Raging in the Training House.

Saskia entered the training hall in the middle of the night, still having trouble keeping herself calm. She'd never been so... so embarrassed... so FURIOUS in her life! She walked into the back room and dragged out a punching bag. Hooking it to the ceiling, she backed up, taking a few deep breaths. Then lunging at it with a rage, she screamed at it, throwing her fist into it, before throwing another hard punch, then a third, a fourth. If punching bags could feel pain, it'd be crying. That made her a little happier.

"Stupid!" punch, "Assholes!" slam, "How could they!" kick, "DO THAT!" punch, PUNCH, PUNCH "AND JUST LEAVE ME THERE!" She backed up, shouted an incantation and blew the punching bag off of the hook with a kido. Afterwards, she stood there, seething before sinking to the floor. She was nowhere near done here, but she needed a moment to calm herself.

This late at night, most people had already gone to bed. Kira was just returning from the bar hoping to get a little shut-eye before work tomorrow. She wasn't TOO drunk thankfully. She knew she had a lot of paperwork to do tomorrow and she didn't want to deal with a hangover in the morning.

Then she heard a LOT of noise coming from the training facility. Forget about whatever was going on tomorrow, Kira was glad she could be sober for whatever was going on in there. She feared a fight had broken out which she would have to break up. She rushed in... and found Saskia just sitting on the floor and an obliterated punching-bag torn on the other side of the room.

"Jeez, from the sound of things, I thought a party was going on in here. I was about to ask why I wasn't invited. Hrm." She walked closer to Saskia. "Lieutenant, is there something going on I should know about? Or should I just keep my nose out of it?"

She was still trying to collect herself when the captain barged in. She looked over, taking a moment to bury all of her anger and problems, before standing up and saluting. "Captain Ketsuken!" She said, before looking around the room. Ugh... She was going to be in trouble. "N-no party ma'am. Just uh... getting some training in.." she said, slowly drooping before dropping the salute. Ugh, she couldn't lie to the captain... She sighed and sat back down.

"It's... It's nothing really... Something... troubling... happened in the human world... And I needed to..." what. Break something? Don't say that, stupid. You needed to vent, or blow off steam, or work it out or, "I kind of needed to break something.." she grumbled, upset with herself for getting this mad. Especially over something stupid. "You don't need to keep your nose out of it, but I doubt it's very important. The captain is a very busy person." she said, standing back up.

"Yeah, the captain is busy..." she repeated in a soft, gentle voice. "And one of my jobs is to keep up morale in the troops. Well, breaking stuff is perfectly fine in the training center. We wouldn't be buying cheap ol' punching bags if we didn't intend to break them."

Kira tried to imagine what had happened in the human world, but she only had her interactions with Lux to go by. Surely Saskia wouldn't have gotten involved in THAT kind of relationship... would she? She was so prudish, so it seemed unlikely.

"So tell me, what's going on? You can trust me to keep any secrets, you know. I have no reason to tell anyone else."

She looked at the captain, blinking a few times. She was happy that she'd gotten some of her rage worked out already or the captain's sudden show of concern might have elicited some faint waterworks. She looked at the punching bag, which was spilling a bit. "W..Well okay..." she said in terms of the broken equipment. She was at least glad she didn't have to worry about THAT.

"I.. I know you wouldn't tell anyone... And if.. If you want to know... Well... I don't know if you're aware but... I don't like using the Soul Society's bath house because, well... I-I just don't." No need to go over THAT again. "So I used a little deserted one in the human world. And well... A few days ago I walked in on somebody... It was... awkward, but... we made friends. It was nice." she said, almost smiling a bit.

"Um... then tonight... I guess she brought a friend with her..." she said, starting to pace nervously around the training hall, more embarrassed the closer she got to that part of the story. "Um... They both turned out to be fullbringers and her friend could... make things by drawing them... And well... I... didn't have my swimsuit and I didn't want to be the only one without one, so... she drew me one..." She said, shuddering when she thought about that damned swimsuit again. "It uh... Well.. It turned out that... it wasn't made right... and when the the friend's reiatsu flared um... so did the reiatsu in the swimsuit.." she said, trailing off, wondering if Kira would be able to figure out the rest or if she would have to spell out where that lead.

For a moment Kira was left speechless. That was about the most unlikely story she'd expected. Fullbringers creating swimsuits made of reiatsu? That was a new one... She tried to picture it in her mind, but the mental images were... awkward... to say the least.

Why was she afraid to use bathhouses in Soul Society anyway? And couldn't she have found a different one?

"Uhh... so why don't you just go to a different bath house? I mean, Soul Society is huge! Surely we have more than one. Or uhh... go to a bathhouse on Earth that doesn't have any Fullbring visiting? Fullbrings aren't that common, are they? I think you just got unlucky."

She scratched her head. "Maybe you should just bring a regular swimsuit next time."

She sighed... "I... I ... Well I'm going to have to.. do one of those things. I'm just upset right now..." she began pacing again, crossing her arms. She was thankful the room was fairly dark or her blushing would have been much clearer. "Because well... I guess it wasn't.. the swimsuit or the fullbrings..." she sighed and walked over to the punching bag, kicking it again. "It was just... well... when the swimsuit started flaring it... Felt weird.." she paused, hoping the captain would fill in. "Weird like... it felt good... Y'know... TOO good...." she cleared her throat.

"And um...well... I reacted in.. a normal manner..." uggghhh.. this was awwwfuuullll... "And uh... It was...I suppose one would say... a bit of a spectacle." even in the darkness her face was clearly fully blushed. "Well... after it happened... the fullbrings all... They just... ran off and.. And LEFT me there..." her breath picked up as she started to get mad again just thinking about it. "I was so embarrassed I could die and they all just RAN OFF!" she eventually shouted, balling her hands into fists. She couldn't just start smashing things in front of the captain...

Kira bit her lip to try and keep a straight face. "So uhh... should I expect reiatsu swimsuits to become the next big thing in sex toys? Because if that's the case, I ought to get one for myself." That probably didn't help the girl's blushing. "Hell, no need to stop at swim suits. Reiatsu underwear, for the men we have reiatsu fleshlights! For women, reiatsu vibrators... oh wait, I think they already make those. You wouldn't happen to have that fullbring's phone number, would you? I have a business offer to make her. Okay okay, getting serious now. Why did they run off and why were you embarrassed. I mean, you were in the bath house, right? Or had you... gone someplace else?"

She just stood there, trembling a little as the captain joked. She couldn't say she was angry persay. She.. COULD see the humor in it, even if she didn't think it was funny right now... But god did it do nothing for her embarrassment. "C-Captain Ketsuken!" she protested. "I-It's not funny!" She insisted, although even upset she couldn't help but snicker at the vibrator line. "Anyway... I don't know... they seemed.. really absorbed with each other... and I was embarrassed because well... I don't know...." she said sighing. She walked over to the remains of the punching bag and sat down on it. "I mean... I guess there were other people there, but... maybe I was just upset that... um..." she was sooo glad the lighting wasn't very bright in here. "that she did that to me and wasn't interested in anything afterwards?" she managed meekly.

Kira grinned cruelly. One of her guilty pleasures in life was to make Saskia blush.

"Heh, sorry, couldn't resist. So you're mad at her for running away? What's stopping you from chasing after her now? With clothes on, preferably."

She blushed but she couldn't help looking up at Kira with a little grin and a weak laugh. "I don't know... They..." she sighed, crossing her arms. "She did that to me and ALL the while she's talking about the other girl. And then the second I need some comfort." she winced at saying that. She didn't like admitting to needing comfort often. "they're off... I don't know... eye screwing each other..." she said a little bitterly. "I guess... I just... don't like being used by people..." she said, clenching her fist again as her posture sank.

Ah, now it was starting to make sense.

"My poor Saski. Nobody liked being used. But if they were using you, that just means they weren't really your friends. Maybe next time, you'll find someone who'll stick around."

Kira tried to think of something else to say, but... mostly her ideas were all just joking around. She had to be serious for now, and that was proving difficult.

"Hey, here's an idea. How about the next time you want to visit a bathhouse, you bring me along. Now now, don't think it's bothersome. I take baths too, ya know. So if something crazy happens or someone's being a jerk to you, I can step in and slap 'em."

She looked up, with a sad but hopeful smile. "Yeah... next time.." it was always next time with these things. She slumped, resting her chin on her crossed arms. "Maybe.." she said, still upset about things, but cooler now. She was surprised. As much as the captain liked messing with her, she didn't realize she could be nice too... She looked up suddenly when the captain said that last part. "Oh.. um..." she blushed a little. "You're... just being polite.." she said, sure the Captain had no intention of hanging out with her at a bath house.

"Saskia... honestly now..." Kira put her hands on the girls shoulders and gave her a light shake. "Am I ever polite just for the sake of being polite? I'm the same woman who encouraged you to rummage in my bedroom and find all my dirty toys. Unless you don't want to see me naked. Is that it? A little nervous seeing your captain so intimately? Bah, we can erase that prudeness someday."

Snapped out of her doldrum a bit by the shake, she looked up. "Um.. I... bwuh?" her face went blank when she started talking about the sex toys. Oh god... The captain was teasing her.. she... wait... waaaaitwaitwaitwait... Did she just say prudeness? Did.... Did the captain think... "C...captain.." she said, a little flustered. "I.. I never said I was that prude..." she wanted to kick herself a little. The woman is teasing you about intimacy Saskia, just be like 'yo babay, chuck off them robes.' Would being direct be THAT awful? "But.. um... Yes... I'd love to take a trip to the bath house some time." she said, quickly trying to change the subject.

Kira patted her shoulders again, perhaps a little too roughly, then dropped her arms to her sides. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it? Sure, we'll go to the bath house together tomorrow after work then. And you mean to tell me you aren't prude? That's a surprise to me." Kira crossed her arms and smirked, believing the girl was just lying to hide her embarrassment. "If it's not prudishness, what is it?"

She smiled a little, far too distracted by the current situation to feel as bad about earlier today. "Hmm.. That um... That'd be nice... " she said, opening her mouth to speak more. She was going to say that it'd be really nice to have some memories from the bath house that weren't as shitty as today's but... ehh.. that sounded weird... She looked up as the captain continued. "Um... It... It's a surprise?" Really? Hrm... Maybe she needed to start dressing trashy? Her face immediately went red at the thought. Oh god, she was being interrogated now. "It's... I mean..." what was she supposed to say? Sexual tension made her nervous? Hell no. "I've just... never gone to a bath house with an officer before?" It was such a lousy excuse she couldn't even finish it without it sounding like a question.

Oh god Kira loved teasing Saskia. She was so cute!

"Aha, so I was right before. Well, it might be awkward at first, but you'll get over it soon enough. I think it's always awkward for everyone the first time they bathe with their officers. I don't suppose its very common either but... hell, what do I have to hide? Especially from you." She grinned and gave the girl a wink.

"So how about tomorrow? And are you feeling okay for tonight? You can still beat up punching bags if you like, but will you be okay? Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

She twiddled with her thumbs. Oh those fullbringers were absoLUTELY the farthest thing from her mind. "Uh... Yeah... You were right." she said forcing a cheery little smile. Oh god... these bath houses would be the death of her... "heh... Yeah.. you don't need to hide anything from me." she said, wondering if she should take that comment further. "Um... tomorrow sounds good!" she said with a nod, standing up. She looked around when the captain asked if she was all right. "Oh.. um... yeah... I'm... I'm okay..." she nodded. "Uh... I'll just um... clean up the mess I made in here and turn in since it's sort of late." she said, pausing before adding. "Um... Tomorrow will be a lot of fun!"

Kira smiled as innocently as her evil face would allow. "Very well, I'll see you tomorrow evening for our trip to the bath house. Don't forget to bring a swim suit this time just in case!"

Oh she was going to have so much fun teasing Saskia tomorrow. Hopefully the girl was prepared.

She sighed as she watched the captain leave. What had just happened? She busied her mind with thoughts of tomorrow as she cleaned up the training room, before heading out. She found her memory of the bathhouse events from earlier already wavering, with a new and exciting trip tomorrow ready to unfold. She headed back towards her quarters, a bit of a spring in her step.

---

The next day however, she walked like a dead woman. Oh god, what was she thinking? The captain probably wouldn't even remember... She waited in the squad courtyard in her gigai. Under it, she wore a modest enough bikini. She normally would wear her frumpy concealing one piece, but it couldn't be worn under her gigai clothes and well... She'd... She'd had enough of one piece swimsuits for a while. She paced around the courtyard before sitting down, trying not to appear nervous as she waited for the captain.

Kira walked over to Saskia and waved as she approached. The captain had her swimsuit on underneath her gigai similar to Saskia, but as the poor girl would likely find out soon enough, Kira's swimsuit was less modest. She also carried a backpack with her with towels, shampoos, brushes, and spare swimsuits just in case any accidents happened. Even though bathhouses usually provided most things, Kira didn't want to take any chances just in case anything... crazy... happened.

"Hey Saskia, looking good, girl. So since it seems every bath house you visit scars you for life, do you know which one you want to go to today?"

She looked up to see Captain Ketsuken approaching in her gigai, carrying a backpack. Oh crap, she actually came? She was already planning out how to spend her evening grumpily eating ice cream, but huh. So they'd be going to a bath house after all. "Um.. Well...." the one here was right out.... She did know of another one in the Human World that was fairly cozy. "Oh. Um, thanks! There's one in the human world I liked besides the one I went to the other day. We should go there." she said. She was certainly cheery, although she was still cautious.

"Awesome. Let's head out then. You lead the way. The human world is so big it's amazing I don't get lost every time I go there. By the way, catch."

Kira tossed a small device toward the girl.

"Just.... try to keep that on yourself somewhere. I have one too." She patted her breast. "This is just a safety precaution. We probably won't need it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. If we get split up, it acts as a radar and phone so we can find each other again. And it's small enough to fit under a bikini, so it won't really get in the way. Now I'm not saying that we'll get split up... but it seems you've been getting into some crazy scenarios the last few times you've been to a bath house."

"Yeah, no problem." she said, nodding. She knew the way there pretty well. She smiled at the thought of the captain wandering around the human world shouting at people. She blinked and caught the device. hm? What was this? She looked back up and listened to the explanation. "Oh. That's so cool. I didn't know we had these." she said, looking it over and playing with it. She tucked it into the jeans of her gigai before looking back up. "Hah. Well.. we never got separated... But yeah, better safe then sorry." she said, before spinning on her heel. "Well then. Onwards." she said with a little laugh

----

Some time later, they were walking down a secluded little street towards a nice quiet bathhouse. It was a cozy little place that didn't get many visitors, but that was more by nature of its location then being small or cheap. Saskia looked over at the captain as they walked. "It's going to be so nice to enjoy a relaxing dip in the bath without any drama." she said with a smile.