Bleach: A Shinigami Break 10

Chapter Ten: Shopping!

It was almost noon and Kenpachi and Yachiru (who still insisted on sitting on Kenny's shoulder) were lost somewhere in the large mall. People walking past kept glancing at Kenpachi and then wishing they hadn't as he glared down at them. One man had asked the captain if he wanted to try a new fragrance and Kenny had almost battled him there and then before Yachiru had spotted a stall selling candy. Kenny looked around at the bustling shoppers and sighed,

"Where are we Yachiru?"

The tiny, pink-haired lieutenant shrugged, "Dunno." She was still wearing the frilly pink dress Urahara had supplied her with and Kenny was still in the drab t-shirt and jeans combination, which just wouldn't do for Yachiru. She pointed to a small shop on the floor above them and a wide grin spread across her face, "Let's try in there!"

Inside the shop it was quite dark, not because of the light but because of all the dark shades of clothing hanging on the walls and on racks. Almost everything was made of leather; leather boots, leather jackets, leather trousers, even leather hats. Kenny grinned as he picked up a large leather jacket with a silver wolf stitched on the back and Yachiru squealed, making a few of the patrons look in their direction,

"It looks like Bow Wow!"

Kenpachi laughed heartily; there was a slight resemblance to Captain Komamura, "I'll take this one!" He slid his arms into the jacket and strode towards the door. A small man with pimples and greasy hair suddenly stepped in his way,

"Um, Sir? Are you going to pay for that?" he stuttered.

"Huh?" Kenny scratched his head and the bells on the end of his hair jingled quietly.

"Oh yeah!" Yachiru fumbled around in the dress for a moment and pulled out a small pouch. She took five fifty dollar bills out of it and handed them to the small man, "Is this enough?"

"Y-Yes," the man took the bills and turned to go and fetch her change. When he returned with the money Kenpachi and Yachiru were gone.

~ o o O o o ~

"Oh, Captain look!" Rangiku, who was now wearing a bright yellow blouse and tight-fitting jeans, pointed to one of the stores on the third floor of the mall. It had images of smiling children on the outside and the sign read: "Kid's Corner".

Toshiro's eyebrow twitched as he tried to keep his anger from overflowing but Rangiku failed to notice. Instead she dragged him up the stairs and practically skipped into the shop. A tall, thin woman with square glasses and short, black hair
Greeted Rangiku happily,

"Welcome to Kid's Corner!" She then proceeded to bend down and pat Captain Hitsugaya's head, "And who might this little one be?"

"'Little?!'" Toshiro slapped her hand away and folded his arms tightly across his chest.

His lieutenant bit her lip to stop herself laughing as the thin woman stood up straight,

"My, my, is someone a little cranky?" She smiled politely at Rangiku, who smiled back, and continued to point out the various sections of the store, "This over here is Girl's World, that's Boy's Land and over there is Tiny Tykes." She looked Toshiro up and down and rubbed her chin astutely, "I think you should look for something in Tiny Tykes first!"

"Excuse me?!" Toshiro turned to leave but Rangiku grabbed his arm. She turned to the store clerk and smiled as sweetly as she could,

"Thanks, we'll take a look."

~ o o O o o ~

Jushiro, Shunsui and Nanao were standing in front of the mall. Nanao kept pulling at the hem of her miniskirt in a feeble attempt to make it longer somehow and Shunsui couldn't help but smile as he watched her futile struggle. Jushiro was swaying slightly as the heat of the afternoon sun started to beat down on him but he didn't want to bother anyone with his weak constitution. Instead he pasted a smile on his face and pointed towards the huge building in front of them,

"So, are we going inside?"

"I suppose we should," Shunsui smoothed his hand over his head (Urahara had said to leave his hat behind as it might attract the wrong kind of attention) and looked at the mall, "This is where Kisuke said we should look for clothes." He glanced at his lieutenant and held his hand out in front of him, "Ladies first."

Nanao walked towards the revolving glass doors and stopped abruptly, causing Jushiro and Shunsui to bump into her.

"What's wrong?" Shunsui asked as he craned his neck to see why Nanao had stopped.

"I… I don't know what to do…" Nanao pushed her glasses higher as she pondered over the swivelling glass in front of her. Jushiro and Shunsui exchanged a humoured glance and stepped beside Nanao. A small, fat man with a briefcase bustled past them and pushed the revolving door forcefully; it moved around and he entered the mall with ease.

"That looks simple enough," Shunsui stepped forward and pushed the door. It didn't move. He looked back at Jushiro, "What am I doing wrong?"

Jushiro chuckled under his breath and walked up to the door; he pushed it gently in the opposite direction to which Shunsui had tried and it moved smoothly around. Once all three were inside Nanao turned to Ukitake and bowed slightly,

"Thank you Captain Ukitake."

Shunsui clicked his tongue and then looked around at the large space in front of them; small stores littered the immediate vicinity, they were selling everything from noodles to sunglasses and a certain stall selling hats caught his eye. As he looked up he could see another level lined with shops selling food, clothes and what looked like weapons for catching fish. His eyes rested on a long metal staircase that seemed to be moving upwards,

"What's that?" he pointed to the escalator.

Nanao's glasses glinted in the light as she followed her captain's eye-line, "It looks like a staircase."

"But it's moving!" Shunsui started towards it, followed closely by Nanao and Jushiro.

With only a slight hesitation Shunsui placed his right foot on the first step of the 'moving staircase'; it continued to ascend, along with his foot, and after a few seconds he was almost doing the splits. He quickly pushed his left foot up and was eventually standing upright on the escalator. He grinned in triumph as he rose magically towards the first floor and Nanao rolled her eyes before she and Jushiro followed, a little warily.

~ o o O o o ~

"Isn't this wonderful?!" Yoruichi pulled down the hem of the blouse Sui Feng was trying on and stepped back to take a better look. The small captain was wearing a white blouse dotted with small blue flowers and a pair of pale blue shorts that reached her knees. Her long braids were no longer bound in cloth and her long, dark hair fell to her hips in lose strands. She felt a little too exposed in the small shorts and flimsy blouse but it was much better than the outfit Urahara had chosen for them all.

"Its lovely, Lady Yoruichi." She certainly didn't mind that it meant she could spend more time with the wonderful Yoruichi, especially since it was the only time she'd been apart from Kisuke since Sui Feng had been reunited with her. What was it with her and that delinquent? What did she see in him? Surely it wasn't his charm? Was it his good looks then? Sui Feng could see how some women might consider Kisuke handsome but surely Lady Yoruichi wasn't so shallow?

"Let's buy these!" Yoruichi shook Sui Feng from her daydream and quickly stripped the clothes from her so she could purchase them.

Isane and Captain Unohana had been waiting for the two stealth leaders and, when they finally reappeared, they all decided that food was probably next on the agenda.

"We should meet up with everyone else and get something to eat together!" Isane exclaimed, a little over excitedly. She didn't know why but something inside her really wanted to see Captain Kuchiki again. Flashbacks of his bare chest kept reappearing in her mind and she blushed as Renji's naked body suddenly popped up behind her eyelids.