This short story is actually a scene from my story The Victorious Beauty in chapter 11. It follows a scene where everyone finds out about Yumichika's zanpakuto, and deals with that as well as Ikkaku's future.

I hope that the characters are not too OOC. A concerned Zaraki is hard to write.

I do not own Bleach or any of it's characters.

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A numb Ikkakku followed Zaraki Taichou into his office. He had been bombarded with a series of shocks within the last 30 minutes, only then to be singled out by Zaraki for some unknown reason. He could only think it had to do with the recent events.

The first surprise came from the Taichou himself, who after years of belittling kido had announced that it was alright to use it. As long as you are a fighter first, it was now acceptable to use kido as a second weapon. He had expressed the same opinions as his leader, that kido was for wimps and cheaters. Even though he had several friends in other squads that used it regularly. He still recognized them as talented fighters.

The second surprise came from a young unseated squad member who asked about his zanpakuto, as it was kido based. Up till now, Ikkaku would have sworn that no 11th squad member had a kido based zan. Only to have 10 to 11 other shinigami admit that they too had said zanpakutos. All of which lead to Zaraki accepting them and their usage, as long as they were fighters first. It was a sight he had thought never to see.

The third, and most damaging shock, came from his best friend Ayasegawa Yumichika. They had been partners for over a hundred years, long before they both joined the soul society. No one knew him better than Yumi, and he thought he had known his friend as completely, which was obviously not the case. When the others came out about their zanpakutos, Yumi admitted in front of everyone that Fuji Kujaku was kido based as well. Thinking back he realized that Yumi never denied or admitted what it was, but he had never told him that it was; or even hinted that might be the case. He had confided in Yumi when he had achieved banki, but felt betrayed that Yumi hadn't even confided his zans true nature to him.

To be fair, Ikkaku had to admit that both he and Taichou hadn't inspired any sense of their accepting it. He felt hurt and disappointed, but he could not hate Yumi for his silence. If he had shown more tolerance toward kido, maybe he would have confided in him. What frightened Ikkaku more right now was Zaraki. Yesterday the he would have sworn Taichou would have thrown Yumi out of the squad because of it, but today? The thought of living without Yumi beside him caused a twinge of pain in his chest.

"Zaraki Taichou...I don't know what to say about Yumi's zanpakuto. I do know he is a good fighter, one of the best in the squad; even when he's not using it's full potential. He is very important to the running of the squad, and whatever happens he is someone we can always count on." Ikkaku quickly said, trying to impress on Zaraki why he cant send Yumi away.

"Sit down and shut up. I didn't ask you in here to talk about Yumi." An unsure look flew across Ikkaku's face, which was swiftly followed by a flash of alarm at Zaraki's next words. "I called you here to talk about you...and your future."

"Me? Sir, I don't follow. What have I done?" His future was with the 11th squad, he had sworn to die under Zaraki's command. So Ikkaku was confused about what was going on, and he started to have a sinking feeling.

"You haven't done anything wrong! It's just I don't...I think you should be doing more. So I have decided to put your name up to take the Taichou's exam.

Ikkaku stared numbly at his towering leader. He had devoted his life to this man, and now he seems to want to get rid of him. First Yumi, and now Kenpachi. After opening and closing his mouth several times, Ikkaku stumbled backwards till his back hit the wall. "B..But Taichou, I..I cant...what...I..I swore to se..serve under your command till I d..die." The series of shocks he had suffered making his speech broken and incoherent.

"I...don't really know what to say about that. You are a great fighter, one of my best men, and there is no one I would rather fight next to. But I know you are capable of more." Kenpachi never liked getting all mushy, and coming up with stuff to tell his subordinate was difficult for him.

"I could never be a Taichou! I don't have banki, so the ideal of me taking the exam is..." He stopped to think of the right word to use.

Kenpachi laughed. "Hah! Don't give me any of that crap. I've known you have achieved banki for years now." The bald man merely stared, dumbfounded. "I'm kinda of happy that you feel so...loyal...and all, but you can be move than a subordinate. Instead of a 3rd seat behind me, you can be a Taichou beside me. You have the skill and knowledge to do the job, and I cant think of anyone better than you for it." Ikkaku flushed, a blush of embarrassment spreading across his face. "More fukutaichous come from the 11th squad than any other single unit: Yachiru, Abari, and Iba. The ideal of another Taichou coming from here makes me laugh at all those fools who call us dumb barbarians. And I wouldn't turn down any company to those damn meetings I gotta go to. I would never have considered recommending you if I felt you couldn't do the job."

"So...you want me to take the exam and then leave the squad? Leave all of you?" Ikkaku asked dejectedly.

"Che...would you stop your whinnying? It's not like you'd be sent to the mortal world or anything. Another squad is still here in the seireitei. Every time I turn around I seem to be tripping over some shinigami from the other squads, and given the inter-squad parties...it's not like you would actually be going away. Yachiru would still demand to see you every single day." Ikkaku winced at that and unconsciously ran his hand protectively over his scalp. Kenpachi threw himself into his chair with a groan. "I'm going through a lot right now... with this whole kido thing, but I want my men to be the best they can be and tough enough to win any battle they face and live to tell about it. If use of kido insures that...then...fine. A fighter should never have to deny themselves and their powers just to show their loyalty to me." He turned to his friend. "And the same thing applies to you...don't limit yourself for me. I would rather have you grow because of me into a powerful Taichou, then limit yourself. The seireitei needs a couple of Taichous right now, and I don't trust anyone else but you to fill one of those slots. Ikkaku...you are a great fighter, one who can do so much; and I just want what is best for you." He threw his arms up in the air in disgust. "Damn! I hate this! I swear...I must sound like your dad or something. I don't think I'm cut out for this whole looking out for others welfare stuff."

Ikkaku smiled in agreement. "Well, I don't think you do that bad. I'm not really sure what having a father is like as all, but if this is it...you are pretty good. I guess I might as well take the exam, but I wont guarantee I would be able to pass it. And...thank you, sir, for believing in me and what I can do. After so long in the district, the things Yumi and I use to do just to survive, I am proud to be a member of the 11th squad and one of your men. Thank you for your trust in me."

Kenpachi felt uneasy over this show of emotion, so he cleared his throat and broached another sore topic. "Ummm...what about you and Yumi? I hope that you two wont have any kind of problem of that zan of his. You know that both of us weren't very kido friendly, so I hope you don't blame him too much about the whole thing." He had always tried to stay out of his people's personal lives. That was one of the things he liked about the pair. The never talked about their relationship out loud; in fact, they never said exactly what that relationship was. There were never any public displays of affections, so most of the seireitei had no real ideal just how close the pair was. It would be sad if his opinion of kido is what damaged that bond.

"Don't worry sir, I'm sure it will all work out. I just wish he could have told me on his own, but...I need to talk to him about it. If that is all you need from me...I need to see to my duties before ending the day." At Kenpachi's nod, Ikkaku turned and left the office. He needed some time to sit and think over the events of the day, and to think about what he was going to say to Yumichika later that evening. Now that this interview with the Taichou was over he can concentrate on important confrontation coming up later this evening.

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The story, Forgiveness, follows this scene. It is the confrontation between Ikkaku and Yumichika later that evening.

Please R&R, it helps give me ideals to write about and ways to correct my work. Thank you.