Title: Lily and Thistle

Author: paws_bells

Characters/Pairing: Sarugaki Hiyori and Hirako Shinji

Type: One-shot Collection (InComplete)

Genre: Romance/Humor

Word Count: 3762

Rating: T (Contains content not suitable for children)

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite.

Summary: 'Say Please'-verse. The language of flowers. The devoted and passionate Lily. The brave and loyal Thistle. A bouquet of love. One-shot series.

Created on: 01/10/13

Completed on: 03/10/13

Chapter Last Revised on: 16/04/16

The Hardest Words – Part I

Akon warily eyed the short, golden-haired woman whom he had come all the way to the Living Realm to study. Urahara-san had mentioned that he could find her in this decrepit, abandoned building also dubiously dubbed as the 'Vizard Warehouse,' and he had been let into the premises – which had been protected by some of the most powerful Kido wards that he had ever seen – after being personally vouched for by the ex-Captain of the Twelfth Division.

Right now, the pigtailed female still remained unaware of his presence as she was busy annihilating everything in sight with just pure melee combat. The tall, black-haired Shinigami had followed the ferocious reiatsu signature down to what had looked like an enormous, secret underground training arena located beneath the property. He had immediately noticed that a fake, but rather convincing sky had been painted on the impossibly high and wide ceiling overhead, and the training facility also seemed to have a desolate and craggy, rocky terrain feel going for it.

In the far distance ahead was a violent streak of red shooting aggressively about the training ground in short but incredibly swift bursts of shunpo, so impressively fast it appeared to the naked eye that she would materialize and disappear in random places seemingly at an instant. The spiritual pressure that she had let loose was significant and extremely hostile, edgy and frustrated, and she had not even put on yet the Hollow mask that he had come specifically to see.

Surreptitiously concealing his own presence and reiatsu completely, Akon took the opportunity to observe his ex-colleague. Her fighting style was still as erratic and violent as he had last remembered it to be. In fact, she seemed to have gotten even more terrifying in that endeavor, and he watched as she ferociously tore apart a humongous boulder into smithereens with her bare hands, the latest victim in a long string of enormous stone constructs that had been unlucky enough to offend her sensibilities in some way or another. She was such an awfully scary little heathen, even though she had hardly looked like she had aged or grown at all since the last time he had seen her over a century ago.

The woman wore her hair up in pigtails like she used to, and she was also still a short and tiny little thing – in fact, he distinctly remembered that she seemed larger and more physically intimidating in the past, though that might probably be because he had been quite young himself back then and had not been much bigger than her. Now though, he had grown, a young adult in terms of appearance, and he had also shot up like a reed when it came to height, quite obviously matured. He would not be surprised if she no longer recognized him–

Quite abruptly and unexpectedly, his invasive presence had been detected, and an aggravated flare of reiatsu was all the warning Akon received of the impending confrontation. The Third Seat of the Juunibantai looked up just in time to see a significantly pissed off Sarugaki Hiyori shooting his way, and his black eyes widened imperceptibly when she crossed the distance between them in what seemed like the blink of an eye to appear right before him.

Hiyori did not just stop there; she barreled right into the intruder and sent them both flying backwards with unrestrained and pronounced force. They were airborne for a while before skidding across the uneven floor, and the landing was especially rough for Akon, since the pigtailed blonde had quickly attached herself to him and immediately pinned him to the ground after they had finally slid to a stop. The young woman wasted no time straddling his stomach and digging her knees into his side, one hand clenching into the lapels of his black shihakusho and holding him down whereas the other was curled into a tight fist, already cocked back and ready to let loose on his face.

Akon started to swear – the damn little monkey was even more blindingly fast when up close, and while he could and would fight, he preferred his research more and hadn't exactly come here to do battle with the female Vizard. Slowly peeling an eye open after the abrupt and painful collision, the black-haired and horned male was about to speak when he took his first close look of the woman currently sitting on him. Akon suddenly froze.

Ferocious ochre eyes, large, feline, and tilted, stared him down fearlessly. "Who are ya and what are ya doin' here, ya damn Shinigami?" Hiyori demanded, but he just continued to look at her in seemingly dazed surprise. The impatient female growled then, growing even more annoyed.

She had been minding her own business and trying to get a spot of training done when she suddenly realized that there was a perpetrator in the Vizard Warehouse, and it was a stinkin' Shinigami 'ta boot, one whom she did not recognize. Hiyori had been feeling frustrated with her own problems lately and she had been trying to work it out (and by 'work it out,' she meant beating things concave and thrashing the training ground while she was at it), and the presence of this shitty Death God was not helping to improve her mood any.

This Shinigami was also quite obviously a bit slow in the head, for he wasn't reacting to her and was just gaping at her like an idiot. He didn't look all that capable at all and the golden-haired female wondered how on earth he had managed to sneak into the building without alerting Hachi in the process.

"Oi. Are ya deaf or what?" Hiyori asked rudely. She also gestured with her fist, an unspoken warning that he was going to get a beating from her really soon if he did not explain himself, and after a while, Akon blinked slowly, as if just snapping out from his stupor, and then he hurriedly looked away from the small female on top of him. The mildest tint of a flush crept onto his cheeks, and the petite woman frowned at the man weirdly for his strange reaction.

Hiyori's scowl deepened. "Who the hell are ya?" she repeated her question, and he finally looked at her once more. It took more effort for Akon to maintain his composure than he had thought possible, but looking straight into those catlike eyes of hers was akin to being punched straight in the chest – a reaction that the black-haired man had never thought would happen, especially with the monkey girl whom he had known since they were both children. His blood quickened in his veins, and for some reason or another, his heart was racing nervously, his palms sweating, and it was a good thing that he had constant practice keeping a poker face from being around Kurotsuchi Taichou for the past century or so, or he would have embarrassed himself right in front of this woman – this extremely attention catching and appealing woman who he could not quite seem to stop gawking at.

W-Wait; was this really happening? Was he really showing interest in-

The way her tiny little fang was poking out of her mouth was simply charming, and he belatedly realized that her small, freckled face was really quite adorable up close. Akon started to look a bit dazed once more.

"Ex-Lieutenant Sarugaki Hiyori," he managed to speak then, his voice remaining surprisingly steady despite his shaken demeanor. Out of the blue, he had just been struck by Cupid's Arrow, and the violent little hellion whom he had rather detested in the past was suddenly completely endearing and perfect. She reminded him of an angry but fluffy little kitty to him, and Akon had always had a soft spot for cats. He had been too young to care about such things the last time he met her, but now, now he was nearly overwhelmed by the strongest urge to pet her. She was cute, he thought, smitten.

"You don't remember who I am?"

Hiyori narrowed her eyes slightly. She leaned in just a tad closer to study the features of the male lying rather passively under her, and if anything, his flush seemed to spread a bit further across the bridge of his nose at her proximity. She wondered if he was getting sick or something.

"The hell are ya?" she asked abruptly. "I've never seen ya in my life before."

"I'm Akon," he told her then, and she stared at him like he had grown horns on his head. Which he had.

Hiyori could not believe it. Wait. Akon? The same one from Seireitei? From her old division? The one who was always arguing with her? "No way," she blurted out. "That runt? But ya don't look like him at all!"

He frowned slightly at her reply. "You were even smaller than me back then," he replied in turn, and she started to glower again. "Anyway, can you get off of me already?"

Oh. Right. The conversation was a bit awkward since she was still pinning him to the ground. Hiyori let go of him and climbed back to her feet, staring warily at him as she did so. The blonde still had some trouble believing that this tall, lanky male was one and the same as the Akon she knew – but now that she looked closer, the facial structure and coloring were indeed nigglingly familiar. The fact that the other had grown whereas she still possessed basically the same short stature made her scowl slightly with jealousy.

"Anyway, what are ya doin' here?" she immediately demanded to know.

Akon stood up as well, dusting himself off and then looking at the blonde. She was so petite but fierce, and once again, he found her fiery nature rather refreshing and attractive. Cute, he thought once again, before shaking the notion right out of his head. Akon hadn't even known that he was interested in women like this one until today.

"I'm here under the orders of Kurotsuchi Taichou to observe the Vizards," he replied then, and she stared at him like he was crazy.

"HUH?!"

One week later, Shinji stepped into the Vizard Warehouse on an afternoon to find it strangely quiet and deserted. It didn't take him long to discern the reason behind this unusual phenomenon – Hiyori was not around. Popping back over to the main area where both Lisa and Love were lounging around enjoying the peace and quiet for once – as well as getting some good reading in – he asked.

"Hey. Where's Hiyori?"

Love answered him. "Over at Urahara's. The 'lil shit's over there more often than not recently, playing with the newcomer."

Shinji frowned slightly at that. "What newcomer?"

Lisa raised her eyes from her erotic novel then. "Weren't you the one who sent him her way?"

"…Who?"

The ebony-haired female Vizard shrugged, and then Love took over again. "Anyway, you'll find her at Urahara's training ground. And don't worry, Hachi's with them."

Now, the fine-haired blonde was even more baffled. Why on earth would he be worried? Still, he left the two to their reading and excused himself, his curiosity driving him over to Kisuke's not-so-simple and not-so-little shop house. The man in question happened to be sunning on a deck chair outside his shop, a teapot and a cup of tea sitting on the small stand beside him, and the bucket hat wearing male unfurled his fan and hid a smile behind the paper harisen when the former saw his approach.

"Why, what brings you here to my humble little shop today, Gobantai Taichou?" the tousled blonde asked in his usual teasing, sing songy tone. Shinji came to a stop a few paces in front of the man, looking slightly exasperated as he did so.

"Lisa and Love directed me yer way; they said that I might find Hiyori here."

"Ah. Yes. Hiyori-san is indeed within my premises right now," Kisuke confirmed. "She's sparring with Yoruichi, last I noticed, with Hachi observing, plus one." The man's grey eyes lightened with sly humor. "Is the extra attention on Hiyori-san concerning you, Shinji?"

The Shinigami Captain had no idea what his friend was talking about, of course. "You tell me. I don't even know what's goin' on here."

Kisuke got up from his seat and gestured for the other man to follow him as he retreated into the shop. They proceeded to make their way down to the huge underground training arena that sat beneath the Urahara Shoten, and the fine-haired blonde immediately noticed the presence of another Shinigami in their midst, standing by the sideline with Hachi, and if he remembered correctly, that was the Third Seat of the Twelfth Division.

"What's that fella doin' here?" Shinji asked, curious. He glanced at the center of the training area next, briefly observing the ongoing spar between a fully masked Hiyori and the purple-haired Goddess of Flash. The match appeared to have been going on for quite some time already, and both combatants were relying purely on Hakuda and Hoho to fight – the pigtailed blonde seemed to be holding up well enough against her mentor, throwing her all at the feline shape shifter and enthusiastically and unreservedly putting herself through the paces.

"Ah, Kurotsuchi-san dispatched Akon-san here to collect more physical information on the Vizards. He's starting on Hiyori-chan first and will work his way down the rest of the others after her."

That wasn't really surprising, in hindsight. The Captain of the Twelfth Division had also been extremely interested in the Shinigami/Vizard hybrids who had returned to the command of the Gotei 13, and often sent his subordinates to collect data on them – up to a point, of course. None of the reinstated officers were all that interested in making a visit to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute for a thorough examination, after all.

"…I'm kinda surprised that Hiyori's actually puttin' up with this," Shinji admitted. He had been pretty certain that his brat would not want anything to do with Shinigami – she was usually the first to start attacking any Death Gods that crossed her path, after all.

Kisume appeared amused. "Hiyori-san has been personally acquainted with this particular individual in the past – perhaps that's why she's more obliging this time."

Just then, the fight at the arena finally seemed to come to an end by mutual agreement, and Hiyori's hollow mask disintegrated, revealing her bright glowing eyes and exertion flushed features. Her previously soaring reiatsu levels were also tucked away, and she turned to Yoruichi immediately, rather animatedly discussing the spar and not noticing him yet.

Shinji started to move forward to his lover then, attempting to catch her attention. He was here today to see her, after all. It had been over a week since she last came to him, on her period and seeking out the comfort of his presence, and now, he had found some spare time that he would like to share with her as well. She had been pretty insecure the last time, and he might have had neglected her a bit too much if she was feeling that way, and so he was here to suggest that they both take some time out to spend with each other.

Before he could do so though, the other Twelfth Division Shinigami went up to Hiyori and intercepted her first. The tall, lanky male spoke to her briefly, looking as though he was asking her some questions regarding her abilities. Hiyori replied candidly, and then she scowled grumpily at the black-haired Shinigami and proceeded to sock him in the arm not-so-lightly when he dryly responded to her in turn. Shinji noticed that even though the Third Seat officer could have easily avoided her halfhearted punch, the man did not move to do so like most would have done – instead, he passively allowed the smaller female to hit him and had not even made any move to protest or reprimand her for the unprovoked attack. It was a curiously unusual response but it wasn't anything extreme, and the fine-haired Captain started to dismiss his casual observation –

Then, the younger Death God handed Hiyori – and only Hiyori – a clean towel to wipe her sweaty face with, in the process showing an inordinate amount of care towards the petite blonde that was quite distinctly non-platonic. That, Shinji found that he was unable to just as easily attempt to brush off, though his completely oblivious lover simply accepted the other man's gesture of affection and thought nothing of it at all.

Shinji's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. "Who did ya say he is again?" the blonde asked his friend beside him in a perfectly calm, level tone, though he never took his gaze off the scene playing before him. Kisuke shook his head lightly.

"Akon was my subordinate, and I believe that he's also a childhood friend of Hiyori's. They used to be quite antagonistic towards each other though, like you and Hiyori were in the past," the tousled blonde remarked. "Now that they are both fully grown adults, obviously something's changed."

Shinji's brow knitted slightly, but he made no comment. Hiyori finally saw him then, and her eyes widened slightly in surprise – and a hint of apprehension? Her reaction to him was odd, and he had known her for so long that he could easily read her like a book; she had always been that open to him. Locking his gaze to hers, he gestured her over, and after a small hesitation, she slowly, almost reluctantly, went to him.

Still smiling, Kisuke excused himself to join Yoruichi, Hachi and Akon, leaving the pair of lovers to talk in privacy.

The taller male had his arms folded in front of his chest, his hands tucked into the opposing sleeves of his Captain haori. He glanced down at his petite mate, and his frown deepened just a bit more when he noticed the unusual way she was fidgeting almost uncomfortably before him, and she also seemed to have trouble keeping eye contact with him as well.

"So, I heard that ya found a new friend," he mentioned almost gruffly by way of greeting. She glanced at him briefly, and then she looked away again.

"…He's not new," she muttered back after a while. "Akon and I go way back too. He's okay, I s'pose."

That was high praise, indeed, coming from her. He looked at her closely.

"I thought ya hated all Shinigami," he pointed out then, slowly.

Much to his increasing disbelief – and irritation – she flushed slightly in response, almost like some shy maiden whom he could not recognize. She had never acted like that before when they were talking about people. But then, her eyes caught his fleetingly, and she quickly mumbled out.

"I don't hate ya."

Her clumsy but sincere reply soothed him somewhat, and his gaze softened slightly. She was such an awkward little thing.

"Yeah, I know," Shinji replied, his tone gentling with fondness for her, his affection apparent. Hiyori looked at him uneasily.

"…What are ya doin' here anyway?" she asked. She was speaking to him in a strangely stilted fashion that made him look at her oddly. She sounded like she was being really careful in her speech, and her cautious demeanor in turn made him feel slightly on edge as well, almost as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop – Hiyori was, after all, never cautious around him, not unless she was up to something, at any rate.

He shrugged and raised a brow at her. "Why do ya think I'm here, stupid?" he asked softly, and much to his amusement, she turned just a touch redder. He would not deny it – she was being utterly charming right now. The others weren't paying them a whit of attention at the moment, and so he stepped closer to her. Her catlike eyes widened slightly, and she stiffened, looking unusually tense.

"S-Shinji," she mumbled, flustered, her eyes darting about nervously. She was being weirdly flighty today, but he simply chalked it up as yet another one of her moods.

"So, I was thinkin' that maybe we should go on a short trip or somethin'," he told her, getting right to the purpose of his visit. "I have a few free days comin' up, so let's do it – just you and I, of course. What do ya say?"

Hiyori froze. She looked at him in shock, and then she took a quick step back. Surprisingly enough, the pigtailed Vizard shook her head.

"I don't wanna," she blurted out quickly, sounding almost panicked. "Uh…I have 'ta stay here and, uh, help Akon." There was a pause as he looked at her rather incredulously.

"Are ya serious?" he asked, having some trouble comprehending her unexpected reply. He had been quite certain that she would have appreciated the idea of them spending time together, but she seemed quite resistant against it. He started to frown.

"Is that all ya came for?" Hiyori asked, and when he did not deny it, she quickly continued. "Ya should go back now," she told him rather abruptly, seemingly eager to make him leave, much to his increasing bafflement. "I need 'ta, uh, show Akon around, so let's talk 'bout this some other time."

Hiyori was very skittish – and acting stranger by the second. She took yet another step away from him. Shinji's frown deepened. Before he could demand to know what's going on with her, the smaller blonde suddenly turned and took off – and she grabbed her newly reunited friend with her.

"C'mon, didn't ya promise 'ta treat me 'ta dinner last night?" Hiyori demanded from Akon even as she hauled the bemused and rather smitten male off. "Let's go. Now."

Shinji just stared, nonplussed, as Hiyori scrambled out of the underground training area with the other Death God in tow. Then, the Shinigami/Vizard Captain started to scowl, turning to the bemused trio of Kisuke, Yoruichi and Hachi as he did so.

"My, my," the cat woman tsked. "Did you piss Hiyori-chan off again, Shinji?"

"…That's quite the record," her tousled blond lover commented next. "I only left the two of you alone for less than five minutes."

"Oh dear," the pink-haired giant added sympathetically.

Shinji was not amused, and most of all, he was just feeling plain dumbfounded by what had just occurred.

"…Had Hiyori just shunted me aside 'ta go off on a date with whats-his-name?"

"Yes."

"Yes~."

"…Anou, yes."

Omake

Akon eyed the pigtailed girl sitting beside him on the counter of the ramen stand as she dug into her third serving of the hot, savory noodles that evening. She obviously possessed quite the appetite, and even though he thought he preferred women with daintier eating habits, he found her matter-of-fact, hearty approach to food rather endearing, and was therefore more than happy to feed her as much as she could pack into that petite, waifish body of hers.

Of course, the dingy ramen stand was hardly his ideal location for a dinner date, but she had sprung her demand on him so suddenly, dragging him out of his ex-Captain's shop house and pulling him into this eating establishment before he could even have a say in the matter, and he had easily conceded to her decision in the end. Besides, the food really was as delicious as she had promised, and her bossy demeanor was also kinda cute. She didn't talk much though, concentrating on consuming the bowls of noodles instead, ravenous after her spar with the Shihouin princess, and she was only starting to slow down now that the initial edge of her hunger had been taken off.

Slurping the ramen into her mouth and chewing slowly, Hiyori swallowed the salty mouthful of floury goodness before she suddenly paused and sighed instead, as if afflicted by a heavy burden. Instead of digging out more of the noodles from the bowl, the blonde started to use her chopsticks to swirl its contents in a rather troubled manner, her small, freckled face screwing up into a frown.

"What's bothering you?" the black-haired Shinigami asked then, trying his best to sound casual despite the fact that he was acutely aware of the fact that she was sitting very closely to him and that their elbows were nearly touching. The female Vizard did not look like she had heard him at first, and he was about to repeat his question when she suddenly looked up and met his curious gaze with her own.

At such close proximity, the way her large, feline eyes looked at him boldly and unhesitatingly made him feel once again as if she had just reached into his chest and squeezed his heart in her small fist – she was that visually arresting to him. Akon started to feel his cheeks warm, and he quickly distracted himself by grabbing his cup of tea and taking a deep, calming drink from it.

"Oi," Hiyori spoke slowly then, turning her full attention to the Shinigami. She had been plagued by this aggravating problem for the last week or so already, and was already at her wits' end after trying to straighten out her thoughts on her own but to no avail. The downright awkward encounter with her baldy just now had been utterly mortifying for her as well – she had not expected to see him today and was also not quite ready to face him yet – she could not even look the other blond in the eye at the moment, and so she could only beat a temporary retreat, choosing to bolt rather than to remain subjected to his highly perceptive attention.

Because the dumbass was really, really, smart, and he would definitely root out her secret before she was ready to reveal it to him, and for once, this was not something Hiyori wanted him to easily guess out of hand.

The young woman felt her own cheeks start to redden as well, and Akon's eyes widened slightly when he saw how pretty she looked just then, never mind that she was still in her tracksuit and wasn't exactly dressed or primped up for a date.

Hiyori did not seem to notice at all the effect that she had on the tall, black-haired Shinigami. She was more interested in finding out another perspective on her 'little' problem, and maybe a male brain might do just the trick.

"So, uh, how exactly are ya s'posed 'ta tell someone that ya love 'em?"

Akon reacted in the only way that he could at that moment.

He splurt out his tea right in her face.

::tsuzuku::