Chapter Seven
In the Kuchiki compound, everything was peaceful at that moment. In the exquisite garden, the pool stayed still with only a few ripples every now and then. Every bush and plant was well taken care of and accounted for. Each trim was to the best. Everything was well. Well…not accounting for any sudden gusts of wind that seemed to ruffle the sakura flowers. In between such beauties of garden art were a field and a path. Two figures appeared and disappeared at various places whether it is on the ground, a rock, the roof, the porch, or even on each other. These two danced in this field, clashes happening often, but still, their movements were well fit for a dance. The eyes of a man darted back and forth, trying to catch sight of a speeding little bullet. Right at that moment, a flash too soon happened to his left. Down came his arm right onto her head.
The little girl sucked up her pain, grabbed onto her throbbing forehead, and sunk to the ground. "Ow! Pineapple Head! That was too hard! It hurts!" She cried out.
A certain red head smirked and picked up the little orange-haired girl. "Too slow. You're not even up to half of your father's speed, Masaki."
Masaki pouted, crossing her arms. "I was going fast. Pineapple Head…"
"Hey!" An irritated Renji picked up the child by the neck of her clothes. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?"
"But my daddy told me it's your special nickname." Masaki insisted.
"No it's not!" Renji yelled back.
"What is it?" Masaki innocently asked.
Renji scratched his chin, racking through his brain for a good answer. Sure he could just make her call him by his name. Or he could make up some good name like 'Your Highness' or 'Your Godly Awesomeness'. Yeah. That would be nice. Unfortunately, before he could answer, a certain captain happened to show up and knock Masaki away from his grip.
"Masaki Kurosaki. There was a lag time of exactly five seconds. Too slow." Byakuya commented as he placed the young child on the ground.
"Yes Uncle Byakuya…" 'You dummy dumb dumb', She humorously added in her head.
Byakuya turned towards his lieutenant, who was standing up like a stick, ready for orders. "Keep sparring with Masaki today."
"Yes sir!"
Masaki watched his bored and uncaring face. Sure, she could tell that it looked very similar to her godfather Hitsugaya. But Hitsugaya's scowls were warmer and out of exasperation. Byakuya here was a stone-cold, heartless sculpture. But the young child had to wonder. Did anyone ever break that scowl? During her lessons with Byakuya, she would often make funny faces or crack jokes. She would try making a mess with her study papers or she would randomly draw bunny pictures. She even tried having a normal conversation with him! He just never cracked! Such a strange person!
But today, she had a different idea. So, normal bonding methods did not work on old Byakuya. What about those other methods? Throughout her time spent in the Tenth Division, she picked up this little trick from next door.
"Uncle Byakuya!" Masaki tugged onto the captain's pants. "Can I spar with you instead?"
Renji's mouth dropped. What! Was she serious? Did she actually challenge one of the strongest captains in the entire Gotei 13 to a fight? Was she a nutty wacko? That may be the Ichigo traits starting to kick in.
"Don't get so ahead of yourself." Byakuya replied in his usual stoic fashion. "You still have a million ways to go before you can defeat me."
Masaki stubbornly continued holding onto his hakama, even though he was literally dragging her across the garden. "One little spar!" She insisted.
"I refuse. Your mother will have a heart attack if she heard you tried to pick a fight with me." Byakuya kept putting her off.
A frown erupted on the child. This shall not go down this way! She would get her fight one way or another. She could cry and complain, but that would only get her into more trouble. She wanted this fight. She wanted to see her uncle in action. She wanted to see if he ever broke face if his treasured people were ever harmed. With that in mind, Masaki quickly flash stepped up to his face.
"Hado Number 1: Sh-"
"Sai."
"Ah!"
Instantly, her arms locked up behind her back. Her foot slipped at the sudden kido effect and that sent the young child tumbling straight down. She would have crashed into the stony pavement and cracked open her head if it were not for her uncle catching her in his arms. Masaki growled at him, flipping a pigtail out of her sight. He slowly placed her down onto her feet and released her bonds.
"You see what I mean." Byakuya stoically turned his heel and walked away.
Masaki frowned and stuck out her tongue. "I'll beat you one day! I'll beat you and I'll take over that captain's seat! You'll see!" The young child shouted after her uncle, not entirely sure if he heard her at all. After that, Masaki was reduced to mumbling to herself and moping on the ground until somebody picked her up.
Renji placed the bitter girl on a porch and sat down along with her. "I don't get why you're always so mad at my captain."
"He's mean. And he's so hard to get along with." Masaki replied with a huff.
"Well you get along with me just fine. I remembered you being so scared of me when we first met."
"I thought you looked really scary. And I didn't like your hair color, Pineapple Head. Ow!" Masaki yelped. Her hands flew up to nurse her aching head.
"Renji Abarai. Call me 'Pineapple Head' and I'll punish you again." Renji warned and he waved up a balled fist. "Besides, you'll eventually get used to him. I mean, he may be a bit cold at first but he's a pretty good guy. It's just very hard for him to express that."
Masaki pursed her tiny lips and huffed back, "Everybody always says that. But I really doubt it. You never went through my trainings from him. You know what he did yesterday! He made me recite all of the Kuchiki Heads and all their accomplishments. I'm five! How can I remember all that?"
"Well…" Renji rubbed his chin again on that answer. Maybe that was a little bit harsh for such a young toddler. "He's trying to train you as the very best. Who knows? You might end up being the next Kuchiki Head."
Masaki smirked. "Maybe I can win that along with his captain seat when I beat him!"
"Someday…" Renji patted her tiny head. "Hey kid. You know, I was pretty disappointed that Rukia didn't get a son. But you got spunk just like me. I was just like you when I was your age. You know what? One day, I'll train you to beat up your pathetic excuse for a father."
"Daddy?" Masaki tilted her head, obviously pondering. Instead of asking another question, the young child perked up at her babysitter. "Hey Renji! You knew my daddy a long time ago too! Right?"
"Yeah. I was the first shinigami he ever fought. And I am your mother's oldest friend." Renji proudly announced.
"So you were there when my daddy rescued my mommy! How was it? How did my parents act back then?"
"Why are you asking me?" Renji raised his eyebrow. Shouldn't this be a question reserved for the parents? Why was she asking an outsider like him?
"I did ask my mommy and daddy, but I want to see this from another person's point of view. I asked my Uncle Shiro and my Auntie Nao, but they were away at that time. It was only you and a couple other captains that were there on the scene." Masaki explained.
"Hm…well, I guess you can say it was far from an ideal rescue." Renji noted whilst pondering in his memories. "They've always argued. Even though this moment was special, they would still try to pick a fight somehow. But you already know that your parents tend to argue a lot."
"So they're still the same…" She mumbled to herself, which the lieutenant managed to pick up.
"What you say?" He asked, shocking the little child.
"Oh…um…well…" Masaki stammered, but Renji's gaze refused to leave her, making her want to confess. "You see, Uncle Shiro and Auntie Nao also don't get along. I was just wondering what would happen if this special moment came up to them."
"Uncle Shiro? Auntie Nao? Oh! You mean, Captain Hitsugaya and Naori Hibana." Renji quickly guessed and Masaki confirmed with a shake of her head. "Oh yeah! I know them! Those two bicker so much that they remind me of Ichigo and Rukia." He suddenly paused when he noticed Masaki's face drop in disappointment. Was this child worried that those two?
He was right.
At this moment, Masaki felt that nothing was coming along like she planned. She would try to set them up only to be met by them cordially getting along like usual or arguing it out. Everything became a push and a pull. One person would pull, but eventually push away. This was happening so much between them that even Masaki felt that they were never going to recognize each other as something more.
A sudden pat on her head quickly cleared her out of her worries. "Hey don't worry so much. You know, your parents also act very differently when the time is right. Just let them run their own course. And you should focus back on training!"
"Yes Renji." Masaki replied and got up, ready to battle again.
But suddenly, an officer appeared by Renji's side. "The food supply ran out." The officer reported and vanished away just as fast.
"Really? How much do those people need to eat?" Renji muttered as he ran his fingers through his crimson hair. Well, this meant that he needed to go shopping and stock up yet again. Why does doing the groceries have to fall into a lieutenant's responsibilities? He still did not get that, along with organizing parties.
"Renji? What was that?" Masaki skipped back to the porch and hopped onto the hard wood.
"Oh. Some chores." Renji nonchalantly replied, but with a light bulb suddenly popping up. "Want to come along?"
OoOoO
Through the quiet outside halls of a building, two very important people strolled along towards an impending meeting. They looked quite beat up and tired. That's to be expected after such a long joint mission. One would happily greet anybody walking by while the other maintained composure. Occasionally, if anyone would stop for a moment, they would witness a cute little bit of bickering and teasing play out between the two. For such young adults, they seemed to act like they've skipped most of the bases.
A golden-eyed girl crossed her arms and haughtily marched up towards her captain. "Are you completely positive that's how it played out?"
"Yes!" Hitsugaya sighed back, running his fingers through his snowy hair. "I just told him my thanks for keeping Masaki safe. And for the last time, I'm straight! Why are you so uptight about this? Jealous?"
Naori felt a blush rise up to her light cheeks and nervously scoffed at his statement, "Like you should be talking. I heard all about your little tantrum back at the office. It's a good thing Lieutenant Matsumoto has such a big mouth!"
"That's-That's cause I told you not to interact with humans. And-And you did exactly that!" A flustered captain managed to stutter back. "Besides, it's a good thing Masaki has such a big mouth too or I would have never found out."
Naori suddenly perked up at the mention of that little child. "Oh yeah! She was left at your place for babysitting. So…did she ask a lot of questions about you?"
"Yeah pretty much." Hitsugaya sighed. "Now I know what you mean when Masaki gets too curious."
"Anything interesting come up?" Naori asked, inching closer to her captain.
"That stupid Matsumoto spilled everything from that time." Hitsugaya exclaimed, anger clearly within his voice. "That young child knows everything that happened five years ago. Even that…" He suddenly paused, raising the interests of Naori. This could get quite…uncomfortable. Maybe he shouldn't mention that time. This would make Naori flustered and him flustered and everything just plain awkward! But should he?
Naori softly grabbed onto his captain's robe, pulling herself closer to him. She knew something was troubling him. "That what?"
"That…that time…when you know…we had this huge fight and…" Too embarrassed to say anymore, he simply looked away. But it seemed Naori got the picture.
"What? Oh! Momo Hinamori! I thought I could trust her!" The shinigami girl wailed. She would have kept on doing so if it were not for her captain staying so eerily quiet. He wasn't even looking at her in the eye! Did that incident have that much of an impact on him? Wanting to know, Naori reached out for her captain, only for him to literally jump back before she could even touch him. "Captain Hitsugaya. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing." He quickly said in a clipped voice and started walking away.
"Hey!" Just as fast, Naori's hand took grasp of his arm and halted that guy to a stop. "What's wrong with you? I know something's on your mind. Is it about that kiss? I thought we were over about that. You told me yourself that it was on impulse."
"It wasn't."
"Huh?" That came out in such a quiet mumble that Naori didn't even know if those were words or random sounds. The confused girl released him from her grip and she tiredly folded them over her chest. "You're acting so strange. I can't see why this is troubling you… Oh! Was that your first kiss? Is that why you're so upset?"
If Hitsugaya didn't have this thing called 'dignity', he would have face-planted himself to the floor. Really? How much electricity has Naori played with that her brain became messed up so much? In what ways, did she connect the dots to come up with that solution? Was she that clueless? The icy captain became too surprised that words fail to come out of his mouth.
Naori's face lit up like a treasure mine was uncovered. "So it is that? Come on! It's not something to be ashamed about. Though it is funny for you to be worrying about trivial things like this. But, I mean, that-"
"No!" Hitsugaya quickly yelled, shutting down Naori so fast that even she was shocked at his very off-the-wall behavior. But this moment was not right for both of them. He didn't know what to say to her about this. Should he doubt it all the way? Agree with her? Or just piss her off and change the subject? Usually, the third choice was the instant taker. "Naori, what has gotten into your head to be making these choices? Is Masaki infecting you too?" That last option was honestly his least favorite one. But it always got him out of tight spots…even if it did strain their relationship. Luckily, Naori can get pretty dumb when she's really pissed off that she forgets what they were arguing about in the first place; something she has admitted to him. Could he ever admit something back to her?
"Excuse me? I just want to know what's wrong with my captain. I apologize that I tried to help." Naori angrily refuted back. "And if you're mad about the way we kissed, just so you know, you kissed me. How about you just do it again and we can get this whole argument settled?"
Did she just offer herself up to him? A shell-shocked Hitsugaya stared at that girl, amazed that she hasn't realized her own mistake yet. Only through the look on his face, did she manage to decode what she just said.
"Oh. Captain Hitsugaya. I didn't mean-well-what I meant-oh crap…" There went her nervous jumble of words as she tried to form something in her nervous wreck. Naori cupped her red cheeks and stared at her feet, not even willing to face her captain. Everything now just felt so wrong. It felt so nerve-wracking. She didn't want to be in this position. And she was pretty sure Hitsugaya felt the same.
Maybe she was wrong…
She felt his smooth fingers grip onto her chin and pull her face up. Her round eyes of gold met his serious eyes of teal. Dark blue hair met a soft spike of white. Just from judging from what she could physically see, they were pretty close together, probably at a couple inches apart. Hitsugaya looked away from her, breaking their gaze. Naori felt the heat emitting from him and saw his slightly pink cheeks shining.
"If I do this…can we not talk about it anymore?" He asked in a soft tone. He was nervous. He didn't know what came over him. Maybe, somewhere in his icy heart, he didn't want this situation to become another argument again. Looking back over her, he felt a pain grow in his stomach. He never noticed how pink her lips were or how smooth her skin was. He never found out how much her round, golden eyes were accentuated when paired with her dark blue hair of midnight. He never saw how cute she became when she wasn't looking mad or dull.
Hearing his husky voice speak, Naori felt her shaking knees go even weaker than they were before. She knew his voice was ridiculously husky for his age. She's been listening to it for years! Why did that one sentence turn her into a jelly? She widely stared back at him in shock and he gazed back in question. She wanted to run away. She wanted this to never happen. But she wondered, what would happen if it did?
He slowly inched closer. Her breath stopped. He came closer. Her eyes quickly snapped shut. Just watching his face this close was torture! She felt his breath on the little peaks of her lips and her hands balled into fists by her side. It's going to be okay. It was only one small peck and it will be over soon! He was nervous and she was freaking nervous. He probably had more guts to do something as daring as this and she should applaud for him later. When this is over…
Step. Step. Step.
Hitsugaya's eyes shot right back open. His head rebounded back like a boomerang. Naori was quick to react, but not quickly enough when he gagged her with his hand and quickly pulled them into a nearby room. What was this?
"So Renji, does your kitchen staffs cook everything from beef to fish? Or do they have special dinner nights where it's all beef and all fish?" That little voice! That little snoopy nightmare! If she saw them in this position, she would never ever live it down!
He responded very faintly with something about a combination. Judging from the volume, they were probably down the hall a few doors down. Hitsugaya had pulled her into his arms and they hid behind the sliding door. Naori stayed nestled in there, not her favorite position, with her head resting against his chest and still hand-gagged. She wanted to push away, but she would make a sound. She wanted to get his hand off her mouth, but he would make a sound. All they had to do was sit and wait in this tiny room that had nothing but a bed and some side tables.
"Hey Masaki, did you hear that?" Renji called out from the other side of the screen.
They heard her high-pitched voice respond. "Yeah. It sounded like somebody's clothes were being ruffled. I think it came from this room."
"The guest room? I wonder who's in there?" His hand suddenly touched the doorframe.
No time to think! This room had no blind spots! They couldn't hide behind anything! Except… In one quick solid motion, Hitsugaya threw Naori right onto the bed, drew up the covers, and covered them both. He could see Naori was going to scream something so he pushed his hand to seal her lips again. Through his frantic eyes, she saw an order to remain silent and still.
"Excuse me." Renji swiftly opened the door.
Masaki innocently peeked in afterwards. "Renji. I don't see anything. It's really dark."
She didn't see the very pink cheeks that one perverted lieutenant had. Renji quickly coughed and shut the door again, sealing this couple in the darkness. He quickly picked up Masaki and sped forward, not wanting to interrupt them anymore. "You know, Masaki, I'm going to let you pick the food first."
Feeling their spiritual pressure grow faint, Hitsugaya finally relaxed and released his hand from Naori's face. He quickly pulled away the sheets, uncovering their very messy only-in-there-for-a-minute bed head and wrinkled clothes. The captain quickly sat up, not wanting to face Naori anymore. That almost kiss was already enough for one day. The white sheets of the bed gathered down into his waist, but it twisted back to still cover her shoulders while she laid there, head still on pillow. If he were to look, her eyes were still bulging out in shock. Her mouth was slightly open. Her hands were laid out in front of her face. She practically looked dead rather than in shock.
Only minutes later, she finally found her voice. "Why did you do that?" Her light voice felt weak to him now.
"You heard Masaki. There was nothing I could do. And I know how fed up you are about her. So…"
"I don't hate Masaki-chan. I watched her grow up. You know how much I love her." Naori felt her strength come back to her weak arms and she managed to push herself to sit up as well. "We could have explained to them everything. Masaki-chan is not dumb and she can understand our situation."
"How would I know? I haven't seen her in five years." Hitsugaya was quick to argue back.
Naori sighed in her tired fit and plopped her head back into the pillow. Everything became such a blur just then. She was completely worn out! Maybe she'll take a nap after this argument. "I'm not saying that you're not close to Masaki-chan. I'm saying you're acting very impulsive."
Impulsive? Says the girl who doesn't really think a lot in desperate situations. If it were not for his quick thinking, they would be stuck in the middle of the hallway trying to explain everything to Renji and Masaki. Then, they would want to know more and they would have to keep talking more. He knew dirt when he can see it. That was one of the reasons Matsumoto was kept his lieutenant. But for Naori to be belittling him on this fact, even she should know what she's grateful for!
"Impulsive huh? Then if I'm so impulsive…" In one fluid motion, he maneuvered himself to hover over Naori's lying body. Both of his hands were planted near her shoulders. One of his legs fell directly in between hers and his other leg was left stretched out on his side of the bed. His captain's cloak fell down from his sides, blending in beautifully with the pristine blanket and sheets. Sure, this was sketchy. But watching Naori's face turn to shock made it all worth it.
Her golden eyes were shining once again as she stared into his teal orbs. Her kimono was obviously messed up that it rose slightly off of her shoulders, revealing a glimpse of her naked collarbone. Strands of her midnight blue hair flew all over the place, flowing down to embrace the pillow she was lying on. A slight pink was shaping her round cheeks and her chest rapidly rose up and down.
What he liked best about this moment was that he was in full control now. He inched a bit closer to her and he could see her hands nervously bunching up the sheets she was lying on. She would flinch slightly every time his breath fell onto her naked neck. When she felt he got too close, she would attempt to kick him where the sun don't shine only to be hindered by her caught hakama. He loved this upper hand. He loved messing with her and teasing her. Because when he did that, she reacted so cutely with her flustered and nervous reactions. She became not his cynical and taunting subordinate, but instead, a girl unsure of what to do.
But did he know when to stop?
He leaned closer to her, not even touching her, but enough to whisper through her ear. "If I did this…can we not talk about it anymore?"
Hitsugaya rose back up to gaze over her form before him. She still looked just as shell-shocked as before. Her soft lips parted slightly as if she wanted this to happen. But her widened eyes seemed to tell otherwise like a civil war was raging right inside her body. Slowly, he began to descend, getting closer and closer to her silent face. He felt the sheets tighten up from around his legs. If she were to squeeze any tighter, her nails might rip through the sheets and pierce her own skin. Her body began to tremble slightly when she felt their clothes touch and she slowly sank deeper into the mattress. He felt her heartbeat grow in rapid succession as their chests touched. He wondered if she felt his beating heart. His face came closer and closer. Her eyes snapped shut and her lips began to relax in its parted form. He closed his eyes, tilted his head, and sank slowly towards her…waiting…
"Hiccup!"
What was that? Hitsugaya rose back up, staring oddly back at Naori.
Instead, she looked quite embarrassed and her hands flew up to cover her lips. Another squeak of hiccups came out between her fingers along with a red covering her face. It totally came from her and she knew it. And she was not proud of it.
Hitsugaya smirked back at his flustered subordinate. The captain sat back up and got off of his little victim. It'd be best to end it there. That was it. Moment was already ruined. There was no need to continue this farce. And fragile Naori looked like she couldn't handle it anymore. She looked quite tortured enough for one day. Quickly, he got off the bed and brushed down on the wrinkles of his uniform. Turning back though, he still saw his shocked subordinate lying still on the bed and staring mindlessly at the ceiling.
"Don't worry. I didn't do anything to you."
She didn't move. Was she still that much in shock and terror? Was the teasing a bit too far?
"Naori…" He reached out for her only to have his hand slapped away like a mosquito.
Naori sat back up, not even looking at him in the eye. "You're horrible." She mumbled under her breath.
He merely smirked back. His hand traveled towards her forehead, removing a stray strand of hair before softly resting on her cheek. He could still see her blush sitting on her cheeks and her nervous flinches from when he touched her again. She was trying so hard to maintain composure even though he knew she fell apart a long time ago.
"Get back up, Crybaby." He softly told her, pulling her out from the bed.
She didn't say one word of reply. She merely followed after him with her head held down as they ventured out of the room. This was too much for her already! First to be teased so much and to almost be kissed a second time! And in the most inappropriate manner too! She wondered why her heart had not burst yet. And here, her captain is leaving with the last laugh. She always hated those times he bullied her, whether it be paperwork or her feelings. Maybe because he always let her have the upper hand…who knows? But she didn't like it when he did the same thing back to her. It always left her in this unusual and flustered state.
Slowly, Naori reached out and grabbed onto her captain's sleeve, prompting him to stop.
"What is it?"
"You…you never did it." Naori softly said, placing her head up to face her captain once again. "Our agreement is void."
"That?" His eyebrows rose up in question. Just what is she talking about?
"That…that…" Her voice softened a bit after a nervous pause. "The kiss…from five years ago. It's nothing for you to be ashamed about…because…that…that was my first kiss too…" Another wave of red rose back up to her cheeks and she quickly turned away. She quickly released his sleeve and stood back, waiting for him to continue.
He did exactly that. She knew that there was a meeting to attend and time was wasted. He turned around and continued on with the walk. But deep inside his heart, he wished he continued with that last kiss.
Shinigami Cup!
Matsumoto sat all by herself on a rock with nothing but a bottle of sake and a cup in hand. They were currently on a joint mission with the Fifth Division. That meant at this campsite, five people surrounded the campfire: Rukia, Ichigo, Hitsugaya, Naori, and herself. One married couple to one side and a maybe couple on the other with lonely, lonely Matsumoto smack in the middle.
"Rukia! It was only a little story! Ouch! Why'd you have to hit me?"
"Ichigo! I thought I told you to stop telling Masaki those ghost stories! You know how afraid she gets!" Rukia nagged, finger waving and all.
"Captain Hitsugaya. When you gazed at this mysterious Yu stranger, did you feel anything?" Naori asked, tugging onto her captain's sleeve.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm straight! Straight as a stick!"
Matsumoto merely stared on and took another swig. This was going to be a long night.
I have been so lazy with updating. I just have so much to do these days. But I managed to finally post this up! Since I've deprived you of your fluff, here it is! And they STILL don't kiss. In this chapter, you'll see all the romantic tensions that have developed for our lovely couple. A teasing romance, you can say. But our Hitsugaya and Naori are not very…open individuals. So don't be expecting any "I love you" or dramatic love confessions any time soon.