Chapter 7

Today was Kimono Day and while everyone was setting up the decorations to celebrate the Autumn Festival, Hebi sat on the ground, brush in hand as she wrote the banners. No one's handwriting was as unique as Hebi's so she was chosen to handle the banners that would adorn all the entrances of the school. This was so natural to her now. She chuckled to herself as her wrist flicked over the paper with ease.

'My handwriting used to suck so bad.' She giggled quietly. 'Ne, Aizen-sensei?'

(((_FLASHBACK_)))

'Like this Hebi-chan.' Aizen taught patiently, writing her name on the severely inked paper. 'MaboroshiHebi.'

'I know what my name sounds like, Aizen-sensei.' She said insultingly, sulking at her inability to write illegibly. He didn't really enjoy being called sensei. Made him feel old or something…

'So you should be able to write it. All I see are splatters of ink.' He spoke honestly. Well the truth was harsh and a young thirteen year old Hebi did not like it at all. 'Also, I think you need more ink.'

'Ran out.' She muttered, huffing as he left to get to the supply storeroom for another bottle of ink. Ookami wouldn't have let Aizen push her so hard if only because she hated him. And the others were all out on errands or in meetings.

She breathed and mopped up the last of the ink, starting her name again with utmost concentration. 'Loosen your grip. Relax, Hebi. You're writing your name not fighting a hollow.' He admonished setting out more ink.

'Right.' She gritted through her teeth, an angry hissing noise following. She dipped the brush in and pressed it to the paper.

'I think you'll need more ink than that, Hebi-chan.' He smirked at her.

'…' Her bristling silence should have given him a hint but he either didn't get it or chose to ignore it.

'Loosen your grip!' He insisted. An audible snap sounded in her room as the brush broke like a twig in her fist. She turned to him with a wide smile, a crazed one. He blinked in her sudden change in attitude.

'Fuck this shit. I'll show you something I can write.' She emphasized and then holding onto the broken brush, she leapt out of her chair, past her tutor and out the doors of the Juuyon-bantai barracks before he could say 'Huh?'

'Oh, she's heading for my barracks.' He exclaimed in quiet realization. And wth that, he flash stepped over to his lieutenant's quarters. By the time he got there it was too late. A stunned Hebi was staring at the entire wall she had just written on in her crappy writing. It was a very simple thing but it stood out. swore the giant 'fuck you' winked at him.

Then Hebi freaked out. 'Oh my god!' she screamed, alerting the entire 5th division that she was present in the lieutenant's now desecrated room. She looked at Aizen with a simply horrified expression. No it was more than that, she was terrified. 'I-I'm sorry, Aizen-fukutaichou!'

He was confused, yes by her reaction to what she had just done, her fear of him but that didn't stop the laughter from bubbling in his throat and spilling out of his mouth. She stared at him in wonder, amazed that he was laughing at what she had done. Shocking her completely, he swooped down and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek, causing her to blush and clap her hand to her cheek. 'You wrote it wrong!' He explained, chuckling.

This, however, was not the right thing to say. Hebi grabbed the nearest thing she could find and flung it at him. Guess what? It was a bottle of ink. She stormed out of the room back to her own barracks, trailing behind colourful curses. Shinji followed the sound to his lieutenant's room but upon seeing the smiling man, covered in ink, wisely chose to say nothing.

(((_FLASHBACK ENDS_)))

'Sosuke-kun, there has never been a more perfect phrase for this situation.' She chuckled, lifting her brush to write the final character. She wrote it perfectly while she thought about his betrayal, leaving her behind. 'Fuck you.' She quipped promptly.

Kimono Day was far more interesting in Soul Society though. She didn't have to worry about a thing. The Shinigami Women's Association had already taken care of the decorations. They were encouraged to go as couples to 'bond as shinigamis' in light of the winter war. That was the bullshit that Neko came up with anyway. Now her biggest problem was getting her captain into a kimono.

'Oi, let me go!' she struggled as Kitsune and Hebi held her. She wasn't the physically strongest in her division for nothing so Neko and Nezumi still failed to put the kimono on her.

'Don't be stubborn!' Nezumi huffed as Ookami's hand pushed her face away, trying to force the entire body of her subordinate away from her.

'My boobs won't even fit in that!' She whined, struggling even more defiantly. Inu sat to the side, already dressed in a wintery themed kimono, sulking as she neither helped nor harmed in the current situation.

'We're all wearing kimonos, even the guys are!' Neko meowed, attempting to coax the flame-haired shinigami to cooperate. 'It's mostly silver.'

Silver… Ookami stopped struggling but she didn't really allow them to win so easily. 'There's a silver hairpiece too.' Kitsune added, tired of dealing with the much more active Ookami. The wolf shinigami grabbed at the clothes offered.

'Fine, only because it's silver.' She muttered, going off to change. Silver was Gin's colour. There was no other better representation for him.

(((_FLASHBACK_)))

The new captain swung her zanpakuto as she trained in the forest. She was still getting used to being a captain. She was only thirteen after all, it sucked to be the shorty at captains' meetings. Her haori was hung a few yards away on a branch. She still had to get used to that too. She was so focused in her training and her new responsibilities; she didn't notice the presence in the woods.

'Bankai!' she exclaimed, transforming easily. She flipped in the air, propelling herself on tree trunks before landing crouched on the ground. She liked this form. It was so natural. She grinned wolfishly, her ears pricking up. With her heightened senses, she heard the rustling in the bushes and twitched her nose as she sniffed.

Gin stepped out of the woods with a close eyed smile. Ookami cocked her head. What was he doing here, so far from the division barracks? 'I heard there were shinigamis my age.' He explained, stepping over to her. She didn't move away, sensing a lack of ill intention from him. 'But you're so cute!'

And widening her eyes in surprise, he took advantage of that and petted her wolf ears. They were soft and fuzzy like the fur of a young wolf pup. He stroked her crimson wolf fur, rubbing the tips of her ears with his fingers. Ookami blushed red as her hair. He moved so fast, she swore it was shunpo or something. But she did growl despite her pink cheeks and jumped back away from him. 'Who do you think you are?!' She snarled, embarrassed. 'Perv!'

Surprised, he only chuckled to himself with a smile. 'Gin. Ichimaru Gin, the 5th Division's 3rd Seat.'

The guts he had riled her. 'Respect your superiors more then! Don't you know that I'm Shizen Ookami, Juuyon-bantai's captain?!' She yelled, taking offense from his action. This statement actually was news for him because he hadn't heard yet of a new captain and one so young. She was missing her haori too.

'Sorry, Shizen-chan.' He apologized sweetly. He liked this young shinigami captain. She was cute even in her strange form and bankai. And she was fierce and commanding, not like the other girls his age that giggled at stuff he couldn't even understand was funny.

Her face flushed at this and she spluttered. 'You, you pervert!' She accused, face blazing. There was something about the tone he said her name in. 'Boge!' She yelled childishly, not at all like a captain and ran back to her barracks, grabbing her haori on the way.

She could hear his laugh even after she cleared the woods and the next thing she knew, he was tagging along with that idiot Aizen when the latter came over to tutor Hebi.

(((_FLASHBACK ENDS_)))

She smoothed down the kimono and fixed the hairpiece into her crimson strands. Yes, this was Gin's colour. Every time she saw silver, she remembered how he called her name the first day they met. What a pervert… She sighed and exited the room, inciting the cheers and whoops of the members of her division who were waiting outside for her. She waved them off but smiled and then they proceeded to walk out into the festival.

'…S-Shizen-taichou!' A young shinigami man called as he approached. Ookami looked up at him with passive eyes. He was a seated officer in the 7th or 8th division, she recognized. 'W-will you go to the festival with me?' He asked boldy despite the slight stutter.

She actually smiled. 'No.' She answered firmly, half-scaring the shinigami with the strict tone she used. 'I'm faithful to only one man.' She stated, walking past the stunned shinigami.

'You refused him rather harshly.' Byakuya noted, arriving suddenly, Renji at his side. Juuyon-bantai looked at the pair.

'You two look so nice~!' Neko meowed excitedly, taking in Byakuya's delicate pink designs and Renji's intricate ones.

'On a date?' Kitsune asked before they could thank Neko for the compliment. Renji spluttered as he denied it while Byakuya merely narrowed his eyes and provided a very strong 'no'.

'I didn't expect to see you here as well, Kuchiki-taichou.' Toshiro said, approaching their group, his kimono was similar in colour scheme to Inu's but his had the pattern of an ice blue dragon.

'Likewise, Hitsugaya-taichou.' Byakuya noted. These two shared a mutual respect for each other, both being child prodigies of their respective generation. Without further ado, Toshiro turned straight to Inu, if Matsumoto had been there, she'd have accused his cheeks of pink tinges.

As it were, he was interrupted anyway. 'She's flat as a playing card, how come Hitsugaya-taichou's interested in her?' An overweight shinigami whispered to his friend as they attempted to pass by discreetly.

Inu's eye twitched. 'Nezumi-yonseki has no boobs too, now that I think about it, Hebi-rokuseki doesn't either!' The other man continued, not realizing their conversation was completely heard.

Juuyon-bantai boiled except for Hebi, she was proud of her flat chest. But Inu was the one who burst out, so far from her stoic expressionless façade. 'I freaking do have boobs, damn it! Just not as much as you, tubby!' She shouted, a growl rolling in her throat. Kitsune placed a placating arm on her shoulder to calm her down but she still fumed.

'I suggest you keep your opinions to yourselves. I will not tolerate crude comments.' Toshiro intoned quietly, sending the atmosphere down a few degrees.

'Shiro.'Inu said softly, touched. Everyone was so caught up in the drama, not one of them heard it. The dog shinigami wondered why he was being so kind to her, they had only just met after all. And both of them shared the same ice cold personality.

'Trash.' Byakuya scoffed at them, giving them the trademark Kuchiki death glare. Renji cracked his neck to emphasize the words spoken, also glaring at the shinigami who upon the sight of this just managed not to faint in fear and quickly scurried away.

Toshiro turned back to Inu as the sanseki waited almost eagerly for what he was about to say. He was interesting to her with his cold but not quite cold attitude. But fate was not on his side today. Komamura dropped in. This was not a good thing for Inu. The entire Soul Society knew that Komamura had been totally smitten with her since the day she publicly revealed her bankai form. The feelings weren't mutual.

'Will you go to the festival with…?' He asked with a grin but he was cut off very abruptly.

'No, I will not.' She flat out refused. She was very curious to hear what he wanted to say to her. Immediately after, she leaned to the left and peeked behind Komamura where he had landed between Shiro and herself. But he had disappeared. Now she loathed Komamura. And very quietly, Juuyon-bantai began a betting pool… and a master plan.

(((_FLASHBACK_))) – Hebi's Human Past

'Daddy, look!' Young Hebi called to her father, holding a flower in her hand. Her clothes were a mess. She picked that flower for a reason.

Her father turned around and widening his eyes upon seeing her state of un-cleanliness, he slapped her. Her little head turned ninety degrees to the left and she placed a hand to her burning cheek, tears stinging her eyes as the pain flared under her young skin. 'Imagine my embarrassment if someone were to see you like this! Young girls do not make a mess of themselves. Do you understand?' He spoke sternly.

She nodded her head, spilling the tears by accident. 'Sorry, Father.' She apologized formerly. 'I brought you a flower. It's got a paralyzing poison in the petals.'

Another slap came, this time hitting her arm hard enough for the flower to go flying out of her hand and onto the ground. Her father stood, using his full height in order to intimidate her. 'Young girls do not speak of such things. You are not to know such things. Young ladies are to be silent and ignorant. You are a disappointment to this family.' He said harshly.

'But I picked the flower for you.' She protested.

Her other cheek seared as his rough hand connected. 'You will not talk back to me. Do not speak to me in such a manner. Apologize.' He demanded.

'Sorry.' She whispered, not understanding in the least. He hit her again. The pain intensified and a small whimper exited her throat.

'Sincerely.' Her father emphasized.

'I'm sorry.' She said clearly, looking up at him. He scoffed in response, turning away.

'Get out of my sight.' And Hebi scurried away thankfully, nursing her broken skin and ruined mind.