initiated watery onslaught upon an unfortunate Keigo, smirked when she saw the group running in her direction.
"WATER FIGHT!" she shouted boisterously when the group finally reached the water, and a full scale splash fest quickly ensued with everyone doing their best to splash each other with as much water as they could.
Finally managing to gain control of their laughter, Takuya and Grimmjow both looked up to see the group in the water, soaking each other in huge splashes. The ebony-haired girl's smile broadened at the sight.
"So that's a water fight…it looks like a lot of fun." she said.
"Tch, that shit doesn't look like any kinda fight I've ever seen." Grimmjow commented; he then moved over to the oversized beach towel that Rukia had been lying on.
Takuya watched him with a hint of curiosity as he moved the towel to the side, collected the scattered buckets and started digging what looked like a mini ditch where the towel had once been. Her curiosity finally getting the better of her, she finally went up to the digging Espada and kneeled down next to him.
"Grimmjow…what exactly are you doing?"
The Espada paused after five of the eight buckets were full of sand removed from the trench he'd dug and looked at the girl.
"Having fun." he replied, a sadistic grin slowly turning up the corners of his mouth; he then reached over and grabbed the remaining empty buckets. "Here, I'll even let you help. Fill those up with water and bring them back…but try not to let the dwarf see you, got it?"
Takuya smile broadened further as she took the buckets from him. "Not to worry. I'll be right back."
Within a minute's time, Takuya had successfully gone to the water's edge, filled the three buckets to the brim with water, and made it back to Grimmjow without drawing attention to herself. The Espada then proceeded to dump all the water into the ditch. When that was done, the sand-filled buckets were moved to the side, and the beach towel was put back into place, covering the ditch completely. Finally, the two stretched a sand-colored piece of rope out an inch or so in front of the bottom end of the towel, intent on tripping the girl and causing her to fall into the booby-trapped beach towel.
"I'm going to have to try and keep a straight face with this." Takuya said as she sat down by the left end of the rope.
"You'd better." Grimmjow said, taking his place on the right end of the rope. "Don't fuck this up with all that giggling shit. Just sit there and…pretend like you're just sitting there."
"I will." Takuya said, her gray eyes turning back to the ocean; almost immediately, her gaze pinned itself on said female shinigami just as she'd abandoned the rest of the water-flinging group. "Here she comes."
Rukia marched up the shore, mumbling every step of the way as she squeezed water out of her hair. She stopped just a few steps short of her towel, however, as her eyes became fixated upon Grimmjow in a cold, narrowed glare.
"Get away from my towel, Espada." she snapped, her hands going to her hips as if to put more emphasis into her words. "I don't want you anywhere near me while I'm lying down."
Grimmjow glared back at the woman and had opened his mouth to respond, but was effectively cut off when Takuya began to speak.
"Our apologies, Rukia." she said as she got to her feet. "We did not mean to infiltrate your personal space."
"No, no, I didn't mean you, Takuya. You can sit where you were if you'd like." Rukia said.
"Really? I'd kind of assumed that if you wanted Grimmjow to move away from you, you'd want me to go away as well. I mean I did dump buckets of sand and water on you-"
Rukia laughed, surprising the girl somewhat. "Oh don't worry about that. I know that Grimmjow or one of the others put you up to it. You don't seem at all like the prank-prone type. In fact, I can't even begin to picture it, you coercing everyone into dumping water on me…I tell you, I can't even imagine it. It's even funny to think about…"
From the spot where he now stood a steps away, Grimmjow watched in slight amusement as Takuya's expression went from shocked to slightly offended, and then to completely miffed as she stood listening to the female shinigami, who had become so caught up in her own rambling that she had almost become completely unaware of the girl's presence. After about a minute or so, however, he found himself also getting annoyed by the woman's incessant "blah, blah, blah." With an exasperated sigh, he reached down, picked up two of the sand-filled buckets, and walked back over to Takuya. The girl's annoyed expression quickly dropped when he approached her, and a soft gasp escaped he grabbed her by her wrist, moving her so that Rukia now stood between her and the baited beach towel.
"Irritating little bitch…" he muttered; then, without even the slightest warning, he reached out and pushed Rukia with just enough force to send her falling straight into the towel.
The female shinigami yelped when the towel gave way beneath her, and shrieked when she found herself lying in a sunken pool of water. As she struggled to pull herself up, Grimmjow and Takuya came into her line of sight. Instinctively, her glare directed itself at Grimmjow
"YOU INSUFFERABLE JERK!" she yelled. "UGH, I cannot BELIEVE this!"
"Believe it, dwarf." the Espada scoffed as he and Takuya suddenly produced the buckets of sand and immediately began dumping them onto the now flailing woman.
In a matter of seconds, Rukia was buried up to her neck in sand, the only visible parts of her body being fractions of her arms and legs. Strings of profanities streamed uncharacteristically from the female shinigami's mouth as she struggled almost in vain to pull herself out of the sandy trap; the sight of it all had caused Grimmjow to immediately burst into laughter for the second time that day, a fact that personally delighted Takuya while it openly enraged Rukia. Her glare had shifted to the ebony-haired girl amidst her seemingly unsuccessful attempt to pull herself up.
"Seriously, Takuya, seriously?" she snapped. "I mean really, what the hell! You're not supposed to help him do things like this! YOU'RE supposed to be the good one!"
"Am I now? Hmmm…well then you won't be pleased at all to hear that the earlier "prank" we pulled on you was indeed my idea and not Grimmjow's." Takuya replied.
"Wha…WHAT?"
The ebony-haired girl met Rukia's glare with a vaguely triumphant smile for about a second or so before turning and heading for the water. "Perhaps next time you won't feel it appropriate to take me so very lightly, huh?"
A mix of shock and anger swirled within Rukia's being, so much so that she'd momentarily lost her ability to form words that didn't sound like grunts or growls, and she struggled even more to get out of the water-logged sand trap. "Ugh, LOSERS!"
"How very relaxing…" Takuya thought aloud as she waded through the water, smiling at its gentle warmth against her skin. "Orihime was right. It is absolutely beautiful out here."
"I couldn't agree more, love." the sudden intrusion of a second, vaguely recognizable voice startled Takuya; hesitating slightly, she turned to see who the owner of the voice was.
A sick feeling arose in her stomach when her gaze fell upon Kazuki, who stood leering at her from about four feet away. Where had he come from?
"That look on your face tells me that you remember who I am." the boy said as he slowly closed the distance between them. "I thought I was seeing things when I happened upon your lovely form wading through the water."
"Perhaps you should pretend that you were just seeing things." Takuya said as she slowly backed away.
"Aww, now why would I do that? After all, I've literally been dreaming about our next encounter since our first meeting on the school rooftop."
"Are you sure it wasn't a nightmare? I don't seem to remember our "first meeting" going so well for you."
Kazuki laughed at this. "No worries. My thoughts of you have long since overpowered any memory of the blue-haired fool who interfered with us that day."
Annoyance mixed in with the nervousness in Takuya's expression. "I'd like to refer to it as a rescue instead of interference."
"Now, now, don't be that way." Kazuki purred, suddenly moving quicker than she'd expected him to and pulling her up against him, his face literally a breath away from hers. "After all, I've been waiting for a second chance to get you like this. Only I'd never pictured it would be like this…alone, and on a beach no less. A rather romantic setting, is it not?"
Takuya cringed, thoroughly disgusted at the boy's failing attempts at seducing her. With all the strength she could muster in her position of limited mobility, she pushed the boy away, his grip on her loosening easily due to the slickness of the water on her body. However, no sooner had she gotten him off of her, he reached out and latched onto her wrist, pulling her against him once again, her back now pressed up against his bare chest. He then wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, much to her chagrin. She quickly turned her head away when his face began closing in on hers once again.
"I'd greatly appreciate it…if you would go away." she said amidst her struggle to free herself again. "I told you already….that I am not interested."
Kazuki ran the fingers of his free hand lightly over the back of Takuya's neck, and chuckled in an almost mocking manner when he felt her tremble under his touch. "Oh, but you will be. I can assure you of that."
"No…I won't. I will never hold any amount of interest for a perverted fool like you. Now let me go…or I swear to you that I will scream."
"Come now, beautiful, just calm down. Let's enjoy this moment we have alone." Kazuki said, his free hand wrapping around her throat and turning her head so that she was looking directly into his face. "Perhaps a little kiss would help you to relax…"
His lips were mere centimeters from hers when a fist suddenly collided brutally with the right side of his face, effective breaking his hold on Takuya and knocking him underwater. Not a second later, a hand reached down, wrapped itself around his throat, and pulled his sputtering form to the surface once again; his heart skipped at least three beats when his eyes finally came to rest on his assailant.
"You again, huh?" Grimmjow muttered, his grip slowly tightening around the boy's neck. "I thought I told you to stay the hell away from her, shithead."
"Where…d-did you come from?" Kazuki forced out.
"My answer to that isn't gonna be of much use to you, kid, especially since you're about to die." Grimmjow replied flatly. "You should be more concerned about the chance of anyone ever finding your body."
Kazuki's eyes widened in stark fear then, and he suddenly began struggling desperately to free himself from the Espada's vice grip. "Wait…wait, please…you don't have to do this! If you let me go right now…I swear I won't ever bother her ever again, ever! I'll even forget she exists…just please…let me live, ok? Please?"
Grimmjow glared at Kazuki, his expression a mix of annoyance and disgust. After a few seconds he released his hold on him, allowing him to drop back down into the water, and almost immediately afterwards, the boy scrambled away as fast as he could, not once looking back. The Espada watched him until he disappeared into the crowds of people further down the coast before turning his attention to Takuya.
"Where the hell did he come from?"
Takuya shrugged, a look of slight disgust still lingering in her expression. "I have no idea. I didn't even see him come up to me when he did."
"You ok?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks."
Grimmjow only grunted in response before turning and heading back to the shore. Hesitating slightly, Takuya followed after him. About a minute of silence drifted between them before the ebony-haired girl began to speak again.
"Grimmjow…"
"What?"
After a second or so passed with no response, Grimmjow glanced over his shoulder at the girl…just in time to see a huge splash of water descending on him, drenching the entirety of his upper body. Takuya reappeared in his line of sight once again, giggling almost hysterically as she started to move pass him.
"Nothing." she managed to say before dissolving into another fit of giggles…and failing to notice the grin spreading across the Espada's face.
Without warning, he retaliated, reaching out and grabbing Takuya before she passed out of his arm's length. Then, in one swift move, he lifted her into the air and tossed her back into the water behind him. His grin broadening victoriously, he continued his trek to the shore. However, after only taking one step, he felt a pair of hands latch onto his ankle and pull, effectively causing him to lose his balance and fall into the water. A second later, Takuya resurfaced with a victorious grin of her own; it was short lived, however, as only a couple seconds after she'd surfaced, bother her legs were swept from under her, eliciting a yelp from the girl as she fell forward into the water once again. A moment or so later, the two resurfaced again and, after catching their breath, continued their trek for the shore.
"That was so much fun." Takuya said, giggling.
Grimmjow stared at the girl briefly before looking straight ahead again, shaking his head. "I think this all this sun is starting to fuck with your brain…all that damn giggling you're doing..."
Takuya laughed at this. "No, I don't think that's it. In fact, I know that's not it."
"Tch, is that so? Then what the hell is it?"
After a few seconds, Takuya's laughter diminished, leaving her only with an unfading smile. "I'm just really happy that you got to have some fun, too. That's all."
Grimmjow's eyes found the girl again, his expression threatening to transform into a defiant one. Takuya met his gaze momentarily before her own attention when to one of her water-logged pigtails; she ran her fingers through it, loosening any tangles that had formed.
"Everyone deserves a little fun every now and then…that includes you as well, Grimmjow." she commented after they'd finally made it to the shore. "I don't think life would be enjoyable if we were always serious about every little thing; that would do more damage to one's brain than laughing, I think."
Grimmjow looked at Takuya for a second longer before shifting his gaze elsewhere. "Tch…damn you and your ability to make perfect sense outta shit."
"Hey you two, the food's ready! Come and eat!" Orihime called to them from further up the shore where everyone else had already begun to gather.
"Coming!" Takuya called back as she and Grimmjow made their way up the shore, rejoining the rest of the group just as they'd started eating.
The remaining four hours that the group spent at the beach were filled with just as much excitement as there was when they'd first arrived. Orihime, Takuya, and Ururu had successfully built three more large sandcastles, moats included. Ichigo, Renji, and Chad managed to successfully talk Grimmjow into helping them wage a watery war against Tatsuki and Jinta, both of which they were able to splash to oblivion. And Rukia had managed to splash everyone with a bucket of water, a fact that she incessantly boasted about until Ichigo and Renji finally got frustrated with it, and bodily tossed the female shinigami into the ocean just as the group was preparing to leave.
"Ugh, I swear I seriously hate you two sometimes." Rukia muttered, dabbing her face off with a towel as the group made their way back to the van.
"C'mon Rukia…you can't deny that this was the best beach trip ever!" Orihime said cheerily.
The woman released a small sigh. "No, unfortunately I can't. This was a pretty enjoyable trip. We should do this again sometime."
"I agree…we should definitely do this again really soon." Orihime said; she then turned to Takuya. "Well it certainly looks like you enjoyed yourself."
"I did, very much so." Takuya replied with a smile; her gaze shifted over to Grimmjow, who walked a couple steps ahead of her. "I think he had fun today, too."
"Hehe, yeah, I think so, too." Orihime giggled.
After they reached the vehicle, everyone retrieved their clothing and shuffled off to the restrooms to dry off and change. Thirty minutes later, they were back on the road again, headed home. The return trip was a silent one. Orihime had fallen asleep about fifteen minutes in, as did everyone else, save for Takuya, Grimmjow, and Tessai, who'd volunteered to drive home. The silent spell was finally broken, however, when Takuya began to speak.
"It wasn't that bad after all, huh?" she said quietly as she fiddled with the ends of one of her pigtails.
Grimmjow grunted in response, his gaze remaining fixated upon the rapidly moving world outside the van window. A small smile curved the girl's lips.
"It's nice to have fun every now and then." she spoke again, this time with a slight yawn. "It helps you to relax a little."
The Espada brow furrowed slightly, his mind suddenly going back to their little conversation earlier that day. No promises. That's what he'd said, and yet somehow, he'd ended up having a decent time…actually having…fun. His brow furrowed even more then in slight frustration. How the hell does she do that?
Growling slightly, he finally turned his attention to Takuya, just in time to see her lay her head on his shoulder and drift off to sleep a second or so later. The Espada stared blankly at the girl's sleeping form, unsure as to how he should react to this. The urge to push her away flashed momentarily through his mind. How hard could that be? He'd have done exactly that without even the slightest hesitation…had it been anyone else. At that moment, the girl slid a little bit closer to him, sighing contentedly in her sleep. He stared at her a few seconds longer before finally just turning his gaze back out of the window and releasing a frustrated sigh of his own.
Damn girl…
The end :D! Many thanks to ObsidianPhantom for her lovely idea. I'm seriously wanting to go to the beach right now, lol! So what'd ya think? Love it? Hate it? Did it end right? ALL opinions welcome, and as always, thanks for reading!
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P.S. – Don't forget to give me your ideas for one-shots. I'll keep thinking of ideas, too! :)