Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, or any of the characters used in this fic. They all belong to Tite Kubo. I only own any of my original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.
The Devil Won't Leave Me Alone
A/N: Post-Winter War; I have no idea when Kenpachi became a captain, so I just guessed.
The war had done him more harm than good.
It had been pure elation, dragging pieces of that beast's carcass away with a ragged blade. Blood had shot from him like his cries, like gysers, staining the sand.
But now, being back in the confines of the barracks, sipping at beer, and shouting at idiotic weaklings, life was just a bore. The same old routine that had gone on for the past sixty years. Looking for powerful opponents was of no use anymore. The only people he could have fought were the captains, and he was damn sure that the old man wouldn't tolerate that. He'd tried picking fights before, naturally, but he'd always ended up relenting, just to avoid a boring-as-hell lecture.
Why couldn't things be the way they had been before, in the Rukon? Slimy bastards everywhere he looked, thinking they could take him on as part of a bet, or perhaps for sport. He'd dropped so many of them, leaving their lifeless carcasses in the streets, carrion for the birds and dogs. The scenes hadn't left him alone since his return, like a devil that just wouldn't go away.
So, what was his point now? What was he living for? Now that the blade had lost its luster, where was his god?
"Hey, you're not listening!" Yachiru smacked him with her sock. "Baldy told me that the Boogie Man really likes candy. But what he really likes is little girls who like candy, and that he eats them! Is that true, Ken-chan? Is the Boogie Man gonna eat me?"
He pat her on the head, telling her that everything Ikkaku had told her was shit on a stick, and that was that.
It made sense now. It wasn't the blade that controlled him now. It was his Yachiru.