Welcome to Gaia! ::

(Ahh, that's okay! Some parts are slower than others!)

Ikkaku had a lap full of Sym and was certain she was two cups of sake away from losing her clothes and gaining a coating of some sort of condiment. It usually happened that way. She was still dressed at this point, but her hands were coated in duck sauce from Rangiku's exceptionally messy bowl o' noodles. He sighed, taking a napkin and cleaning the gooey, sweet sauce off of her digits. "Hey brat. Trashed already and it's only twenty minutes into the party. That's a new record for you." He couldn't help but smirk fondly at the girl and attempt to get her upright. "Here, eat some noodles. It'll soak up some of that booze." He brought her bowl over in front of her, not bothering to get her off of his lap. He reasoned that as long as she was in his lap, he didn't have to worry about one of those drunken lechers in their group snuggling her much more inappropriately than they should have. And besides, it was...well, kinda nice to be honest.

Kyouraku and Ukitake grinned a little as they watched Sym be tended to by her bald friend, sharing a triumphant look. Perhaps their Hook Up Sym With Ikkaku scheme was already half done for them. Kyouraku couldn't complain. Anytime he could shirk work and still get results was a good day for him. Yumichika on the other hand eyed the two captains warily and then glanced over at Ikkaku cradling the inebriated girl with more gentleness than he had thought the rough and tumble third seat capable of, a speculative look on his face. Hmm...maybe those two drunken fogies were on to something. This definitely bore more investigation.

Kiki bowed immediately to Unohana-taicho, the respect that she had for the elegant captain of the 4th Division undiminished even after decades in her service. "Aah, yeah pretty much, Unohana-taicho! Just wanted to check and make sure I didn't leave a mess in the old room!" She glanced back at Kuchiki-taicho a moment, not exactly sure how to explain the presence of the regal captain of the 6th Division accompanying her, but then her former captain was very good at not asking the wrong questions. The beautiful healer smiled at her former 7th seat and inclined her head to the taller girl, glancing over at Byakuya a moment as well.

"I shouldn't keep you from your party then, Kiki-chan. We will miss you sorely of course, but it is an excellent opportunity for you to expand your horizons a bit. Komamura-taicho is a good man and an excellent captain. I believe you will be very happy under his care." The dark haired woman placed a hand on her young former subordinate's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Kiki flushed and bit her lip, the idea of leaving everything and everyone she ever knew behind crashing down on her. Ohh, she knew that she could come visit Unohana-taicho and her friends here at the 4th anytime she wanted but..but it was different. She'd be here as a visitor, never again as one that belonged. She raised her chin and bit back a sniffle, nodding to the dark haired woman she idolized so much. With a quiet smile, Unohana took the key to the girl's old room and slipped it into her haori, turned and glided away, saving the girl her pride should her tight rein on her tears slip.

It took a moment of deep breaths for Kiki to bring herself under control, having almost forgotten that Kuchiki-taicho was still there. She turned to him, giving him a watery smile. "I...I'll just be a few minutes. Going to make sure the room is ready for the new 7th seat." She turned, heading down the corridor, not expecting him to follow her, and stopping at her old door. The room was clean and swept, the bed fresh and bare, waiting for it's new occupant. She just looked at the old, familiar walls a moment, seeing the tiny nail holes that had held up her picture boards and her photo frames, the scuff marks on the floor from her boots that had been too stubborn to be polished out, the mark that the headboard of her bed made in the paint on the wall, touched up but not invisible. Tiny patches on the wall where the sticky tape from her posters had hung. A thousand little lived in touches that told the story of her life since she had graduated the Academy. And now she was moving on. It was bittersweet in a way, a beginning and an ending. She folded her arms around herself and sighed, resting her head against the doorjamb and just...remembering.

She'd been so nervous her first day. Sad too, since Renji-kun had been selected by the 11th and Rukia-chan had been tapped by the 13th. They were at least on the same side of Seireitei together. Kiki had felt so alone. Of course, she'd made friends eventually, and she'd come to love her division like an extension of her own family. Unohana-taicho had met her mother and father for tea one day soon after her arrival, assuring her parents of her excellent work and high recommendations. She'd loved her work, having gotten to know everyone that had passed through those halls in some way. She'd taken medicine to Ukitake-taicho, drank with Kyouraku-taicho, had patched up Zaraki-taicho (and was one of the few 4th Divisioners that he didn't give a lot of lip to after she'd threatened to tie him down to that bed, leave the window open and pour birdseed on his head and chest to make him her own personal birdfeeder if he didn't behave himself) had sat with injured shinigami and fought for their lives, had even cried over the ones that didn't make it. She would miss it. But Unohana-taicho was right. It was time to move forward.

The open 4th seat of the 7th Division was a good place to start; she didn't know where she'd end up, but she was sure that there were valuable things to learn and friends to make along the way. Maybe she'd wind up a lieutenant one day; Hisagi-san teased her sometimes, saying that if he ever got the 9th Division captain's spot, he'd tap her for fukutaicho in a heartbeat. She was sure he was only half joking. With a few years and some training, she might even make a decent lieutenant.

Taking a deep breath and clearing her throat she sighed, turning away from the now empty room. This wasn't her home anymore. It was always a place to come for friends and comfort...but it wasn't home now. It was time to meet up with her friends and celebrate a new home.

She just hoped she was as happy with the new one as she had been with the old one.

Discussing why he didn't have a girlfriend or a fan club wasn't exactly what Ikkaku had been looking forward to. He had his own theories, and for the most part, they crossed over with Matsumoto's pretty well. Not to mention the fact that it was pretty hard to attract feminine company when you hung out with a man so beautiful they tended to give actual women an inferiority complex. Besides, Yumi could be very bitchy when he wanted to be, and most girls who would even get the courage up to approach him would be a bit nervous about doing so in front of the peacock-feathered anti-wingman.

He had to admit that he could feel his chest puffing up just a bit from hearing Sym sound so very complimentary of him, and a faint little blush crept up over the bridge of his nose. But she was his captain's daughter, and she was drunk right now, so taking what she said to heart wouldn't be a very honorable thing to do. She was adorable though, beautiful if he was going to be honest with himself, and she could handle herself in a fight. That more than anything was something he respected. The fact that she could be a badass member of the 11th and still be cute and sweet and just the right amount of girly just confirmed it. Ohh, it wasn't that Ikkaku hadn't thought of it himself. He had, and admonished himself for being a perv. How old was she compared to him?? Sch-yeah. Cradle robber was the kindest term he would be called.

Still, he couldn't deny that there was something more than a little pleasant about having Sym sitting on his lap, defending his sexiness, even if it did make him blush all the way to the tips of his ears. "Oi! Shaddap, Sym-chan! G'nna make me sound all wimpy and stuff ya keep talkin' about me like that! Tch, you want me ta go shack up with some broad or d'ya want me to keep training with ya?" He grumped, softening the words by gently stroking her back with an affectionate hand. "Always talkin' crazy s**t when you get drunk."

Matsumoto was drunk, but she wasn't stupid. Her eyes shot back to Ukitake and Kyouraku. Target confirmed. Ohh, this was going to be fun...

The walk back from the 4th Division to the noodle shop wasn't a very far one, and Kiki hadn't really known how to carry on a conversation with the stoic captain of the 6th. He was intimidating to say the least. Powerful, handsome, silently noble... yeah, it was like showing up to a fancy dinner party in cut off shorts and flip flops. Didn't matter what you said, you felt like a moron. She shoved her hands into her pockets and picked up the pace a little, finally reaching the shop and throwing open the doors. "Haaaah!! The fuuuuun has arriiiiiiiived, yeah!!" She called, striking a dramatic pose. "Fourth Seat Shineiki reporting for booze!!" Her proclamations were followed by whoops and cheers as she slung off her kosode, leaving her arms bare in the black tanktop, Kira-kun was the first to stumble up and hug her drunkenly, and she laughed, ruffling the vice-captain's hair. "Damn, you jackasses couldn't wait for a b***h to show up to her own party before you get sloshed! I oughta make you all cover MY booze!" There was an uproar of laughter and booing as she slid into the seat at the head of the table, her place of honor. An empty seat was there beside her, because Ikkaku and Yumichika's general assertion was that if she was dumb enough to invite Princess Kuchiki to a raucous drinking party, then it was up to HER to babysit him! It didn't take long to have her bowl of Mongolian beef and chicken noodles and her own bottle of Southern Comfort delivered(a taste acquired due to a particularly thoughtful gift given to her by Ikkaku once after having been assigned to New Orleans during Mardi Gras. To this day, she couldn't remember that weekend, but the 12th Division having to deconstruct Mayuri-taicho's bedroom door to get the goats out gave a bit of an indication that for legal purposes, it was better that she couldn't).

Settling back in her chair as the guest of honor, she presided over the table cheerfully, purposefully not making mention of the fact that it looked like Ikkaku had an extra growth attached to him (yeah, inviting Sym-chan had been a good idea!) and the fact that everyone was eyeing the bald third seat and his lap warmer speculatively. Perhaps romance was blossoming in the air? That'd be nice, Yumi had been getting all the dates for a while now, it was only right that Ikkaku would eventually get some play.

Ikkaku would have tried to save Kiki from Rangiku's death-tits, but for one, Kuchiki seemed surprisingly on task for this little rescue operation, and for another thing, well...he had a lap full of drunken Sym issuing proclamations about how any woman that he "shacked up with" (honestly, had she been hanging out with Kyouraku-taicho too much lately??) should treat him. It was best to just go along with whatever she said (the way his ears were burning and pink now not withstanding.) "Yeah, whatever you say Sym. I believe ya. Now eat your noodles." He said, surprisingly gently for Ikkaku, ruffling her hair. The telling looks around the table were enough to make his ears go from pink to bright red and he snarled at Kira and Hisagi, who seemed to be unable to contain their snickers. "Yeah, yeah, yuk it up you asshats! You wanna take this s**t outside??" That cleared the humor from their faces (for the most part) and Ikkaku turned his attention back to Sym.

Death by boob suffocation was a danger of hanging out with Ran-chan but Kiki had never come so close as she had in that moment. Most of the time the bubbly strawberry blonde woman saved all of her squealing and suffocation attempts for her long-suffering captain but today was just Kiki's lucky day, she supposed. Still, she had been extremely surprised to find herself being pried out of Ran-chan's grasp and pulled against a surprisingly lean, hard muscled side, and it was probably a bit cliched, but she could swear that all she could breathe in was the scent of cherry blossoms.

Her brain just...stopped. She looked up at him (which was surprising, Kiki wasn't used to a guy being actually taller than her and she'd have certainly thought that Kuchiki-taicho would have been her height at best, maybe a bit shorter, certainly not looking down at her in a way that made her feel decidedly squidgy inside) eyes wide and a faint little blush spreading across the bridge of her nose and into her cheeks. "I...y-yeah, yeah I'm fine. Ran-chan hasn't killed me with her tits yet, I don't think she's gonna start today." She hated that she sounded just a little breathless.

Ukitake looked from Kiki to Byakuya speculatively, resting his chin on his hand. "Hmm...you may be right. How very interesting! I never would have pegged her for his type. He did tend to favor the genteel, delicate ones, didn't he? The ones with impeccable manners. I'm not sure Kiki knows what manners are." The white haired captain mused. Still, they would make an attractive couple if Kiki ever bothered to try and look like a girl. The girl had been hanging out with the 11th Division thugs far too long; it was rubbing off on her. He sighed. "Nothing worse than a perfectly beautiful young woman thinking that she's a boy. I hope that if they are a blossoming couple, Byakuya puts his foot down about her status as junior-thug-in-training. I bet she'd be lovely in a kimono."

Kyouraku laughed into his sake a little. "Yare yare, Jyuu-chan! I couldn't imagine Kiki NOT being a little thuggish. In fact, I think that if those two were to get together, Byakuya would be the one who'd be changing more than Kiki-chan." The brown haired captain sighed a little and shook his head. "Honestly though, these are all moot points. I'm not sure which couple would actually get anywhere with each other. Sym's an innocent, Ikkaku is oblivious, Byakuya's too prim and proper and Kiki...well, Kiki's Kiki. I'd pay good money to see EITHER of those couples actually get together, but I bet I'll be retired before that ever happens."

The white haired captain eyed the four in question speculatively. "I don't know. I think that Ikkaku is getting an idea. And Byakuya isn't the sort to let a little thing like Kiki's romantic retardation stop him if he decides he wants something. Face it, those two girls don't stand a chance if those men get serious. In fact, I'll bet that Byakuya and Kiki get together first, if only because Byakuya doesn't regularly kill his brain cells with booze and well, when it comes to strategy, no one beats him."

Kyouraku shook his head. "You're forgetting noble households and all that protocol and such. Ikkaku will have already proposed before Byakuya-kun finishes filing the paperwork with his clan head to even COURT Kiki!" He glanced over at his friend's face and smiled. "Winner buys dinner?" He smirked knowingly.

Ukitake grinned. "Winner buys dinner every week for the next year." Kyouraku smirked and raised his sake dish in agreement, and sat back to watch the fireworks. Ahh young love...

The best part was that neither of them had actually said that there could be no outside interference. Let the games begin.

Kiki was more than a little disappointed that Kuchiki-taicho had let her go; after all, it had been very pleasant…surprisingly pleasant…perhaps a bit unnervingly pleasant… to have his arm around her shoulders and to be pressed to his side. She gave herself a little mental shake and cleared her throat a bit, grabbing her SoCo and taking a slug straight from the bottle and chasing it with orange soda, reveling in the alcoholic dreamsicle taste that reminded her how she got the beads for that bead curtain currently hung up against her wall in her new room.

She glanced over at Kuchiki-taicho, surprised to see him take a shot of sake, figuring him more for an elegant wine sort, not really expecting him to be so adventurous in the alcohol department. Still, it made her have a sudden, wicked urge to ask if he fancied a Long Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against a Cold Hard Wall with a Kiss, but she figured that she’d be chopped into fish food by Senbonzakura before she had a chance to explain that it was a mixed drink. It would have been funny to see his face though.

Ikkaku glared at Rangiku a moment, and then glanced down at the girl hiding her face in his chest, able to feel the heat of her blush through his kosode. Dammit, he did like her. Sym-chan was a worm sort of girl; she nibbled her way inside of you slowly, and to look at things, you’d never notice she was in there. Then someone had to do something so damned fool stupid as Rangiku making the girl squeak and blush and hide her face in his chest, to cut in and show all the little tunnels the girl had wormed into his heart. “You ain’t gotta beat me up, squirt. I believe ya. No accountin’ for taste, I guess.” He said a little sheepishly and glanced back over at Kiki. “Oi! Yer th’ guest of honor, so why ain’t everyone paying attention ta you?? s**t, if it was my party I’d make all these assholes buy their own booze! ‘Cept me and Yumi, of course, since we helped ya move yer heavy a** s**t over to the 7th!”

Yumi smiled and shook his head, glancing at Ikkaku, who was currently looking like he wasn’t entirely sure what to do about having a lapful of Sym-chan and no idea what to do with it, aside from several naughty thoughts that might get him killed, if not by the girl herself, then definitely by the father who, after some initial trepidation, had taken to having another kid like a duck to water. Especially since he’d never had to change this kid’s diapers and she could drink with everyone else. Alcohol and self sufficiency seemed to be the way to Zaraki-taicho’s heart after all. “Sym-chan, eat your food. You’ve had MORE than enough alcohol.” He gave a sharp look at Rangiku, as well as an unmistakable expression that told her to mind her own drunken business right now, and if he caught her pushing his two bashful friends further than they were ready to go yet, he’d kill her. No one did bitchy-scary like Yumichika and well Rangiku knew it, becoming a bit more subdued and going back to her seat. The feather browed man turned his attention to their guest of honor and smiled a bit. Now THAT couple was fair game. He didn’t think he’d EVER seen Kiki get laid, and if Kuchiki ever had been, obviously it hadn’t been done correctly, or that stick that was permanently embedded in his a** would have come out from all the activity.

Ukitake knew an opening when he saw one, and began to surreptiously slide a fuller bottle of sake over towards Byakuya, making sure that it was warmed. Alcohol lubricated so many social functions. Besides, the more drunk the too stiff and proper head of the Kuchiki clan was, the more likely that he could engineer something to get those two off on the right foot. After all, there were quite a few very nice places he wanted to try eating at if Kyouraku was paying.

Ikkaku sighed a little and shook his head. "Alright there, calm down Killer. Ain't no call for being a pain in the a** drunk." He watched, an amused smile on his face as Kira grabbed Sym the Lap Warmer and hauled her over onto his lap. It was good to see the blond man getting into the spirit of things; Hisagi, Momo and Kira had more than enough on their plates right now. If he could have figured out some way to help the three lieutenants, he'd be happy to do so. But this was something that was gonna have to work itself out. Hisagi wasn't too far away from bankai, he'd probably be given command of the 9th pretty soon. Kira just wasn't cut out for captaincy; that wasn't anything bad, just how the blond was. Hell of a lieutenant but just not assertive enough to be a captain. And Momo... well, Ikkaku hated to speak ill of someone who'd been through so much, but she had about as much business being a captain as a lamb being in charge of a pride of lions. She just didn't have the temperament for it; didn't have the backbone. It wasn't her fault; that manipulative a*****e had made her that way, always relying on him to take care of everything, coddling and babying her, restricting her growth so that she was completely dependent on him. Ichimaru had done the same thing to Kira in a lot of ways. Hisagi had escaped pretty well unscathed, aside from his beliefs being shaken to the core. All that talk of justice and crap and look where it got them. Ikkaku glanced over at the two men a moment, a slight look of empathy on his face. Funny how everyone always talked about how his captain was such a monster - kinda strange to see how it was the kindest captain, the friendliest captain, the most honorable captain, who had been the one to betray them all. If he had been of a mind to be philosophical, he'd have extrapolated a bit on the irony of the situation.

Hell with that s**t. He was here to get drunk.

That brought his attention back to Sym as he watched her getting the karaoke stuff set up. He remembered what Kiki had told him "karaoke" meant before and couldn't help but snicker. If she was right and "karaoke" really did translate to "drunk assholes sing badly", then they were all in for a treat. Still, Sym had a good little set of pipes on her. At least it wouldn't be too painful. Get a few drinks in Kiki and she became Ella freakin' Fitzgerald, smoky voiced crooning and all. He smirked a little and watched Sym, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair. "Oi! Sing "Barbie Girl"!" He grinned over at Yumichika. "I loved that freakin' song ever since Matsumoto managed to get the small fry to sing it at that karaoke bar while we were chillin' in the world of the livin'."

Yumi twittered in amusement. "Hitsugaya-taicho looked like he was about to kill Ran-chan. Still, a promise is a promise, and she actually managed to refrain from shopping, sleeping in and trying to suffocate him with her chest for three whole days. He was honor-bound to comply with her request. If I were her, I'd have asked for something much more beautiful. He looked so angry the whole time."

Ikkaku snorted. "Angry or not, seeing the shrimp having to bounce on stage singing about gettin' undressed everywhere was worth every minute."

Kiki glanced over at Byakuya, seeing him put down the shot glass again and frowning to herself. She didn't know how often he did this, but she couldn't imagine that the 6th Division captain had a very high alcohol tolerance. She sighed inwardly. How did she wind up being the designated drunk-sitter at her own damned party? She shook her head, capping her SoCo and finishing up her orange soda, settling back to see what Sym and Kira-kun were going to sing first.

Ikkaku had to admit that the song she picked suited her far better than 'Barbie Girl' ever could have. It was little surprise that he enjoyed her company so much. He tapped his foot in time with the song as she bounced around the stage, full of sass and fire and just a little bit sexy. It was the sexy part that made him feel a little uncomfortable, not exactly sure he was ready to see Sym as a desirable woman. It wasn't just the fact that she was Zaraki-taicho's kid, though that would worry any sane man. It was more than that. It was the shifting of the paradigm of their relationship, away from the comfortable, familiar gears of squadmates and friends to something more intense, more substantial. His smile was a little forced as he glanced over at Yumichika.

"You gonna get up there and belt it out too?" The dark haired man laughed a little and shook his head. "Now now, I only do things beautifully, you know that. And singing is definitely something I do NOT do beautifully!" The bald man rolled his eyes. How had he KNOWN that was coming? He glanced back up at the stage where the guys were butchering 'Piano Man' so horribly (honestly, Elton John should just come shoot the lot of them!) and doing his best not to watch Sym. What on earth had been in that last bottle of sake? He shouldn't be thinking like this!

Yumichika glanced over at his preoccupied friend and smiled a little to himself. Well, it was about time, honestly! Sym had never come out and said it, but he could tell that she harbored some very tender feelings for his friend and he certainly wasn't going to discourage Ikkaku finding and being with someone who could make him happy and actually love him for all of his little idiosyncrasies, and not in spite of them. His smile became more of a sly grin when he turned his attention to where Kuchiki-taicho had asked Kiki about singing and decided it was time to give that little brewing love storm a bit of a push.

"Ohh, of course she's going to sing! Kiki my dear, you simply must sing that song you did last week at karaoke! The one that woman sang, something about "at last"! Ohh, it was glorious!" Yumichika eyed Byakuya under hooded lashes. Kiki looked a little bewildered, blushing a bit as she eyed the black haired man suspiciously.

"I don't usually sing til I'm 'bout three sheets to the wind but...well, if you say so." Her words were met with whoops and wolf-whistles as she made her way up to the stage. She whispered the name of the song to Sym and nodded when the girl started the music. It was an older song, with a heavy, slow beat. Kiki took a slow, deep breath and cupped the microphone in her hands and began to sing.

"At last... my love has come along... my lonely days are over...And life is like a song..."

Her voice was smooth and husky, like smoky bars and scotch on the rocks. Her hips swayed as she sang into the microphone, trailing the cord behind her like the train of a gown, her eyes closed and her head falling back. No one could deny the woman had talent, and the others around the room watched, rapt and sighing as she prowled the little stage.

"Ohhhh yeah yeah, at last the skies above are blue... my heart was wrapped up in clover... the night I looked at you..."

Her eyes passed over the assembled crowd, and for some reason she just couldn't have explained even to herself, stopped on Byakuya as she sang the next lines, almost as if she were singing to him alone, holding the microphone stand on one hand as she tilted her head back, her voice rising in grandeur.

"I found a dream that I could speak to... A dream that I could call my own. I found a thrill to press my cheek to...A thrill that I have never known!" The music swelled as she bowed forward, her braid falling over her shoulder as she seemed to be kissing the microphone almost. "You smiled, and then the spell was cast... and here we are in heaven..."

The music stopped, leaving her voice as the only sound left, soft and smooth, her hand rising and stretching out, as if beckoning to him." And you are mine at last..." The music came back briefly as she placed the microphone back in the stand and stepped back, taking a small bow.

Kyouraku, Yumichika, Ikkaku and Kira had been there last week when she'd sang it for the first time, so they weren't quite as struck as the others. Matsumoto gave a clumsy wolf-whistle and waved her arms, and Hisagi stared at his friend like she was someone else. Ukitake looked like he had been hit in the head with a brick. He'd never known Kiki could sing like that! She blushed a little and grinned, nodding in thanks to Sym and hopped down from the stage, going back to her noodle bowl like nothing had happened.

Kiki blushed and looked bashfully pleased with herself as Byakuya complimented her singing, smiling at him slightly. "Thanks. I um... I've got a pretty decent collection of vinyls. I've been picking them up here and there on assignments and friends grab things they think I'd like on their assignments as well." She played with her noodles a little, grinning and waving at Renji as he came in, dropping off his housewarming gift for her, yet another little glass frog statue (she was rather notorious for her love of the amphibians) before taking the stage.

He was good, surprisingly enough. Then again, it was rare that Renji actually picked a song that suited him. The last time he sang, he tried to do something by Barry Manilow, and that just did NOT work! He was suited more for metal than 'Mandy'. Was about time he realized it.

She glanced over at Byakuya a moment, hiding it behind taking a sip of her drink. He had actually surprised her by coming and staying, and even by taking a couple of drinks. Maybe he wasn't as stiff and stodgy as everyone seemed to think he was. Then her attention was drawn by Kira calling out that she and Sym should do a duet, and of course Kyouraku, the old drunk, was backing him up. She looked up at Sym and grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Maaah...well, umm... sure, I'm up for it, but what song? I've never done a duet before." She said, feeling a bit embarrassed at the attention.

Ikkaku smirked a little and took another shot of sake, leaning back in his seat. "Go on, get up there you two! You should take requests from the audience!" He folded his hands behind his head and grinned, watching the pandemonium that was ensuing. It was better than having to suffer through the guys getting some weird idea that they were good singers and 'Macho Man' was a crowd pleaser.