Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters. That would be Kubo Tite.

About this: XD I’ll let you guys decide who won, mkay? And finally! Some more Shunsui + Urahara interaction, ftw? :D Kisuke’s channeling Nanao-vibes in this one, me thinks.

Other stuff: First person to comment can decide which challenge I should tackle from the unlimited request thread today. How’s that sound? ^^; ‘Cause I’m drawing a blank where to start.

Are You Challenging Me?

The minute I saw a pink haori, I abruptly fled in the opposite direction. Never mind that this was his division, I was his subordinate, and he had full control over me.

“Kisuke-chaaaan, wait!” his boisterous voice tried to stop me in my tracks. It didn’t work. Not for him. I hated that he called me ‘chan’, anyway. I had never given him permission to address me so informally.

I was almost to the compound’s exit, my escape in sight. That ‘almost’ wasn’t good enough, though, because next thing I knew I was pinned roughly to the ground, someone having tackled me from behind. I knew who it was. How could I not? His reiatsu was licking at my skin, practically taking my breath away at the sheer amount of power he had let slip.

“Shunsui, get off me. I have to meet my squad leader for lunch.”

“But Kisuke-chan’s been ignoring his taichou,” Shunsui rebutted piteously, pulling me up and against him in one hell of a brutal bear hug. I was afraid I was going to break if he didn’t cut that out soon.

“Taichou, I haven’t been … ignoring you.” It was a blatant lie, admittedly. Ever since I had kissed him, I had been too … too ashamed, I suppose. I had pretty much committed sexual harassment. He could have me written up on charges instantly, if he wanted, and there would go my career, my dreams.

His next words were breathed right into my ear, my nose catching the smell of sweet sake and roses at his closeness. “Good,” he whispered, “because I can’t say I minded you kissing me in the slightest, little Kisuke-chaaan.” I shivered, fully aware of how we must have looked to anyone passing by our division. I mean, I was basically sitting in my captain’s lap. It didn’t help he was nuzzling my neck like some kind of affectionate, over-grown animal. “It was a bit of a surprise, I admit, but I wouldn’t mind doing it again. And again.” He kissed where shoulder met neck and I closed my eyes, enjoying the soft, barely there touch of his lips even if it wasn’t from the person I wanted it to be from. “And again. What do you say, Kisuke-chan?”

Reopening my eyes, I tilted up head up and back to catch sight of him. He was smirking, thinking he had won. I almost felt bad for what I was about to say. “I think, taichou, you are an idiot. I’m not … well, interested. You misunderstood me that night, obviously.”

“Not interested, how so? In a serious relationship? Or in general?” Shunsui wasn’t the type to give up, not at all. That didn’t make this conversation any less embarrassing – I wondered if he even realized we were in public.

“Does it matter?” I asked impassively, disregarding the odd looks were getting. “I’m … just not interested in sleeping with my superior officer, sir.”

He pouted, then, disappointed. “Ah well. My offer still stands when I’m not your superior officer any more, all right?”

“Fine.” He loosened up on his hug. Seizing the chance, I tried to get out of his hold … unsuccessfully. Dammit.

“Yo! Kisuke-chan, what’cha doing with taichou? I thought you were having lunch with Akito-dono! He sent me a message just now via hell butterfly, and he’s pissed.”

Isshin, my hero. “Yeah, could you let go, Kyouraku-taichou? I really have to get going and salvage what I can of that meeting.”

“Date?”

“Akito-dono and … me?” I laughed as I finally got back to my feet, dusting off my shinigami garb hurriedly. “Oh, I wish. He’s gorgeous. But no, it’s about a report I gave him a while back concerning Hollow materialization. He wants to go over some of the details, said something about a pattern he was noticing.” The eagerness in my voice when it came to things like this – it was hard to miss. Both Isshin and Shunsui rolled their eyes at me.

“All work and no play makes Kisuke-chan a very dull boy,” quipped Shunsui, eyeing me a bit too suggestively.

I smirked, crossed my arms, and got in one last shot before I had to leave. “Don’t worry, by the time I finish this little lunch-in, he’ll be begging me for a real date.”

“Want to put your money where your mouth is?”

Isshin looked between us curiously, clueless as to what was going on.

“I’ll put something where my mouth is, if you want to make this really interesting. If I win, however, you have to …” There was a hopeful sort of gleam in my captain’s eyes that I would take great pleasure in destroying. “ … you have to actually do your paperwork for a month. No slacking.”

“No fair!”

“Well, you better hope I lose, then.” I winked at him, tossed a wave to a bemused Isshin, and then disappeared. I had a bet to win.