Vietvn: Ummm....LOL Gosh, it's been a while since I updated (once again) Part of it was half of a writer's block and then the other half I was off doing other things away from the computer since cousin's from BC came over. Sooo my deepest apologies to all my readers but here's chapter eight!
Chapter Eight: Finding A Solution
After the small incident in the training area, Toushiro and I decided to head to the sweet shops to eat KakigÅri. No other incident had occurred but I was still being cautious. Who knows what other incidents would happen; she might actually try to control my actions next time. I had to be more careful but at the same time, I can't raise any suspicions. Especially from Toushiro, he has enough things to worry about. Finishing up our kakigori, Toushiro offered to drop me off at the fifth division while he was on his way to his division. The walk there was silent but it was comforting, it almost made me forget about my problem. Almost.
We stopped at the entrance to the fifth division, Toushiro turned towards me. "Ja, I'll see you some other time. Call me if you want, I don't mind."
I giggled. "You sure? You're always a workaholic, I don't want to be bothering you."
"I don't mind if it's you..." He murmured, stepping a little closer to me to the point where our bodies are almost touching. I fought to keep the heat from rising to my face, all in the while trying to keep eye contact with Toushiro but it was hard to do so; his gaze was so piercing especially with his eye colour. Strong pair of arms snaked around my waist, pulling me even closer and on instinct my own arms wrapped around his neck. In no time, the space in between us closed off as Toushiro leaned down and placed his lips on mine. I tilted my head up slightly, pushing back against his lips as my hands entangled themselves in his hair.
The kiss itself was sweet and passionate, usually involving tongues, courtesy of Toushiro. He was always the one to initiate them, almost as if he enjoyed it whether he wanted to admit it or not and when it came to said tongue wars, he always manage to win. He was aware of that and was proudly smug about it. I however, had resented that fact which amuses him even more. A sudden urge to be daring came over me suddenly and as if my body had suddenly developed a mind of its own, I felt my tongue run along his lower lip before I could register what I just did. Sure I've done it maybe once but now I felt strangely possessive. Nevertheless, Toushiro granted me entrance though I could tell he was slightly surprise that I took the initiative this time.
My tongue slipped in and mingled with his in a battle for dominance. I heard him let out a low moan and I had to smirk. He must've felt it because he started to get a little more aggressive, moving forward slightly and backing me up against the wall of my division and having one of my wrist pinned by his hand. Just when I thought I was going to win for once, my control was slowly slipping away. I suddenly growled lowly, a little annoyed and became equally aggressive and soon it turned into one heated kiss before I pulled away, gasping. Since when did I ever get that bold?
"Aggressive are we?" Toushiro asked, his voice husky. I kept a steady gaze on him before turning away slightly with a small huff, trying to hide how dazed I felt. However that left my neck exposed, allowing Toushiro to lean in, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine.
"You're lucky no ones around here and its outside," He whispered near my ear. I bit my lower lip. "If it was somewhere inside...maybe your room..." He chuckled to himself, "That's another story..."
The heat immediately increased on my on cheeks and my eyes widened in shock, thoughts bubbling up in my mind about what he said. I suddenly felt hot. Maybe it was the shinigami robes...? I hope so...His grip on my wrist suddenly loosened and I turned my gaze to see him pull away, straightening his shinigami robes before tucking his arms into his sleeves. He turned his gaze towards me, a smirk visibly forming on his lips.
"I'm joking...Never knew your mind could fall into the gutters too, what a surprise Reimei. Especially coming from someone like you..."
My mouth fell open and I gaped at him like a fish out waters. Flushing more from embarrassment, I scowled at him.
"T-Toushiro! You!"
"Ja ne, Reimei....Ja ne..." He chuckled again, sauntering away casually as if nothing happened.
'Jerk...' I scowled once more as I turned to head into my division. I had my own pile of paperwork to take care of myself. Without Hinamori around, most of the work in the office was done by me. I reached my office and slid open the traditional paper doors and sighed once my eyes landed on my desk. About three tall stacks of paperwork had magically appeared while I was gone, waiting for me to be looked over and signed. Guess it's gonna be a while before I get to bed tonight and immediately set to work.
Eventually, I found myself coming to the last scrap of paperwork late into the night. I signed hurriedly, wanting to get it over with and tossed it into the pile with the rest of the finished work. I sighed, cracking my fingers and stretching my arms. I was finally done; I glanced at the clock, it was near midnight. That took longer than I thought. Pushing myself up from my seat behind my desk, I made my way around it and headed straight out the office door, only having the thought of sleeping in my mind.
I immediately headed to my room, tossed aside the captain's haori and changed into my sleeping kimono robe. I collapsed onto my futon bed, sighing in satisfaction as the soft surface drew me in. Sleep instantly took over me and I didn't put up a fight, surrendering to darkness.
I felt my eyes open, wondering if I was actually waking up to morning or if I landed myself in a dream. I swear I was exhausted to the point I felt like I had passed out as soon as I hit the bed. It must be the latter...
My gaze drifted around my surrounding; a black sky and thin snow on the ground. Great, I was back here....
"Not happy to see me after what I did for you? I'm hurt..."
I scowled, recognizing the voice. Even if it was similar to mine, it was slightly distorted. I turned to face the chalk pale mirror self. She held a smug smirk on her face, her dark eyes gleaming with amusement as she propped one hand to rest on her hip.
"I don't remember asking any favors from the likes of you..." I snarled. She just chuckled.
"How could you forget that make-out you had with your dearest....Hitsugaya Toushiro was it? I turned it up a notch for you and he seemed to have enjoyed it..."
My eyes widened; so it was her. I was seriously beginning to wonder when I'd get so bold. Anger boiled inside of me at the thought of her controlling my actions, especially when it involved Toushiro.
"So you're the one behind it...." I seethed.
"You were never bold to begin with;" She continued to criticize. "Why let him pleasure you when he gets none in return?"
I snapped at that point and viciously charged at her without thinking. Just when I was about to tackle her, she dispersed into a dark mist and reappeared behind me, letting me crash to the ground.
"Temper, Rei-chan..." She said. "It shows you have no control and no instincts..."
I got onto my feet, glaring daggers at her and clenching my fist to the point my nails almost dug into my palm. If only I had Tsukuyomi with me, I would've skewered her before she could realize it. Who was she to tell me that I have no instincts?! My instincts right now are telling me to kill her.
"Soon, I'll eventually control everything; your mind, body and soul...."
"Not if I can help it..." I spat.
The hollow me chuckled. "There's only one king or in this case, queen to rule while the other is the horse that carries that queen." Her grin finally slipped from her face as her expression turned into that of malice. "I intend to be that queen; that is if you can somehow miraculously find a way to stop me."
"It's not that I can; I will find a way."
"We shall see...."
My eyes snapped open and once it did, I forced it shut again as the sunlight that greeted me nearly blinded me. I groaned, raising an arm to cover my eyes. I shouldn't complain that it was morning and I was awake; that meant I wouldn't have to see her again, plaguing my dreams but then again, mornings are still something I loathe. Yawning, I finally sat up in my futon, not really caring that my hair was disheveled. I would have to wash it anyways. Throwing the covers off, I sauntered into my bathroom to wash up.
I stood over the sink and turned on the cold water. It streamed out of the faucet and I cupped my hands under it, bringing the water up and splashing it onto my face.
"So kid, how you gonna go about fixing this problem?"
I sighed, splashing another handful of water onto my face before shutting the water off. I grabbed my towel and dried my face.
'I don't know...I need to find someone who can get rid of it and fast. Who knows what she might try to pull off.'
"Well, any possible people that might know of such stuff?"
'Hmm....There's...Kurotsuchi-taicho who specializes in the science of shinigami....Okay, on second thought no. He might try to dissect me or something...'
"What about that weird candy shop owner, he used to be part of that kind of stuff in the Gotei 13."
I nearly smacked my head; of course! Kisuke should know something. Why didn't I think of him? So now I knew who to ask for help but he's all the way in the real world. How am I supposed to reach him without sneaking to the real world? I'd get in more trouble if I do that and if I asked the sou-taicho, what reason would I have without causing any suspicions to arise? I huffed; I need a shower...
I got out of the shower, leisurely drying my hair with a towel. I was sure taking my time in getting dressed for the day. I still had my mind occupied with a way to get to the real world to see Kisuke. There were really only two options but obviously one of them wouldn't get me anywhere. If I didn't find any alternatives than I simply have no choice; I would have to sneak my way to the real world. Eventually, I got dressed in my uniform before finally leaving the comfort of my room, disposing the towel in a basket along the way to be washed. I came to the entrance of my office and slid the door open. I nearly groaned out loud as I saw two more stacks of paperwork for me to deal with, sitting neatly on my desk as if it belonged there.
I was definitely in no mood to do paperwork as I trudged over to my desk and sat on the chair behind it. Picking up the pen, I grabbed a sheet and placed it down in front of me, scanning its words briefly before losing interest and just signing the bottom for approval. It went on for maybe five sheets more until I gave up all together and just resorted to twirling the pen in my fingers and staring at it. I continued to twirl my pen in my fingers for at least five minutes, leaning my cheek against my hand until I was interrupted. The ringing of my phone startled me and the pen cluttered onto my desk abruptly. I breathed out as the ringing continued beside me, composing myself before picking up the receiver.
"Moshi moshi?" I said boredly.
"You sound like you're having fun." chuckled a deep voice on the other end. I perked a bit, knowing well who the voice belonged too but still sighed as I sat at my desk, picking up the pen and twirling it in my fingers again.
"Yeah, loads of fun with paperwork...." I replied.
"You're not even doing it are you?" I could practically hear the amusement in his voice.
"Of course I am Toushiro....What makes you say that?" I said, smirking a bit.
He chuckled, "I know you too well, don't deny it. You're definitely slacking off."
"And you aren't doing the same?" I challenged, knowing well that he knew I meant him calling me at the moment.
"I'm taking a break to call you." I smiled slightly; feeling warm that he would spend his break time to call me. My smile slowly slipped off my face when a thought came into mind; maybe I could sneak an 'innocent' question to Toushiro. Hopefully, he wouldn't catch on that something's up.
"Ne, Toushiro..." I started off, slow and calmly.
"Hm?"
"Say...Do you think the sou-taicho might assign a mission to the real world any time soon?" I asked as casually as I could. If there was at least some hope of that happening, then maybe I can get my chance to talk to Kisuke without resorting to sneaking off by myself. There was a pause, and I anxiously waited for his answer.
"Hm...I'm..not sure. There is a chance, something that might concern Aizen's plan to make another Oken. He is targeting Karakura Town after all."
I nodded to myself; he was right, there might be that chance. I kept that in mind and prayed that it will actually happen.
"Why? Anxious to get out of the office that badly?" came Toushiro's voice again, a hint of amusement clearly in his voice.
"I'm looking for any ways to escape my office." I replied. Half of it was true; I did want to get out of my office. Being cooped up in here and doing nothing but paperwork was bound to drive me insane. If the hollow inside me wouldn't do it first, then it's bound to be the paperwork.
"We can go out later for dinner tonight, if you want." Toushiro offered. I considered the idea and then thought why not. I didn't feel like cooking tonight. I opened my mouth to speak but then hesitated. My stomach churned with a nagging feeling and it wasn't the fact that I had grown hungry. Or maybe it was hunger...?
"Yeah, okay. I'll meet you later then." I said at last. "Now, I think we should get back to work or else Matsumoto would say you're slacking off which gives her an excuse to do so as well."
A chuckle came from the other end, "Yeah, you're right. I'll see you later. Bye."
"See ya..."
With that, I hung up. Now to pass time....I glanced up at the stacks of paperwork that were slowly gathering dust and narrowed my eyes. I didn't want to but I might as well. Seeing as how there was nothing I could come up with to pass time, I reached over to the stack and grabbed a sheet.
Surprisingly, I managed to get through half of the paperwork by the time I had to go to meet Toushiro for dinner. I got up groggily, stretched and finally began to make my way out of my office. As soon as I came out of my division, I could already see Toushiro leisurely making his way towards me from his own. I smiled when he came to a stop beside me.
"So where are we eating tonight?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Not sure, but we'll see what comes to mind when we get there."
I chuckled. "Alright. Let's go then..."
We began walking towards the area in Soul Society where most of the restaurants and bars were in comfortable silence, side by side. We eventually came to a small restaurant. I ordered beef ramen because for some reason I was craving it. As we waited for our food, we conversed in small talks, mostly about paperwork. I asked him where he got all the paperwork from and he answered from at least three other divisions. I had to shake my head; what a true workaholic. Our food eventually came and we ate peacefully; well for the most part. It wasn't until loud laughter erupted from the corner of the open bar that was in the restaurant. I glanced up from eating and noticed a number of 11th division shinigami and a couple familiar faces; Ikakku, Renji, surprisingly Hisagi and even more surprising was a certain busty lieutenant.
I glanced back to Toushiro and noticed visibly that he was twitching with annoyance, not bothering to look up from his finished dish.
"Don't tell me I just heard Matsumoto...." He muttered to himself...or was it to me? I wasn't sure but I offered an answer nonetheless.
"Possibly...." I answered carefully. Another eruption of laughter; it was clear that they were having some sort of drinking contest over there and Matsumoto had joined in, her laugh was easily recognizable.
Toushiro glared out of the corner of his eyes towards the corner, muttering lowly under his breath that Matsumoto was supposed to stay at the office and work on her half of the paperwork while he was out.
"I'll be back..." was the last thing I heard from him before he stood and shunpoe'd from my sight, only to reappear behind Matsumoto who at that moment, turned around and notice her considerably shorter captain glaring up at her with his arms crossed into his sleeves. I watched in silent amusement as a couple words were shared between the lieutenant and her captain. Matsumoto looking flustered that Toushiro was standing right in front of her while trying to cover up the numerous sake bottles behind her and Toushiro looking like he was just about to snap at any moment. Matsumoto shared a couple of more words with Toushiro before glancing around the restaurant until her eyes landed on me. She waved enthusiastically and I returned the wave with a small nervous one.
"MATSUMOTO GET BACK TO THE OFFICE NOW!!"
"I'M ON IT TAICHO!!" She yelped and scurried off out of the restaurant to avoid her captain. Only when she passed by me did I notice a couple sake bottles hidden in her sleeves. I smiled; shaking my head as I finished off the last of my soup just as Toushiro came back, still muttering under his breath.
"Shall we get going? I'm done." I said. Toushiro glanced at me with his piercing turquoise eyes and nodded his head.
"Sure.."
We paid for our meal (or more like we fought to pay for our meals; we ended up agreeing to split the payment) and started to walk back to my division. Upon arriving at the front, I turned to Toushiro.
"Thanks for taking me out to dinner." I said with a smile.
He shrugged as if it was nothing. "Your welcome."
I stepped up and leaned closer to his face. My eyes were just half way closed as was his, the gap between us were just mere millimetres away when suddenly I felt as if a jolt of electricity just went through my mind and the familiar black mist appeared right at the corner of my eyes but as quickly as it came, it vanished before I could determine if I really had seen it. My eyes immediately shot open, and before Toushiro could question my sudden change. I angled my head to kiss him on the cheek and hasitly said bye to him. I disappeared behind my division door and let a deep breath escape me. I placed a hand over my heart; I felt it beating rapidly against my chest.
'Don't tell me it was her again....' I thought bitterly. She must've attempted to take control of my conscious or somthing. I hadn't realized she could be that much of a threat and now that I think about it, she usually only shows up around Toushiro. Damn her...Guess I need to distance myself from Toushiro a bit until I figure a way to get rid of her for good. I shut my eyes, leaning back against the wooden gates of the division.
I could only hope Yamamoto would assign a mission to the real world, if not.....
I just might have to play traitor again...
OOOUUU! Will Reimei actually resort to sneaking off again without telling Toushiro?? :O Or will she get a break and actually get a mission to the real world? But who knows, the hollow inside her is intending to win her control over her body and that might threaten her relationship with Toushiro! :O So will she get rid of her hollow self in time or will something drastic happen....? R&R please and Thank you! Love all of my reviewers! ^^