[Log]Toushirou Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto
Title: Almost Friends
Characters: Rangiku Matsumo (some_scribbles) & Toushirou Hitsugaya (kellenanne
Timeline: April 22, 1948
Rating: PG
Summary: It's never a simple lunch date.
Toushirou didn't even like pizzerias. Not really. They were usually loud, people everywhere. Not chaotic, but... loud. (Then again, Toushirou considered the quiet buzz of people working his floor a little loud sometimes, so he might not be the best person to judge these things.) When Matsumoto had suggested lunch, and suggested it here, he didn't what he'd been thinking when he'd said he'd meet her.
She'd chosen a place near the precinct, at least, and that had gone a long way toward getting him to say yes to this lunch thing. A late lunch on a long day, at a place where he could conceivably be back at work in a few minutes' time was actually, in its way, appealing.
Just... with her? And in this place? The colors were bright, cheery. It reminded him of the Double Dip in that. No wonder she liked it. The outside of the place just screamed happy.
God, if that didn't annoy him for some reason. He approached the place with a sort of trepidation; something this nice looking had to be a front. That's just how it was.
To say that Rangiku had been surprised when Captain Toushirou Hitsugaya had shown up at her shop earlier in the week would be an understatement. She honestly had not expected to ever see him again, despite having given him the shop’s name.
He’d shown up in the middle of a rush and she hadn’t had a chance to do much more than whip him up a banana split and make arrangements to meet him later in the week. She’d picked a pizzeria which came highly recommended from certain coppers she knew, especially after hearing that he hadn’t really tried any since he’d come to town. You hadn’t tasted pizza until you’d had some from the Big Apple.
She still wasn’t quite sure if the captain would bother to show up, but meeting a new friend was as good a reason as any to skip out on work a little early. She’d called in one of the chefs who worked on rotation and taken the subway downtown. Vinnie’s was busy even this late in the afternoon, but Rangiku was still able to get a window booth with a good view of the door. She was a little early, and she’d give the captain until 15 after before ordering without him.
She couldn’t wait for a nice corner slice of Sicilian.
Vinnie's was not a place Toushirou would have ever frequented on his own, of that he was sure, but that didn't mean it was a bad thing. He rarely went out to eat by himself; he just found it somewhat... Well, it didn't make sense to him. He pulled the door open and paused in the doorway, looking around. He was right on time, but he didn't know much about this Matsumoto woman at all.
Hopefully she was the punctual type. And hopefully, if she was here already, she had enough sense to get something by a window.
The place was busy, very busy. That could mean good food, right? He hoped that was so.
Rangiku blinked when the door opened to admit short, pale, and grumpy. Toushirou Hitsugaya was scowling around the place like it was a suspect lined up for questioning.
She couldn’t help but smile. She was glad she’d shown up. He was such an interesting bird, always so serious, dedicated, and apparently proficient to have risen to his position at his age, she looked forward to getting to know him better and finding out what made him tick.
“Captain!” she called out, waving. “Over here!”
He turned at the familiar voice - and how it was so familiar after only spending all of a day with her, he wasn't sure - and relaxed marginally. She was on time, she was already seated, and more importantly, she was seated by the window.
Seated by the window and facing the door. His brow twitched a bit at that; he didn't like having his back to the door, but he wasn't going to make a fuss over it. With her, he was beginning to think he had to pick his battles. This one might not be worth it. If he got too twitchy, however, he might just pick at it. Maybe.
He made his way to the table, returning her wave with a nod.
Her smile widened as he made his way over to her. “I’m so glad you were able to make it,” Ran said sincerely. “I was looking forward to seeing you. Are you hungry? I’m starved.”
Looking forward to seeing him? He blinked at that and then blinked again. Able to make it? He'd said he'd be here, hadn't he, and despite his reluctance and sheer bewilderment at actually showing up, he did what he said. She shouldn't seem so surprised by it.
Or smile quite so brightly at him.
"Late lunch," he replied as he slid into the seat across from her. Of course he was hungry. "Have you ordered?" Might as well get to the point, and the sooner that particular point was addressed, the sooner he could eat.
Rangiku blinked at him. Had she ordered yet? “Of course not. I was waiting for you.”
And he’d actually come. This was twice he’d surprised her. It was obvious that he wasn’t after the same thing most men were-the way he’d reacted when he’d fallen face-first into her boobs was answer enough for that. She knew why she wanted to see him again-he was interesting, she was curious. But she couldn’t help but wonder what, exactly, kept him coming back.
She leaned back and regarded him, still smiling. “So! How hungry are you? I want a slice or two of Sicilian. This place makes the best sauce, so pretty much anything you want will be good.”
Oh... damn it. That meant he had to think. If she'd ordered for him, he wouldn't have to figure out what the hell might be good and just go with the flow. He'd spent enough of the day peering at files; now he had to peer at menus?
The world was a cruel place.
He considered his options for a moment; this woman had led him straight to the ocean. She ran a restaurant with a damn good banana split. She seemed to have a smidgen of good taste. And he didn't want to bother with a menu.
"Sounds good," he answered. Whatever Sicilian was.
She thought about asking him if he wanted any toppings, but then decided that an out-of-towner like him wouldn’t know what was good for him anyway. Real Sicilian didn’t need anything anyway. Except maybe some pepperoni… “All right, then. Why don’t you hold onto our seats and I’ll go order?” she said as she began to slide out of the booth.
Continuing over to the counter, she waited on the short line and sent the bo behind the counter a smile. He grinned back as he eyed her up, “What can I getcha, doll?”
“I’ll take two corner slices of Sicilian, plain.” Rangiku tapped her chin, leaning down as she peered into the glass case, indifferent to the view she was providing the man, “And two corner slices of pepperoni as well.”
Hold onto their seats. He rolled his eyes as she walked away; he'd never heard a stupider comment. Like he was getting up and leaving? Letting their seats be taken? No thank you. He watched her make her way to the counter for a moment before turning away.
Wasn't sure what to make of her, this Matsumoto woman. She'd helped him out, drug him through the city, and demanded lunch. If anything, he should be the one treating her to lunch, as thanks for rescuing his sorry direction challenged ass, but... she'd jumped the gun. He figured a few more visits to the Double Dip - that was the name of her shop, right? - would even the score.
He let his gaze wander idly over the crowd in the pizzeria before turning his attention to the window. One thing about New York was that there was rarely a lack of people. Toushirou hadn't decided yet if that was good or bad, but it had become a simple fact of life. Even now on the sidewalk, there were people milling about. Some talking, some looking lost - Toushirou could sympathize - and some walking purposefully. All sorts. His eyes narrowed; even a few shady characters, people he'd keep an eye on if he were out on that sidewalk with them.
Then something happened he really wasn't expecting - should have, maybe, but wasn't. Some people stepped away, some more quickly, but Toushirou ignored them and found what was causing it all. Before he'd really registered what was going on - an assault on the sidewalk - he was out of his seat and heading for the door.
Just as the first slices of pizza were being placed on top of the counter, Rangiku caught a flurry of movement out of her peripheral vision. Turning just in time to see the captain slam open the door and run out onto the street, Rangiku blinked before quickly scanning the room, and after ascertaining that there was nothing he was running from she peered out through the still swinging glass door to find just exactly what he was running towards.
There was a crowd, a sort of stilled movement which shouldn’t happen on a busy street at this hour. And it was too quiet. That meant that there was some sort of fight and that idiot had run out into the middle of it.
Elephant ears have such big noses, she thought, rushing out after him. She found herself in the strange position of hoping he was packing. Any mug dumb enough to pull a job this close to the precinct was bound to be more than one person could handle.
The door swung shut behind her and Rangiku shoved through the crowd into the center of the action.
Toushirou pushed his way through the suddenly still crowd. Why was it that, when people saw a problem, they went stupid? It was like they knew that not letting him through would hamper his efforts so that's exactly what they did. Goddamn it, but sometimes he missed the quieter streets of Erie, Momo moving to New York or not. One of these days, he was just going to drag the girl back to Erie.
Pushing those thoughts aside in favor of the present problem, Toushirou quickly took in the scene - or what he could see of it beyond the idiots that kept getting his his way. He shoved someone aside, briefly considering yelling something about the police to maybe garner some attention, and spotted the problem.
Two men, with a third on the sidewalk, hands up over his head and yelling. Toushirou hissed; classic. More than just illegal. Damned idiots. "Hey," he yelled, one hand dipping into his pocket and the other reaching for the .38 holstered under his shoulder. (Not that drawing the weapon in this crowd was a smart idea, but he did want to be prepared.) One of the attackers looked up and Toushirou flashed his shield.
Flashed his shield and grunted in complete irritation when the guy poked his buddy, shouted, and they took off down the sidewalk.
Damn it, and the crowd would part for them.
There was a man lying bleeding on the sidewalk, and the captain had already called attention to himself and flashed his tin. Of course, the mugs dusted as soon as they saw the buzzer and Rangiku wasn’t too surprised when she saw the captain take off after them.
Just what exactly was he planning on doing? Once they got to the alleys, they’d drop him like yesterday’s news.
Rangiku moved quickly, dropping down to the ground to check the man over. He was groaning faintly-a good sign. Supporting his head, Rangiku turned him by the shoulder until he was face up. His nose was broken and-oh, not good. There was a switchblade sticking out of his side.
Hissing through her teeth, Ran considered her options. The captain was running fast and further away every second against two armed mugs, the man on the sidewalk wasn’t hit anywhere vital but he was bleeding out… one hand had already started to work on the short scarf she had tied around her neck. Damnit, she liked this scarf.
“This is gonna hurt,” she told the man, placing one hand on his stomach to steady him. The man muttered a curse and Ran drew the blade out of his body in a smooth, steady motion. She flicked the still-blooded blade closed with one hand and removed her scarf, pressing it against the wound with the other.
Catching the eyes of a matronly woman in a serious suit, Ran called out an order, “Can you come here and hold this?”
The woman was pale, but she nodded, coming to kneel beside Rangiku. “Keep the pressure on it,” Ran instructed, already searching the crowd for a likely stool.
“Hey you,” she said, catching the eye of a bo in pinstripes.
The bo blinked and glanced around before responding, “Me?”
“Yeah, you. This man needs help. Go call copper, will ya?”
She didn’t wait for a response, there were more than enough people around to shame the man into doing what she asked, she was already up and running after the captain. She took the sticker with her.
They dusted and Toushirou didn't waste time going after them. Hell if he was letting them get away; they'd just attacked some rube on the street. Whether it was deserved or not wasn't the issue. They'd disrupted the peace - not that it was peaceful any day on New York's streets - and Toushirou had an obligation to go after them.
Lunch appointment or not. If Matsumoto didn't understand that one, then she had no business trying to befriend an officer. Or at least an officer that tried to take his job seriously.
He ran after them, dodging idiots that wouldn't get out of the way fast enough. They turned a corner, heading for an alley and Toushirou had a moment of doubt before following: he'd get so lost even if everything went perfectly.
Maybe he should have stayed with Matsumoto.
Ran focused her attention on the white head darting through the streets. He was fast. Other pedestrians were deftly avoided and somewhere in the back of her mind she was distinctly impressed.
The rest of her was irritated with the fact that she had gone out to meet someone for lunch and ended up running. Her heels clicked on the pavement and she had an easier time of dodging through the crowd as the captain had already paved the way. That was the only thing which let her catch up to him as he hesitated for a moment at the apex of an alley.
Good. Showed he had some sense after all.
“Which way did they go?”
He jumped; he hadn't realized she'd followed. What woman in her right mind would follow? Then again, Momo would have followed and yelled at the top of her fool lungs about it as she did. Apparently, he didn't know any woman who was in her right mind.
Glancing up at her and then nodding into the alley, he said, "Down there."
Great. Chasing two armed mugs down dark alleys was exactly the way Rangiku had hoped to spend her day. Resigned, she started calculating where this alley ran and what their most logical destination would be.
“Well, are we just going to stand here or are we going after them? And I don’t want to hear it-unless you think you’ll be fine following them wherever that,” Rangiku gestured towards the alley, “takes you, I’m going with you. You are packing heat, right?”
Toushirou started to answer her - mostly by just grunting at her and then going down the alley. It answered her questions: yes, he was following and, hell, if she wanted to follow then at least he had someone along with him who could find their way back.
Not that there'd be trouble with that.
Then her last comment hit him and he had to look up at her and huff. "Of course." He gave her a look. "You coming?" The sooner he caught these idiots, the less running he'd have to do.
Rangiku bit off a laugh at his offended tone. Well, it only made sense to ask. A girl liked to know what she was getting into, after all.
"I said I was, didn't I?" Rangiku responded, and took off after the captain. He was fast. He was also going to buy her lunch. She huffed. He'd better appreciate the fact that she was running.
They reached the end of the alley with the mugs no where in sight. The alley split off in three directions. The one on the left led back into the street, the middle was lined with close red buildings--residences and shops, and the right narrowed further into a close
Thinking quickly about where they could have gone to disappear so abruptly, Rangiku shifted through possible destinations and the best way to get there before calling out, "This way," and taking the middle path.
The alley split and Toushirou paused, wincing. If he hadn't waited around for her... No use thinking about what he should have done; now he just had to figure out which way they'd gone.
Not that he had any idea where to start. Momo once told him 'when in doubt, turn left' and that had him strongly considering going right. Then Matsumoto came up behind him, barely took a moment to figure it out, and ran down the middle.
...all right. He blinked at her, decided that letting her go alone was idiotic - what if she was right and those guys were waiting for them down there? - and took off after her.
Down the middle. The one direction that he, of course, had not considered. He was going to start studying maps during his downtime. Maybe even go on some walks through the city. This was getting ridiculous.
He had caught up to and paced her without too much trouble; he was not leaving her to her own devices in this alley and did not want to know what was going through her head to just take off without him. Asking if he was packing, like she was worried about it, and then taking off like that? It's a wonder the woman wasn't dead yet.
"Don't take off like that," he snapped, barely looking at her - had to keep an eye in front of them. "I'm the one with the shield and the gun." Idiot woman; she was lucky he was around.
Rangiku blinked at him. “Oh. Right.” No running ahead of the cop. Nice one, Ran. He was the only reason she was running in the first place, it wouldn’t do much good if she lost him here.
They were coming to the end of the alley and they still had a few more twists and turns to go before they, hopefully, would corner the mugs and then… well, Rangiku wasn’t exactly sure about the ‘and then,’ but more importantly… “So how am I supposed to let you go in front of me when you don’t know where we’re going?”
She seemed to take that in stride, nowhere near apologizing but (hopefully) taking it to heart. He could live with that. Lived with it for all of three steps before she spoke again and he nearly tripped over himself trying to figure out if that was sarcasm or not and gawk at the same time.
"Not the point." Ah, hell, if he had to spell it out for her, it wasn't worth talking about.
Crazy woman. This was why he should never, ever agree to lunch with anyone.
Rangiku couldn't completely muffle her laugh. 'Not the point?' Of course not. She was beginning to learn that the captain saw things from a very… distinct perspective. She had just asked a question, she wasn’t sure what point she was meant to have made.
All speculations and observations aside, he was the one with the gun and the shield and she was more than happy to let him go first, except for the fact that they were going to have to keep moving quickly if they wanted to be able to catch up to the mugs. Rangiku had an idea of where she would have headed if she wanted to drop a copper, and was trying to take them a route which would cut them off, but there was no guarantee…
"Well, it's going to be the point, because we're coming to the end of this alley. Or should I just tell you now to turn left?”
The woman needed to be thumped upside the head. It wasn't the point, was never going to be the point, and she needed to quit trying to make it the point.
He glared at her for a moment. "Telling me is fine." And then he went left.
Wasn't so hard.
And for that she gets a glare. He really needed to work on his gratitude. “Oh good,” she said cheerfully, “because we take a right here.”
Rangiku ducked into an alleyway she remembered as being a lot wider, and taller, and had it always been this dirty? She let the captain lead, but shadowed his every step. They had to be careful where they stepped since it was really more of a squeeze between two buildings than an alley and was littered with scraps of metal and shards of glass.
They came to the end of the causeway and Rangiku held out her hand, calling a halt. “Hold up. If I’m right, they should be coming through here any minute.”
Toushirou was inanely glad he was pretty damned quick when she told him to go right instead of left, since he was already turning left when she said it. He pivoted on the ball of his foot and went right, ignoring her to the best of his ability. Damned woman. She did that to mess with him, and he'd only seen her a few times since they met.
He stopped when she indicated they do so, wondering why in the hell he was actually trusting her on this one. She'd proven to be at least somewhat trustworthy; might as well give her a little leeway.
That and he wasn't leaving her on her own in some back alley with a couple bastards out for blood around.
He took a few steps back, motioning her to step aside. Better if they weren't standing right in the middle of things when the guys came through - if they were going to. 'If I'm right' indeed. The woman was convinced she was always right. Why go the 'if I'm right' route?
And how did she know all this? This bore further thought, maybe some digging later on, but that was all the further Toushirou got with that. Thinking about it would have to wait until later; it seemed Matsumoto was actually right.
How did she know these things? He spared her a considering glance as his fingers curled around his gun. He really needed to know more about her. Now wasn't the time, though. He could barely see them coming near the end of their narrow little causeway, but could hear them clearly - they weren't doing a damn thing to try to conceal their approach. For one second, he thought about letting them go past and coming in behind them, but as appealing as certain elements of that was, he was not going to be behind them anymore. He was finally in front of them; wasn't going to mess that one up.
He stepped out of the causeway, drawing his gun - knowing full well that covering two idiots was a little problematic. "Stop!" Wasn't worth going over the whole 'I have a shield' issue; it had done so much good last time and if they didn't recognize him from the first time he'd tried to arrest them, then they were dumber than he first thought. (And, therefore, not worth the time it took to remind them he was NYPD.)
There was shouting, cursing, and the morons skid to a stop in front of him, hands heading for the knives they were carrying. Toushirou didn't so much as flinch. "Drop it. Get face down on the ground."
They didn't seem to be really listening. Toushirou cursed under his breath.
Well, OK. So the captain hears them coming and jumps out in front of them. She would have waited for them to come by and then dry-gulched them, but he was the Law, and they probably had different ways of doing things.
Rangiku decided to wait out of sight. She wouldn’t be very much good stepping out there with him, but maybe as an ace in the hole…
Of course, it would be too much to hope that this would be easy. She knew what the mugs saw: a short cop with a bean-shooter standing by his lonesome between them and freedom. Maybe she would have risked it too, maybe not, but these kids didn’t look too bright. Lanky and desperate, they couldn’t be more than eighteen.
She had to act quickly or else they’d get the bulge on the captain-she couldn’t have that. It was her fault he’d been able to find them in the first place, after all. Taking quick stock of the angles, Rangiku flicked her “borrowed” sticker opened while concealing it in the folds of her skirt. In a knife fight, every second counted and she wasn’t going into this with a deliberate handicap.
Ran took a deep breath. She wasn’t in this for the fight. She had to distract them and talk them down, and, most importantly, not step in front of the shield and rod.
Rangiku started shouting while she was still hidden. “Hey, NITWITS. Didn’t anyone ever tell you what to do when there’s a roscoe pointed straight at your noodle? Here’s a hint,” Ran stepped out into the alley, angling her way adjacent and slightly ahead of the captain, “it’s not ‘let me reach for my shiv.’”
Good. She’d surprised them into standing still. In fact, they were staring at her a little google-eyed. Keep talking, and hopefully the captain will make with the copper. “And just what were you planning on doing with those chives even if you got ‘em out, huh? Gonna stick a bull? You want the hammers and saws falling on you like a sack of bricks?” Use small words, maybe they’ll understand. “No one has to get hurt here, do like the man says.”
As much as Toushirou was glad for the woman's distraction - it had the morons standing still - he was definitely displeased with her and her methods. She should have just stayed out of sight and let him handle it. He was the Law, she was a shop owner. She shouldn't be running out in front of a couple nitwits with knives.
He could almost respect the audacity that took, but hell if he was going to admire it. "Idiot," he muttered, not taking his eyes off the guys with the knives and not letting the .38 waver in the slightest. "On the ground," he said, loudly, relieved when Matsumoto did no more than distract and the morons did no more than stand stock still.
It took them a few moments, and a few glances between each other before they started moving - and thankfully dropping to their knees. "Facedown," he snapped, moving forward and keeping the weapon trained on them. "Hands on your head."
One pair of handcuffs for two perps; of course he had that sort of luck. He could keep them pinned while he sent Matsumoto for a few extra buttons. Shouldn't be too difficult. Handcuff them together, keep the muzzle on their heads and they shouldn't give him much trouble.
Rangiku watched as the captain approached the two mugs. Her hand twitched on her knife. She would have felt a lot better about this if the captain had ordered them to throw their weapons away first. But she supposed that came with its own risks.
They obeyed the captain’s orders and slowly lowered themselves on the ground. She wondered what the captain was going to do next. He probably meant to restrain them in some way, but she wasn’t sure how he was going to do that while keeping his rod steady.
It would make sense to offer to hold the roscoe for him. That way he could do whatever it was he needed to do. But Rangiku did not do well with guns. She’d just have to cover him as best as she could from where she was, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to do anything at all. They’d be idiots to try anything.
After glancing at Matsumoto and noting - thankfully and with a small measure of satisfaction - that she was watching and alert, Toushirou approached the thugs. He wasn't exactly quick about it - had to keep an eye out on everything around - but he didn't dawdle either. The sooner he got this over with the better; he was hungry and the promise of pizza had gotten the better of him. It sounded good and just made him grumpier when it came right down to it. These thugs had interupted his lunch. Not just his lunch, but his lunch on a day when he'd agreed to meet someone.
The thugs were on the ground, laid out and passive and Toushirou took one hand off the gun to pull out his bracelets. Cuff them together, keep the roscoe on them, and send Matsumoto for someone actually on-duty; it was a good plan. One he fully intended to put into action.
He crouched, knowing full well this was the most vulnerable part of taking down a thug and wishing he had more back-up than a blonde woman with a big mouth, and reached for the bigger idiot's wrist. Soon as his fingers curled around though, snapping the bracelet into place, the thug moved. The man rolled, trying to surge to his feet, and trying to throw Toushirou off him. There was a dim flash - the knife in the man's hand and hell he was fast about picking that back up - and that knife was suddenly come for his face.
Thank God for awkward positions; had the man come at him while he wasn't half-prone on the ground, Toushirou might not have been able to avoid the swing quite as well as he did. He ducked and punched, the heavy weight of the gun's grip cracking against the man's temple. The thug dropped without so much as a grunt and Toushirou didn't waste time.
He did remember there were two of them. He swung the gun around until it pointed straight at the other thug's head. "No moving." He glanced at the first man, noting - thankfully - that he was so far from conscious the only threat to Toushirou was accidentally tripping over him.
What fun. This had started out as a simple lunch - sort of, if anything involving Matsumoto was ever simple. He was beginning to believe she and simple were mutually exclusive.
Oh, hell. She should have expected it. It seemed like nothing was ever simple with this guy-a simple introduction, a simple thank you, a simple lunch… Why should a collar be any different?
One of the geniuses Ran instantly nicknamed ‘Scrawny’ had made a play for the captain, and ‘Brainy’ over there had reached for his shiv and was propping himself up on one hand, head twisted towards the action and getting ready to move.
Such idiots. What if he had shot?
She didn’t know if the little man could take care of himself, so she’d have to move fast. If Scrawny managed to overpower the captain, then she’d be on her own against two armed idiots, possibly with a wounded bird to worry about. Best to even the score-and keep Brainy over there from joining in-as soon as possible.
Flicking the blade with pinpoint accuracy, it grazed Brainy’s temple and landed point first in the pavement between his face and shoulder. He froze and flickered up a startled gaze, but Rangiku had already started moving. Her knee landed between Brainy’s shoulder blades, knocking him back down to the ground with a thud. She heard his chin connect to the ground but didn’t hesitate, one hand reclaiming the handle of the sticker and the other fisting into Brainy’s hair, twisting his head to the side so he could see that she had the knife at his throat.
“Don’t try it,” she warned, her voice low and hard. “Drop the shiv and move your hands slowly in front of your head.”
The sound of metal clattering onto the cement rang out as she lifted her head to see how the captain had fared.
She blinked when she was greeted with the muzzle of the captain’s bean shooter, all the blood draining from her face. It wasn’t pointed at her but she couldn’t help the way her stomach dropped.
It was a force of will to keep her hand from trembling on the blade. From somewhere, Ran forced up the will to take a breath and offer up a small, “I don’t think he’s going anywhere, Captain.”
Toushirou blinked a few times when he saw Matsumoto holding the guy down with knee in his back and a knife at his throat. Interesting. Very, very interesting. He would definitely be asking about that. "Nice knife," he grunted.
He moved, shoving the shiv out of the kid's reach and pulling the gun off them. Still had it out, still had it ready, but he wasn't comfortable pointing it quite that close to his lunch "date".
He grabbed the kid's wrist - kid looked scared, which probably satisfied Toushirou more than it should have - and slapped the empty bracelet on him. Cuffed to an unconscious bird, shiv out of reach, knife on him and gun ready to go; the moron wasn't going anywhere. He nodded to Matsumoto.
He was going to need some help out here to get these two morons where they needed to be.
She waited until Brainy was safely cuffed before smoothly rising, taking the sticker with her. Rangiku was halfway tempted to kick him, the dumb mug, ruining her lunch like that, but she managed to remember she was in the presence of The Law, and there were more important things to be lectured about. Like… removing evidence. Her boys would have her head, she knew better than that, but like hell she was chasing after some thugs unarmed when there was a perfectly good sticker available.
The captain’s gun was still out, but now that it wasn’t pointed anywhere near her it made it easier to think, even if it kept drawing her attention to it in short, nervous glances. “Um, yeah, about that…” Rangiku flicked the blade closed and moved so that the captain wouldn’t have to stretch over Brainy’s body to take the outstretched shiv. “You’re probably going to want this. Took it out of the bo they stabbed.”
Toushirou raised an eyebrow, deciding to focus on her gaffe before he numbered the mistakes he'd made on this one. (Should have removed weapons from immediate reach. Dear God, but that was basic. Maybe she wouldn't tell anyone about that little mistake. Idiot. He'd tell himself it was because he was hungry and they'd interrupted lunch.)
He holstered his weapon, simply because having it out just in case did not outweigh the nervous glances she kept giving it. He couldn't afford to have her being twitchy over all this as well. Taking the knife almost gingerly, he stared at it and then at her.
"Took it out...?" He trailed off, blinked and tried again. That was evidence. It had been evidence stuck in someone's gut. "Tell me you left him with medical attention?" She owed him for this one, handing him evidence removed from the scene. (From the victim, no less!) She owed him enough that she had better make no argument about running back up the alley and getting someone to flag down a few buttons and get them out here.
He was going to pass this one off and get lunch.
Then head back to the office and fill out the paperwork for this for the rest of the afternoon. If he had to cover for her "stealing" evidence... Maybe he could make up some story about her not knowing proper first aid and she just panicked and removed the sticker. Yeah, that might work.
She had to make it difficult, didn't she?
Playing dumb was clearly the best way to handle this one. After all, she was just a civilian, she couldn’t be expected to know any better. It was really so much easier to think now that he’d holstered his heat. “Yes, sir! I used my scarf and applied pressure after I took it out, then sent someone off to call copper. I let someone else take over while I took off after you. I wasn’t sure what to do with the knife, but I was pretty sure I couldn’t leave it there, so I brought it with me. And then I gave it straight to you! It’s better than leaving it in that poor bird, or letting anyone there walk off with it, right?”
That was her story. Simple, straightforward, and Rangiku was sticking to it. It even had the benefit of being completely true! With… slight alterations and omissions. One hand stole up to her neck and she sighed. “It’s too bad. I really liked that scarf.”
Stepping back away from the captain, she would forever maintain that stepping on Scrawny’s fingers was accidental. The unconscious man didn’t so much as twitch.
Ran turned her wide, innocent eyes onto the captain. “It shouldn’t be too long before the cops show up by Vinnie’s. I guess I could have stayed there, but you had already run off and I thought you could use a hand. Why are you looking at me like that? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”
Granted, he hadn't known this woman all that long, but she had never once struck him as the fluttering and stupid type. And he'd never once heard her call him "sir" or not just immediately argue with him. Oh, she could think he didn't see right through that. She kept talking, and the longer she talked, the more his jaw dropped. Dear God, what was wrong with this woman? She just... ran after him? After pulling a knife from a man?
And then just... just... Well, he couldn't really call it lying. Okay, then. That was the story. She was stupid. It would go on her paperwork. Would serve her right.
And she could continue to think he didn't catch that "accidental" stomp on the moron's fingers.
"You need to head back there, tell them where we went." If she wanted to keep being helpful, she was sticking through it all. And still buying him lunch.
Huh, would you look at that, it didn’t look like the Captain believed her. Well, good for him. It was a perfectly plausible story, would look good on all that paperwork she always heard her boys whining about, and fool any other elephant ears who happened to come along. If he didn’t believe her, that was no skin off her nose, and it gave her a little more confidence in his ability to stay breathing for the next week or so. She wasn’t worried about what he’d say or what he’d think-after all, she’d already seen that his style of interrogation was silence. She didn’t feel any need to explain herself further; she could handle silence OK. And besides, he owed her.
Rangiku put her hands on her hips. “You should say ‘please,’ Captain. Oh, and while you’re at it? ‘Thank you. Thank you, Rangiku for coming with me so that I didn’t end up lost and alone. I appreciate your taking care of things back at the scene of the crime. Good job.’”
She meant what she said and kept her firm look strictly in place while somewhere in the back of her head a voice started to count down for the explosion she was sure was coming. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6…
He twitched. Oh, did he twitch. He knew she'd be a handful the minute he'd met her and he still took her up on her lunch offer. God, what was wrong with him? He had to be the biggest glutton for punishment in this city.
It took him a moment to reign in his temper; she had, after all, helped him out and because of her, he wouldn't be lost and he had someone to send back for extra hands. Teeth grinding together, eyebrow twitching; she was probably giggling inside over it all.
"Please, Miss Matsumoto," he returned, "would you kindly quit being so damned dense and do what I ask?"
Rangiku’s eyes narrowed. OK, the twitching was amusing, but he didn’t have to be so damned rude about it. Throwing an offer of friendship back in her face not once, but twice now was getting a bit tiresome. She didn’t need to help him out, she didn’t need to waste her time, the least he could do was accept the fact that they were more than casual acquaintances. She could walk away right now and leave him babysitting his two collars in the middle of this God-forsaken alley and he’d stay there until some dick was smart enough to figure out where he’d gone. She wouldn’t, of course, but she could.
Fine. She’d go round up his bulls. But first she’d find out if this was just an afternoon’s worth of amusement (which included no lunch, running, and the loss of one of her favorite scarves), or if she should bother with him in the future.
She smiled pleasantly. “I already told you, Captain. My friends call me Rangiku. Of course I’d be happy to help out a friend.”
He watched her carefully, watching how her eyes narrowed and her face melted into a pleasant smile. He wasn't quite sure what to make of that but he knew damned well that, after her little speech about etiquette, sarcasm would probably not be the best way to respond.
He wasn't that bad at reading people. He nodded in thanks; having her go back and get a few extra hands would help. He eyed the unconscious man; would definitely help.
"Think our pizza's still warm?" She had been a help and he did have to acknowledge that not everyone would have followed. Someday. He didn't need to stoke her ego; she seemed to have a fine enough one on her own.
Didn't mean he didn't owe her lunch, though.
…What the hell kind of answer was that? It didn’t answer her very strong implication, address her by her name, or reiterate his order.
Which was probably the point. He thought he could snake his way around without answering her question. Which meant-well, she didn’t know him well enough to guess. It could mean anything from him not wanting to piss her off so she’d leave him stranded to him not having quite made up his mind about her and being cautious to him having decided she wasn’t good enough.
Rangiku felt a sharp pang of disappointment. Her gaze dropped to the ground. It was too bad. She’d liked this one. But she didn’t throw herself after anybody.
His loss.
Squaring her shoulders, Rangiku took a deep breath before raising her head to meet the captain’s gaze again. The smile she gave him was polite and slightly wry, “Probably not. Ain’t much point to it anymore, Captain. It’s more like dinner than lunchtime now.”
She raised one hand in a lazy wave, “I’ll go pick up your bulls. I’ll be back soon enough so you won’t have to worry about missing dinner too.”
Toushirou grunted, giving her a considering glance. Granted, he didn't know her that well, but he'd never once seen her look down at the ground like that. He frowned and crouched. He didn't really need to check on the bracelets, but it at least gave him something to do.
"We're not missing dinner," he said, poking at them. He had said they'd eat together, so they'd eat together. It was as simple as that. "That is, if you're still going to want pizza. If not, start thinking about what you want. Soon as I hand these idiots off, we're going to eat." He glanced at her. "So hurry it up. I'm hungry."
Rangiku blinked. He wanted to go to dinner? Well, that was… Hm. So, then, what was he saying, exactly? She’d already observed that he wasn’t the friendliest of birds. If this was the captain’s way of feeling his way towards a friendship, of not committing but of giving it a shot…
She could live with that. Giving him a cheeky grin, Rangiku turned to go. “Fine. But you’re paying.”
Rangiku was almost out of sight before her grin widened with a sudden thought. She called back without turning around to face him, “And you owe me a new scarf!”
That grin stayed on her lips all the way back.
Toushirou shook his head as she left. She was just about the most insane woman he'd ever met, but... well, she seemed good enough, didn't she? Offered to buy him lunch, followed him out on an impromptu chase, and still wanted to get dinner.
He was hungry.
He'd see where this went. Dinner would tell.
And he needed to know about that scarf.
Characters: Rangiku Matsumo (some_scribbles) & Toushirou Hitsugaya (kellenanne
Timeline: April 22, 1948
Rating: PG
Summary: It's never a simple lunch date.
Toushirou didn't even like pizzerias. Not really. They were usually loud, people everywhere. Not chaotic, but... loud. (Then again, Toushirou considered the quiet buzz of people working his floor a little loud sometimes, so he might not be the best person to judge these things.) When Matsumoto had suggested lunch, and suggested it here, he didn't what he'd been thinking when he'd said he'd meet her.
She'd chosen a place near the precinct, at least, and that had gone a long way toward getting him to say yes to this lunch thing. A late lunch on a long day, at a place where he could conceivably be back at work in a few minutes' time was actually, in its way, appealing.
Just... with her? And in this place? The colors were bright, cheery. It reminded him of the Double Dip in that. No wonder she liked it. The outside of the place just screamed happy.
God, if that didn't annoy him for some reason. He approached the place with a sort of trepidation; something this nice looking had to be a front. That's just how it was.
To say that Rangiku had been surprised when Captain Toushirou Hitsugaya had shown up at her shop earlier in the week would be an understatement. She honestly had not expected to ever see him again, despite having given him the shop’s name.
He’d shown up in the middle of a rush and she hadn’t had a chance to do much more than whip him up a banana split and make arrangements to meet him later in the week. She’d picked a pizzeria which came highly recommended from certain coppers she knew, especially after hearing that he hadn’t really tried any since he’d come to town. You hadn’t tasted pizza until you’d had some from the Big Apple.
She still wasn’t quite sure if the captain would bother to show up, but meeting a new friend was as good a reason as any to skip out on work a little early. She’d called in one of the chefs who worked on rotation and taken the subway downtown. Vinnie’s was busy even this late in the afternoon, but Rangiku was still able to get a window booth with a good view of the door. She was a little early, and she’d give the captain until 15 after before ordering without him.
She couldn’t wait for a nice corner slice of Sicilian.
Vinnie's was not a place Toushirou would have ever frequented on his own, of that he was sure, but that didn't mean it was a bad thing. He rarely went out to eat by himself; he just found it somewhat... Well, it didn't make sense to him. He pulled the door open and paused in the doorway, looking around. He was right on time, but he didn't know much about this Matsumoto woman at all.
Hopefully she was the punctual type. And hopefully, if she was here already, she had enough sense to get something by a window.
The place was busy, very busy. That could mean good food, right? He hoped that was so.
Rangiku blinked when the door opened to admit short, pale, and grumpy. Toushirou Hitsugaya was scowling around the place like it was a suspect lined up for questioning.
She couldn’t help but smile. She was glad she’d shown up. He was such an interesting bird, always so serious, dedicated, and apparently proficient to have risen to his position at his age, she looked forward to getting to know him better and finding out what made him tick.
“Captain!” she called out, waving. “Over here!”
He turned at the familiar voice - and how it was so familiar after only spending all of a day with her, he wasn't sure - and relaxed marginally. She was on time, she was already seated, and more importantly, she was seated by the window.
Seated by the window and facing the door. His brow twitched a bit at that; he didn't like having his back to the door, but he wasn't going to make a fuss over it. With her, he was beginning to think he had to pick his battles. This one might not be worth it. If he got too twitchy, however, he might just pick at it. Maybe.
He made his way to the table, returning her wave with a nod.
Her smile widened as he made his way over to her. “I’m so glad you were able to make it,” Ran said sincerely. “I was looking forward to seeing you. Are you hungry? I’m starved.”
Looking forward to seeing him? He blinked at that and then blinked again. Able to make it? He'd said he'd be here, hadn't he, and despite his reluctance and sheer bewilderment at actually showing up, he did what he said. She shouldn't seem so surprised by it.
Or smile quite so brightly at him.
"Late lunch," he replied as he slid into the seat across from her. Of course he was hungry. "Have you ordered?" Might as well get to the point, and the sooner that particular point was addressed, the sooner he could eat.
Rangiku blinked at him. Had she ordered yet? “Of course not. I was waiting for you.”
And he’d actually come. This was twice he’d surprised her. It was obvious that he wasn’t after the same thing most men were-the way he’d reacted when he’d fallen face-first into her boobs was answer enough for that. She knew why she wanted to see him again-he was interesting, she was curious. But she couldn’t help but wonder what, exactly, kept him coming back.
She leaned back and regarded him, still smiling. “So! How hungry are you? I want a slice or two of Sicilian. This place makes the best sauce, so pretty much anything you want will be good.”
Oh... damn it. That meant he had to think. If she'd ordered for him, he wouldn't have to figure out what the hell might be good and just go with the flow. He'd spent enough of the day peering at files; now he had to peer at menus?
The world was a cruel place.
He considered his options for a moment; this woman had led him straight to the ocean. She ran a restaurant with a damn good banana split. She seemed to have a smidgen of good taste. And he didn't want to bother with a menu.
"Sounds good," he answered. Whatever Sicilian was.
She thought about asking him if he wanted any toppings, but then decided that an out-of-towner like him wouldn’t know what was good for him anyway. Real Sicilian didn’t need anything anyway. Except maybe some pepperoni… “All right, then. Why don’t you hold onto our seats and I’ll go order?” she said as she began to slide out of the booth.
Continuing over to the counter, she waited on the short line and sent the bo behind the counter a smile. He grinned back as he eyed her up, “What can I getcha, doll?”
“I’ll take two corner slices of Sicilian, plain.” Rangiku tapped her chin, leaning down as she peered into the glass case, indifferent to the view she was providing the man, “And two corner slices of pepperoni as well.”
Hold onto their seats. He rolled his eyes as she walked away; he'd never heard a stupider comment. Like he was getting up and leaving? Letting their seats be taken? No thank you. He watched her make her way to the counter for a moment before turning away.
Wasn't sure what to make of her, this Matsumoto woman. She'd helped him out, drug him through the city, and demanded lunch. If anything, he should be the one treating her to lunch, as thanks for rescuing his sorry direction challenged ass, but... she'd jumped the gun. He figured a few more visits to the Double Dip - that was the name of her shop, right? - would even the score.
He let his gaze wander idly over the crowd in the pizzeria before turning his attention to the window. One thing about New York was that there was rarely a lack of people. Toushirou hadn't decided yet if that was good or bad, but it had become a simple fact of life. Even now on the sidewalk, there were people milling about. Some talking, some looking lost - Toushirou could sympathize - and some walking purposefully. All sorts. His eyes narrowed; even a few shady characters, people he'd keep an eye on if he were out on that sidewalk with them.
Then something happened he really wasn't expecting - should have, maybe, but wasn't. Some people stepped away, some more quickly, but Toushirou ignored them and found what was causing it all. Before he'd really registered what was going on - an assault on the sidewalk - he was out of his seat and heading for the door.
Just as the first slices of pizza were being placed on top of the counter, Rangiku caught a flurry of movement out of her peripheral vision. Turning just in time to see the captain slam open the door and run out onto the street, Rangiku blinked before quickly scanning the room, and after ascertaining that there was nothing he was running from she peered out through the still swinging glass door to find just exactly what he was running towards.
There was a crowd, a sort of stilled movement which shouldn’t happen on a busy street at this hour. And it was too quiet. That meant that there was some sort of fight and that idiot had run out into the middle of it.
Elephant ears have such big noses, she thought, rushing out after him. She found herself in the strange position of hoping he was packing. Any mug dumb enough to pull a job this close to the precinct was bound to be more than one person could handle.
The door swung shut behind her and Rangiku shoved through the crowd into the center of the action.
Toushirou pushed his way through the suddenly still crowd. Why was it that, when people saw a problem, they went stupid? It was like they knew that not letting him through would hamper his efforts so that's exactly what they did. Goddamn it, but sometimes he missed the quieter streets of Erie, Momo moving to New York or not. One of these days, he was just going to drag the girl back to Erie.
Pushing those thoughts aside in favor of the present problem, Toushirou quickly took in the scene - or what he could see of it beyond the idiots that kept getting his his way. He shoved someone aside, briefly considering yelling something about the police to maybe garner some attention, and spotted the problem.
Two men, with a third on the sidewalk, hands up over his head and yelling. Toushirou hissed; classic. More than just illegal. Damned idiots. "Hey," he yelled, one hand dipping into his pocket and the other reaching for the .38 holstered under his shoulder. (Not that drawing the weapon in this crowd was a smart idea, but he did want to be prepared.) One of the attackers looked up and Toushirou flashed his shield.
Flashed his shield and grunted in complete irritation when the guy poked his buddy, shouted, and they took off down the sidewalk.
Damn it, and the crowd would part for them.
There was a man lying bleeding on the sidewalk, and the captain had already called attention to himself and flashed his tin. Of course, the mugs dusted as soon as they saw the buzzer and Rangiku wasn’t too surprised when she saw the captain take off after them.
Just what exactly was he planning on doing? Once they got to the alleys, they’d drop him like yesterday’s news.
Rangiku moved quickly, dropping down to the ground to check the man over. He was groaning faintly-a good sign. Supporting his head, Rangiku turned him by the shoulder until he was face up. His nose was broken and-oh, not good. There was a switchblade sticking out of his side.
Hissing through her teeth, Ran considered her options. The captain was running fast and further away every second against two armed mugs, the man on the sidewalk wasn’t hit anywhere vital but he was bleeding out… one hand had already started to work on the short scarf she had tied around her neck. Damnit, she liked this scarf.
“This is gonna hurt,” she told the man, placing one hand on his stomach to steady him. The man muttered a curse and Ran drew the blade out of his body in a smooth, steady motion. She flicked the still-blooded blade closed with one hand and removed her scarf, pressing it against the wound with the other.
Catching the eyes of a matronly woman in a serious suit, Ran called out an order, “Can you come here and hold this?”
The woman was pale, but she nodded, coming to kneel beside Rangiku. “Keep the pressure on it,” Ran instructed, already searching the crowd for a likely stool.
“Hey you,” she said, catching the eye of a bo in pinstripes.
The bo blinked and glanced around before responding, “Me?”
“Yeah, you. This man needs help. Go call copper, will ya?”
She didn’t wait for a response, there were more than enough people around to shame the man into doing what she asked, she was already up and running after the captain. She took the sticker with her.
They dusted and Toushirou didn't waste time going after them. Hell if he was letting them get away; they'd just attacked some rube on the street. Whether it was deserved or not wasn't the issue. They'd disrupted the peace - not that it was peaceful any day on New York's streets - and Toushirou had an obligation to go after them.
Lunch appointment or not. If Matsumoto didn't understand that one, then she had no business trying to befriend an officer. Or at least an officer that tried to take his job seriously.
He ran after them, dodging idiots that wouldn't get out of the way fast enough. They turned a corner, heading for an alley and Toushirou had a moment of doubt before following: he'd get so lost even if everything went perfectly.
Maybe he should have stayed with Matsumoto.
Ran focused her attention on the white head darting through the streets. He was fast. Other pedestrians were deftly avoided and somewhere in the back of her mind she was distinctly impressed.
The rest of her was irritated with the fact that she had gone out to meet someone for lunch and ended up running. Her heels clicked on the pavement and she had an easier time of dodging through the crowd as the captain had already paved the way. That was the only thing which let her catch up to him as he hesitated for a moment at the apex of an alley.
Good. Showed he had some sense after all.
“Which way did they go?”
He jumped; he hadn't realized she'd followed. What woman in her right mind would follow? Then again, Momo would have followed and yelled at the top of her fool lungs about it as she did. Apparently, he didn't know any woman who was in her right mind.
Glancing up at her and then nodding into the alley, he said, "Down there."
Great. Chasing two armed mugs down dark alleys was exactly the way Rangiku had hoped to spend her day. Resigned, she started calculating where this alley ran and what their most logical destination would be.
“Well, are we just going to stand here or are we going after them? And I don’t want to hear it-unless you think you’ll be fine following them wherever that,” Rangiku gestured towards the alley, “takes you, I’m going with you. You are packing heat, right?”
Toushirou started to answer her - mostly by just grunting at her and then going down the alley. It answered her questions: yes, he was following and, hell, if she wanted to follow then at least he had someone along with him who could find their way back.
Not that there'd be trouble with that.
Then her last comment hit him and he had to look up at her and huff. "Of course." He gave her a look. "You coming?" The sooner he caught these idiots, the less running he'd have to do.
Rangiku bit off a laugh at his offended tone. Well, it only made sense to ask. A girl liked to know what she was getting into, after all.
"I said I was, didn't I?" Rangiku responded, and took off after the captain. He was fast. He was also going to buy her lunch. She huffed. He'd better appreciate the fact that she was running.
They reached the end of the alley with the mugs no where in sight. The alley split off in three directions. The one on the left led back into the street, the middle was lined with close red buildings--residences and shops, and the right narrowed further into a close
Thinking quickly about where they could have gone to disappear so abruptly, Rangiku shifted through possible destinations and the best way to get there before calling out, "This way," and taking the middle path.
The alley split and Toushirou paused, wincing. If he hadn't waited around for her... No use thinking about what he should have done; now he just had to figure out which way they'd gone.
Not that he had any idea where to start. Momo once told him 'when in doubt, turn left' and that had him strongly considering going right. Then Matsumoto came up behind him, barely took a moment to figure it out, and ran down the middle.
...all right. He blinked at her, decided that letting her go alone was idiotic - what if she was right and those guys were waiting for them down there? - and took off after her.
Down the middle. The one direction that he, of course, had not considered. He was going to start studying maps during his downtime. Maybe even go on some walks through the city. This was getting ridiculous.
He had caught up to and paced her without too much trouble; he was not leaving her to her own devices in this alley and did not want to know what was going through her head to just take off without him. Asking if he was packing, like she was worried about it, and then taking off like that? It's a wonder the woman wasn't dead yet.
"Don't take off like that," he snapped, barely looking at her - had to keep an eye in front of them. "I'm the one with the shield and the gun." Idiot woman; she was lucky he was around.
Rangiku blinked at him. “Oh. Right.” No running ahead of the cop. Nice one, Ran. He was the only reason she was running in the first place, it wouldn’t do much good if she lost him here.
They were coming to the end of the alley and they still had a few more twists and turns to go before they, hopefully, would corner the mugs and then… well, Rangiku wasn’t exactly sure about the ‘and then,’ but more importantly… “So how am I supposed to let you go in front of me when you don’t know where we’re going?”
She seemed to take that in stride, nowhere near apologizing but (hopefully) taking it to heart. He could live with that. Lived with it for all of three steps before she spoke again and he nearly tripped over himself trying to figure out if that was sarcasm or not and gawk at the same time.
"Not the point." Ah, hell, if he had to spell it out for her, it wasn't worth talking about.
Crazy woman. This was why he should never, ever agree to lunch with anyone.
Rangiku couldn't completely muffle her laugh. 'Not the point?' Of course not. She was beginning to learn that the captain saw things from a very… distinct perspective. She had just asked a question, she wasn’t sure what point she was meant to have made.
All speculations and observations aside, he was the one with the gun and the shield and she was more than happy to let him go first, except for the fact that they were going to have to keep moving quickly if they wanted to be able to catch up to the mugs. Rangiku had an idea of where she would have headed if she wanted to drop a copper, and was trying to take them a route which would cut them off, but there was no guarantee…
"Well, it's going to be the point, because we're coming to the end of this alley. Or should I just tell you now to turn left?”
The woman needed to be thumped upside the head. It wasn't the point, was never going to be the point, and she needed to quit trying to make it the point.
He glared at her for a moment. "Telling me is fine." And then he went left.
Wasn't so hard.
And for that she gets a glare. He really needed to work on his gratitude. “Oh good,” she said cheerfully, “because we take a right here.”
Rangiku ducked into an alleyway she remembered as being a lot wider, and taller, and had it always been this dirty? She let the captain lead, but shadowed his every step. They had to be careful where they stepped since it was really more of a squeeze between two buildings than an alley and was littered with scraps of metal and shards of glass.
They came to the end of the causeway and Rangiku held out her hand, calling a halt. “Hold up. If I’m right, they should be coming through here any minute.”
Toushirou was inanely glad he was pretty damned quick when she told him to go right instead of left, since he was already turning left when she said it. He pivoted on the ball of his foot and went right, ignoring her to the best of his ability. Damned woman. She did that to mess with him, and he'd only seen her a few times since they met.
He stopped when she indicated they do so, wondering why in the hell he was actually trusting her on this one. She'd proven to be at least somewhat trustworthy; might as well give her a little leeway.
That and he wasn't leaving her on her own in some back alley with a couple bastards out for blood around.
He took a few steps back, motioning her to step aside. Better if they weren't standing right in the middle of things when the guys came through - if they were going to. 'If I'm right' indeed. The woman was convinced she was always right. Why go the 'if I'm right' route?
And how did she know all this? This bore further thought, maybe some digging later on, but that was all the further Toushirou got with that. Thinking about it would have to wait until later; it seemed Matsumoto was actually right.
How did she know these things? He spared her a considering glance as his fingers curled around his gun. He really needed to know more about her. Now wasn't the time, though. He could barely see them coming near the end of their narrow little causeway, but could hear them clearly - they weren't doing a damn thing to try to conceal their approach. For one second, he thought about letting them go past and coming in behind them, but as appealing as certain elements of that was, he was not going to be behind them anymore. He was finally in front of them; wasn't going to mess that one up.
He stepped out of the causeway, drawing his gun - knowing full well that covering two idiots was a little problematic. "Stop!" Wasn't worth going over the whole 'I have a shield' issue; it had done so much good last time and if they didn't recognize him from the first time he'd tried to arrest them, then they were dumber than he first thought. (And, therefore, not worth the time it took to remind them he was NYPD.)
There was shouting, cursing, and the morons skid to a stop in front of him, hands heading for the knives they were carrying. Toushirou didn't so much as flinch. "Drop it. Get face down on the ground."
They didn't seem to be really listening. Toushirou cursed under his breath.
Well, OK. So the captain hears them coming and jumps out in front of them. She would have waited for them to come by and then dry-gulched them, but he was the Law, and they probably had different ways of doing things.
Rangiku decided to wait out of sight. She wouldn’t be very much good stepping out there with him, but maybe as an ace in the hole…
Of course, it would be too much to hope that this would be easy. She knew what the mugs saw: a short cop with a bean-shooter standing by his lonesome between them and freedom. Maybe she would have risked it too, maybe not, but these kids didn’t look too bright. Lanky and desperate, they couldn’t be more than eighteen.
She had to act quickly or else they’d get the bulge on the captain-she couldn’t have that. It was her fault he’d been able to find them in the first place, after all. Taking quick stock of the angles, Rangiku flicked her “borrowed” sticker opened while concealing it in the folds of her skirt. In a knife fight, every second counted and she wasn’t going into this with a deliberate handicap.
Ran took a deep breath. She wasn’t in this for the fight. She had to distract them and talk them down, and, most importantly, not step in front of the shield and rod.
Rangiku started shouting while she was still hidden. “Hey, NITWITS. Didn’t anyone ever tell you what to do when there’s a roscoe pointed straight at your noodle? Here’s a hint,” Ran stepped out into the alley, angling her way adjacent and slightly ahead of the captain, “it’s not ‘let me reach for my shiv.’”
Good. She’d surprised them into standing still. In fact, they were staring at her a little google-eyed. Keep talking, and hopefully the captain will make with the copper. “And just what were you planning on doing with those chives even if you got ‘em out, huh? Gonna stick a bull? You want the hammers and saws falling on you like a sack of bricks?” Use small words, maybe they’ll understand. “No one has to get hurt here, do like the man says.”
As much as Toushirou was glad for the woman's distraction - it had the morons standing still - he was definitely displeased with her and her methods. She should have just stayed out of sight and let him handle it. He was the Law, she was a shop owner. She shouldn't be running out in front of a couple nitwits with knives.
He could almost respect the audacity that took, but hell if he was going to admire it. "Idiot," he muttered, not taking his eyes off the guys with the knives and not letting the .38 waver in the slightest. "On the ground," he said, loudly, relieved when Matsumoto did no more than distract and the morons did no more than stand stock still.
It took them a few moments, and a few glances between each other before they started moving - and thankfully dropping to their knees. "Facedown," he snapped, moving forward and keeping the weapon trained on them. "Hands on your head."
One pair of handcuffs for two perps; of course he had that sort of luck. He could keep them pinned while he sent Matsumoto for a few extra buttons. Shouldn't be too difficult. Handcuff them together, keep the muzzle on their heads and they shouldn't give him much trouble.
Rangiku watched as the captain approached the two mugs. Her hand twitched on her knife. She would have felt a lot better about this if the captain had ordered them to throw their weapons away first. But she supposed that came with its own risks.
They obeyed the captain’s orders and slowly lowered themselves on the ground. She wondered what the captain was going to do next. He probably meant to restrain them in some way, but she wasn’t sure how he was going to do that while keeping his rod steady.
It would make sense to offer to hold the roscoe for him. That way he could do whatever it was he needed to do. But Rangiku did not do well with guns. She’d just have to cover him as best as she could from where she was, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to do anything at all. They’d be idiots to try anything.
After glancing at Matsumoto and noting - thankfully and with a small measure of satisfaction - that she was watching and alert, Toushirou approached the thugs. He wasn't exactly quick about it - had to keep an eye out on everything around - but he didn't dawdle either. The sooner he got this over with the better; he was hungry and the promise of pizza had gotten the better of him. It sounded good and just made him grumpier when it came right down to it. These thugs had interupted his lunch. Not just his lunch, but his lunch on a day when he'd agreed to meet someone.
The thugs were on the ground, laid out and passive and Toushirou took one hand off the gun to pull out his bracelets. Cuff them together, keep the roscoe on them, and send Matsumoto for someone actually on-duty; it was a good plan. One he fully intended to put into action.
He crouched, knowing full well this was the most vulnerable part of taking down a thug and wishing he had more back-up than a blonde woman with a big mouth, and reached for the bigger idiot's wrist. Soon as his fingers curled around though, snapping the bracelet into place, the thug moved. The man rolled, trying to surge to his feet, and trying to throw Toushirou off him. There was a dim flash - the knife in the man's hand and hell he was fast about picking that back up - and that knife was suddenly come for his face.
Thank God for awkward positions; had the man come at him while he wasn't half-prone on the ground, Toushirou might not have been able to avoid the swing quite as well as he did. He ducked and punched, the heavy weight of the gun's grip cracking against the man's temple. The thug dropped without so much as a grunt and Toushirou didn't waste time.
He did remember there were two of them. He swung the gun around until it pointed straight at the other thug's head. "No moving." He glanced at the first man, noting - thankfully - that he was so far from conscious the only threat to Toushirou was accidentally tripping over him.
What fun. This had started out as a simple lunch - sort of, if anything involving Matsumoto was ever simple. He was beginning to believe she and simple were mutually exclusive.
Oh, hell. She should have expected it. It seemed like nothing was ever simple with this guy-a simple introduction, a simple thank you, a simple lunch… Why should a collar be any different?
One of the geniuses Ran instantly nicknamed ‘Scrawny’ had made a play for the captain, and ‘Brainy’ over there had reached for his shiv and was propping himself up on one hand, head twisted towards the action and getting ready to move.
Such idiots. What if he had shot?
She didn’t know if the little man could take care of himself, so she’d have to move fast. If Scrawny managed to overpower the captain, then she’d be on her own against two armed idiots, possibly with a wounded bird to worry about. Best to even the score-and keep Brainy over there from joining in-as soon as possible.
Flicking the blade with pinpoint accuracy, it grazed Brainy’s temple and landed point first in the pavement between his face and shoulder. He froze and flickered up a startled gaze, but Rangiku had already started moving. Her knee landed between Brainy’s shoulder blades, knocking him back down to the ground with a thud. She heard his chin connect to the ground but didn’t hesitate, one hand reclaiming the handle of the sticker and the other fisting into Brainy’s hair, twisting his head to the side so he could see that she had the knife at his throat.
“Don’t try it,” she warned, her voice low and hard. “Drop the shiv and move your hands slowly in front of your head.”
The sound of metal clattering onto the cement rang out as she lifted her head to see how the captain had fared.
She blinked when she was greeted with the muzzle of the captain’s bean shooter, all the blood draining from her face. It wasn’t pointed at her but she couldn’t help the way her stomach dropped.
It was a force of will to keep her hand from trembling on the blade. From somewhere, Ran forced up the will to take a breath and offer up a small, “I don’t think he’s going anywhere, Captain.”
Toushirou blinked a few times when he saw Matsumoto holding the guy down with knee in his back and a knife at his throat. Interesting. Very, very interesting. He would definitely be asking about that. "Nice knife," he grunted.
He moved, shoving the shiv out of the kid's reach and pulling the gun off them. Still had it out, still had it ready, but he wasn't comfortable pointing it quite that close to his lunch "date".
He grabbed the kid's wrist - kid looked scared, which probably satisfied Toushirou more than it should have - and slapped the empty bracelet on him. Cuffed to an unconscious bird, shiv out of reach, knife on him and gun ready to go; the moron wasn't going anywhere. He nodded to Matsumoto.
He was going to need some help out here to get these two morons where they needed to be.
She waited until Brainy was safely cuffed before smoothly rising, taking the sticker with her. Rangiku was halfway tempted to kick him, the dumb mug, ruining her lunch like that, but she managed to remember she was in the presence of The Law, and there were more important things to be lectured about. Like… removing evidence. Her boys would have her head, she knew better than that, but like hell she was chasing after some thugs unarmed when there was a perfectly good sticker available.
The captain’s gun was still out, but now that it wasn’t pointed anywhere near her it made it easier to think, even if it kept drawing her attention to it in short, nervous glances. “Um, yeah, about that…” Rangiku flicked the blade closed and moved so that the captain wouldn’t have to stretch over Brainy’s body to take the outstretched shiv. “You’re probably going to want this. Took it out of the bo they stabbed.”
Toushirou raised an eyebrow, deciding to focus on her gaffe before he numbered the mistakes he'd made on this one. (Should have removed weapons from immediate reach. Dear God, but that was basic. Maybe she wouldn't tell anyone about that little mistake. Idiot. He'd tell himself it was because he was hungry and they'd interrupted lunch.)
He holstered his weapon, simply because having it out just in case did not outweigh the nervous glances she kept giving it. He couldn't afford to have her being twitchy over all this as well. Taking the knife almost gingerly, he stared at it and then at her.
"Took it out...?" He trailed off, blinked and tried again. That was evidence. It had been evidence stuck in someone's gut. "Tell me you left him with medical attention?" She owed him for this one, handing him evidence removed from the scene. (From the victim, no less!) She owed him enough that she had better make no argument about running back up the alley and getting someone to flag down a few buttons and get them out here.
He was going to pass this one off and get lunch.
Then head back to the office and fill out the paperwork for this for the rest of the afternoon. If he had to cover for her "stealing" evidence... Maybe he could make up some story about her not knowing proper first aid and she just panicked and removed the sticker. Yeah, that might work.
She had to make it difficult, didn't she?
Playing dumb was clearly the best way to handle this one. After all, she was just a civilian, she couldn’t be expected to know any better. It was really so much easier to think now that he’d holstered his heat. “Yes, sir! I used my scarf and applied pressure after I took it out, then sent someone off to call copper. I let someone else take over while I took off after you. I wasn’t sure what to do with the knife, but I was pretty sure I couldn’t leave it there, so I brought it with me. And then I gave it straight to you! It’s better than leaving it in that poor bird, or letting anyone there walk off with it, right?”
That was her story. Simple, straightforward, and Rangiku was sticking to it. It even had the benefit of being completely true! With… slight alterations and omissions. One hand stole up to her neck and she sighed. “It’s too bad. I really liked that scarf.”
Stepping back away from the captain, she would forever maintain that stepping on Scrawny’s fingers was accidental. The unconscious man didn’t so much as twitch.
Ran turned her wide, innocent eyes onto the captain. “It shouldn’t be too long before the cops show up by Vinnie’s. I guess I could have stayed there, but you had already run off and I thought you could use a hand. Why are you looking at me like that? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”
Granted, he hadn't known this woman all that long, but she had never once struck him as the fluttering and stupid type. And he'd never once heard her call him "sir" or not just immediately argue with him. Oh, she could think he didn't see right through that. She kept talking, and the longer she talked, the more his jaw dropped. Dear God, what was wrong with this woman? She just... ran after him? After pulling a knife from a man?
And then just... just... Well, he couldn't really call it lying. Okay, then. That was the story. She was stupid. It would go on her paperwork. Would serve her right.
And she could continue to think he didn't catch that "accidental" stomp on the moron's fingers.
"You need to head back there, tell them where we went." If she wanted to keep being helpful, she was sticking through it all. And still buying him lunch.
Huh, would you look at that, it didn’t look like the Captain believed her. Well, good for him. It was a perfectly plausible story, would look good on all that paperwork she always heard her boys whining about, and fool any other elephant ears who happened to come along. If he didn’t believe her, that was no skin off her nose, and it gave her a little more confidence in his ability to stay breathing for the next week or so. She wasn’t worried about what he’d say or what he’d think-after all, she’d already seen that his style of interrogation was silence. She didn’t feel any need to explain herself further; she could handle silence OK. And besides, he owed her.
Rangiku put her hands on her hips. “You should say ‘please,’ Captain. Oh, and while you’re at it? ‘Thank you. Thank you, Rangiku for coming with me so that I didn’t end up lost and alone. I appreciate your taking care of things back at the scene of the crime. Good job.’”
She meant what she said and kept her firm look strictly in place while somewhere in the back of her head a voice started to count down for the explosion she was sure was coming. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6…
He twitched. Oh, did he twitch. He knew she'd be a handful the minute he'd met her and he still took her up on her lunch offer. God, what was wrong with him? He had to be the biggest glutton for punishment in this city.
It took him a moment to reign in his temper; she had, after all, helped him out and because of her, he wouldn't be lost and he had someone to send back for extra hands. Teeth grinding together, eyebrow twitching; she was probably giggling inside over it all.
"Please, Miss Matsumoto," he returned, "would you kindly quit being so damned dense and do what I ask?"
Rangiku’s eyes narrowed. OK, the twitching was amusing, but he didn’t have to be so damned rude about it. Throwing an offer of friendship back in her face not once, but twice now was getting a bit tiresome. She didn’t need to help him out, she didn’t need to waste her time, the least he could do was accept the fact that they were more than casual acquaintances. She could walk away right now and leave him babysitting his two collars in the middle of this God-forsaken alley and he’d stay there until some dick was smart enough to figure out where he’d gone. She wouldn’t, of course, but she could.
Fine. She’d go round up his bulls. But first she’d find out if this was just an afternoon’s worth of amusement (which included no lunch, running, and the loss of one of her favorite scarves), or if she should bother with him in the future.
She smiled pleasantly. “I already told you, Captain. My friends call me Rangiku. Of course I’d be happy to help out a friend.”
He watched her carefully, watching how her eyes narrowed and her face melted into a pleasant smile. He wasn't quite sure what to make of that but he knew damned well that, after her little speech about etiquette, sarcasm would probably not be the best way to respond.
He wasn't that bad at reading people. He nodded in thanks; having her go back and get a few extra hands would help. He eyed the unconscious man; would definitely help.
"Think our pizza's still warm?" She had been a help and he did have to acknowledge that not everyone would have followed. Someday. He didn't need to stoke her ego; she seemed to have a fine enough one on her own.
Didn't mean he didn't owe her lunch, though.
…What the hell kind of answer was that? It didn’t answer her very strong implication, address her by her name, or reiterate his order.
Which was probably the point. He thought he could snake his way around without answering her question. Which meant-well, she didn’t know him well enough to guess. It could mean anything from him not wanting to piss her off so she’d leave him stranded to him not having quite made up his mind about her and being cautious to him having decided she wasn’t good enough.
Rangiku felt a sharp pang of disappointment. Her gaze dropped to the ground. It was too bad. She’d liked this one. But she didn’t throw herself after anybody.
His loss.
Squaring her shoulders, Rangiku took a deep breath before raising her head to meet the captain’s gaze again. The smile she gave him was polite and slightly wry, “Probably not. Ain’t much point to it anymore, Captain. It’s more like dinner than lunchtime now.”
She raised one hand in a lazy wave, “I’ll go pick up your bulls. I’ll be back soon enough so you won’t have to worry about missing dinner too.”
Toushirou grunted, giving her a considering glance. Granted, he didn't know her that well, but he'd never once seen her look down at the ground like that. He frowned and crouched. He didn't really need to check on the bracelets, but it at least gave him something to do.
"We're not missing dinner," he said, poking at them. He had said they'd eat together, so they'd eat together. It was as simple as that. "That is, if you're still going to want pizza. If not, start thinking about what you want. Soon as I hand these idiots off, we're going to eat." He glanced at her. "So hurry it up. I'm hungry."
Rangiku blinked. He wanted to go to dinner? Well, that was… Hm. So, then, what was he saying, exactly? She’d already observed that he wasn’t the friendliest of birds. If this was the captain’s way of feeling his way towards a friendship, of not committing but of giving it a shot…
She could live with that. Giving him a cheeky grin, Rangiku turned to go. “Fine. But you’re paying.”
Rangiku was almost out of sight before her grin widened with a sudden thought. She called back without turning around to face him, “And you owe me a new scarf!”
That grin stayed on her lips all the way back.
Toushirou shook his head as she left. She was just about the most insane woman he'd ever met, but... well, she seemed good enough, didn't she? Offered to buy him lunch, followed him out on an impromptu chase, and still wanted to get dinner.
He was hungry.
He'd see where this went. Dinner would tell.
And he needed to know about that scarf.