The near nonstop rain that had ushered in autumn's beginning was proving the season's standard. Countless drops pounded on rooftops and the heads of those forced to leave their shelter. Puddles formed indoors just as frequently as outdoors as wet uniforms dripped on tile and tatami mat, and it was not an uncommon punishment for Captain Kuchiki to assign mop duty to anyone he caught dawdling, mistakenly thinking that the poor weather implied lower work standards.

Tsukiko knew better than to give him reason to land her with mop duty, but he did the next worse thing by insisting on training indoors when a Tuesday packed with desaturated October sunshine brought a reprieve from the weather. The sunlight coming through the windows in their usual receiving room was a joke, and it was entirely too easy for Tsukiko to abandon her meditation attempts for daydreams in which she felt the sunlight directly on her skin.

The only issue was that Captain Kuchiki's bullshit detector was ridiculously sensitive.

Upon letting out the latest of her many woeful sighs, Tsukiko heard Captain Kuchiki huff. "Are we really back to this, Hokutan?" he said.

Tsukiko opened her eyes from her daydreaming but immediately wished she hadn't, for she'd come in contact with the Kuchiki Death Stare. Many people liked to say it was as though Captain Kuchiki was looking through your soul, but the reality was much worse: the Kuchiki Death Stare looked through your soul only to convey how much it disapproved of every single ounce of your being.

Accordingly, Tsukiko bowed her head in submission. "I apologize, sir," she said.

Captain Kuchiki's body was deathly still. "You say that as though you regret your actions, yet you haven't moved passed your relentless sighing and begun to meditate."

Tsukiko swallowed. "I-it's a bit hard for me to focus today, sir…."

"And what is so important that you can't focus thistime? Don't think to tell me it's your—"

Just then, a servant slid open the room's inner door and bowed once to Captain Kuchiki. "Kuchiki-sama," he said, "Lieutenant Abarai is here for you. He says it won't take long."

Captain Kuchiki closed his eyes as if to controlling the urge to Senbonzakura them all into oblivion. "Send him in."

Tsukiko hardly heard the servant's response, so indebted was she to him for taking Captain Kuchiki's attention away from her. The sun even shined brighter, it seemed, and she exhaled softly in relief. However, the second Captain Kuchiki looked back at her, she was sitting upright and attentive.

"Consider yourself lucky, Hokutan," Captain Kuchiki said as Lieutenant Abarai's tall form filled the doorframe. "We're near enough to the end of our session, so we'll finish early. I'm sure you won't mind."

Tsukiko bowed her head. "Thank you, Captain." She turned her head to Lieutenant Abarai and bowed once at him. "Good afternoon, Lieuten—"

"Nice seeing you, Hokutan," Lieutenant Abarai said as he moved into the room. His eyes were trained right on Captain Kuchiki, to whom he bowed curtly. "Can you please remind your dogs that just because I no longer live here doesn't mean I'm about to loot the place?" he said.

Captain Kuchiki frowned. "Are you sure you haven't just made things unnecessarily complicated? You're known to do it."

Lieutenant Abarai rolled his eyes. "No, I haven't. I walk up to the gate and wait like I'm supposed to, and still they act like I'm carrying a bomb. Can you please just talk to your people?"

Captain Kuchiki exhaled. "I will see what I can do," he said. "But you're not here just to berate my staff?"

"Yeah." Lieutenant Abarai reached into his shihakusho and pulled out a folded paper. "I have to send this out today, but it needs your signature first."

Unsure of what to do with herself, Tsukiko erred on the side of caution and slowly began to stand.

"Stay put, Hokutan," Captain Kuchiki said as he signed the paper. After giving it a once-over, he practically threw it back at Lieutenant Abarai and narrowed his eyes at her. "Come back next week with a better attitude so we can achieve at least some progress."

Tsukiko bowed low. "Forgive me, Captain. It won't happen again."

"Hmph." He rose from the floor, and she did the same. "You'll excuse me if I don't see you two out, even if my life seemingly runs on your wants and needs." He left the room in swift silence.

Subconsciously, Tsukiko edged closer to Lieutenant Abarai, fearful that Captain Kuchiki would return just as quietly and shank them from behind.

Her apprehension lessened some when Lieutenant Abarai scoffed. "Whenever I think he's started to relax," he said, "he proves just how much stick he still has shoved up his ass."

Tsukiko let out a nervous laugh. "It's certainly stuck up there tight today," she said. "He had me caught in a Death State for not paying attention when you showed up."

Lieutenant Abarai raised an eyebrow at her. "Were you really not paying attention?"

"It's the first day of nice weather in weeks and I was stuck inside training…." She looked away, trying and failing not to smile.

To her relief, Lieutenant Abarai laughed. "Well, now you're free, and as it turns out, so am I." He tilted his head. "I was actually gonna go grab dinner. You want in? My treat."

The shock hit Tsukiko right in the chest. Her? Lieutenant Abarai? Dinner? "Um, sure," she said, not wanting her shock to translate as hesitance. Or other things.

"You can say no," Lieutenant Abarai said.

"I can also say yes," Tsukiko said, standing up straighter and setting her hands on her waist. "Besides, if you're paying, why would I say no?"

Lieutenant Abarai chuckled. "Okay, fine, I know a place—oh c'mon, what now?"

The same servant from before had come into the doorframe. He held his shaking hands at his sides, bowed once at Lieutenant Abarai, and said, "K-Kuchiki-sama has asked that you both leave immediately—"

"We know, we know!" Lieutenant Abarai said.

"H-he also insisted I inform you both that you w-will bring on laps for the whole squad unless—"

"I said, we know!" Lieutenant Abarai grabbed Tsukiko's arm and pushed past the flinching servant into the hall. "Hell, the man has absolutely zero patience." He set off for the entrance.

Completely overwhelmed by Lieutenant Abarai's hand on her arm, Tsukiko could only let out another nervous laugh.

Once they'd fetched their waraji and tied them back on, Lieutenant Abarai stood up straight and glanced at her. "Think you can keep up?" he said. "I'm starving."

Tsukiko quickly shook herself out of the fireworks display going on in her head and smirked. "You act like I'm inept, asking that question."

Lieutenant Abarai returned her smirk. "Then don't disappoint me."

And off they raced.

They brandished their swords as they moved from the Seireitei to South Rukongai and sheathed them again, but Lieutenant Abarai did not slow until they'd bypassed the first few districts. When they did finally move down from the rooftops to the roads, the buildings were clean and everyone wore shoes, so Tsukiko figured they were still in an upper district.

Then, as she and Lieutenant Abarai turned a corner down a street that hummed with voices and clattering metal, Tsukiko's eyes widened as they met an impossibly packed crowd. Any number of souls weaved in and out of lines that extended beyond the limits of her vision, clouded by steam and smoke from the countless food stalls that lined the edges of the street. The scent of frying, boiling, roasting, and sauteing food was near overwhelming, and Tsukiko's stomach growled eagerly.

Lieutenant Abarai turned to her and raised his voice over the din of cooking and moving people. "It's called Food Alley," he said.

"I can't imagine why," she responded.

He smirked. "When I was growing up in Inuzuri—District 78 here—we thought this place was a myth. I found out it was real while I was in the Academy, and after I graduated, I think I spent half my first paycheck here."

"I take it you didn't overdose on all the food if we're here now?" she asked.

"Not in the least, though I recommend staying away from the karaage stalls. They won't kill you, but they're shit compared to this one fried chicken chain in the World of the Living. That stuff gives me life." He pointed into the crowd. "For now, we're going to my favorite stall, in the middle. Hold onto me."

Trying not to push her luck, Tsukiko took hold of his sleeve.

"Oh please." Lieutenant Abarai shook off her hand before firmly grasping it in his.

Tsukiko's heart sang as he pulled them into the hungry crowd.

Despite Lieutenant Abarai's imposing figure and the authority of their uniforms, their progress was slow-going. There were just so many people, and any gap in space was immediately filled if they didn't move first. By the time Lieutenant Abarai stopped in front of a stall smelling strongly of grilled meat, nearly ten minutes had passed, and Tsukiko was starting to feel claustrophobic.

Lieutenant Abarai ducked his head down next to her ear. "I hope you like kushiyaki," he nearly shouted.

Tsukiko shivered at his proximity. "Sounds good, but let's hurry up, it's getting way too crowded!"

Lieutenant Abarai nodded and, renewing his grip on her hand, brought them to the end of the line a few stalls down. Despite its length, the line moved, and every few seconds they stepped forward until they were at the stall again and able to order.

"You know what's good, you order," Tsukiko said, leaning up so Lieutenant Abarai could hear her. "But I'll take shichimi on the side—a lot of shichimi!"

Lieutenant Abarai raised an eyebrow at her but placed an order for ten skewers of assorted meats and vegetables, two cans of beer, and two small containers of shichimi. Tsukiko pocketed their beers and held out her hands for the food while Lieutenant Abarai paid. He then took one of the plates and her now free hand, and just as quickly as they'd ordered, they set off to maneuver through the crowd once more.

Somehow they made it to the other end of the street without losing even a skewer, or Tsukiko her sense of personal space. Lieutenant Abarai led her onto the street parallel to Food Alley, and she smiled when she saw the many heads bent over their food at a wide expanse of evenly spaced tables. Lights had been strung up overhead, and they twinkled in the rapidly darkening autumn sky.

As Lieutenant Abarai moved toward two empty chairs, Tsukiko said, "Never mind the food, just ordering and sitting down is an experience." She set down the plate in her hand and pulled their beers from her pockets. "I thought I was going to hyperventilate."

Lieutenant Abarai chuckled as they both sat. "Yeah, it can be overwhelming, but I promise the food's worth it." He took a can of beer and opened it, then waited for Tsukiko to do the same with the other. "To Captain Kuchiki: may he one day pull the stick out of his ass. Kanpai!"

"Kanpai!" Tsukiko said, and she and Lieutenant Abarai tipped back their beers to finish their cheers. The lager was light and crisp, the perfect companion to their meal of kushiyaki. Tsukiko smiled to see Lieutenant Abarai had ordered her favorite, shio-seasoned chicken thighs, and she took a skewer and container of shichimi. She dipped the end piece into the container and slid the succulent meat off the skewer with her teeth.

Lieutenant Abarai shook his head and gestured at her with his own half-eaten skewer. "The shichimi is yours," he said, his mouth full of chicken and leek. "I can't do spicy—holy shit, Hokutan!"

Tsukiko smiled sheepishly as she immediately pouring the shichimi directly over her skewer. "I'm a little bit of an addict," she admitted.

"Ch, you and the cap'n could be twins," Lieutenant Abarai said, popping the rest of the skewer in his mouth. "I've never seen anyone go harder for spicy food."

"Oh, he likes spicy food too?" Tsukiko said. Her tongue buzzed pleasantly from the shichimi.

"You have no idea." Lieutenant Abarai took a sip of his beer. "When my daughter Ichika was little, she went through a phase where she had to ask everyone at the dinner table for a bite of their food. It was cute and stuff when it was just us and her mother, but we lived at the Kuchiki manor at the time and had dinner with Captain Kuchiki a lot. One night we ate with him, and he was eating chopped takanotsume peppers…." He shook his head. "Let's just say Ichika still won't touch spicy food."

"Ooh, poor thing." Tsukiko cringed, the spiciness on her tongue flaring just at the thought of eating takanotsume.

"To this day she asks if there's spicy food at every meal. 'Will this kill me?' she says. 'Can I eat this and still feel my face?'"

Tsukiko smiled. "Well clearly I'm on the captain's side, at least in this regard." She finished her first skewer and reached for a second, this one bearing tare-seasoned chicken meatballs. "Why did you agree to become his lieutenant if you two are such opposites, spicy food and all?"

Lieutenant Abarai shrugged. "At first, I just wanted out of Squad Eleven. Don't get me wrong, the guys are great, but it started reminding me a little too much of Inuzuri." He took another bite of food and chewed before continuing. "I, ah, was also a little obsessed with besting Captain Kuchiki for a while, which kinda blew up in my face, but it worked out in the end."

Tsukiko raised an eyebrow. "Obsessed with besting him?"

"Had to do with my ex-wife. Waste of time in hindsight, don't you think?" He smiled bitterly, ending that discussion.

Tsukiko gave him an understanding smile and took a long sip of beer. "Going back to the Squad Eleven thing, was it really that similar to Inuzuri? Admittedly I don't know much about the lower districts."

"Hell yeah it was," Lieutenant Abarai said. "I mean, I didn't have to worry about stealing my next meal so I could, y'know, survive, but the constant fighting and sparring was getting a little too familiar." He picked up another skewer. "It was more petty than fun after a few decades."

"I for one find it admirable that you left if you weren't happy, whether that be Inuzuri or Squad Eleven," Tsukiko said. "Not everyone can do that. The best part is you got a promotion out of it. And for me as a member of Squad Six now, it's nice having at least one superior I can talk to without having to think about it." She glanced at him. "If you don't mind me saying so."

Lieutenant Abarai swallowed his mouthful of food. "Not in the least. I know how the captain is, so I try to make myself a little more human." He nodded at her. "Squad members like you definitely make it easier."

"Oh, you flatter me." She pulled her hair over her shoulder to hide her darkening cheeks.

He poked her arm. "I mean it. A lot of the rookies run away from me and the captain because we're the higher-ups and that automatically means we're scary or something." He paused. "Okay, the captain can be friggin' terrifying, but hey, I'm not that bad." He smirked. "So yeah. I appreciate your openness."

Tsukiko dared to smile at him. "You don't exactly make it hard." She froze.

Lieutenant Abarai froze.

D-did I just say that? Tsukiko asked herself.

She felt a sudden pulse in her heart and swayed hard toward her lieutenant; evidently her Zanpaku-to believed so.

Cursing once he saw her chair start to lean, Lieutenant Abarai grabbed her before she toppled into his lap and righted her. "Hell, Hokutan, you okay?" he said, keeping a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, it's just…." She sighed and sat up straighter. "It's my Zanpaku-to, we think. I haven't seen anything, but the last few weeks I've occasionally felt like someone's knocking me over when no one else is around."

Lieutenant Abarai raised his eyebrows and clapped her shoulder. "Damn, Hokutan, you should be proud of yourself."

Tsukiko rolled her eyes. "You say that, but on account of not having made true contact with my Zanpaku-to, I'm mostly just inconvenienced right now."

Lieutenant Abarai laughed. "Understandable. Must be annoying to feel like you're falling all the time."

Tsukiko looked at him. His brown eyes were bright under the lights overhead, and his mouth was kind, turned up in a jovial smile. His hands, one resting on her shoulder and the other on the table, were loose, relaxed, and his collar was bent in on one side, revealing more of the tattoos his shihakusho cruelly hid….

Stone gray locked with warm jasper. "It's not always annoying, falling," Tsukiko said.

Lieutenant Abarai's smile slowly faded, but he didn't look away or take his hand from her shoulder. Instead, a most curious expression crossed his face, one she couldn't fully interpret. It was like he was observing her, but wanted to remain distant at the same time.

I fucked up, Tsukiko thought, not even trying to hide her blush now as panic rose from her gut.

And then, like he hadn't just made her wish for death, Lieutenant Abarai smiled and leaned forward conspiratorially. "I think we should finish our food before it gets cold," he mock-whispered.

Blushing harder than ever, Tsukiko coated a skewer in shichimi and shoved it in her mouth.

They finished their dinner without incident, or at least, without Tsukiko wanting to launch herself into the sun. While their exchanges never advanced past what she'd said about falling, she didn't know that in the moment, and the thought of her relationship with Lieutenant Abarai advancing or retreating with every turn of their conversation nearly gave her whiplash.

Still, it was leisurely that they returned to headquarters later that night after a long walk through South Rukongai, the stars hidden behind building clouds. But before they reached the door to the barracks, Lieutenant Abarai stopped between pools of lantern light. "Hokutan, wait," he said.

Tsukiko stopped beside him.

Lieutenant Abarai looked around, though the area was empty, and when his eyes returned to her, they were serious. "I…." He hesitated, but then stood up straighter, his face strained. "If you don't mind I might show you more of the stalls in Food Alley sometime," he said, all in a rush, as though he needed to get it out now before he lost steam. "I-in a professional capacity, that is," he added. "Cap'n'll have our heads if he thinks this is…anything else…."

His words plowed right into her chest and through her back, where they burst into wings. "I-I'd like that, Lieutenant Abarai," Tsukiko said at last. "All professional, like you said. Strictly professional."

She locked eyes with him for just a few seconds before he let his gaze fall. "Well, um, good night then," he said, reaching up to rub at his chest.

"Good night…" Tsukiko said, though she tapered off when she heard a shushed crunching sound coming from his shihakusho.

Just as confused, Lieutenant Abarai reached into his shihakusho and produced the paper that had started their evening in the first place. "Oh shit," he said. He turned and ran in the direction of his office.

Laughing quietly, Tsukiko went inside and showered before retiring to bed.

But she did not go to sleep for some time: she was far too busy wondering what it would be like to fall asleep in the lieutenant's bed instead, his red and her black hair overlapping on everything from the pillows to their bare skin.

All in a "professional capacity," of course.