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Kiki grinned up at the stoic captain brightly, folding her hands behind her and leaning forward slightly. "Why, on anyone else I'd say you actually sounded excited. But never fear, Kuchiki-taicho! I'm former 4th Division! If any of us ever got a full eight hours of sleep, we were probably laid up with injuries ourselves!" She turned and opened the door, motioning him inside before scurrying ahead of him and into the little office off to the side. There were still boxes and mounds of stuff everywhere, but her office was set up at least. An assortment of crazy colored pens sat in a pen holder shaped like a duck, and stationary sat off to the side, notepads and envelops emblazoned with a little motif of tiny mice dancing around pieces of cheese. A large wire cage sat in the corner on a table, two fat, fluffy guinea pigs sitting amid a nest of cedar chips, nuzzling and making faint little whirring sounds as she moved the paper and pens to a desk drawer and pulled the other chair up to sit across from hers. "Here, have a seat! I won't do the full Monty so to speak, I doubt you want to have to worry about getting ink all over yourself from a full on printing."

She sat down across from him and placed her hands on the desk palm down and grinned. "Okay, now you do what I'm doing. We gotta start with basics first."



Ikkaku grinned at Sym as he got to his feet, offering her a hand up. "Sounds like a plan to me. No need not to get scrappin' if anyone wants to be a jerk about things. Besides, we know that we didn't do anything and that's what counts, yeah?" He slid an arm around her waist as they started to head back to the division barracks, thinking for a minute about what she said about him being there for her through her crappy relationships. There wasn't anything wrong with Sym but her taste, in his opinion. And the fact that she liked him was just proof of that. Still, he wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Eh, you just looked so damned cute and pitiful, how could I chase ya away? Besides you're a hell of a lot of fun to hang out with. And I really liked all the hugs." He smiled down at her, giving her a leering wink before looking away, a little embarrassed to be joking around so closely to the truth. He had been there for her because he cared about her. He always had. At first it was sort of a little sisterly care, how he felt about Yachiru. But Sym was much different than Yachiru, and how he felt about her was much different now too.

"Ne ne, Kuchiki-taicho! It's fine, I've got time and I'll give ya the quick and dirty version! We'll just hit the high points." She grinned and reached over, placing her palms down over the back of his hand, drawing her fingers up to his fingers, a look of intense concentration on her face. The texture of his skin was smooth, cool to the touch, very fine. An artist's hands, she thought to herself, and smiled up at him. His hands were long and slender, tapering in graceful fingers. Nails smooth and shiny, a sign of good health and a strong constitution, even if he had a more delicate look to him than certain other captains. "Do you write poetry, Kuchiki-taicho?" She asked, smiling up at him impishly. "Or perhaps play any musical instruments? It'd be a shame to waste such artistic hands! See, the texture here is smooth and soft to the touch. It means that you are very sensitive, even if you try not to show it. You rest your hands with your fingers curled inwardly. You have a mask you wear around others that hides that your true feelings." She tapped her lips with a fingertip, shaking her head. "You have a strong and healthy constitution, but you don't take care of yourself enough. Your skin is cool to the touch; you need more passion in your life! Or you need to express the passion that you have rather than bottling it up and keeping it inert within you."

She looked up at him curiously. "Which hand do you favor more? Your left or your right? That's important, because your off hand reveals your true personality, whereas your dominant hand is the face you show the world."

* * *

"Che. You were pitiful then. Cryin' over some a*****e that didn't deserve ya. Gotta have a sense of your own worth, kiddo. Can't let some stupid man like me tell you how much you're worth. If they were dumb enough ta leave you, then they sure as hell ain't worth cryin' over." He said, feeling a little uncomfortable at admitting these things so openly to her. "Sides, toughened ya up a bit. You came close to kickin' my a** a few times. I was impressed." Of course he hadn't busted out his bankai, so he couldn't honestly say he was fighting with all his might. He couldn't do that yet, not to her. He trusted her, but if she ever slipped and told anyone... well, with all the chaos going on in the place right now with three captains out of the picture, he had no doubt he'd get shunted into the captain's exam right away and then where was his promise to die under Zaraki-taicho's command? He didn't break his vows, and he sure as hell didn't want any stuffed shirt Central 46 or 1st Division assholes deciding where he was gonna end up.

He glanced over at Sym a moment out of the corner of his eye. After all, he had more than a few reasons to want to stay right where he was. Some were just prettier than others.

She smiled and took his hand, cupping it in one of hers as her fingertips traced over the spiderweb of lines in his palms. The lines were deep and well formed, smooth without the breaks that accompanied lack of resolve or wishy-washyness. She admired that and looked up at him, her violet eyes soft and warm. "You have more determination than most men do, Kuchiki-taicho. You're bound by honor and duty, but you need to pay more attention to your own wants and needs." She indicated the center line, running from between his thumb and pointer finger to the middle of his hand. "So serious and analytical. So very rigidly disciplined. You have to let yourself go sometimes. Keeping so much pressure bottled up will affect your health." She looked a little concerned, tracing her fingertip over the line once more before moving on.

"But you're healthy, with a strong heart and constitution." She smiled, sliding her fingertip along the ine that curved around his thumb from wrist to the midpoint between thumb and index finger. "See? No breaks or islands, but it's a narrow curve. It doesn't sweep out broader but follows very closely to your thumb. You shouldn't be so closed off. You're an admirable man, intelligent and proud. You've got a good bit of fire in you, though you keep it hidden. There's much that you have to offer to people, you shouldn't hide it." She wondered if she should skirt the heart line entirely. Fate, Fortune, the mounts of the fingers and palm... all those were easy enough to read and she told him about them. About the secret longing he had to be praised and adored, the loneliness he didn't ever want to show, the feeling of isolation imposed by a need to be aloof and austere, to inspire respect rather than camraderie... those she could mention, but she hesitated speaking about his heart line. Deep and long, showing devotion and passion, with intensity enough to burn a woman up if she wasn't careful. Kuchiki Byakuya would be a difficult man to love, if only because it would be near impossible to love him as much as he loved that person he'd eventually give his heart to. She'd heard about it from people that had been around before her, his departed wife. The way he mourned her even now. It was hard for anyone to match that intensity. She prayed that he found someone who did one day. He deserved it, after all.



Ikkaku blushed a little as she kissed his cheek, touching the place that her lips had brushed. It was probably purely psychological but that place felt warmer than the rest of his face and he had a slight smile on his face when he responded. "Ain't no one ever said that cryin' was weak. Ya gotta get it out sometimes. It clears your mind, gets that lump in your chest ta break up. Gives ya perspective and sorta cleanses the pain a little. Makes it easier to deal with. Nah, it ain't weak to cry. Even seen taicho cry before. Yachiru wandered off, he was was a wreck worried about her. This was before she got big enough ta take care of herself, y'know? She couldna been more than three or four. When he found her, he was sobbing. Didn't even care that me and Yumi saw. We were bawling too at that point, just from relief." He shook his head a little and smiled. "Long as you can cry, yer not too far gone ta care anymore. And that's a good sign."

Kiki looked up at him and hesitated a moment, not sure whether or not to go into it. After all, he might not want to have her so openly discussing his love life. Still, the line was there, and he did ask for a reading. She traced her finger lightly over the line, focusing on his hand and not on his eyes. It would be much easier to discuss such things while not looking him in the eye. "There is a choice coming for you, regarding your heart. You've been in mourning a long time, and there's going to be an opportunity presented to you. You can choose to take it if you like but ultimately the decision is yours." She felt a bit uncomfortable talking about his love life, especially given what an intensely private man he was and how embarrassed she was about discussing romantic matters. It was so much easier with people she didn't know and respect and...well...like in that decidedly squidgy manner.

She smiled up at him gently, tapping his palm. "It could be a good thing for you. But not everyone wants change. It's up to you. I want to see you happy, however that's going to happen." She released his hand and stood, going to make a pot of tea, mostly just for something to do with her hands that didn't involve touching him. That should come with a warning label. 'Highly Addictive' would be the least dangerous thing that came with touching Kuchiki Byakuya.

* * *

Ikkaku listened as she described her mother, placing an arm around her shoulders gently. "Sounds like a hell of a lady. She'd have to be to put up with taicho." He said, trying to give what comfort he could. "Maybe someday she'll remember you guys. I bet Yachiru would be happy to have a mom that could keep up with her. Sounds like yours would be up to the task." He didn't want to pry, ask how her mother forgot about her and taicho, considering that both of them were pretty well and truly too crazy for him to even think about forgetting. Weird things happened when you mixed the living world with Soul Society though; just look at Ichigo! Poor kid was about as confused as you could get without crossdressing!

Kiki looked a little uneasy about discussing this whole thing as she brought the pot of tea to the table. Pouring him a cup and passing it to him, she wondered if she should bring it up. Still he had wanted to know why and he deserved to know. "Normally telling people about their love lines don't bother me. Heck, that's the first thing most folks want to know about. That or their money situation. You're just a very private person and I didn't want to say anything that might make you feel as though I were prying. And...and it's unusual to encounter such intensity in a person." She looked up at him, scratching the back of her neck bashfully. "You've got that whole 'true love undying romance' thing going and well, you know, it's easy for a girl to get speculative about things like that. It'd be a definite breach of palmist-customer relations though, so I don't want to start encouraging you in any particular direction. But...I think you'll be luckier in love in the future than you were in the past. That's all I feel I can ethically say on the matter."

* * *

Ikkaku smiled a little at the thought and shook his head. "I'd love to meet her myself. Anyone that can go toe to toe with you AND taicho is a force of nature to be certain!" The barracks were up ahead and he let his arm slide from around her, just in case she wanted to be a bit more circumspect about their relationship. His hand brushed against hers though, an open invitation to take it if she wanted to but letting her decide. The lights were on and he nodded to the two shinigami that guarded the gate, passing them after a quick question to see if all was well. They assured him it was a quiet night, even complaining a bit about it as he walked Sym towards her barracks room. He glanced over at her a moment and hesitated before speaking again. "So umm...was gonna go out to this festival thing in the 6th District tomorrow. Wanted to know if you wanted to come. If not, it's cool. Just figured I'd ask." He finished lamely, trying not to seem as hopeful as he felt.

Kiki nodded and smiled, taking a sip of her own tea, enjoying the warmth of it. She always had a cup before bed, green tea and chamomile, with a bit of powdered valerian root. Not too much valerian though and more chamomile and green tea to offset the slightly bitter taste and the nasty smell of the more pungent root, otherwise the concoction was simply unendurable. Still, it was sure to give a restful sleep, more than one of her grandmothers swore by it. "You'll probably need to be heading home, Kuchiki-taicho. You've got an even earlier day than me, captain and all." She smiled at him over the rim of her mug. "Feel free to come by sometime; I'll do a proper reading when we've got more time."

It would be a busy, exciting day tomorrow, meeting her new squad and getting to know all of the people she'd be working with. The Seventh Division was woefully untrained in kidou, and since she'd been with the Fourth Division before, and was a more defensive fighter, she'd be taking charge of kidou training for the division members. Komamura-taicho had been very kind and most appreciative during her interview before her formal acceptance into the squad and had been quite happy to have someone proficient in kidou to assist with training. 'Good for fighting, strong hands, but not so well suited for delicate work.' he had said, extending his massive paws during the meeting. Iba-fukutaicho wasn't very well versed in kidou either, and so the instruction of the division would fall to her in that respect. It was a big responsibility and she was quite proud to be acknowledged and able to serve in such a way.

She glanced back over to Kuchiki-taicho and smiled, inclining her head politely as she went to take his cup once he was finished, rinsing it out and putting it in the little dish drainer that sat next to the tiny kitchenette's sink. "It's been a very nice evening. Thank you for your company." She said, a surprisingly more refined and genteel response than one would have expected from the young woman. It was getting late; she normally didn't slip into the manners her mother had hammered into her head until she was extremely tired. Maybe the day had been longer than she had realized.

* * *

Ikkaku was surprised but hardly dismayed at the sudden tug into the shadows behind a post and the delicious application of Sym's lips to his. His arms came around her and he sighed a little into her mouth, enjoying the sensation of her lips on his. His fingers slid up from her waist to her shoulders and over her neck, cupping the back of her head gently as his fingers slid into her hair and the kiss deepened, his tongue tracing along her lower lip. There was that sensation of thunder in his chest again, too rapid to be called a heartbeat, more like a machine gun, staccato rhythm threatening to break his ribcage. He pulled his mouth back, gasping for breath like a drowning man, resting his forehead against hers.

"You're hell on a man, sweetheart. Keep doing things like that and you'll be a widow before you're a wife. Man's heart can't take things like that!" He grinned teasingly, sliding his hand down her spine slowly, tracing the indentation through her robe. "You'd better get inside, Lil Red Riding Hood. Big Bad Wolves like to eat up pretty girls; not let'em go after a kiss or two." The way his gaze sparked in the night, as if lit by embers in those black, black, fathomless eyes made it seem as though perhaps he wasn't joking as much as she might have thought he was.

Her first week in the 7th Division had gone very well, and Kiki found herself quite at home with the rough and tumble but good hearted men under Komamura-taicho's command. She was faintly obsessed with her captain herself; he had caught her more than once staring at his fur longingly and he had finally allowed her to pet him. He had rather seemed to enjoy it when she scratched behind his ears; he didn't seem nearly as irritable with the paperwork as long as she was petting him and brushing his coat. It had been quickly established that she would be the one to handle the paperwork though, especially given how rough around the edges the mission reports were when Komamura had to file them himself. His paws were a bit unwieldy with a pen and his claws tended to tatter the edges of the papers. Kiki had benefited from being in the 4th Division before. Every requisition form had to be filled out in triplicate, because the bureacrats in Central 46 were notorious for nickel and diming the medical corps every opportunity they got. It usually eased up after Unohana-taicho went to have a discussion with them but inevitably the terror wore off and they were right back to where they started from again. This had given Kiki a flair for paperwork and organization that the 7th was sorely lacking in. It had also made for a very long week, and suffice to say, she was looking forward to her promotion party at her parents' house.

The official invitation with directions on how to get there had been delivered to Kuchiki-taicho; she wouldn't have been surprised if he were busy that day but in case he decided he did want to show up, she made sure he'd know how to get there. Kiki herself was only just now entering the gates of Madokasawa, balancing a stack of pies and cakes in boxes as she made her way. She had opted not to wear her shinigami uniform today and had put on a simple yukata and sandals. The pattern however was far from simple, and was uniquely Kiki. Bright sky blue and decorated with frogs on lily-pads and dragonflies all along the hem, it had an almost cartoonish look to it, and when she finally arrived at the big open common area they had set the party up at grinning like an idiot, her mother had just shook her head and sighed affectionately at her daughter's unusual style. Then again, at least she got it honest.

Her dad was dressed in a robe as well, but his was even more garish than Kiki's, emblazoned with cows. Cows doing all sorts of things, from scuba diving to skydiving to karate and everything in between. Her mother, demure and elegant as ever, was a calm, serene beacon a midst all the craziness. And there was plenty of crazy to go around. Her dad had already burnt himself twice getting the barbecue fire lit, her more mobile family had set up their wagons and tents all along the big common area of the district, and her more colorful relations were already causing trouble in the most fun ways. There were hordes of little kids running around in well worn play clothes, tumbling in the grass and wrestling like puppies, pouncing and tackling each other to the ground. Aunt Briathe was there with the rest of the Gae Bolg, still in her blue warpaint and her leather belt, and not much else, talking casually to a mountain of a man in a furry hat with a thick bushy beard. Uncle Dimitri always had the best stories, even if he did get a little carried away acting out some of the more brutal battles of his Cossack former life. None of the kids minded him swinging them around like weapons; it was part of the fun once he had a few gallons of liquor in him. A gaggle of old crones dressed in various mismatched outfits had congregated around a huge bubbling cauldron, and if that didn't give the thing a decidedly witch-like air, the way they kept throwing things into the pot certainly did. However, it didn't take long for the scent of boiling hot stew to reach one's nose, and a lot of the kids had started coming around to sniff at the pot and hopefully sneak a bit of meat from the boiling liquid before one of the old crones caught them and threatened to throw them in the stew pot as well.

"Hey! Here's our guest of honor!" A voice cried out, and she recognized the thick Yiddish accent as Great Uncle Chaim, a withered little old man who hobbled up to her with a walking stick as twisted and bent as he was, clapping a still strong arm around her back. "Ahh my little bubbala! Look at you, getting prettier every time I see you!" Kiki laughed as she hugged him tightly.

"You go on somewhere, you old shvitzer! To hear you talk you'd think the sun rose and set out of my a**!" She kissed his cheek and helped him over to a table to sit, balancing the cakes and pies on her other hand. Turning her head, she saw the rest of the family had all gathered around and her mother was taking the desserts as everyone else began talking to her excitedly, asking about her first week in the 7th Division, how was she liking it, had she met any handsome men yet ("You're certainly old enough to be meeting a nice fellow and settling down with a few babies!" was heard more than once, mostly from the older ladies of the group.) Aunt Priss and Uncle Yakov brought her their youngest to hold, a baby girl about three weeks old with Priss's bright blonde hair and Yakov's deep gray eyes. It only took about a minute and the youngest member of the kooky clan had her Aunt Kiki firmly wrapped around her little finger, and Priss joked that they'd have to end up prying the little girl from Kiki's arms before the weekend was over.

The whole district seemed to be there for the party, with people milling about, watching storytellers and dancers, magicians and singers, fortuntellers and musicians plying their trade, as was fairly typical whenever Kiki's family got together. The Shineiki clan was well known and respected in the Madokasawa district and most of the people could claim distant relation to the family by virtue of being friend of a friend of a cousin twice removed or by marriage, or just having lived there in the district for so long they'd been adopted in as well.

Kiki settled down at a seat to enjoy the festivities, baby Leynka in her arms as her family whirled and bustled around her, wondering if Kuchiki-taicho was going to show up, and how he'd react if he did.