4.) Waking From the Nightmare

“Kami,”  I sobbed, clutching tighter to Captain Kyoraku’s robes praying at the moment that it was possible to crawl inside him, least I face the consequences of this night.  “What have I done?”  

“Hey now, it wasn’t your fault and I think Lord of the Assholes knows it too.”  He cooed, running his hands down my back in a soothing manner and moving the sweat soaked hair from my back so my skin could breath in the cool night air.  It was a wonderful sensation, to have the billowing icy breeze kissing my bare flesh.  

His hands stopped short just as my mind screamed out in protest, but it was too late to turn back, to late to cover myself.  The distinct rumble that sounded deep from within his breast only established what I already knew.  He had seen the strips of marred skin on my back and I was not foolish enough to think him so dumb to not know what caused it.  

“Please!”  I begged.  “No one knows, not even Hisagi.”  

“Suzume,”  he replied seriously and though I could not see his face at the time, I knew that anger burned in his usually gentle eyes.  “This is no joke.  Someone needs to know about this.”

“It won’t do any good.  Not even you can undo the past,”  I pressed as the feeling of warm silk floated down from somewhere above me, saving me at least my modesty.  It smelled of peppermint and ohagi.  “Thank you Jyuu.”  I whispered.

“Your welcome.”  Came his ill laden voice, heavily scratched from his long bouts of coughing.  “Suzume, one day someone is going to find out about this.”

“I know, I’m just not ready to go dredging up the past yet.”  I told them, whipping a lone tear from my eye.

“I’ll kill him for this, you know that, right?”  Shunsui commented his voice gruff with his anger and all I could do was nod.

Feeling a little silly about being cradled like a baby in the lap of one of the oldest Captains in the history of the Gotei Thirteen I opened my eyes and turned my face.  Blushing a little I smiled at him to which he returned but it was forced.  

“What is it?”  I asked quietly.

Shunsui chuckled, petting the top of my head like I was his newly appointed house cat he replied, “Well other than you nearly scaring us to an early grave-”

He was cut off as the sky around us rumbled and the ground under us quaked.  A burst of heightened Reiatsu’s crackled and charged the air with colors of crimson and white.  “What’s going on?  Who is that?”  I yelled trying to force my voice to carry over another loud explosion.  

“Guess they’re getting serious, eh Jyuu?”  Kyoraku commented during a quiet moment, tipping his hat back over his eyes in thought.  

Captain Ukitake nodded, his eyes cutting into the direction I had been earlier when I had lost control of  myself.  “Yes, it seems that way.”  

“Well, shall we?”  Kyoraku asked, smiling cheekily up at his fellow captain.  “We should probably put a stop to this before Old Man Yama comes down from his white castle and throws us all in jail.”  

Ukitake just nodded, standing from his squatted position to cup my face gently.  “I hope to see you again when the timing is better.”  He said calmly, but I knew my sensei better than most.  It was a command, his own way of saying my meditation needed work.  I agreed wholeheartedly.  

“Yes, Master.”  I replied sarcastically.  

“Boy, I’ve missed you.”  Shunsui added.  “Now stay here, you don’t wanna be in he middle of this mess.”  

“I don’t even know what’s going on!”  I yelled but it was pointless as they were already gone.  Huffing I sat back down on bench trying to ignore the stares of a couple of stragglers who had finally caught wind of my presence.  

The area Kyoraku had left me in was still a ways from the heart of the party but it was close enough that I wouldn’t be left alone.  

“Zume!”  A male voice cried from a distance.  “Zume!”  

Turning in several different directions I couldn’t seem to find where the voice had come from or who it belonged to.  It only took me a few moments after that to realize I wasn’t as close to the party as I previously thought and neither was the voice calling out my name.  It had been so long since I came that close to losing all control over myself and becoming the monster I know that lurks inside me and I also forgot in that time how much more my sense expanded from inhuman level they were now.  

“Thank Kami, Suzume, are you alright?”  Shühei panted, sliding to a stop and throwing his arms around me, effectively knocking us both off the boulder I was sitting on.  

“I’m fine, idiot,”  I grouched, rolling us to my side and pushing him off me.  

“You sure as hell don’t look fine, you look like you were just put through one of Captain Kurotsuchi’s experiments.”  He gripped back, pointing his bony fingers into the tight wraps around my chest, the only thing keeping him from getting a full show, he added.  “What the Hell happened?  Do you know who that is fighting out there!”

I shook my head as he continued to rant and yell.  Looking down at myself I take note that my most cherished kimono lay in ruins, hanging from my waist with only my obi holding my skirts together to keep my lower half covered.  When my anger slowly ebbed away I wasn’t anything more than a gigantic mass of boneless sobs, streaked with sweat and tears.  Of course, Hisagi reacts the same way any other man in his position would react when dealing with a hysterical woman, he panics.

“Shit- no, don’t cry,”  He shouted frantically, hoisting me up into his arms.  “I don’t want that big baboon kickin’ my ass next.”  

“W-what?”  I gasped, my eyes going wide in astonishment.

He looked down at me with a smug smile, “You mean you couldn’t feel it? Renji showed up just as Captain Kyoraku flash stepped away with you… he was pretty pissed at Captain Kuchiki when he saw what shape you were in.”  

Staring up at him in confusion and disbelief I asked with trembling lips, “Why?”

He sighed long and clucked his tongue at me.  “You just don’t get it, do you?”  When I didn’t reply he sat me back down on my boulder and crossed his arms.  “Look, I’ve known Renji a hell of a long time and Kami knows he ain’t no saint… but I’ve never seen him once with a girl other than Rukia out in public.  He really likes you, Zume.”  

With a loud yawn I nodded and tried to stand.  My legs quaked with the effort and when my knees gave out strong arms lifted me.  Looking up with tired eyes to thank my friend I let out a startled gasp as my gaze fell up concerned nut-brown eyes.  “Hey,” he smiled leaning down to catch me under the crook of my knee and lifting me in a bridal carry.  “Just take it easy.”  

I nodded to tired to argue and snuggled into his chest.  “Wanna go back to the party or would you rather go home?”

“Home.”  I whispered, my eyes to heavy to even look up as the blackness swallowed me.  

~

The next morning came with a twittering of birds and sunshine.  Every joint and muscle in my body ached and groaned with every movement.  

“Are you feeling better, dear heart?”  My fathers concerned voice carried to my ears.

Opening my eyes slow and deliberately, as not to blind myself with the early morning sun.  He was hunched over me, a wet cloth in hand and I could tell just by looking at him that he had worried himself sick throughout the night.  

“Well enough, Father.”  I told him sarcastically, raising to a sitting position.  “So I take it you know what happened?”  

He nodded.  “Are you disappointed in me, Father?”

He chuckled at my worried face, “Child, you forget that I once was young and I too had a hard time controlling my temper in my youthful years.”

“It was not unprovoked.”  I told him scornfully, jutting my chin in the air though it was done with false conviction.  Truthfully, I was angry with myself more than I could ever be at Lord Kuchiki, though I didn’t feel he was completely innocent from the resent conflict.

“As I was told.”  He answered his eyes narrowing as his gloved finger gripped my chin and forced me to look at him.

“By whom?”  I asked, wondering who had come this morning while I still slumbered to regale my father with the tale of my misdeeds.  

“I’ve had many visitors this morning, Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku, who came by to retrieve a certain article of clothing.  I must admit that at first I didn’t know what to think when Captain Abarai showed up last night, carrying you in his arms with you wearing not but the captain’s robes of the Thirteenth Division.  The man was positively frantic in his worry for you.  It took me a moment, but once I saw the blood on your mouth and under your nails, I understood.”  

“I’m ashamed of myself.”  I whispered, tightening my arms around myself, hoping to keep the pain and hurt inside.  

“Hisagi said as much when he stopped by this morning to check on you…”  he trailed off with a smirk pulling at his muzzle.  “along with a certain man whose name you kept calling in your sleep.”  

My eyes that had been downcast shot open as blush scorched my face.  “F-father?”  I questioned searching his eyes, praying he was just teasing me.  

“Do not worry, young one.  I was the same way with your mother.”  He laughed sliding to one knee to rise.  

I clutched at his pant leg before he could escape,  “B-but, I just met him?”  

“Yes,” he replied, his face softening to a nostalgic understanding.  “but our kind are different in our affections, never forget that.”  Striding across the room with heavy footsteps he stopped just in the entrance to bid me farewell.  “Father, will I be punished for actions against Captain Kuchiki?”  “I asked before he made it fully out the door.

He sighed, leaning on the door frame, hunching over as to not hit his head.  “I do not believe so, Captain’s Kyoraku, Ukitake, Hisagi and Abarai all spoke with the Captain Commander this morning on your behalf, and Genryüsai knows the difficult time I had with such things when I was just a pup.  I must leave for the Division.  Take all the time you need today… I’m sure you are sore.”  

I nodded, blowing him a kiss as he filed out the door, his robes swishing loudly with each step.  

~

I tried laying in bed, I tried taking a bath but no matter the task I couldn’t get him off my mind.  What would he think of me now?  Would I become the monster I tried to warn him I was?  Would he be lost to me?  The last thought did not sit well with me at all and it bothered me more than it should.  Why should I care if he was still interested in me or not?  Because you’re already crazy about him, that’s why!  

With a heavy sigh, I dressed and readied myself for another day of tedious forms and squad evaluations.  I did notice, however that I put special care into my appearance this morning; making sure my hair was expertly brushed to a high glossed shine and styled with just as much care.  I even gave my powder box a wary glance before deciding against it.  I rarely wore makeup and figured if I really was helping Iba with Squad Member Assessments that I would more than like sweat it off anyhow.

The streets of the Serieitei seemed almost barren to me as the city took on the feel of almost a ghost town, but that was fine with me.  Not knowing how the others would react to what happened between the famous Captain and I had my stomach in knots and my nerves in an uproar.  

As the day wore on my previous snide comments about tedious paperwork seemed to come back and bight me in the ass.  Not once did I lift a brush.  My day was spent outside, used as a calibrator of sorts for Lieutenant Iba’s “tests”.  

By the time my shift was nearly over, I wanted nothing more than to shower and fall into bed, not to be bothered again until the morning.  Only one of those request was met.  

Freshly showered and in a clean uniform, I sat in front of the mirror in my barracks room, trying to re-pin my hair to its former glory.  

“Does he know?”  Iba said kneeling behind me, though he seemed to come out of nowhere.  

I shrieked, spinning around and clutching at my chest, I gasped.  “What are you doing in here, and what are you talking about?”  

The longer he sat there motionless and silent the more I wanted to smack the tinted spectacles from his face.  His hands were shaking but his face remained aloof as he hesitantly reached out towards me.  “Does your father know who hurt you?”  

“H-how… you saw didn’t you?”  I asked in outrage.  Not really upset with him for something so out of his control but once again at myself, that totaled a whopping three people that knew about my scars now and it was still just my third week.  

He nodded.  “Just for a moment.”  he answered solemnly, growing quiet again before he softly spoke.  “My mother used to beat me with Kidö chains when I was young, though never to that extent.  It must have been a very powerful Kidö Master to have left such marks and was unafraid of the consequences behind using it on the Captain’s daughter.”  

Tears were already falling from my eyes when I muttered.  “Yes… he is.”  

For the first time during our conversation a spark of anger could be seen in his features.  “It was that bastard of an Uncle of yours, isn’t it?”  

Neither denying or confirming I commanded.  “You must not tell anyone. Promise me, Tetsuzaemon?”  

“I cannot and will not make that promise.  But I will promise not to tell unless asked.”  

“Thank you.”  

“Now, I need you to deliver some blank forms to the Squad Three.  But after I want to take you somewhere, it will not heel those scars but perhaps we can hide them with something beautiful.”  He told me, a small and rare smile gracing his lips.  He rose suddenly.  “Well, I’m off to spar with Maderame.”  

“You mean you’re off to get drunk.”  I snarked.

“Cleaver girl, you know me so well.”  

“Hardly, the whole of the Serieitei know you that well.”

~

With my mood elevated I was practically skipping when I entered through the Squad three gates, blowing past the gawking underclassman who if I didn’t know better, would think had never seen a woman before.  Some were even bold enough to make cat-calls and other obscene gestures and the deep into the courtyard I got the more I regretted not bringing an escort.  

“Damn, you here for me, baby?”  One would call.

“Look at the ass on that.  I hate to see her go but I love to watch her leave.”  Another one said, and I gulped.  

A dense circle of black robes had surrounded me, and everyone of them was hell bent on riling me up.  One particularly brave one left the crowd and approached me but just as the filth started to spew from his mouth a commanding voice shouted.  “Wait are you idiots gawking at?  FALL IN LINE!”  

Sighing in relief at the sound of his voice, I turned and smiled.  “Suzume,”  he smiled, embarrassing me as he wrapped an arm around me and kissed my cheek.  “How are you?”

“Been better,”  I replied, jerking my chin at the line of morons who deemed themselves the creators of my irritation.  

His eyes narrowed and his arm tightened as he turned again to face his men.  “You morons were looking at my woman?”  I looked down to hide my embarrassment as his men all muttered out their excuses, but when I did look down I wished I hadn’t.  

What is he wearing?  I internally gasped, my entire body heating with the force of my blush.  He was wearing nothing more than a glorified sleeping robe.  

If he noticed my embarrassment he didn’t comment, but he did kiss the top of my head and pull me off in the direction of his office, yelling over his shoulders.  “Get your asses in formation!  Drill 33! Anyone that stops before I return gets to take a vacation to Squad 12, understood?”

“YES, SIR!”

“You know,”  I giggled, trying not to openly laugh at the men being punished behind me.  “You really didn’t have to do that, it was fine?”  

He stopped, turning me to face him before cupping my face with his palm. “Sure I did. You’re not just some floozy, you’re a lady and they need to learn respect. Now, come on, I’m sure you came here for a reason?”  

“I did.”  I said following him again.

“Well come on and tell me all about it.”

3.) A Party to Remember

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, ect., are the property of their respective owners.  The original characters and plot are the property of the author.  The author is no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.  No copyright infringement is intended.

Warnings: Rated Mature for language, gore and adult situations.  Readers under the age of 18 are discouraged from reading.

Pineapple Hearts & Sparrow Kisses

Chapter Three

“A Party To Remember”

~ Suzume ~

Kuchiki Clan Symbol

The simple act of my name spilling from his lips in such a sensual manner sent a wave of heat pooling in by belly.  Suddenly the cool October air was absolutely stifling. 

From the next carriage over I could hear Shühei’s loud cackling and Rangiku’s tinkling laugh as we pulled up to the front gates of the Kuchiki manor.  “Yeah, try drinking with her and find out!”  He yelled, louder than necessary while helping to unload Rangiku without tearing her delicate robes. 

“Shü!”  I hissed, my face turning the color of the yuri flower petals I had bathed in not an hour previous.  If I were within reach of slapping him, I would have but all I could do was sit and wait for my escort to release me from the confines of our carriage.

“To his credit, Shühei at least had the decency to look ashamed as he muttered an apology through his laughter.  “Don’t worry about him,”  Renji old me, holding out his hand to help me from the lift.  “He’s just jealous that he’s been bested by a woman as beautiful as you.” 

“Thank you,”  I replied sincerely, taking his hand but instead of holding me steady as I maneuvered myself to the ground, his other hand came up to grip my waist as he lifted me effortlessly in one strong maneuver. 

He chuckled at my surprised gasp before setting me on my feet.  “It was easier that way,”  he told me, his smirk growing wider as his eyes cut to the left, slightly embarrassed.  A tick I noticed this morning when I teased him about this less than stellar adventures in Basic Kidö.

“Awe, Renji-kun,” Shühei taunted.  “I didn’t know you could be so romantic.” 

“Shut up, idiot, you’re just mad ‘cause you didn’t think of it first.” 

Rolling my eyes, I ignored the display of testosterone poisoning these two seemed to display whenever their company met and followed Rangiku through the entrance, leaving our brave male escorts to their womanly bickering.

~

“Are they always like this?”  I asked, smiling in amusement as I thought about the two men still arguing at our backs.  They had been long forgotten as we waded our way through the dense crowd.

We had already settled into an easy conversation over a cup of sake while making our rounds amongst Rangiku’s friends.  I was nervous, of course at meeting them, but as Motsumoto had ensured, they were all descent people and none passed judgment at my differences that she swore she didn’t see in the first place.

“Pretty much,”  she giggled, gulping down another dish, her cheeks tinting with the potency of the alcohol.  “They’ve been like that since I can remember, though, it does seem like they’ve been taking it up a notch now that you’re in the picture.”

The sake Rangiku had pressed upon me nearly came back up.  I spluttered and coughed,  “What?”

She giggled again, the strong rice wine was obviously starting to taint her mind.  “Tell me you didn’t notice?”

“Notice what?”

She huffed in annoyance.  “You really don’t notice.”  When I said nothing, she huffed again.  “Renji has been practically preening himself around like a peacock to get your attention.”

The deepening color of my cheeks was my only response. 

As the party progressed Renji’s attention was diverted by several of his squad members asking him questions.  As time went on the hope that I had been secretly keeping close to my heart, that Renji hadn’t just asked me here out of propriety was slowly fading.

I tried to ignore it. 

Rangiku was even more of a delight drunk than she was sober and I learned quickly that nothing was sacred to her while drinking. 

Ikkaku Madarame & Yumichika Ayasegawa

I met many of the other squad lieutenants and higher seated officers.  By far the most interesting being Ikkaku Madarame, the acting captain for Squad Five.  He was loud, crass and held no reservations when voicing his thoughts or opinions.  The other was undoubtedly Yumichika Ayasegawa, Third seat of the Eleventh.  He was the total opposite of his friend and former squad member.  The man nearly bowled me over at first sight, gushing over my beauty. 

Then there was Lt. Seinosuke Yamada of the Sixth that gave the desired effect I’d been waiting for all night. 

It was mere minutes between the dark haired, handsome lieutenant approached me and the time I felt a large, muscled arm drape over my shoulder.  The scent was unmistakable to my overly sensitive nose.  Persimmons and tanned leather.

Renji.

I smiled foolishly.

Seinosuke Yamada

“Captain Abarai,”  the man stuttered, bowing low.  “Forgive me, I didn’t know Miss Komamura was here with you.” 

Having never considered myself the type of woman who would normally encourage such barbaric behavior concerning me, I wanted to throttle him for his macho man rendition.  Yet, I still let it slide. 

While Seinosuke was handsome and polite, there was still something about the man that scent a trail of shivers down my spine.  He made my skin crawl.  Something was seriously off about him and I always trusted my instincts.  He made me feel very uncomfortable in his presence.

“Go find your master and leave Miss Komamura to me.”  Renji sneered, his arm tightening around my waist as he spoke. 

Though it wasn’t the first time a man had touched me, it was by far the most pleasant.  I relished the head that seeped through the heavy garment I wore. 

The lieutenant seemed to pale before my very eyes.  He shock his head emphatically and scurried away muttering a “Yes sir.”

“You alright?”  Renji asked me, letting his arms slip slowly from my waist.  It was disappointing yet understandable.  “I know he can be a little intense if you’re not used to him.” 

“I’m fine.”  I replied smiling, happy he was concerned enough to come find me.  

Ichigo Kurosaki & Rukia Kuchiki

“Sorry ‘bout earlier, a Captain’s duties never end.”  he said taking my hand in his as he lead me to another group of Captains and Lieutenants, some I recognized and some I didn’t.  I also met briefly with both Ichigo and Rukia and found them to be quiet the pair.  Loud, argumentative and absolutely perfect for each other. 

Since Rukia was a dear friend of Renji’s, I extended my hospitality and offered her and her friends an open ended invite to my house for tea.  She graciously excepted.  Truthfully, I couldn’t wait to get to know the woman on her own time and away from the prying eyes of others.  She was fascinating to me in the way that Rangiku was… but unlike Rangiku, Rukia and I have shared the gilded cage of nobility. 

~

As the sky darkened and the announcement were being made I felt the hot breath of my escort flutter behind the point of my ear as he whispered.  “Wanna take a walk?”

Trembling from his close proximity, I nodded and took his proffered elbow and allowed him to lead me away from the great mass of the party and into an uninhabited area of the Kuchiki grounds. 

We walked in silence for the most part, coming to stop just at the highest point of a bridge overlooking a decorative coy pond.  The last light of day was peeking over the snow capped peeks in the distance. 

I sighed, leaning against the railing as I looked to the heavens, lost to my own thoughts.  Most of them directed at the man standing just to my right.  

The sky was swirled in dusky hues of pinks and purples, the Hunter’s moon already visible overhead and the Northern star seemed to be winking at me in the distance.  From my peripheral, I saw him come to rest on his elbows against the banister. 

“Are you enjoying yourself?”  he asked suddenly.

I startled a little at the abrupt break in the silence but smiled nonetheless.  “Yes, thank you for inviting me.”  I replied, turning my attention from the loud roars of laughter and shouting from where the party was still in full swing and back to his handsome face.  “It was nice thing for you to do.”

“Nice?”  He asked as his eyebrows shot up into his thick black bandanna, a confused look adorning his features as he studied me carefully.  “Wait a minute… you think-”  he stepped forward, grasping both of my hands in his.  “You think I asked you here just to be polite, don’t you?”

“Well, I…”  I trialed off, not really sure how this would come across, that was if I could even form a sentence with him touching me to begin with.

“Look,”  he said, lifting my chin to gaze into his nut-brown eyes.  “I’ll admit that I might have never have had the never to speak to you if Shühei hadn’t told me what an incredible person you are, but I didn’t invite you here out of pity.  I asked you here because I thought you were amazing and I wanted to get to know you.  I’m glad I took the chance in asking you.”

“Yeah?”  I asked, my voice tittering nervously as he closed the distance between us. 

“Yeah,”  he replied softly.

Locking eyes with me, he leaned in and my eyes fell shut as his warm cheek ghosted mine.  His breath fanned across in an enticingly sweet mixture of fruit and alcohol as he whispered,  “Can I kiss you?” 

With his mouth a hairsbreadth away from my own I found it hard to concentrate on any one thought that wasn’t surrounding his pillow soft lips. 

I nodded and whispered a subtle but audible yes. 

“Captain Abarai!”  A young man yelled, pushing his way up the bridge.  The man was obviously a Third division member and Renji was clearly this youth’s idol.  If the facial tattoo’s were anything to go by.  If it wasn’t due to the frustrations of my almost first kiss I might have found it funny that the officers appearance was so close in nature to Renji’s but as it was, I found very little about this situation, funny.

Renji groaned, pulled away slowly as he mouthed an inaudible ‘sorry’ at me before turning to his subordinate and barked out.  “Rikichi, what’s so important that you had to interrupt me right now?” 

The young man looked startled as it dawned on him that his captain wasn’t solely on his own company.  “A thousand pardons, Sir, but Captain Zaraki and Mr. Kurosaki are at it again and I fear they may kill each other this time.  Lady Kuchiki begged me to send for you.”  He said all in one whoosh of air and I marveled at the sight, wondering how he had not passed out mid rant. 

“Damn,”  Renji sighed, rubbing his hands over his face in clear irritation before directing his attention back to his underling.  “Why didn’t I feel their Reiatsu if they’re killing each other?” 

“Well Sir,”  the kid looked a little green as he stammered out his reply, evidently he already knew his Captain wasn’t going to be happy with his reply.  “They’re not sparing with weapons.” 

As Renji grunted and cursed, I realized that I was the only person here not privy to the circumstances surrounding the two captains in question but it was made abundantly clear when Renji started muttering about not baby-sitting ‘his friends’ drunk husband.

“Alright, I’ll take care of it.  Tell Rukia I’ll be right there.” 

“Yes, Sir, right away.”  He nodded with a smile and using shunpo disappeared in the direction he came from. 

With his shoulder hunched and his face turned to me, he gave me a hesitant smile before cupping my cheek sweetly and laying upon it a chaste kiss.  “I’m sorry about this.  I’ll be back in a few minutes.”  After another kiss to the other cheek, he added.  “Don’t go anywhere.” 

“Alright,”  I replied easily, watching with a swelled heart as he too disappeared in the direction of the party.

~

The shimmering glow of the night soon followed, illuminating all of Serieitei in a milky light.  The gardens where I had been left were stunning during the setting sun but like most nocturnal predators, I lived for the night and found the inky sky comforting.

Moon Flower

Taking Renji’s request into consideration, I decided not to travel far from the bridge, only straying into the outer garden walls to watch the moon flowers bloom.  I wasn’t made aware that they even existed in the Serieitei, and especially not in the vast numbers I saw here. 

It was almost a wistful feeling that came over me as I took in the delicate white blossoms unfurling to taste the sweet nectar of the night air and I couldn’t help but think of my mother.  The Ipomoea were always her favorite in the gardens of home.  Thinking back now, I believe she may have connected them somehow with her love for father. 

Letting the milky colored petals caress my fingertips, softer than the finest silk, I started to hum.  It was an old song, a song sung by my father’s people and was taught to me after my mother’s passing as a way to comfort myself when far from home. 

“What are you doing here?”  A voice commanded, strong and frightening. 

I whirled around, my fist clutching at the V of my Kimono as my eyes darted trying to locate the origin of the voice.  The figure was easy enough for me to spot, obviously a male.  He was standing tall and ominous just under the Sakura tree not thirty yard away.  At first it was difficult for me to make a confirmation of identity with the moon’s cast blinding my eyes to anything covered in shadow, but as he stepped forward his identity was unmistakable. 

A gasp caught in my throat as hard, steel gray eyes locked on mine, hardening further with each step he took.  “Lord Kuchiki,”  I stuttered, throwing myself into a low hesitation.  “Forgive my ignorance, I did not know it was you.”

Captain Byakuya Kuchiki of the Sixth

“I will ask again, why are you here?  This garden is private and off limits to guests.”  he sneered, his tone cold as ice as he spoke to me like I was no more than a pebble in his shoe.

“Pardon, your Lordship, I was unaware.”  I replied keeping my tone even and polite while trying to keep my steadily growing temper under control. 

It took many years of conditioning and constant meeting with Kidö chain to gain this kind of control.  I hated men like him, but my upbringing demanded I show him respect despite my feelings.

“Rise,”  he commanded.  Biting my tongue to the point of pain, I obeyed.  He took a minute to circle me, much like a cat would do to a wounded mouse.  “I do not recall ever having seen your face before.  Who are you?” 

With another bow of my head, I answered.  “Suzume Komamura Kannogi, My Lord.”

He stopped abruptly as I knew he would after hearing my name.  “Kannogi, you say?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

He hummed to himself and circled me once more, this time his eyes were calculating and pressing.  “Why is it you are with escort, such things are improper for a Lady of your station.”

“My escort was called away for an emergency, he should return momentarily.”  I responded coolly, still not raising my head fully but never taking my eyes off him either.  Trusting a man like him was something I was very unwilling to do, I had learned my lesson years ago that men to rich and powerful for their own good, will take what they wish without asking and I had no desire to have flesh cleaved from bone for denying those wishes.

“Tell me the name of this escort and I will see you safely back to him.”  he might have been honestly to do a good deed, but even his suggestion sounded like a demand to my ears.

I didn’t like it.

“Captain Abarai.”

“Captain Abarai is not worthy of escorting you.  He is considerably under your station and it would be frowned upon by your family.   I will escort you home.”  he finished, waving his hand to shoo away any concerns I might have had with his demands. 

It had been building since the man, gorgeous or not, decided to speak and I had expended to much of myself trying to tramp down the biting fire growing in my chest.  So when he spoke again, in command, my long controlled temper… snapped.

“Speak,”  he commanded me as if I were his fucking dog.

My Reiatsu flared sending a brilliant shimmer of gold into the night air.  I knew my body was trembling and my hidden nature was unveiling itself.  “How dare you!”  I snarled, blood and salvia dripping down my chin as my canines lengthened and the burn of my venom coated my teeth and tongue. 

Suzume's Wolf Form

One bite, I told myself.  Just one bite and the great Captain Kuchiki would be no more.

“You may consider Captain Abarai below the dishonorable house of my birth, but he is the escort of my choosing and will be respected as such.  I demand it so.”  I heaved feeling the powerful burn of my joints twisting and relocating and the ripping of my flesh as it extended.  It was the most glorious feeling, to let that power go… to see it realized once again after so many years of it lying dormant in my human shell. 

As my senses clouded and my eyes tinged red, I could faintly make out Hisagi yelling for someone throught the thick hum of power surrounding me.  Perhaps he was yelling at me.  Then just as suddenly as it started, a swath of pink silk covered my eyes and the warm scent of vanilla and spiced apples filled my nose.

It was warm and comforting but it was not the scent I craved the most. 

Captain Kyoraku of the Eighth

“Suzume!”  Kyoraku wailed using the false tone I recognized as a ploy to direct prying eyes away from the real issue at hand.  The issue was a serious one.  It was the closest I had ever come to killing a human. 

He huddled my face to my chest and quietly whispered in my ear.  “I’ve got you now, sweetheart.  You just take a deep breath for you old Shun-kun.”

With a great distortion in the air around us and subtly jostle of my back, I knew he had used shunpo to remove me from further temptation.  As the red fog around my eyes cleared, reality set in and with a strangled sob, I realized what I had done. 

2.) Daydreams and Reality

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, ect., are the property of their respective owners.  The original characters and plot are the property of the author.  The author is no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.  No copyright infringement is intended.

Warnings: Rated Mature for language, gore and adult situations.  Readers under the age of 18 are discouraged from reading.

Pineapple Hearts & Sparrow Kisses

Chapter Two

“Daydreams and Reality”

~ Suzume ~

Gates Of The Seventh

The walk to my division was a bit uncomfortable as Hisagi continued to harass and tease me about Captain Abarai’s blatant fascination with me. 

Admittedly, I was both excited and nervous about the upcoming outing with my new friends.  It had been so long since I had spent time with companions of my choosing that I wasn’t all that sure where to begin.  An outing of any kind in my past was such a coordinated affair that I usually found myself in the throws of a full blown panic attack long before the event itself started.  That was not something I was looking forward to this evening.  Hisagi assured me that this party was nothing like what I was used to and that I shouldn’t worry.  Easier said than done. 

It was in Hisagi’s second verse of Renji and Zume sitting in a tree that it hit me.  It slammed into me like a tidal wave of nerves, instantly halting my stride as I stood wide eyed and basically glued to the seki-seki stone beneath my feet. 

Did Renji ask me on a date?  Was he courting me?

“Sure seems like it t’me.”  Shühei commented with a rye smirk.  His face was highly amused but the longer I stood there gaping and staring into space the more he seemed to grow concerned. 

Oh Kami, I just said that out loud, didn’t I?

“Yeah, ya did.  You alright, Zume?” 

“No!”  I yelled frantically.  It wasn’t directed at him but was meant more as a scolding for myself for being so naïve.  “He invited you as a guest.  He was merely being polite to a new recruit.”  I told myself through a deep breath, shrugging off the slight disappointment that followed my own revelation. 

“Whatever you say,”  my friend chuckled, ignoring my slight bout of insanity.  “I know Renji and he wouldn’t have asked if he wasn’t interested.” 

“Really?”  I asked a little more hopeful.

“Really.”  He agreed. 

~

After leaving Shühei at the gates of the Seventh, I entered the inner courtyard with a silly smile on my face.  Tetsuzaemon shot me several concerned looks as I drifted past throughout the day, but I was on cloud nine and paid him little mind.

Lt. Tetsuzaemon Iba of the Seventh

My duties for the day were relatively simple and for that I was grateful.  Most of my morning was done playing catch-up with the paperwork left over from the previous Third seat and by mid-day, I would’ve been happy to never see a few of the repeating documents ever again. 

My day brightened marginally with a new recruit just after my lunch.  As it was my duty to meet and greet any of the new female subordinates, I was to oversea our new squad member.  Misuke was friendly and everything I had hoped for in a fellow female officer.  She was a petite woman with short blonde hair in the most adorable pigtails and caring blue eyes.  We spent the remainder of the day showing her around the barracks and making sure she was settled, ending our day with making sure all of her entrance paperwork was completed and her physical was up to par.  

Mizuke

Though, most of my day was spent day-dreaming about a certain red-headed captain, a man who for the life of me I couldn’t understand.  What interest could he possibly have in a woman like me.  I tried to tramp down my nerves the best I could.  I kept holding on to Hisagi’s words of encouragement from earlier but found the nerves difficult to shirk with my Uncle’s voice in my head.

For so long he had instilled insecurities and negativity, forcing onto me his belief that no man of worth would ever want me. 

Freak… Demon… Spawn of Hell…

His words were a constant reminder of my differences and exactly where I stood in family standings…

No, I told myself.  Shühei would never allow me to get hurt.  He wouldn’t lie to me. 

With my hopes renewed, I allowed myself to feel as any other woman would when faced with an evening shared with an impossibly handsome man.  Thrilled. 

~

When the clock chimed six o’clock, I breezed from the office, happy and now more excited than ever for the evening to come.  Clutching a beautiful hibiscus I picked from the private gardens, I practically floated past my father.  

Captain Sajin Komamura of the Seventh

He chuckled at my antics as I circled him spinning and dipping to the song only I could hear.  “What has you so happy, child?” 

I beamed at him, for once not caring if I exposed the small but sharp canines I had always fought to keep hidden in the past.  Nothing, I just ran into Shühei this morning.”

Taking my hand and spinning me once, he smiled.  “Yes, Captain Hisagi has missed you greatly, but I hardly think seeing your childhood companion would bring about such a glow to your cheeks.  You are positively radiant.” 

“Well,”  I answered sweetly if not hesitantly.  I was still unsure how father would react to his only child, his daughter being called upon by a fellow Captain.  So, I decided to be vague, totally aware that it was more than likely fit to failure.  He would see right through my skirting.   “I was asked to the gathering for Lt. Kuchiki and Ichigo Kurosaki.” 

His eyes narrowed in thought as he grasped his chin, pinning me to were I stood with his calculating gaze.  “I still find it hard to believe you are this happy because Shühei-”  he stopped his eyes going wide with understanding before his whole face dissolved into a dopy smile.  “Captain Hisagi was not the man who asked you, was he?”

I shook my head to the negative, my cheeks burning and my smile going impossibly wider.  “No father, he was not.”  

“Intriguing,”  he commented, very professional like as he puffed up his chest and took the tough father stance.  “And who may I ask has called upon my daughter?”

My face was flaming as I replied.  “Captain Abarai.”  

“Abarai, huh?”  he replied despondently, scratching at his muzzle again and giving nothing away.  If he approved or not, I couldn’t tell.  “He’s a good man.  Honest and a honored warrior.  But Suzume, be careful-”

“Why?”  I nearly shrieked, searching his face.  Was I making a poor decision in seeing this man outside of our duties to the Soul Society?  “Is there something wrong with Captain Abarai?”

“Not at all,”  he answered immediately, his eyes shining with mirth as he threw his head back with full belly laugh.  “I was merely commenting on the fact that you, no matter the age, are still my child.”  He said seriously, then added.  “That and I’ve heard that his bankai is particularly vicious, don’t go making the boy jealous…” 

I laughed along with him this time, taking the proffered hem of his captains robes as we departed from the grounds together, heading for home.

~

It wasn’t long after I arrived home that I found myself in a tailspin of strong nerves as I dug through the countless boxes of kimono and obi’s I had strolled through the dressing area of my bedchamber.  I fretted over the color and tread counts, not wanting to go dressed to formally nor too informally.  After all, the Kuchiki’s were nobility. 

Then there was the question of seasonal patterns.  Was it too early for winter patterns and fabrics? 

I sighed, getting angry with myself. 

Never in all my years of being formally courted had I ever spent so much time trying to impress a man, yet here I was falling all over myself for a man I wasn’t even sure was interested in me romantically.

After a few more minutes of wanting to tear the mahogany locks from my head, I decided to drown my frustrations in a bath of sandalwood and yuri and forgo the decision all together until I had relaxed.

My bath was pleasant and exactly what I needed to relieve some of the stress.  Forcing myself to look at this situation in a new light.  Even if Renji’s intentions were just of a friendly nature I would take it in stride and be happy in the making of a new friend. 

Keep telling yourself that, Zume!  I thought, almost hatefully at myself. 

A knock on the door caused me to halt in the setting of my hair.  “Mistress?”

“Yes, what is it?”  I asked, struggling with a stubborn pin at the crown of my head. 

“You have a visitor?”  Cho replied nervously.

“Who is it?”  I nearly yelled, my heart racing as I fully panicked. 

He wasn’t supposed to be here until seven… I was supposed to have another thirty minutes!

“A Miss Matsumoto, Mistress.  Shall I show her in?”

Sighing in relief, I laughed.  “Yes.”

She entered similarly to this morning, in a flurry of pink silk and grand smiles.  “Wow,”  she stated straight off the bat.  “I never knew Komamura had such a swanky place, is he nobility?”  she asked, surveying my room and some of the trinkets my mother had collected over the years. 

“No,”  I answered truthfully.  “My mother was.”

“Huh?”  was all she said as she started shifting through the forgotten boxes packed with kimono that lined the floor.  “Well, Shühei said something about you being nervous about what to wear tonight, so I thought I’d come lend a hand.”

“Thank you,”  I told her sincerely, then added with a laugh.  “I don’t even know why I’m so flustered to begin with.  I don’t even know if this is a date.” 

Her face grew serious as she shook out a dusty chocolate overcoat, sparsely decorated with printed and embroidered fall leaves.  The embroidery matched my eye color perfectly.  It was one of my favorites.  “Oh, It’s a date alright.”  she told me, flinging the chocolate garment into my lap and reaching for another box.  “Shü told me what a bumbling idiot Renji was when he first met you.  Is it true that he just stared for the first five minutes?”

“Yes,”  I answered, my cheeks tinting as I thought back to the dumbstruck look on his face. 

Plucking another strand of hair and securing it with a fall inspired comb, I added in a whisper,  “I thought he was just noticing my differences.” 

She looked thoughtful for a moment, then tossed a beautiful silk piece of burnt orange and copper at me along with a crimson obi detailed with an embroidered forest of barren trees.  “Well, I was with Renji after you left, hiding from my captain, you know.”  she stated as if she were speaking of the weather outside.  “I’ve never seen him so speechless, he could barely form commands for Izuru when he arrived at the Third.  It was pretty funny.” 

It may have been the look of pure disbelief that colored my face or the fact that I had completely stopped moving that sent Rangiku into such a distress.  But before I knew it she was kneeled before me shaking my shoulder and rambling about Renji would kill her for breaking me. 

When I finally came too, you couldn’t wife the silly smile from my face or the ridiculous blush that seemed to be permanently pinking my cheeks.  “Thank you, Rangiku.” 

She smiled at me, a true genuine smile as she patted my hand.  “No problem.” 

~

By time the doorman announced the arrival of my guests my nerves had returned with a vengeance and wave after wave of dizziness hit me.

“Just breathe, Zume.”  Ran scolded.  Her eyes were suggesting that she was frustrated with me, but also concerned.  “You look beautiful and you’ll see that Renji’s not worth half the fuss you’re making over him.” 

“It’s just that… I’ve never-”

She cut me off with an impatient scowl.  “Well there’s a first time for everything.  Now, get out there and make him stupid with your beauty.”  She commanded with a generals order complete with stomping her foot and pointing out my door.

~

As we entered into the gathering area of my father’s den I could fairly easily pick up the voices of three men?  Three?  I thought curiously before I all at once, understood.  Father!

Dragging a protesting Rangiku the rest of the distance was surprisingly harder than I thought it would be as she struggled, begging me to tell her what was wrong.  But as we came closer a look of amusement and understanding seemed to radiate from her. 

Rangiku stopped me at the entrance, signaling for me to wait and watch before doing any rash, like bursting into the room and threatening to shave my old man bald!  After a moment, I was glad she did. 

My father in all his wolf glory was hounding my date and Shühei for information about this evening.  Renji took it all in stride, answering question after question with respect and enthusiasm.  He even cracked a few jokes that had my father smiling warmly at him.   Shühei, who was obviously used to my father’s ways, looked terribly bored and practically flew from he seat when he became aware of our presence. 

Renji stood just after my friend and then froze.  That same dumbfounded look was quickly crossing his features as he basically ogled me in front of my father.  

I took the quiet moment to do much the same.  He was just as gorgeous as he was this morning.  Tall but not ridiculously so, standing just a few inches above Shühei.  He was lithe but not scrawny and it was easy to ascertain that he was built for combat.  I studied everything about him from his long garnet hair that spilled from under his black bandanna, to the black robes he wore.  It was fascinating and curious that even with his prestigious status that he never seemed to wear the formal whites of a Captain’s robes, and I wondered why?  To any other they were seen as a badge of worth and honor. 

It took a strong elbow from Hisagi before Renji spluttered to life, and humorously so.  “Ow jackass, what’d you do that for?”   he yelled turning on Hisagi and punching him in the arm.

If I knew Shühei half as well as I thought I did, this was about to become a full on pissing match.  He didn’t disappoint.  “You’re the jackass, jackass!  I was just trying to help out instead of letting you stand there, staring at Captain Kamamaura’s daughter like a t-bone stake!” 

“I was not!”  Renji defended, shaking his fist at Shühei.  By this time Hisagi and Renji were both nose to nose.  Personally, I didn’t think either of them knew what they were arguing about anymore. 

My father’s roar of laughter had me snapping from my astonished staring.  He was rolling on the floor, clutching his sides as tears of joy sprang from his eyes.  It warmed my heart to see him so happy.  After Tösen defected from the Gotei Thirteen, my father wasn’t the same.  It had forever changed him, and it was visible to my eyes even now.  Watching him only strengthened my resolve to kill that bastard before the Winter-war was all said and done.  I would go against orders should I have to.

“Excuse me,”  Matsumoto chirped happily as she approached the two circling men with abandon.  Apparently she didn’t deem them threatening enough to even use caution.  “Alright, you two idiots!”  she scolded, throwing their heads together.  “We’ve got a party to get to and free saki to drink.  That is, if you two are done playing with each other.”  she added, giving them a playful smile and a sultry crook of the eyebrow.  It wasn’t lost on me… the insinuation in her gaze. 

The reaction I assumed she was looking for was instantaneous.  They lurched apart, red faced and dusting out their already immaculate uniforms.  “Forgive us,”  they said in unison and bowing to my father who was just sitting up himself.

“Think nothing of it,”  he told them, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes.  “You two are welcome here anytime.  But,”  he paused for effect, his gaze washing pointedly over Renji.  “Take care of my little girl.”

It was plain to me that my father was using his double meaning tactic… and honestly, I didn’t know whether to be moved or offended.  He basically just told a man I just met this morning not to break my heart and not to get me pregnant all in one sentence.

“Father!”  I growled lowly, quietly thanking the heavens that my friends didn’t seem to have the hearing capabilities gifted to my father and I.  I would be mortified to think they heard me growling like a wild animal.

To his benefit, he smiled innocently and acted as though nothing had happened as he ushered us out the door and into the quickly cooling air of the evening. 

“That was entertaining.”  Rangiku commented as the four of us stood at the entrance to my estate, unaware of what had just happened. 

“You can say that again,”  I agreed sarcastically.

A pregnant pause of silence engulfed us as Renji caught my eye once again.  He smiled warmly, his lips tugging up more in the left corner than in the right.  Holding out the crook of his arm for me to take he whispered,  “You look beautiful.”  when I did.

"Thank you,”  I replied nervously, falling into step as we climbed into on of the two man pulled rickshaw carriages that would be our transportation for this evening.  I was admittedly, impressed by the gesture, though I was unsure of what to think to begin with. 

Did you honestly expect him to show up on foot and demand you shunpo there?
~

The ride, though long, was extremely pleasant.  The company was even better. 

Renji was nothing like I expected him to be.  From Shühei’s letters I was expecting a man pure in his lust for battle and dense as they come, but nothing could be further from the truth.  I decided from that moment on to take my own theories on ’not judging a book by its cover’ to heart. 

Captain Abarai was intelligent, sincere and forthcoming.  He held nothing back as he told me about himself, leaving little to the imagination as he spent a particular amount of time discuss his and Lt. Kuchiki’s involvement with one another, or how he was nothing more than a hard working man from the seventy-eighth district of the Rukongai.  

“What about you?”  he asked, nudging me with his shoulder.  “How did you end up friends with Hisagi?”

“Well,”  I told him thoughtfully as I tried to hide my blush.  “I guess I should start by saying that I was not a planned pregnancy for either of my parents.

Ami Kannogi

My mother, as I said, was a noble but unlike many nobles, she was a very kind woman and held no prejudices of anyone.  She took my father’s appearance as nothing more than a difference in skin color or height.  She didn’t care that he wasn’t human, only that the man underneath was goodhearted and honest. 

It wasn’t long after that their relationship developed from friendship into lovers,”  To which I added with a laugh.  “I’m not even sure I understand it… they physical aspect of it, anyways.”

The next part was a little harder to tell.  “My Grandfather, however was not as understanding of their relationship and looked on it as an abomination.  When he found out he forced a terrible ultimatum on my mother.  She could leave him of her own free will.  My father would live and she could keep her unborn child… or, he would’ve had us both killed.

Of course, my mother being the kind of woman that she was couldn’t stand the thought of my father being killed.  She was happy in the understanding that he and I would both be alive and well.”

I chanced a glance at my companion from under the fringe of my bangs.  His face was red and his eyes hard.  I swallowed nervously, wondering what could possibly be going through his mind.  He had been honest with me and I would do the same, even if it meant never seeing him again.  So, I pressed on.

“Things did not turn out as my Grandfather had hoped.  My father stormed his shoji anyways, bent on rescuing my mother as well as revenge against her father.  He was outnumbered and outmatched by the guard, but he fought until he was near death…”  I paused again, letting the unsettling feeling that comes with the near death of a loved one pass.     

“I believe that was when the Captain Commander stumbled upon him and excepted him into the academy.  Unbeknownst to my father, I was already deeply seeded in my mother’s womb.  It wasn’t until shortly before she died did he find out about my existence.”

“I’m so sorry,”  he said, wiping a tear form my eye.  I hadn’t even realized I was crying. 

“It’s alright,”  I told him with a watery laugh.  “Shühei and I met when we were children.  He was a few years older than me but he was the only other child living on the estate with that would play with me.  His mother was my mother’s handmaiden and her greatest friend. 

We did just about everything together until I was forced to leave.  Believe it or not, I was actually with him when he first met Captain Muguruma.” 

“Really?”  He asked me in astonishment. 

“Yes,”  I laughed, playfully smacking his arm.  “I was hiding in a tree just over head.” 

“The Captain didn’t sense you?”  He asked with wide eyes. 

I laughed as his face grew more incredulous by the second.  “Like my father, I’m very good at hiding my Reiatsu.”  I told him a little smugly. 

“Yeah, I guess.  So, it was after that, that you parted ways, right?”  

I nodded.  “Yes, but how-”

“Shühei talked about you a lot at the academy, well… after I saved his ass, anyway.”  he yelled loudly enough that I knew Hisagi had heard him.  “I always kinda thought that you two were… ya know… involved.”  he added quieter. 

“Ew!”  I told him scrunching my nose at the very suggestion.  “He’s like my brother.” 

“Right back at ya, sister…”  Shühei called from the carriage next to us. 

“So, Captain Abarai, what can I expect tonight?”  I asked, switching the subject to a less disgusting nature. 

Honestly, I couldn’t believe I had told him as much as I did.  I’ve always thought of myself as a fairly private person, and only Shühei knew anything of my past before now.  But Renji was different and I found the words spilling from my lips unbidden but I wasn’t sorry in the least for being so open with him. 

“At the party?”  He asked looking a little confused, though I couldn’t understand how the question was in any way unclear to begin with or why he blushed after he responded. 

He chuckled lowly to himself.  “Well, Suzume, you can expect a lot of hung-over Shinigami in the morning.”  He looked at me pointedly before adding.  “And call me Renji, that Captain Abarai stuff is for my subordinates, not you.” 

I smiled, trying no to let his words go to my head.  “There will be a lot of drinking?”  I asked, hoping my question didn’t come out disapprovingly.  I cut my eyes up at him from under my lashes, blushing hotly when I found his gaze already on me. 

“Yeah, most of the wedding party on the grooms side is from the Eleventh and they’re all lushes.”  he said casually, then turned on the rouge charm.  Turning to me with what I considered to be, the sliest smirk I’d ever seen, he asked.  “Do you drink, Suzume?” 

From the next carriage over I could hear Shühei’s loud cackling and Rangiku’s tinkling laugh as we pulled up to the front gates of the Kuchiki manor.  “Yeah, try drinking with her and find out!”  He yelled, louder than necessary while helping to unload Rangiku without tearing her delicate robes.  

Dear Kami!