With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
Toshioni just sat there and did his best not to interject. It was hard when she was grilling him so hard about something that he had just said as an analogy. He hadn't meant anything bad by it. Honestly, would it have been so wrong to just let him have that one? He understood that everyone had their own experience with hollows but he had it pretty bad off. At age six he had watched his watched his father die and couldn't do a damn thing to save him. That was the worst feeling in the world.
"Toshi-kun, listen. Dogs are my favorite animal... And hollows... Well, I hate them. They killed me sensei, the took away my first friend here from me, and they almost took you away..."
A vein POPPED in his forehead. Grinding his teeth, his fingernails dug into his thigh. It was hard for him not to tell her that she didn't get to talk to him that way. She didn't know what he had been through; she didn't know his life's story. Wait. Slow down Toshioni; you're letting your hormones get the better of you. Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and controlled his heart beat. He just needed to calm down.
Looking up at her now, he continued his steady breathing. This wouldn't be the easiest thing to just tell someone. But, he had to let her know that he knew about Hollow-based loss more than most people.
"Mizuki, at age six I watched my dad get slaughtered by Hollows while my mother fly me away from the scene. I believe I know about what it means to hate Hollows. If I can learn to objectify them as objects, anyone can."
"So, yeah, about the date... I'm gonna go home real quick to change and I'll be back. It'll be up to you where we go though."
His face turned beet red again at the mention of their date. He didn't know what she would wear but he knew she would look beautiful in it. Her face just worked with pretty much anything that she wore. Add that to the fact that her figure pulled everything off and you had a dangerous combination. He put the Hollow differences aside. Currently, a different set of hormones were driving his actions.
"Alright, I have some ideas. I probably need to change as well. I mean, this is just kind of strung together. I might as well put on something that's a bit more...well, nice."
Mizuki could hear hard breathing coming from Toshi, almost like he was trying to stay calm. Had she done something to upset him? He was obviously mad about something. Why was he so mad? He had no reason to be! She was only expressing her feeling to him! Maybe she forgot from her previous encounter that showing feelings was wrong. Maybe she would have to tone her feelings down a bit.
"Mizuki, at age six I watched my dad get slaughtered by Hollows while my mother fly me away from the scene. I believe I know about what it means to hate Hollows. If I can learn to objectify them as objects, anyone can."
Mizuki gasped and looked away. She could hardly bare it! It actually kinda pissed her off more! Hollows deserved to be killed for this! Even if Toshi became passive of them, Mizuki wouldn't want to sit by and let people die! That's why she followed in her teacher's foot steps, becoming a hollow hunter. Although she hadn't been looking for them for a while, she still considered it her destiny of sorts.
"That's horrible... And I understand what you mean, but I was trained to hunt them down and kill them... Just like the animals they are. Maybe, maybe I should give that up though, huh?"
Mizuki looked up and flashed a small smile. She had to agree with Toshi... Damn this kid was kinda smart, seemed a bit smarter than Mizuki at least, or maybe it was just more understanding, either way Mizuki would give up her hollow hunting days, for good.
Then, his face went red again. It was about as red as Mizuki's hair, and that's pretty damn red! Mizuki giggled and blushed slightly. He must of liked the idea of the two of them going on a date, and this was somewhat comical seeing as Mizuki owed him, and was doing it to get that damn "stray cat" out of her head.
"Alright, I have some ideas. I probably need to change as well. I mean, this is just kind of strung together. I might as well put on something that's a bit more...well, nice."
"Then go ahead and change, I'll be back here in an hour and a half." Mizuki smiled while she stood up, turned around and then looked back for a short second. "Don't be late!" Mizuki winked at him as she walked away to go home and change.
"That's horrible... And I understand what you mean, but I was trained to hunt them down and kill them... Just like the animals they are. Maybe, maybe I should give that up though, huh?"
Toshioni gave a weak smile at this. It was kind of pleasing to know that you could get through to someone with your words. That was what he had done just now. He'd gotten through to Mizuki and maybe now she would change her ways. It was good. If nothing else, it would keep her safe. Hollow hunting should be left to the professionals. Or, at least people who had some range with their powers. Being a Quincy was all about range.
All the stuff he had told Mizuki had been true as well though. Hollows didn't know any better and you didn't have to kill them unless they were going to hurt someone. That was his policy on those damn things and he stuck to it. He only bothered with such exertion when he had to. Toshioni wasn't one of those guys who got off on the bloodshed of those beasts. It just wasn't in his nature.
"Then go ahead and change, I'll be back here in an hour and a half."
Nodding, Toshioni ran off himself to home. Well, after he was out of sight from people he used Hirenkyaku. That just made everything easier and it lowered the chance that he would be late. He lived pretty far out from the center of town. It just wasn't a very urban setting. At least they had a yard though. A yard was nice.
Slipping into his house he grabbed some bread from the kitchen counter and gobbled it down. He was going to eat with Mizuki, but he didn't want his stomach to growl. Next was the shower. It was important to smell good and not being all oily just in case hand holding occurred. After that he quickly dried off and brushed his teeth. Ya know, just in case. Jumping into something both nice and clean, he made sure he was going to be looking good.
Darting back out of his home he used a burst of Hirenkyaku to put himself close to the mall where he was supposed to meet Mizuki. What a surprise, he still had fifteen minutes left. Apparently, he had taken longer picking out clothes than he had thought. They worked well together though. A clean white button-up short-sleeve shirt with a black tie. He had a pair of black slim jeans on as well. He didn't want to seem too formal for this. After all, he might scare her off.
It was a good thing that Mizuki didn't live very far from the mall, she had to walk five to ten minutes, tops. She walked with a big smile on her face, it would seem that she was excited. She arrived at the door to her house and walked in. Empty, no one was home, no one was to be found. This didn't matter, she was going to change and be gone anyway.
First she stopped by her room to drop her bags. She didn't even turn on the light, just dropped her bags and went to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom, she stripped down and took a shower, washing thoroughly. She wrapped a towel around herself and wrapped her hair up. Returning to her room, she flipped the light switch, turning on the lights to her still destroyed room.
Mizuki let out a heavy sigh. That damn Neko... He was still ruining her day, even when he wasn't around. Mizuki started drying herself off. She then grabbed one of her bags and grabbed some underwear, along with a bra.
After putting her under garments on, she checked her phone to see the time. It seemed she still had about twenty minutes left. She then grabbed the dress she had shown Toshi earlier and slipped it on. It wasn't normal for her to wear such a thing, but tonight was special. It was a date after all. Next was her shoes. She picked out a pair of heels, nothing to fancy or to high, but something just right. After this it was time to accessorize!
Star ear rings along with a purse that matched her dress, that was also bought today. Now, what to put in her purse... Her wallet, a small fold up brush, her shillelagh, oh and a compact make up kit. She didn't wear much make up, but when she did, she made sure to have some extra, just in case she broke a sweat killing a hollow.
Looking at her phone again, she noticed that she had thirteen minutes left. Well, time to head back. She started off, walking through the darkening streets. It was starting to get a little chilly, but nothing to bad. The mall was just up a head.
Mizuki walked up behind Toshi. Before she got all the way up to him, she took note of his attire, or in other words, she was checking him out all spiffed up. She smiled and quietly came up from behind him. She put her hands over his eyes.
Toshioni began to tap his foot after a while. He was early and it was kind of boring without anyone around. He really should've planned better. Just being bored and the like wasn't much fun. In this time, his mind began to wonder. He wondered what Mizuki was going to be wearing to this event. Shaking his head a little, he dispelled that from his mind. He didn't want to get too excited before she got here. Other thoughts persisted in his mind as well. For example, how did he really feel about this "date"?
He wouldn't get the time to think about this too much though. Suddenly, he felt warm hands cover his eyes. At being touched from behind, he did tense up for a moment. His Post Traumatic Stress still hadn't taken its due course and worked itself out. This meant that he went into battle mode for just a split second and thought of the best way to take someone apart who was behind him. His Seele Schneider would be easiest. He could pivot in half a second and cut any non-Arrancar in half. Easily.
"Guess who?"
At hearing her voice, he relaxed his shoulders and the blood stopped rushing to his head. He would have to spill blood today after all. That was good. Toshioni wasn't typically one to fight. He responded to her touch by raising his hands to touch hers. He then thought about how best to react to her. He couldn't say that he knew for certain so he figured he might as well just do what he would normally do.
"Why hello there Mizu-chan, how rude of you to sneak up behind me like this. Really not polite."
With a slip and a pivot he was facing her. It took him a second to process her appearance. She was so beautiful in her dress. It almost wasn't fair that she got to look so nice and he was just so mediocre in his clothes. However, he didn't let that discourage him. He knew exactly what they were going to do. Food court, movie, coffee. Fairly simple. It wasn't that hard.
"You're in luck Mizu-chan; I have an excellent evening planned out for us tonight."
At first, Mizuki's touch made Toshioni tense up, as if he thought it was someone bad or something. His hands reached up and touched hers. This somewhat surprised her, then she thought about who it was, and she wasn't so surprised after all. She began to blush some, why wouldn't she? He was touching her hand, which was new to her, but what would she do? She decided to just let this go and move on, as she decided, Toshi began to speak.
"Why hello there Mizu-chan, how rude of you to sneak up behind me like this. Really not polite."
"Well, I'm sorry I like to have fun Mr. Grumpy Gills!" Mizuki giggled lightly as she teased Toshioni.
She loosened her hands and then he slipped out and turned towards her. She looked at the clothing he was wearing. It wasn't anything fancy, but hey, she really didn't care! This date was an excuse to wear her newly bought dress, and she did want to look good on top of that! Either way, Toshi was still somewhat dressed up, and she thought that he was kinda cute...
"You're in luck Mizu-chan; I have an excellent evening planned out for us tonight."
"Good! I'm have been waiting for an actual good night." Mizuki smiled in response to the smirk and took Toshi's arm instead of his hand.
"Well, I'm sorry I like to have fun Mr. Grumpy Gills!"
"Well, there's a fine line between fun and almost giving me a heart attack. Come now, let's be nice here." As he spoke, he leaned in towards her and flashed a small smile. "Just kidding Mizu-chan."
At that, he backed away and kicked the ground a bit. This was his first date and it was just a bit awkward for him. Despite his typical bravado, he wasn't really all that assertive in situations such as this. By that he meant that he wasn't comfortable with girls of any kind. If Mizuki were just his friend, it would be different. Now, however, they were on a date; that changed the implications of their being together.
"Good! I'm have been waiting for an actual good night."
He flashed another small smile at this before getting kind of embarrassed as his face got a little red. He didn't look her in the eyes as he took a deep breath and steadied himself for a bit. It was a simple plan that he had for the evening. Why was it so hard for him to express to her?
"Well, the plan for tonight, Mizu-chan, is to go to the food court right for a little meal. Then we'll go to the movies for short film. After that, there's a coffee shop with our name on it. The rest is up to you."
"Well, there's a fine line between fun and almost giving me a heart attack. Come now, let's be nice here." As he spoke, he leaned in towards her and flashed a small smile. "Just kidding Mizu-chan."
Mizuki was astonished! She didn't think he had it in him, and yet there he was joking with her, just as she joked with him. This was good for Mizuki, she loved a bit of joking around.
After Toshioni said that he backed up a bit and kicked at the ground. He seemed nervous, but why? It was only Mizuki, and hell, it wasn't like she was a complete stranger! So why was he so nervous? She would have to find out.
Before she could actually start to ask, he flashed another smile, and started to turn red. Now he really looked nervous. He was red, wouldn't look her in the eyes and seemed like he was really embarrassed! Well, Mizuki couldn't do anything about it but ask him.
"Toshi-kun, why are you getting all nervous? Or at least seem nervous?" Mizuki took a small step to bring her closer to Toshioni. She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled.
"Well, the plan for tonight, Mizu-chan, is to go to the food court right for a little meal. Then we'll go to the movies for short film. After that, there's a coffee shop with our name on it. The rest is up to you."
The plans were simple, and didn't really seem like she needed to get all dressed up, but any excuse she could use to wear that dress, she would take! The night could end short or be very long, but either way, Mizuki was gonna have fun!
"Awesome! Let's go." Mizuki smiled and offered her hand out so he could lead the way. Mizuki had been waiting for a night like this.
"Toshi-kun, why are you getting all nervous? Or at least seem nervous?"
As if her pointing it out didn't embarrass him enough, she put her hand on his shoulder and moved even closer to him. Let's be serious, this was kind of a date and it was his first one. To be honest, Toshioni didn't actually know how to act on a date. Sure, he acted like someone with experience in the ladies, but he had no such experience. Typically, he got shot down pretty fast. That never gave him much chance to actually go on a date.
"Mizu-chan, this is kind of a date, and I'm kind of nervous about it. I mean, I know I come off as this ladies' man who's been around quite often. But, I'm not. This is my first real outing with a girl."
Taking a few deep breaths, he touched her hand on his shoulder and lowered it while holding onto it. Not letting go of it, Toshioni gave a weak smile before walking over to her side. Like this, they were actually "holding hands". Looking over at her, he forgot about whatshername. He felt that he could enjoy himself tonight and maybe Mizuki would too. And, if she enjoyed herself, maybe they could do this again. Something stable in his life would be great actually.
"Awesome! Let's go."
Responding to this, he just began to walk forward without letting go of her hand. His face was still red because he was still nervous and embarrassed. But, he had some confidence in this. If he could kill hollows with ease, he could go on a date with a girl. That seemed like sound logic to him.
"Right this way, Mizu-chan."
He continued walking until they were at the food court. At this point, he turned to her and cocked his head to the side curiously. Doing this, Toshioni hoped to mask his embarrassment and nervousness. It wasn't an easy task, but he tried so nonetheless.
"Where do you want to go? The whole mall's food court is open to us!"
"Mizu-chan, this is kind of a date, and I'm kind of nervous about it. I mean, I know I come off as this ladies' man who's been around quite often. But, I'm not. This is my first real outing with a girl."
His first time out with a girl? He had to be pulling her leg on this one! Come one, the way he acts, and the way he looks, it's like he has girls flying to him like some sort of magnet! But apparently this was not the case. Mizuki could only believe him more, especially from the very first time they had met. Sure, later that day she kissed him so he would be more confident, but she needed the help! She was a lot weaker than him and the other guy. Either way, she would become stronger eventually, but for now, she would enjoy her time on this date.
"I'm surprised you're being so honest Toshi-kun, usually you can't wait to talk about your mad skillz." Mizuki was being sarcastic when she said 'mad skillz'. She thought it would be a fun little joke.
Now he was holding her hand. All she could do was blush a bit, then look over and see him giving a weak smile to her. This made her giggle. It was funny to see the "lady's man" being so weak. Mizuki didn't want to break him down anymore right now though, it just wouldn't be nice.
"Right this way, Mizu-chan."
Mizuki nodded and began following him closely, as he was holding her hand and moving forward. It was a nice little walk to the food court, where there was a wide variety of foods they could choose from. But which one was going to be it for tonight? Which one was he going to choose for them?
"Where do you want to go? The whole mall's food court is open to us!"
Mizuki pointed at herself as if asking if he wanted her to make the decision. So she was gonna wear the pants after all? Well, not right now of course, she was in a dress and all, but that's besides the point! He wanted her to make the call. So, Mizuki did just that. She pointed over at an American style hot dog stand. She hadn't had hot dogs in quite some time, and it sounded delicious for tonight.
"Let's go there! It looks delicious right now." Mizuki smiled and let go of Toshi's hand and started to jog slightly over there. "I'm gonna beat you there!" Mizuki was playing around, seeing if he would be baited into it.