STRENGTH
When someone close to you leaves you what do you do? Do you wait until you die so you can see them again in heaven? But what if they leave you from the place thought as heaven? Then they're gone forever… Then you can do nothing but mourn.
Yachiru looked up from her perch and saw Komamura approaching, "Hello taichou!" She tried to say this in her normally cheery voice but in a flash that false happiness disappeared from her eyes when they started to fill with tears.
"It's sad to see some one as bright as you too be mourning, none the less crying."
"But he's gone taichou… Ken-chan's gone…" Her voice was sorrowful as she hung her pink head in misery.
Komamura looked at the girl with sympathy. She had so much potential but would she throw it away now? "Everybody leaves us eventually, Yachiru… but some leave sooner than others." The seventh captain told her this gently as he tried to sit down on a rock and not break it at the same time.
"You remind me of this shinigami… She asked me one of the hardest questions ever… and than she gave me a pack of crayons…"
Komamura sweatdropped at this.
"And she was part of your squad…"
FLASHBACKYachiru ran along the streets as she tried to find Kenpachi. But seeing that she has no sense of direction that is just sad… "I'm late! Where is that place Kenny told me to meet him? GLAH! I leave him for one minute and then this!"
Suddenly she collided with someone who had apparently iron for bones because the impact threw her around fifteen feet away. "Sorry about that assistant captain… Instinct…" Yachiru looked up to see a gold-eyed girl with green hair and a friendly expression on her face.
"Hi! What's your name? What squad are you in?" Yachiru bounced up and down because the crash had sent the adrenaline to her brain.
"Hi to you too! Why are you so hyper? Are you on drugs? I'm in the seventh squad and my name is not important!" And it seemed like the same had happened to the shinigami.
Yachiru pouted at the green-haired girl's answer. "What do you mean not important? All names are important!"
"Well not for you!" She bent down and tweaked Yachiru's nose.
"Well I'm calling you 'Grass' because your hair reminds me of it!"
'Grass' sweatdropped at this. "Whatever you say… Yachiru?"
The oh so hyper one perked up. "Yes?"
"May I ask you a question?"
"Sure!"
The cheerful expression suddenly dropped from 'Grass's" face, "What will you do when Kenpachi taichou leaves us?" Her expression was now judging Yachiru.
"What do you mean leave? Ken-chan won't!"
The stranger shook her head gently, "I hate to break this to you but everybody leaves us sooner or later…"
"But I told you! Ken-chan won't!" Yachiru insisted stubbornly.
"You know the truth Yachiru. You're not stupid. I ask again, what will you do when Kenpachi taichou leaves us?"
"OOOOH! That's so shiny! Can I have shiny? Please, please?"
Grass twitched once, grimaced and then shoved two things into Yachiru's arms. "Good bye… Hope to see you again one day!"
Yachiru looked at the items that she had been given. One was a pack of crayons and the other was a map of Soul Society with a moving 'You are here' caption.
BACK IN THE REAL WORLD"I pretended to have a short attention span because really she was right… I did know the truth but I didn't want to think about it… I used that excuse to leave as soon as possible." Yachiru admitted this to Komamura. "Do you know who she is?"
"It was Akanei... It had to be… She used to call me 'Bin head'… and she was also the boldest shinigami I have ever met… We lost a great asset when she died…"
"She died?"
"Yes… she fell off a bridge… quite normal for her because she'd always do that… but in the end she'd always land on her feet..."
"But in the end she didn't." Yachiru finished for him sadly.
"No she didn't… the last time she was pushed… But what will you do now since Kenpachi is gone?"
"I don't know… but he's gone…" She answered helplessly.
Komamura stood up to leave and as he walked away he asked, "Well what do you think Kenpachi would have wanted?"
Yachiru sat on the gravestone alone for a while and smiled as she answered Komamura's question,
"He would have wanted me to stay strong."