Wow I can't believe I'm on chapter 18 already... makes me proud of where I'm going as an author that you guys like my story enough to take it this far. On that note, thank you to Albinos for more reviews, here's the chapter!
Chapter 18... Drink to Health
Kyouraku was reading the official autopsy report that had been sent around the day after the 6th girl had gone crazy and had been killed. Alongside the report was a list of signs to look for in any ill division members, and if a member had more than 1 of the symptoms they needed to be sent immediately to 4th for quarantine. Also, if the signs went unnoticed and a member went crazed, then bloodshed was to be avoided at all costs.
Kyouraku sighed. An infectious illness that eventually melted the brain was just what the Seireitei needed so soon after the Aizen war. Could they have no peace? Nanao walks into the office and sets her book on her desk. She moves to stand in front of his, and holds out a hand. Kyouraku hands her the reports and reaches into his desk drawer. He pulls out a bottle of sake and two cups, pouring one for each of them. She sets the report down, and with a sigh, takes the cup. "To good health eh Nanao?" he says, tipping it back. She nods solemnly and follows suit.
Nanao sits at her desk with a paper in front of her. She writes out a symptoms list and instructions and takes it to the file room. She sets it in front of the girl that was in there. "Make copies and have them posted throughout the division. We don't want this spreading any further." she said. The girl nods and sets about copying the document. Nanao returns to the office to get her paperwork for the day done.
Rangiku was working on her paperwork. Sort of. She kept making sighing noises, and tapping her writing utensil on the desk and doing all of the things she knew annoyed Hitsuguya...She was trying to get him to leave the room so she could retrieve her sake from the drawer. She could tell all of the noises were getting on his nerves. But she also knew he was determined to make sure she did her paperwork. She tried to think of what else she could do. Pretending to fall asleep would make him wake her up, and then stay longer, whipping out the bottle would get her chased through the division. Finally, she set her nails up against the wood grain of her desk, and started scratching it. Like a cat honing her nails. After a minute, the grating sound finally got to him.
He stood, stomped to the door, and flung it open. He glanced back at her and smirked, before leaving. Rangiku's eyes narrowed. She heard a click. Something new. She dashed to the door to find herself locked in from the outside. She ran to the windows next but Hitsuguya's smirking face kept beating her to each window. She was trapped inside her office. Oh how miserable. She could always break out of course, but any damage she did would come directly from her paycheck and Hitsuguya would probably make her fix it herself. She sighed, at least she had her sake.
She froze. Hitsugya wouldn't smirk about locking her in. He would be serious about it because it meant she had nothing better to do than her paperwork. She returned to her desk and flopped heavily in her seat. She pulled open her desk drawer to find it...empty. She leapt up, and searched Hitsuguya's desk, then the small supply closet, then the filing cabinets. She checked under the couch and even behind everything. Finally, cautiously, she stepped over to the bookshelf. She glances out each window, making sure they are void of a cruel blonde captain, and pulls the whole shelving unit forward. She crouches down and pulls a little string attached to one of the boards. A long time ago, her and Captain Shiba had made this cubby to hide it from Hitsuguya. The board gives a soft scraping sound and finally pops free. This place too was empty. Hitsuguya had thought of everything.
Rangiku goes to the window and calls a Hell Butterfly. She gives it its message and sends if off to Gin. Finally, she returns to her desk, and pulls her paperwork towards her. Nothing she could do til Gin arrived anyways.
Hitsuguya, in a break of his usual demeaner, had to fight his amusement. He'd been watching from a safe distance Rangiku's frantic search. He saw the butterfly she'd sent too, and moved to intercept it. Carefully catching the fragile being, he received its message. "Captain Ichimaru, I've decided to stay in and do my paperwork, and will not be drinking with you this evening. I do hope you understand," Hitsuguya's eyes narrowed. He'd expected a rescue me. He let the butterfly go, considering Rangiku had sat down and begun her paperwork and wasn't even sighing anymore. After a few minutes, he left to get some much needed rest.
Gin was just turning out the lights in his office when a butterfly drifted through the slats in the window. He reached out a finger for it to land. The butterfly looked like it'd been intercepted, an unusual thing. He got his message, and his face formed into confusion. She'd called him Captain, said she'd decided to do paperwork. And finally an 'I do hope you understand'. Maybe he should pay her a visit. It didn't sound like his Rangiku. It sounded like a message Toshiro would send in her place. He stepped from his office, a bottle of sake in his hand in case the child like captain had stolen hers again, and made his way to the 10th division. He stepped through the halls to find all of the 10th division memebers on evening patrol smiling or chuckling, amused. He steps into the office building, and the member on patrol in there stopped him. "Sir, I was given orders you were to be kept away from the office tonight," he said, nervously.
"Oh really?" Gin asks, opening his eyes just a little. Enough to show the red color. It was always scary when the ever smiling captain opened his eyes. The member began to break in their resolve. "Please, step aside," he said. He wrapped the man in his spiritual pressure. Scaring him was both a funner and better way to move the man, than to either convince him that Hitsuguya had changed his mind, or that he should go ask Hitsuguya to let him in for some reason. Finally, the man bolted and Gin continued. He found a padlock on the door to the office. He busted it with a low power kido spell. The minute he stepped through the door, Rangiku was running towards him. She immediately told him what had happened and Gin had had to admit it was pretty cunning and well thought out. Nonetheless, he tossed an arm over Rangiku's shoulders, and they walked out of the office together. It was only about 10 pages left to do anyways.
Ikkaku was buying today apparently. Perhaps it was because he was drunk that he kept shouting 'another round on me'! Or maybe he'd had a really good fight. Either way, no one was passing up free drinks. Because once Rangiku arrived, drink prices doubled, and no one was going to pay for Rangiku but Gin. Renji was there, looking miserable as usual, and Yumichika was muttering the usual about ugly people. Shuuhei was there with Lilinette the girl finally comfortable with the group and back to her usual loud antics. She'd even demonstrated on a passed out drunk how he had to wake Starrk on some days and well...Shuuhei hoped he was never asleep when she didn't want him to be. Suddenly a hush fell over the crowd, but only for a moment, Ikkaku made a sign to the bartender, cutting off the free drinks. Rangiku had obviously arrived. Quickly, the chalk sign was changed, prices jumping up. If they didn't Rangiku would drink them out of a job. Several people left which wasn't unusual.
"Hey how's it going everyone!" Rangiku exclaims. Gin held in his hand an empty bottle of sake, not that that had done anything for the busty woman. She waves at the bartender, who brings a large jug out to her. The group had playfully named the jug a 'Matsumug' because she always drank them by herself. She took the cup she was given and started in on it. How the woman could handle so much alcohol was crazy, let alone how she could continue to drink daily. She'd be the first Shinigami to drink herself to death for sure.
It was probably about 4 hours later that the whole group was drunk, including Rangiku. The busty woman was currently standing up on a table yelling about how only losers try to cut people off, while holding a bottle out of Gin's reach so he couldn't stop her drinking. Shuuhei was trying to wake up a sleeping Lilinette so he could take her home, Ikkaku had been kicked out 30 minutes prior for a bar fight, taking Yumichika with him, and Renji was still moping about. He sat by Kira, who always looked sad. Upon seeing this, Rangiku immediately began to tease them about it.
Ok so I know I've been doing some shorter chapters lately and I'm trying to make them longer, but I really don't want to make things boring. I've tried to put a little space between the beginning of the plot and the continuation so that it doesn't seem like its just action. I hope that's ok. Next chapter will be back to the action, I promise.
Albinos: To the first of your 2 reviews, yes, it is a mysterious virus. Can't wait to really starting letting it spread. But easy does it, can't make it go too fast can I lol. And about Soi Fon yea, she is way too serious, but Yoroichi did practically shred the poor girls heart, hopes, and dreams, lol. And yes, her black cat obsession is absolutely hilarious. As for part 2 of your reviews, no I really don't plan to have Nnoitra have many soft moments. But I wanted to bring to light the fact that he even for a complete asshole he still has to miss being 'on top'. And I'm trying really hard to keep all of my characters in character. Even Ulquiorra, which is pretty hard to get my 3 serious couples together, that being UlquiHime, SoiGrimm, and NnoiNel. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!