Rangiku
The hollow was barreling towards me at a break neck speed. It threw punches at an alarming rate. I managed to catch the hollows fist when it made for another swing and sliced it off with my free hand. It threw back its head and howled in agony, spinning out of control into a blinding rage. I cut at its body left and right as it continued its onslaught. Kensei looked tense standing on the opposite side, he sword drawn at the ready.
"Rangiku! Say the word and I'll finish it off." He gritted his teeth.
"Honey, the day I need a man to do my fighting for me is the day I lay down my sword as a soul reaper." I gave him a wink. "Roar, Hinako!" The blade dissolved into a deadly sand that consumed the hollow like a swarm of angry wasps. The hollow clawed at the air, trying to escape the choking dust. I made my move. Running into the melee, I pulled a dagger from my belt and cleaved the hollows head from its shoulders. With a blinding burst of light, it dispersed.
"Nicely done." Kensei remarked, sheathing his sword.
I clicked my tongue. "You do realize this is standard work for a lieutenant, right?" I walked over to the body that lay on the ground and rolled it over. A burn mark was etched into its forehead. "Just as Captain Hitsugaya said." I frowned. "We'll have to report this immediately."
Kensei looked puzzled. "Why hasn't the espada come out and attacked us directly yet?"
I dusted my pant legs and shook my head. "I don't know but it seems like he's either hiding or waiting for something." I pulled my phone out, twelve-thirty it read. "Shift was over thirty minutes ago, lets head back."
***
Kensei went into his bedroom and shut the door. I chose to plop myself down on the couch next to Yoruichi, who was curled up on the cushion beside me. She stirred as I scratched her ears.
I pulled her into my lap. "Must be nice to sleep all day, huh? We should swap jobs."
"What can I say? Being a cat is difficult work you know." She yawned.
I stroked her silky fur. "I doubt that. What did you manage to accomplish today?"
She looked around the room. "Where's Akira at the moment?" She asked quietly.
I nodded in the direction of the bathroom. "I think she's the one in the shower right now, why?"
Yoruichi hopped off my lap and pulled an envelope from the folds of the couch. She dropped it in my lap. "This envelope is addressed to Kisuke, I found it in amongst her things. It's a pardon allowing him to return to the Soul Society. It also requests him to assist the Seireitei with the elimination of Aizen."
I picked up the envelope and looked it over. "Kisuke Urahara? You mean the shop owner who delivered the gigais to us? I had no idea he was an exile from the Soul Society. I thought he just provided aid to soul reapers when they came to the world of the living."
She shook her head. "He was supposed to be executed a century ago for the deaths of several captains and their subordinates. I aided him in his escape from the Soul Society and we were subsequently both banished."
I was shocked. "Did he kill them? And how come I didn't ever hear about this?"
She clawed the couch aggressively. "No he didn't kill them, Aizen did. We just couldn't prove it until after Aizen defected from the Soul Society. You wouldn't have known about it because the files were destroyed."
I looked the envelope over curiously. "So why does Akira have this letter?"
"I have a feeling I know why she does; I'd just like to know why she hasn't done it yet."
Captain Yuki exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, brushing her wet hair. I shoved the letter behind my back and smiled over at her. "Akira, hey girl! How's your day going?" I wedged the envelope back into the couch, giving her a huge smile.
She shot me a queer look. "Fine, I guess?" She looked down at her towel and then at me. "You know wearing a towel isn't against any fashion rule, Rangiku."
"What? Oh no I don't mind the towel! Although we do need to have a chat about your choice of colours. There's more to life than grey and black, honey." Just then I had a brilliant idea. "Why don't we discuss more on that subject today? We'll have a girls day, you and I. Just put some clothes on and go get us some coffees while I freshen up a bit, okay?"
Captain Yuki stared strangely at me for a minute. "Sure, just give me a second." She disappeared into the bedroom.
I looked over at Yoruichi. "I can't ask her about this directly, but I'll see what my captain has to say about it."
Akira appeared again in the living room wearing black pants and a grey t-shirt. I rolled my eyes and sighed at the ceiling. "We have some serious work ahead of us, honey."
She sniffed the air indignantly. "There's nothing wrong with the way I look."
Judging by the blonde hair stuffed into a messy ponytail and the lack of bra support, I had to disagree. She threw on a coat and was out the door in an instant.
I pulled the envelope out of the couch and looked it over once again. Captain Hitsugaya entered the kitchen and placed a dish in the sink. He turned around and folded his arms, waiting expectantly.
I gave him my report. "We encountered a hollow at the end of my shift and I dispatched it. Its body had the same markings as the others which makes that four victims this week." I leaned back on the couch, dropping the envelope in my lap.
He nodded. "Since Akira found the first set of victims there seems to be a new kill every few days. We need to find a way to lure him out somehow. We're running out of time and the head captain is not pleased with our progress." He collapsed on the couch next to me, rubbing his face with his hands. He looked exhausted.
I patted his back gently. "We're doing everything we can captain. You need to stop stressing about that and you need to stop stressing about Akira."
His shoulders sagged.
"She hasn't forgiven you yet, has she?" I guessed.
He dodged the question and grabbed the envelope in my lap. "What is this?" He asked.
I tried to think of an answer that wouldn't upset him. "Akira dropped it on her way out so I picked it up. I was going to give it back to her when she got back." I avoided the look he gave me.
He closed his eyes, rubbing the knot between his brows. "That's her personal belonging, Rangiku. Please tell me you didn't read it."
"I only glanced at it, but I think there's something you should know-,"
He put his hand up, stopping me. "Not another word, I'm not getting involved in this. Akira's pissed at me as it is and I'm not about to upset her again. Put it back where you found it, now." He got up and went to his room, slamming the door shut.
I tucked the envelope back into Akira's belongings and grabbed my shower bag. I made a quick retreat into the bathroom when I heard her open the front door.
***
Akira
I saw Rangiku bolt into the bathroom and slam the door shut. I gave the bathroom door a queer look. She should have been in the shower by now. I sat on the couch and sighed. At this rate we'd be out of the house in three hours. I never understood what took her so long to get ready in the morning. Granted she was taller than me and had a larger chest surface area, but did it really take an extra thirty minutes to wash?
I heard a door open and looked over to see Toshiro enter the room. I wasn't ready to talk to him so I kept my attention fixed on my drink, which wasn't even all that good.
He sat down on the couch beside me and leaned forward, trying to make eye contact with me. "How's your coffee? Is it any better than the stuff you can get in the Seireitei?" He asked, breaking the ice.
"I'm not really a fan of coffee actually, I prefer tea. The place I went to didn't have any tea so..." I gestured to the cup I was holding.
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Right. Well you know, if sometime-- I don't know-- maybe you wanted to-- or we could maybe," he fumbled.
I stared at him. "Did you forget how to use your words, Toshiro?" He frowned. I felt a twinge of regret for sounding so snarky.
I felt his uneasiness. He smiled and tried again. "Sorry, what I meant was-,"
"-Akira all ready to go?" Rangiku cut in. I waited for Toshiro to finish but he chose to say nothing further. I got up and gathered my things, handing her a coffee.
"You were out of that shower in record time. I gotta say I'm impressed." I tried to give the coffee another chance but I ended up scalding my tongue. "This coffee is disgusting, I don't know how you drink this crap Rangiku." I wrinkled my nose.
Toshiro jammed his hands in his pockets and left the room abruptly.
She stared after him. "What did you say to him?" She jerked her thumb.
"Nothing." I shrugged.
"Tch, that's the problem honey. You need to forgive him."
I knew at some point I would have to but I wasn't going to think about that now. I steered her out the door. "Okay then, let's get going. We only have six hours until my shift starts and I have a feeling you're going to drag me through every store in town." I wiped my brow comically.
"You bet your sweet behind we are." She winked at me. "I wouldn't worry about your shift tonight though. The captain already promised to take over our shifts if we decided to go out."
I was surprised at his thoughtfulness. "He said that?"
She leaned in and put an arm around my shoulder. "Akira everyone makes mistakes. The captain is a good man and he's flawed, just like the rest of us. Give him a chance." She squeezed my shoulder.
I nodded, feeling contrite about my behaviour earlier.
"Now then-," she grabbed ahold of my hand a led me down the street, "-let's go spend your money!" She grinned.
***
Rangiku kept true to her promise. We went to every store that had clothes, shoes or beauty products to be bought. One boutique had shoes lined across the wall with boxes of them stacked to dizzying heights all around the store. I picked up one boot to examine it and gawked, its tag read five hundred dollars. I gently placed the boot down and walked away slowly.
The next store contained clothing. I thought I could handle it but I had never felt more frustrated in my entire life. While Rangiku had an air about her that made the sales clerks flock to her, I was slowly turning into a wallflower. They gushed over her hair and her clothes, handing all sorts of dresses and blouses for her to try on. I tried to find stuff that I liked but I was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the ruffles and bows that seemed to be on every item I picked.
"Oh no I'm not shopping for me," she interrupted one of the more enthusiastic clerks. "I need to get this girl a dress." She pointed at me. "I'll have you know that this girl is filthy rich." She winked.
I was standing to the side, holding the tag of one of the dresses I was gaping at. The clerk sized me up in an instant. Dismissing me, she turned her attention back to Rangiku. I felt a little indignant. My cheeks puffed out like a blowfish as I attempted to quell my rage. Rangiku noticed that I was beginning to self-implode and tried to diffuse the situation.
"Perhaps you didn't hear me the first time," she smiled sweetly to the clerk. "Akira here has money to burn and she needs a dress for tonight."
The air left my cheeks and I gave her an incredulous look. "Why do I need a dress for tonight?"
She flicked her hair. "We're going to a nice restaurant and ordering drinks, on your dime of course!" I gave her a sour look. She threw her hands in the air. "Who cares? You're a captain and you're young, single and loaded! Besides that, Toshiro's given you and I the night off so I say we take advantage of it."
She rifled through the dresses on the rack, pulling out a tiny black number that looked more like a sock than a dress. "There! Lets start with this one." She tossed the dress at the clerk.
I gave the clerk a hopeful look. "Well lets try some on then."
Being in the change room was overwhelming. There were discarded dresses scattered all over the floor. Most of the items Rangiku had selected were incredibly revealing and required a lot more boobs than I had to offer. I pulled at the number I was currently wearing, my butt was all but hanging out of the dress. There was no way in hell I was showing her that one.
She knocked on the door. "Everything okay in there?" She trilled. "You haven't shown me one dress yet. Have you died or something?" I debated eating a soul candy and leaving Nani to deal with her.
"I'm not sure about your dress choices. They fit weird and they're really uncomfortable." I jumped around, trying to get the offensive piece of clothing off.
The latch to the door unlocked and she barged in. I wrapped my arms around my chest. "Jesus, haven't you heard of privacy, Rangiku?"
She clicked her tongue. "That dress doesn't work on you at all. Lets try something else."
I pleaded with her. "I've put them all on. They're way too small and some of them leave nothing to the imagination. Can we please try some different styles?"
She tossed me a silk housecoat to put on. "Let's have a look then. But I'll have you know-," she wiggled her finger at me, "-I'm never wrong."
I flipped through a few racks of dresses, feeling slightly discouraged. Rangiku ran over occasionally with her suggestions which I continuely shot down.
"The problem is you're too critical of yourself," she said, handing me another dress. "You've got to try something out of your comfort zone." She pushed me in the direction of the fitting room.
I walked back into the fitting room and pulled the dress on. I instantly loved its satin feel and the way it draped across my shoulders. It felt as though it fit me well. I opened the door to check the mirror. For once Rangiku was very quiet.
I gazed at my image in the mirror. I had on a sheathed red satin dress. The straps fell off my shoulders, accentuating the long line of my collarbone. The red in the dress made my green eyes pop and my blonde hair brighter. As I looked down, I noticed the dress hit me just below the knee. All together it felt elegant and classy. I twirled around, loving every inch of it.
"Is that a smile I'm seeing right now?" Rangiku gasped. She walked around me in a circle, examining the item. "It's just about perfect, but it needs on more thing," she walked over to the accessory table and grabbed a small silver clutch. "There," she held it next to my dress, "I think that's exactly you!"
I continued to stare at myself in the mirror. She was right, it was me. "I've never felt so pretty before," I mumbled.
From behind me, she leaned over my shoulder and looked at me through the mirror. "Honey that's because you've never had a friend quite like me."
We walked through the streets with my new purchase, passing a few more shops on our way. The more time I got spend with Rangiku, the more I grew to genuinely like her.
"Honey, do you have any girlfriends?" She asked while I was paying for a pair of silver flats.
I stared incredulously at her. "R-rangiku, I'm flattered and all but I don't-,"
"That's not what I meant," she stopped me. "I mean when was the last time you've ever had a shopping day, like with other girls your age?"
I tapped on my chin trying to remember if I had ever done something like this before. "Well Murasame and I have gone shopping loads of times but he usually helped carry the bags. I guess I've never really had a 'girls day' before. This would be my first."
Without warning she embraced me in a hug, smothering me with her chest. "You poor soul!" She wailed. "Well you have me now and I intend to do this more often! We girls need this time together, it's great therapy!"
I couldn't help but giggle, I actually was enjoying myself. "Alright then, so what's next on our list?"
She looked at her phone. "We need to go back to back to the house and get ready. I've booked reservations at a nice restaurant for six o'clock."
I ran my hand over my messy hair. "I may need help with that, I'm not good with hairstyles and makeup and such."
Her eyes lit up with glee. "Honey you just said the magic words!" The rest of the walk back was spent educating me on the etiquette of matching hairdos with dress styles and makeup with handbags.