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thetrinketbox · 9 months

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Drunk again off another crush (Kensei x Reader)

I wrote this for Kensei’s birthday and because he looks so hot in the new anime episodes. My man needs more fics about him! Also available on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49015216 "Congratulations!" "Yeah, who'd've thought an idiot like you would figure out bankai?" "Three cheers for lieutenant Hisagi!" The boisterous cheering filled the bar, a crowd of shinigami clustered together like a flock of crows in their black uniforms. They clinked their glasses together for the umpteenth time that night, Hisagi grinning like a schoolboy. "Thanks, guys!" he said, his cheeks somewhat redder than usual and his hair all mussed up from Ikkaku and Renji constantly ruffling it, like you would to a puppy. From your little corner of the bar, you watched all this going on, trying to look happy about it even as your mood sank lower and lower as the noise and celebrating grew louder. It seemed churlish to feel left out. This was Hisagi's moment, not yours, a celebration of a milestone that not many shinigami ever achieve. You were happy for him; you knew how hard he'd been working to master it and improve his relationship with Kazeshini. When you'd first heard that he'd finally done it, there had been no doubt in your mind that he'd always had what it took. But although you'd helped to arrange this little celebration, even hanging up some of the decorations with some people from Ninth (you weren't even part of Hisagi's division), and though he'd thanked you when you congratulated him and even given you a quick hug that made you feel all tingly, that was about all that had been said. His friends had arrived, first Kira, Renji and Kira and then later Ikkaku, Yumichika, Iba and Rangiku and he'd been swept up in a little bubble comprised of lieutenants (or near enough, in Ikkaku and Yumichika's cases) and suddenly it was like you didn't exist anymore. Like you said, it seemed childish to complain that Hisagi wasn't paying attention to you. You understood he'd obviously mostly want to spend time with his closest friends, the ones who had fought alongside him the longest and seen him in action the most. Seeing their happiness at his success truly was an amazing thing.

But...was it unreasonable you felt left out? Envious? Wishing you could even come close to having companions that cared so much about you? You didn't think it was, so you'd turned to the nearest available source of comfort - alcohol. You were several drinks in now and even though you'd tried to look like you were enjoying yourself, you could feel yourself growing more and more distressed and isolated, sitting nursing a drink you'd stopped actually drinking a while ago, which had turned unpleasantly watery now that the ice cubes had melted, and you weren't drunk enough for that not to matter to you. You pushed it aside in faint disgust, but now you didn't even have the excuse of not wanting to spill your drink - now you were just sitting here feeling abandoned and stupid. As Kira poured Hisagi another drink, you caught something flicker in your peripheral vision and turned your head to see a captain's robe, a stark contrast to all the black uniforms. Shit, when had Muguruma gotten here? Or wait, he'd been here before, hadn't he? That's right - Mashiro had gotten her hands on a whole bottle of vodka and mistaken it for something much milder. She'd chugged damn near the whole bottle and passed out, and Kensei had been forced to take her to Fourth Division before she did anything else stupid - apparently she had a nasty habit of abruptly thrashing awake and kicking, and Kensei was one of the only people strong enough to keep her steady and not be winded by her famous legs, so he'd vanished for a good chunk of the evening. You couldn't help but wonder if he'd purposefully taken longer than he needed to, so he didn't have to listen to the racket of his subordinate and other lieutenants getting wasted - Kensei was the only person who looked like he wanted to be here less than you did, and the thought was oddly cheering. Misery loves company, and all that. A vague ghost of a smile flickered at your lips, but it died again like a blinking lightbulb. You admittedly didn't know Kensei all that well, except that Hisagi had been fanboying constantly since the official announcement that the three former captains had agreed to return to their old posts. Time had passed since then, but Hisagi still seemed rather starstruck by Kensei, which was just as well - you'd heard he was a hardass, and if you were being totally honest, he kind of scared you a bit. He was no Zaraki or Kurostsuchi, but something about his size, intimidating aura and I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude was simultaneously scary and a little alluring. You could feel where he was from anywhere in Ninth - his reaitsu was powerful and tinged with an unusual aura, probably thanks to the Hollow that lived inside him. You wondered if Kensei was like that all the time or if he relaxed a little more in his downtime. You were certain you'd never seen him smile. As if he could sense your gaze on him, Kensei suddenly looked in your direction, a scowl on his face. You quickly ducked your head to avoid his gaze, cheeks burning.

It was time to go home, you decided. There was no point sitting here moping because senpai wouldn't notice you anymore. You knew how your moods were only amplified when you drank, and you couldn't see the night improving from here. You were stuck in a tar pit of self-loathing of your own making, and besides which, though you were friendly with one or two of the lieutenants, approaching all of them was kind of intimidating. They understood each other in a way other seated members didn't, working so closely with their captains and yet not quite being on their level. It was a weird limbo to be in, for sure. Slowly you got up from the table, and immediately nearly fell to your knees as you stood up. Fuck. The booze always hit harder this way, and it took a lot of concentration for you to skirt around the crowd of people towards the exit, weaving back and forth as you walked. Before you reached that glorious, blinding white rectangle of an exit, a hand suddenly grasped your elbow. "Where are you going?" a voice demanded. You turned around and your stomach did some kind of somersault as you found yourself staring dizzily up at Kensei himself. He was scowling down at you, as per usual, but he didn't seem particularly angry per se - he had a very severe resting bitch face, so it seemed. "Sorry?" you said, which was at least slightly better than "Whu?" which was what you'd been about to say. When you realised, he thought you'd gotten confused on your way to the bar/bathroom, you gave a little shake of your head. "Oh, I'm just - I thought I should go home." Behind Kensei came another raucous round of cheering and a facial muscle of Kensei's twitched. Clearly the celebrations were grating on his nerves as well - however fond of Hisagi he was, he was not the partying sort of guy. You didn't know Kensei that well, but you knew enough about him to know that every sound of glasses or bottles clinking and sloshing beer on the ground was no doubt grating terribly. "You're in no fit state to walk home by yourself." Kensei pronounced, but before you could get indignant over this, he sighed. "I'll walk you back to your quarters." What?! "Oh, um, that's kind of you, sir, but it's really not-" you demurred - the thought of walking home with Kensei Muguruma at your side was an alarming one. "It's not up for negotiation." Kensei overrode you bluntly, so much so that you found yourself unable to muster a second stab at refusing. His hand went to your shoulder, and he began steering you towards the door. "Come on. From here on, it's their problem if one of them passes out in a puddle of vomit." You paused and made a face at the idea. "Yessir." ~ You were right - walking with Kensei Muguruma was an intense experience. Granted, it wasn't like he was shouting at you for drinking or asking you tricky questions. Instead, he was surprisingly quiet, keeping an eye on your ungraceful gait out of the corner of his eye, but otherwise he seemed content to walk through the winding streets of the Seireitei - you'd told him where you lived, and it wasn't so far away that either of you felt the need to whip out Shunpo. Anyway, as Kensei had pointed out, the fresh air would help sober you up some. Despite that, though, the silence had a tinge of awkwardness to it. Kensei was doing you a favour, but you got the sense he was regretting having offered. Your mind was in a whirl of confusion and alcohol, and you wanted to find something to say to make the journey feel a little less of a daunting voyage. Kensei's reiatsu washed over you like a heavy wind that hints at a thunderstorm - occasionally your arm would brush his haori and the hairs stood up on your skin when it broke out in goosebumps. Kensei didn't seem to notice. "Why were you sitting by yourself?" he suddenly asked - not looking at you but keeping his eyes straight ahead. You're taken aback by the question and your answer is vague. "Oh, well...I'd said my congrats to Hisagi, so I didn't want to get in the way while he was with his friends. His other friends." you said, lamely. "It felt rude to just leave in the middle of his celebration." "Tch. His friends are spoiling him. Most people don't get a fucking parade thrown for them for achieving a bankai." Kensei muttered, and you shot a surprised glance at him. But though his words were dismissive, his facial expression wasn't disgusted or scornful. Perhaps grumbling was Kensei's idea of speaking fondly of someone. "Why did you come, then?" you asked, seized with a sudden boldness - perhaps Kensei's candidness was infectious. "You don't seem like a... party type of guy, sir." "I'm not," Kensei said, waving a hand impatiently. "But I don't begrudge the kid. I worked him hard, and he gave me the results I was hoping for. That deserves recognition." Huh. You gave a hum of agreement and turned your attention back to the path in front of you. It seemed Kensei was right - you did feel a little more sober. Walking no longer felt like a tricky task that required all conversation, though you didn't regret your decision to leave. You doubted anybody had noticed you were gone. "So that was the only reason?" Kensei pressed, startling you. "You were just too scared to talk to him around his lieutenant friends? Or were you hoping something was gonna happen?" You nearly choked on your own saliva at the blunt phrasing. Kensei really didn't pay much attention to social niceties, did he? You chewed on the inside of your cheek. You'd never examined your feelings regarding Hisagi Shuuhei in detail - you knew he liked Rangiku. Kensei knew he liked Rangiku. Everyone and their mums probably knew it. So having feelings for Hisagi had never really crossed your mind, because they were doomed before they'd even had a chance to take root. But explaining all this to Kensei made you uncomfortable, so instead you simply said: "We're just friends." "Really." Kensei drawled, and was it your imagination, or was he messing with you? It was hard to tell with his deadpan manner of speaking. "Yes, really." you said, a little huffily. "And if you don't mind, I'd rather not discuss it further." "Tch." You both fell silent again, and you could feel heat creeping up your cheeks. It occurred to you that perhaps Kensei had had some alcohol to loosen his tongue a bit himself, it was just nowhere near as obvious with him since he was so big and beefy - it would probably take enough alcohol to knock over a horse before he started to show ill effects. Though you didn't know who in their right mind would give alcohol to a horse. You knew where you were now, and you glanced at Kensei. "I can take it from here if you have somewhere to be." you said, then added belatedly. "Sir." "I don't." Kensei replied, and you snorted. "Why do you care about where I'm going or what I'm doing, anyway?" you suddenly asked him, feeling like you were teetering on the edge of something. "Thought you didn't want to talk about that anymore," Kensei said. "I'm not, I'm talking about you." you replied, bouncing onto the balls of your feet like that might help you reach Kensei better. He scoffed and glanced away, and you took a moment to admit his side profile, that firm jaw and the shape of his nose. The impressive fluff of his mohawk and were those piercings you spied in his ear? Hot. "Just noticed you around, is all." Kensei said, his throat bobbing when he covertly swallowed. "When you come by Ninth." Oh? "Oh?" you asked faintly. Kensei had noticed you? But why? There was nothing special about you and he was a captain, and a Vizard, to boot. Everyone was curious about them, even if the topic of the reason the reinstated Captains had been forced to leave was often skirted around. Was it possible you were hallucinating this and were still at that table, passed out drunk? Now Kensei turned to face you and you weren't able to pull your eyes away from him in time - specifically his bared chest, his firm abdominal muscles and that famous 69 tattoo emblazoned across his skin, the ink still bold and clear even after over a century. He caught you looking, but he didn't seem to mind it. "Yeah," he said, and his eyes slid to your lips, where a faint shimmer of lipstick still sat from when you'd gotten ready hours earlier. It was like it was choreographed. A beat of silence ticked between you, an internal debate that lasted both a moment and a lifetime. Then, before you had time to doubt, to convince yourself it was all in your head, Kensei moved, surprisingly quick for a man his size. You had no time to process before a large, gloved hand curved around the back of your neck and you were being pulled in for a hot, demanding kiss that left you breathless. You could faintly taste rum on his lips, and your back met the wall, Kensei's body shielding you from prying eyes. Your hands moved immediately to comb through his mohawk as he kissed you, and Kensei growled in response, his teeth pinching your bottom lip, enough to make you squeak. His hands roved up and down your body, one of them settling on your waist where you'd donned a brand-new sash for the occasion, his touch hot and firm and making you shiver deliciously. His reiatsu covered you, but this time you relished the staticky feeling of it, the tingling zipping across your skin. Fuck. you thought. No words were exchanged during all this. You'd both passed the need for them - your bodies did the talking plenty. When Kensei finally released you, straightening up to his full height again, you were amused to notice he had a smear of sparkly lipgloss collected on his bottom lip. You felt out of breath. "That was..." you said and broke off with a huff of breathless laughter. "Yeah," Kensei agreed, running a hand through his mohawk in a surprisingly self-conscious gesture that, at present, seemed like the most endearing thing ever. His eyes went back to your lips, but he didn't move to kiss you again. You understood - when you pushed yourself off the wall, the world wobbled a bit before righting itself. Sobering walk or no, you were still on the drunken side. You smiled awkwardly at Kensei, though pleasure squirmed in your stomach when he offered you a very slight one back. He reached out and his thumb brushed just underneath your bottom lip, wiping away some smudged gloss. You stood stock still while he did this, mesmerised by this simple movement. "Should I...?" you said, but you weren't sure how to finish that sentence. Kensei's smile turned into a smirk. "You're going to go home and sober up." he told you. "I think you've had enough excitement for one day." You licked your lips. "And after that?" you dared to ask. Kensei's smirk widened a bit, and his hand rumpled your hair. The next thing he said made your stomach clench and heat rush to your face. "And then you'll come by Ninth and we'll see if we can't find another reason to start celebrating."

#Kensei Muguruma x Reader #Kensei Muguruma #Reader Insert #Bleach #Fanfiction #Bleach x Reader

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recurring-polynya · 4 months

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Fanfic Round-Up 2023

I was looking at last year's round-up in preparation for doing this and it is very hilarious because it starts out with "well I set a new record in sucking" and let me tell you: I have blown away last year's new record in sucking.

That's not entirely fair-- last year, I had a pretty big word count before I stripped out everything that I hadn't actually written that year, which knocked it down to about 113k. This year, I posted an extremely sad 58,086 words, but if you add in the fanfic I spent half the year working on and haven't finished yet, it gets back up to about...113k. This is still roughly half of what I used to be capable of, but I guess I'm just not anymore. I actually tried to quit writing in the first part of the year, because it was making me miserable, but it turns out that then I just got I-am-not-writing-miserable, which was much, much worse, so I just started Doing It Miserable. I finally started feeling a little better around October before I got kneecapped by Christmas, just like I do every year. Anyway!! Here's the goods:

Most of this year's Squad Six is Jerks (volume 4 of my multi-year collection of short stories) was stuff for RenRuki week, so technically it got written in December of 2022, or before because at least two of them were things I had lying around. It includes Part 3 of my silly Renji-joins-Squad 4 AU, an angsty TYBW healing springs story, some zanpakutou nonsense, and a nice Rukia birthday story that I'm actually pretty proud of. Later on in the years, as part of the Bleach Returns event to celebrate cour 2 of the anime, I wrote a little post-lude to the Rukia's arrest scene, which I am never not thinking about.

My big accomplishment for the year, I guess, was go places, a Rukia-and-Renji-prepare-to-try-out-for-the-Academy story. I had started it years ago, and it was just this little, no-plot thing that I was fond of, and I decided to dust it off and make something of it. That turned out to be a ton more work than I expected, but I'm actually really proud of the result, which is a little bit melancholy, but also full of heart (and world building). Please read it if you enjoy scenes where characters go to the post office.

On my usual one-every-three-to-twelve-months pace, I wrote two adult fanfics this year. One is the (loose) sequel to the other. If you like stories about people having sex in extremely inconvenient places, please check out the very descriptively named Rukia and Renji Bone Down in the Urahara Shouten Stockroom and/or Things to Do in Hueco Mundo When There's a Sandstorm and You're Stuck in a Cave.

The last thing for this year was a fraction of your happy heart (irresolution doesn't suit you), a nice story where Renji and Orihime commiserate about the long-haul pining lifestyle and then go fight each other for funsies. Now that I think about it, this was another one that I pulled out of the dusty WIPs pile and finished off.

I guess that was a big theme for this year, which on one hand, sounds kind of lazy, because all I did was finish things. On the other hand, I finished a lot of things, which is sort of the perpetual lament of the fanfic writer, so good for me. Also, it was easy for some of them, but for others, it was a lot of work (I am looking at you, go places).

Also, I very much did spent a lot of time working on my next installment of the Heart is a Muscle. There's still a significant stretch to go, but I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to complete it in the first part of 2024, before the Summer Vacation slump (I have now learned to set my expectations very low for June-Aug and also the month of December, because that's just how it is). After that, I'm optimistically hoping to pick up and complete a little in love now and then as my fall project, but that's a long way off, so we'll just have to see.

#my writing #year end roundups

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suvidrache · 8 months

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Hiii!! Omg I know his birthday has passed, but can I request a Renji Abarai fic where he goes to a theme park with his S/O for his birthday and it ends with some spicy time 👀?!?! TYSM 😭😭

Late Birthday Surprises

age in bio when interacting. minors do not interact.

Word Count: 899 | Read it on AO3

He wanted to take the day off. After all, it was his birthday. However, you were also scheduled to work that day. Both of you wouldn't be home to see each other until later that night. You wanted to spend the day with your boyfriend and celebrate the day together, but you couldn't. It wouldn't be for a few more days when you both had the day off together.

You woke up early and quickly got ready for the day as Renji laid asleep. While you were downstairs cooking breakfast, Renji rolled over. He patted the bed where you would be. There was nothing, not even a warm spot. You were gone. He stretched and sat up, looking around for you. He should probably get ready for the day, but at the same time, he wanted to find you first. He made his way downstairs and found you setting the table.

"Good morning." You said with a smile as you walked over to him and wrapped your arms around him.

He hugged you back and kissed your head. His attention was still on the table.

"Good morning. What's this?"

"It's breakfast. I made it for you. We're celebrating your birthday."

He smiled and kissed you properly before heading over to the table.

"Thank you." He didn't expect you to do all that, but he was grateful and happy that even though it wasn't his actual birthday, you still made plans to celebrate it.

After eating, Renji tried to help you clean up, but you told him you would handle it and he should get dressed so that you could both head out. Renji wanted to stay and help, but he was also still shirtless and only wearing his boxers. So he left while you took care of the things. When he returned, he was dressed and ready to go. You grabbed anything you may need and headed out with him following you.

"Where are we going?" He asked as he placed an arm around you.

"The place you've been wanting to go."

He didn't say anything further. He had completely forgotten about where he wanted to go. He had wanted to go to a theme park, but never had a day off so he could go. You never forgot, and you planned to take him to one as soon as he was off of work. Not only was he off today, but he was also off the next day as well, so it was the perfect time to take him there.

You wandered through the empty streets, your hand in Renji's. He smiled when he saw just where you had taken him.

"Thank you, babe." He said as he wrapped his arm around you once again and gave you a hug.

His first place to stop at was to win you a prize. You told him to keep it, as it is his birthday (sort of), but he insisted that you keep it. So you did. The next stop was a couple of rides and then some food. You refused to let go of the stuffed bear at any point in time. It always stayed in your lap or in your arms. Together, the three of you continued to play and ride until the day started coming to an end.

You walked hand in hand with Renji and the bear in your other arm.

"Thank you." Renji said happily. Despite the long day, he was still full of energy and not tired yet. Neither were you.

You walked inside and locked the door behind you. Then you followed Renji up the stairs and to the bedroom. You set the bear down on a cabinet while Renji got ready for bed.

The moon was out, and it cast very little light into your room. You had completely forgotten the cake that lay in the fridge.

You got ready for bed and lay beside Renji. Your hand slowly traces over his tattoos or his muscles. He often slept in only his boxers.

"Thank you again for today."

"You're welcome. I had fun. It's also not your only surprise." You said as your hand continued tracing over his body. A frequent habit of yours.

"Oh really? What's the other surprise?"

You moved over so your legs were on either side of his body. You removed your shirt, revealing your lingerie beneath it. Renji's hand instinctively went to your hips. His breathing slowed as his eyes slowly traveled up and down your body. He moved his hand slowly up to touch your chest. You pressed yourself into his hand and he bit his lip as his cock began to harden.

"I like this surprise. Keep going."

Your hips slowly began to rub against him, and he let out a moan.

Your hands were pressed against his abs as you continued to move your hips back and forth. Eventually, you both came, and you slid his boxers down, freeing his cock from its clothed confinement.

Your hand slid his cum down his cock and he moaned. You moved and slid him inside of you, letting out a moan. Renji's hands returned to your hips, and slowly, you began to move yourself up and down. One hand on him for support. The other works to rub/stroke yourself as you continue your movements. Occasionally, Renji would thrust up into you, causing you to moan out.

Tag List: @eli-chris / Join my tag list here!

#renji abarai #renji x you #renji x reader #renji smut #renji abarai x reader #renji abarai smut #bleach x you #bleach x reader #bleach x y/n #bleach imagines #bleach headcanons #bleach scenarios #bleach smut

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madeofcc · 1 year

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What is your oc's favorite holiday, if any? What do they like about it?

Thanks a lot for this ask @shanisims ♥ You always find nice ones to make us elaborate more on our babies !

I'm going to answer for the DH gang as usual ^^

Destiny and Leïla both love birthdays. It's a good way for them to organize the best day for their loved ones. Destiny is more into parties and Leïla into familial events.

Halloween and midsommar are the witches favs aka Leïla, Halette and Denise, also Chester mainly for occult reasons. Renji is also a huge fan of this holiday since he's a kid. He loves the weirdness of it and now that he's a vampire, it's the only night he can feel a bit "human" so ...

Aïssa and Hiro are more Christmas fans as it's a time for nostalgia, family and good food. Hiro also loves to receive presents, Aïssa loves to make them and see how people react on it.

Milo loves love so ... Valentine day and Pride month are probably what makes him the happiest. Even though he spends most of his Valentine days alone, he still loves the power of love around.

Last one, Soraya, she's a huge lover of Ramadan and especially Eïd at the end. She loves to makes all her family recipes and invites friends and family to celebrate this special events together. It's also a good occasion for both Asham sisters to get closer and talk about their personnal issues.

#answered ask #about DH #shanisims #thanks a lot #DH Extras

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substituted-shinigami · 1 year

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Stray Holiday

Forty dog years ago, two stray pups tried to celebrate the holidays the best they could.

Hello again, everyone!☺️ It has been a bit of time, hasn't it? I took last week off, which was great for resting and coming up with new ideas! Until of course, I stopped resting to execute those ideas.😅 But, oh well!

In this AU, I imagine both Rukia and Renji started out as strays, with Rukia getting adopted by a rich family later on. I haven't decided too much about their separate owners yet, it depends on if they make an actual appearance, a "peanuts" appearance (often referenced, but never physically appear), or just an assumed reality without ever being mentioned!👍👍👍

More Bleach Dog AU art: The Stray, 6th Division, Senzaikyū, Beach Day, Dog Show

More about this piece and an end-of-year note from me underneath the cut!

Originally, this idea was going to be a written piece for Rukia's birthday. I was trying to think of what Renji might get her, and remembered that Rukia liked eggs, something that they might actually be able to find in Rukongai. It also worked well for the Bleach Dog AU, so I decided to put the ideas together. I moved it up for the holidays though, because my original holiday piece wasn't working out, so I swapped them. I had to do a little rewriting, but I think it worked out.

I tried a lot of new art ideas for this piece. Some of them worked, some of them less so. I like the general idea of the gradients, but they didn't end up blending as well as I hoped. Well, except for the pink one which became all one color. 😅 Oh well, I think I was able to get the mood across with them, which was the main idea for them to begin with.

Well, that's it, y'all! Happy Holidays to all who celebrate, and to all of us, a GOOD NIGHT!🥳😴(I could certainly use the sleep, haha!) Thank you all for being such a good community and a special thank you to the RenRuki discord I'm a part of!☺️ You all have been so wonderful to me, and have made my crummy year way better.🥰 I will see you all next year for RenRuki week!✌️

#Bleach #renruki #renji abarai #rukia kuchiki #bleach dog au #holidays #I sort of headcanon that even in this au where she's literally a dog #rukia is still an excellent tree climber #renji knows but he still wanted to try and do something special for her anyway!#and then this happened #poor guy #don't worry though #together they conquered the next tree and got away with a whole nest full of eggs!#I did double check to make sure dogs can eat raw eggs but please do not feed them to your dog without consulting your vet!

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godkilller · 8 months

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This time, this year, he's learned from the last. While hollow were the only resource truly available to him { at least with the least burden on himself } he'd gathered that their shinigami overlords did not in fact consume these. In that case, it was a waste to gift them; all that energy spent chasing them down, killing them but not consuming their energy for himself..

Which had left him to ponder. What would please the silver-haired shinigami? And what did he have to give? There were only so many expositions of trust, or indeed even affection, available to his kind. But, eventually, he had come to an idea. So, on the day of { which he only was aware of because the shinigami themselves seemed to care to celebrate }, he approached the other, though with less fanfare than the year prior. He was not dragging a bloodied carcass along with him this time.

Nonetheless, the gift had required yet another kill. What was presented { lacking any kind of giftwrap, of course } was a piece of bone from a hollow's mask, about eight inches in length, carved into a jagged blade. The handle was smoothed over by sanding it over a rock, but the edge was cut sharp and slightly toothed. The top and non-grip sides of the handle were decorated, though Renji wasn't skilled enough to manage more than a few jagged stripes which coincidentally more-or-less resembled the lightning-bolt markings on his own body.

He presented the blade on both hands, with a flick of his own, boney tail. "'f it's not to yer likin' I want it back," he says, because after finishing the blade he'd nearly coveted it, it'd taken some time to convince himself to part with it.

"Happy birthday"

gin's birthday asks! open from sept. 9 - 16th.

THE OFFERING WAS RATHER IMPRESSIVE, given the lack of tools available, the fact that the Arrancar made such a weapon using bone and rock seemed far more meaningful than the blade itself was. The effort poured into it was rather touching, really, all things considered.

Gin regarded the craftmanship with admiration, a slender hand reaching to take the gift by its hilt and turn it within an elegant grasp. Pale wrist turned, the white oversized sleeve of the Shinigami traitor's cloak sliding into a drape past forearm whilst the gesture raised the blade up. Gin was making sure to have each angle of the weapon inspected and thus praised with the stretching of his widened grin. It'd been the correct call, giving Gin a shorter blade -- he was far more experienced with the sort, it moved in his hand as though a mere extension of fingers.

❝ Ah, Abarai-kun's so thoughtful. ❞ He withheld a chuckle at those quick words -- a demand that the blade be returned to him if Gin wasn't satisfied with it... ah, fair. Cute, too, the ingrained desire to resource-guard, even when attempting an act of generosity. He took no offense.

❝ This'll do good in killin' Hollow without purifyin' them, or as you'd say -- wastin' them, eh? I suppose this counts as a gift to you, indirectly, wouldn't you agree? ❞ Down dipped the blade, moving to tap the blunt side of its biting edge beneath Renji's chin. An extension, again, of those fingers. ❝ Now I can slay'em easier 'n leave ya the spoils for bein' so good to me. ❞

#[ roleplay ] predator; murder on his mind & hymns on his tongue #[ verse: arrancar arc ] casting away love; catharsis of eternity #gin's 2k23 birthday celebration #love me a slightly homoerotic weapons offering moment between two dudes.

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monkifuraibo · 8 months

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to honor the 'gift' he received on his own birthday, gin's presenting arrancar!renji with a dead hollow, as a treat,

--- A birthday to a hollow is a strange thing. It is not the day on which they were actually born. Or rather, not the day on which the natural birth of the human that would one day become them occurred. Rather, it is the day of their rebirth; when they gain a consciousness again and become more than a beast. For Renji, it was when he had thrown off the skin of his baboon-like adjuchas-form, and had learned to permanently walk like other bipeds. Kind of like human evolution, which he thought was pretty damn funny { especially since he considered himself much better than a human }.

Perhaps the nature of the day makes it that he hasn't really ever 'celebrated'. That, and the fact that calendars seem terribly useless when there is an eternal night, and it is at times difficult to tell when a new day has begun. Still, he remembers almost instinctively what season he had been 'born' in. What surprises him more is that others also seem to know.

Interestingly enough, Ichimaru is the one to first present him with a gift. Renji's always liked that custom; getting free stuff simply for existing. He's grinning ear to ear when presented with the prize. "Did'ya kill it yerself?" He asks. And then, parroting what he's heard others say before on such an occasion "Ya shouldn't have~"

He crouches down by the corpse and starts ripping through skin and sinew with sharp nails, until the ichor stains his hands. He stuffs his face with the chunks of flesh he rips off, huddled over his gift.

He offers the shinigami a dripping, tender chunk of meat. "Ya want some?"

#how KINd of gin :3c #bday!2023 #arrancar!Renji #godkiller

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rays-of-fire-and-ice · 2 years

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(I'm about to send too many of these. Please feel free to pick and choose. XD) Hinamori -- 🎁 - How do they feel about their birthday/birthdays in general?🤡 - What’s something dumb they’re embarrassed about?💀 - How do they feel about horror movies?

Misc. ask meme

Momo Hinamori

🎁 - How do they feel about their birthday/birthdays in general? : In honor of her birthday I assume :P Hinamori likes her birthday, but she doesn't like to make a big deal out of it. She doesn't set up a party or any event to celebrate it; at most she would invite some of her friends to go to dinner or a tea shop. She gets the warm and fuzzies when someone wishes her 'Happy Birtdhay' or she receives gifts from friends.

🤡 - What’s something dumb they’re embarrassed about?: she has a secret liking for romance novels. She's embarrassed by it because she's known for liking mystery and drama novels what are well-written, thought provoking, and often highly regarded, and she worries that if someone discovered her reading a romance book they'd just think she's reading it for the trashiness. In reality, she's drawn to romances that are more light-hearted and fluffy, usually involving a slow burn, plenty of melodrama and convoluted 'will-they-wont-they' dynamics and sometimes unintentionally hilarious moments.

💀 - How do they feel about horror movies?: she doesn't go out of her way to find or watch horror movies, but she doesn't mind watching them with a group. She has a fond memory of watching one with several friends, including Renji and Izuru, when TVs were first rolled out in the Seireitei. She remembers being freaked out a few times but more than that, she can't help but smile or chuckle remember Renji, Izuru, and Hisagi's reactions to certain scene (one of them Hisagi even jumped and screamed when a bat suddenly appeared at the end of the film). In general, if it's a well-written film with not too many jumpscares she enjoys it.

Orihime Inoue

🌳 - What’s their extended family like? She loves her sisters-in-law, with her and Yuzu sharing cooking tips and going shopping together with Karin. She can get swept up in Isshin's enthusiasm for whatever he's cheering about, and one time she asked Isshin if he had any photos of Ichigo when he was younger and of Masaki; the reaction from Isshin was so loud it could be heard all the way to Ryuken's house. He showed all the photo albums, going into detail about each one.

She is still in contact with the aunt who financially supported her during high school. This aunt has actually been there for Orihime a few times: first, she helped Sora and Orihime to get away from their abusive parents, offering to let them stay with her until they could find a place to live (however, Sora had already got a place), then she briefly came to Karkura Town after Sora's death to offer Orihime financial help until she completed high school, and she came to Ichigo and Orihime's wedding, staying a few days after all was said and done to get to know Ichigo better. When Ichigo met this aunt, he thanked her for helping Orihime

📱 - What social media do they use the most? Can see her being on something like Instagram, where she'd mostly share some of her bizarre cooking creations. She was hesitant to join social media, but with Rangiku's prompting and with Rukia wanting to get updates from the World of the Living, she created an account. She has a small following who genuinely like her creations and asked for recipes.

🗺️ - What languages do they speak? (post-series/epilogue): she's not bad at English. If an English-speaking tourist came up to her asking for directions or she can see they struggled with Japanese, she offers to help them. With Ichigo working as a translator, she can practice with him and is learning a few bits and pieces from other languages - so far she likes French and is thinking about taking up classes when she gets a chance.

Toshiro Hitsugaya

💝 - What gestures do they really appreciate? How do you get on their good side?: oh boy, here we go:

If I had to pick one of him, I'd say Hitsugaya's love language would be acts of service - he shows his love by doing things for the people he cares about, whether they be big or small and often without them having to ask. When someone does it for him though, he doesn't know how to react. At worst he'll get flustered, which can come across as him being annoyed, which then leads to a misunderstanding and he has to explain himself. At best, he'll thank them, maybe give a small smile, and remember what they did for years to come.

In terms of gifts, he isn't really a fan of receiving them. He appreciates thoughtful gifts with a practical use - like tea mugs, pens or writing tools, that sort of stuff. For those he's close to though, he's more accepting and appreciative of other gifts, like food and small decorations for his desk(usually little figurines or that one time he got a small pot plant...and neglected to water it as often as he should've because he was too busy working).

He's not a fan of physical affection, but there are exceptions with certain people. He's willing to accept hugs from Orihime, Hinamori, and Granny, and he won't admit it, but he likes it when Hinamori holds his hand.

He appreciates hard work and honesty, and recognises that everyone had a limit (someone's 40% will be someone giving it their 100%, and someone else's 100% is someone else giving it 40% if you will). He tries to inspire his division to be diligent and hard working and appreciates everyone's efforts, and when he sees a division member is burnt out to take leave or if they're struggling with a task or with training, he'll help them (usually by assigning them to another division member who can help, and all the better if they can help each other in different or similar areas they're struggling in). If he sees someone is being careless without regard, is dishonest or not putting any effort in, that's usually a once way trip into his bad books. It's where Rangiku comes in, because she will take the subordinate aside and try to find out why they're acting this way. If she sees it's a personal problem or that there's potential for them, she'll tell Hitsugaya and he'll weigh up what to do next.

To get on his good side, all one has to do is respect his title, be a hard worker, don't be loud or impulsive, and not threaten those he cares about be honest.

🤔 - What’s something they’ll never understand?: how anyone can like shopping. Hitsugaya gets tired at just the thought of going shopping to buy food let along clothes, housewares, anything! Myabe the whole getting-dragged-along-by-Rangiku-to-go-shopping-almost-every-month doesn't help.

🧑‍🦰 - Have they ever dyed their hair? Ever cut it themself?: Yes, and let us never speak of it again. He tried once to cut his fringe, wanting to save on going to the barber; it was early in the morning, he wasn't completely awake and thought it couldn't be that hard to cut hair...he was wrong, very wrong. Most times he'll go to a hair dresser or barber, and a few times when he was a third seat Rangiku has cut his hair (she learned to cut her own from a young age).

Thanks for sending these in! :D

#momo hinamori #orihime inoue #toshiro hitsugaya #hitsuhina #ichihime #bleach #asks #ask meme #whipplefilter

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morganwriteblr · 2 years

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To belatedly celebrate the birthday of Bleach character Abarai Renji, I think I'm gonna polish up a Renji x Rukia !first-time smut I originally wrote some time ago for my own enjoyment 👀👀

It'll go up on my AO3 page along with all the other fics I've written so far.

Get hyped!!!

(obvs 18+ so minors DNI)

#ao3 bleach #bleach fanfiction #bleach #smut #renruki

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wild-pineapple-butt · 2 years

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I don't care if neither of us are on tumblr that much anymore. Fuck it. Juvia's here for Renji Day - She has train tickets to a lovely beachside town in Japanland. Sure, I mean, shinigami can probably just show up to the town for free with speshul shinigami powahs, but also... Train station bento! Seeing the countryside! And, "and Juvia has rented a small beach house for the weekend... I hope this is sufficient."

(Let me preface this by saying that you are such a sweetheart for remembering this day, despite the fact that Renji day totally slipped my mind. Work has consumed my entire being and it's been an entire shithole, so this really made my night! I really have a soft spot for RenJuvia so I will respond in kind. Thank you again for remembering my presh boi ♥♥)

For as long as Renji could remember, save for the last couple of years, his birthday was just a normal day, grateful to be alive to see another year. That all changed when he met Juvia, a woman who was more than happy to shower him in affection and gifts, celebrating all these outrageous holidays that he'd never heard of, gifting him things that he'd never seen before all with a bright smile on her face.

His birthdays had become a day he looked forward to, not because he wanted gifts (although that was a nice perk), but because he could spend an entire day with Juvia, sometimes even two or three in a row. He never took his time with her for granted, for he knew that at any time it could be cut short. But, he tried not to think too hard about that.

This year was no different as he found himself on a train, far away from the bustling city of Tokyo, as the scenery outside the window became increasingly more and more green and less skyscrapers filled the landscape.

"Sufficient??" he squawked, quickly swallowing the piece of food he had been chewing, desperately trying not to choke. "Ya damn know that this is more than just sufficient!" he huffed, rudely pointing his chopsticks at Juvia sitting across from him.

He sighed, and looked fondly at his girlfriend. "Ya know ya didn't have to do this right? I mean. An entire weekend? At ... wherever we're goin'? And ya rented a beach house?" His own salary of being a vice captain was nothing to scoff at, but he couldn't fathom that this trip was anything to scoff at.

"But you know, that doesn't mean I'm not happy about it! I really am! I'm really excited and grateful and 'm really lookin' forward to playin' in the water," he hurriedly adds, reassuring her that his outburst hadn't been one in anger. His brows furrow and shoulders sag "I'm just. I don't know if 'm worth such a big celebration."

Reaching out his hand, Renji grasped Juvia's in his before planting a gentle kiss near the wrist. "Thank you. I really don't have the words t' express how much this means t'me."

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recurring-polynya · 2 years

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BLEACH Anime Celebration

Day 3 Prompt: Time to Celebrate -The characters are celebrating a Soul Society-specific holiday -Cooking is involved -One character is trying and failing to hide something -Is based on or features the theme of ‘belonging’

I spent so much more time on this dumb idea than I intended to. Does "Squad Ten Day" even count as a holiday? Maybe it's more like a bank holiday. I probably could have done better, but I really liked the idea that it was on 10/10, the same day as the anime premier.

Anyway, I would like to dedicate this to @bleachbleachbleach primarily because of their post about Matsumoto's soup (which based on my research might be kenchinjiru?) but I put another special B3 reference in there, too, for funsies.

| ao3 | ff.net |

🍲 🍶 ⚽

“Abarai,” said Chad, “why are we here?”

Renji leaned on the doorbell again, shifting the cardboard box he was carrying onto his hip. “Because we’ve been in the World of the Living for over a month now, and Rangiku is starting to lose it,” Renji deadpanned.

“But why are we at Ichigo’s house?”

“My understanding is that Inoue’s kitchen wasn’t big enough.”

For what? Chad wanted to ask, but didn’t suspect he would get a straight answer, so instead he asked “Is Ichigo back?”

“Not that I’ve heard.”

Ayasegawa answered the door, bringing the surrealness of this encounter to new levels. “Happy Squad Ten Day,” he said dryly.

“Happy Squad Ten Day,” Renji replied in the same tone of voice.

“Is that Abarai? Did he bring it?” Madarame’s excited voice rang from somewhere inside.

“Yes and yes!” Renji hollered back as Ayasegawa stepped aside to let them both into the entry.

“What’s Squad Ten Day?” Chad asked gingerly as they stowed their shoes and jackets before heading into the main part of the house..

“It’s October tenth,” Renji explained. “You know. 10/10.”

“It’s one of those silly little Gotei things,” Yumichika added. “Like a birthday, but for the whole squad. Some squads take it more seriously than others.”

“Like Squad Ten,” Chad guessed.

Renji made a face. “It’s not that they take it seriously, but Rangiku always likes to throw a party. Squad Ten Day is traditionally open-invitation anyway, and…” He gave a big shrug. “We’ve all been a little on edge, y’know? She wants to do some big-batch cooking, I’ll show up and eat it, that’s just the kind of stand-up guy I am.”

“REN-JIIIIIIII!” Lieutenant Matsumoto sang, throwing herself over the Kurosaki’s breakfast bar to wave at them. “Congratulations! You’re now the Sixth Seat of Squad-Ten-in-Exile! Unless you want to challenge for a higher seat?”

“I’ll pass,” Renji replied, hefting his box up onto the bar. “Hmm. Sixth Seat. Very nostalgic.”

“And Chad!! Oh, I’m so happy you came! You can be Seventh Seat! Renji, you get extra manju for bringing Chad!!”

“Yesssss,” Renji pumped a fist.

“Also, please challenge Madarame for Fourth Seat, he’s being a pain!”

“Just try it, Sell-Out!” Madarame growled from where he was lounging on the Kurosaki couch. “If I win, I get your manju.”

“Nah,” Renji shook his head. “Rather have my manju and no paperwork, thanks.” He pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and flopped into it. Chad took the seat next him, a little more carefully.

“There’s paperwork?!” Madarame exploded. “I’m only here for the food and booze!”

“There is no paperwork,” Captain Hitsugaya said dryly. Chad hadn’t even noticed him, sitting on the far side of Kurosaki’s kitchen table. “Aside from the weekly mission reports you’re supposed to be turning in, of which I have received zero.”

“I’m not a shinigami,” Chad pointed out, a few beats behind the rest of the conversation. “I’m not sure I should have a seat.”

“Oh, of course you can have a seat!” Matsumoto said, waving a ladle. “This is Squad Ten-in-Exile. All comers welcome. We don’t have standards. Kon is the Third Seat. We’re only assigning seats by order of arrival. Isshin also refused to take a seat, he said…” Rangiku trailed off suddenly. “I need to stir my soup.” She suddenly became very interested in a big pot of something that was bubbling on the stove.

“Ichigo’s dad is here?” Chad echoed.

As if on cue, the back door slammed open and the man himself walked in wearing an apron over one of his usual brightly patterned shirts. Kon, in his little lion body, was perched on Dr. Kurosaki’s head. “The grill is hot! Where are those sweetfish, my sweet Rangiku?”

“They’re in the fridge where you left them!” Rangiku yelled back crossly. “And don’t call me that, man who I just met this afternoon!”

Dr. Kurosaki blinked at her for a moment, then his eyes slowly panned across the room. “Abarai! Sado! So glad you could make it!”

“Yo,” Renji replied, waving one big hand.

“Er, hello, Dr. Kurosaki,” Chad said. “I, um. I didn’t know. That you. Um. Knew. About.” He looked around at the assortment of shinigami strewn around the room. “This.”

“What, that my son has taken on part-time employment as some sort of mystical psychopomp?” I know things!” Dr. Kurosaki regarded Chad with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t suppose they’ve got you guiding souls to the afterlife, as well?”

“Er, no,” Chad hedged. “I just…help Ichigo sometimes.”

It occurred to Chad that it was good they were doing this in the middle of the day, while Ichigo's sisters were at school. Then, he immediately began hoping that Dr. Kurosaki wouldn't think to ask him why he wasn't at school.

It didn't seem to occur to Dr. Kurosaki, who clapped Chad on the shoulder as he headed for the kitchen. “You have no idea what joy that knowledge brings to my heart! I already knew about Miss Inoue, but his old boon companion, Sado, as well? My lucky son, to have such stalwart comrade!” He leaned over and said conspiratorially, “These shinigami are nice, but they’re already dead, how much can you really trust them?”

“Not Nee-san!” Kon protested. “Nee-san is the most beautiful and trustworthy person in either world!”

“Very true!” Dr. Kurosaki declared. “Of course I was not speaking of my beloved third daughter, whom I heard was supposed to be sending us a care package.”

“Oh, right, how did I get so distracted!” Matsumoto squealed, flouncing over to Renji’s cardboard box and ripping it open. She pulled out an old-fashioned ceramic sake bottle and rubbed it against her cheek happily. “Ohhhhhhh, I have missed you, baby! The sake in the World of the Living simply isn’t the same.”

“What did we get?” Ayasegawa asked, wandering over to help investigate. “Paint thinner or liquid gold? You honestly can never tell with our dear friend Rukia. Not that I’m not grateful for either.”

Rangiku stuck out her lower lip as she read the text on the bottle. “Kanetaka ‘Maple Splendor.’ I haven’t heard of that particular one, but Kanetaka is high end. It’s one of Captain Kyouraku’s favorites.”

“It’s their fall seasonal offering,” Renji mumbled, leaning his chair back on two legs, just like Ichigo did all the time. “Very dry. Great with fish.”

“Look who’s fancy now!” Matsumoto teased.

“Shut up. I never saw what was in that box, for the record. ‘Miscellaneous, mission-related supplies,’ that’s what I made Urahara write on the matter-conversion-service receipt.” He jerked his chin toward Captain Hitsugaya. “Also, you didn’t hear that, Captain.”

“Noted,” Captain Hitsugaya sighed. “At least you get receipts.”

“I am very curious as to how the alcohol of the Land of the Dead compares to our own,” Dr. Kurosaki announced, pulling down some sake cups from a high cupboard. “See what I have to look forward to when I eventually shuffle off this mortal coil.”

“I want some too!” Kon insisted.

“If my math is correct, you are five months old,” Dr. Kurosaki pointed out. “And a stuffed animal.”

“I was a pill for hundreds of years, though!”

Ayasegawa had been rummaging around in the box, setting more bottles of sake out on the bar, along with a few packages that looked like they might contain other treats. He suddenly came up with a carefully folded letter. “What is this?” he exclaimed dramatically. He squinted at the address, moving the envelope nearer and farther from his face, as though he was having trouble reading it, even though he obviously wasn’t. “‘Lieutenant Abarai Renji, Sixth Division Assistant Captain’, do we have one of those?”

“Give me that,” Renji growled, jumping up and making a grab for the letter.

“It’s got a little bee drawn down in the corner!” Ayasegawa exclaimed. “What could that possibly mean?”

“B-cipher,” Renji grunted, palming Ayasegawa’s face and successfully wrenching the letter out of his hand.

“Watch the booze!” Matsumoto scolded, hugging her bottle to her chest protectively.

“Oooh, a coded letter!” Kon exclaimed, jumping onto Renji’s shoulder as he settled himself back in his chair. “I am experienced at cracking Nee-san’s genius puzzle-writing!”

Renji regarded Kon with an amused look in his eyes. “What, she leave you a note in tanuki-code or something?”

Kon’s little mouth opened and then closed again. “It was a very sneaky code.”

“Mm,” Renji said, unfolding his letter. “B-cipher is a top-level Rukia encryption, though. A lot harder to crack.” He held it up for Kon’s inspection. “What do you think?”

“Oh,” said Kon.

Chad didn’t mean to be nosy, but he glanced over before he could stop himself. It didn’t matter. Instead of writing, the page was covered with a series of dashes in big swirls and curls, like the way you would draw the path of a bee in a cartoon. The more he looked at it, the more he realized that some of the dashes were dots, or double-dashes. It made sense, of course. Kuchiki was a very clever and tricksy person. Chad could never come up with his own system of writing like that. It would be pretty cool, in his opinion, just to be able to decode it in his head the way Renji was clearly doing.

“Things are pretty quiet in Soul Society,” Renji reported, his eyes scanning the page. “Rukia says Inoue is doing great with her training. The Bulletin put out a special edition, she saved us a few copies. Oh, here’s some good news! She says Captain Ukitake agreed to handle the real Squad Ten Day festivities.”

“Yay!” Matsumoto cheered softly as she filled a row of sake cups.

“Oh, good,” Captain Hitsugaya agreed.

“--apparently Captain Kyouraku volunteered to help.”

“Oh, no,” Captain Hitsugaya said.

“Ohhhhhh, I bet they’ll have so much funnnnnn,” Matsumoto moaned.

“But they will not have my delicious grilled ayu!” Dr. Kurosaki declared, snagging a cup of sake as he carried a tray of fish toward the back door.

“Also, Matsumoto soup,” Captain Hitsugaya said, with somewhat uncharacteristic tenderness. “I guarantee you people will talk about the lack of soup.” Despite the fact that he was sitting in the corner and grumbling a lot, Chad got the sense that he was actually much more relaxed than usual, perhaps in honor of the occasion.

“Thank you, Captain,” Matsumoto replied glumly. “Also, you bought those manju from the bakery Orihime recommended. They look really good.”

“The manju do look really good,” Hitsugaya nodded.

“I’ve been wondering…” said Chad slowly. “What does Squad Thirteen do for their special day? Since there are only twelve months?”

“That’s a good question,” Matsumoto frowned. “Renji, do you know?”

“I asked Rukia about that once,” Renji remarked. He was still reading his letter, slowly rotating it sideways as he read around a curve. “All she would say was ‘every day is a party at Squad Thirteen.’”

“I didn’t think of this earlier,” Madarame interrupted, “but if we get to November 11 and the war hasn’t started yet, Yumi and me’re going home. I will miss the Tournament of Blood for an actual war, but if it’s still just waiting around, we’re out.”

“Agreed,” Ayasegawa nodded firmly. “Actually, we’ll need to go home…probably around the ninth. The Tournament of Blood doesn’t plan itself.”

“It’s just brackets. We can make brackets here,” Madarame wrinkled his nose and took a sip of his sake. “Wow! What is this stuff? Sake isn’t supposed to taste good.”

Ayasegawa ignored the sidebar. “For you, it’s just brackets! I have to do catering! Decorations! Graphic design! It’s not like I can simply employ the services of some Living World printmakers. Do they even have those here?”

“I know how to make flyers on the computer,” said Chad, who occasionally did up signs for his gym. He got a membership discount in exchange for occasionally doing a bit of cleaning and odd jobs around the place. He liked making the flyers best though. He liked taking his time and making them look cool. He even had a cool drippy blood font from a boxing tournament they had run last spring that he bet Squad Eleven would really appreciate.

Ayasegawa’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? That’s just text, though, right? I want something really colorful. Maybe even a picture, like a snarling tiger or a scorpion.” He scrunched his fingers for emphasis.

“I can do those things,” Chad reassured him.

Ayasegawa blinked. “Oh! Well… I would be very interested to see what you can do.”

“Sure,” said Chad, wondering if there was any way to email a file to Soul Society.

“Normally, I wouldn’t even consider this,” Madarame declared, “but since half the fun of making brackets is shouting about them, you can help if you want, Abarai, you deserter.”

Renji had gotten very engrossed in his letter, and he looked up suddenly, his cheeks and the tips of his ears very pink. “Huh? What? Tournament of Blood? No one loves the Tournament of Blood more than me, but I’m not bailing on the mission for it.”

Madarame let out an exasperated sigh. “Brackets, Abarai, I asked if you wanted to help with brackets. Like I would let you participate. Maybe I would let you fight Iba. Special charity match for losers.”

“Ohhhh, brackets. Sure, why not? That’ll be a ‘no’ on fighting Iba, though. I always have to fight Iba in the Tournament of Blood. Maybe he deserves a year off from getting his ass kicked.”

“You’ve gotten really lame since you joined Squad Six, pal. I think you should come back.”

“I’ve gotten really lame since we’ve been in the Living World for a month (no offense, Chad, I cherish our time together). Also, it’s my day off. I just want to get drunk and eat Matsumoto soup. Speaking of which, someone pour me some of Captain Kuchiki’s good sake, please and thank you.”

“What is Squad Six day like, anyway?” Yumichika asked, fetching Renji a cup of sake. (“Would you like one, Sado?” “No, thank you. I’m only 16.”) “It can’t possibly be as dreadful as it is in my imagination.”

“Well…” Renji drew out and then took a long sip of his sake. “I don’t know what it’s normally like. It was my first day.”

“That’s a funny coincidence!” Kon commented.

“It wasn’t a coincidence. Captain thought that would be cool, I guess, who knows. Anyway, there were speeches. Captain gave a speech. Old Vice-Captain Shirogane gave a speech. I gave a speech. There were poetry recitations. There was a kidou demonstration. There was a tea ceremony. It was…it was really something. The day felt like it was about nine thousand hours long.”

“But was there soup?” Matsumoto asked, pointing her spoon at him.

“There was not, but there was the ritziest sushi spread I have ever seen, and this caliber of booze,” he said, tapping his cup. “I was kinda too nervous to enjoy it, a mistake I will not repeat next year.” He took another sip of his drink. “Also next year, I might ask if, since we don’t need as many speeches, if maybe I could add something in. A little Assistant Captain Abarai spice. Stone-lifting competition. Historical battle reenactment. Something like that.”

“I prefer soup,” Matsumoto said, tasting her efforts. “I think it’s ready, actually. Is anyone ready for soup?”

There was a bright chorus of “Me!”s and “Yes!”es. Chad savored the feel of a living room full of death gods sounding very much like a group of elementary schoolers being offered a treat.

Captain Hitsugaya was given the first bowl (“because he’s the captain”), but seat order apparently didn’t matter after that, because Chad got the next one (“because he’s the nicest”, according to Matsumoto, but no one argued). That was where Chad stopped paying attention because he was busy eating soup. It was delicious. Chad kept all of his abuelo’s cooking in a separate category in his mind, but this might be the best Japanese soup he had ever eaten. He was halfway through it before realizing it was vegetarian, the broth was so savory and warming, crowded with hearty root vegetables and thick, meaty mushroom slices. A good soup for October.

Dr. Kurosaki returned bearing a beautiful platter of grilled ayu, crispy and fragrant. Matsumoto perched primly on one of the barstools and detailed all the substitutions she had to make for the soup. Chad wouldn’t have expected Captain Hitsugaya to be sympathetic to this sort of thing, but maybe he just disliked the World of the Living, because he kept chipping in peevish statements of solidarity, and assuring her that the end result was up to its usual standard of quality. Madarame and Yumichika, whom Chad can’t possibly imagine cooking, loudly argued about whether things tasted more strongly in the World of the Living or if it was just and effect of the gigai. Kon kept whining about wanting a taste, until Matsumoto tried to push a carrot into his little lion mouth. Dr. Kurosaki lamented that Matsumoto’s soup was killing him with nostalgia, and Chad wondered if maybe Ichigo’s mom used to cook something similar, and felt a little sad.

Chad felt a gentle elbow in his ribs. Renji had been quiet throughout the antics, engrossed in his letter while his soup sat ignored at his elbow. “There was a second page,” he said simply, handing it over. “For you.”

Chad couldn’t imagine what Kuchiki would have to say to him, and furthermore, he certainly didn’t know her special code. This letter wasn’t in code, though, and it wasn’t from Kuchiki. It was from Inoue.

“Dear Chad!

I hope you are well and that you are looking after Renji.

(Renji, if you are reading this, please stop! You have your own letter!)

Rukia worries about him a lot and I told her you are very responsible and would keep him out of trouble. I have complete confidence in you, but I just wanted you to know that we are all depending on you!!

It seems so strange to be training without you! Of course I miss Uryuu and Ichigo, too, but you and I have always done our most important training together! I am working very hard, though, and whenever I get frustrated and want to stop, I think about you at home training hard, too. If you ever get tired and grumpy, please imagine me saying “Keep going, Chad! You can do it! I believe in you!” Do you remember the time we were first learning our powers and we knocked a hole in that abandoned building and Yoruichi-san yelled at us but then we went and got soba afterwards? I think about that a lot.

Rukia has also been a very good training buddy! I am learning so much from her! Mostly we train, but she has shown me some neat parts of the Seireitei that I didn’t get to see last time, and I have met some of her friends. I am staying at her house, which is BONKERS NICE.

I was a little worried that her brother would be mean, since Ichigo said he was kind of a jerk, but Rukia says he is Trying to Do Better. Captain Kuchiki has been helping her with her kidou and sometimes I learn things from watching them. He never makes jokes but sometimes he says things that are so funny I think my stomach is going to explode. I wish I could show him Laugh Hour.

Tomorrow is a special holiday for Squad Ten, and we are going over there to help with their celebration. As weird as it has been already, I just can’t imagine Squad Ten being Squad Ten without Lieutenant Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya. [Three lines, scratched out]

I guess you will be having the same party in the World of the Living, which will not be AT Squad Ten, but WILL have Lieutenant Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya. That is not as good as being at the same party together, but maybe if we are all doing the same thing, we won’t notice so much that none of us are where we are supposed to be.

I hope that everyone likes the sake! Rukia and I had to very sneakily sneak it out of the Kuchiki Manor storeroom and then carry it all the way over to Squad Twelve where she convinced a very grumpy man with horns to get it to Karakura for us. Chad, I cannot tell you enough how impossibly cool Rukia is. I mean, we already knew she was cool, but she keeps getting cooler. Did you see that letter she wrote Renji?? She says that is a super-secret code that she couldn’t teach me, but she knows a lot of different ones and is even helping me make up my own! I wrote you a secret message below!! If you need help cracking it, you can ask Renji. Rukia says he’s not as good at codes as she is, but he knows how she comes up with them. It’s not a real secret message, it’s just for fun. I wrote secret messages for Uryuu and Ichigo, too, if they come back! Since you will have already solved yours by then, you can help them, but only if they are super nice to you and also admit that having a secret friendship code is super-cool. The very last one is for Tatsuki. It is in a different code. Please give it to her if you see her, but I trust you not to try to crack it. Thank you very, Chad! You are the very best and I miss you lots!

Orihime”

The letter covered the front of the page and spilled onto the back, but there was plenty of room below that for rows and rows of little squares of hashed lines, in different orientations. Three horizontal. Two vertical. A space. Two crossed like an x. It made Chad’s eyes swim. He had no idea how he was going to solve it. Orihime had made it, though, and if she thought he could do it, maybe he could. Maybe Abarai and he could work on it during rest breaks.

The last few lines, under Tatsuki’s name, were all flowers. Chad was no expert in flowers, but he knew these. Plum blossom. Hibiscus. Lily. Daisy. Iris. Camellia. Chad had no idea how you encoded a message in only six characters and it looked like it must have taken forever to draw. Inoue was a lot smarter than he was, though. He felt grateful for his hashes.

“Oi, Chad,” Renji murmured and Chad looked up suddenly. “Sorry. Was trying not to startle you. I’m getting more soup. You want seconds?”

“Er, yes, please,” Chad agreed. He had no idea how Renji had inhaled his soup so quickly. On the other hand, Renji ate faster and more voluminously than nearly anyone Chad had ever met, aside from possibly Rukia.

“Don’t fill up!” Matsumoto warned Renji as he made his way back into the kitchen. “We’re going to play Captain Hitsugaya Trivia to earn manju in a few minutes!”

“We are not,” Captain Hitsugaya insisted.

“That’s not fair!” Madarame roared. “Shorty’s gonna have a huge advantage!”

“He prefers ‘Captain Shorty,’” Ayasegawa reminded him.

“Hmm,” Captain Hitsugaya appeared to be reconsidering his stance on Captain Hitsugaya Trivia.

“You may be surprised,” Matsumoto nodded knowingly. “I was very creative with the questions.”

“We are definitely not playing,” Captain Hitsugaya concluded his deliberations.

“Chad and I are growing boys,” Renji pointed out. “We can eat soup and all the manju we are going to win at Captain Hitsugaya Trivia.”

“You’re full of it!” Madarame accused. “You don’t know crap about Captain Hitsugaya!”

“I’ve been friends with Momo for forty years and Rangiku for close to thirty. I’ve met his grandma. I also happen to know a lot about ice and snow zanpakutou, like, on a technical level.”

Madarame scowled. “I’ve been friends with Rangiku for longer’n you! Yumichika, how long have we known Rangiku?”

“Long enough,” Matsumoto and Ayasegawa said in unison.

“Yeah, but you don’t actually listen to the things she says,” Renji pointed out.

“That is true!” Madarame agreed angrily.

“I think I will also be good at Captain Hitsugaya Trivia,” Ichigo’s dad chipped in, rubbing the back of his head. “We just met this afternoon, but I feel a deep kinship between us! Also, I am an extremely good guesser.”

Captain Hitsugaya began to grumble inaudibly under his breath.

“I don’t really know very much about Captain Hitsugaya,” Chad admitted. “I probably won’t be very good. I’m sorry.”

Matsumoto flashed him a kind smile. “Oh, Chad, don’t be so serious! We’re just having some fun!”

“That’s right,” Captain Hitsugaya added. “We’re not actually playing Captain Hitsugaya trivia.”

“No, we definitely are, but everyone will get manju, and by everyone, I specifically mean Chad.”

“Another fact I know about Captain Hitsugaya,” Renji declared, sliding back into his seat and sliding Chad his refilled bowl, “is that he is very good at football. Coincidentally, so is Chad. And so am I.”

Captain Hitsugaya jabbed a finger at Renji. “That is a true fact!” His eyes slid sideways. “Matsumoto. I’ll let you be team captain if you give up on Captain Hitsugaya Trivia.”

Matsumoto took a deep breath and made a horrible face for several seconds. Finally, she let it out. “Okayyyyyy,” she agreed.

Dr. Kurosaki stroked his chin stubble. “My beautiful backyard, which I lovingly maintain, is just barely big enough for a three-on-three, with one substitute on each side. I will have you know, I was quite the hotshot player, in my youth.”

“You and Kon can be on our team,” Team Captain Matsumoto decided. “Renji can have Yumichika and Ikkaku.”

“We’re gonna whup your butts and take all your manju!” Madarame threatened.

“Come now, dear” Ayasegawa patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s keep things within the spirit of Squad Ten Day.”

“There are manju at stake,” Captain Hitsugaya pointed. “That was pretty squarely within the spirit of Squad Ten Day.”

“I can finish my soup first, right?” Chad asked. “It’s really good.”

“That,” said Matsumoto, “is also in the spirit of Squad Ten Day.”

#bleach returns 2022 #my writing #squad ten #yes this is the one i have been complaining about for days #4300 words this was so unnecessary #i blame chad #writing chad pov is like. sit back. observe everything. occasionally be overwhelmed by how much you love & admire your precious friends #sorry for the way it sort of pbbbts out at the end i had run out of gas six exits ago and had to end this madness somehow #advance team arc #there's just something about the advance team arc it is everything to me

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