NaClO (By invitation, otherwise CLOSED)

[HookerBoots]

"But I don't want to go to the Harvest Festival in Rukongai!" Momo was protesting as Amaya tugged her along the wide, level main street of Junrinan. "What if Aizen-taicho needs me for something?"

Amaya sighed, puffing her hair out of her face. "Hinamori-chan, don't be silly! He gave you the day off, didn't he?" The other girl nodded. "Then it's okay. He's a captain, he'll be able to do without his 15th seat for one day."

Momo looked uneasy, but then nodded again. "Okay, I suppose. But why are we in such a hurry? How far away is it?"

The pink-haired girl grabbed her friend's hand again, tugging her down the street. "We're meeting everyone else, so we shouldn't be late! And it's just in Hokutan, so we're going to be there soon."

As they made it past the second district's walls and into the third, the atmosphere changed almost immediately. It was barely dusk, but there were paper lanterns lining the streets in warm, autumn colors, casting pools of light on the stone buildings. There were also stalls selling warm drinks or snacks, or souvenirs of the Harvest this year.

Outside a tent where performers were doing seasonal dances, a trio of males was waiting - all of them straightened up when the girls ran up. Amaya and Momo stopped a few feet away, smiling at them. "Konichiwa, minna-san!" Amaya said, waving. Momo waved as well, a small smile on her face.

"Wow, you two look . . . great." Kira's eyes were wide, looking back and forth between the two girls. They did look good, dressed in something besides their uniforms. Amaya was wearing a kimono she'd managed to save up for, all in brown and gold with a pattern of a wheat field. Momo had been muscled into a kimono of rust and orange, patterned with chrysanthemums. They both looked lovely, and Amaya at least knew it.

"Arigato, Kira-kun," the pink-haired girl said with a blush. Momo blushed as well, cheeks bright red as she murmured a thank you as well.

Renji elbowed Isamu with a grin. "He's got it bad," the red-haired man whispered, watching Izuru stare at Hinamori with a rapt expression. Raising his voice, Renji folded his arms. "Glad you finally made it, girls." He grinned wolfishly. "Let's hurry to get the stuff we want so we can go back to the barracks and relax."

"Come on, Abarai-kun," Amaya said with wide eyes. "Hinamori-chan and I got all dressed up just for this! It'll be wasted if we just hurry up and go home!"

~ ~ ~ ~​

They'd been walking for about fifteen minutes, the girls spending some of their pocket money on souvenirs and snacks. Momo had bought a small sack of dried persimmons, saying they were a treat that reminded her of youth in Junrinan. Amaya stayed away from them, pleading a desire for something savory, but the real reason was that dried persimmons were a favorite treat of Captain Ichimaru's when she did something well.

So instead, she bought a bunch of roasted sweet potatoes, sharing them with the guys. As she took a bite into hers, feeling the warm, soft flesh in her mouth, something ran into her from behind. "Ooof!" She stumbled into Isamu, craning her head around to see what had run into her. And grinned. "Matsumoto-fukutaicho!"

The ginger-haired vice-captain looked at them, then grinned. "Konbanwa, minna-san! This is great, isn't it?" She herself was looking stunning in a bright red and chocolate brown kimono that she wore open the same way her uniform was, her normal silver chain dangling between her mountainous breasts. "They're selling cheap shouchu and sake," she said conspiratorially, "and it's really good for cheap booze!" Looking around, she added, "If you want, I'll help you buy some. I'm cool like that," she said with a nod.

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho," Amaya said with a small smile, "Takeuichi-san and I are old enough to buy our own."

The busty vice-captain grinned anyway. "That's great! We can drink together, then! Come on, we'll break some hearts, Kuragari-chan, Hinamori-chan!" Then she seemed to realize the boys were there, and leaned forward slightly. "You guys won't mind carrying our stuff, right?"

 

[Armphid]

"You know," Isamu commented, "I've really come to like this festival." His eyes were trained on the three women in their party as they looked at the various stalls and sampled goods, purchasing some which were then deposited into the arms of one of the boys. He himself was holding a bag of chive laced rice crisps, some golden fried yakitori in a paper bag, and a box set of various sausages.

Kira just nodded, his eyes existing only for Momo. Isamu couldn't blame him in some ways. Momo was pretty, her hair was beautiful, she was sweet and adorable, and in her kimono she looked lovely, indeed. It hinted at a figure that he never would have guessed she possessed based on the curve concealing nature of Academy robes and shihakusho.

Renji looked over at the American, "Why's that? I mean, you didn't grow up with it."

Isamu shrugged, "Well, other than girls in kimonos, I mean...just look at those three."

"Good point," Renji added, his eyes alternating between the women's backsides.

"But it's more than that." He shook his head, "In this whole place, this festival is one of the things that's fair." Kira just smiled slightly; he'd heard this talk before. Renji looked baffled. Isamu pointed, "Look there." A group of nobles were moving in through the stalls as well; recognizable by the bizarre hair ornaments the nobility favored. Otherwise, their garb was like that of all the other revelers. "And there." Captains Kyouraku and Ukitake were gathered with a group of men who were watching the kimono-clad Kiyone and Isane Koutetsu singing a folk song on an impromptu stage. "During this festival, everyone comes out and celebrates together. Nobles, shinigami, civilians. No one stresses over rank or propriety. Everyone just gathers and parties and enjoys life together."

Renji scratched his head. "...I guess. Is that really that big a deal?"

"Didn't you grow up dirt poor in Rukongai, Abarai-san?" Isamu glanced over at the other man. "Doesn't seeing the priviliged being kind to the poor mean something?"

"Yeah." The red haired man shook his head. "Anyway. Thinking about that's just going to get me down. This is supposed to be a party!"

"Ah, Abarai-kun has the right spirit!" Rangiku smiled. "Come on, Abarai-kun, let's go get the booze! We'll need lots!" She put a finger on her chin. "Of course, I bought a lot of food, so I don't have too much money left..." Then she winked at him, "So, you'll have to take care of most of it!"

"What?" Renji crossed and uncrossed his arms in front of him in an expression of negation, "Forget it! Everyone can buy their own hooch! Why should I have to buy for all of us?"

"Awww." Matsumoto's right hand slid to the opening of her kimono. She leaned forward once more, at the same time tugging her lovely garment open a bit further to reveal even more of her luscious mountains. "But it's just not a party without booze. Come on, Abarai-kun. Be generous and you'll be rewarded."

Renji's eyes were drawn to her chest as if by magnets. "I don't know...I mean, no. I'm keeping my money this time, damn it."

Rangiku tugged her kimono open a bit more. "Ohh, that's such a shame...are you sure you won't do me this favor?" She pulled again, even more of her massive breasts exposed.

Renji stared. "I...won't, it's too...big...expensive! I meant...huge." He blushed, "A-all right! Fine!"

"Yay!" She bopped up, her bosom bouncing delightfully. "Let's go then!"

~~~~~~~​

Renji sighed. His arms were loaded with crates that had bottles clinking in them softly. "...I am so broke..."

Rangiku grinned, "Now that's like a real man, Abarai-kun. You sure like your booze, don't you?"

"You wanted most of this!" Then he huffed. "Well, I just better get that reward," he muttered.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing."

"Oh." Rangiku walked alongside him for a while. The other four were ahead of them, looking at even more of the food offerings. Amaya and Isamu were watching the wild looking lieutenant of Squad 9 making okonomiyako while Kira and Momo were looking at a basket of fresh peaches. "Hmm. Kira-kun really likes Hinamori-chan, doesn't he? He's hardly even gawked at my gorgeous boobs!"

Renji nodded. "Yeah, he's totally fallen for her. Won't do anything about it though." He jerked his chin over to where Amaya was trying her hand at flipping one of the okonomiyaki...only to fling it into Isamu's face, the youth stumbling backwards into a pool that held ducks for purchase, the waterfowl immediately swarming and pecking and biting at the food on his face. "Takeuchi's crushing on Kuragari-san too but he ain't as obvious as Kira."

"Hmm. A quartet of young lovers," Rangiku mused. "What if they came together at the Harvest Festival...it'd be like a play in real life!"

"Matsumoto-fukutaichou, what are you talking about?" Renji looked confused. Behind him, Isamu was getting up out of the pool, ducks still on his shoulders and the top of his head as they tried to claim the last bits of okonomiyaki.

Rangiku ignored him. "I've got just the thing." Then she slapped him on the shoulder, "No worries, Abarai-kun, I'll take care of everything!"

 

[HookerBoots]

The group filed into Squad 10's barracks, Rangiku leading the way. The two girls walked behind her, carrying the delicate things - stuff the busty vice-captain didn't want to trust to the boys. Momo carried two boxed sake sets and a lacquered box of the free okonomiyaki that the stall had given them as an apology for Isamu being flung backwards into the duck pond. Amaya carrying a box of fresh sushi that had come from a stall run by two Squad Two members, a box of blown glass jewelry, and a bag of steamed buns filled, in honor of the harvest, with sweet pumpkin instead of bean paste.

The boys trailed behind, Renji carrying all the booze that he'd been railroaded into buying, Kira carrying a bushel of peaches with a few small bags on top of it that held an assortment of snacks and dried fruits, and Isamu carrying the sausages, rice crisps, and yakitori as well as the little liquor Rangiku had purchased.

She lead them into a medium-sized room in the squad house, directing each of them where to put things. As they set things down, she darted out of the room, coming back in a few moments later with a small brazier and several pairs of chopsticks. "All right, the party can start! Abarai-kun, go get the ice - two doors down, there's a bucket there to use - and we'll get stuff set up here!"

Even that order couldn't put him in too bad a mood, and when he came back, everyone in the room had a glass of either sake or shouchu, Momo biting into a peach while Kira looked at the brazier and clearly not at her as the juice from the ripe fruit trickled down her chin until she wiped it away.

Renji noticed the lovesick look on the blond shinigami's face and sighed, dropping some ice into Kira's glass as he walked past. "Drink up, Kira. It'll help." The melancholy blond looked at him, then into the glass, before downing half of it in one gulp.

~ ~ ~ ~​

Rangiku took the Renji aside while the others were focused on starting the fire in the brazier - Amaya had decided she wanted to grill some of the sausage - and whispered her plan to him. At first, he wasn't sure, but then he realized through a haze - the sake was really good for cheap - that it would leave them alone together as well. "That sounds like a good plan, Matsumoto-fukutaicho. We'll have to get them drinking more."

The door slid open, a man's head poking in. "Ran-san, are you having a party again?"

Her face turned surprised, then a little worried. "Hai, taicho. I hope it's all right, I know I didn't ask."

"It's all right," he said, grinning. "Young people like parties. Just remember that you all have to be ready for patrol in the morning, party or no."

She nodded. "Of course, Kurosaki-taicho." There was a pause. "Would you like to join us?"

"No, of course not!" He looked scandalized. "Young people need to be free to have fun, live their own lives . . . set their own fires," he said, pointing at the group around the brazier. Amaya had managed somehow to get the outside of the brazier to burn without lighting the nest of charcoal within. As the other two turned to look, Isshin Kurosaki pulled his head back, one hand snaking into the room and back out again. "Have a good night, minna-san!"

As the door slid shut again, Renji and Rangiku looked back at the door. Renji blinked. ". . . There had been six bottles, not four . . . ." He looked at her. "Your captain stole our booze, didn't he?"

~ ~ ~ ~​

The party had wound down somewhat. The girls weren't used to drinking that much, and Amaya and Momo were at the 'giggling at everything' stage of drunk pretty quickly. The boys were a little tougher, but Kira was well on his way there as well. Rangiku stood up. "Hinamori-chan, Amaya-chan, come with me."

"Hai, Ran-san!" Amaya said, giggling madly. The girls stood up, a little shaky but leaning on each other slightly as they made their way from the room following Rangiku.

Once they were out in the hallway, Rangiku grinned at them. "This is the best idea I ever had! Okay, the boys . . . they like you."

"They do?" Momo looked amazed, her normally round eyes even wider. "But . . . but I like Captain Aizen! I like them too, though . . . they're all so sweet, even Abarai-kun. Kira-kun's got such sweet eyes, and Takeuichi-kun looks so exotic and determined all the time . . . ." Her face screwed up in what was supposed to be an expression of determination. "I like you too, Ran-san. And Amaya-chan." She giggled. "I like everyone."

Amaya nodded, then giggled. "They're so cute," she managed, "so are you two," she finished with a giggle, kissing Momo's cheek.

Rangiku shook her head. "No, they like . . . okay, let's try something new. I'm going to put each of you in an empty room, and in a while, one of the boys will come in." She reached into her cleavage and pulled out two small capsules. "Take these now. They'll help with what'll happen next."

They obediently took the capsules, swallowing them down. "Good," she said with a smile. "Now, come on. Amaya-chan, you'll be in the first room on the left here, and Momo-chan, you'll be in the first on the right." She patted their rears. "Go on, now."

As they walked to the assigned doors, Rangiku walked back to the room where the party is. Midway there, both of them stopped and looked at each other. "Momo-chan . . . ?"

"Hai, Amaya-chan?"

"Do you remember which of us goes to which door again?"

The dark-haired girl chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "Ummm . . . I think . . . I go left, because L is close to M in the alphabet?"

Amaya thought for a moment. "That. makes. sense."

 

[Armphid]

Renji watched as Rangiku led the tipsy girls off. He grinned and then knocked back his drink. Time to play his part! "So, what do you think they're doing?"

Isamu thought a moment, blushed, and sighed. "Probably not what I'm thinking." He then tilted his head, "Though that's good too. If they were, we wouldn't have a chance. Not against Rangiku-san."

Kira chuckled. "Like we do anyway. Thsoe girlsh, girls I mean, are out of our league. Especially..." The usually morose and pale youth's cheeks were flush with drink. Kira didn't hit the hooch as often as Renji, but when he did, it was often like he was trying to reach insensible oblivion as soon as possible. His flame haired friend had been trying to limit him tonight.

"Mwa ha ha, they play right into my hands," Renji crowed.

"...Have you been drinking too much?" Isamu was looking at his sometimes friend curiously.

"Never mind that!" He coughed into one hand, "What I mean is...well, I overheard them talking while you two were out getting water to put the fire out with." The other two glanced at each other and after Renji urged them to come closer did so, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "They were talking about how they think you guys are cute and stuff."

"Ehh? Really?" Kira's eyes were wide. "Hinamori said that..." Isamu looked a bit suspicious.

"Oh, yeah," Renji went on. "And Rangiku-san said that the best way to end the Harvest Festival was with a little "romance" if you know what I mean." He winked once. Then a second time, more slowly. "I think you do."

The other two blinked, then a sudden understanding washed over them. Kira's head dropped, his eyes wide, "N...no way...that's too..."

"Good to be true," Isamu finished. He sat back, looking shocked. "That'd be...great, really, but it's just...impossible, isn't it?"

"Don't be so sure!" Rangiku re-entered the room, flopping down with a bounce and jiggle that drew all eyes in the room to her. "I just left the girls and they wanted to see you Kira-kun, Takeuchi-kun." She winked, "Privately."

The redness in Kira's cheeks no longer had anything to do with booze. "I can't believe it. I want to go, but..." Isamu just sat there, looking unsure. If it was just because the girls were drunk...

Renji smacked his forehead with one hand, "Gah! Damn it! Both of you quit being such wimps and get in there and do what a man does in a situation like this! Lay 'em down and-ufff!" An empty bottle thunked into his head, knocking him over in a tumble of arms and legs.

The two other boys followed the bottle's trajectory back to a smiling Rangiku. "Oopsie, my hand slipped." She looked at the still upright youths with amused look. "Now, Abarai-kun may be wrong but either way, you shouldn't keep a lady waiting, boys." In that moment, she wasn't goofy or silly, but projected that feminine mystique and authority that only a woman could.

Isamu stood up, Kira a moment later doing the same. "Hai, Rangiku-san. Where are they?"

Rangiku pointed to one of the hallways. "Down there. First door on the left for you, Takeuchi-kun. Kira-kun, Momo-chan is in the room on the right."

The two nodded and set out. The lush woman leaned back against the walls, "Oh, this is fun!" She should try to hook people up more often! Maybe she should open a dating service...

Renji stirred on the floor. "Nggh. Did they..."

"Uh huh," Rangiku chirped. "Just you and me now, Abarai-kun!"

Renji was on his feet in an instant. "Is that right? What do you know." he grinned lustfully at the ridiculously endowed vice captain. "So...there's no reason why we shouldn't enjoy the rest of the night too, is there?"

"You're right, Abarai-kun! I knew I liked you for a reason." Renji beamed. He was so in. Then she slammed a bottle down between them. "Come on, we've still got plenty of booze left!"

~~~~~~~​

Isamu and Kira stood in the hallway before their appointed doors. The two boys looked back at each other and nodded. The doors opened at once and they entered, closing them behind.

The room was dark, almost pitch black. It was such a shift from the well lit corridor that Isamu was completely blind. He couldn't see Amaya...well, he couldn't see anything, really.

He took a step forward, his foot catching on something and he fell forward. There was a female squeak as he fell and he felt a smaller, warm, soft shape under him as he toppled to the ground. "Whoa!"

For a moment, he and the girl he'd fallen on stayed still and silent. Isamu could feel her against him, the curves of her body soft and sweet under her kimono, pressing against his hard muscle. He felt a hand slide up his arm, small and delicate, before it moved to his chest. He shivered at the touch.

"Are you all right, Takeuchi-kun?" He blinked, eyes beginning to adjust and saw that the girl he was pinning to the floor at the moment was the sweet faced and hopeful eyed Momo. Her dark eyes were warm and merry, there was a faint flush on her cheeks, and her lips were in a shy, happy smile. She giggled, "You fell."

"I did." He smiled back. God, she felt so nice against him like this. From the way it felt, she had more under there than even the kimono indicated. Why did Japanese clothes have to hide the girls' bodies so much? "Are you okay, Hinamori-san?"

"Uh huh," she nodded. She bit her lower lip then and said, "Ran-san said that...you liked me."

"Huh?" He nodded, "I do. I mean, you're smart and so sweet, and cute, and...and really cute and..."

"Mmm." She giggled. She felt...well, she'd felt this way before. But never this strong. Usually she could take care of it in secret. But she wanted...she wanted more. And Takeuchi-kun was right here. And so handsome. And so strong. "...Do you want to kiss me, Takeuchi-kun?"

The thought hadn't occured to him before those words tumbled from her lips. "...H-hai." Both of them started to move their heads closer, then hesitated. Then Isamu seized the initiative and brought his lips to hers in a firm but tender kiss.

Momo sighed against his lips, so warm and strong. Her arms slid up to his shoulders as she felt his move to caress her waist and her side. She felt his tongue brush her lips and she moaned, opening up to him and feeling it slide in to taste her. Her hands moved to grip the edges of his kosode and then to pull the robe open before they slipped inside to caress his bare skin.

 

[HookerBoots]

Rangiku slammed her cup down on the table and cackled madly. "You'd better hurry up, Abarai-kun! You're getting beaten by a girl!"

The red-haired man, whose face was now fairly red as well, picked up the bottle of sake and poured her another cup. "It's okay, Ran-san," he said, downing the rest of his cup and holding it out for her to pour him another. "After this one, we'll be even again."

~ ~ ~ ~​

She'd been able to see a silhouette in the doorway, but that was all. Amaya was sitting on the futon, legs crossed, as she waited for him to say something. But he just stood there, silently, not moving or talking.

So instead, she stood up, deciding to walk over and take his hand. But she managed to tangle herself in her own kimono and tumbled forward. "Augh!"

Strong hands were there, catching her before she could do more than register the sensation of falling. One hand wrapped around her waist, the other pressed to her back, both of them pressing her to him. And he felt warm and good against her, firm muscles against her softness. "Gomen, Kira-kun," she said softly, looking into his eyes.

"It was no trouble, Kuragari-chan." He almost smiled, looking at her in the darkened room. "Ran-san said . . . said that you wanted to see me?"

Amaya bit her lip and nodded. "I did." The position they were in was curious - almost like he was dipping her, their bodies pressed tightly together. "Kira-kun . . . Ran-san said you liked me?"

Even though she couldn't tell that he was blushing, she figured he was. "I . . . yes, Kuragari-chan. You're sweet, and cheerful, and cute . . . really cute, and . . . ." He trailed off. There was no reason that she would want to be there with him.

She looked up at him for a moment, her own cheeks red now. Then, suddenly, before he could pull away, she pressed her head forward, their lips meeting. "Mmmf!" Amaya could tell he was surprised, but after a moment or two, his lips softened back, meeting hers with a sweet intensity and desire.

As their lips parted, she smiled. "Kira-kun, come sit down with me."

~ ~ ~ ~​

The plucking of the shamisen strings wasn't expert, but it wasn't off-key either. The man in the pink kimono was lounging outside Squad Eight's barracks, plucking out a traditional folk tune. A tall woman stepped out from the open doorway, her gold and green kimono rustling softly. "Taicho, please. Your . . . music . . . makes it hard to concentrate."

"Nanao-chan, don't be silly!" He pushed his straw hat up to look at her. "Music stimulates the brain! And the body!" He began to play a more up-tempo number. "Come on, Nanao-chan, it's the Harvest Festival! Dance!"

Before he knew what was happening, she flicked her wrist, pulling out a fan from her sleeve, and smacked him with it. "I put on this foolish robe so that I wouldn't have to go to the Harvest Festival! You said I could stay here and do work if I did, so stop playing and let me concentrate!"

He rubbed the side of his head where her fan had landed. "Owww! Nanao-chan, you're too serious all the time."

 

[Armphid]

The dingy streets were bright for once; strings with paper lanterns hanging over them and shedding cheery light over even this dirty slum. Men and women dressed in their best walked down the avenues together. The sound of music and song filled the air as did a swirl of smells and flavors.

By a window of a small ramshackle building, a little girl sat and looked out at the goings-on with wonder. Her eyes were enormous, a deep and vivid purple, her hair was dark, curling around her face, save for one forelock that stubbornly came down between her eyes. She sighed.

Suddenly the old door was thrown open and a boy about the same age entered. His hair was a rich red, pulled back into a spiky tail and his smile was wolfish. “The Harvest Festival is here!”

“I know, fool,” the little girl sniffed. I’ve been watching it. Are you blind and deaf now as well as dumb?”

“Tch, I know the Festival is here. But if you’re going to be that way about it, then I’ll keep these goodies I got all to myself!” The boy set down a sack he’d been carrying behind him on a rickety table. “Who’s a fool now?”

The girl gasped and ran over to the table, her head barely tall enough to see as the boy dumped the bag out and a variety of candies, foods, and treats poured onto the surface. “Where…how did you steal all this?”

“I’m better than you think I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

He looked crestfallen, “Hey! But, anyway, some lady gave them to me. She saw me getting ready to swipe some taiyuki and asked if I wanted some. She and this guy she was with hauled me around to the stalls and bought all this! When I mentioned I had a friend, and she was a girl, they threw in even more!” Then he crossed his arms over his chest. “But I guess I don’t have a friend.”

The huge eyes were liquid with unshed tears. “You…you won’t sh-share with me…?”

The boy’s determination visibly wavered. “I…I’m sorry, I don’t…I mean, n-no. Not until you say something nice.”

The girl shuffled one foot on the dirt floor. “…You’re really pretty smart…”

“That’s more like it,” he puffed his chest out.

“…for a fool!”

“Rukia!”

The young woman seated by the window sighed. She has large, expressive eyes of deep, vivid purple and her dark hair curled around a hauntingly pretty face, save for one forelock that stubbornly came down between her eyes. That was so long ago. And things were so much better now. So why did she miss it? Where was he tonight? That little boy who’d grown up so bold and reckless…

She suddenly became aware that she was being watched. She slowly turned her head to one side. “Uh…” Two men were staring at her. One was tall and lean with short, spiky black hair. He was older than she, clean shaven, with sharp, well defined features. The other man was shorter, with a more powerful build, his dark hair frizzier and a goatee on his coarse features.

“Is that all you can say?” The clean shaven man shook his head, reaching out to palm hers with one hand and ruffle her hair. “I invite you here to celebrate with my wife and eat her awesome cooking and “uh” is all you can say?”

“Ah! G-gomen, Kaien-dono,” Rukia flushed as the other man laughed and got up, shaking his head. “I was just remembering something, that’s all. I’m sorry!”

“Geez.” He released her head. “You need to lighten up and enjoy things, Kuchiki. It’s the Harvest Festival! You’ll be eating free food! My food! Be happy and show some gratitude, will you?” Kaien Shiba shrugged, “Look, I know you’ve got some bad memories but that’s why it’s important to enjoy times like this. So you can make them into good memories for the future, right?” She didn’t answer, looking thoughtful. “Right, unseated squad member Kuchiki?”

She hopped up like she’d sat on a pin. “Ah! Hai, Kaien-dono!”

“That’s more like it.” He leaned back, “Oy, Sentaro. Go out and bring the drinks in, they should be cold enough.”

“Kuchiki-san?” The voice came from the kitchen. It was melodious and sweet, loving and rich. “Could you come and help me with this?”

Rukia rose, as she did so, Kaien looked up at her. “She’s happy you’re here, you know. Miyako was thrilled when you accepted the invitation.” He smiled a little, “So, try to be happy for her sake, huh?” The girl just nodded, smiling her own sad smile and went into the kitchen.

A rap on the door brought Kaien to his feet, “I’m coming, I’m coming. “ Rukia could still hear him as she approached his beautiful wife to assist with the cooking. “Ah, Koutetsu-san. And this must be your sister, come in! We’re just getting started.”

~~~~~~~~~​

“Thank you for inviting us, Yamamoto-sama.” The deep rumble came from within the helm of Sajin Komamura. “I am deeply honored.” The massive captain dwarfed the other two men he was with as they sat around a small table.

“I agree,” came the soft voice of Kaname Tousen. The dark skinned man knelt beside Komamura, looking almost like a child beside him. His orange scarf had been replaced with a festive scarf that was illustrated with a pattern of falling leaves.

“It is nothing,” answered Yamamoto. The old man seemed so frail right now as he slowly and carefully poured steaming tea into a trio of cups. “It is good of you to come and visit with an old man on this day, instead of reveling as the others do.”

The blind man almost smiled. “There is little joy in the passing of autumn for me. It brings the hardship and death of winter; for without sight to enjoy the leaves , all it shows me is cold.”

Komamura shifted his bulk slightly. “I would enjoy the festival, but…my appearance…”

“You worry too much about that, sometimes, perhaps,” Yamamoto commented. “But here, Komamura-taichou. I have seen your face and think it noble, and Tousen-taichou cannot. Take off your guise and drink tea with us.”

There was hesitation for several moments. Then, “Hai.” Komamura’s hands raised up and unfastened the helm from his haori and then raised it up and off.

~~~~~~~~~​

Momo whimpered happily, her head back, cheeks flushed, eyes half-lidded as Isamu kissed down one side of her neck and up the other. Her hands had undone his kosode and pulled it back over his shoulders, the garment halfway off. "Takeuchi-kun, ohh, that's nice," she murmured.

He pulled back, his eyes hungry. "You taste sweet, Hinamori-chan. Such smooth, soft skin, and so warm." He looked down at the condition of his shirt. "Do you want this off?" At her nod, he smiled and reluctantly pulled his arms from her. He leaned back, moving to sit upright on his spread legs. He pulled the kosode off and let if fall there, exposing his bare torso.

"Ureshiii," she cooed, running a hand up his taut stomach and over his pecs. "So strong and firm, Takeuchi-san." She got to her knees as well and edged forward, her small hands exploring his chest. They lingered over the scars he bore, "...Scars already..."

He shivered at her touch and gloried in her praise. "It's all right, I don't regret them. I'm glad you like it." He paused. "Do you...want the rest off?" She licked her lips and nodded, her blush deepening and leaving her unable to speak. "All of it?" She nibbled her lower lip and then shook her head. He chuckled, "All right."

There was a whistling rustle as his hakama slid down and pooled on the floor. He stepped out of them; bare now except for the wrapped loincloth that shinigami men wore. Why they couldn't have honest to God underwear was never made clear to Isamu. The girls had panties, if Michiru was any indication. His legs were strong and lean, made of whipcord muscle. His loincloth was oddly deformed, the fabric strained.

Momo smiled up at him. "You're beautiful, Takeuchi-san...I'm lucky tonight, to...be with a man like you."

It was his turn to flush but he smiled. "I'm the lucky one." He sank back down to his knees, reaching out to caress her face in both hands before leaning in and kissing her. His hands slipped back to the bun she wore her hair in, unworking the pins that held it in place. He leaned back and her chestnut locks fell free and he let out a breath. "Momo...you're just so...I can't think of a good enough word..."

"You could...show me?"

He grinned. "Oh, yes. Yes, I can." He pulled her to him and kissed her again, hot and hungry. She plastered herself against him, hands running up his mighty arms to cling to his shoulders. He began to kiss down her neck again, her breath hitching as his lips caressed and tasted her pale perfection. He dipped her back and his kissed went lower, to the beginning of the fabric of her kimono. He looked up at her, eyes questioning.

Momo's hands moved to the sash at her waist...

 

[HookerBoots]

"Mmm, Kira-kun . . . ." Amaya breathed, feeling his hands hesitantly stroking over her waist and hips through her kimono. They were long and deft, even though she could feel his worry in every motion.

He smiled, a little nervously. "You feel very good, Kuragari-chan." It had been a long time since he'd had any sort of contact with another person that wasn't for healing. He'd almost forgotten how nice it could feel to just touch someone. And she . . . she wanted to touch him. And more.

Amaya's fingers went to the back of his head, pulling his face closer to hers. She was worried, just a little, that he might just stroke her waist for the rest of the night. "You can feel more, if you want to," she whispered, pressing her lips to his again. She was being so bold! But his arms pulled her closer, kissing desperately, his tongue brushing against her lips.

It reinforced his hopeful feeling when she parted her lips and let his tongue dance with hers. Amaya let her hands slip inside the slim shinigami's robes, feeling more than hearing his gasp at the feel of her hands on him. It felt so good, and she pushed them gently to the futon, her fingers cleverly moving over the smooth skin of his chest. She pulled back slightly, looking at him with wide eyes. "Kira-kun, please . . . I'd like to feel more of you."

". . . If that's what you want, Kuragari-chan . . . ." He used one hand to loosen the belt of his kosode, letting it fall from his shoulders. "I hope I don't disappoint."

She looked at him, eyes drinking in what little she could see of his slender form. "Not at all." Her arms reached out, pulling him back to her, one leg sliding out of her kimono and wrapping around one of his legs, pulling him so close that he wasn't sure where one of them ended and the other began. "I . . . you feel so good, please, Kira-kun, I want . . . I don't know how to ask for what I want."

"I think I know," he said almost shyly, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. "Don't worry, Kuragari-chan. I think I want it too."

~ ~ ~ ~​

In a far part of the Seireitei, a tall, dark-haired figure was leading a smaller one through the bushes surrounding Squad Five's barracks. "Come on, Jun-chan, we're almost there." He smiled charmingly, and she blushed, moving a little faster.

He held the door for her, and she stepped inside before he did. And stopped. There was someone else inside, and even though she wasn't sure who he was, she hadn't been expecting someone else. He'd offered to take her back for romance, and she'd been flattered - it was clear he was a noble of some sort. But she didn't think this was her kind of party at all.

The young shinigami tried to back away, out the door, but he was still blocking her way. "Sorry," he said in a voice that didn't sound sorry at all, "but I don't think you'll get to leave yet."

She couldn't see his face . . . why couldn't she see his face? Or the other man's? If she could see their faces, unless they killed her, she could accuse them of anything. But the light . . . the light was bright, except on their faces. Both wore the standard Gotei 13 uniform, but that was all she could tell.

As his hands closed over her wrists, drawing them together behind her back, she opened her mouth to scream, but what came out was a sob.

 

[Armphid]

The room was dark, save for the glittering moonlight that came in through the windows. Incense burned in a corner, the scent attempting to mask the plain and almost stark sense of illness and blood. The room was simply but charmingly decorated and there was a large door in a far wall that opened onto a small wooden balcony set low over the water of the nearby stream.

This was private sick room of Jushiro Ukitake, Captain of Squad 13 and one of the oldest and most powerful beings in all of Soul Society. Not that he was very powerful at the present. The tall, thin man lay on an elevated futon that was far thicker than most. His skin was deathly pale and there was a sheen of sweat on his face. His white hair was sweat slicked around his head, the long, flowing tresses becoming drier and healthier as they fell longer. He was not wearing his uniform, though his sword was near at hand, dressed in a simple and plain crimson jinbei. A bowl of water was by the bed and several cloths were draped over it, one of them resting on his forehead.

It was bad this time. It had been bad lately. He didn't remember a time when his illness had laid him low so often as it had the last few years. He was sure that if he were human, it would have killed him by now, and since it could not, it was growing stronger and stronger in the attempt to do so.

He heard the door to the sick room open. "I-," he coughed, covering his mouth with a cloth that came away with a bit of fresh blood mixed with the old, "I have given orders to be left alone. Please, honor my," he coughed again, "request..."

His servants cared too much. He and Captain Unohana and learned about his disease from both experience and some trips into the mortal world. It was dangerous to be around him when it flared up, as his coughs and sneezes could spread it. That was why he sequestered himself here, ordered to be left alone unless a crisis emerged, to recover or perish on his own.

"Gomen, Ukitake-taichou." He tried to sit up at the sound of that voice, only to fall back after rising halfway, gasping. "But I cannot leave you alone on the Harvest Festival." Retsu Unohana was dressed in a kimono of deep purple, decorated with threads of silver, copper, and gold that showed the scene of a pastoral town at twilight. Her long, glorious, blue-black hair was back, gathered high at the back of her head and then allowed to fall down her back as a smooth, silken curtain. In her hands she carried a large tray laden with foodstuffs, a steaming pot, and two cups. Her smile was sweet but her eyes were sad and guilty. How he suffered and all her knowledge and all her power could do nothing.

"Unohana-sempai," he sighed, then took a rushing breath, "forgive me, Unohana-taichou. You are...as inspiring and...heartening sight as you ever have been, but," and again he coughed, "You should not be here now, I am-" His speech devolved into a coughing fit, the white haired man turning away from her on his side, hacking into the bloody cloth for a few minutes.

She set the tray down by his bedside and knelt next to it. She set one hand on his shoulder, "You are dear to me and I will not leave you lonely in your condition." She looked down, "Not when-"

"D-don't," he managed, finally able to sit up and look at her, "Don't blame yourself."

She did not rebuke him or disagree but in her eyes, it was clear that she still was. "I have brought tea and some of your favorite snacks. Shall we not sit together and watch the moon...Ukitake-kun?"

He laughed weakly, knowing better than to argue with her. He'd rather fight the Captain Commander by himself. "Nothing would make me happier, sempai."

~~~~~~~​

"Hhh! Ahh!" Momo's eyes were nearly shut, her mouth twisting and moving as she gasped and moaned. Her kimono was open and been pushed down off her shoulders, revealing her chest to her lover. She was worried about his reaction...she wasn't close to Amaya-chan, let alone Ran-san and she knew all the boys looked at her. But he...he had looked at them like they were beautiful, and now.."Oh, T-takeuchi-san, that's s-so, mmp!"

Isamu feasted on her breasts. They were gorgeous. Pert, high, globes that struck the right balance between soft and firm, with pink, stiff nipples. The perfect peaches to suit this fair, sweet girl in his arms. He cradled her slender, light body, pressing her ripeness to his eager mouth. His lips kissed the gentle mounds, his tongue bathed and cleaned them, worshiping her bosom in a way she had never thought anyone would.

Her hands tangled in his hair as he began to suck urgently on one nipple, "Haaahh, ah, so good, Takeuchi-san, mm! I didn't-ah, didn't know..."

He lifted his head to smile at her,the girl looking down at him with eyes that glowed with pleasure in her flushed face. "Hasn't anyone done this before?"

She shook her head, "N-no, in the past...he ignored them, so I thought..."

"Don't even say it," he whispered fervently. "They're wonderful. Succulent and sweet...I could taste them all night."

She blushed, "Takeuchi-san...arigatou..."

He grinned, "I should be saying that." He licked his tongue over her nipple, making her moan out before moving his head to its' partner and beginning to suckle there. She groaned in mock exhasperation, "Oh, you bad boy, Takeuchi-san!"

He chuckled into her tit. He shifted his left arm on her so that it was more central and let his right hand trail down her body. He caressed her hips and then slid lower, stroking her thigh through her kimono. His hand slipped into the parted cloth and she gasped again as his fingers brushed thin cloth and felt a great, wet heat behind it. He again touched it with a ghostly caress, a barely there sensation, all the while looking up at her through the valley of her breasts, an unspoken question in his eyes.

She nibbled her lower lip, nodding, "Onegai...touch me...there, please, Takeuchi-san..."

 

[HookerBoots]

The large house was quieter than usual, the servants stepping softly to keep from disturbing their master's mood. He'd ordered the same meal he usually did on this night, and ordered two plates brought to his chamber. The servants knew why, and followed his orders as they usually did, but after the family-style meal had been delivered, they vanished and would not return for several hours. Experience had shown them that going in, even to clear the cold food away, would be met with punishment that even the hardiest among them didn't wish to dare.

So Byakuya Kuchiki sat at the small table in his suite of rooms, sitting across from an empty set of plates, eating his deceased wife's favorite meal. He himself didn't care much for tsukimi soba or takoyaki, and he hated amanatto. But Hisana had loved them, and so, because the Harvest Festival was the last Festival she'd been alive for, he ate them tonight for her. He knew Rukia was out, mingling with her squad - the Shiba that wasn't a disgrace was her vice-captain, so he approved of her spending time with them - but when she returned home, he would have the servants leave the excess food in her room. She liked these things as well.

He ate as heartily as he could stand, and then sat and looked out at the moon and stars, feeling the keen ache of losing the woman he had loved that had never loved him back as acutely as if it had been a month ago.

~ ~ ~ ~​

Biting her lip, Amaya whimpered softly. As soon as the noise came from her lips, Kira stopped. "Amaya-chan, did I hurt you?"

She shook her head frantically, trying to reassure him. "That was a good noise, Kira-kun." Her hands opened her kimono further, baring more of her upper body to him. "Please don't stop." He smiled hesitantly, shyly, and bent his head back to where he had been trailing his mouth down her neck to her chest. "Ohhhh, that feels so nice," she cooed, stroking the soft blond hair.

Her fingers, to his shock and delight, were moving along his arms and shoulders, feeling the muscles there as she stroked her way down his chest to the sash that held his hakama closed. The feeling of her hands exploring a place where only his hands had ever gone made him gasp into her flesh, and she smiled a little. Her deft fingers worked the knot he'd tied there, releasing the black material in a soft rustle of fabric. "A-amaya-chan," he managed, fingers moving to cradle the sweet and tender flesh of her breasts, "I . . . are you sure you want to . . . ?"

She giggled softly. "I'm certain." And after that assertion of certainty, it was her chance to move with hesitancy. Her hand slipped slowly, tentatively down from his waist to where his loincloth was being distended by his growing arousal. He gasped again, eyes screwing shut at the feeling of her hand, even through fabric. She blushed. "I'm certain."

Taking her hand away, Amaya arched her back - both of them moaned softly as her hips met his - and twisted her arms behind her to untie her obi. Kira, wisely, took the opportunity to dip his head and wrap his lips around her nipple, sucking gently. Her fingers faltered slightly, her hips moving against his at the feeling, but she kept untying, working the knots with determination.

Finally, despite the distractions, Amaya managed to get her obi untied, the thick length of cloth sliding from her waist to the floor, the robe opening fully, exposing her to his gaze. "Amaya-chan," he breathed, "you're . . . so beautiful."

 

[Armphid]

Michiru sighed as she flopped down on her bunk. Hotaru looked over at her, "What's wrong, Michiru-san?"

The slender girl shrugged. She and her roommate had changed into their sleeping robes after returning to the barracks and the thin material of the garment clung to her willowy figure. "It was fun and we had a lot of great food, but..." She flushed, "Well, nothing."

Hotaru scoffed, "Nothing my ass. You were hoping to hook up with some guy, weren't you?" The taller and curvier girl, not as generously endowed as the absent Amaya but more than your average Japanese girl, crossed her arms under her breasts. "Ever since you and your mysterious Squad 4 guy, you've just been so...eager."

She couldn't think of a nicer way to say it and that still sounded bad.

Michiru flushed, "There's nothing wrong with that! I'm a healthy young girl and I want to have fun!"

Her friend held up a hand, "It's okay, I understand. I would have liked to get some tonight too..." She looked over at her friend and a speculative look came over her face. "You know, we could still maybe have some fun..."

Michiru sat up, "Huh? How?"

Hotaru sat next to her, "Well, in the Academy, one of our sempai showed me a few things about how girls could have fun together."

The other girl stiffened as her friend's hands went around her waist and she leaned in to nuzzle Michiru's neck. "H-Hotaru-san, are you...that way?"

"No, I like guys. I just like girls too." She ran a finger under Michiru's chin, leaning a bit closer. "So...want to try it?"

Michiru licked her lips before turning her head into Hotaru's and breathing a soft, "Yes," before their lips met.

~~~~~~~​

"Mmmp!" Momo put one hand over her mouth to stifle a cry. Who knew if anyone was passing by? But, oh! Oh, she felt so much! More than she'd ever felt before! She dared to move her hand, "Takeuchi-san, I've never...never felt so good before...oh, it's so...so bad, we shouldn't..."

Isamu chuckled. "You like that it's bad, don't you, Hinamori-chan? That's why you're still calling me "san" instead of "kun" too, isn't it?" She didn't answer except to moan again.

Momo was on her back, her kimono was open and all but off of her, her forearms still in the sleeves, but no more. Her hair was a glorious, tangled mess, her eyes hot and dazed with sensation. Her chest rose and fell, her sensual, pert tits jiggling. Her panties lay near the door.

Isamu was between her legs, one hand caressing and teasing her sex. She was so wet and hot already, it was amazing. He wondered again if anyone had ever touched her here, besides herself. A damn shame if they hadn't. Her pussy was cute and well shaped, with very short, fine pubic hair that was almost like the fuzz on a peach. His hand had spread her lips to reveal her sex to his eyes, and damn. Damn, did it look good. His thumb was caressing and rubbing the swollen nub of her clit, his forefinger pressing on and slipping ever so slightly into her molten tunnel. "Your pussy is so pretty, Hinamori-chan," he whispered to her, "like all of you. It feels wonderful too."

"Ah!" She blushed deeply, "Y-you shouldn't talk about it like that..."

Which meant he should. Momo was very Japanese in her sexual attitudes, she said he shouldn't because that was what a girl was supposed to say. The first time she'd said he shouldn't touch her there, he'd actually taken his hand away. The glare from her was strong enough he could feel and she'd actually grabbed his hand and put it back.

He didn't need to learn the lesson twice.

"You mean I shouldn't tell you how cute your pussy is?" She moaned anew at his words, helped in no small part by his increasing the pressure on her clit as he teased it. "How you're so wet, your juice is all over my hand and down my arm," he teased.

"Takeuchi-san, it's...I feel something...if you don't stop, I'll...I'll overflow!" She was trembling as rather than stop, he increased his pace a bit more, going so far as to slide his forefinger into her up to the second knuckle, "AHH! Hahh! Oh, oh, ohhh..."

"Let it out, Hinamori-chan," he urged. "Please, I want you to have it. I want you to feel good. Let it out and cum, honey, please."

She put her hands over her mouth again, muffling a high pitched shriek that became a strangled gasp that became silent. Her mouth gaped wide and then clenched shut, her eyes squeezing tightly closed. Her body shook and writhed on top of her pretty robe, the slender, normally demure girl bucking her hips to push her cunt harder into his hand as she rode out her climax. Her walls spasmed on his finger and her sex gushed forth a fresh flow onto his hand. And he loved it.

Her breathing became ragged, eyes cracking open, "Hhuhh, T-takeuchi-san...I can't...felt so good but I...need to breathe...n-nno more now, please..."

He nodded, pressing his hand to her sex one last time before removing it. "...Gomen, Hinamori-chan. I didn't mean to...I'm sorry if it was too much."

"Oh, no." Her voice was dreamy but the denial was clear. "No, no, no, it's not that...it was wonderful! I haven't...you know, that strongly before." She smiled shyly, "I just wasn't sure if...if you made me do it again right away, I'd stop breathing."

He smiled, leaning down to kiss her, delighted at how enthusiastically she responded. Isamu took a deep breath, smelling the wonderful, rich, sweet scent of her pussy thick in the room. "Happy?"

"Yes, but..." She looked up at him, her eyes earnest. "But I want more. As soon as I started getting close I started to feel...empty. I feel it even more now." She ran a hand down his body until her fingers wrapped around the knot of his loincloth. "I want to be...full." She tugged on the knot, loosening the fabric. "Put it in me, Takeuchi-san. Please, I want it inside. I want you in me, filling me..."

 

[HookerBoots]

". . . so he said, 'What kind of sleep can I have without pillows?'" Rangiku laughed almost hysterically, leaning forward on the table that separated her and Renji with one arm. "Can you believe it?"

He took downed the last of the sake that was in his cup and nodded. "Hai. Ran-san, men are stupid. We don't . . . we don't think when we talk." He held out the cup, letting her pour more sake into it. "And, well, when you walk around, looking so . . . sexy, it's hard for us to think at all."

It took a moment before he realized what he'd just said. And another moment before he realized how wildly inappropriate it was - not only was she someone he barely knew, she was a superior officer.

But she just laughed again. "You're right, Abarai-kun. They are distracting, even to me!" She looked at him seriously for a moment. "So, maybe . . . well, let's have another cup, and then I'll ask it."

~ ~ ~ ~​

Amaya parted her legs more, letting Kira slide his own leg up between hers. "Oh, Amaya-chan . . . it's so hot," he whispered, nuzzling her neck. "And I can feel . . . can feel how wet it is."

She flushed, licking her lips. "Kira-kun, it's . . . it's because of you. Your touch, your kisses . . . make me feel so good." Without thinking about it, the pink-haired shinigami ground down on his leg, the pressure making her breath catch.

He understood her desire and began to move his leg against her, marveling at the feel of her center against his leg. He'd never have thought any girl would have wanted . . . this with him. He wasn't anyone special. But she . . . it was good that she was so bold, otherwise, he'd never had had the courage to do this.

Her hands were clutching against his shoulders, her breathing heavy. "I . . . Kira-kun, I want . . . I want more. I need something . . . inside." She arched her back slightly, pushing more firmly against him. "Please, fill me."

"A-all right," he managed, his eyes almost glowing in the darkness. She . . . Amaya-chan wanted it. This beautiful, wonderful creature wanted him. Kira pulled back a little, his hands going to untie his loincloth.

As she watched, the fabric holding his cock back was released, and Amaya bit her lip as she looked at it. She'd heard some of the girls at the academy talk about sex, and boys' cocks. But the reality was different, more . . . indefinably amazing than she'd imagined. And it made her ache between her legs even more than she had been. His was just as slender as he was, and long, standing proudly out from his hips.

She stared for so long that, finally, he coughed. "A-amaya-chan? Is it . . . I mean, is everything all right?" She was disappointed. He just knew it.

Instead, she pushed herself up onto her elbows. "It's wonderful, Kira-kun. Please," Amaya said with lust in her voice, "please, I want . . . want it in me. Need it, please!"

With a shy smile, he went to his knees, moving between her legs. Carefully, he reached up, pulling the soft green panties she wore off, lifting her legs to get them off. And then, he moved forward more, just touching her body with the head of his cock. "You're sure, Amaya-chan?"

Her hands reached forward, gripping his hips and tugging forward slightly. "I'm positive. Please, Kira-kun, give it to me!"

 

[Armphid]

"Yeah, this is all right, but to me it's just a normal meal." The man speaking was huge, in height and in girth. He towered above the small crowd of girls around him, his hair in an oddly tri pointed style that was pulled back far from his forehead. He was in a richly embroidered kosode and hakama that showed a scene of small, ugly figures working and bringing bundles of gold and silver to tall, elegant figures living on a hill, all of whom had the same hairstyle as the wearer. He was bedecked with jewelry, rings on each finger, two heavy bracelets on each arm, and several necklaces.

He and a cluster of pretty girls in kimonos were sitting at a long broad table that groaned under the weight of the food and drink piled upon it. Marechiyo Oomaeda leaned back, "But it's all right to be rustic now and then. You can't let yourself slide, but it brightens the spirits of the meager and lowly when we shining stars of the nobility fly among them."

One of the closest girls sighed and rolled her eyes as the man went on pontificating. She leaned over to the friend she'd arrived with, "Can we go? I mean, this guy is a total jerk and he smells kind of funny. Why are we even here?"

"Shh!" She giggled brainlessly at something the man had said, "Oh, you're so funny, Oomaeda-dono!" Then she leaned in to her friend and hissed, "Shut up! Don't you know anything? This guy's nobility and his family is one of the richest in all of Soul Society! And he's the heir!"

"So what? You hear the walrus, he wouldn't ever marry a Rukon girl."

"No, but I heard if you let him fuck you, he just gives you a bunch of jewelry! Really expensive stuff! One piece is more than three years pay!"

"...Oomaeda-dono!" The glowering girl leaned over the table, her kimono slipping open to show her cleavage. "You're so smart and sexy!"

~~~~~~~​

The barracks of Squad 2 were mostly dark, the members out celebrating and pretending to celebrate while they were spying on other shinigami. One of the few lights was burning in the captain's office.

Squad 2's captain was short and slight, tiny compared to even a normal person. Her hair was short, save for two long and wrapped tails on either side of her head each with a gold ring woven into the ends. She wore a sleeveless white captain's haori and a yellow sash over the standard issue one. She would have been handsome, pretty even, if her face were not cold and bleak, set in a well trained expression of unyielding disapproval.

She glanced out the window as she heard a distant sound like thunder. Far off, over Rukongai, a brilliant burst of red and orange lit the sky as the celebrants fired off fireworks. The burst was joined by others, the sky lighting up in one barrage of color after another, along with a cacophonous and thunderous roar.

Soi Fon scoffed, "Idiocy." It dulled the senses too much. It would be easy to kill someone during a fireworks display. As an assassin, she could never approve of liking anything about them. That was why she stayed away from this and all other Festivals like this.

That was why...

"Soi Fon!" A hand grabbed a much younger Soi Fon in a head lock, another giving her a noogie. "Stop that!"

"Ahh!" The younger Soi Fon's expression was much softer, her hair longer, and she was dressed in the figure hugging and flattering uniform of the Onmitsukidou. "What, Yourichu-samaaaa?"

"Looking like that! It's the Harvest Festival, smile!" Her captor released her, shaking her head. She was much taller than Soi Fon and had a lush figure despite her lean and strong form. Her hair was short and wildly spiky, a vibrant purple, her eyes a shocking yellow, and her skin a gorgeous chocolate. She was wearing a black kimono decorated with starbursts of various colors in mimicry of fireworks. "Honestly..."

"Ahh...well." Soi Fon shifted on her feet a little, "I am here with you, Yoruichi-sama, so..." Her lisp began to move upward in a shy smile.

"Oy, oy, there you are." Soi Fon's expression fell as she shot a glare over her shoulder. The man coming up had messy blond hair, "Wow...Yoruichi-san, you look amazing! Soi Fon-san...why aren't you wearing a kimono? I bet you'd look cute."

Soi Fon turned fully around, "I am on duty, protecting Yoruichi-sama! A kimono is impractical!"

"You're not on duty." Yoruichi shrugged, "I invited you here when I knew you weren't on so you could relax."

"...I'm always on duty to protect Yoruichi-sama," the young woman grumbled. "Anyway, what are you doing here, 3rd Seat?"

"I was invited too," he said with an easy smile. "So, where are we going?"

Yoruichi grinned, "You'll like this, Kisuke. The word is that the Shibas are going to put on a fireworks display to shame all of Soul Society!" She took his offered arm, "Let's go! Come on, Soi Fon, you too!"

"That's why..."

~~~~~~~​

If he'd lost any hardness while teasing Momo's sweet pussy, her words instantly renewed it. "Hinamori-chan..." He felt his cock throb in his loincloth, straining mightily against the material.

She nodded, pulling the knot that held the garment on him apart. It came away in her hand, baring his manhood to the warm room of the air. "Hai. Takeuchi-san. Don't you...want me?" She felt a little naughty surge as she said it, knowing that would thrill and prod at him.

Isamu licked his lips, "I want you badly, Hinamori-chan, I was just surprised. But I want to give you what you want tonight." He was already between her legs so he simply moved forward a bit, "I'm just glad we both...want the same thing."

"Me to-ooohhh, that's...Takeuchi-san's..." It was touching her. He let out a soft groan as well as the engorged head of his member brushed the wet lips of her sex. "It's so hot and hard..."

"For you, Hinamori-chan," he all but purred. He kissed her, long and deep, as he got into position, his hips under him, braced on one arm, the other hand as a guide. Their lips parted. "Are you...?"

"H-hai," she nodded. "Please enter me, Takeuchi-san. Come into me." Then she let out a sighing yelp that became a drawn out moan of pleasure as he complied.

"Oh, God," he gasped, "Oh, Momo, baby!" Fuck! He pushed forward slowly and steadily, not wanting to harm her. "So hot and wet and so damn tight!" He'd never felt anyone so tight before! Her inner walls were a divinely hot, slick, gripping, groping tube on his dick as he pushed his way into her. "You feel...feel so good, I almost can't believe it," he moaned.

"Ah! Ahhh, Takeuchi-san! He's in me, Takeuchi-san's inside me," she whimpered, her face awash in pleasure. "It feels so big and so long and thick, it's...ahh, it's spreading me open!"

He paused, "Is it too much? Hinamori-chan, do you need a minute?"

"NO!" She lunged forward so that her hands could grab his ass and pull him forward with all of her might and weight, sheathing his full length inside her, "AHhhh! Haaaaii! I want it all, Takeuchi-san, every inch, every bit, in me!"

"Fuck, Momo!" That was...she'd just...and she felt so...fuck! "God, you're like...heaven...so tight and hot..." He cradled her to him, kissing her neck as he rested inside her tight, young body.

"I'm ready, Takeuchi-san," she whispered. "Do it. Enter me again, over and over and over, please."

He drew his hips back, hissing as the scorching pleasure of drawing out of her hot passage hit him, "Oh, Momo, I will, I will, want this so much, this feeling is just too good to be real..."

"Make it real for us, for both of us," she purred.

Isamu's hips rocked forward, faster and smoother this time and they cried out together. He began to fuck her, in long, smooth, steady swings of his hips. His length slipping out of her all but the last inch or so and then buried once again until his balls rubbed her ass. Again. Again. Again. Again.

 

[HookerBoots]

In what appeared to be a small wooden house, worlds away from Soul Society and the assorted problems there, a tall, mustached man sat, reading an almanac. The oil lamp on the table gave enough light for him to see, and even if it hadn't, he could have made his own. But it was better, in this time and place, to act as much like the people in the town would. Through the window, he could hear the sounds of fireworks being set off, and smiled to himself. Soon.

And sure enough, within a few moments, a black cat appeared at the window, blocking some of the stars and very little of the sound. "Konbanwa, Tessai." The cat had a deep masculine voice, and its eyes gleamed in the firelight. "Not out enjoying the festival, I see. They had some delicious grilled mackerel, you know."

Without looking up - there was a fascinating ad for some sort of elixir in the almanac - he nodded. "Hai, Yoruichi-dono, but it is easier to stay in and not endure the stares." A small smile graced his face, and his bespectacled eyes glanced up at the cat. "They stare at me nearly as much as they would stare were you to talk to them."

"Oh, hardly so much." The cat jumped from the windowsill into the room, landing lightly on its paws to walk over to the hearth and sit down, curling its tail over its front feet. "I would be decried as a demon, if not something worse, and thrown into the river in a sack full of rocks. You are just . . . tall." Lifting one front paw, the cat began to lick the pads on it, cleaning them delicately. Pausing, as if the question had just occurred, the cat asked, "Is he here?"

Looking back down at the ad, Tessai nodded. "Hai. He is downstairs, and told me to tell you he," the man coughed as delicately as he could, "was ready and waiting."

"Ahh." The cat stood up. "In that case . . . ."

"Please, Yoruichi-dono," he said desperately, keeping his eyes focused on the almanac, "please wait until you are at least on the stairs. My heart cannot take it."

Laughing, the cat nodded and headed for the door that blocked off the stairs down to the secret area. "As you wish it, Tessai." The cat leaped up and, somehow, opened the door, then started down the stairs with a flick of its tail. "Most men would love to see it."

As the door swung shut, Tessai reached into a pocket and pulled out a pair of earmuffs, placing them over his ears. There, that should muffle the sounds that were sure to sneak up from below.

~ ~ ~ ~​

The little tug she gave to his hips made Kira groan, and the words . . . the words almost did him in right there. He'd dreamed - shameful, wonderful dreams - about hearing girls ask him that, about doing this.

The reality was better than even his wildest, naughtiest dreams. There was something amazing about her desiring him so much, and the feeling of her body, hot and wet and willing, against his was making him feel as though he were more powerful than a captain. Using one of his hands as a guide, placing the throbbing head of his shaft against where he could feel more yielding, he paused again. "Amaya-chan . . . I . . . ."

She reached up and grabbed the back of his head, pulling his face close to hers. "Kira-kun," she said in a soft, needy voice, "if you don't give me your c-cock soon, I think I might go mad." Amaya had been terribly bold so far - almost indecently so, really. But using that word . . . he might think she was easy! At this point, however, all she wanted was something to fill her, and feeling his member right there was driving her out of her mind with want.

"A-all right," he said, leaning his head more forward and kissing her as he pushed his hips forward. Their kiss muffled their moans of pleasure, mingling them into one as he slowly filled her. The sensation, for him, was more than anything he'd ever felt. Her body clutched at him, pulling him farther in, wrapping the most sensitive part of his body in a vice of wet, hot, velvet. This blew away using his hand, or even a piece of cloth - he'd managed to confiscate a pair of panties from a younger male student a few years ago in the academy, and to his shame, had used them in the way the boy had no doubt planned to.

For Amaya, it felt like exactly what it was - there was a void inside of her that had been filled after a lifetime. Satisfying and wonderful and better by a factor of thousands than doing things on her own was. "Ahhhhh, Kira-kun," she breathed as their lips parted, "please, don't stop." Her fingers tangled in his hair. "Let me have it all, every inch of it!"

Unable to speak, he nodded, moving his hips slowly, taking in the sensation of sliding into her heaven, closing his eyes at the intense, unbelievable pleasure. "Amaya-chan, it's . . . you feel so hot, and wet, and . . ." he groaned, feeling their hips meet as he was finally fully sheathed inside of her. "Perfect, so fucking perfect!"

She'd had other things inside of her, but none were as long, or as hot and soft-over-hard as his cock were. And they didn't have . . . Amaya could feel his balls resting against the space between where he was nestled inside her and her ass. And it was killing her. The feel of them there, heavy and wanting, just barely rubbing against her as they both breathed . . . it was torture, the best torture ever. "Please . . . Kira-kun, please, fuck me?"

Maybe the feeling had made him more bold, or maybe her words had struck a chord. But he smiled down at her. "What was that, Amaya-chan?"

Her hips thrust up against his, causing her to groan again. "Please, Kira-kun, please! Fuck me! I want to feel your cock fucking my naughty pussy!"

He bit his lower lip, exerting self-control to keep from just letting loose his cum inside of her already. Those words . . . was there anything hotter in the world? "Oh, that's what you want, Amaya-chan? All right." Slowly, teasingly, he pulled out of her and then pushed back in. As he thrust into her again, she squeaked, her hips arching up against his again, trying to get all of him inside of her. "Like it that much," he whispered, kissing her neck as she moaned. "We'll both get what we want, Amaya-chan . . . I'll fuck your pussy until neither of us can walk."

God, was that him talking? Mild-mannered Izuru Kira? As he pulled out of her again, preparing for another thrust, he found that it was him, and as long as she didn't mind, neither did he.

 

[Armphid]

"Ken-chaaaaaan! Look, look!" The little girl was in a kimono of shocking sky blue with pink and white kittens prancing about it. She capered around the stalls of the Harvest Festival, "Ureshii! There's so much candy! Buy me some!"

Behind her walked a large man, six and a half feet tall and strongly built, massive and powerful but lean, a mass of muscle and scar tissue. He wore a ragged white captain's haori over the black shihakusho uniform of the shinigami. He carried a naked sword in one hand, the blade chipped, cracked, and fragile looking. "Sure." He rummaged in his kosode and took out a bulging pouch of money, throwing it to the girl. "That's this month's cash budget for the division, use as much as you want."

"Yay!" She caught the pouch and then looked thoughtful, "But, Ken-chan, if I spend it all on candy, then what will everyone else eat all month?"

"Who cares?" He shrugged, walking past the tiny child as she stared up at him with adoring eyes. "They can take food from Squad 4 or some other weaklings or they'll starve."

"Waaah! You're so smart, Ken-chan! Now...CANDYYYY!"

~~~~~~~​

The sweet stink of sex filled the small room, the squishing sound of his cock driving into her pussy mixing with impassioned gasps and moans, the intertwined bodies moving together in bliss.

Isamu was braced with both hands flat on the floor, holding him above Momo as his hips pumped back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. His eyes were trained on her, his golden orbs shining from within, lit by the sexual fire rising higher and higher in him with each moment. "God, Momo," he shouldn't be using her first name, but he just couldn't help it. In this most intimate of times, calling her "Hinamori" was just too cold, too impersonal. "You feel so good, so hot and tight on my cock, I love this feeling, then sensation, your hot little body all around me," he groaned out.

Momo panted, her breasts heaving, her face flushed. Her hands were on his shoulders, holding on for dear life as his wonderful organ plunged into her willing tunnel over and over and over again. "I love it too! I can't believe how good it is...the other girls said...but I never...thought it could be...like this, oh, Takeuchi-san, please, don't stop!"

He grinned wolfishly, "Not willing, sweetheart, not until, ohh, fuck, not until we've both had-nnn- had our joy." He wanted to pick up speed and just ravish her, fast, hard, riding her into glory. But he forced himself to stay steady and slow, letting the sensations in her build. He wanted her to cum again. On his cock. "Feel me in you, Momo. Feel my hard cock spreading you, sinking in deep, all the way in."

"Yes, ohh, yes, all the way," she moaned. "Feels so full, so wonderful, never knew how empty I was...wi-without...without your cock fucking me." Had she just said that? Oh, she had! It was so naughty! "Fuck me, Takeuchi-san!"

"Damn, Momo, one surprise after another, you bad girl," he murmured. And it was true, she kept shocking him, and each one was a shock he liked. Liked a lot. "Dirty mouth...if I'd known, I'd have made you suck it."

"Nuhh, next time," she promised. Oh, something was happening. It was...it was that feeling again. "Takeuchi-san," she whimpered, writhing under him, "It's coming agaaaain, I don't...should I...it's improper..."

"It's improper to be fucking me too, isn't it?" She moaned louder and he knew she was enjoying the way he was talking. "But you love it, baby, I can feel how much," he groaned as he pushed in harder just one time. Momo yelped, her open mouth smiling, her eyes shining as she looked up at him. "Let that feeling in." God, she had to hurry. He wasn't much longer himself. "It's ours, ours to have and enjoy, and it's good, it's pure, take it, Momo."

"Hai!" She arched her back, feeling the first wave, "Ah! Takeuchi-saaan! Ahhmmm!" She pushed her head up to bury in his shoulder, her mouth on his skin, muffling her cry with his body as she shook and quaked like a leaf in a stiff wind. "MmmmMMM!"

Her cunt clutched at his dick, squeezing him tightly, "God! Momo, I need to pull out, I"m going to-"

She lifted her head, "No!" Her arms, suddenly shockingly strong went about his neck as she pressed herself to him. Her legs closed on his waist, ankles crossing and locking together. "I want Takeuchi-san in me! I want his strength inside my belly, filling me up, I want it, give it to me, Takeuchi-san, give me your seed, your essence, make my pussy yours, yours first and part of you in me forever!" She rocked her hips into him, fucking him back as he stared to pump more wildly, losing his rhythm.

"Momo! God, baby doll...it's...ahhhggg! There!" He pushed into her deep and hard, making her cry out as he did, his head rolling back, "Ahh! Uhh! Ohh! God! Momo!" With each word, he thrust again, short, strong stabs of his hips as his balls pumped and tightened. His cock spurted within her, spraying thick, heavy, hot jizz into her body with each word and each motion. "All for you! All in you! Take my cum!" He'd never, ever, cum this hard or this much. It was insane! "Ahhh, fuck!" Still his hips pumped, and still his slick, sticky seed coated her insides.

He almost feel atop her, suddenly weak and weary. He fell to his elbows and knees, his manhood still buried partway in her sex. He gasped for breath, taking ragged lungfuls, "Momo...oh, Momo, that...was...I've never felt so...so good..."

Her eyes were brilliant and warm, a kind of glorious comprehension in them. She lay a hand on her stomach, feeling his cum lying inside her. Oh. "Takeuchi-san...arigatou...it was everything I wanted and more. My first time...some girls say theirs was bad, but this...this was better than I thought it ever could be..."

"Y-your first?" He managed to lift himself a bit, his eyes shocked again. Guilt was in those eyes, and a terrible inward directed blame, "Hinamori-chan...I didn't know. I didn't know, if you'd said something-"

She shut him up with a kiss. "I'm glad I didn't then. If you'd stopped...I'd have a broken heart...instead of a full pussy."

 

[HookerBoots]

Renji poured the last of the final bottle of sake into Rangiku's cup, tossing the empty vessel over his shoulder, where it clinked, landing in the pile with the rest of the spent bottles. As she lifted the cup to her lips, Renji watched avidly as her chest shifted with the motion. "Ran-san?"

She put the now-empty cup down, resting her chin on one fist as she leaned on the table. "Hai, Abarai-kun?" Rangiku was willing to admit she was a little drunk. A lot drunk. It wasn't unusual for her to drink, but she rarely met someone who was able to match her speed and endurance in drinking. He was all right in her book.

"You were gonna ask sh-somethin' a while back."

Rangiku blinked owlishly at him. "I was?" She shrugged. "I'm shorry, Abarai-kun, I don' remember." She got up to her hands and knees, crawling - she wasn't at all sure that walking would be a good idea - over to sit next to him. But the view she gave him almost stopped his heart, being able to see down her kimono almost to her navel . . . what man could stand before that? "But," she said, sitting next to him, "if you wanted to, I would be willing to give you that reward for buying all of our booze."

It was possible that his heart did stop this time. Was she offering . . . she was offering to . . . because of his stunned disbelief, Renji actually thought before he spoke. "That . . . that would be very good," he managed.

She smiled and leaned in, pressing her lips to his as her hands went to the edges of her kimono. He could see that for the moment before her lips met his and his eyes shut instinctively. She was going to . . . oh, god, he would be able to see, and touch . . . as she pulled back, his breath caught in his throat.

And then, in the cruelest turn of events, she fell over onto her side, snoring. Renji couldn't believe it. He had the worst luck ever. Sighing, he made his way to the closet, pulling out two spare blankets. Carefully, he spread one over her, tucking it in around her breasts - it would be terrible if she caught a chest cold with all that chest - and then lying down, wrapping himself in the other blanket

~ ~ ~ ~​

Amaya bit her lip, her hips meeting Kira's thrusts. Each time he pushed into her seemed to drive her closer to a release that she desperately wanted. It had been a long time since she'd had the chance to take care of things herself - living in a barracks wasn't conducive to that kind of thing at all - and this was just so good!

He wanted her to cum at least once before he did - it was only proper, and he wanted to feel it. Kira figured that she was close - her voice had turned into a high-pitched squeak every time he thrust into her, and the need in those sounds was evident. He nipped her neck. "Getting close, Amaya-chan?" he whispered.

"Yessss!" She wrapped her legs around him, ankles crossing behind his back. "Please, just a little . . . ahhh! Just a little more, and I'll . . . it'll be sooooo big . . . just like you," she panted, and his eyes closed, trying to hold back a few more moments.

"Such a naughty girl, Amaya-chan," he teased, lifting one hand from where it supported him to grip one of her breasts. Her gasp turned into a low moan, and Kira thrust faster, harder, his fingers tweaking the nipple of the soft, generous breast in his hand. "I'll give you more, since you asked so pretty."

As his fingers closed around her nipple again, the pink bud rock-hard under his touch, Amaya closed her eyes, feeling the sensations of being fucked, her most private place spread and filled by an amazing length of hot, hard meat. Her nipple being teased. Feeling his balls hit her ass with every thrust into her. His breath on her neck, his lips on her jawline and ear lobe. When he pushed in and then ground against her hips, rubbing just so on her clit, the pink-haired shinigami fell again, head-first into an orgasm.

Her hips bucked against his, trying to get more and more of what he was giving her, her pussy clutching at him, her legs holding him where he couldn't pull back and leave her wanting. She pressed her face to his shoulder, muffling her scream of pleasure as the world seemed to explode in a fireworks display of lustful delight.

At the feeling of her needy hole squeezing, her gushing wetness, Kira couldn't hold back any longer, and, for once not thinking about the consequences, pushed hard into her, feeling his own release, flooding her eager young body with hot, sticky sperm. "Ahhhhhh! Amaya, god, take it!" His head went back, the piece of hair that typically hung in front of his face flung backward as he felt himself pump what felt like a gallon of cum into her. "Oh, shit! So good, yes, take it all, every drop!"

The feeling of it, her first load of cum, made her start to cum again, her body shaking like a leaf. It was so incredible, she felt so full and right! "Yesssss! Izuru, I love it!" Her eyes practically glowed, the feelings coursing through her body were so electric.

As they both finished, trembling and weak as kittens, his face was bright with pleasure and relaxed tension. One hand reached down, stroking her cheek gently. "Amaya-chan, that was . . . amazing." The sad part was that he could feel himself softening slightly, slipping out of her body despite their best efforts. "I . . . shouldn't . . . Amaya-chan, I shouldn't have . . . what if you . . . dammit."

She reached up, stroking his cheek now. "It's all right, Kira-kun. I'll make sure things are all right." Amaya pulled him down next to her, turning to face him. "But now, I think we should sleep." She yawned. "We'll worry about it tomorrow."

 

[Armphid]

Isamu shifted in the dark. One wolfish eye cracked open; it was still dark...but a lighter dark than it had been earlier. His internal clock told him it was early morning; close to time for him to rise and get ready for his duties. He sighed. But he was so warm and cozy and Momo felt so good in his arms. He could sleep a little longer.

...Wait a minute.

Both eyes opened now and memory returned with the movement. As did a wicked pain in his head as though someone were boring into both of his eyes from behind, "Nng." Last night...he remembered. Meeting the lieutenant of Squad 10. Going to her barracks. Drink and song...he remembered all of the others being wierded out by the songs he knew...remembered feeling along and out of place as they sang songs that everyone in Soul Society knew...remembered how pretty Amaya was...and Momo too...and Rangiku-san in that kimono. She told he and Kira...the girls wanted them...he'd gone and found Momo and then...and then..

He'd been her first. Her first.

And his best friend was in love with her. "What...have I done?"

She stirred in his arms. They were both laying on their sides, spooning, her back to him, snuggled under the spread kosode of his shihakusho. She yawned, one of the most adorable sounds he'd ever heard, and rolled over to face him. Her small, sweet face smiled up at him shyly, "Ohayoo, Takeuchi-san."

He blushed, "Ah, Ohayoo, Hinamori-san. Although...I think we've moved beyond "-san" maybe, don't you?" He smiled, pushing his reeling mind away for the moment.

She giggled, "Probably, Takeuchi-kun." She hesitated. "Do you...remember? You don't...you aren't sorry, are you?"

God. He was and he wasn't. But the part about being with her, about taking the...incredible gift she'd given him. "No, Hinamori-chan. I"m glad."

She sighed happily and snuggled close. "I like your smell." She took a deep breath, "We should both get back to our barracks so we have time to clean up."

"Yeah." He hugged her. "Hinamori-chan. We need to talk about...what we're going to do now."

She nibbled her lower lip, "Well, um...I like you, Takeuchi-kun, but...I don't think we should...date."

He felt both relieved and insulted at once. "You don't?"

She shook her head, "No, but...maybe from time to time when...we're both...in need, we can...help each other?"

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. God, he wanted to say yes. But what about Kira? And what about Momo? If he said no, it'd hurt her. He knew her well enough for that. He didn't...shit. "Maybe, but...you were right, Hinamori-chan. We should both get back. I...like the smell of sex on you, but if you report to Captain Aizen like this..."

She blushed deep red; probably from her face to her toes, not that he could see that far. "Ah! Oh no! You're right, Takeuchi-kun! I'll find you later!" She threw his shihakusho aside and he got a brief, magnificent glimpse of her naked body before the garment fell over his head. "Don't peek, I'm changing!"

"But, last night-"

"Don't peek!"

~~~~~~~​

"Why do we have to do this again?" The sun was high in the sky now. The lower ranked members of Squad 4 had been sent out on clean-up duty around the Seireitei; mopping up vomit, picking up broken bottles and glass, removing litter, and so on. Isamu glowered as he mopped up yet another pool of sick. "This isn't even our area."

"Because no one else will do it," Kira answered tersely, "and if it's left, it's a health hazard."

There had been tension ever since they'd returned to the barracks. Both of them knew why, if neither could admit it. It had grown thicker as the day went on and they worked at cleaning up the remains of the Harvest Festival celebration.

Isamu looked over at his friend. "...So are you going to say something?"

Kira hesitated in his sweeping up refuse, his back to Isamu. "About what?"

Isamu sighed. "...Nothing."

"Takeuchi-kun! Kira-kun!" Both boys blushed and turned at the cheery voice. They turned as Momo Hinamori walked around the corner, smiling prettily. She was dressed in her normal robes, her hair bound up in it's usual bun. "How is it?"

Kira just looked at her helplessly, his eyes ashamed. Then he looked away, cursing himself for his weakness, his hesitation, his envy. "...I think the others missed something over here, I'll be right back." He walked the other way and turned a corner himself, out of sight.

Isamu sighed. "Izuru-kun..." He sighed, then turned back to Momo. "I'm surprised to see you. I thought you'd be on duty."

"I am, but I ate my lunch faster than I thought 'cause I was so hungry after..." She blushed prettily, "So, I thought I'd use the time to come see you. So we could talk. About what I said before. About us...taking care of each other sometimes." She came a bit closer, her face eager and embarrassed at once.

Isamu flushed, "I...Hinamori-chan...I..." He wanted...God, damn it. How sweet would that be? It was every guy's dream, right? Hot girl, hot sex, no strings. But it would just kill Kira. He sighed, "We shouldn't."

"Uhh?" She blinked, her eyes going wide. "What? But...but why not?" Her voice had risen a bit. Unknown to Isamu, Kira heard her voice raising and slid closer on the other side of the wall, only now able to hear. "I thought...you liked me..."

"I do, Hinamori-chan. But...we can't." His heart felt like a lead stone in his breast. "It's so tempting but...I'd be using you and that's not fair."

"I want you to!" Her eyes were starting to fill. His rejection stung her and made her doubt all his sweet words and glances of the night before. "I...I thought you cared and that...we could he-help each other, that it...meant something to you and...it wasn't just...just a...a..." She closed her eyes and looked away, tears starting. She pivoted on the spot and was gone in a blur of shun-po.

"Hinamori, wait!" Isamu was about to flash step after her when he suddenly felt a surge of reiatsu behind him. "What now, damn it!" He turned to see Kira standing ten feet away, his friend's sad face furious. "Izuru..."

"You bastard," he growled. "How dare you? First you...you take her from me, knowing how I feel! And then it's just a quick fuck for you and you push her away!" Kira stepped forward, "Answer me! I thought if it was you and she was happy, then I could deal with it, I could accept it, and maybe with Amaya's help...but you...you fucking used her for a cheap ride and threw her away! You made her cry!"

Isamu snarled back, "Don't you play that card with me! Did your feelings for her keep you from spending the night with Amaya?"

Kira flinched as it struck, "That's different!"

"Yeah, how?" Isamu stepped forward now, the two friends only a few feet apart. "Explain it to me. How it's okay that you did the same thing I did, but it's okay for you and I"m a bastard?"

"Amaya-chan isn't crying!" Kira growled, "She wasn't used by some...some gaijin devil!"

"You..." He'd been insulted that way ever since coming to Soul Society. He was innured to it by now. It hadn't bothered him in years. But to hear Kira say it, to know that his friend...his friend thought of him that way...apart, different, not belonging, not right. "You want to know why I told her no? To try and give you a chance! Not that you deserve it! She...she shouldn't have to settle for a shadow of a man like you!"

The mop and broom fell at once and both boys went for their swords. Steel whistled out of their sheaths and both began to swing-

"Bakudo no hachi! Seki!" A blue orb of light flashed between the two blades where they were about to strike, the weapons hitting it instead. Both young men were flung back, away from one another, and unable to move for a several seconds, their muscles locked. The tall, curvy form of Isane Koutetsu appeared in between them. "What are you two doing?"

"He...has..." Isame growled.

"...it coming," Kira hissed. Both of them tried to move but the spell held them.

Isane couldn't believe what she was seeing. What had happened? "This is unacceptable!" The power of the spell was fading. She could use it without the incantation but it didn't last long that way. "Put your swords away, right now!"

Isamu looked down at the ground. "Koutetsu-san...I'm sorry." He sheathed his sword, hearing Kira do the same. "It was my fault. Please, punish me."

She looked at him coolly. "That isn't up to me, Takeuchi-san. Kira-san, come with me. We should put some distance between you two." The 3rd Seat grabbed his arm and pulled Kira behind her.

Isamu sank to the ground as they went out of sight, leaning back against the wall. Damn it. Damn him. This was all his fault. All of it. "...Why...couldn't I have just gone to hell when I died..."

 

[HookerBoots]

Amaya roused because the pillow she was resting her head on moved. "Pillows don't move," she muttered, still half-asleep. Then the realization woke her up the rest of the way. Pillows didn't move, so that wasn't a pillow. She squirmed around, twisting her head to look at whoever it was she was lying with. Kira looked back, a small, worried smile on his face. She returned it.

The dim light in the room - very dim, it was still pre-dawn - made it hard to see, but she could tell that he was more relaxed than he had been in before, but tense in a different way. She sat up, pulling his kosode over her torso. "Ohayoo, Kira-kun."

"Ohayoo, Kuragari-chan." He sat up as well, reaching for his fundoshi. "I, um, we . . . last night . . . ."

She nodded, reaching blindly for her kimono. "Hai. We did." She stuck her arms through the sleeves of the kimono. "Kira-kun, I don't . . . I mean, I . . . ." She sighed. This was hard to articulate. "I know how you feel about Hinamori-chan . . ." her words trailed off. Oh, no. If he was here, then Ran-san had made a mistake somewhere. And Takeuichi-kun was with Hinamori-chan. "I know how you feel," she picked back up, hoping he wouldn't make the same connection she just had. And knew that he probably already had. "And I want you to know that I . . . I know this wasn't . . . that it doesn't change things."

He finished tying the sash on his hakama and reached down to take her hands. "Kuragari-chan, it does change a lot of things. But not that," he said sadly. "It does make it unlikely I'll ever be able to look at you without imagining you . . . well, you know." He was blushing, she could tell even in the little light there was. "But we're still friends, right?"

"Of course!" Amaya looked a little shocked that he would even think they wouldn't be. "And hopefully," her lips curved in a small smile, "this will give you the confidence to talk to Hinamori-chan." She stood up and wrapped her obi around her waist, then turned to present her back to him. "Help me, please?"

~ ~ ~ ~​

Jun came to slowly, unsure where she was, or if she was awake or had passed on to be reincarnated. Blinking slowly, she focused on a point of light that seemed far away. There were shadows moving in the room, and she tensed. Suddenly, things seemed to snap into focus, and the light was a lamp on a desk. The shadows were two people in shinigami uniforms.

She snapped upright, clutching the blanket that had been spread over her to her chest. Her uniform, if what she could feel of the blanket was any indication, was shredded. "C-captain?"

Aizen walked over to her, kneeling down solicitously. "Jun-chan, are you all right? Ichimaru-taicho found you nearby and brought you here, since my office was closest." He nodded tersely to the silver-haired captain, still looking at the small girl on his office floor.

She nodded, then shook her head. "I'm . . . Aizen-taicho, I was . . . I want to file a report! I was . . . two men, they . . . ." Her body was shaking like a leaf, and he put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's all right, Jun-chan. Tell me what they looked like, and I'll make sure they get what they deserve." He looked honestly concerned, and that made her feel better. Until she remembered that she couldn't remember what they looked like.

"It . . . their faces were hidden," she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I never saw their faces." Jun looked up at him, eyes wide and fearful. "Aizen-taicho, they could be . . . anyone. How can I . . . what can I do?"

His face was sad and regretful. "I'm sorry, Jun-chan. Without knowing who they were or what they looked like, there's very little I can do." He sat back, resting his hands on his lap. "Please, stay as long as you like, though. I'll excuse you from your duties for a while, until you feel up to them again."

~ ~ ~ ~​

Amaya tugged her hair back into a tail, stretching out her muscles before she went out to train. As she stepped out of the door into the training ground, a black and silver streak landed in the middle of the courtyard. Isane Koutetsu looked around, and spied the pink-haired girl in the doorway. "Thank heavens. Kuragari-chan, I need to borrow you for a while."

"Huh? I mean, Koutetsu-san, what can I help you with?" Amaya didn't even struggle as the silver-haired 3rd seat grabbed her arm and pulled her into the barracks again.

"I have a problem, and I think you can help." Isane rapped on Kojiru-fukutaicho's door. When his voice called out, she opened it and walked in. "Gomen nasai, Kojiru-fukutaicho. If it's all right, I need to borrow Kuragari-san for a little while."

He raised an eyebrow at them. "May I ask why, Koutetsu-san? I hope she hasn't been causing problems for you."

"Not at all." Isane shook her head. "In fact, I think she will be able to help resolve a problem between two of my squad members."

"Oh? Were they fighting over our little Kuragari-chan?" he asked, a little amused.

Isane bristled. "I'm sure I don't know, sir. But she's friends with both of the members in question, and I think she might be able to help."

He nodded, then. "All right, Koutetsu-san. Thank you for asking instead of just whisking her away." Isane nodded and tugged Amaya out of the room.

As they almost-ran out the building again, Amaya asked, "Koutetsu-san, what's going on?"

"Takeuichi-san and Kira-san are fighting. They pulled their zanpakuto on each other."

Amaya would have stopped if the older shinigami hadn't kept hold of her arm. "What?"

"I don't know what's going on," Isane went on, "and I don't want to know. But you're friends with them both, so I need you to try and fix it. Can you use shunpo?" Amaya nodded. "Good. Follow me."

They landed, thankfully, in a portion of the street that had already been cleaned, but still near where Isamu was mopping half-heartedly. "There." Isane pointed. "I don't really care what you have to do, Kuragari-chan, but talk to him and find out what's wrong. And see about fixing it. I won't have this kind of division in the squad."

Amaya nodded, her hands clenching. She strode forward, feeling Isane jump to a rooftop, watching, but far enough away to not overhear. "Takeuichi-kun," Amaya called softly, coming up behind him, close enough to talk, but not close enough that he might reflexively strike a target coming up behind him. "What's wrong? I'd like to talk about it, if you're willing."

 

[Armphid]

"You shouldn't, Kuragari-ch..san." He sighed, his shoulders slumped over. "It's not a good idea. Everyone of my friends that I've spoken to today...I've hurt them. I don't want to do that to you too."

Amaya tilted her head to one side, "Takeuchi-kun, don't be silly. I'm here to help you." She stepped up beside him, moving so that he actually saw her, "Talk to me, Takeuchi-kun."

The American half-breed looked at her helplessly. If he hadn't seen her face, he could have said no, told her to leave. But he had. Had she made sure he saw her for that reason? "...I don't even know where to start."

He shook his head, "You're no fool, Kuragari-chan. You know what...what happened last night. Between me and Hinamori-ch...san." He didn't deserve to assume closeness to her now. "Ever since he got back this morning, Kira's been tense and he hasn't talked to me. I know it's because of what happened. He feels like I betrayed him. And he's right, I did. I did betray him."

Isamu wanted to just die. "Hinamori-chan came to talk to me during her lunch break and he was nearby. I'm sure he overheard us talking. Hinamori-ch...san wanted to...for us to...not date or anything, we don't feel that way about each other, but that we could..."comfort" each other from time to time." He was such a fool. Such an idiot. If he'd have said yes, would this have happened? "I said no. But not because I didn't want that but because...I wanted to make Kira feel better. I thought that if the two of us kept, well," he blushed. He couldn't believe he was talking about this with her. "If we were still doing that, every time, it would hurt him. So I lied and told her we shouldn't because I would be taking advantage of her."

"...She didn't take it well. She said that she thought I liked her, and that last night meant something, that it wasn't just a fling to her...and now she thinks it was to me. She left crying. And Kira...you can imagine how he reacted. We both said some...bad things. I called him a "shadow of a man" and he...he called me a "gaijin devil" and I just-"

He pursed his lips and turned to look at her more fully. "It felt like he'd ripped my heart out when he called me that. I...I don't belong here and I never will and I know that. I'll always be an outsider and alone. But at least with him and you and Hinamori and other, I could pretend that I did belong. That I was part. But...if he thinks of me that way...then I never really was. And that means too that...I have to wonder if all of you don't think I'm just...that gaijin."

"So. I've made one bad decision after another. Hinamori is in tears and feels guilty and stupid and may hate my guts. Kira does for sure and may have just been tolerating me out of pity all this time. And all of it is my fault." He sighed again. "...And I wish that...I'd never even heard of the Harvest Festival or that I'd...well, never mind. I've said too much anyway. Listen to me whine." He shook his head and strode away from Amaya several paces. He didn't want her to see the hurt in his eyes, the loneliness. "I'm sorry that you had to hear all that. I'm...pretty pathetic in the end, aren't I? For all my barking about strength and treating others well, I'm just a miserable and ungrateful dog."

 

[HookerBoots]

Amaya sighed. This was a snarl. "Takeuchi-kun, it's not your fault." She reached out to touch his shoulder, and he moved away. "It isn't."

"How isn't it? I mean, I just . . . everything I've done today has just turned into something terrible!" His face looked so bitter and filled with self-loathing that it almost broke her heart.

"I . . . last night, I think . . . I think Hinamori-chan and I accidentally switched rooms." Her face was bright red, and she was struggling to look at his face. "I vaguely remember asking her which of us was supposed to go to which room, and I think we got mixed up." Amaya swallowed hard. "So it's my fault. Not yours. If I hadn't had so much sake, it wouldn't have happened."

He shook his head. "It's not . . . Kuragari-san, that may have been a mistake, but everything that happened today was all my fault." His fingers gripped the mop in his hands so tightly the knuckles were white. "I've made a mess of it all, alienating everyone."

She stepped forward, putting her hand fully on his shoulder. "I'm here, Takeuchi-kun. And I know . . . I know that you didn't mean to hurt Kira-kun's feelings. Or Hinamori-chan's." She squeeze his shoulder. "I also know that he . . . didn't mean what he said. His feelings were raw. I knew that he realized when we . . . when he woke up this morning what must have happened, and I could tell that it bothered him a lot."

Isamu nodded, but it was reluctant. He knew all that. It didn't make it hurt less.

Amaya turned him around a little to face her again. "Listen. You do belong." He opened his mouth to protest, and she placed a finger over it. "You do. We're all shinigami. If you didn't belong, you wouldn't be here. And you're not alone; no matter what, I'll be here." She smiled. "And I never thought of you as a gaijin. Remember what Unohana-taicho says? 'Our differences make us unique, but we're all the same soul, with the same mission.'"

He looked even more doubtful, but at least he wasn't still suffering and angry the way he had been when she and Isane had gotten there. "And you were trying to do what was right. I'm sure Kira-kun will realize that when he calms down a little. I'm also sure he feels just as bad as you do over what he said. He doesn't . . . doesn't think of you as . . . that."

She reached out and hugged him. "You're not ungrateful, or pathetic. You're hurting, because mistakes happened, and you want to make things right, and it didn't help as much as it should have." Pulling back slightly, Amaya smiled up at him. "Don't fret, Takeuchi-kun. We'll make it right. Trust me. Okay?"

 

[Armphid]

Her words were sweet and they...he wanted to believe them. But was that just his own desire for forgiveness or was she actually right? It was the hug though, that convinced him. The Japanese, as a rule, were not huggers. It wasn't that it didn't happen or that they didn't know what it was. It was just...it didn't happen that much, even between family members. For her to be willing to do that touched him deeply.

But from what she'd said, last night she'd been willing for more. If the girls had gone to the "wrong" rooms, then...it was supposed to be he and Amaya. Wow. He would never be so lucky. How long had he felt his secret affection and desire for her?

It would keep.

He lowered his head as she held him for several moments. "I do trust you, Kuragari-chan." His hands slid around her waist and he hugged her back; with more need that he really wanted to express, pressing her close. God, she felt so good. So warm and soft and delicious. It felt...good, on more than a physical level, mentally, emotionally, maybe even spiritually, it just felt good.

He released her and stepped back, aware that such an embrace was a little too personal for even their close relationship. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Kuragari-chan. I feel better...but it's still all broken." He sighed, "And I don't know how to fix it. Kira...if I go near him and he starts in on me...I'm just too wild not to respond in kind and lead to another fight. And I don't want to make Hinamori-san cry again."

 

[HookerBoots]

Amaya smiled mysteriously. "Don't worry, Takeuchi-kun," she said. "I'll handle it - everything will be right as rain by tomorrow!" Her words had a certainty she herself didn't really feel. Things like this tended to blow up, much like Ran-san's plan had the previous evening. Maybe the way to fix it . . . yeah, that might work.

"I'm glad you feel better," she said stepping back, "but I've got to go. Do me a favor? Meet me at, um, that ramen house near Squad Three? When are you done?"

Isane leaped down and landed next to her. "He's done at 1700." She smiled gratefully at Amaya, then looked at Isamu. "You're doing a good job, Takeuchi-san." The silver-haired shinigami gestured for Amaya to follow her and used shunpo to vanish.

Amaya waved at him with a smile and followed. After a few steps - and several hundred yards - brought them to where Kira was mopping his own section of street, looking more miserable than any time she could remember seeing him in the past few years. Isane did what she'd done before, landing them on a clean bit of street and leaving Amaya there, going up to a rooftop where she could watch what went on without interfering.

Kira saw her coming, and just watched as she made her way up the street. "Koutetsu-san brought you to try and patch things up, didn't she?" He glanced up at the slender figure watching them. "I . . . I don't know that you can help, Kuragari-chan."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I think I can, Kira-kun. I just talked with Takeuchi-kun, and he's sorry for what happened between you two."

He moved his broom over the debris on the street without much intent to clean. "It isn't that east, Kuragari-chan. We both said . . . some hurtful things. And he made Hinamori-chan cry. I can't forgive that!"

Amaya's eyes went hard, like little emeralds. "No, Kira-kun, he didn't make her cry. She misunderstood what he was saying, and didn't give him a chance to explain." His head snapped up, eyes wide, and she nodded. "You know that's true. And he wouldn't hurt her - she's his friend just like I'm yours."

Kira nodded a little, then his hands gripped the broom handle tightly. "He said . . . he called me . . . ."

"I know. And then you called him a gaijin." Her eyes were full of reproach. "Kira-kun, neither of you meant what you said. Unless you do think that way about him."

"Of course not!" Then he flushed and looked at the ground.

Her lips curved in a smile. "See? Both of you said things, and neither of you meant them. I don't think Hinamori-chan really believes he didn't care for her, either, and she knows he didn't mean to reject her. I'll talk with her, all right?"

She glanced at Isane, who nodded almost imperceptibly. "Kira-kun, I've got to get back to my own squad. But do me a favor? Meet me tonight at that ramen house near Squad Three - I'll get the small room in the back. What time are you done?"

Isane landed behind her, hiding a smile. The girl was smooth. "Kira-san will be done at 1700, Kuragari-san." She nodded at the blond. "Keep up the good work, Kira-san."

They flashed a few yards away, and Amaya glanced at Isane. "Koutetsu-san, may I ask a favor?"

"If you can get them away from each others' throats, you can ask anything."

"I need to see Momo Hinamori-san, if it would be possible. I know she's not in your squad, but if you could perhaps take me to see Aizen-taicho, we could get this tangle straightened out." She saw the doubt on Isane's face and added, "I don't know how effective things will be without her cooperation.

Isane nodded slowly. "All right, Kuragari-san. Come with me, we'll see Captain Aizen."

~ ~ ~ ~​

The dark-haired captain was out in the yard with some of his squad members, observing their practice, when Isane and Amaya landed. Isane stepped forward, hands behind her back. Amaya imitated her posture, but staying a step behind the older woman.

He turned, smiling when he saw them. "Ah, Koutetsu-san, konnichiwa!" His eyes lit on Amaya, and she smiled politely. "And this must be, let me see, Amaya Kuragari-san, right? You're one of Ichimaru's new recruits."

"Hai, Aizen-taicho." She nodded. She'd never spent a lot of time mooning over the captains the way some of the girls did, but he seemed nice enough. He certain didn't seem like the boogey man. "I'm honored that you recognized me."

His smile broadened. "Well, the only other shinigami with pink hair is Kenpachi's little ragamuffin. And you are quite a bit taller than little Kusagishi-chan." He clasped his hands behind his back. "To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

Isane glanced at Amaya. "We have a small problem in Squad Four, Aizen-taicho, and Kuragari-san is helping me with it. But we would like to, if possible, borrow Momo Hinamori-san for a few moments - and possibly get her released from her duties this evening at approximately 1700."

He thought for a moment, then said, "Well, I don't see why not. But may I ask, what problem is it? I'm concerned, if Hinamori-san is involved."

Amaya cleared her throat, blushing a little. "It's nothing important, sir. Just a small interpersonal snarl that she might be of assistance clearing up."

Isane smiled, a little ruefully. "You know how young people are, Captain. One small heartbreak and they fall to pieces."

He laughed and nodded. "Of course, of course. Here, let me get Hinamori-san for you."

 

[Armphid]

Momo sighed and pulled her legs up onto the chair she was sitting in, hugging them to her chest. The work she'd been assigned was done, even with the fact that she'd had to re-do one of the reports because she'd cried on the first one a little.

If only she was stronger...she'd fallen all to pieces and that probably hadn't been good. Once she'd cried a bit and calmed down and thought about it...she'd overreacted. He had rejected her and that hurt but it wasn't because he didn't like her. It wasn't because he thought she was ugly or plain. It wasn't because last night was just a meaningless fling for him. It was because he honestly thought he'd be taking advantage of her. He was very serious about things like that, about being fair and good to people. He'd feel like he was using her for cheap sex.

...Which would be kind of true. But really she was the one who wanted to use him for cheap sex. And for practice, if...when...she finally had a chance with...oh, with Captain Aizen, she wanted to be good.

The problem was that now she didn't know what to do about it. Should she go back and pretend like the conversation hadn't happened? Or like even last night hadn't happened? She rested her head on her knees. "Why do I have to be so emotional?"

She felt his presence before the door opened and was getting to her feet as he entered, "A-aizen-taichou, konnichi wa! I've finished with the reports and filed them, sir!" She was at ramrod attention, her cheeks lightly flushed.

"Relax, Hinamori-san." He smiled easily, his eyes gentle behind the awkward looking glasses. "I won't bite," he chuckled. "It's good you got your work done early. There's someone here to see you, and this way, I can let you go with her."

"Huh?" Momo looked past her captain and blinked, "Kuragari-chan?"

~~~~~~~​

Isamu sat down at the low table in the restaurant's back room. The owner seemed to know he was coming and directed him back here immediately. He was curious about it. It seemed as though Amaya was cooking something up...but what it was, he didn't know. It worried him a little but...

He shook his head. He said he would trust her. So trust her, already. He waited for several minutes, looking around the room, adjusting the bandana tied to his left arm, and thinking about how much of a mess things were from that one night. One night.

He wasn't sure he'd ever drink sake again.

The door slid open, "Right this way, sir." Kira stood in the doorway, looking at Isamu with shocked eyes. "I'll bring tea for you both in a moment, I'm sure the young lady will be along shortly."

Kira just nodded and stepped into the room. His face was more dejected than usual but when he saw Isamu, a kind of defiant tension grew in his features. He sat down on the opposite side of the room from the other young man and said nothing.

Isamu snorted softly. So. It was going to be like that. Fine. He crossed his arms over his chest, turning his head so he didn't see Kira and stared at the wall, his face set in a grim expression of simmering anger.

 

[HookerBoots]

On the other side of the rice-paper door, Amaya smiled encouragingly at Momo and whispered, "It'll be okay. Just listen, until I open the door, okay?"

Momo nodded. "I don't really understand what's going on, Kuragari-chan, but I know you're trying to help." She rested her hands in her lap, fingers curled tightly together. "I'll wait and listen."

Amaya nodded and patted her friend's shoulder lightly before opening the door. She looked at the two boys sitting in the room, looking deliberately not at each other. And she sighed loudly and exasperatedly. "You two can stop that right now." She folded her arms and stood in the door, expression level.

They both started, a little guiltily, and looked down at the tatami on the floor. She nodded, then went and knelt by the small table. "Now, both of you, at the table." They didn't move, and she raised one eyebrow. "Kira-kun, Takeuchi-kun. Come here and sit at the table."

Reluctantly, both of them moved to the table, still not looking at each other. And, thankfully, the owner puttered in with a tray cluttered with a teapot and four cups, setting it down in the center of the table. Before either of the boys could reach for it, Amaya took it and poured a cup for each of them, handing them their tea at the same time. "Now. I've talked with both of you, and Hinamori-chan, about this whole mess. So this is how this is going to work." She turned one of the empty cups upright and waited until Kira took the hint and poured her a cup of tea. "You two are going to be honest with each other. I am going to stop you if you lie, or if either of you gets too heated up to be objective."

She sipped her tea. "Is that clear?"

Isamu looked at her, a little amused. "Kuragari-chan, are you sure you're not part American?"

Her eyebrow went up again. "I'm certain, thank you. I've just been studying Unohana-taicho's method of conflict resolution." Both of the boys blanched a little, and she smirked into her teacup. "Now. Kira-kun. Tell me - not Takeuchi-kun - why you were upset before Hinamori-chan showed up today."

He took a deep breath, looking into his tea as though the answer was there. It was a long moment, long enough that Amaya cleared her throat to get him going. Finally, he said, "You both know . . . ."

"Don't tell us what we know," she said softly. "Tell us why."

He sighed again. "I have . . . feelings for Hinamori-san, and it . . . hurt my feelings that Takeuchi-ku-san would have . . . done what happened last night, because he's aware of that." He hated having to say that. He wasn't a woman, his feelings shouldn't control him like that.

Amaya nodded, trying not to glance over at the door Momo was hiding behind. "Thank you, Kira-kun. Now, Takeuchi-kun. Were you at all troubled before Hinamori-chan showed up today?" At his reluctant nod, she nodded as well. "Tell me, not Kira-kun, why."

 

[Armphid]

Strange...he thought he'd heard a soft squeak or something from the other wall when Kira had responded to Amaya's prompt. Isamu looked back at the pink haired beauty. She was good. Very good. She seemed an odd fit for Squad 3's outlook of despair and bleakness. Right now it seemed like she'd be a better fit for Squad 4 than either of them.

"Takeuchi-kun," came a soft reminder.

"I know, sorry." Isamu took a breath. "I was troubled before seeing Hinamori-san today. Because I felt guilty. I felt like I'd betrayed my friend." He shook his head, "But I also felt angry about that because it seemed unfair that I felt guilty. I know how he felt but I also knew that those feelings hadn't stopped him last night either. So I felt as though I was being held to a different standard and I resented it."

Amaya nodded. "What did Hinamori-chan talk to you about?"

Isamu hesitated. This was...Momo's private affair. Could he...should h e share it with others? Amaya didn't look away from him. Trust her. "She and I had a good time last night and she didn't want a committed relationship but would stay friends, like we were. But that...sometimes we might...be together like...last night." Shit. Was he blushing? He was blushing.

Kira blinked; his face shocked. Momo was too sweet for that! "She didn't say that! She's too innocent and-"

"Kira-kun," Amaya turned to look at him, a smile that was disturbingly like Unohana's on her face, "it's Takeuchi-san's turn to talk."

"But-"

"It's his turn to talk," she repeated, her voice both sweeter and slower paced, each word stressed, "Kira-kun." The blond didn't speak up again and his face was paler than before. "Go on, Takeuchi-kun. Tell me about it." She moved her hand to guide his eyes back to her, not to be on Kira. "What did you feel then?"

Damn it. "I felt...trapped. I wanted...to say yes to what she was offering. Hinamori-san is really attractive and that kind of relationship is...the stereotypical guy ideal, you know?" He shook his head, "But I also knew that if I said yes...it really would be a betrayal of Kira. And every time Hinamori and I met for that, it'd be like stabbing him in the back." He wasn't sure he should say this next part...but he was saying it to Amaya, so..."And because if I did, it would probably mean Kira would never talk to Hinamori about how he feels and I don't want that. I think they'd be very good for each other and if I made that decision, it would close that door for them."

"And so?"

"So I...refused. I told her than I felt like I'd be using her because I...didn't want to hurt her feelings or reject her." He sighed, "And also because I thought that in a way, it would be using her." He shook his head, "I...was trying to do the right thing, by both of them. I just wanted to make things right."

 

[HookerBoots]

Amaya glanced at Kira, assessing how he was feeling. It was clear from his body language that he was feeling ashamed of how he'd acted. Of course, it was harder to tell with him, since he normally looked melancholy. "Now, Kira-kun. Explain to me why you were so upset when you saw Hinamori-chan talking with Takeuchi-kun."

He shook his head slowly. "I wasn't . . . I wasn't upset when they were talking."

She set her cup down and looked at him. "Kira-kun. Please don't lie to me."

The blond sighed, his hands encircling the teacup gently. "I . . . I was upset. Because it seemed like she was choosing him again, and I . . . I didn't want to be upset about it. It was childish and stupid, and I shouldn't have felt that way." For the first time since he walked in, Kira looked at Isamu. "It was just another . . . just another sign of how I wasn't good enough."

Amaya nodded, feigning a sagacity that she didn't really have, or feel. "And when Hinamori-chan left, how did you feel?"

His jaw tightened. "She was crying, and I could hear something about how she'd thought he cared about her. And it made me angry. That he would use her and reject her like that, treat her so callously, when he knew I felt . . . that I liked her." He took his hands off the table and clenched them in his lap. "I accused him of not caring, and using her, and saying that it was different, what we'd done, because you weren't crying . . . because you hadn't been used by a . . . a . . . ." He couldn't even say it now. The anger, the hurt that had driven him wasn't there for him to tap into. And it had been a bastard move, he knew that. Calling Takeuchi a gaijin devil was what would hurt him most, make Isamu feel as bad as he did in that moment.

He hadn't realized that the other man already did.

Amaya nodded. "It's all right, Kira-kun. We know." She shifted a little. "Now, why did you say that?"

"Because . . . because I wanted to hurt him, as badly as I hurt. As badly as I thought Hinamori-chan was hurting." He hung his head. "It was cruel of me, and I should have been more willing to listen to what he said."

The pink-haired girl turned to Isamu, her eyes taking in his face - it looked like he was actually feeling sorry as well. Now they were getting somewhere. "Takeuchi-kun, tell me how you reacted to Kira-kun's accusations."

He cleared his throat. "I got angry as well. I didn't think it was fair that he was . . . telling me how wrong I was, when he . . . he did the same thing. And saying that I'd taken her from him, when he never made a move to even tell her how he felt." Amaya's lips curved in a small smile, but she squashed it quickly. He went on, his expression a little puzzled as he looked at her. "And so I told him the reason I'd rejected Hinamori-chan's advances was because I wanted him to have a chance, and said that she shouldn't have to settle for a . . . a shadow of a man."

Amaya nodded again. "And did you mean that?"

"No!" Isamu looked at his teacup. "I didn't mean it. He deserves someone like Hinamori-chan, who's sweet and kind and caring and adorable." He sighed. "But it . . . it hurt to think that he thought of me as a gaijin, as some kind of alien that didn't belong. That kind of insult . . . from a friend was . . . worse than a knife in my gut."

Kira swallowed hard, and looked up at his friend. "I . . . here, Takeuchi-kun, let me pour some more tea."

Amaya puffed a strand of hair out of her eyes. That was about as good as it was going to get. Men. So she stood up and walked over to the door that lead out into the rest of the restaurant, poking her head out of it. The owner saw her, and gave her a questioning look. Amaya held up four fingers, and grinned. He beamed and went to work preparing four orders of hakata ramen - this place specialized in it, and they also had a special where it was the soup and noodles, but all the meats and vegetables and stuff were served on the side, so you could mix your own.

She pulled her head back in and smiled innocently at the boys, who were looking at her curiously. "I just ordered our dinner, that's all." Amaya then went over to the other door, opening it and poking one hand in, grabbing Momo's wrist. "Come on, it's time to come out."

The boys were startled, more than a little, when Momo emerged from the other room. And Kira's face went so red Amaya was sure he would explode. "Gomen nasai, minna-san. I forgot, I have to get back and . . . and feed the kittens." He tried to stand, but Amaya walked over and stood right next to him. If he did stand, he'd run into her, and given the content of their conversation, he didn't want to do that.

Suddenly, a soft voice said, "Please, don't leave yet, Kira-kun." Every head whipped towards Momo, who was looking at the floor, hands clasped tightly at her waist. She walked towards the unoccupied side of the table, kneeling gracefully. "I'd like to have dinner with my friends."