The Yellow Flag was as loud and rowdy as it usually was, but there was something in the air that made it seem less violent. Squad 11 members bought rounds for Squad 4, I spotted a few Squad 12 scientists sitting at tables, and even a few Onmitsukido members had their masks off while tipsily throwing darts. Best of all, no one gave me much mind. More so than in the previous timeline, I was famous in the Seireitei. However, I seemed to be viewed less as a legendary hero and more as a superior. Respectful nods and mock salutes rather than immediate attempts at flirting or partnership. Of course, there were still excited whispers that carried my name floating through the building, but not nearly as many as I thought there would be. None of the eager tension that usually filled the bar with my presence was found here, and I relished in it. It was something more comfortable, almost like I actually made people relax by being seen for once. Like I was a welcomed friend, rather than an icon of power or a reminder of destruction. The bartender had already told me that my first seven rounds were already paid for by others. Seeking to simply wind down with friends, I had just ordered a beer.
I was the first to arrive with Renji, who had similarly kept to beer. Both of us had left our zanpakuto at home. For the first time in a very long time, it wasn't because of my strength that I was comfortable without my sword. I was truly at ease, without any lingering concerns of being ambushed. My armor was also at home, while my coat still hung around my waist. Though, that was for no other reason than because the coat was comfortable. We claimed a table by one of the windows, and we didn't have to fight anyone to leave the other seats open. At the long table that could sit four on each side, I sat at the left corner closest to the window, Renji sitting opposite me. We made idle chatter about random nonsense while waiting until Kyoraku and Ukitake slipped into the seats on my side with Kyoraku sitting in the middle. For the first time I had ever seen, Ukitake set down a cup of sake in front of him, mirroring his long-time friend.
"Ukitake-taicho?" Renji's eyes were wide while he stared at the cup. "Since when did you drink?"
"Since I became healthy enough to do so, Abarai-san." The kindly man smiled while lifting up his cup to sip. "And no titles, please. We're all but men right now."
"Indeed." Yamamoto's voice supported as the man came to join us. Renji openly gaped as the bearded man took the open seat to the Lieutenant's left, a mug of beer in hand. "This is a simple night amongst friends, not soldiers." Kyoraku whistled in surprise while lifting the brim of his hat.
"What's this? Our dear old man decided to put the paperwork aside and grab a drink with us? Someone paint a picture!"
"Get a good one before I decide to not do this again." The ancient man rumbled before taking a sip of his drink. Yamamoto's two students and I laughed together. It appeared to be only then that Renji realized none of the Captains wore their haori or their zanpakuto.
"You didn't tell me we'd be drinking with Ichigo!" Kensei's voice snapped as it came closer from the direction of the bar. I snorted, which melted into a snicker. The rest of the men at the table turned to find Shinji pulling Kensei along. Kensei carried a beer while Shinji had sake. The Captain of the Ninth was only putting up the most minimal resistance, barely even stumbling as his blonde friend dragged him by his shihakusho.
"Oh, quit your whining! We all know it's an act, anyway!" The backward man snarked in response. The militaristic man grumbled into his cup as they sat down to the left of Yamamoto, completing the row. Shinji sat on the corner while Kensei sat between him and the fire-wielder.
"Oi, Ichigo, you and Shinji are putting my drinks on your tabs. That's comeuppance for not telling me." The brawler demanded. Laughing, I nodded in acceptance and held out my mug to him. Grumbling once more, likely this time because of my knowledge, Kensei tapped his mug against mine. He then did the same with Shinji, who had similarly lifted his cup for it. It was an unspoken code between Vizard Shinji had taught me. It was either an offer to pay for one another or a way to confirm that you were paying depending on the situation. To deny it was to say that you either couldn't or wouldn't accept. "Who's still on the way?" Kensei wondered. The others all turned to me, as I was the one to arrange this on my own.
"Just one more. He doesn't get out enough, and wants to hang around people more." I answered vaguely. "Anyone wants to volunteer to pay the tab of an Arrancar?" Intrigued looks passed through the faces of the men with me.
"I'll handle their bill." Kyoraku took up, an easy smile tugging at his lips past his cup of sake. "As much as I hope it's Starrk-san, I don't see him as one to drink. Maybe a beer at home before a good nap, but not out at a bar."
"I'd have to agree with that assessment." Ukitake chuckled. "Starrk-san seems like he would be more the type for small parties at home rather than anything too bombastic. I can see him quietly enjoying the presence of his companions and only offering the occasional comment here and there."
"Sounds like this Starrk-san is a cool guy." Shinji smiled as he poured his sake, having already downed his first cup. He wasn't much of a quick drinker, but he generally kept up by starting the night smashing his first drink down.
"He is!" The flowery Captain matched the blonde's smile. "The three of us get along wonderfully, especially after Juushiro and I taught him Go. He has a wicked mind, hardly needed more than a couple of games before we moved onto Shogi." I caught a couple of conversations by the front doors stutter, so I turned to see the last person I invited standing at the entrance, plus one.
"Ulquiorra, Halibel!" I called over, waving my right arm. The two of them spotted us and stepped up to join us. Finding a quick solution to the new problem, Halibel grabbed an unused chair and sat it at the end, so that she was to the left of Shinji while Ulquiorra sat to the right of Ukitake.
"What prompted you to invite Halibel-san, Ulquiorra-san?" Yamamoto figured out first. "It is no problem, we are merely curious." He smoothed out before there was an opportunity for offense. In support, everyone else at the table nodded while Kyoraku caught the attention of a waiter.
"While inviting me, Kurosaki-san described this as a night for friends to unwind and relax. I felt Halibel-san was one who could take advantage of such a thing, and offered her to join me." The white-skinned arrancar tilted his head. "Should I have informed you of this? I am still learning to differentiate between what are or are not social faux pas." The flowery Captain ordered sake for Ulquiorra and beer for Halibel.
"You are fine, Ulquiorra-san." Ukitake smiled at the Espada. "But yes, in the future it is courteous to first ask if it is alright to invite someone to an event."
"I see. Thank you for telling me, Ukitake-san." The dark-haired man looked down at the sake as it was placed in front of him. Lifting up the cup, he sniffed it before swirling it slightly. His expression remaining blank throughout the process, he took a sip into his mouth and let it sit on his tongue for a moment before swallowing. Shinji realized his actions first and laughed good-naturedly.
"That whole song and dance is for wine, buddy." The blonde explained with a piano-tooth grin. "The only steps for sake are sip and swallow."
"Thank you as well, Hirako-taicho." At Ulquiorra's words, a mischievous grin appeared on the blonde's face.
"Uoy ot nas-Ijnihs s'taht." While everyone else stared in confusion at the Vizard, Kensei and I groaned. I rested an elbow on the table while I slapped my forehead into that hand, and Kensei went the shorter route of just slamming his head onto the wood.
"Fuck, you learned how to speak backward again." I complained. The silver-haired Vizard's head shot up.
"Again?!" He shrieked. "He did this last time and you didn't stop him from doing it here?!"
"How do you expect me to stop him?" I argued back.
"Make it sound like it's too much effort, he's a lazy jackass!"
"'Scuse me, who are you callin' lazy?" Shinji barked. "Unlike you, I'm on top of my paperwork."
"You don't have to make up nonsense paperwork for an annoying hyperactive brat of a 'super lieutenant'!" He spoke the title mockingly.
"I have not heard of a 'super lieutenant.'" Halibel tilted her head. "Is that some sort of advanced position that Kurosaki-san created?" Both Vizards snorted, Shinji with amusement and Kensei with derision.
"No. You know what I am?" The brawler chose to be the one to explain. The shark shook her head. "I'm a Vizard, same as this blonde asshole. We were sort of the test versions of you arrancar Aizen made. Originally, we were banished from the Soul Society because of it, but Ichigo lifted the ban. My 'super lieutenant' is another Vizard who used to be my lieutenant before we were banished. When I returned to being a Captain, she saw that the lieutenant slot was already filled and decided to make up a position on the spot so she could still be one."
"Is that allowed?" Ulquiorra asked.
"Ask Juushiro." Yamamoto quipped before taking another swig of his beer. All of the present Shinigami laughed while the man in question embarrassingly chuckled, his cheeks reddening. The two Espada turned to the Captain of the 13th, who sipped at his sake to wet his throat.
"Before Kuchiki-san, I had two subordinates who both sought the position of lieutenant." He rubbed the back of his head abashedly. "They were both so passionate about it, I didn't have the heart to pick one over the other, so I had them both share the position. On paper, they both were Third-Seats, but in practice, they split the work of Lieutenant."
"The Gotei 13 seems to treat their rules as suggestions more frequently than I thought." The bat's assessment was so blunt it sent most of us into further laughter. In a display of tipsy comfort I don't think the redhead realized, Renji brought an arm up over Yamamoto's shoulders to keep himself up. The bearded man did not appear to mind in any way.
"Our dear Strawberry Sunrise would be the king of that." Shinji teased. Another groan slipped from me. I knew it was coming after Shiro shouted it out during the Zanpakuto Rebellion. "As far as he's concerned, our rules are just words on a page." Most of the cups on the table were replaced, all empty save for Shinji's and Ukitake's. It surprised me, as I didn't realize the arrancar would drink so quickly.
"I only ignore the stupid ones." I felt the need to defend myself as I took a swig from the fresh mug.
"You seem to think all of our rules are stupid, then." Yamamoto smirked. My eye twitched and I glared at him while the others laughed.
"I do all of my paperwork, so it's not like I ignore all of it. Hell, I've been trying to get all the arrancar to do training reports. I already got all of the Fullbringers to fill out theirs."
"The rules you follow assist in making my desk a larger mess. Thank you for your service." The fire wielder sassed, causing Shinji to laugh so hard he had to cover his mouth to prevent his sake from spilling out. Kyoraku elbowed me with a sly smile on his face.
"Looks like I have competition for the biggest pain in Yama-jii's ass, guess I'll have to work to reclaim my crown." He teased. The bearded man in question immediately rolled his eyes and took another drink.
"I'll have you on Senkaimon duty while hungover." The founder of the Gotei threatened. A hearty laugh left both myself and Kyoraku, us both swinging an arm over the other's shoulders.
"This is a very tasty beer." Halibel spoke up randomly. All of us shifted to face her. "I did not realize this drink came in different flavors."
"Eh? How shut-in did Aizen keep you lot?" Kensei asked rhetorically before throwing back his beer and sliding his seat back to stand. "I'm getting you a sampler, you and I aren't having another drop of beer the rest of the night." Aqua-green eyes blinked in surprise.
"Sake comes in other flavors as well?" The innocent question seemed to send an electric shock through the brawler's body before he stomped toward the bar with a purpose.
"BARTENDER! BRING OUT THE WHISKEY!" Shinji, Renji, and I burst out laughing at the Vizard's new mission of education.
"She likes brandy!" I cupped my hand around my mouth to shout after him.
"Bring out the brandy!" The silver-haired man corrected.
"I've experimented with drinks in the previous timeline?" The shark realized easily.
"For less innocent reasons than hanging out with friends. You don't want me to tell you." I made sure to ward her off from further questions. She nodded in understanding and continued drinking her beer.
"Kensei-san!" Ulquiorra spoke up to be heard above the crowd. "I'd like to try some of this 'brandy' as well!"
"You weren't gonna be given the option to say no in the first place!" Was the responding shout. "Ichigo!"
"Your guess is as good as mine!" I answered the unspoken question. Then, because curiosity arose within me, I turned to focus on the bat. "What do the rest of you think? Something is telling me he'd be a whiskey guy." The other Shinigami at the table joined me in contemplation.
"Whiskey on the rocks." Shinji nodded his agreement.
"Hmm, I'm feeling scotch." Kyoraku denied.
"I am with Ichigo and Shinji." Yamamoto shook his head. "I see Ulquiorra drinking top-shelf whiskey."
"Tequila?" Ukitake tilted his head.
"No." The rest of us shot the kindly man down. Kensei came back quickly, a plate of drinks in his hold. There was one glass with a couple cubes of ice in it filled with brown liquor. I assumed that was Kensei's, who already knew what he liked. There were six shots alongside the glass, two of each shade of brown. After setting down the plate, he put one of each shot in front of each arrancar. Without sitting down, he took a drink from his cup, sighed in appreciation at the taste, and set it back down before crossing his arms over his chest to stare the two Espada down.
"Take your shots, tell me which you like the most. Take them slowly, the taste is going to surprise you." He ordered as the rest of us watched in interest. The two shared a look of silent communication then grabbed the same color shot in unison. Both tipped the cups back into their mouths, and Ulquiorra choked slightly. He quickly put the shot down while holding his wrist over his mouth and coughing. Halibel, in contrast, took the shot like a champion, even licking her lips after.
"W-why do you drink that willfully?" The bat complained. "It's so bitter."
"It has a strong taste." The shark corrected. "I don't dislike it. Ichigo was right about my interests, it appears."
"Try your next shots, you both might like them more." Kensei suggested. Before grabbing the new drink, Halibel seemed to realize Ulquiorra wasn't going to finish his first shot and did so for him. Once both had their new shots in hand, they nodded again and tipped them back. Ulquiorra took the second one better, likely being more prepared.
"I like the second one better." The Queen of Hueco Mundo announced. Her voice was warmer, which the rest of us caught. Without needing to exchange a word, Kensei slid his drink to where Halibel sat while Shinji took her last shot and put it between himself and Yamamoto. The brawler then stepped around to the shark's left and patted her back twice.
"Take my seat, I'm gonna be up and down and it'll be easier if I don't have to squeeze in between people." Shrugging in easy acceptance of the excuse, she stood and sat in the Vizard's previous seat. With that settled, we turned to Ulquiorra to see his reaction to the drink.
"It is less distasteful than the first, but I would still not drink it on my own." He answered. We all nodded at the confirmation, and Kensei gestured for them to take their final shots. Halibel didn't wait for Ulquiorra, likely realizing he wasn't going to like it anyway. Her glass returned to the tabletop while the bat was still mid-sip.
"I liked the second one the best." She announced with a small smile. Kensei met it with his patented maniacal-fanged grin.
"Attagirl!" He cheered before holding up his cup and looking to the bar. "Bartender! Another VSOP on the rocks!"
"I did not like any of these." Ulquiorra droned. Ukitake patted his shoulder comfortingly while I leaned forward to test something.
"Hey Kensei, put a Johnnie neat on my tab for Ulq!" The fanged grin was turned my way, beaming with approval. The brawler took another sip of his drink and went over to the counter. While we all watched him leave, a hand fell between Shinji and Halibel to place a drink down. Aqua-green eyes blinked in surprise, but the Vizard knowingly turned halfway back to the waiter behind them.
"Who?" He asked with a flat expression. The waiter pointed to a table on the other side of the room, and just like we all expected, it was filled with Squad 11 members. Interestingly, they all seemed to crowd around a Squad 4 member, and I realized what was going on. It actually warmed my heart slightly, to see them all acting as wingmen for the medic. If only they had picked someone else. Sighing, Yamamoto took the blow, throwing his beer back with his right hand while reaching out with his left to slide the new drink in front of him.
"Be grateful I do not mind brandy, though I prefer scotch." He rumbled while handing the now empty mug to the waiter. The shark tilted her head.
"There's gonna be a lot of guys that try to butter you up to hit on you by getting you drunk first." I summarized. An acknowledging hum left the woman.
"I see. Switching my seat was to help ward against that, I take it." She was still sober enough for her first time drinking to figure that out fast.
"Oh, that makes sense." Renji slurred, as much of a lightweight as ever. "I thought Muguruma said that was to pick up drinks easier."
"Ignore him, he can't handle his drink." Yamamoto stated, still allowing the redhead to hang his arm around his shoulders. An amused breath left Halibel.
"While I do not mind, is there reason to be suspicious about the drinks others order for me?" She asked.
"Oh, there's no difference between the drinks we order for you and what anyone else will." Kyoraku took on the task. "But I doubt that anyone other than we will know that this is your first time drinking. You don't know how to measure yourself yet, they'll take every drink you accept as an invitation." She nodded her head gratefully.
"I leave myself in your care, then. I thank you, Yamamoto-san, for accepting my drinks for me."
"I ask only that you call me Genryuusai as repayment." He spoke. Kensei came back with a drink in each hand. He slid the drink with ice in front of Halibel, and the drink with only liquor in front of Ulquiorra. While the shark promptly took a sip, the bat experimentally sniffed his drink. As the white-skinned arrancar testingly brought the cup to his lips, the Queen of Hueco Mundo turned to me.
"Is it that common of practice to hit on others by getting them drunk?"
"The idea is that providing free drinks incites gratefulness, and liquor makes you question yourself less. A lot of it comes down to how well people mesh, of course, but a lot of people find it easier to strike up a conversation with alcohol." I answered. To the side, Ulquiorra hummed approvingly at the whiskey, which earned a fist pump from Kensei.
"How successful is it?" She wondered. I shrugged.
"It's how Yoruichi first got with me, so I'm a bit of a biased answer." Renji's head snapped up at the remark.
"Wait, seriously?!" Despite being halfway into his third beer, he was well and truly gone. "I thought you said your first time was a threesome!" A vein pulsed in my face at his shout, though thankfully Yamamoto dealt out the appropriate punishment for me. Renji went to take another drink only to pull back as the beer hissed and boiled at him, a yelp coming out of him as he thrust out the mug to distance himself from the heat.
"It was, but Yoruichi taking me out drinking was how I first realized I was into her."
"Well, now I'm interested!" Kyoraku grinned, accepting another cup of sake from the waiter. He was currently on his fifth if I was keeping accurate track. "I hope you'll let us in on all the saucy details." A smile found its way onto my face in remembrance.
It was two years into the Winter War. A few months after I regained my Shinigami powers with Kisuke's help and reentered the fight. After being helpless on the sideline for a year and a half, I was trying to make up for lost time by throwing myself into it, battle after battle with no rest in between. The only times I slept were when I couldn't keep myself up, I kept food in my robes to eat on the battlefield. In hindsight, there were several occasions where I only found a fight because I was looking for one. Every second I wasn't in a fight, all I could think about was how many were injured or died while I just sat by. I was a mess, and everyone could see it, but only Yoruichi decided to do something about it.
Sneaky as she was, I didn't realize she was weaseling into my guard. She spent a whole month spending every second by my side, loosening me up and getting ready to strike. A bento after a fight, a massage to get me to fall asleep, using logic to make me delegate work to other Shinigami. She knew if I so much as caught a whiff of the word 'break', I would buckle down and shut her out. Her opportunity came when we took out two Espada at once in a big fight. The other Shinigami were going out to celebrate, and she managed to convince me that it was best to join them to keep an eye out for them all. Told me that Aizen would see a bunch of drunk Shinigami and think it a good opportunity to attack, would you believe that? Right when we just took out two of his strongest fighters?
As soon as I thought that they might need protecting, I was all for it. It was some bar in Rukongai they had all flocked to, it's only thanks to Zangetsu that I remember the name. The Izumo. Place was packed, the citizens had ended up agreeing to let the bar take up the whole street for the night. The employees were so swamped that they all worked the counter while getting civilian volunteers to serve out drinks. I started out watching from on top of a roof, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. I was so focused that Yoruichi handed me some sort of cocktail and I didn't even ask why my 'orange juice' tasted weird. Still don't know what it was, to be honest. It was some specialty drink they were trying out that they named after me, someone got mad and ordered them not to try using my name without my permission. I didn't drink all that quickly, but Yoruichi was ready to give me a new one every time she saw I was low.
She watched, waited, and once she saw I had enough in me, threw out the idea that I would be able to watch better from up close. And I agreed! So we went down to where everyone else was, and I didn't even question her sticking with me. There was so much going on, so much partying happening, that with Yoruichi phrasing it just right for me, I ended up finally relaxing and joining in. Even then, my constitution did so much for me that I was given a good fifteen rounds as reward for taking out the Espada and was still standing.
Most of it is a blur from there, but there's this one moment that is perfectly clear to me. We were somewhere on the street, and everybody I could see was dancing. There was no war, no arrancar, no Aizen. Just the alcohol, the music, and everyone around us. We were all packed shoulder to shoulder, but none of us cared. The only thing on anyone's mind was pure relief. We bumped into each other and no one minded. We nearly knocked each other over and helped each other up. We got sick and did what we could to make them feel better. Then I turn and I just see Yoruichi.
She's dancing like everyone else is, but it's different. She's in her normal clothes, her stealth uniform. She's laughing, and smiling, and moving to the music, and the only thought in my head is that she's beautiful. And that thought hits me so hard. At that moment, the world stops existing outside of her and I, and time seems to slow down. All I can think of is that 'beautiful' is the only word I can come up with. Not hot, or sexy, or alluring. Not pretty, or cute, or adorable. Beautiful. I just watch her sway to the music with her arms up, her hands shaking all over the place. I watch her ponytail move around and shine in the light. She opens her eyes, feels me staring at her I guess, and she looks at me. And I admire the color of her eyes, how they're such a pure yellow. I watch her smile, all teeth, and I can feel my mouth fall open. She's smiling at me, for me. She's looking at me and it makes her happy, and seeing her happy makes me happy. It all clicks, right then, and all I can do is laugh, scream out my thanks, and dance with her. She dances with me in turn, and the rest of the night is just her and I.
The next thing we know, we're being woken up on the side of the road by a civilian holding a couple bowls of eggs and rice, and we realize we're in each other's arms. We realized what happened, and we ate breakfast with her in my lap. The rest is history.
My friends all stared at me after I finished my story. Kyoraku and Ukitake were both beaming with joy, clearly having loved the tale. Yamamoto had a warm expression, surely helped by having had a couple drinks throughout my story. Halibel and Ulquiorra both appeared truly invested. Kensei sat back in his seat with his arms crossed and his drink in his hand, but I could see in his body language that he appreciated the story as much as everyone else. Shinji had a slightly hazy grin, his right arm hanging behind the back of his chair. Renji closed his eyes for three solid seconds before opening them in a drunken blink.
"So you've always been the sort of nutjob to throw yourself into work like you do." The blonde Vizard drawled.
"I've got people who will stop me from being that sort of nutjob, that is." I smirked into my drink. "I can tell you right now that if Yoruichi and Unohana didn't keep me in check, I'd hardly count as human. Probably end up as some sort of fucked-up husk."
"I must thank Yoruichi at some point, then." Yamamoto rumbled heavily. "For it was her who picked up the first piece of yourself." The odd sentence quieted the table slightly.
"Yamamoto-sensei?" Ukitake blinked.
"Genryuusai." The bearded Captain reminded. "Call me Genryuusai tonight. I'd ask the same of Shunsui and Ichigo if I thought they would listen." Kyoraku and I sat straighter with smiles on our faces, both of us proud to be such annoyances. "It was nearly two years ago now, just before Ichigo returned to the World of the Living for the first time. It was late, deeper into the night than we are now. I was in bed when I was awoken by wild reiatsu bearing down upon me. I realized both that its source was Sokyoku Hill, and that the reiatsu was Ichigo's. It did not take me long to understand what caused the turmoil, and so I collected Chojiro and we went to join him. He had suffered nightmares, nightmares I had suffered myself. We confided in each other, and I can easily say that is where we truly came to understand each other. We realized the major difference between the two of us was that I had no one who sought to rebuild me after I broke from war, while he did." His beard lifted in a powerful, weighty smile. "That conversation struck a chord in Chojiro, as well as myself. He's asked me to join him for afternoon tea more often since then. His efforts combined with your presence have allowed me to relax more. Were it not for the two of you, I know I would not have joined you all tonight." He finished with a deep pull of his drink, placing the emptied cup down politely after. "I will never be able to thank you enough, Ichigo, but I will do my best by being by your side and protecting what is yours." My eyes burned and I brought up a hand to wipe the beading tears away.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it." At my side, I spotted the gentle smile that took over Kyoraku's face. He kept that look while raising his arm and gesturing for another round for the table.
"I'll take your bill for tonight, Kurosaki-san." The flowery Captain spoke softly. "Same with Muguruma-san's. You won't need to spend a single yen." With a firm expression on his face, Kensei held out his glass to Kyoraku, who blinked at it.
"It's a Vizard custom." I informed, grabbing my cup and holding it out as well. "If you want to pay for a Vizard, you hold out your drink to them. If they accept the offer, they'll tap theirs against yours. You do the same to confirm a verbal offer." Understanding dawning upon his face, the Captain of the Eighth tapped his cup against both of ours.
"I believe I'm starting to understand why humans enjoy drinking." Ulquiorra stated, leaning back in his seat. He appeared more physically relaxed, which I figured was from the fact he currently was on his third cup of Johnnie.
"It depends on a lot of things." Shinji tentatively warned. "There's a difference between drinking to relax from a problem and drinking to forget about a problem. Right now, we're doing it right. We're all enjoying each other's company and supplying that with drinks. But when you're chasing something or running from something, then you're doing it wrong."
"What do you mean?" The bat encouraged.
"Ichigo, you mind if I use you?" The blonde asked. I shook my head and gestured with my drink for him to proceed. "Our time-displaced friend over here came here with his fair share of problems. He lost a lot of people, and losing one person is not a hit people take easily. If he had wanted to run from the grief, drinking was a route he could've taken. Drinking until he blacked out. Drinking until he forgot he lost them. Drinking to drown the misery until he stopped feeling it. Shit like that is what too many turn to, and it's a nasty thing. Because no matter what you do, you can't drink the source of the problem away. You can't drink someone back from the dead."
"I think I understand." By the newfound frown on the white-skinned Espada's face, he did indeed. "Drinking to 'chase', I then assume, is to use alcohol to feel relief or happiness." All of the present Shinigami, even the barely conscious Renji, nodded gravely. "I'd like to only drink when I am with company such as yours, then. I trust I will be cared for, just as you are all caring for Halibel right now." Aqua-green eyes, with a drunken haze over them, blinked at the words.
"How many drinks have you taken for me, Genryuusai?" She turned to ask.
"Four, as of yet." The fire wielder hummed as he sipped at the latest. The shark's eyes widened.
"And I am like this having only had three…" She breathed while glancing down at her current half-finished glass. "I thank you once more. I would have taken the offered drinks as a challenge and had them all if you had not told me."
"You are most welcome, Halibel." Yamamoto accepted with closed eyes.
"I was considering it before tonight, but your actions here have solidified my decision. Genryuusai, Ichigo, you both may call me Tier."
"Then you are most welcome, Tier." He amended. I nodded along with his words.
"What about dear old me?" Kyoraku teased. I'm sure had she been sober, she would have glared at the tease. As she was now, she just turned to him with an unchanged expression.
"I do not know you well enough to consider it, and what I do know of you leaves me uninterested in changing my mind on the matter." Her words were so cruel that Ukitake, Shinji, Kensei, and I all burst out laughing while the flowery Captain blinked in shock. He brought up a hand to splay his fingers against his chest.
"Oh, my, what hurtful words!" He chuckled, the remark flowing over him like water. "Juushiro, I worry I must drown my sorrows in liquor! Save me from this hell!" The long-time friends laughed with each other while Kyoraku jokingly draped himself over his silver-haired companion.
"Oi, Ichigo." Kensei spoke up, a curious look on his face. "You told us about when you realized you had the hots for Yoruichi. What about Unohana?" I snorted, unable to keep my amusement internal. The liquor was hitting everybody by now, and it was showing in Kensei actually asking to know more about someone rather than just silently waiting for them to open up on their own.
Hilariously, his question drew everyone's attention, getting them all to turn to me like eager children. Except for Renji, whom I don't think anyone realized had fully fallen asleep. His arm was still over Yamamoto's shoulders, which was almost cute. I barked out a laugh when yet another drink was settled down between Yamamoto and Halibel, the shark not even noticing it while the bearded man automatically pushed it closer to himself. Shaking my head, I started.
Just like Yoruichi, my relationship with Unohana started after a long time of me being an idiot. Both in not noticing that she was interested and throwing myself into the fight, again. It was the third year of the Blood War, and the Front Liners had been formed by then. We were still at our strongest, thankfully, but we also were still finding our rhythm. We were still figuring out how to spread ourselves for best coverage, and how to be close enough to react while still being able to freely do our own thing. Chad and I were taking it too hard upon ourselves, for different reasons. He was overcompensating out of the fear that he would be left behind by the rest of us, being the only pure human of the group. In contrast, I knew that even then, I was the strongest of the group, and I convinced myself that I had to do the most because of it. I felt that I had to take out the most Soldats, and kill the most Sternritter, or else I was dragging my feet. We already had the most intense job, and I made myself believe that I couldn't afford to do anything less than 70% of the work.
In the beginning, when most of us were still working on our stamina, we did our best to work in shifts. I was the only one that demanded to not swap out and stay on the field the entire time. They couldn't stop me, so they had no choice but to let me have it. So I ended up spending entire weeks straight on the battlefield, simply having Zangetsu take over when I couldn't keep myself awake. I was relying on my immense reiatsu and my regeneration to keep myself going. What ended up knocking me out of that was Unohana, in the most literal sense. Having decided enough was enough, Unohana came up with a plan and brought it up to the other Captains. One of the most pivotal traits the Front Liners had to have was stamina, to keep going so that everyone else could rest. That didn't necessarily mean that others couldn't fight alongside us, just that we had to take up the majority of it. It further meant that if the others didn't need to rest, we didn't need to stay out. So Unohana convinced Kyoraku, who was the Head Captain, that every Captain who wasn't needed for research or strategy could be deployed to give me a chance to rest up.
With myself of course being unaware of this plan, I was shocked something fierce when Soi Fon, Shinji, Byakuya, Komamura, and Toshiro all hopped into the fight. It was a pretty well-made plan by Unohana, I have to admit. While I was still getting over seeing so many non-Front Liners join in, she snuck up behind me – in Bankai just in case I reflexively attacked – and jumped on my back with a sleeping kido at the ready. I couldn't have been prepared for something like that. Mix my unpreparedness with how utterly exhausted I was, and I dropped like a sack of potatoes. She then dragged me back into the Fourth and laid me in a bed. From what she told me later, if she had any belief that Bakudo would've been able to keep me pinned to the bed, she would have used it. I woke up the first time when the effects of the kido lifted, about four or five hours later. I had been so freaked out, worrying myself stupid about how the Captains were fairing on the battlefield, that I didn't even have my Hierro up when Unohana clocked me in the face. Nearly sent unconscious by a simple punch in the face, would you believe that? She didn't even put any reiatsu into it and I dropped onto my ass.
For a moment, all I did was just sit there and start beating myself up over the idea that something so weak could bring me down, ignoring all the extenuating circumstances that made it that effective. I think she saw it on my face or something, because that's exactly when she snapped. She leaned down, grabbed my shihakusho, and sat herself right on top of me so she could be in my face as she started screaming herself hoarse.
I know this is bad of me, but most of her rant I don't remember. I sure thought it would be impossible to forget in the moment, don't get that confused. Unohana is goddamn terrifying when she's pissed at you, and you just feel like shit when you realize you've genuinely hurt her. But the thing was, that was all I could focus on throughout everything she was saying. She was hurt, and angry, and even scared. I had never seen her feel any of those, yet was seeing her overwhelmed by all three at once. By this point, she had been my personal nurse for about two years, and she had gotten me out of a few different stages of panic by then. And it had always been her dragging me out, I realized just then. She had seen me in every state you could by then, but I had never seen her break down. And in that moment, it clicked as to why.
Standing by on the wayside while I broke myself against the wall, again and again, was tearing her apart piece by piece. All the time we had spent with each other had slowly built up within her, and there was a massive grey area where she started seeing me as more than a patient but wouldn't do anything about it because I was with Yoruichi. Yoruichi, of course, caught on long before I did, and talked to her about it. Apparently, they both agreed that neither one of them could keep me from tearing myself apart all on their own, and Yoruichi said she was okay with sharing. From then, Unohana tried to find opportunities to confess, only for our duties as Front Liners and my suicidal rampage as one to get in the way. That was the worst for her, having admitted to herself her feelings for me and being left stuck watching me slowly kill myself trying to hold myself to an impossible standard. So seeing that I finally was down and was stupidly just trying to throw myself back into it burst the dam.
She was pissed at herself because, for the first time, she wasn't strong enough to do anything. It wasn't like with Kenpachi where he made a mistake upon realizing he was stronger than her. This was a nightmare where she actually cared about someone and wanted to use her strength to protect them, only to find that her power wasn't enough. She was scared because someone she realized she genuinely loved was slowly killing himself and she couldn't do anything about it. And she was hurt because I was doing all of it to myself right in front of her.
Hearing her scream about all of it, about her overly emotional claims about how she hated me for making her feel that way, made me realize I knew someone who surely felt the exact same way, and what that inevitably meant for her. I stopped her in place by asking about it, by demanding to know for sure. That was when she told me about her conversation with Yoruichi, and how it ended. As soon as I knew for sure, it all hit me at once, and before I knew it, I had kissed her.
A second later, I apologized for my actions, and for making her worry so much, and agreed to rest up completely. She joined me in getting sleep, and we woke up to relieve the rest of the Captains and the other Front Liners almost a full day later.
Shinji was snickering to himself in his seat, only partially because the liquor was making him laugh uncontrollably.
"You -ha- You're such a dense idiot!" He giggled. "Both of the women that are hot for you had to hit on you first, and you didn't even realize until they screamed it in your face! Literally in one case!"
"Twice over, to my knowledge." Yamamoto added. I choked on the sip of beer I had taken to wet my throat after so much talking. Shinji laughed harder and his fellow Vizard joined him.
"Who the fuck told you?!" I demanded.
"Why, I got it from the source, naturally." He let out a chuckle that shook Renji with how it reverberated in his chest. "Retsu had to file reports on your recovery once upon a time. While she did not give details private to you and herself, she filled the space with complaints about your resistance to her seduction." I gaped while Kyoraku and Ukitake slipped into the laughter. Ulquiorra, gratefully, remained content to stay leaning back in his seat sipping at his seventh Johnnie. I figured his high-speed regeneration was putting in a lot of work right now. Halibel, still only having had half the number of drinks Yamamoto took for her, was leaning her elbows on the table to keep upright. Her skin was heavily flushed, and her repeated tugs on her jacket to cool herself were surely making a lot of the Shinigami in the bar seriously question their chances.
"Oh, she's in for it when I get home tonight." I grit through my teeth.
"I suspect she will not be complaining much." The founder's beard-tugging grin flashed again. It was unreasonably shit-eating. The blonde Vizard guffawed.
"Holy shit, Genryuusai! Why didn't you tell me you were such a riot to drink with?!" He howled with laughter. "I would've bugged you into joining us centuries ago!"
"You would have failed." The fire wielder maintained his grin. "I would not have joined without having Ichigo to mock and prod." I threw back my current beer and slammed down the empty mug.
"You think I'll take that lying down?" I challenged.
"I think lying down is how you'll end up if you push this matter."
"Oh, you think I'm gonna be the one to drop, old man?"
"Don't mistake my age for fragility, I could out-drink ten of you."
"I'd love to see you try, as long as you don't pull out the excuse that you've already had drinks."
"Che, arrogant boy foolishly believing his strength on the battlefield translates to skill with the drink."
"Kyoraku, you said you're paying for my tab?" The flowery Captain paused in his laughter to blink at the two of us. Understanding took its time to fall onto his face, likely matched in seconds by the number of drinks he's had.
"Oh!" It clicked for him. "Feel free! It won't hurt my wallet much. The night has been more than entertaining enough for me to forgive the damage anyway."
"Bartender!" I matched Yamamoto's grin, the two of us sliding our spent cups to the side. Halibel startled slightly, looking over the newly created space with curiosity and interest. Still snickering, Shinji pulled out his phone and leaned back to record the both of us. He ended up leaning against Kensei, who had a similarly amused grin as he brought up his hand to keep the blonde from falling. Between them and the excitedly clapping Ukitake, Ulquiorra peered over in intrigue. "A round of your strongest for the two of us!"
Take this as making up for the previous chapter. You're welcome.
Next Chapter: You'll Die if You Hesitate