"He's noticing every single detail of me," I huffed as I walked. I looked over to the blond next to me. He was wearing the usual button-up shirt and tie fashion. "It's kinda creepy," I gripped on my arms, looking away from him.
It freaked me out for a few weeks ago. Aizen would notice every single change I had. From the bandage on my leg to the smallest change to my hairstyle. It was like he was observing me. He'd only point out things about me. Why not anyone else?
Shinji sighed, "He's a creep, that's why," I looked over to him. "He might have noticed it by now," he continued. And that was why I was freaking out. "He probably noticed how frequently ya hang around with those guys," he scanned my expression for a bit, "And yer pretty expressive. It's easy to tell if yer in distress."
I blushed at his comment, "It's not my fault I can't control my facial expression sometimes," I pouted, crossing my arms. "I have habits and I can't help myself," if anyone looked at me closely, they would notice how my lips were constantly dry and how my fingers fiddled way too much.
"I've noticed one of yer habits," he muttered. He gestured to my hands, "Ya fiddle yer fingers a lot when yer around me," my fingers froze. I was caught red-handed. His eyes went to my fingers as he smirked a little, "Ya don't have to be so nervous around me." My fingers quickly moved to the hem of my skirt, fiddling with the grey fabric.
"Its easier said than done, Shinji-San..." I said, my fingers gripping on the skirt. I looked over to my bag, "Oh! Before I forget," I rummaged through my bag. I took out the small cylinder container. "I made these," I handed it over to him, "You can share it with the Visored. I guess, its a thank you gift."
He opened the container and popped one in his mouth. He looked over to me, his eyes sparkling, "Now, this," he pointed to the container, "is good." He opened it again to take another. "I'll finish this up before giving it to the rest," he mumbled, his mouth full of the butter cookies.
"Shinji-San!" I patted his shoulder, "Be nice and share it with them! I made a lot." Though, I was smiling. Seeing such a reaction, really made me a little more proud of my baking skills. "The cookies aren't shaped the same," I pointed out, "Sorry about that."
He looked into the container, "It's cute, don't worry too much about it," he placed his finger into the container, "I can separate the small ones and give that to them," he started picking out the cookies. Popping the perfect and big ones into his mouth while leaving the crumbled and small ones in the container.
I blinked at him. He was making such an effort for cookies. "Shinji, be nice!" I took the container away from him, "If you can't, then I'll hand it to them myself!" I paused for a second, "Wait. Sorry. I meant Shinji-San--."
"Ah, no need to be so formal," he ruffled my hair, "Ya can call me Shinji."
"B-But..."
"If ya insist on being formal, call me Captain Hirako."
"Oh," I tapped my fingers on the container, "Sure thing, Captain Hirako."
He quickly turned to me, "I was just joking! Ya don't have to call me that."
"I like it," I muttered, "It has a nice ring to it." Hirako-taichou, maybe it was me enjoying the pronunciation. Or maybe the sheer fact that someone so laid back was a captain and I was awed by it.
"Yeah, it does but..." he scratched the back of his neck, looking away from me, "Hearing it from yer mouth sounds different."
"Sounds different...?" I tilted my head to the side, "Is it because of my accent?"
Shinji looked over to me, "Nevermind what I said," he averted his eyes away from me, his cheeks slightly pink. He took the container from my hand, "I'll give this to them. I've got to go, being late pisses them off."
"I'll see you tomorrow," I smiled, "Captain Hirako."
His cheeks reddened a little. He cleared his throat, turning away from me, "Yeah, see ya," he mumbled a few words as he went. Though, I couldn't quite catch what he said. I raised my eyebrows, "Sounds different from my mouth, huh?" I continued walking, shaking my head, "He's such a weird lad," I laughed a little.
"I lingered a little too long with him," I looked around and the place was already dark. I sighed, hoping it won't rain. I looked over to my wristwatch, a little too late for training. I walked down the empty street. Looking at the white walls that surrounded the street. It was only a few weeks ago I saw a Hollow. And now, it looked like nothing happened.
I straighten my back, feeling someone's eyes on me. I turned around and immediately froze. Oh, it wasn't a Hollow. It was way worse. I quickly turned, hoping he didn't notice. "Ned? Is that you?" Shoot! I turned around, "Ai-- Mr Sosuke!" I laughed awkwardly, standing still as he approached me.
"What are you doing out here so late?" He asked. As he approached me, the lens of his glasses reflected the street light. It gave him an undeniable scary aura. Though, the light highlighted his brown hair gently. At least that made him looked friendly. But still, he was scary. Something about his voice was a little... off. I couldn't place it.
"Oh, I got a little carried away with my friend," I scratched the back of my head, laughing it off. Quit your habit. Quit your habit. My fingers itched to hold onto something. My leg suddenly feeling restless. Noticing my lips were chapped. Feeling the sweat trickled down my forehead. Don't show it. Don't show it. Don't show it.
"You shouldn't be out here alone," he stated. Yeah, because I didn't want to bump into people like you. "I'll accompany you back," that sentence alone made me want to float away and hoped we never see each other ever again.
"Eh?! Sir, you don't have to!" I was hoping he was going to take no as an answer again, "I'll be fine. I do this always."
"No, I insist," he said, a spark was in his brown eyes for a moment. Which worried me. "We wouldn't want you to be in another accident again, do we?" His villain was showing. From the tone of his voice, he wasn't going to let me go easily.
Wow, what kind of luck did I have?