CHAPTER 50: SAND, SURF, SUN!

The sun hung high up in the clear blue sky, gleaming brightly at the Shinigami down below. After having their pool destroyed by Byakuya again, the Shinigami Women's Association decided to relax at the beach. Inviting their colleagues and friends, dragging some of them along, the seated Shinigami looked up at the sky, glad to take their time off work to relax. The sand was rather warm, after absorbing some heat from the sun. The blue sea waters sparkled under the sunlight and looked clearer than ever.

"Nemu didn't succeed in building a pool that could counter Kuchiki Taicho's attacks..." Nanao shook her head in disappointment. "Thus we are here again..."

"Ah Nanao! But it's not like you have anything to show off..." Matsumoto nudged her playfully. "However, Shunsui Taicho seems..."

"SHUT UP!" Nanao snapped back, ignoring the fact that her Captain's eyes were glued to her.

"But taking time off is still awesome!" Matsumoto beamed, before throwing her arm around Tayomi's next. "And thanks to Yomi-chan, Taicho willingly came along with us today!"

Tayomi and Matsumoto looked at Hitsugaya, who rolled his eyes. He hated the sun. He detested it. He had planned to stay indoors, but Tayomi and Matsumoto would not stop persuading him. Matsumoto laughed at the thought that her Captain agreed to come after she told him that she would be swimming with Tayomi. Tayomi linked arms with Hitsugaya and smiled, making him smile a little as well. It did not change the fact that he hated to sun and the intense heat, though he had to admit that having Tayomi by his side made him feel slightly better. Many other Shinigami came as well. Besides the Shinigami Women's Association, Shunsui, Ukitake, Byakuya, Yoruichi, Ichigo, Chad, Ishida, Orihime, Hisagi, Kira, Ikkaku, Renji and Yumichika were present too. Tayomi's face instantly lighted up once Matsumoto invited her to come along. Hitsugaya grumbled, worrying about the amount of undone paper work in his office. Tayomi giggled and ruffled his hair.

"TO THE WATER!" Matsumoto screamed in delight, dragging Tayomi by the arm and jumping into the sea immediately.

Tayomi's eyes shot wide open as she entered the water. It was cold and clear blue, a relief from the extreme heat from the sun. She could see Matsumoto underwater. The other Shinigami joined them as well. Hisagi waved to her underwater and she waved back. Tayomi spotted everyone else underwater, including Hitsugaya. He smiled back at her. Yachiru suddenly swam up to her and nudged her hard. Tayomi was sent flying a metre backwards and rubbed her head. Yachiru-chan can be so violent sometimes... Yachiru literally bounced up and down underwater as she pointed at something. All the Shinigami turned in the direction of her finger and shot her a speechless look. Swimming about underwater were the same watermelon hollows that they were ambushed by the last time they went to the beach. Everyone sighed and swam upwards. Yachiru pouted and followed them. They were about to leave the waters when Nemu walked up to them and stopped them.

"This is the first contest. Whoever crushes the most watermelons will get a prize, presented by our President." She spoke calmly. "Unohana Taicho and Ukitake Taicho were placed in charge of this game."

Ichigo glanced at Yachiru, who was still pouting at them like a childish little girl. Everyone shook their heads and headed out of the water.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you! There'll be a cash prize for the winner, provided by Sou-Taicho Yamamoto!" Ukitake scratched his head and laughed.

Everyone's eyes instantly lighted up. Without hesitation, they all jumped into the water, searching wildly for the watermelon hollows. Tayomi blinked twice before glancing back at Hitsugaya, who shrugged his shoulders, shook his head and sighed. Shaking her head and laughing as well, she walked up to him and he held her hand. The two of them dived underwater to watch the other Shinigami and laugh at them. Tayomi nearly choked underwater watching Matsumoto tear away at one of the hollows and Renji make a failed attempt to attack the hollow with Kido. After a while, it felt rather strange watching everyone go berserk over watermelons. Tayomi quickly swam up to the surface before she really choked underwater. She laughed. Who would have expected her friends to go mad over a bunch of watermelon hollows? The more she thought about the image of Byakuya blasting the watermelon hollows with Kido, the scene where Kira frowned as Hisagi dragged him along to kill the watermelon hollows... It was too hilarious. Even Hitsugaya let out a tiny laugh, before raising his eyebrow as Tayomi literally collapsed on the floor laughing.

In the end, Matsumoto won the cash prize. She squealed in joy and went around hugging everyone, including Hitsugaya and Tayomi who practically suffocated during the hug. Matsumoto was too excited and happy to notice the fact that she was depriving the two young Captains of some much-needed air.

"Mmff..." Hitsugaya attempted to breathe. "MATSUMOTOOOOO!"

"Rangiku-chan..." Tayomi coughed and took in a deep breath of much-needed air.

"OOPS!" Matsumoto laughed. "Sorry Yomi-chan... Sorry..."

"MATSUMOTOOOOOO!"

"EEKS! I'M SORRY, TAICHO! I'M SORRY!"

After a traumatising lack of air, Tayomi was glad to escape from Matsumoto's clutches. Just then, Unohana announced that there would be another competition.

"We'll be having a beach volleyball competition now, everyone!" She smiled. "It'll be a battle between the Captains and the Lieutenants and seated officers! Everyone has to participate!"

Byakuya had no reaction, Hitsugaya raised his eyebrow, Tayomi blinked twice, Soi Fon smirked, Shunsui yawned and Unohana and Ukitake continued to smile. As for the Lieutenants, Kira sighed, Isane began to panic, Hinamori could only smile nervously, Renji choked, Nanao ran to Isane and they both panicked together, Hisagi and Matsumoto were equally hyped up, Yachiru squealed in delight, Nemu stayed the same (as always) and Kiyone jumped for joy. Ichigo sighed and shook his head, Rukia laughed, Ishida pushed up his spectacles, Chad stoned and Orihime cheered. Unohana and Ukitake were glad to see such enthusiasm from the Shinigami and their friends. Ukitake would be overseeing the whole tournament and with that, they began the tournament. Unohana began to explain the rules of their rather unusual game. Instead of the usual court and net, the whole beach became a court. There would be no net as well. All the members of each team would be passing the volleyball to each other while running and the fact that the whole beach was their court made the whole game harder. In addition, all the team members were to pair up and have their legs tied together. Once a pair of members of the team dropped the ball or lost the ball to the opposing team, the opposing team would gain a point. So that means the whole point of this game... We can't drop the ball or let the opponent intercept us... And doing all of that with our legs tied together... That sounds rather hard. Tayomi looked at the other Captains and noticed that none of them seemed worried. The Lieutenants and seated officers, on the other hand, had begun to panic a little. Wow. Though our positions and ranks aren't exactly like worlds apart, the way we act is totally different.

After a brief strategic meeting, both sides were ready to compete. Both teams had the same strategy, leaving the attacking to the shorter ones and the taller ones to defense. Tayomi stared down at her feet, which was tightly bound to Hitsugaya's. Even though he was looking down and no one should be able to see his face, it was quite clear that he was blushing madly. Tayomi herself was blushing too, as much as she tried to calm down. Suddenly, she felt Hitsugaya grab her hand tight and she looked at him. His turquoise eyes burned into hers and she sort of understood what he wanted to tell her.

Yeah... Let's win this!

With the ball sent up in the air, Tayomi and Hitsugaya used Shunpo to grab the ball before Hisagi and Kira could. Tayomi used one hand to volley it to Byakuya and Soi Fon, whom were both unbothered by the fact that they were tied together and were equally determined to win the tournament, despite having the odds against their side. There were many more members on the Lieutenants and seated officers' side, compared to the Captains. Just then, Matsumoto and Hinamori came rushing towards them.

"HINA-CHAN! RANGIKU-CHAN!" Tayomi squealed.

"I'm sorry, Yomi-chan..." Hinamori giggled. "But we'll be guarding you!"

"Ha. You mean, IF you can guard us, Bed-wetter." Hitsugaya smirked.

"SHIRO-CHAN!" Hinamori pouted.

"That's so mean, Susu-chan..." Tayomi nudged him.

"Both of you. DON'T CALL ME THAT."

"Taicho! I just realised!"

"What."

"I realised that I don't have a nickname for you! AH! I'll just call you Toshi-chan..."

"Don't try it."

"TOSHI-CHAN!"

"MATSUMOTOOOOO!"

"I'M SORRY, TAICHOOOO!"

"You're dead."

Hitsugaya volleyed the ball over to another pair. Unfortunately for the Lieutenants, they failed to intercept it. The Captains all got dead serious and the Lieutenants and seated officers were left amazed, as the Captains continued to score point after point. As expected, the Captains ended up winning the tournament. The Captains showed no emotion after victory, as per usual.

The sun set low in the horizon, colouring the distant skies with multi-coloured, pastel hues. The sky looked so magical, so enchanting. Tayomi felt completely captured by the sky and its beauty. The sky turned dark and a fire was started. Everyone sat in a circle around the campfire and enjoyed dinner together. Tayomi took out her guitar after much persuasion from the more playful Shinigami. Wondering what song she should play, she finally decided after some careful deliberation.

"Do you hear me? I'm talking to you. Across the water, across the deep blue ocean..."

Everyone instantly recognized the song and sang along. As the waves crashed onto the shore, the fire sizzled and the gentle breeze blew past, everything felt so peaceful and tranquil. Tayomi closed her eyes and rested her head on Hitsugaya's shoulder. He sighed and grabbed her hand tight, before resting his head on top of hers. Hinamori and Matsumoto smiled at each other. It was nice to see them together, after they had endured so many struggles through the decades. Tayomi closed her eyes and listened to the relaxing breeze, indulging herself in the peaceful atmosphere of the shore. It felt as if time had stopped for every single one of them. It felt just like how it was in the past, before all the never-ending battles came, before Aizen, before the New Espada. If only everything could stay so...usual. Hitsugaya looked down at her and pulled her along for a walk by the shore, ignoring the fact that Matsumoto would probably want to stalk them.

"You're troubled." He said as they strolled along the beach.

"I'm not..." Tayomi sighed. "I just... I just wish everything would return to the way it was before."

"It will, once Aizen is gone."

He kissed her on the forehead and they both stared out towards the sea. Yeah... Everything will be back to normal once Aizen's been defeated...

Author's Note:
I love beaches :D They're nice! Wahaha
Sorry the chapter took long... My holidays just started XD And battle scenes aren't very easy to write. But I'll do my best ^.^
Next chapter, we'll continue the crazy battles between the Gotei 13, Vizards, New Espada and their Fraccion :D
I shall go dig deep into my inspiration for battle! XD
Hope you all liked this chapter :D Please review and stay tuned! Thanks! :D