#would byakuya paint his office pink? you know he would

[recurring-polynya]

The Bount Arc features many things and one of them is a rare glimpse of a place I had previously assumed didn't even exist: The Squad 11 Captain's Office.

As I said, I generally refuse to believe that Zaraki maintains any sort of "administrative space"--I think Yumichika does all the squad paperwork on a Formica, diner-style table that somehow died and got sent to Soul Society in the "officer's lounge", which has orange shag carpeting and smells mysteriously like Miller High Life (the Champagne of Beers).

Even so, this place is beyond my wildest imaginings. The pink walls? The elegant, arcing windows, spilling natural light into the room? It's hard to tell from this shot, but the chairs are purple:

The couches look oddly like the Squad 6 couches, but they are not--the Squad 6 couches are wingbacks and don't have that wooden frame along the back and sides, and they have legs so they are up off the floor. Also, Zaraki has a very similar mysterious paperwork tray-table to the one Ginrei had in the Zanpakutou Rebellion arc. Zaraki's seems taller. Also, why is there actual paperwork on it???

I can only come up with two possible explanations for this:

Squad 11 has a Captain's Office, but Zaraki never uses it, so he let Yachiru make all the decor decisions. This would explain the pink walls, and we know she likes Byakuya's house, so maybe she cribbed the rest from him. Possibly even stole the furniture out of the dumpster the last time Squad 6 redecorated (which I assume happens, like, twice yearly)

This isn't even their office. They're just squatting in Byakuya's digs while he's out running around in Rukongai.

Update!!: A few episodes later, they were still sitting here (over the same time period that Renji, Matsumoto and Hitsugaya ran from the Seireitei to Kusajishi, for the record) and it was identified as Squad 11, so I guess option 1 is the winner!

[therewasatale]

one-time case

On Ao3.

Three steady and measured knocks could be heard on the door.

"Captain."

Byakuya Kuchiki looked up from his desk and sighed reluctantly.

It was time. They've been waiting.

"I'm coming, Renji."

"Yes, sir."

Kuchiki put aside the pen he was holding, then ran his eyes through the report one last time. Satisfied, he placed it on top of the other finished papers and stood up and straightening the scarf around his neck. Reluctantly, he left his office behind and set off with his lieutenant.

On their way Renji remained silent, but his spirit energy revealed that he was tense.

"What's wrong, Renji?"

"Sir," his lieutenant glanced towards him and choose his words carefully. "I just want to apologize for the inconvenience."

"Why are you apologizing?" Kuchiki raised one of his exquisitely shaped eyebrows.

"If we don't go there, or I'm stronger," Renji explained looking away. "Then you wouldn't have to fight now, if not for us."

Byakuya walked quietly.

It was true, the thought of fighting itself was a hassle, especially that his opponent would be Zaraki. But he couldn't do anything else, he already owed that beast since he first helped free Rukia, and then again when he appeared in Hueco Mundo. He owed a lot to that man.

And he, of course, asked for nothing else in return, just to be able to fight seriously once. And that time had come, he hoped in vain that Zaraki might die in battle.

He glanced down at his sword, the spirit energy of which only pulsed for a second.

No, It wasn't entirely true.

Captain Kuchiki shook off the unpleasant feeling and his response came with his usual serious tone, from his unflinching face.

"Don't blame yourself for this. It's not yours or Rukia's fault. Anyway, I only had to agree to one fight. The whole thing won't last more than a few minutes. It's just a one-time case."

Renji swallowed and nodded slowly.

"Yes, sir."

The fight took place inside the 11th division. This was captain Kuchiki's decision, insisting that any devastation must be endured by Zaraki's division. The mentioned captain agreed without problem. For him, the location really didn't matter.

Byakuya was the first to arrive on a rooftop, after a few moments he was followed by Renji. His shunpo isn’t perfected yet, the captain remarked to himself.

"Ah, Byakuya!" Not far from him sat Captain Ukitake, Captain Kyouraku and a bottle of sake resting next to the latter. "You're finally here, they've been really waiting for you."

Kuchiki looked around the wide field, which was one of the squad's most intact training grounds. More than a couple cracks and cuts covered the walls. In some places fresh patches of painting was visible, making stark contrast to the old areas.

Now a good few members from the 11th and 6th division stood on the top, or near the walls.

"Quiet an audience we have." Kyouraku scratched his unshaven chin.

"Captain Ukitake, Captain Kyouraku." Renji bowed respectfully to them. "Sir…may I ask, what are you doing here?"

"Hello, Abarai," Kyouraku tipped his hat. "The captain-commander sent us. He agreed to the fight between your captain and the captain of the 11th squad, but he insisted that we should be here too. Just to make sure they don’t get too into it and destroy everything. "

"There was no need for that. I will end this quickly." Kuchiki used shunpo and appeared in the middle of the square.

"Oh, friendly, as always." Ukitake shook his head and sighed

The officers fell silent.

"And here I thought you won't come after all." Zaraki sat on the edge of the square, his sword resting on his shoulder. Now he rose with a wide grin.

"I'm not breaking my promise."

"Good. Then let's fight!"

He immediately attacked and although he didn’t use shunpo he was almost as fast. However, the tip of his blade only hit the ground. He may have been fast, but he was not faster than Byakuya. Senbonzakura made a deep cut on his arm. However, Zaraki didn't seem to mind, it seemed he barely felt it.

The style the two of them used was completely different. Byakuya wanted to finish his opponent quickly and efficiently, no playing, no having fun. He saw the fight only as a brief occasion in which he finished with his opponent, or at least defeated it, though of the time the two were one and the same.

Zaraki, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He laughed after the first cut and his spiritual energy seemed to increase with each cut. He fought like a beast.

And Captain Kuchiki never liked any animals.

However, even though he knew where to stab to cause more serious injury or even death, his blade never thrusted true and only ever caused superficial injury to his opponent. Zaraki's defense was sharp and he knew exactly which cuts to pay attention to.

"So what? You think you have a chance without shikai or bankai?!"

A fierce attack barely missed Byakuya's face and left a long cut on it. Senbonzakura trembled in his hand. This was a mistake, looking at his sword resulted on him having no chance of dodging the kick. It pushed him all the way to the nearest wall and his head slammed hard against it.

"Captain!"

Renji's voice sounded muffled for a moment. He tasted blood in his mouth.

"Huh? Did you already give up? Have I known that, I should have let the big espada eat y-" his sentence was cut off by hundreds of flower petals, which streamed straight towards him. A long wound flashed through his chest.

"You talk too much."

"Finally!" Zaraki's counter attack was broken by the flower petals causing few injuries, but he dodged most of them. "Ch… maybe now you will take it seriously. Good!" He snarled wildly and Byakuya felt a tremble in his grip and in his own soul, just as the flower petals cut into Zaraki's left shoulder.

That feeling again.

What happening with you, Senbonzakura?

He received no response.

A sudden burst of spiritual energy shook the area and the spectating officers knew that they better get farther away if they knew what was good for them . From then on, Zaraki didn't hold back either. He tore off the bandage covering his eyes tossing it aside. He grinned enjoying letting his full power free.

"I see. Don't think it means anything!" Byakuya launched the flowers towards his opponent, but before they reached him they scattered as if they were leaves blown away by a violent gust of wind.

"YOU TALK TOO MUCH!"

The cut found its mark.

Byakuya looked down at his bleeding shoulder in shock, the pain pulsed all over his body. He could be thankful for the paint, it made his petals move, and they stopped the following strike. However, the force of the blow still forced him backwards.

"Come on! Come on! Come on! Fight with your everything you got or I'll kill you!"

The flower petals kept protecting him and then suddenly Zaraki's blade got stuck in the reassembled Senbonzakura.

"Heh?"

Kuchiki didn't answer, instead he used shunpo instinctively flashing away beside him and cutting him. Wound after wound appeared on Zaraki's body, but his grin just got bigger and bigger.

The nameless sword in his hand glowed with spiritual energy and roared like a wild animal. At the same time, Senbonzakura also began to vibrate. The two blades almost sparkled as they met and the spiritual energy around the two fighter become denser and denser destroying everything in their way.

Byakuya swiped and stabbed fiercely and he didn’t even care anymore where he hit his opponent. He gave it his all. He had to win. He wanted to win! They wanted to win!

He almost froze when he realized what he was thinking he used shunpo to get a few steps away from Zaraki.

Whats happening to us?

"What is it? You look like you have a problem." Zaraki placed his sword on his shoulder, turning towards him. "Why did you stop?"

"I just…" had to take a few deep breaths. "None of your business." He regained control of himself and his sword.

"Mh," Zaraki scratched the back of his neck. "I may not have a shikai, and I may not even hear the voice of my sword, but I know something," Zaraki's grin widened and he pointed towards Senbonzakura with his own sword. "Even I recognize when a sword enjoys fighting."

Byakuya tightened his hand on the grip. His noble and formal part utterly rejected even the idea of fighting like this beast. One shouldn't enjoy fighting. One should just end it as soon as possible.

And still.

The blade was almost shaking, he had to force his own arm to remain stable.

There was something about Zaraki, something about his blade, that simply drove people to fight.

Byakuya hadn't felt this way in a long time, maybe once when he was young. His blood was boiling with excitement, and so was Senbonzakura. He didn't want to restrain himself anymore. They wanted to win, no matter the price. Nothing mattered. Not the injuries, not his blood, not the fact that he could even die in the fight. He could use his bankai, but it didn’t feel right. Not here and not now.

I understand now. All right…for once..

He took a slow breath, then as he blew it out, his spiritual energy exploded again. The ground around his feet cracked deeply, it crumbled under his feet.

"Oh?" Zaraki looked up at the pink spirit energy that was so dense that it was visible. "I'm right, aren't I?" He took the blade in both hands just like his opponent. His spiritual energy was already raging, but now it began to thicken around him.

His sword roared.

Byakuya wondered for a moment why his enemy couldn't hear it when for him it was crystal clear.

It didn't matter.

Around Senbonzakura spiritual energy bloomed.

It's going to be a single blow, he will put everything into it.

They moved at once.

The ground practically disappeared under their feet and the ground shook with power.

The two blades met and for a few moments nothing could be seen in the bright flash. The surrounding houses collapsed from the shockwave and the two rows behind them suffered similar fate. As if something had exploded, the whole area was shaken by a violent wave of spiritual energy. Then, there was complete silence.

The two figures stood with their backs to each other, their swords still pointed forwards.

"Heh, that was fun!" The cut started from his thighs and ran all the way up to his shoulders. As the spiritual energy rapidly depleted around him, his blood began to gush from his wounds, streaming down, completely soaking his clothes.

He collapsed with a loud thud.

"Yes, it was." A tiny smile ran across Byakuya's face, and at the same time, blood began to seep from a wound starting at his neck, ending around his palm.

He could still hear Renji shouting for him, but then he was swallowed up in darkness.

He didn't know how long it had been, but when he opened his eyes, it was already around evening. Every part of him was numb and he felt as if something was burning in his arms.

"Brother."

Byakuya turned his head in the direction of the voice.

"Rukia?"

"Thank heavens, I was so worried. How are you feeling?" Her voice was low saturated with worry. "Shall I speak to Captain Unohana?"

"I'm fine. No need, thank you." He tried to sit up, but his body immediately signaled that it was not a good idea to move around.

"No, please stay still. You still need to rest."

"Zaraki?

"He didn't wake up yet, but they said he was sleeping with a smile. I think he was well… having fun. And um…"

"Hm, I see. Thank you for visiting, Rukia, but I better rest too."

"All right, I'll go on my way. It was nice to see you. I'll tell Renji to visit only tomorrow."

Byakuya nodded slowly. "Thank you. Goodbye." He gave out a long sigh and closed his eyes.

He waited for Rukia to close the door behind her. Besides pain, he could also feel pleasant numbness. He hasn’t had a fight like this for a long time.

He looked at his sword.

In fact, it has ben a very long time ago he allowed himself to enjoy the fight.

Beyond the door, officers hurried to their duties.

Who knows? Maybe this wasn't just a one-off case.

[their-hairpin-blog]

Chapter One

Chapter One introduces our main characters a little bit, along with some of the actions, relationships and motives. This story-blog is set after DR:AE; Izuru has become the leader of the Remnants of Despair, Nagito has brought Monaca Towa back and she has some knowledge that nobody else does. Join the remnants on their journey and the lead-in to what we know as SDR2.:)

He took out the small, pendant-like hairclip from his pocket. The only emotion he had felt before the soft girl’s execution was boredom. Now, all he could feel was this despair that Enoshima repeatedly taught him existed in everybody’s life. At first, he thought he was the exception, feeling nothing but loneliness in his brain. Nobody could be like him, it was only he that existed of his kind. The world’s Ultimate Hope was the title given to him, however, he found this name merely ironic now. He slowly tumbled the minuscule rocketship in his hand. This pain he could feel in his chest, the tears flowing freely from his eyes. He struggled to understand. “K-Kamukura?”

He jolted around, clutching onto the hairpin tightly. The call had come from the timid Ultimate Nurse, Mikan Tsumiki. She was a tall, slim woman who had made her advances on the Ultimate Hope many a time before, however, he felt nothing but emptiness. “Hello, Mikan. You’re here? How…” he stopped himself, and without use of a better word, continued his sentence, “boring.”

Her eyes had widened, wincing back, “I-I’m sorry! I-I just wanted you to know, N-Nagito…”

“Has returned? With the child?” She nodded, with warm tears in her eyes. Kamukura sighed, slipping the hairclip back into his pocket. “Then let’s welcome them.”

“Monaca likes to play!” The child beamed, twirling around in circles. Ibuki joined in, spinning around with her.

“I’m glad,” Nagito smiled fondly, sitting on a chair and watching on. Kamukura entered the room, making the blonde man jump up, standing attentively to him. “Kamukura.”

“Don’t speak. The child is safe here, and she will follow Miss Junko Enoshima, correct?” Kamukura looked at the twelve-year-old, wondering how she would take on the embodiment of despair, as Miss Enoshima had previously held; a woman half a decade older than the young girl stood in front of him.

Surprising him, she giggled, “Silly adult!” Her face turned serious; cold and unforgiving, she glared at him. “Big Sis Junko taught Monaca everything she knows.” With a slight tilt of her head, she smiled, “Especially as to how you became who you are, and how you came to be. And why you can’t help but feel despair when you hold Nanami’s hairpin.”

“Nanami…” Nagito whispered, whilst Ibuki stopped focusing and fixated herself on the point. Mikan let out a soft whimper.

Looking around at the despair-induced individuals, Kamukura stood confused. “Who…”

“Monaca’s glad Big Bro had this talk! Monaca wants to go to sleep now!” With her sing-song melodic voice, she skipped off to a different room, leaving Tsumiki in soft sobs, Nagito rushing over to wipe away her tears, Ibuki fixated on one spot and Kamukura stood in the middle of the hall, confused.

Ibuki slowly looked at Kamukura. “Nanami-chan’s hairpin?” She asked, stepping over to him. “Let Ibuki see?”

Kamukura scooped it from his pocket, holding it to the Ultimate Musician. “A space rocket? Who was she? She knew… something I cannot repeat.”

“Our classmate. She was more than that, she was a friend,” Ibuki whispered, taking the hairpin gently. Her eyes flooded with tears.

Kamukura suddenly felt emptiness. Without that pin, he didn’t feel the same kind of despair. A sense of longing for somebody, and a sense of belonging. He felt nothing. He snatched it back from Mioda, walking out of the room quickly, stepping into his office and slamming the door behind him.

“How was your adventure?” Mikan smiled, Nagito leading her slowly towards her office.

Recalling his journey, he mentioned meeting Makoto Naegi’s sister, Komaru, and bumping into Toko Fukawa, a member of the Future Foundation who would surely lend her information to a higher up, such as Byakuya Togami. “So, I’d say it was pretty adventurous, to answer your question!”

“Y-You really should be careful, Nagito…” Mikan whispered as he helped her out of the hall. Each wall looked the same, as did each door and corner. As a hideout for the remnants of despair, this area held up extremely well for its specified purpose. With a current residency of seven adults, a child and four hamsters, it was definitely large enough to accommodate, along with the others had they chosen to live there. Once the two had arrived at the Nurse’s Office, she turned to him. “Too much walking can be very… very dangerous!”

The blonde sat down, rubbing at his forehead. “I appreciate your concern, Mikan, but you don’t have to worry about trash like me.”

“But I want to,” she said, sitting down next to him. She leant over, kissing his cheek. “You know I don’t like it when you’re not with me. I get so nervous…”

He smiled, holding her to his warm body, “I know. I miss you when I’m not here,” he whispered into her hair, lifting her chin to kiss her lips softly.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, knotting one hand in his hair. “N-Nagito?”

“Mm?” He mumbled softly against her lips, eyelids heavy on his face. “What’s wrong?”

She smiled, kissing him deeply once more, “Nothing, just ki-” And before she could say anything else, his hands were over her body, exploring every curve he could find.

Kamukura had had enough. What with the commotion of previous events, he gripped on to the deceased Nanami’s hairpin, clutching on to the faintest sense of hope he could find. His eyes welled up once more and he stood confused, uneasy with what the child knew. What did Junko know, who was he? Who was Nanami? He needed to step away from his locked confinements, taking a slow walk around the remnant’s hideout.

“Crimson Steel Elephant Maga-Z has escaped!”

Kamukura stopped, his eyes rolling as he made his way towards Gundham Tanaka’s quarters. Each wall was painted dark, the decoration becoming more elaborate to match his Supreme Overlord sentence bestowed upon himself. A reflection caught his eye from the mirror, but he made no visible note. “Tanaka,” Kamukura muttered, bluntly, upon reaching the chambers.

An attractive blonde woman was sat upon Tanaka’s bed, her full length black ball gown surrounding her ankles, her red heels just visible on the dark oak effect of the floor. Her image known to Kamukura as Sonia Nevermind, the Ultimate Princess. “Izuru, Gundham cannot find Maga-Z anywhere. Have you perhaps seen him?”

“I’m afraid not,” Kamukura sighed, a glimpse of a smile appearing on his face. “However, I believe a pink shark is just outside your chambers.”

“Not cool, Kamukura,” Souda complained, letting his guard down and letting himself be seen. “I just… Miss Sonia, if you weren’t busy…” “I’m afraid I’m very busy,” she sighed, wrapping Gundham’s scarf around her shoulders. “I’ll go look for him.” The Princess gently pressed her lips to the breeder’s forehead, evoking a small smile from the latter’s lips.

“Thank you, my dark queen,” he smiled, setting her tiara upon her head and watching her leave. Souda pulled his beanie over his ears and left in a different direction.

“Now,” Izuru signed with his finger trembling slightly, wiping his face thoroughly, “I’ll be on my way.”

Gundham stood and walked over to Izuru, looking down slightly. “I feel a spirit watching over you. You’re being protected, do you understand that?” Izuru took out the hairpin, showing his fellow despair. “This is the possession of the sleepy one, correct?”

“I believe so,” Izuru whispered, passing it to him. “I watched her die, she called me by a different name. Hajime.”

The Breeder studied it for a moment before passing it back to him. “This precious instrument holds the sleepy one’s spirit, and it is connected strongly with you. It is yours to protect.”

“Can you do anything to contact her?”

“I…” Gundham looked Kamukura in the eye. “I can certainly attempt to.”

“In return…” Kamukura smiled, “you’re very clever, and certainly not boring. But I can see what you’re doing.”

Tanaka’s eyes widened as Kamukura left his quarters.

[recurring-polynya]

Apparently, if you send someone an ask, but then deactivate your Tumblr, the ask gets deleted. I got this from our old friend k-rukias, and fortunately, I already had it copied over, but anyway, that’s why this isn’t in the standard ask format. Anyway, k-rukias, I hope you’re still out there somewhere and there’s some way you can see this!

k-rukias asked:

you grasp byakuya’s character SO PERFECTLY it always makes me laugh out loud, especially your “Uncle B” stories. i’d love it if you could write more of the kuchiki-abarai family+ichika(maybe throw in some byakuya&toshiro being bffs) I SWEAR YOU DO THE DOMESTIC GENRE SO WELL one can tell you have kiddos 🥺💕

“Give Uncle Byakuya a big hug, Ichika,” Rukia instructed, stifling a yawn. “You’ll see him again on Saturday.” Despite the cheer in her voice, the second Ichika’s tiny face was buried in Byakuya’s chest, she shot her brother a thumbs up and a quizzical look.

Byakuya gave a very firm thumbs up in return. His inconsiderate adjutant was having yet another birthday, and Rukia had asked if they might hold a small family celebration at the manor this year. Byakuya wasn’t sure why. Surely the man would prefer not to see his commanding officer on his own birthday, but Byakuya loved his sister and had made the arrangements she requested.

Ichika finished rubbing her sticky cheeks all over the silk of his kimono. “Here, Uncle B,” she said, handing him a folded piece of paper. “It has to be just like this, okay?”

“Of course, my blossom,” he promised.

“No, it doesn’t,” Rukia mouthed to him behind Ichika’s back. “Okay, kiddo, you ready to go home and see if Daddy missed us?”

“I bet he fell asleep on the couch again!”

“We’ll find out! See you, Saturday, Brother!”

“Enjoy the rest of your evening, Sister,” Byakuya entreated her.

“If you have any questions, please call me,” she begged. “Or send a Hell Butterfly, or however you communicate with people these days.”

“I am very good at Text Messaging,” Byakuya assured her.

Rukia gave him an Extremely Disrespectful Look, which he tolerated, because she looked very much like Hisana when she made it.

“I will not have any questions.”

As his beloved sister and niece took their leave, he unfolded Ichika’s piece of paper.

He stared at it.

He had so many questions.

--

“I do appreciate that you texted before you came over,” Captain Hitsugaya informed him stonily. “But next time, could you text, like, more than a minute before you show up? Maybe wait for a reply?”

“Is now not a good time?” Byakuya asked. “Have I interrupted Squad 10 napping hours?”

“I just… would have picked up first,” Hitsugaya grumbled, trying to keep a stack of paper from falling off his desk. “And it’s always Squad 10 napping hours.”

Currently, Lieutenants Matsumoto and Kuna were sprawled out on the Squad 10 couches, snoring quite loudly.

“I have seen it worse in here,” Byakuya replied. “I am your,” he swallowed, “friend, and I accept your imperfections.”

Hitsugaya glowered at him. “What do you need?”

Byakuya spread Ichika’s instructions out on Hitsugaya’s desk. “Can you tell what this is?”

Hitsugaya’s eyes scanned the drawing: the lumpy creatures that might be rabbits, the crayon scribbles, the puddle of glitter. “Is this a test?”

“If it is, I am in danger of failing it,” Byakuya admitted.

“Ichika made this?” Hitsugaya guessed.

“I imagine the glitter gave it away.”

“Can’t you get Abarai to decipher it for you?”

“I cannot. I am hosting a ‘Surprise Birthday Party’ for him this weekend, and this represents Ichika’s vision of it. I need to identify the items in the picture so I can have them for the party.”

Hitsugaya nodded slowly. “Ah. These are probably balloons, then?”

Byakuya straightened up. “Balloons or lanterns? Or possibly the overhanging blooms of the wisteria?”

“You’re overthinking it. She’s five. It’s balloons. Can you ask Rukia?”

Byakuya’s mouth turned down at the corners. “Ichika’s art style bears a certain… resemblance to her mother’s. I am worried that if I ask for help…” he trailed off.

“Gotcha,” Hitsugaya replied brusquely. He sucked his teeth, and poked a finger at the page. “Well, this is obviously Abarai.”

“Yes, he is always distinguishable by virtue of the fact that she draws him three times as large as the rest of us.”

“Also, he’s the only one with pink hair and stripes,” Hitsugaya replied, raising an eyebrow. “Oversensitive, much?”

“I am only three inches shorter than he,” Byakuya grumbled. “The hair makes him look taller.”

“You are not getting any sympathy here, give it up,” Hitsugaya grumbled back. “He’s got a hat on, I think? A party hat?”

“Yes, I did get that far. We are all wearing hats.”

“Abarai also appears to either be wearing a lei, or he is in bankai.”

“A lei?”

“A flower necklace? We should have some around here, from the last time Matsumoto threw a luau.”

“Ah, thank you,” Byakuya replied. He had not actually expected Hitsugaya to be quite this helpful, and he wondered how he was going to repay the man’s patience in this matter.

“All this stuff on the table is… food, maybe? Gosh, I cannot tell what any of this is. These things look like fish, but they’re brown… taiyaki, maybe?”

“Oh, yes, I had figured that part out as well. Even I know that taiyaki is Abarai’s preferred celebratory food. I actually have a specially made mold--”

“You should make normal ones. Fish ones.”

“He likes Admiral Seaweed taiyaki.”

“It’s the man’s birthday, don’t make him pretend to like your weird taiyaki.”

“They have more crispy bits because of the arms and legs! He told me that specifically, in a complimentary manner!”

Hitsugaya gave him an Extremely Disrespectful Look. Unfortunately, the young man did not have the advantage of resembling Byakuya’s beautiful late wife.

--

Byakuya was distinctly Not Sure About This, but Hitsugaya had hit a wall and decided they needed to bring in ‘a bigger gun.’

Byakuya hadn’t actually set foot in the Squad 5 offices since Aizen’s departure. He didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about Aizen, generally, but at least the man had a classical taste in decor. Now, his former workspace more closely resembled the interior of an eclectic Living World coffee establishment for beatniks. One wall (but not the others) was painted orange, and covered in strange, stylized art that appeared to have been done by the captain and lieutenant themselves. The rug hurt his eyes. There was a beaded curtain.

“I don’t know why you thought I was going to have any insight on this, Shirou,” Lieutenant Hinamori grumped, squinting at the picture. “Renji’s the only one who can decipher these things.”

Byakuya could not help feeling the tiniest bit smug that he was not the only one who was sassed by his loved ones.

“Well, I figured you’d been to an Abarai birthday party or two,” Hitsugaya excused.

“Yeah,” Hinamori replied. “The grown-up ones. Unless this thing over here is supposed to be a tokkuri, and Captain and Lieutenant Kuchiki are arm wrestling, I can’t help you.” She frowned. “You’ve been to an Abarai birthday party, haven’t you?”

“They’re a little wild for my blood,” Hitsugaya excused. “And nobody likes drinking around their captain. I’ve been, but I usually leave before he starts bench-pressing people.”

“There are captains who come,” Momo pointed out. “And I doubt your presence would slow Matsumoto down, anyway, she’s impervious to that judgemental thing you do with your eyebrows.” She contemplated the paper. “What are these weird marks? Is this a speech bubble?”

“We couldn’t figure those out,” Hitsugaya admitted.

“Lemme take a look,” Captain Hirako, who was unfortunately present, announced. “Sometimes you gotta look at things from a different perspective.”

He turned the paper upside down. He turned it backwards. He turned it right side up, and turned his head sideways.

“I got nothing,” he replied. “Kid’s got good style though. And I think Momo may be onto something, actually. I went to Abarai’s last birthday party, and Kuchiki the Younger beat me at arm wrestling in an embarrassingly short amount of time.”

“It’s your noodle arms, sir,” Hinamori supplied. She stuck out her lower lip. “A different perspective, though, is not a bad idea. You know who you should go ask?”

Byakuya did not want to hear the answer.

--

“This is dango. This is katsudon. This is shaved ice.”

Byakuya was frantically taking notes.

“How… how can you tell?” Hitsugaya gaped.

Hachigou Nemuri regarded him with her serious, dark green eyes. “I have seen many of Abarai-chan’s drawings.”

Akon made a grumbling noise. “Abarai-chan’s drawing fuuuuu---udged up Nemu’s image recognition subroutines for months. I mean, it was a good thing, in the long run, I ended up implementing an entire art appreciation suite of dynamically created subroutines. It took me forever to figure out why she couldn’t recognize normal drawings of things, though.”

“What are these marks?” Byakuya asked, pointing to the funny squiggles hanging above everyone’s heads.

“Abarai-chan can’t write yet,” Nemu explained.

“Yes, I know that,” Byakuya replied.

“Writing is a form of communication that utilizes mutually understood symbols to convey an idea from one party to another,” Nemu recited. “Abarai-chan does not yet grasp the importance of a common dictionary in the delivery of information.”

Akon scratched his neck. “You’re saying Abarai-chan doesn’t know very many kana, so she just makes them up.”

“Correct,” Nemu agreed.

“Can you read them?” Hitsugaya asked hopefully.

“She does not employ a self-consistent character set.”

Byakuya and Hitsugaya’s eyes darted to Akon, who was unwrapping a piece of nicotine gum.

“She makes it up as she goes along,” he elaborated, cramming the gum in his mouth. “There is no translation.”

“Momo thought it might be a voice bubble, like in a cartoon,” Hitsugaya mused.

“Maybe it’s just a title to the piece,” Byakuya surmised. “Father’s Birthday Celebration’, for example.”

“Abarai-chan calls Lieutenant Abarai ‘Daddy’, not ‘Father’,” Nemu corrected.

“It was an example,” Byakuya bit off testily.

“This could be cherry shaved ice or strawberry shaved ice,” Nemu added hopefully. “Abarai-chan likes strawberry shaved ice, but I prefer cherry.”

“You are not attending this party,” Akon reminded her.

“I just thought Captain Kuchiki might be interested to know,” Nemu sniffed. “In case he felt like buying me a shaved ice. As a thank you for my services.”

--

Byakuya examined Ichika’s diagram and compared it to the celebratory items currently marring the beauty of his garden. He had the balloons. The hats. The dango. The taiyaki. Both strawberry and cherry shaved ice. “I think I have replicated everything,” he declared. “Have I missed anything?”

“You don’t have rabbit ears,” Hitsugaya replied dryly.

“The rabbit ears are symbolic,” Byakuya explained. “I am wearing the lei. You should put on a lei.”

“I am not putting on a lei. I am not in the picture at all, actually, so I think I should probably scram.”

“You could stay,” Byakuya replied, feeling a little odd about it.

Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t this a family thing?”

Byakuya blinked. “Family gatherings are large, mandatory, and unpleasant. This is a small party and I am very fond of the Abarai.”

Hitsugaya just stared at him.

Byakuya squirmed. “The fact is… I am not good at things like this.”

“Of course you are. Ichika adores you. Rukia and Renji do, too.”

A normal person would have wrinkled their nose, or sucked their teeth, but Byakuya wasn’t really into making facial expressions, so he just made his usual one and stared off into the middle distance briefly. “Hisana was very good with people. At these times, I often think about how easily she would host a birthday party for a brother-in-law, how natural she would have been with Ichika. She loved children.” He contemplated the drawing. “I am sure she would have interpreted this perfectly, text and all.”

Hitsugaya, who did make facial expressions, blew air out of his cheeks. “If it makes you feel better, I can stay.”

“I would, very much, appreciate it.”

Seike, Byakuya’s chief retainer, shuffled out onto the engawa. “Lord Kuchiki, the Abarai are here.”

“Please escort them out here,” Byakuya replied, plunking a hat on Captain Hitsugaya’s head, and one on his own.

“It’s so unusual for Uncle Byakuya to invite us over on a Saturday,” Byakuya could hear Rukia’s voice before he could see her. His impression was that the ‘surprise’ involved in this party was a figleaf for Ichika’s sake. Abarai was a fool, but he wasn’t an idiot.

“What is this?” Abarai exclaimed as he and his family stepped through the doorway, although he did a genuine double-take at Byakuya’s flower necklace.

Ichika’s face lit up as she took in the decorations, the food. But then her expression turned to dismay at her uncle, standing still and awkward. He had missed something. It was the text. It was important after all.

Hitsugaya’s elbow jammed into his ribs. “Surprise!” the younger captain yelled. A voice bubble! Of course!

“Surprise!” Byakuya added, belatedly.

“Happy Birthday!” they shouted together, with Rukia and Ichika joining in a beat later.

“Well, I’ll be!” Abarai did his best impression of a surprised person.

“Were you surprised, Daddy!” Ichika asked, jumping up and down and tugging on her father’s hand. “Were you?”

“I was very surprised,” Abarai reassured her.

“Why is Captain Hitsugaya here?” Rukia asked, utterly befuddled.

“I heard there was shaved ice,” Hitsugaya excused very quickly.

“Uncle B did all of it, Daddy, just for you! Isn’t it perfect?”

“Of course it is,” Abarai snorted. “If Uncle B did it, how could it be otherwise?”