DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach, or this song, and I don't think I do. I just brought both mediums together artfully in a story of my own creation. XD Though I'm quite modest.
I also apologize that I switch from English terms to Japanese with almost no pauses… Such as Taicho – Captain; soutachio-captain general; fukutachio-lieutenant/vice captain
And for those who know my original Shunsui OC, Rin was a spur of the moment name, and is overused… So it's Ayako, and no, not that Ayako! XDD
Song: Stop and Say You Love Me by Evans Blue
Hey listen 'cause I'll only say this once
Do you think that you could lose yourself in me?
Shunsui Kyoraku had had enough. After weeks of having the same dream about the newest 13th division fuku-tachio, he as ready to hopefully end this torture. He walked to the 13th division and the vice-captain's office. Normally, he would never be so rash, but he hadn't even known who she was when he first dreamt of her. He had had many dreams about women he had lusted after, but never more than once, and never about someone he didn't know. He thought on this until he reached the lieutenant quarters. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.
"Come in," Came the cheerful reply.
He walked in to the office and barely restrained a chuckle at her face. She pushed a chair back and stood, brushing a stray piece of light brown hair behind her ear before bowing; but not before he caught a glimpse of the faint blush that dusted her cheeks. "Kyoraku-tachio! You should have told me you were coming! Or at least you could have told the captain! I could have-"
"Yare, Yare, Ayako-chan. Calm down. I didn't tell Juu-san because I came to ask you something."
"Well that explains some things. Ask away." She said happily, straightening from her bow and once again brushing the stray hair from her face.
"What do you say about coming to my house for a drink?"
Ayako smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "I'll see you then!"
I could say
I want to die by your side one day
Ayako sighed and shook her head viciously, refocusing on the stacks of paperwork before her. She managed to struggle through maybe three sheets before she practically threw her brush down and growled lightly. Every time she tried to concentrate on something different, her mind always insisted on wandering back to the eighth division captain! Leaning back in her chair, she concluded that nothing was going to get done like this and sifted through her memories instead. Het title had barely been official when Shunsui had first walked into her office. She had gone to his house for drinks, and left. Nothing special. Though after that, she had snuck to his house for… Varying reasons nearly twice a week for the last few decades, and had been caught in some compromising positions with Shunsui by a none too happy lieutenant far more times than she cared to admit.
She laughed at the various memories that had once mortified her. She thought through the last few decades and wondered exactly when she had been stupid enough to fall for the infamous womanizing Hachi Bantai-tachio, or if there had even been a set time. Ayako felt her eyes prick right before her vision blurred and tears streamed down her face. 'Damn, how could I be so stupid!?' She thought as she put her elbows on her desk and buried her face in her hands. Unfortunately, and just her luck, her tachio chose that moment to walk in.
"Ayako-chan?" Ukitake asked, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.
She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "Can I talk to you about something, tachio?"
"Of course you can." He replied.
"It's about Shunsui…"
Juushiro could only sigh inwardly and wonder what his friend had done this time.
I could never speak the words
Because I haven't wrote the words that mean enough to me
Shunsui sighed heavily. "I should have known this would happen."
Juushiro nodded. "The poor girl is crushed. She's stuck between loving you and thinking you're using her. You of all people know how women are about that."
"She knows that tachio, fuku-tachio relationships are forbidden, right?" Shunsui asked, sipping his sake.
"She understands, but no one has found out other than your lieutenant. Really, I just think she needs assurance past compliments. You're not exactly the most virtuous man alive you know?"
"If Yama-jii got wind, the-"
"Now you're just making excuses. Listen to yourself!"
Shunsui was about to retort when a knock sounded on the door, the person on the other side's reiatsu fluxuating wildly, tinged with nervousness.
Juushiro stood and cast a glance over his shoulder at his oldest friend. "I'll let the two of you handle it," he said, turning and opening the door.
So together we can burn this way
Burn this way
Ayako was shocked into silence, momentarily, and then regained her composure. "Ukitake-tachio! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anythi-"
He smiled warmly and cut her off by waving his hand. "It's perfectly fine. I was just leaving." He told her, putting a hand on her shoulder for a second before walking past her and out of the division.
She shook her head. Great. All the meager confidence she had built up was absolutely gone now. Inside her head, if emotions were people, Fear and Cowardice would have just gotten a hardy slap across the face from multiple other emotions that were starting a riot in her head. Until Purpose and Honor both shot off a gun and silenced the crowd. She took a deep breath and walked into the room.
"Shunsui? I need to ask you something, and answer truthfully. Do you give a damn about me?"
He raised an eyebrow at this and nodded. "Of course."
"Do you… Like me?" She tried her hardest to keep a straight face, suddenly feeling as though she were a little school girl asking her crush about this.
"As in?"
"As in more than some random woman. As in more than friends with benefits!" she nearly yelled.
"I do." He replied calmly, patting the seat next to him and held out the sake bottle.
Ayako walked over hesitantly and sat next to him.
Stop and say you love me, always
I'll say the same to you
Months and years passed in Seretei, with nothing major happening. Ayako lay beside Shunsui with her head against his chest which was rising and falling a bit quicker than usual as a result of their latest escapade. "You know," she started sleepily. "Just like an idiot, I've gone and fallen in love with you."
He stayed silent as her breathing evened out, then draped his arm around her waist. "Than that makes two idiots then." He whispered.
I found a loophole for us now
It's called redemption of my history
Shunsui sipped his sake on the roof of the Eighth Division barracks. Women, he concluded, were much more than delicate flowers, as he previously thought. They were overly complex creatures. Ayako had succeeded though, where others had failed. She had seduced him, had given as good as she got, and she was challenging. He had to admit to himself that he was thoroughly addicted. Sitting up, he scratched his head. She would help him redeem his less than satisfactory reputation of being a womanizer.
Because I will lose it in your eyes
I see firelight in your eyes
I know things will be better
When you are by my side, by my side.
Ayako watched the fireworks, wide-eyed, mesmerized by the brilliant explosions of crimson, gold, emerald, and sapphire. She had to admit, the Shiba family was damn good at what they did. Shunsui fingered the small box that was hidden in his hakama pocket. Hundreds of explosions lit up the sky simultaneously in the form of a red and white koi fish before fading. Shunsui looked over at her and smiled. "Stand up," he ordered gently. She stood and cocked her head slightly to the side. He grinned and pulled the box from his pocket and opened it, simultaneously switching into a kneeling position. "Marry me?" he asked.
A barrage or red light lit up the sky behind Ayako, but she was only barely aware of it. Her hand covered her mouth as she squealed and nodded, at a complete loss for words. He stood and put the ring on her finger before pulling her into a tight embrace which she returned wholeheartedly.
Juushiro Ukitake chuckled from some distance away. Someone had talked Kukkaku into the red heart at the end, and it certainly hadn't been him.
Stop and say you love me, always
I'll say the same to you
Ayako crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head, blushing lightly. "Can I not do this? Please, Shunsui?"
He chuckled softly. "You know Yama-jii will be expecting this. Besides, you know how Rangiku-chan is. If you don't let her help, she'll have a conniption."
She sighed heavily and groaned. "But weddings are so pointless and a complete waste of time! And anyways, how did you talk Yamamoto-soutachio to even consider letting us get married?"
He grinned and tipped his hat over his eyes. "Well, it wasn't easy, and there were so many conditions…"
She laughed and took his hat. "And by that, you mean he's been waiting for you to get married for two millennia, and he wants a wedding and 'grandchildren'?"
Shunsui laughed and ruffled her hair. "Exactly."
Stop and say you love me, always
I'll say the same to you.
Sosuke Aizen watched with interest, the last moments Ayako would spend with her husband, his chin resting in his palm, and Kyokasuigetsu's mist surrounding him while his blade lay across his lap. The girl would make excellent collateral, especially when the Eighth Division Captain was in such high favor with the soutachio, and even more so since that very week, she had found she was with child.
He smirked and stood, the hilt of the blade slipping easily into his hand as the mist shifted in two places, so the captain was hypnotized to think Ayako was walking out the door, while for the actual girl, the illusion shattered. She found Aizen's blade at her throat as he lowered his lips to her ear and placed a tight grip around her waist. "You're coming with me, onna. There will be no resistance, or I'll kill your family." He told her calmly as a negation split the sky and delivered them to Las Noches.
I'm guarded, I'm fragile
But if anyone could ever
Ayako was quite literally thrown haphazardly into a room by an arrancar, followed immediately by another with pink hair who promptly drugged her without harming the baby, lest Aizen lose a bargaining piece. Her world went black as soon as she was placed on a couch, her Zanpaku-to screaming at her to fight.
She woke and looked weakly out the small window she had been allowed, taking comfort in the small amount of light the white sliver of moon provided her with. She sat up with enormous effort and her fingers touched the smooth sheath of her Zanpaku-to. Eyeing it, she wondered dimly why they would have left her with a weapon. She lay back down and tried to clear her mind. The first thing she thought of was Shunsui. Then, with a small jolt, she realized he wouldn't be able to save her. Not because she thought he physically couldn't, as he had explained his Zanpaku-to to her before and it was more than strong enough, but because Yamamoto-soutachio would never allow it. She despaired, and then stopped in shock abruptly. Her fingers touched the hilt of her Zanpaku-to and she realized exactly why they left her with her weapon.
Her reiatsu was gone.
Not completely, but it was only enough to keep her alive. Barely enough to allow movement, much less fight. She would have yelled, but found she didn't have the strength for it. She allowed herself to drift back into sleep, and a world less painful.
Save me now, you can
And you can
Shunsui snuck into a senkaimon with a hell butterfly, going to the World of the Living to find Kisuke Urahara. He knew there would be hell to pay with Yama-jii for going to Hueco Mundo without permission, but he had seen the illusion of Ayako shatter like glass, and knew that was where she had to be. He sighed and walked into the quaint 'Urahara Shoten'. "Kisuke! I'm not here to take you to Seretei, so come out."
The store owner walked out of a side door with his hat over his eyes slightly. "Yare, yare. So, pray tell, why are you here?"
"I have a favor to ask you and Tessai…"
[Chorus]
Are you strong enough?
Am I enough?
Ayako never quite figured out how the three men had saved her from Hueco Mundo, though she suspected that the amnesia stemmed from her heavily drugged state. She lay on a pallet in the back rooms of the Urahara Shoten.
"You know, Yoruichi? I'm almost not used to seeing color. I wasn't in Las Noches for long, but all there was whether I was awake or not, it was just black and white."
The EX Shihouin heir nodded. "I'm pissed that they didn't take me with them. Kisuke's been spouting this nonsense about not being able to live with himself if I was hurt."
Ayako laughed. "That would be a legitimate fear if anything could catch you." She replied, happy to have someone to talk to, and thankful to have a clear enough mind to talk. "Though a snail could probably beat me in a race at the moment…" She sighed, sitting up. Her reiatsu was still pathetically weak.
Yoruichi laughed. "Especially when you do nothing but lie around all day!"
"That in itself is about to drive me insane. Doesn't genius-san have anything to help?"
"Yes, but Shunsui would kill him and he knows it. It's overly dangerous."
"Of course… How long do you think it will take Shunsui to smooth things over with Yamamoto-soutachio?"
"Truthfully, I'm not sure…"
Are you strong enough?
To say you love me?
Ayako held onto the pink bundle of cloth in her arms and smiled. "I told you karma would kick you in the as for being a womanizer. Now you have a baby girl to worry about," she whispered.
Shunsui laughed lightly and smiled. "Karma has kicked me harder."
She sat up and held the bundle away from her slightly. "You can hold her if you want."
He took the baby gently and smiled.
Juushiro chuckled. "I think he's gone soft on us, Ayako."
"And I think there's going to be a very spoiled little girl who won't be able to even go outside until she's over one hundred." She said, laughing.
"Can I name her?" Shunsui asked.
"Of course. I'm drawing a blank on names anyway."
"How about Kieren then?"
"It has a nice ring to it. I like it."
~twenty years later~
Kieren had developed a small crush on the now 5 foot tall Tenth Division Tachio. She hugged him whenever possible, and had turned his hiding from her into one of her favorite games. "Shiro-chan!!! Can we play a game?"
Toshiro sighed, though, since finding out what the little girl's father's Zanpaku-to could do, he was a bit scared of these: games.
Fortunately, Shunsui Kyoraku himself saved him. "Shiro-chan is busy right now, Kieren. Maybe he'll play later, okay?" he asked, ruffling the little girl's hair.
She sighed but nodded.
Toshiro took a deep breath and returned to his paperwork, but of course, his lieutenant walked in at that exact moment. "Awww! Tachio has a girlfriend!"
He rolled his eyes. "Matsumoto. Don't make me give you all of these to fill out!" He yelled, gesturing to the papers that took over his desk.
"But you're getting defensive!"
"MATSUMOTO!!!"
Oh, my. The last part was completely spur-of-the-moment!!! I finally finished my songfic! YEAH!!!
Oh, man. Cookies to reviewers? Sure. ^_^ flames will be used to make MARSHMELLOWS!!! And you won't get any. XDD