A Shinigami Valentine

"Chizu! Wait!" Akina called out as she chased after her friend.

"Leave me alone." Chizu shouted.

"Chizu, I'm so sorry." Akina called out, hurrying to catch up with her crying friend. Chizu stopped suddenly and Akina nearly collided with her. She caught a flash of movement, flinching back instinctively. Akina blinked then realized that Chizu's hand had flown up slap her but it was stopped mere inches from Akina's cheek.

"I wouldn't do that." Zaraki warned her, suddenly beside Akina. He held his unsheathed sword in one hand and her wrist in the other. Fear filled Chizu's eyes as she yanked her arm back.

"So now he's coming to your rescue? Figures. You fuck him once and he's your little lap dog?"

"Chizu!" Akina hissed angrily. She could feel the anger radiating off Zaraki. She stepped up,
placing herself between them.

"I'm really sorry, Chizu. I had no idea that you would end up on a date with Captain Kurotsuchi. You must hate me..." Akina whispered.

"You're a lying bitch." Chizu screamed. Akina was shocked at the fury of her anger.

"I don't believe a damn thing you say. I saw you two in there. You got what you wanted. Forget about everybody else as long as you get what you want, right?" she shouted. Akina frowned. What was she talking about?

"What I wanted...Chizu...I don't understand. I didn't plan on that happening. Zaraki and I..." she stammered.

"You're a whore! A lying, bitch whore!" Chizu screamed. "You cheated just so you could fuck Zaraki! You ruined everyone else's Valentine's Day. You're a selfish bitch. You left me with that...that...monster. Do you know that he threatened to use me as one of his lab rats if I didn't shut up? I hate you, Akina. You left me with him. I hate you! I came back here to talk to you....to try to understand...but...you were...with HIM. I see now what a nasty slut you really are."

Akina stared at her friend, shocked into silence. She had abandoned Chizu to Captain Kurotsuchi. She had a right to be angry but this...this went way beyond anger.

"You better watch your mouth, girl." Zaraki spoke coldly as he draped his kimono over Akina's shoulders. "I don't like to hit women but I can make an exception if you keep talking shit."

"Don't..." Akina said softly, glancing back at him. He stood close behind her, bare chested, dressed only in his hakama. He met her gaze. Anger shined brightly in his dark eyes.

"I'm going to make sure everyone knows that you cheated. Captain Kurotsuchi told me what you did. I'm going to tell them all. I'm going to get you kicked out the Women's Association. They're all gonna know what a lying whore you are. You are gonna pay for what you did to me."

"What the hell did I do to you, Chizu? I didn't mean for you to end up with Kurotsuchi! Honest! Yes! I wanted to go out with Captain Zaraki. Is that so bad? How the hell does that make me a whore?" Akina snapped angrily. She'd had enough.

"What did you do? You cheated!" she screamed, backing up from them. She turned looking around them. Akina noticed for the first time the people gathered in front of the barracks, watching them. A large group of maybe ten or fifteen people were standing near the door, watching and whispering. Several other couples, dressed in formal wear had stopped on their way home from the restaurant to watch. Crap, she thought.

"Did you know that Akina cheated? She rigged the results so that she could fuck Zaraki. She screwed up all of our dates...all the matches were messed up...just so she could be with HIM." Chizu screamed at the couples. A sudden flurry of conversation followed.

"Come on, sugar. This ain't doing you no good." Zaraki spoke quietly, taking her hand and trying to guide her back to her quarters.

"Wait a minute...." she said softly.

"I only changed two sets of results. Not everyone's. You have a right to be pissed at me but not to poison the whole Sereitei against me. What the hell?" she spoke to Chizu in a louder voice.

Chizu stared at her hard. Her tears had dried but her pale eyes had taken on a strange gleam.

"I was supposed to end up with Byakuya Kuchiki. He was going to notice me after all these years. Tonight...tonight should have been the best night of my life but no...it was hell. All because of you, Akina." she said loudly.

"What...?" Akina stammered, startled by her confession. "There was no way of knowing who any of us would end up with..."

"You knew! You knew who you were going to be with because you cheated." she shouted. "You were probably planning this since that night I was accosted by those creeps from Division 11. They're all a bunch of thugs!"

"I've had about enough of your mouth." Zaraki said coldly, moving up past Akina. She caught his arm, stopping him.

"No...she's not worth the trouble it would cause you." she warned him. He clenched his jaw, visibly not happy but he stopped.

"You keep your fuckin' mouth shut. You've done enough damage here tonight." he warned Chizu in a low, dangerous tone.

"Don't threaten me, Captain Zaraki. I'm sure you were a party to the cheating too." she snapped curtly. Akina felt him pull against her hand to raise his sword.

"No!" she hissed, yanking him back hard. "Just...come on. Let's go back. It's cold out here and you're barely dressed."

He walked back to her, slipping an arm around Akina's shoulder as he leaned closed to whisper,

"I thought you liked me that way, sugar?"

She smiled despite the situation. He caught her eye, grinning. They walked back, mindless of
Chizu and the people watching them.

"Forget her, Akina." he said quietly as they neared her house.

"I don't know what the fuck's wrong with her..." Akina whispered, turning into him as they walked. She found his solid, warm body incredibly comforting.

"She's fuckin' crazy. That's a big part of her problem." he growled, easing her into the house. "She's damn lucky she's still breathing."

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A/N: Thank you Orionshadow for taking the time to read and review my story. I'll update again very soon. There's more fun to come as the entire Sereitei gets pulled into the scandal. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. :)