The Hazards of Chores (Bleach, F)

[RosyLights]

 

Hey! This is my first time posting something on here, so I hope I'm doing it right and the formatting isn't weird or anything. This is for @Liath.two, who requested something with Rangiku from Bleach, with dust and destructive/gigantic sneezes. I'm not a great writer, but I hope this turned out all right. Anyway, on to the story!

~~~~~

A lovely spring day had dawned in the Soul Society. Clear skies, sunny weather, the sort of day that evoked the desire to spend the day resting without giving any thought to the cares of the world. Granted, most days were like that for Rangiku Matsomoto, whose easy-going and carefree demeanour was well-known among the officers of the Court Guard Squads. While a competent officer who was perfectly capable of being serious when required, she tended to avoid undertaking unnecessary labour.

 

There was no escape on that day, however, as Rangiku had been assigned the task of cleaning a storage shed near the headquarters building, accompanied by Yoruichi. Neither of them was excited by the thought of spending an indeterminate amount of time on such a chore, but Toshiro would be displeased if Rangiku were to put it off until later or convince Yoruichi to do it all herself. The best course of action was to complete the task as quickly and efficiently as possible. Then, they could devote the rest of the day to more enjoyable pursuits.

 

The two women arrived at their destination and peered inside. Yoruichi flipped on the light switch, illuminating the interior of the shed. Upon seeing for herself the scale of what she had to work with, Rangiku had to admit that cleaning and organising the place would likely not take too much time out of her day. The room was relatively small, as was the amount of debris which would need to be dealt with. It would simply be a matter of putting forth the effort to do so.

 

Rangiku stepped further into the room, closing the door closed behind her and effectively blocking out the allure of the outside world. Right, then. Time to get to work. “Where should we start?” She asked, setting down the cleaning supplies that she had brought.

 

“We should probably start by dusting everything. Then, once it’s clean, we can organise it.” Yoruichi gestured towards a pile of ceramic containers. “Let’s start with these. We’ll dust the floor after that, then put everything away.” She sat down on one side of the pile. “I’ll do this half.”

 

“All right.” Rangiku looked over the half on her side, deciding to start by dusting a set of small pots. As was to be expected, dust had settled inside them during the time that they had been in storage. The outside surfaces were covered with a light coating, as well.

 

Wielding a cloth in one hand, Rangiku picked up the smallest pot and set to work. She made a face at its grimy state. By the time she was finished cleaning, her clothes and hair would surely be full of dirt. She would have to take a nice, long bath immediately afterwards. Oh well, that didn’t sound like such a bad prospect.

 

A few minutes later, the pot had been restored to a state of cleanliness. “Finished!” Rangiku grinned, holding it out for Yoruichi to admire.

 

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow. “Impressive. One down, about a dozen more to go. Better get to it, then.” She smirked and returned to cleaning out the vase in her hands.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I am.” Rangiku pouted playfully and picked up the next pot. That one was a little dirtier than the previous one, the dust piled higher within it. Rangiku frowned at it. “Hey, can’t we just dump out all of this dust? Wiping it out just gets it all over the rags, and then they’ll be too dirty to use. I’m just going to dump it so there won’t be as much left inside.”

 

“That should be fine.” Yoruichi stood and brought the trash can a little closer. “That’s a good idea, actually. I was wondering if we had brought enough rags.” She picked up another vase, emptying it out before sitting back down to start cleaning.

 

Rangiku followed suit, rising to a kneeling position to empty the dust out of the pot. She turned it upside down and tapped the bottom. Most of the dust fell out in clumps, but the rest puffed out in a small cloud. Rangiku waved it away, grimacing in distaste, and settled back down onto the floor.

 

Perhaps the cloud of dust had not been sufficiently dispersed, and continued to settle; or it may be that Rangiku had inadvertently inhaled the small particles as they had invaded her airspace. Whatever the origin, it seemed that she had been in contact with enough dust to spark a faint irritation in her nose. She scrunched up her nose in an effort to quell the feeling, which was only briefly successful.

 

As she continued to work, more dust rose into the air and re-ignited the irritation. It was stronger that time, forming a tickle in the back of her nose. Rangiku sniffed and lifted a hand to rub her nose. “It sure is dusty in here,” she commented. “Can we take a break to get some fresh air?”

 

“We haven’t been here long enough to need a break. You’d probably wander off and leave me to finish the job, anyway. Let’s finish this pile, then maybe we can have some water or something.” Yoruichi set aside a jar that she had finished wiping down. “Besides, there won’t be as much dust once we’ve cleaned up a little more.”

 

“I guess you’re right. I’ll just have to work a little faster, then.” Inspired by the prospect of being able to move on to a task which would be less bothersome to her nose, Rangiku sped up the process of cleaning the objects in front of her. Unfortunately for her, the increased pace of her movements had the effect of stirring up even more dust. It did not take long for her nose to take issue with the bombardment, the tickling sensation turning into an itch which demanded relief.

 

Rangiku’s eyes narrowed as her breath began to hitch. “Hheh…” She turned her head to the side in preparation for the incoming sneeze. “Heh… ATSHiew!” The forceful sneeze echoed in the small shed, startling Yoruichi and nearly making her drop the bowl that she was wiping off.

 

“Hey, watch it!” Yoruichi yelped, scrambling to regain her hold on the bowl. “Give me a little warning next time!”

 

“Sorry about that! All this dust is getting to me.” Rangiku grinned sheepishly and rubbed her nose. The itch had receded somewhat, but Rangiku knew that it would not take much for it to be brought to the surface again. She just hoped that it wouldn’t happen again too soon. The small, enclosed shed was not the ideal place for her to have a sneezing fit.

 

However, as suspected, the continued exposure to dust proved to be too much for her nose to withstand. She fought against the mounting urge as well as she could, but was soon overwhelmed. “Hey, Yoru… hheh’ATSSHiew!” Her warning was cut off by another sneeze. That one was stronger than the last, stirring the dried leaves and dirt on the floor and sending them scattering across the room in its wake.

 

Even though Rangiku had not been able to finish her sentence, Yoruichi quickly realised what was happening. She frowned when she noticed that the sneeze had been strong enough to displace the dirt and other debris on the ground. It seemed that Rangiku’s strength was not limited to her actions on the battlefield. If she couldn’t control it, though, it might be best for her to wait outside while Yoruichi finished the dusting. On the other hand, no damage had been caused. Maybe nothing more would come of it.

 

“Well, at this rate, we won’t need to sweep the floor. Looks like you can take care of that all by yourself,” Yoruichi teased, indicating the cleared section of floor. “Do you always sneeze like that?”

 

“No, not always. It mostly happens when my nose is really bothered by something, and it catches me by surprise. I’ve learned how to restrain it pretty well, but sometimes I just can’t hold back; and when I try, it makes me sneeze more! Better to get it all out at once, right?”

 

“I guess so,” Yoruichi agreed, still a little wary of what might happen if Rangiku kept sneezing. “Let’s get back to work.” She eyed the diminished pile of objects to clean, noting the dust which coated them. “Maybe it would be better if you got away from the dust for a minute. How about if you organise those tools over there?”

 

Rangiku looked in the direction that Yoruichi had indicated. Tools were piled against the adjacent wall, overflowing from boxes and littered on the floor next to them. “Sure,” she said, standing to cross the room. “Hey, weren’t you the one who told me to keep dusting even when I said I wanted to take a break?” She grinned down at Yoruichi.

 

The other woman merely rolled her eyes at the teasing. “Yes, I know. I’ll make it up to you later.”

 

“Don’t think I’ll forget!” Rangiku called as she crossed the room to where the tools were lying. She crouched down to examine them. The boxes appeared to contain hand tools as well as ones meant for gardening. Some of the larger ones, such as rakes and brooms, leant against the wall next to the boxes. From what she could tell, most of them seemed to have been already organised by category; so there was not too much for her to do. She decided to take them out of the boxes and wipe them off before putting them back in a more orderly fashion.

 

Luckily for Rangiku, only the tools that were sitting on top had accumulated dust. Those could be dealt with easily enough. It did not take her too long to finish. “I’m done!” She beamed at Yoruichi, flourishing her arm at the neatly aligned boxes filled with cleaned and organised tools.

 

“Already?” Yoruichi looked over, taking in the less cluttered state of the area. “Nice job; it looks a lot better now.” She paused when her eyes fell on the brooms and rakes that were propped against the wall. “Wait; you’ve still got to do those. They’re probably dirty, and they look like they’re out of order. Just wipe them off and sort them by type.”

 

Confused, Rangiku looked behind her, only just then noticing the other tools. “Ah, darn it! I thought I was done! I guess there’s not that much, though.” As Rangiku set to work, she failed to spot the dust and dirt which clung to the bristles of the brooms. Consequently, when she flipped a broom upside down to better wipe down the handle, she was greeted with a faceful of loosened dust.

 

As she had stated earlier, Rangiku sometimes had difficulty controlling the force of her sneezes when she was caught off guard. It seemed that encountering an unexpected cloud of dust in close quarters qualified as being caught off guard, if her reaction was any indication. Her breath immediately began to hitch, her fingers tightening around the handle of the broom as she geared up for what was certain to be a powerful sneezing fit.

 

“Hheh… ehh…” Rangiku’s head fell back, her mouth open and eyes closed. Her chest rose and fell unevenly as her breath continued to catch. “Heh…” The burning sensation teased her nose for a moment before finally overpowering her, bending her over with the force. “Heh’ATSHIEW!”

 

With her eyes screwed shut as she built up to the next sneeze, Rangiku was unable to see the effects of her unrestrained sneeze. She could, however, vaguely hear crashing sounds; and knew that she was the cause.

 

Indeed, more than just some leaves and dirt had been affected that time. The strength of the sneeze had toppled the remaining brooms and rakes. They landed in a heap on the ground, dust billowing up from the impact and hanging thickly in the air around Rangiku’s face.

 

The additional dust was all that it took to tip Rangiku over the edge once more. Her head tilted back as her chest heaved with a final gasp before she was thrown forwards again with a powerful sneeze. “Hheh’ESSHUE!” Several more sneezes followed suit as her nasal passages attempted to rid themselves of the irritants which had been plaguing them ever since she had begun dusting. “ATSCHiew! Heh’TSSH’ue!”

 

Around her, objects continued to succumb to the onslaught. Rangiku could only sneeze helplessly, so consumed by the urge that she hardly noticed what was happening around her. “Eh’KSCHuue!” Another sneeze blew over a stack of empty cans of paint, which fell to the floor with a clatter. “ETSCHiew!” A pile of old towels was next, the breeze blowing the towels across the shed to land at random.

 

Having decided that the best course of action would be to move Rangiku to a location which was better suited to the strength of her sneezes, Yoruichi grabbed Rangiku’s arm and led her towards the door. She also hoped that the lack of dust would hasten the end of Rangiku’s fit. As Yoruichi opened the door, Rangiku sneezed again, blowing the door open all the way and nearly yanking the handle out of Yoruichi’s hand.

 

Yoruichi released her hold on Rangiku once the two of them were a short distance from the shed. The weather was still pleasant, warm and sunny with a light wind which rustled the grass and trees. Looking at Rangiku, Yoruichi knew that the plants would soon have to withstand more than just a gentle breeze. At least there wasn’t much that could be damaged.

 

The change in scenery was not lost on Rangiku. In the midst of another build-up, she squinted at her surroundings. Having taken note of her new location, she allowed her eyes to close and gave in to the sneeze. “Hh’AKSCHue!” The resulting gust of air rippled the grass and blew some leaves off nearby bushes. The next sneeze took a little longer to arrive, leaving Rangiku hitching with half-lidded eyes. “Hh… hehh…” She scrunched up her nose, which seemed to be all that was needed to bring forth the desired result. “Hah’ESSHue!” That sneeze was weaker than the previous ones, though it still left the plant life in a further state of disarray.

 

Although the tickle still lingered, promising another sneeze before long, the urge was not as intense. Both Rangiku and Yoruichi were relieved that the fit seemed to be dying down. Rangiku in particular was growing rather tired from the constant sneezing. She did not fight the next one, however, hoping that it would finally satiate the need. “Hhah’KSSHue!” There was no great impact from that one, apart from a faint breeze which was not strong enough to do more than cause the more delicate bushes and flowers to gently sway.

 

Rangiku straightened up and caught her breath, sniffling in the aftermath. Her nose had stopped itching at last, and the fresh air had no adverse effect upon her airways. Turning to face Yoruichi, she gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, Yoruichi! I hope I didn’t make too much of a mess in there. It sounded like a lot of stuff was blowing around.”

 

“Don’t worry about it; I’ll take care of it. I guess it was my fault, anyway, for trying to get you to keep working around all that dust. I didn’t think you’d react like that, though!” Yoruichi laughed. “Yeah, I definitely owe you. I’ll finish up here, and you can take the rest of the day off. How about that?”

 

“Sounds good! I think I’ll start by taking a bath and getting out of these clothes. I’m all dusty!” Rangiku brushed some of the dust off her clothes, being careful to not breathe it in.

 

“Good idea; I’m sure you don’t want to go through all of that again! I’ll see you later, then. Have a good day!” With a wave, Yoruichi headed back towards the shed.

 

“Thanks; I will!” Rangiku called as she left. Despite the uninteresting task which she had attempted to fulfil, and the chaos that had ensued as a result, the rest of the day was shaping up to be pretty good. She decided to go out for a drink once she finished her bath. Yes, she would certainly make the most of her free time. With any luck, she would not be called upon to perform menial labour again anytime soon, especially if it involved cleaning dusty places. That was likely to cause far more trouble than what it was worth.

[RosyLights]

It looks like the italics were removed when I copied and pasted this. Sorry! The sneezes are supposed to be italicised. 😬

[Spacesneezeman]

Awesome story! I really enjoyed reading it, thanks for sharing and keep it up.

[Liath.two]

Yay! Thank you so much! To be honest, I completely forgot about my request 😅 but it was so good! I like how Yoruichi was there too! They’re my two favs!

[Frank]

Loved this story 😁

[RosyLights]

On 3/20/2023 at 2:28 AM, Spacesneezeman said:

Awesome story! I really enjoyed reading it, thanks for sharing and keep it up.

Thank you! I'm so glad you liked it!

21 hours ago, Liath.two said:

Yay! Thank you so much! To be honest, I completely forgot about my request 😅 but it was so good! I like how Yoruichi was there too! They’re my two favs!

Thank you! Yeah, it took me a little while to finish. 😬 I remember that you said you liked Yoruichi, so I included her. I'm glad you liked it!

 

21 hours ago, Frank said:

Loved this story 😁

Thank you! I'm happy to hear that!

[47Bears]

I haven’t watched bleach but this is still a fun and cute little fic that I rather liked. If you’re open to writing about other anime gals, I’d highly recommend trying Nico Robin. Some of her abilities feel like they were made for us.

[RosyLights]

14 hours ago, 47Bears said:

I haven’t watched bleach but this is still a fun and cute little fic that I rather liked. If you’re open to writing about other anime gals, I’d highly recommend trying Nico Robin. Some of her abilities feel like they were made for us.

Thank you! I haven't watched Bleach, either (I wrote this in response to a request), except for a few scenes to try to get a feel for the characters. I do love One Piece, though!!! This was actually my first time writing anything female, but I'll keep Robin in mind. Yes, I agree about her abilities, what with all of the flower petals.

[Liath.two]

12 minutes ago, RosyLights said:

Thank you! I haven't watched Bleach, either (I wrote this in response to a request), except for a few scenes to try to get a feel for the characters. I do love One Piece, though!!! This was actually my first time writing anything female, but I'll keep Robin in mind. Yes, I agree about her abilities, what with all of the flower petals.

I was thinking the same thing actually! Especially with her new giant form. Though Ive always had a scenario in my head where she’d make a giant nose appear on a wall or something and someone has to duck underneath and into it to clean it or something 😅

[RosyLights]

10 hours ago, Liath.two said:

I was thinking the same thing actually! Especially with her new giant form. Though Ive always had a scenario in my head where she’d make a giant nose appear on a wall or something and someone has to duck underneath and into it to clean it or something 😅

Good point! I hadn't thought of that; all that came to mind was the flower theme. But I'm sure it would make for some interesting stories, like the scenario you mentioned. If I were into female stuff, I might try to write something like that... who knows, maybe I'll give it a shot at some point. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Liath.two]

On 3/24/2023 at 3:22 AM, RosyLights said:

Good point! I hadn't thought of that; all that came to mind was the flower theme. But I'm sure it would make for some interesting stories, like the scenario you mentioned. If I were into female stuff, I might try to write something like that... who knows, maybe I'll give it a shot at some point. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Let me know if you do! 😉

[Rimbo]

Saw this a week too late. This is a great story from one of my favourite shows one of the best shows. Keep writing about bleach!

[RosyLights]

On 3/26/2023 at 3:34 PM, deepa said:

Saw this a week too late. This is a great story from one of my favourite shows one of the best shows. Keep writing about bleach!

Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

[BreathyChestMan]

Last month I found a scene of Rangiku sneezing and I'm SO glad I've now found a story with her. Great stuff!

[RosyLights]

On 8/12/2023 at 5:50 AM, BreathyChestMan said:

Last month I found a scene of Rangiku sneezing and I'm SO glad I've now found a story with her. Great stuff!

Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it! (Sorry for the late response; I haven't been on here much and didn't get a notification since I'm not following this thread, so I didn't see this until now.)