AN: Okay, so I can't be the only person to find this pairing remotely possible and really, quite cute when you think about it. So if you don't like this pairing, then please, go read something else and don't flame me for it. It came to me when I was watching Gurren Lagann and I just love Viral's voice, and then I was like, why doesn't Ikkaku get the same love that Viral does? I mean, why dos everyone take sympathy on Viral just because he was Adiane's bitch (probably to be another fanfic later)? Why doesn't Ikkaku get love even though Yachiru always picks on him and teases him about being bald? And then BAM! It was a light bulb explosion and this is the result. I'll be setting this well after the current arc. Please, leave constructive criticism if you read or fave this. I know I promised I would write the second part of the UlquiHime stuffs, but this was just dying to come out. And it's become one of my new favorite pairings. For those who missed the connection between Viral and Ikkaku, they are voiced by the same seiyuu.
It was hard to believe that close to 100 years had passed since the battle for Karakura Town. So much had happened in that time, so much sadness and sorrow, so much pain and suffering, so much death. Yet through all of it, the citizens of that human town managed to carry-on, to rebuild and to live again. Despite everything, they continued on unaware of what exactly had happened , and of those who fought alongside each other to protect that town. Even though the damage to Karakura was minimal with few innocent souls caught in the mix, the damage taken amongst the Gotei 13 was much more severe.
It had been painful for the shinigami to gather the bodies of their comrades and captains and to release their souls to be reborn. It took close to three years to find suitable replacements for the seven captains lost. Kurosaki Ichigo had been brought in as the 13th Division Captain with Rukia as his Lieutenant, and Abarai Renji was given charge over the 6th Division as Captain. Only one other Vizard returned to the Gotei 13, with Lisa Yadomaru taking the Lieutenant position for Nanao Ise who was promoted to Captain of the 8th Division. Even the 11th Division has lost their Captain and the child shinigami, Kusajishi Yachiru became the new Captain for the Division.
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At first there were many protests from the other Divisions at having a child as young as Yachiru taking lead over the bloodthirsty, battle-ready 11th Division. There, before Captain-Commander Yamamoto, the pink-haired child stood, her eyes somber and pain-filled as her tiny hands grasped the broken zanpakuto. No one said a word as she lifted her eyes to meet those of the Captain-Commander and pulled out the battered and bloodied haori, sliding her arms through the sleeves. The haori pooled around her feet, twice the size of her petite body.
"Yamamoto-jiisan, it's insanity to allow this child to become a captain! She didn't even take the tests required for a lieutenant!" came the voice of Nanao.
No one even noticed the girl move as she appeared in front of the new 8th Division Captain, the tip of the broken Zanpakuto pressed under Nanao's chin. Tears were streaming down her face as she glared down the older woman, but still she possessed a demanding and respectable aura. Even the others Captains standing near the two took a slight step back. It was as if in the course of the battles, the girl had grown to a mature adult, despite her child's body. "Ken-chan made me his lieutenant, and that is good enough for the 11th Division! Ken-chan…was like my father! No one else deserves this position!"
"Madarame would be a suitable choice, Yachiru-san. He displayed great strength and skill during the battle over Karakura Town, he's even gained the ability to use Bankai. If it weren't for the fact that he was so hot-headed and battle crazed, we'd suggest him for the 5th Division," Hitsugaya said cooly.
"Cue ball? Heh, he swore to die under Ken-chan. He would do the same for me, and he knows he cannot replace Ken-chan. I will be the Captain of the 11th Division." Yachiru removed the tip of the sword from under Nanao's chin and tossed it to the Captain-Commander. "You don't object, do you, Yama-jii?"
There was silence as all of the other Captains turned to look at the battle-worn Captain-Commander, his hands resting together over his staff. Fresh scars lined his face, including a new wound that had taken his right eye and continued past the collar of his haori down his back. His left eye studied the girl standing before him, the fierce determination in her chestnut eyes. "Kusajishi-san, if your Division is willing to follow and fight behind you, then I will allow you to lead the 11th Division. However, in the event that you do not receive their support, Madarame-san will take the position. Until then, he will be your Lieutenant. Agreed?"
The girl simply shrugged and turned her back to the Captain-Commander, the tail of the oversized haori trailing behind her as she left the building. Outside of the doorway stood the remains her Division…waiting for her return and whispers quickly spread at her appearance, noting the haori engulfing her figure. Her eyes scanned over the few men who still stood before her, walking in silence past them towards the 11th Division's barracks. Sadly, there were few who survived the battle as many of the shinigami in her Division had fought to the death in the battle over Karakura Town.
Her thoughts trailed back to the week before, and the day the battle had finally ended. She remembered watching her Captain fight former Captain Aizen, the mixture of his blood with that of his enemy. She had stood back from the fight herself, not wanting to get in the way of his enjoyment and pleasure of the challenge to defeat Aizen. She was too enthralled with Kenpachi's fight that she hadn't noticed the former 3rd Division Captain appear behind her and pulled her up by the hair. Her screams had distracted Kenpachi from his fight with Aizen and he ran towards the man with the sadistic kitsune grin. He took one flash step and appeared directly behind the man, his sword slicing off the hand that held her, careful to avoid nicking even one of the soft pink hairs.
It was the first time she had seen him that that furious, that outraged to the point where the ferocity in his eyes alone would have killed any human. He had entered place where no one could calm him until he knew she was safe from harm. She had watched as Kenpachi grabbed what remained of the arms of the former Captain and ripped them from their sockets, and the feral smile as it crept across his face. Crimson blood spread from the holes in the traitor's body, and yet Gin managed to bring that disturbingly calm grim to his face once again.
"Ya think ya can save her? She ain't nothing but a kid," he had said, as blood spilled from his mouth.
Kenpachi chuckled under his breath and looked over his shoulder to her. "You won't fuckin' touch her again!" he yelled before charging at Gin. He arm moved only slightly, but the blade of his sword sliced through his body from the side of his neck to below his waist. Yachiru watched from behind her Captain as blood slide down the blade and over his hands. Sprays of blood landed on his face but despite how gruesome the attack had been, not a single drop landed near Yachiru. He turned and knelt down in front of her, meeting her gaze as he wrapped his haori around her shoulders. In her eyes, the look of awe, respect, love, and trust greeted the dark depths of his one exposed eye.
Yachiru couldn't forget what had happened next, as the memory still haunted her dreams at night. The minute that immediately followed their last look at each other was her worst nightmare. In saving her life, Kenpachi had opened himself up to an attack from Aizen. Neither of them had noticed he had moved until blood sprayed out across Yachiru's face, and slowly his body went into two different directions, his neck cut clean away from his body. Shock took over her and despite the screaming in her head, no sound could escape her throat other than the gasping for air through her tears. Her hands were shaking violently as she reached out to touch the bells in his hair, before wrapping her tiny arms around his head. She entire body rocked as she sobbed uncontrollably, tightly clutching her Captain's head in her arms.
She hadn't noticed the massive shift in reiatsu when Captain-Commander Yamamoto and his Lieutenant arrived, nor that Ikkaku was here with them. She vaguely recalled letting go of Kenpachi as Ikkaku pulled her away from the scene, and yet she could remember every second of it. Her eyes never left those of her Captain until she could no longer recognize them. But she could still smell his scent, the overpowering musky scent of his sweat in the haori wrapped around her body. Her tiny hands had grasped his sword, broken from the sheer force of Aizen's attack and yet she didn't remember even taking it from the ground.
Yachiru shook her head in an attempt to push back the memories of that day as she entered the barracks of her Division. Every time she entered the Captain's quarters, she still expected to see his form sitting there at his table but she knew his soul had been sent to be reborn on Earth again. She had performed the ceremony herself once the 4th Division had brought all those who had fallen back to Seireitei. Even though it had only been a week, it felt like an eternity had passed. She fought back the tears that were threatening to come again for it was no way for the Captain of the 11th Division to be acting, to be caught crying like a child.
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In the years that had past, Yachiru had forced the memories of that day back to the depths of her mind. She was no longer the child she had been then, mentally or physically. Long pink hair that hung down past her waist flowed behind as she walked past, and she stood close to 5'6. The tattered haori had taken shape around the curves of her figure, the bottom just brushing the ground. Her eyes lost the playfulness they had held, and reflected the pain she had suffered and the loss she experienced. Her body had filled into that of a woman, both agile and strong but her true strength was in the aura she possessed as a result of her overpowering reiatsu. The pressure was enough to silence anyone who challenged her, let alone the look in her eyes.
It was early in the morning and the sun was just rising over the horizon of Seireitei. She had awoken early in the morning to a dream that she couldn't recall but still disturbing enough to prevent her from falling asleep again. She took to sitting outside on the railing of the 11th Division's barracks, watching the dawn break. Today was her Division's day to take patrol over Karakura Town, a routine that was initiated after the battle. The Captain-Commander ordered all Divisions to rotate patrolling the town so that there is never a similar incident as the one caused by Aizen, and that all standing Captains will have to agree for there to be a promotion for Captain or Lieutenant. Yachiru was the last to be chosen outside of the standards, of which she was grateful.
The 11th Division had welcomed her, as she knew they would have. Despite her small stature at the time, she knew that her Division had been loyal to Kenpachi and would be just as loyal to her. Unlike the other Divisions, the 11th was more close-knit in the sense that all of them shared one love and passion - fighting. They were all trained to fight, and they exist to fight, and that's all they were concerned with. Only those inside of the 11th Division could understand this burning desire and Yachiru had spoken the truth when she confronted Nanao years ago. No one else had deserved this position, not even Ikkaku. He also lost someone in the battle, his closest and longest friend, Yumichika.
A cool breeze blew through the open courtyard, the hint of winter on it's tail. The sun had now risen above the horizon, casting orange and red hues across the skies at it sought new heights. Yachiru sighed and walked back inside the barracks, a sigh escaping her mouth at what awaited her. The common room was a mess from the previous night, in which they had spent most of it drinking sake with the members of the 8th Division, minus the Captain and Lieutenant. Most of the others had made it to their bed but one figure was draped across the table, the sun reflecting off the baldness of their head.
Grabbing her zanpakuto with both hands, she raised the sheathed sword and brought it down onto the sleeping shinigami's head with a resounding crack.
"What the fuck?!" he yelled as he shot up to his feet. "I'm gonna kick your - oh, Yachiru-taichou…."
"Don't 'Yachiru-taichou' me, you lazy bastard! Wake the others up and get this mess cleaned up, Pachinko-head!" She yelled, throwing an empty sake bottle at him. "And make sure everyone is ready to head out in two hours! We've got patrol duty today!"
The Lieutenant watched as she disappeared into the Captain's quarters, the sliding door slamming shut behind her. He sighed and shook his head, grabbing his own zanpakuto and began banging on the various doors to all the rooms, knocking them down if necessary. "Alright, ya lazy bastards! Get your asses up and get this shit cleaned up before the Taichou kills all of ya! Hurry up, assholes! We've got patrol in two hours!"
He was greeted with protested groans but the other Division members knew better than to go against their Captain's orders. Half-dressed and still yawning away their hangovers, they slowly began to clean up the empty bottles and disarranged furniture that littered the common room. Ikkaku himself did little to help clean, although he was probably one of the ones who had drank the most. Instead, he looked at the door that lead to the Captain's quarters. He missed the old days, when Yachiru was still young and happy, he missed the innocence she brought to the 11th Division.
But that damned war had turned her into a cold, bitter woman, void of any joy. It had forced her to grow up faster than she should have, to take on much more responsibility than she wanted. But still, he respected how she shouldered the responsibility, how she matured overnight to become what the 11th Division needed. He remembered when he first met the girl, when she was still a toddler in the streets of Rukongai, and when he found out that she had become a shinigami along with Zaraki. Ikkaku chuckled to himself, remembering how ridiculous he thought it was to serve under such a bratty child.
The sliding door slammed open and the Captain stood there, peering at him. Ikkaku flinched, startled by her sudden reappearance, as well as the rest of the 11th Division. There was a flurry of movement as they attempted to make themselves mildly presentable, adjusting their hakamas or attempting to smooth their hair. Even Ikkaku grabbed a rag and pretended to act as though he were cleaning the tables, but Yachiru said nothing as she walked past them, the white and black haori designating her rank trailing behind her. Two zanpakutos adorned her back, her own and the remnants of the previous Captain's. "Whenever you pigs are done cleaning this shithole you caused last night, we'll meet outside to begin preparations to leave for Karakura Town," she said as she glared over her shoulder and disappeared around the corner of the barracks.
Ikkaku watched as her back faded into the distance, the trail of pink hair floating behind her, a sense of empathy coming over him. He understood all too well what she felt, he knew the pain of losing someone that close to you. But unlike himself, Yachiru never accepted what had happened in the wars. Ikkaku had been just as depressed, but eventually he came to realize that both Yumichika and Kenpachi had gone back home to live new lives in the human world. He had vowed that he would live to protect that world that they now lived in, the world they had died to protect as well, and that if he had to, he would also give his life to protect. Yachiru, however, had lost everything she had loved in this world. Kenpachi has her protector, her guardian, her mentor - and he had died in front of her eyes. How else would a child respond to that?
He knew that he would have to be the one to help her accept what had happened, as someone who had watched her grow up for nearly all of her time as a shinigami. Ikkaku knew he had to act like an older brother would and take up the task of watching over her, and protecting her, even if she was truly an adult now. Otherwise, what would Kenpachi say if he knew Ikkaku had left Yachiru to be miserable and unhappy?