Prompt: Welcome
Characters: Hisagi Shūhei & Ukitake Jūshirō
Series: Bleach
O.C: Inugami Akiha
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Theme Song: N/A
Warnings: Swearing (Brief)
Date: 30th January 2013
Author’s Note: Snippet from a full length story.

Unlike usual, Hisagi had arrived at the office section of the Ninth Squad barracks just after 2pm. As soon as he had finished his normal shift last night, he had been dragged along to help the Shinigami Men’s Association find a new meeting room and had been doing so ever since. He had perfect faith that their 3rd Seat had the squad’s issues completely under control so there was no need to fret as much as he had been. But even with the knowledge of having the competent 3rd Seat officer, Hisagi still couldn’t shake this feeling of foreboding trouble.

Strolling into the open space of the large outer office, he wasn’t greeted by the habitual cheerfulness of his squad mates, but instead, uneasy looks and near-silence. Curious as to why there was such a difference in atmosphere, he asked outright. But before anyone could answer, the 3rd Seat Hisagi had put his trust in rushed through the main door and almost ran straight into the acting Captain.

“Lieutenant Hisagi! There’s trouble!” The man waved his arms wildly. “Oh, what are we going to do?” A man of average height went from wailing at the top of his lungs to holding his head in shaken hands.

Hisagi raised an eyebrow in confusion, not quite understanding the need for such a carry-on. “What’s happened?”

No sooner had he asked, the 3rd seat dragged him towards the Captain’s office. Pushing the door open, he pointed at the intruder. “That’s what’s happened.”

A figure hunched over the desk, face down amongst the papers strewn about as snow white hair spilled over the front in tangles.

“Do you know about this Captain Ukitake?” Hisagi glanced to the older Captain that had appeared behind them from nowhere. The white haired male smiled nervously.

All of a sudden, a pair of arms outstretched across the disorganized desk and the head of ashen hair arose. Wiping the drool from the corner of , the intruder blinked at the commotion in the doorway. “What’s the shouting for?” A yawn escaped as she arched her back to relieve some tension.

Ukitake took a step forward and leaned down slightly to greet the newly awoken female. “Inugami San, you’re going to be late for your first meeting.”

It took a moment, but when the words sunk in, she shot up, knocking over the chair she’d been sitting on in the process. “!” Grabbing the cup on the desk, she chugged its cold contents while simultaneously trying fixing her hair. “What time is it?”

Keeping the awkward eye-smile while his hands were neatly behind his back, the older man which had been put in charge of the odd woman answered the all-important question. “Twenty five past two…In the afternoon…”

“Crap…” She whined as she buzzed around the room trying to get herself together. Reattaching her sword to her right side, she spared a squint for the other two men at the door. “Who’re you two?”

Hisagi straightened up as her attention landed on him. “Lieutenant Hisagi Shuuhei of Squad Nine, and 3rd Seat-”

“-I see.” The woman pulled the sleeveless white coat off the back of the fallen chair and slipped it on before walking over to the door. “I’m Inugami Akiha. It’s nice to meet you, but I must get going.” She informed nonchalantly as she marched passed the men and out into the main room.

“Inugami San, wait.” Ukitake scurried after the female Captain.

Pausing, the tall female who had put her game face on, questioned stoically. “What is it?”

“You have ink on your face.” He pointed at the black, backwards characters printed on her cheek.

Inugami thought for a moment before the tips of her fingers and rubbing her face furiously like it was the completely normal thing to do. “I’ll deal with it on the way.” With that, both Captains left hastily.

The remainder of the Ninth Squad looked to their vacant Lieutenant for answers.

If only he had them himself.

4:15pm

Things were going as well as they could when the strange woman from earlier had returned. Stepping into the Ninth Squad barracks, the casual chatter stopped to look at female who apparently didn't know she was dripping all over the floor. Earlier had been scorching and humid, so where the storm had come from was anybody's guess. What was certain though was that this Inugami Akiha was soaked to the bone and stood in the doorway with her head hung like she was waiting for something. But after an afternoon of rumours being passed around about the new addition, no one dared to so much as move a muscle in her presence.

That was, until a chair squeaked under the heavy atmosphere. Soon enough, a petite female member who had been typing up a report had made their way over to the drenched new Captain. “Would you like a coffee, Captain Inugami?” Her question was barely a whisper.

Without needing to raise her head, opalescent lilac eyes rose to the other female’s face. “Black, no sugar.” Slowly the newcomer began moving again, this time towards the Captain's office.

A moment had barely passed when the door shut behind the woman and Hisagi was already being given those kind of looks. He knew it was his job to go and talk to the woman, but this was all a bit sudden. The girl who had offered coffee stepped towards her Lieutenant and held out the steaming mug with a hopeful smile. Unintentionally, a drawn out sigh escaped his lips as he accepted the drink. “I get it.” Following the drip patches across the polished wooden floor, Hisagi shuffled along until he was at the barrier. Knocking once with his free hand, he waited for a sign to go in, or to be told to go to Hell – Depending on the woman's mood, from what he’d heard.

“Come in.”

Hisagi took a deep breath and hoped for the best as he pushed the door that had been locked for so long before the female had arrived. “Your coffee.” He placed the cup down on the desk where he could find an empty space big enough for the mug.

Glancing up from her paperwork, Inugami stared at the man standing rigid in front of her desk. She could tell he had something he wanted to say as she watched his arm muscles twitch while he twiddled his thumbs behind his back, but instead of giving him something to go off, she decided to make him uncomfortable by continuing to blatantly stare at him.

Clearing his throat and shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Hisagi took a careful step forward. “You could at least say thank you.”

“I never asked you to bring it in.” She reminded the man that was beginning to scowl as she placed down her calligraphy brush. “Besides, you could have at least greeted me properly.”

“Uh-”

Peeking up, Inugami pointed casually between herself and the Lieutenant. “If I was one of those people easily affected by how people act around me, I would have been very upset by now. In tears, even.” She continued to speak in an odd tone, as if she was mocking him.

Like a pulse of life had been put into the man, Hisagi jumped at what he thought to be an accusation. “Hah? Are you being serious?”

Narrowing her eyes, she propped her elbows on the table and rested her head above clasped hands. Glowering with a smirk, the female locked eyes with her second in command. “Deadly.”

The air of the small, dim room had become heavy and the man unknowingly took a step back as he struggled to swallow the uneasy feeling that had crashed into him. “Then, I apologize...” He inched out of the room slowly, keeping his eyes on the facetious woman all the while.

From then on, every morning when Captain Inugami Akiha has sauntered into Ninth Squad barracks either absolutely furious or still drunk out of her mind from the night before, the building shook with brilliant, uplifting greetings from her underlings.

Perhaps the rumours of her being a demon in human skin were true after all. Perhaps Hisagi had hurriedly explained her evil nature to everyone after he scampered out of her office barely unscathed the on the first evening of her arrival. Or maybe, it just so happened that none of the above was true and that Inugami Akiha was in fact a very caring and nurturing person despite her affinity and enjoyment for purposely winding up her indispensable Lieutenant.

Updated: 6th February 2018 – 17:14