I sat on the floor with my legs to the side. Even though it was more polite to sit on your legs, I couldn't do it without inflicting pain on my injury. I was wearing pyjamas that belonged to Ururu-- one of Kisuke's staff-- though, it was short since she was 10 centimetres shorter than me.

I sneezed into my handkerchief. Even with hot tea in hand, I was still damn cold. I wiped my glasses and placed them on the table. I took a sip as I silently listened to the rain pouring outside. The calming sound nearly lulled me to sleep. The door slides open as I looked over, "Abarai-Kun?"

"Where were you?" He asked, settling right next to me, "I ate the leftovers in the fridge. I was hungry and you were taking a long time," he muttered.

I arched a brow at him, "We had leftovers?" I asked him. But I quickly shook my head, dismissing his statement, "It started to rain heavily and I was stranded," I muttered, "I was lucky Kisuke-San found me," I took a sip from the cup.

I gave Renji a good look, noticing he was drenched. He untied his hair and took off his Shihakusho. "Why aren't you in your Gigai anyway?" I asked him. "The thing is hard to go back in," he answered, twisting the black cloth. Renji had tattoos on his forehead and more on his chest. All of them looked like tribal markings of some sort.

"I have a question," he voiced, twisting his maroon bandana, "What's going on between you and Captain Hirako?" There was a puddle beside him from twisting his clothing dry. My eyes averted away from him as I bought the cup to my lips, sipping loudly to avoid answering his question.

I looked over to Renji, my cheeks slowly became warm with embarrassment. I placed the cup on the table, "Well..." I paused, gathering my words to try and explain what the hell was going on between Shinji and I. Even I wasn't sure what I should call it. "He flirts with me. I like him. That's about it," I shrugged.

Renji lifted his eyebrows as if he knew I could elaborate more. I sighed, "I met him during the festival. He was on the ground so I helped him up. We both talked for a minute," I explained, "That's it."

"Uhuh," he said, sounding like he wasn't convinced. I gave him a look, tilting my head o the side. I blinked at the red hair, "What were you expecting? A love story?" I scoffed, shaking my head, "I'm not even good at writing those," I took a sip.

The sound of a hand fan snapping shut caused both of us to jump. I turned my head to the front, seeing Kisuke grinning. "How long were you sitting there...?" I asked, looking at the tea in my cup with my fingers entangled with each other.

"Hmmm," the cunning shop-keeper hummed, "Long enough to know something is going on between you and Shinji," he lifted his eyebrows with a wide grin on his lips. I covered my face in embarrassment, wishing I had the strength to let out a long high-pitched scream.

"Nothing is going on with the two of us," I moved my hands to cup the side of my face as I rest my elbows on the wooden table. I squinted my eyes at the shop-keeper, giving him a tired warning look, don't.

"Are you sure?" He had a shit-eating grin that I wished I could splash my tea right at it. But I was polite and tired and I had morals. "Flirting doesn't sound like nothing," he continued with a playful note in his voice, "Didn't you say you like him?"

Oh for the love god.

That was it. I ran my mouth too much and now I was paying the price. "Yeah, I did," I mumbled, looking away from him. I bit on my index finger, turning my head away from the shop-keeper. "Sorry, I couldn't quite hear you," oh, this teasing motherf-- I closed my eyes for a moment, collecting my patience, "Yes, I did say I like him," I said, a little louder.

"Does he know?" Our little conversation-- or rather teasing reminded me of all the high school memories I had back at home. But at least this bunch wasn't going to share it with the whole world. Maybe they were going to, at least it would be on a positive note.

I shrugged, "I hope he does, I was a flustered mess in front of him," I took a small sip before continuing, "If he doesn't, he's on a next level of dense." Renji nodded to confirm my first statement, "He was practically flirting with her right in front of us all," Renji muttered, "And she was very red."

Renji looked over to me, "He even asked you on a date," this certainly captured Kisuke's attention even more. My eyes widened in embarrassment as I laughed nervously. "Oh, did he now?" Kisuke chirped, leaning forward towards us, "What did you say?" He looked over to me.

"I was too flustered and shocked to say anything..." I muttered, feeling my cheeks burn. At that moment, I felt like a giddy 13-year-old teenager when I was, in fact, a 17-year-old. I covered my face again, too embarrassed to show my already scarlet red face.

The two men chuckled at my reaction which made me feel even more embarrassed. I huffed, removing my hands from my face, "Do you need a fan to cool you down, Neddy-Chan?" Kisuke asked, fanning himself as he covered his mouth that was probably curved up into a grin.

I gave the shop-keeper an insincere smile, "No, I'll be fine." I squinted my eyes as I smiled. I tapped my fingers against the smooth wood. "Since you've met Shinji..." Kisuke muttered, "Surely you've met Hiyori?" I looked over to him, nodding.

"How is she?" His voice was warm. His grey eyes filled with calm warm emotions. I gave him a genuine smile, "She's aggressive I can tell you that," I replied. He chuckled at my answer, "Seems like she hasn't changed at all."