Waterfall Eclipse

The Jetty

Chapter Forty-Six:

The Jetty

Captain Hitsugaya kept an eye on the girls, careful not to let them see he was watching them. About twenty minutes later, Lieutenant Matsumoto arrived. She saw him watching something, but didn't know what exactly. It was only until she was almost right behind him and seeing what was in that direction, that she saw the girls. She smiled before speaking.

"You're drooling, captain." She whispered making him jump out of his seat.

"MATSUMOTO!" He yelled.

"Pipe down, captain. Relax. You don't want them to hear you." She quickly replied. "But, in all honesty, go and talk to her. Compliment her, and do it sincerely."

"You think I am going to take advice from you after the rose mishap?"

"I was kidding about filling her room up, just so you're aware. You could have realized yourself that it was a bad idea and just placed one bouquet in there."

"Sure, now you tell me!" He said making her start laughing. "It's not funny."

"Captain, you really like her. We all know this. She even knows it, so what's the problem?"

"What she told me. She's not ready to date anyone." He answered honestly. "I'm not going to force her into something she doesn't want."

"Yet." His lieutenant added. "She'll come around. Momo and I were talking. She has a lot more going on. Oh! Did you hear the news?"

"No? What news?"

"She's being promoted to Third Seat status. Or well, she officially accepted the position this morning, but Captain Kuchiki is having this massive party at Kuchiki Manor to celebrate it. That party's on Tuesday."

"Oh. I was invited to that, but wasn't told what it was for. Just that I can come if I wanted to."

"You should go. I am." She said then sighed. "Talk to her while you're here. I am working don't forget. You are on a mini vacation. Enjoy yourself!"

"I am enjoying myself. I have a drink, I'm sitting by the beach –"

"No, you're drinking soda, although in your eyes, the view you're watching is nice too. You need to actually have fun. See if you can join them. Don't vacation alone. You know where I'll be." She said and then left him sitting there.

He waited a few minutes before getting up off of his seat and making his way to the water. He walked right past the girls and walked onto the jetty that was there.

~~With The Girls~~

Umeko heard someone walking up to them, but was shocked to see that Captain Hitsugaya kept walking.

"Is he all right?" Kiyomi asked getting Rani's attention.

"Maybe? He likes his solitude sometimes."

"Maybe we should invite him to join us for dinner? It can't be fun if he's dining alone."

"I don't know, Chiharu. I did tell him he was welcome to join us if he wanted to. He just thanked me and walked away. That's when we got off the elevator."

"You're worried about him, aren't you? Go talk to him. He might enjoy the company." Kiyomi commented.

"Yeah, maybe I will. I'll see if he wants to join us too for dinner." She said as she put the cover-up on and grabbed her shoes. "If he and I are still talking when you leave, I'll meet you at the room."

"Will do!" Umeko replied.

Rani walked along the sand towards where Captain Hitsugaya was. She climbed up on the rocks, careful not to fall, and walked over to him.

"Captain Hitsugaya?" She said softly as she approached him.

"I've said to just call me by my last name." He replied calmly, but with a stern voice.

"Yeah, well, I didn't feel the need since no one else is on this jetty." She answered as she stood next to him. "Why would you walk all the way onto this thing?"

He turned his head to look at her and then quickly faced forward.

"I figured the view I was looking at was rather...wrong." He finally answered.

"Wrong?"

"Miss Sasaki came over before and told me you ladies caught me staring at you. It wasn't right of me to ogle."

"You can blame them, in all honesty. They're the ones who bought me this suit. I just never got a chance to buy a different one yet."

"Why would they buy you a bathing suit?"

"It's a story for another day." Rani replied embarrassed. She didn't want to inform him of the cruel Operation: Flabbergast just yet.

"I-I like the color on you though. It looks nice." He stammered.

Rani smiled.

"Thank you, captain. It's nice to receive compliments now and then."

"You never get them?"

"Not like that, at least not from people who I am not that close to. Friends and family, sure. I think they feel obligated to do so."

"Well, it's true." He replied. "So, I heard about your promotion. Congratulations on that as well."

"Thanks. That came as a surprise this morning. I thought I was in trouble for something. And then there's this party Captain Kuchiki is throwing in my honor on Tuesday."

"Yeah, I think all captains and lieutenants were invited to that. Maybe even Third Seats. Matsumoto and I will be there. I am sure Hinamori too."

"You aren't a fan of parties, are you?"

"I'll go to them, but I would never host one like that. I really have no reason to."

Rani smiled again. She then turned back to see if her friends had left, which they did.

"So the four of us are going to this little hole in the wall restaurant we found last time. Would you like to join us? You don't have to. I just thought I'd ask."

He was silent. She waited for any kind of response.

"What time should I meet you in the lobby?"

Rani smiled.

"In like an hour. We all have to change. It's what they call dressy casual after four. It's three o'clock now."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll walk with you. It's tricky getting off this jetty."

Rani and Captain Hitsugaya made their way back to the beach. He got in front of her and helped her get off the jetty. The last rock happened to be about the height of his chest. She squatted and he grabbed her near her ribs causing her to tense up slightly as she put her hands on his shoulders.

"Thank you." She said then paused. "You know, if you used the other rock, it's not as hard." She teased once she was on solid ground.

"Yeah, I realize that now. Sorry."

"Let me just go grab my bag." She said and then kicked her shoes off. "Get those for me please!" She yelled back.

He smiled, shook his head and then grabbed her sandals before heading over to the walkway to meet her.

"Here." He said as he handed the shoes over.

"Thanks." She said grabbing them and sliding them on. "Running on the sand in shoes is kind of annoying."