Fun in Atlantic City

This article, , is the second chapter of the Kagamino City arc, which is part of Bleach: Sun and Moon Chronicles. It features Kenji Hiroshi as the primary character, with Ino Choyo and Anika Shihōin as support.

Kenji was dressed in a tidy black tuxedo and wore his black hair without spikes; it was slicked back by nearly half a jars worth of hair gel. Ino sat beside him at a roulette table dressed in a stylish red dress and a necklace of sparkling stones.

“I win again.” He said.

Kenji accepted his winnings and waved towards a female waitress in the distance. When she approached his table Kenji sent her off with an order of drinks; a double whiskey for himself with a small bit of honey for sweetness and one of those fool cocktail things that Ino liked to drink. He soon turned his attention to the roulette table again.

“Put everything I have on red.” He told the attendant.

By the time the waitress returned with his drink Kenji had doubled his pot and was now counting his winnings. He couldn't help but grin. Even factoring in the money he still owed Kei for the Japan trip he had come out ahead by a few grand. Atlantic City was proving to be an excellent stop on their American road-trip. As he approached the counter to get his money Ino fell in beside him.

“You should buy little Lisa something nice.”

Lisa Hiroshi. He still couldn't believe it. She was the drunken mistake Kenji shared with Lisa Yadomaru and probably one of the best mistakes he'd ever made in all his life. His daughter. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that he'd become a father but there it was. He fingered the locket around his neck; it held two pictures. The first was little Lisa not long after she was born. The second was how she looked now; she sported violet-coloured hair and a pair of red-rimmed glasses over a set of blood-red eyes. Kenji couldn't help but note that, physically at least, the eyes where the only thing they shared.

“I will, thanks.”

“You'd better.”

It wasn't Ino who had spoken however and the voice sent alarm bells off in Kenji's head! He nervously pocketed his cash and turned to regard Anika. She wore a glittering black dress with a plummeting neckline and a purse tucked under her right arm. Her high-heels meant she was actually looking down on her godson and his date for the evening.

“What are you doing here!?” Kenji groaned. “I haven't done anything wrong!”

“... Is that really how you greet your godmother?” Ino inquired, shocked.

“Lately the only time this old shrew has showed up has been to admonish me for doing something wrong. I've been a good boy! I haven't had a fight in six da-”

He quickly shut his mouth. Anika, though, looked uninterested. She didn't even appear to have heard him; which may have been a small blessing. Calling Anika “old” was a quick-fire way to have your teeth blasted down your throat.

“I'm here, you delightful little shit, because I need your help. And before you open that clever mouth of yours no, it isn't optional. You're helping and that's that.”

“... What do I need to do this time?”

“I need you to go to war with Sosuke Aizen's Privaron Espada.”

“Is that all!?”

“Yes. Do that and I'll forget that you just called me old.”

“... What about Kusaka? Kazuma isn't ready.” Ino added.

“They're helping Tadashi and Shin on a different assignment.” Anika claimed.

“If this group is like the primary Espada then they'll be ten of them. I'm good, Anika, but I'm not that great.”

“That's why you're going to recruit everyone else. You have strong friends; twist their arm.” Anika revealed. “as for me I'm going to speak to Kei. At least he isn't a moron.”

“... Old bat.” He whispered.

“What was that!?”

Ino could only watch in horror as Anika proceeded to beat her godson to within an inch of his life. By the time security arrived to drag her off him Ino had discretely left the scene...

End.