The atmosphere was suddenly warm. A lovely smile present on Kisuke's lips. "From your reaction, I can safely assume you had chemistry with her?" I asked. He nodded, "Back when I was captain of Squad 12, she was my lieutenant," he muttered.

I paused for a second, raising my eyebrows, "I know it's hard to believe he was a captain," Renji muttered after noticing my long pause. I blinked at Kisuke, "You were a captain? Hiyori-San was a lieutenant?" I looked over to Renji with a 'why didn't you tell me' look.

The red hair shrugged, "I thought it was unnecessary," he pushed a few strands of his hair away from his face, "You looked pretty overwhelmed after I explain. Plus, you didn't even know the two yet."

"Good point," I murmured, "But," I turned to Kisuke, "I wanna know how you managed to become a captain." A pause, "If you're willing to tell me," I scratched the back of my head. Kisuke gave it a little thought, "Mr Freeloader, how much have you told her?" His gaze averted to Renji. Renji stayed quiet for a while, "I think everything from Rukia's execution to Aizen fusing himself with the Hogyoku."

"You told her all that in one night?" Kisuke raised his brows. He looked over to me, "I'm surprised you're still here." I shrugged, "Can't contact anyone back at home," I rubbed my arms, "So I'm kinda stuck here." He raised a brow, "It seems like everyone's communications are down." I nodded.

"Well, anyway, if you want me to talk about my past, I would gladly tell you," he lifted his hand up, "But in exchange, you have to tell me about yourself too," I froze. I started sweating, "Uh," It seemed fair, "Just prepare a lot of tissues," I laughed uncomfortably, "I tend to cry when I open up." Kisuke nodded, "We're here for you."

He used to be in the stealth squad. Which made me laughed for a few good minutes. He continued telling. About how Soi-Fon stalked him as an effort to put dirt on his name. And then Yoruichi-- a friend of Kisuke, he said she was the black cat walking outside the shop-- who was the captain of Squad 2 thought Soi-Fon had feelings for Kisuke.

To the part, he started the Research and Development in Soul Society. And to the spine-chilling Hollowfication on the few fellow captains and lieutenants, that included Shinji and Hiyori and a few more I haven't met. And, of course, what was a tragic story without Aizen betraying in it? Kisuke got framed and that was how he ended up here.

Though, he made amends with Soul Society months ago, even before Aizen's defeat.

I sparkled when he mentioned Shinji had long hair. "He did?" I nearly squealed. I covered my lip with my fingers. Kisuke nodded, smiling at my reaction. "Huh, you got a thing for long hair?" Renji asked while he ran his fingers through his red locks.

"I don't know..." I twirled a strand of brown hair around my finger, "Just the idea I could spend my time with braiding their hair is peaceful to me," I grinned like an idiot, "Plus, it takes a lot of trusts to let someone play with your hair..."

"Well," our attention averted back to Kisuke, "I've told you my story, time to hear yours." I gulped, nodding, "Where should I start?" I asked, biting my lip after noticing it drying up. "How about you start with why you transferred here?" He said, "Take your time about it. No need to rush."

I nodded, "Alright." Opening up was difficult for me. I took a deep breath, "Well, I transferred here to get a fresh new start basically. Because back home wasn't always fun and games," I could feel the faucet turning on, "There were 3 girls. We used to be best friends. I liked one of them..." I looked at the two men, "Not as a friend I mean..." I awaited some spontaneous reaction.

None came. And that was a huge relief.

"And uh-- she felt the same. So we started dating, even though it was pretty illegal. But we didn't care, we liked each other and that is all that matters. We went on dates, held hands and all that. It was going well for the first 3 months...until she started hanging out with the others more. Which I didn't mind but... she started pushing me aside when I needed her the most. A few weeks later, during examination week, she broke with me through a note," my voice started to crack, my eyes were blinded with tears. "I'm sorry..." I sniffed, wiping my tears with my sleeves.

"You don't have to apologise," Kisuke got up and sat by my side, patting my back.

"Thank you..." I said, weakly. "Anyway... it got worse from there... the three started pushing me aside in group projects and spread rumours about me. Y'know typical high school girl stuff. Thanks to their popularity, they convinced everyone they were the victims. That I made them do all that. Maybe I was at fault too, but I apologised just a week before it all happened. And they said they forgave me."

"But their acts said otherwise. I did what I had to do. I reported it to the class teacher as a bully case... though my teacher didn't do much justice as she only told them to push aside their feelings for revenge while class. Most teachers pity my position, but did nothing about it."

"I got this offer and I accepted without a second thought," I was a crying mess, "Now I'm here." An endless stream of tears came out from the corner of my eyes. I sobbed, looking at the two men. Both of their expression painted with sympathy. I looked down to my lap, my fingers gripped tight around the fabric of my pants. My fist shook with my whole body.

Kisuke pulled me into a hug. My hands gripped onto his clothing tighter than I expected. I was never comforted when I cry, that is how I was raised. I cried even harder staining his clothes with salty tears. His hand gently patted my hair. He rubbed my back in a comforting manner. The warmth he was giving made me feel some sort of relief.

It reminded me of my loving sister's presence.