Here's another episode of 'Omaeda revealed!' I was actually thinking of just making this a one-shot but then this suddenly came up so it's a two shot for now XD
Enjoy this section too :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!
The last time, we wondered why Omaeda has no front hair. This time, we're going to wonder what Omaeda's area of specialty is… Definitely not sneaking around, nor hiding that huge size of his. But what? This might tell you what...
Chapter 2
"All Captains and Vice-Captains are required to report in the meeting room as soon as possible! All Captains and Vice-Captains are required to report in the meeting room as soon as possible!" The message spread around Seireitei via the Hell Butterfly.
Soifon groaned as she was once again disrupted from doing her paperwork that had stacked up during the Winter War, knowing fully that her Vice-Captain would never do his, hence further burdening her with much more work.
"Omaeda!" she shouted irritably, demanding of the said man as she scribbled furiously on the paper so as to finish up what she was doing. A few loud thuds and scrambling were heard from next door, as the man struggled to rush to his captain's command.
"You are an Onmitsukido member for goodness sake! The amount of noise you're making is intolerable!" Soifon shouted, annoyed at the tremendous blunder of her Vice-Captain.
"H-Hai Taichou!" He appeared at her door, panting. Soifon cringed at the sight of her lieutenant; he was in a total mess! Hair unkempt ever since he went semi-bald, uniform un-tucked, crumbs all over his face…
It was obvious that he had been slacking off instead of doing his proper duties.
"What in the world have you been doing? My stack of work seems to keep piling up and up by the day!" The young captain screamed at the man, pointing at the ridiculously tall stack resting on her work desk. Obviously, today was not a good day to be arguing with such a touchy captain.
"Sorry Taichou!" Omaeda bowed down, apologizing. Well, it was somewhat his fault too, for not doing his paperwork. I was busy so that's why I've neglected my work, he thought, being careful not to think aloud as there was no way he could have said that to his captain; he would be murdered alive.
"Well, why are you still standing there? Haven't you heard of the announcement? Get your stupid butt cracking! And at least look respectable!" Soifon stomped out of the room, not giving the poor man a chance to explain himself.
"H-H-Hai Taichou…" Omaeda replied, looking down as the captain left her barracks. Sometimes, he really wondered if he was as useless as what his captain always said. Not wanting to further irritate his captain, Omaeda hurried back to his room to prepare himself.
"Soifon-Taichou. May I ask, where is your Vice-Captain? I'm sure that I've specifically asked for both the Captains and their Vice-Captains to report to me." An old man addressed the petite Captain, whose face turned red due to both embarrassment and anger. She was embarrassed that she was the only Captain who did not have her Vice-Captain with her and anger due to the fact that her useless partner was late.
"I'm sorry Soutaichou. He's on his way; he just returned from a mission." Soifon inclined her head slightly as she covered up for her lieutenant. Although that man was lazy and useless, he was still a great strategist who brought success to their division. Moreover, he did well during the Winter War and it proved to the female captain that he was not at all useless; he just needed to be in danger to bring out his potential.
"I-I-I'm sorry Soutaichou, Soifon-Taichou!" Omaeda came bursting into the room, apologizing furiously yet again. Without looking up, he returned to his spot behind his captain as he continued to adjust his robes, oblivious to the sniggering of both the 6th division's and 10th division's lieutenants.
Soifon could feel the vein in her forehead threatening to burst. He had not only brought shame to her but to the whole 2nd division as well! Immediately changing her mind, she swore that she would have killed him on the spot if not for the fact that she was to have someone to 'share' her duties with.
A loud thud brought everyone back to the situation at hand. The audience diverted their attention back to the Soutaicho who retracted his walking stick slightly from the ground. He returned the Zanpakuto to his side and looked at everyone with his closed eyes, in which no one knew how he managed to see with them closed.
The moment he deemed appropriate to speak, he started, "I've asked all of you here just for a simple reason. The Winter War has greatly affected us all, both mentally and physically." He gave an audible sigh.
"Although we will need to rebuild back our forces, the need is not immediate as our greatest threat is now gone. For that, I thank all of you and I hope that all of you are recovering properly after that ordeal." At the last sentence, he turned to look at the 4th division's Captain who simply who simply gave a smile to acknowledge the appreciation of her division's healing abilities.
"Therefore, due to your unwavering help to protect Soul Society, Urahara Kisuke and I have decided to organize a friendly game to help all of you relax. This game will take place in the Living World in the afternoon so please prepare yourselves for a fun day out. We will be meeting outside Urahara Shoten. The rules will be then announced. Till then, collect your Gigais outside of your barracks and make your way to the meeting zone." The Soutaichou ended, giving the audience a rare smile.
"Soifon Taichou, are we seriously going to participate in this event?" Omaeda hurried after his Captain, who immediately brisk-walked back to her barracks. "I mean, there doesn't seem to be any meaning in organizing this…"
Soifon sighed, "No matter how much I would like to remain here and finish up my paperwork, since it's the Soutaichou's orders, we must obey him. Now that my day would be wasted, you have burdened me even more with your laziness." She mumbled the last sentence to herself before ordering Omaeda to get ready. The captain then deployed the use of her flash-step and disappeared instantly, leaving the lieutenant to falter in his steps.
"Darn now I have lesser time to do my stuff!" He groaned.
"Oh… It seems like we are the first to arrive Taichou!" Omaeda munched on his rice crackers, looking around curiously. On the mission trips to the Human World, the man never had the chance to be near Urahara Shoten at all. Rolling her eyes, the Captain folded her arms and tapped her feet impatiently, waiting for the other captains to arrive.
"This is ridiculous. I would have finished off at least a fifth of today's work with this amount of time." Soifon said irritably, obviously wanting to return back to her office instead of being stuck in a Gigai that strongly lowered her spiritual energy.
As time passed, the other captains appeared one by one and soon, all had arrived with the exception of several captains, in which everyone knew the reasons to why – the 3rd, 5th and 9th division captains had abandoned their positions while the 7th division captain could only fit into a dog Gigai.
"I'm very glad that all of you have made time for this event and I assure you that you will be rewarded for your efforts. The game you will be playing is called 'Bowling'. I'm sure that some of you would have heard of it." Yamamoto Soutaicho glanced around, especially to Hitsuyaga, who nodded back in reply. The 10th division captain had been in the Human World long enough to have known that sport.
"I'm sad to say that Komamura Taichou will not be accompanying us as he is unable to fit into a human shaped Gigai. With the exception of Ukitake Taichou who isn't feeling well, anyone of you refuses to participate in this game?"
Surprisingly, Hitsuyaga raised his hand, with a pouting Matsumoto behind him. It was known that Hitsuyaga refuses to have anything to do with childish actions which also referred to bowling as he always sees young children making their way there and Matsumoto could not participate without her Captain.
"Anyone else? No?"
Nodding his head, the old man continued his speech. "With that, we will hereby start our game. The prize for winning this game would be no paperwork for 1 month!" That said, Hitsuyaga's jaw dropped; that was what he needed the most now, a well deserved break away from the humongous paperwork that stacked during the Winter War.
"You can't blame me Taichou! It was you who didn't want to participate." Matsumoto whispered to his ear earnestly.
As the Gotei 13 entered the noisy bowling area, the competitiveness started. The prize of not doing paperwork was too attractive for the remaining Captains and immediately, all of them started discussing their strategies.
Soifon was a little unsure of this. They were pitting against several strong Captains, especially the 6th division since Abarai was exposed to all these beforehand during his stay here in the Living World.
"Kuchiki Taichou! Don't worry! I'll teach you the basics! With me here, we will be invincible!" Abarai assured his captain, who was shockingly listening hard to every word his lieutenant had said.
"Didn't Abarai mess up during the last time Kurosaki challenged him to a match of bowling?" Hitsuyaga raised his eyebrow as he stared at the boasting tattoo-ed man with Matsumoto giggling furiously at his side.
"Soifon Taichou… Let me into the game. I can do it. I have enough concentration for this!" Omaeda pleaded his Captain but to no luck; the said captain would not believe him. Having known that the man would screw up at important points, the petite woman would not risk the chance, not when she wanted the prize badly.
"No, I don't want another incident of you screwing up. Your concentration is simply not enough. Look at you; you still have not attained your Bankai which shows that you do not possess enough determination." Was her sharp reply.
"B-But I can! I have-"
However, Omaeda could not finish his sentence as Yamamoto Soutaicho interrupted them. "We will be playing according to the elimination method and also according to the numbers of the divisions. Therefore, will the 2nd division and the 4th division captains step forward!"
Soifon and Unohana took a look at each other as they shook hands. Unohana gave Soifon a smile which the latter shivered under. At first, both teams were unable to have a good game as they were still new to bowling; the Gigai simply reduced their mobility.
The strategy that the 4th division adopted was an alternating one, whereby Unohana would bowl and if she did not let the pins fall completely, she would rotate and hand over the position to her lieutenant. For Soifon, she chose to stick to herself as she felt that alternating to Omaeda might not be as effective for that oaf would always mess things up.
Due to that, Soifon adapted faster to the game. She wasn't the Commander of the Onmitsukido for nothing. Relying on her instincts, she observed her surroundings and examined how the other players in the bowling area played and she followed suit, soon making a strike after another.
"See that Taichou? Soifon Taichou is a great example to follow. There are some tricks to bowling too..." Abarai whispered to his captain as he observed, the Kuchiki man giving nods occasionally and taking down several notes.
"The both of you have done your best and I declare Soifon Taichou the winner for this round!" as Soifon defeated Unohana by a large difference. One step closer to no more paperwork!, Soifon walked back with a smirk as Omaeda gave his Captain a thumbs up while Unohana returned to her lieutenant with a shrug.
The next two groups passed on fairly quickly; The 6th division won against the 8th division, Abarai cheering on his captain as his Captain made a beautiful strike ("See? That is why the 6th division is gonna win!" Abarai boasted) while Kyoraku was a little too drunk from drinking too much sake. In addition, the other female players at the other side of their area distracted him tremendously as he was busy ogling at them rather than at the pins. With his concentration not in the game, the 8th division captain could not aim properly and hence lost, much to the dismay of his Vice-Captain.
The 11th division was disqualified as Kenpachi used too much strength in his bowl and destroyed the entire lane, making the owners of the bowling place cry as they cordoned off that lane. After much persuasion and Kenpachi agreeing reluctantly to pay for the repair damages, the owners finally decided not to sue the man for destroying property. With the disqualification, the 12th division won by default.
"As we now have an odd number of divisions, I propose tha-" the old man judge started but was interrupted by the 12th division captain, who had decided not to participate in the game anymore and left the event, with Nemu hurriedly by his side.
'Darn that Kenpachi! Because of the lack of time I cannot calculate the measurements of the bowl to win and I don't want to lose. That will leave me with no face… besides, what harm can paperwork do to me. It gives me more information for my research...' The weird man laughed to himself loudly, making the rest of the Captains sweat-drop at the creepy actions of the scientist.
"Ahem! Since Kurotsuchi-Taichou has forfeited, the next round would be the finals. Will the 2nd division and the 6th division representatives please step up and prepare for it." Yamamoto gathered the finalists and briefed them once more.
"This is the last game and your chance to be free from paperwork. I hope to see a good fight. From now on, discuss about your strategies and may the best division win." The old man winked through his shut eyes, although the action seemed to be like a form of stroke.
"Right. This is the last game. One more game and I will be free from that darn paperwork." Soifon turned around and mumbled to herself, trying to keep her excitement unseen and started to do several arm stretches as Omaeda tried to make himself useful for he had not contributed much to the game, not yet. He crunched his eyes and concentrated to listen to the 6th division's plan but could not hear anything as the amount of noise in the bowling area was too high.
"Say, who do you think will win?" Matsumoto asked her Captain, but the captain simply refused to answer; he was still a little angry at his decision to not participate.
"Another round!" shouted Urahara as Soifon made another strike. It has been over 30 rounds and still both were tied. Byakuya clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to regain feel in it as he pumped blood into his numb hands. Aiming the ball, he then bowled it and ended up with 4 pins left standing.
"Oh ho! This time will our dear Soi-chan win?" Urahara wondered, making Soifon tick with anger for calling her 'Soi-chan'.
With her hands slightly shaking as she over exerted herself in the Gigai, Soifon found it hard to aim properly. Her wrist was aching but she had to push on. She was so close! The 2nd division captain made another bowl, this time hitting all in the middle except the ones at both the far end. Soifon groaned in frustration as she realized that she had caused herself into a deep fix while the others went "Ooh!" at the sight.
"Split!" Abarai shouted triumphantly, his fist pumped into the air. It was almost impossible to hit both and win. Even the best bowler had to be extremely lucky to get out of that mess, not to mention that the petite captain was almost out of steam. With that, their chances would be much greater as all the 6th division needed to do now was to hit over the pins that were huddled close together in their lane.
Growling in annoyance, Soifon watched as Abarai took over his captain who could not take it any longer, and hit over 3 pins, the last pin shaking a little but continued to stand firm.
"So close!" Urahara was heard mumbling, even over the loud noise.
Despite of that, a confident Abarai could be seen assuring his captain that they have already won. "With that split, there's no way they can hit the both of them down!" Abarai was heard saying.
'We are so going to win this! It's obvious that Omaeda has got no experience in this as he did not even play a single game at all. Even if Soifon Taichou allows Omaeda to play, there's no way he can beat that split. It's either a win or a draw this round but we're sure to win this!' The 6th division Vice-Captain smirked as he watched Soifon stand up, looking absolutely exhausted.
With hands trembling, Soifon cursed the limits of the Gigai and went forward to collect the bowling ball, only to be stopped by Omaeda. She looked at the man who then bowed at her.
"Taichou. Please allow me to play. You are already at your limit. Please! Trust me! I can win this!" he pleaded. Staring at Omaeda, Soifon contemplated. Yes, it was true that she was at her limit and her next shot would definitely be affected. However, did she trust her lieutenant enough to allow him to handle this important round?
"Please Taichou…"
It was unlike the man to plead with Soifon for this long; usually he would try to avoid any responsibility given to him. Deciding to trust that her Vice-Captain knew what he was doing, the petite captain finally gave in. She nodded her head and gave the man a firm pat on the shoulder.
"Go out there and show them what you're made of. And, don't fail me lieutenant."
The Vice-Captain of the 2nd division nodded his head and assured the captain who returned to her seat, much to the surprise of the 6th division. Holding the bowling ball with both hands, Omaeda squinted and moved sideways like a crab as he could not decide on which pin to hit.
"That looks stupid, are you sure you're gonna let him play?" Urahara whispered to Soifon, pointing at the man who decided to stick to standing on the right side. He then cocked his head left and right to reasons only known to himself.
An eyebrow twitched. "Shut up Urahara, before I give you a black eye!"
"Doesn't he know that it's impossible to hit both pins? I wonder if he will mess it all up… It's either a draw or the 2nd division loses. Taichou, wanna make it more interesting? Let's bet. I bet that he loses. If I win, I don't need to do any paperwork for a week." Matsumoto grinned as Hitsuyaga looked at his Vice-Captain, surprised.
What if he does win?" The young captain asked.
"What? There's no way he can do that, so actually, I win this bet." Matsumoto replied cheekily.
"If he does win, you'll forfeit your entire sake collection and you'll do a month worth of paperwork for me." Hitsuyaga smirked.
"Deal!"
The captain could only raise his eyebrows at how fast his lieutenant agreed to the deal. Perhaps it was really impossible to hit both pins down…
Taking in a deep breath, Omaeda closed his eyes. For a few moments, he was motionless and Soifon wondered what he was doing. "Come on, don't screw this up!" She hoped.
"Hyyyyyyyyaaaaaaah!" All of a sudden, Omaeda opened his eyes and yelled a battle cry. He then swung his hand forward and delivered the bowling ball, cupping his wrist as he did it before opening it at the top of the swing.
"A Cranker style?" Matsumoto looked on shocked.
Thud! The ball landed on the polished lane hard and rolled forward before starting to spin like a top. Abarai stared at the sight, stunned. Omaeda had actually used a hook and the spin was crazy! It was spinning faster and faster by the second!
'Does Omaeda even know what he's doing?' Soifon thought to herself, her hopes of no paperwork drifting further and further away.
"Come on! Come on!" Omaeda urged as he watched the ball start from a straight line to a curve before changing direction to the left. Abarai's eyes widened in anticipation as he secretly wished for the ball to fall into the 'drain' while the ball rolled dangerously on the edge.
However, the ball managed to scrape past the pin and amazingly, the pin started to spin as well. The energy must have transferred to the pin as soon as the ball touched it.
"What did Omaeda do to the ball to enable such a strong spinning force to transfer to a stationary pin with a mere scrape?" Abarai muttered disbelievingly at the sight. Twirling round and round like a ballerina, the pin made its way to the right of the lane. Reaching the other end, as if dizzy from the spinning, it then fell over and knocked over the other pin, bringing it down with it as well.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"It's a spare… It's a spare… IT'S A SPARE!" Omaeda shouted repeatedly, both hands on his head as he could not believe it. Soifon leapt to her feet in shock, her heart thumping hard while the rest looked on, jaw dropping. No, it was not a dream, they have won!
They have really won!
"Taichou we won! We won!" Omaeda rushed towards his Captain and gave her a bone crushing hug while the other captains moved forward to congratulate them.
"Matsumoto, you're so wrong. The ultimate winner is me. Seems like I have won too, without even participating." Hitsuyaga smirked, while his Vice-Captain hit her forehead in exasperation. She had dug her own grave!
"I declare the 2nd division the overall winners!" Yamamoto Soutaicho announced.
"No way... How is it possible?" Abarai was still stunned at the sight. However, he shivered as he felt an overwhelming aura behind him. No doubt he was in for a big trouble for falsely assuring his Captain...
Humming in delight as the 2nd division had no paperwork to do for one whole month, Soifon made her way back to her barracks. Passing by her lieutenant's barracks, she saw Omaeda outside of his room practicing with his Shikai, swinging and aiming it around accurately, hitting every single target he had put around him.
The captain walked towards him cautiously, attempting to test him and his accuracy and true enough, Omaeda had improved tremendously. He had detected a presence behind him even though Soifon was sure to hide her Reiatsu and therefore swung his Zanpakuto at her. The metal ball missed Soifon as she dodged the attack and landed heavily on the spot where the captain was before but bounced upwards as it changed direction, catching her off guard; it took Soifon two flash steps to totally avoid being hit. With a fierce expression, Omaeda retracted his Zanpakuto and prepared for another attack before finally recognizing that it was his Captain.
"Sorry for attacking you Taichou! I thought that it was someone else sneaking up on me!" He bowed down, asking for forgiveness.
"Omaeda…"
"H-H-Hai!" The said man looked up slowly and shrunk backwards, as if preparing himself for a beating but what he received was something that he had never received before in his entire life as a Vice-Captain – praise from his strict captain.
"You have improved tremendously. Well done, Omaeda."
And so, Omaeda's area of specialty was revealed in this episode, which was bowling. Well done Omaeda! At least you are not as useless as what the others say about you!
LOL! I tried looking at Omaeda's Shikai and this was what came up, a bowling ball. It looks a lot like it don't you think? And also the way he swings it forward to hit his enemy or something, it reminds me a hell lot like one.
Please review and tell me which areas I can improve on to be a better writer ^^
