Kempachi Zaraki had a "little problem".

Yachiru Kusajishi was that problem. Kempachi never had a problem with her before, but for some reason, Yachiru was being more annoying than usual. So far, she had been kicked out of Shinigami Women's Club, Shinigami Men's Club, Byakuya Kuchiki's calligraphy class, and numerous other clubs. And Kempachi had gotten blamed for it.

"Yachiru keeps stealing food from my club! Do you feed her enough?" said Nanao Ise angrily.

"If I have to kick her out of the club one more time…" said many other club presidents. All of them actually.

Kempachi lay sprawled out on the couch in his office and pondered this problem. What's gotten into her lately?

"Ken- chan! Let's go out to eat! I'm hungry!" Yachiru giggled and leaped onto Kempachi's stomach. She had gotten bigger over the years. She was taller, to the anger and embarrassment of Toshiro Hitsugaya. Her hair had gotten longer, and now it was in a ponytail. She could still ride on Kempachi's back, but it was a little awkward with her chest growing. The other captains made fun of Kempachi, calling him a pedophile.

"She's not much younger than me, if you think about it. Shinigamis grow at a slow pace…" He had put up in defense.

"Yes, but if you look at your relationship through a human's eyes, it looks like you're a pedophile." Joked Shunsui Kyoraku, drunk obviously.

Kempachi's soul pressure grew threatening, so the captains went back to talking about the weather.

Yachiru's voice brought Kempachi back to the present.

"So can we? Ken- chan, you look really spacey today! Is something wrong?" Yachiru asked, her deep brown eyes looking into Kempachi's small black ones.

"No, nothing's wrong." Kempachi said, sitting up. When he sat up, Yachiru slid onto his lap. She blushed.

"Ken- chan…"

"Yeah, yeah, let's go out to eat. Somewhere away from these annoying captains." Kempachi thought for a moment before saying, "I know, the human world! Huh," he said thinking back on the memories. "I haven't been there in awhile. This'll be fun, eh, Yachiru- chan?" Kempachi gave her a grin he only reserved for her.

Yachiru beamed.

**

KARAKURA TOWN, JAPAN

After dressing in casual clothes (loose jeans, a black t-shirt, and black Converse High Tops for Kenpachi. His usual spikey hair was pulled into a ponytail. Yachiru was wearing jeans, a lime green t-shirt, and flip flops. She had her hair in pigtail braids.)

"Ken- chan, where are we going?" Yachiru said, taking in the real world. She had never been to the real world before. Kempachi looked at her sheepishly and said, "Well, I'm kind of lost. Let's go look at a map." After several minutes of wandering around and looking at maps, Kenpachi finally found what he was looking for.

"An American themed restaurant? It looks weird!" Yachiru burst into giggles. But Kenpachi thought she was so cute he started laughing with her. People on the streets gave them a wide berth because Kempachi looked so scary laughing.

"Alright, let's go in! I'm startin' to get hungry myself." They walked in, and Yachiru gasped. "OooO! Cool! Wow, look at all the humans! Weird again!" Kenpachi rolled his eyes and grabbed Yachiru's hand.

"C'mon Yachiru- chan." He said, dragging her to an empty booth.

Some customers stared at them in amazement as Kenpachi wolfed down 5 hamburgers, Yachiru 3. The manager actually kicked them out when Yachiru ordered a 4th basket of fries. They could have cared less what people thought of them. They were wrapped in their own little bubble of fun, and nothing could spoil their night.

**

"Alright Ken- chan, now I wanna take you somewhere. I saw it when we got lost." She grinned at him. They were sitting outside the restaurant, Kenpachi was smoking and Yachiru was throwing rocks into a fountain. "Okay," Kenpachi said, putting out his cigarette, "Lead the way, and let's how we don't get lost this time." He winked at her.

Yachiru eventually lead him to an arcade. "An arcade?" Kenpachi raised his eyebrows. Yachiru shrugged. "I saw a cool game." She went over to a game and started pushing random buttons, laughing.

"Here, let me help you with that." Kenpachi said. He went behind Yachiru, putting his hands lightly over hers, and moved the controls. Yachiru blushed furiously red. "There you go. Try again." Kenpachi's voice sounded gentler than usual.

"Uh… wait! What's this button for?" Yachiru said breathlessly, after he pulled away. Though it was a lie. She just wanted him to be close to her. To feel his rough but warm hands holding hers, to feel him standing behind her protectively… touching…

Kenpachi seemed to be debating with himself.

"It's for shooting stuff." He muttered. He walked towards the exit. "Where are you going?" Yachiru said.

"Smoke." He called to her without looking back, holding up a pack of cigarettes.

As Kenpachi leaned on the dirty wall outside, smoking, he deliberated.

She's too young.

She's a good friend though.

What was I thinking back there?!

I've never had a "special someone" before.

Is it love?

Is it love? The question spun circles around Kenpachi's head. Yachiru came skipping out of the arcade.

"Ken- chan? Oh, there you are! I have one more thing I want to do before we leave." She grabbed his hand and tugged him into the arcade as he put his cigarette out. She pulled him to the back of the arcade, where a photobooth was. It took four pictures a dollar.

"Please Ken- chan? Please?" Yachiru pulled the puppy eyes out.

Kenpachi sighed. He hated taking pictures. Her face was so darn cute though. "Oh, alright."

They got in the booth, Yachiru sitting on Kenpachi's lap because it was cramped. She blushed a little, adding a nice touch to the picture.

On the first picture, They were both smiling. The second, Yachiru crossed her eyes while Kenpachi stuck out his pointy tongue. The third, they were both laughing. And on the fourth, Yachiru decided to be bold. She kissed Kenpachi on the cheek, blushing. Kenpachi's shocked face was flushed a little too. But he was grinning.

Love was the one battle Kenpachi Zaraki could not fight.