Author's Note:
( Written in Vietnam.

Since all the houses here are so cramped, there's no room for cars, so everybody in my family drives motorcycles. When we're going to places with lots of people, though, we call taxis, and I guess no one here is used to riding in cars, so I feel bad (yet rather repulsed) when all of them are throwing up. Though the bad driving might be a factor as well. )

So. I have given in, and have joined NaNoWriMo for this year. I know, it's sad -- I've gone from a sadist to a masochist. -sigh- I do have a couple more pre-written drabbles, though, so I won't leave you wonderful people in suspense for too long. (LOL, I'M SO FULL OF SHIT.) But a large and wonderful thank you goes out to IluvBleach, aznjtgirl, ManonLeChat, xushi, xwannaflyx, Charmane, AriesRaccoonRebi, Batsu Espada, Tatsumaki-sama, Flying Through Infinity, Aosugiru Sora, Dior Crystal, Miko-Ceres, ginlovesrangiku (HELL YEAH, BABY!), animefreak, and Rangiku for reviewing! :D

Kaleidoscope
a Bleach (© Kubo Tite) fanfiction

Theme #54
cake

Opening Song: "Sunrise Sunset" - Aiden

Gin was little confused when Rangiku showed up to his promotion party with gift-wrapped cake batter. "It's your present!" she had told him simply, though as much as he wracked through his mind, he couldn't recall anything sentimental about cake batter. When he asked her about it after the party, she laughed sheepishly before saying, "You see, I wanted to make you a cake, but I was afraid I'd mess it up, so I thought we could make it together!"

And that was how Ichimaru Gin, the newly appointed captain of the 3rd Division, found himself in the compound kitchen dressed in a pink apron and a chef's hat. He was a little apprehensive at first, but after Rangiku had tried to mix in vinegar and red bean paste into the batter, he was rather glad she hadn't attempted to bake it herself.

"Didn't ya think ta just buy a cake?" he asked as he beat in the eggs.

She snorted as though it were the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. "How lame do you think I am, Gin? Buying you a cake made by someone else would have absolutely no sentimental value!" He figured that just meant that she spent all of her money on clothes and accessories, but decided to keep that to himself.

"Well, we're almost done, so no point in complainin' now, I guess." He carefully put the tray into the oven before closing the door, and after a half hour of poker, the cake was finished.

Rangiku more or less squealed as she pulled out the sprinkles and frosting. "Time to get decorating!"

While she quickly went to work with creating some image from the sprinkles, Gin looked curiously at the bright pink frosting. "Pink...? I don' think I ever came off as a pink kinda person... Than again, Rangiku's the one who bought this stuff." Then, without really thinking about it, he lightly poked Rangiku's cheek with the frosting, leaving behind a pink dab.

She instinctively yelped as she jumped back, then blinked as she poked at the frosting. "What the hell, Gin!?" She chucked some sprinkles at him.

"Hey now, don' be makin' a mess!" he warned, though he himself squirted some more frosting in her direction.

"Giiiiiin!" she whined as she looked down at mess on her shinigami robes. This time she grabbed at the cake, chucking a fairly large piece at him. It landed on top of his head with an unpleasant "plop." After several more unsuccessful attempts to stop the war that was about to ensue, Gin and Rangiku pelted each other with frosting, sprinkles, cake, and unused batter until the kitchen was almost unrecognizable.

"Ummm..." The two paused in mid-throw, with Rangiku holding what was left of the cake above her head and Gin squeezing the last two tubes of frosting. A very confused, very shocked Kira stood in the doorway, his visible eye widening as he took in the war zone. "... I'm sorry for interrupting, but it's fairly late and the others are complaining about the noise keeping them up. But I guess since Ichimaru-taichou's here it's okay, so I'm just gonna leave now." Two seconds later, he was gone.

Gin sighed as he put down the tubes. "This is gonna be a pain to clean up..."

When Rangiku chortled, he knew he made a mistake by putting down his weapons. The remainder of the cake was suddenly thrust towards him, so that it now decorated the front of his robes, including his new captain's robe. "I win!" she declared, cackling as she threw her arms up into the air. She picked up one foot, ready to run out the door, but by the time she realized that a frosting tube was right under her, it was too late. She tripped and fell into the mess on the floor, so that she was now coated in a second layer of baking ingredients. "Ugggh, grooooss!"

Gin chuckled as he crouched down and patted her hair, and cake batter raised from it. "Looks like I win after all."

"Tch, whatever." She looked away with a scowl, but then turned back towards him with a look of curiosity. Before he could ask she reached towards his face with one finger and wiped off a smudge of cake from his cheek. She tasted it, but instantly made a face of disgust. "Gross! I guess asking you to help me bake wasn't all that smart either."

"Well, at least we now know that cake was used for a better purpose." Before she could agree, he had already stood up and walked over to the corner of the kitchen, where he pulled out rags and a mop. "Time to get cleanin'."

She groaned, but looked even more disdainfully at her clothes. "Only if you take the dry cleaning bill."

Closing Song: "Touchdown Turnaround" - Hellogoodbye

Word Count: 809

There's a KFC on pretty much every street corner of Saigon. It's a little unnerving.