Silly and rather pointless, but hopefully amusing. ^_^
There are, surprisingly, many things that strike fear into the hearts of eleventh squad. Whilst to those outside they may seem like the hardest, toughest and meanest bunch of thugs you will ever find in the whole of the Gotei 13, there are some things that would cause only the very brave or very foolish amongst them not to cower in fear.
A cry of 'Who's next?!' from their third seat Ikkaku as he levels his deadly sword at the nearest Shinigami, a glint in his eye and his head shining spectacularly.
The mere sight of their tiny, pink-haired vice-captain Yachiru, who is notorious for her dangerous games and strange whims, which, if not satisfied, have been known to precipitate a very long stay in fourth squad.
The sparkle in their captain's eye when he hears any news about Ichigo and his cohorts. Standing in his way at that point can also be mortally dangerous, and few have ever dared it.
Oddly, for a squad who views the use of kidou as disgraceful and the healing squad weak, Unohana Retsu, whose merest glance can silence even the most loud-mouthed warrior and whose perfectly calm voice always for them holds undertones of threats.
And a smile from the perfectly groomed fifth seat Yumichika. Not just any smile, mind...but that smile, perfectly controlled and utterly cruel. No one quite knows how it had come to be the norm that when a smile graces that perfect face people begin to back away, but rumours circulate. New members of the squad hear stories about the weasely Shinigami who commented that a delicate little thing like him had no place in their squad and after being rewarded with a smile, had to be excused duties for three months. Or the new recruit who found Yumichika's hair amusing, and soon after being smiled at benignly asked for a transfer to another, nicer squad, like the twelfth perhaps?
Or the time that Yachiru was throwing such a tantrum that even Kenpachi couldn't calm her, and Yumichika smiled, brushed his hair from his face and took her into another room with Ikkaku and after a few minutes there was a silence so silent that even breathing sounded loud.
Yes. In some ways Yumichika was the most terrifying of them all. It was expected that Ikkaku and their Captain were tough, the disaster named Yachiru could be easily averted by a handy stash of sweets, (as most who came into contact with her learned) and Unohana Retsu was a rare occurrence. But Yumichika...no one could quite work out what to do, except of course, never insult him or incur his wrath in any way.
Oh yes...and run when he smiles.
For Ikkaku none of these were a problem. Be polite, don't mention Ichigo, have sweets close by. But when he heard new recruits being terrified with horror stories about the squad's pretty-boy and his evil smile he really had to struggle not to burst into laughter. He had been there on all those occasions and he knew, just knew, that if it had been anyone but Yumichika not an eyelid would have been batted, and it was only the fact that someone so...well...pretty, had done it that made it somehow special.
He wasn't going to burst their bubble though. It meant less trouble for his friend, and Yumichika seemed to enjoy the notoriety and relished in listening to the increasingly preposterous stories about him.
For Ikkaku Yumichika's smile meant nothing more than that something fun was going to happen sometime soon, and whereas everyone else dreaded it, Ikkaku waited for it, and what ensued, eagerly.
Reviews make me smile and are always greatly appreciated! ^_^