His Past

by Jaganshi Mori

Anyone ever wondered if Ikkaku ever had a lover? Well now you can find out! Whoever said 'it's better to have love and lost...' was probably one dumb piece a sh- IkkakuxOC Review! Flames welcome!

I'm weak-minded. I know. (sniffle) But I actually planned this story out first! I wouldn't necessarily consider this a 'one-shot', but …yeah. This is the only chapter! XD Sequels though!

Vocabulary:

Onikakushi: Demoned away / Onna: Woman

Demoned away: Kidnapped/spirited away/ taken by force / Baka: Idiot

Seireitei: The most inner part of Soul Society where shinigami live / Inu-chan: Little puppy

Ano/Anosaa: 'Um..er' / Rukongai: The part of soul society where common spirits live

Reiratsu: Energy from within the body. / Kiyoko: Pure child.

Kidou: Demon Arts (special techniques used to attack) / Nande: Why

Ohayo gozaimasu: Good morning (respectfully) / Tatami: Paper or rice paper coverings

Ohayo: Morning (casual) / Taichou: Captain

Gomen Nasai: I'm sorry (semi-respectful) / Fuku-taichou: Vice Captain

Gomen: Sorry (casual) / Honto ni: Really?

Oi: Hey / Kendo: Way of a disciplined sword

Hai: Yes / Yamete: Stop/stop it

Minna/Minna-san: Everyone / Yosh: Alright

Souka/Soudes/Soudeska: I see.

Daijobu: Are you alright?

Onigiri: Rice Ball / Aoiyuki: Blue Snow

Hanase yo: Let me go

Iie: No / Neechan: Sister / Niichan: Brother

Amaterasu: Sun Goddess / Tsukiyomi: Moon God

Oyasumi: Good Night (Casual)

Haori: Top part of a kimono. The 'shirt'. / Hakama: Bottom part. The 'pants'.

Demo: But

Ano hito: That person

Hime: Princess

LOL Sorry! I use random Japanese Vocabulary through out the entire story! I can't help it…not really. I can't. It's naturally in my own thinking vocab. (sweat drop) WITH THAT DONE AND OUT OF THE WAY! I don't own Bleach or anything else except for this story plot and my original characters! X3 DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!

ONIKAKUSHI!

She stared and observed as the two men fought. One was smaller than the other, but still taller than her and intimidating. The smaller one had a bald head and fought with both his sword and sheath. The much taller one had a sword with a jagged blade and his long black hair spilled out wildly onto his shoulders. Earlier, many people had stopped by to watch the two fight it out, but now the streets were practically empty aside from a few people. A man, with the only decent looking kimono she'd seen in a while, was standing not too far away from her. A small girl with pink hair had jumped onto the victor's shoulder as he began to walk away. She continued to watch with interest as the bald man yelled at him from his position on the floor. She didn't hear the words being exchanged between the two, but she could've guessed. Men weren't that hard to figure out in her eyes. She was still fixated on the amount of spiritual pressure each of them seemed to give off. Even the small girl seemed to have a little, if any at all. The bald man cursed and smashed his fist into the ground in anger.

The woman watching them sighed and walked over. She did so timidly because of seeing how they had fought. She wasn't really afraid of him. She just felt slightly smaller and insignificant than she had a few minutes ago, "Are you okay?" Her voice was strong, but soft. The two looked over to her. The man, who looked more decent, studied her carefully. The bald one, now in a sitting position, glared at her harshly.

"What do you care?" He spat at her. His eyes were sharp looking and cold. On the sides of his eyelids were pink marks, adding to the sharp look. His white kimono was tattered and showed off most of his chest. She could tell he was more brawn than anything, but from the look in his eyes he definitely wasn't stupid.

"We're fine," His friend with long hair replied to her, "You should just leave and mind your own business," Unlike his tattered friend, this man was more kempt and his eyes weren't as harsh but still gave her a bit of a glare.

She sighed and pushed a bang of hair out of her eyes, "Men," She rolled her eyes and advanced to the man that was suffering from several battle wounds. She knelt beside him and held her hand up to treat a wound on his arm.

A sudden stinging sensation filled her left hand. She winced slightly and looked from her hand back to him as the spot in which he'd slapped her hand away grew pink with irritation. He glared at her even harder than he had before. She felt a bit of frustration boil up within the depths of her mind. He definitely didn't want to be touched by her, that much was clear from the stinging sensation her hand still complained about. Whether it was because of trust issues or a simple male pride matter, he definitely didn't want her help. She calmed her mind and began to lift her hands once more.

"Don't fucking touch me," His voice was low and dangerous, threatening even.

"Then I won't," Hers was just as calm as it had been. Her hands still grew ever closer to his skin.

He growled and scooted away slightly, "Then what the hell are you doing? I don't need your help!"

"I won't touch you," She replied calmly, "But I do need to be within a certain range in order to heal you,"

He looked at her as if she was crazy, "Ikkaku," The man with long hair addressed the one she was trying to heal. Ikkaku looked over to his friend, "Maybe you should just let her. Ugly wounds like those would take a little while to heal without treatment. Besides, I'd rather not get my hands dirty,"

The woman beside Ikkaku took advantage of this opening and begun to heal him instantly while he was looking away. Her hands stopped just centimeters away from his muscular build and began to glow an odd blue color. Ikkaku panicked and shifted, "What the-?! Hey!"

"Please don't move," She gave him a stern command. He was about to argue with her, moving and shifting to another position, but stopped short seeing her serious expression, "Please don't move," Her voice was more threatening this time. Ikkaku didn't know what made him listen, but he did. He could've easily pushed this girl aside and walked off. He sighed inwardly and took a minute to actually look at the woman helping him. Her skin was slightly tanned. Not dark, but neither was it fair. It was a nice vanilla color that looked exquisitely soft. Her long black hair fell past her shoulders and held a blue tint within it. Her eyes, at first glance, were a shocking blue color. Ikkaku narrowed his eyes and squinted slightly, trying to get a better look at her eyes. He felt her twitch and she immediately stood up, "You'll be fine. None of those wounds will reopen," She turned away and walked down the street without so much as a glance to them. The only sound was her bare feet crunching on the gravel beneath her as she swiftly walked away from them. A breeze blew by, making dirt fly up off the ground and even settle on the hem of her navy blue kimono. The kimono itself fluttered and threatened to leave her, but the yellow obi held fast and tight. She turned a corner and disappeared.

Ikkaku and his friend continued to stare down the street in wonder.

O N I K A K U S H I

She let the water slash back down into the small stream, from the palms of her hands. She wiped off any excess water still running down her face and stood up from her crouching position. It had been several days since her encounter with Ikkaku and she had not seen them since. In all honesty to herself, she didn't want to. The spiritual pressure she'd felt coming from them that day was incredibly immense and deadly. Compared to them, she could hardly feel her own spiritual pressure anymore. Her own was so small and fragile that it hardly seemed there at all. She walked away from the small stream and began to wander around the district idly. Though this she thought true, some part of her wanted to meet up with them yet again. Her pointless wandering through the districts felt like a sort of dream to her. She felt like she didn't necessarily fit in with the place. She'd forgotten. She'd stopped counting the days long ago. The time of wandering started out in seconds, which quickly turned to minutes. The minutes turned to hours. Slowly, the hours began to turn to days and so on. Soon, she had stopped counting how long she'd been wandering around the districts, aimlessly. There was no meaning to this world, for her. It was lifeless, eventless, and boring. From the time the sun first began to peak out from behind the mountains until twilight began to settle, she would zone out and just simply wander. Nothing more, nothing less. Every so often she'd remember to eat because of the hunger pains and the ever increasing curse of having spiritual pressure.

Today was no different. She looked at the ground as she walked and watched her feet kick around random rocks in her path. She scoffed at herself. She felt no better than the rocks that were being kicked around. She gasped for breath, and was suddenly slammed against the side of a building roughly. A muscular man kept her pinned as he and his friends smirked, "Excuse me," Her voice was calm, but somewhat annoyed, "But would you mind letting me go?"

"I don't think so," His smirk grew wider, "Ya know, it's pretty rare for a girl like yourself to be wandering around districts. If you're not careful you can get demoned away," He leaned in closer to her, "You can come stay at our place if ya want," He let his hand travel up her leg, "We'll be sure to treat ya real good," She could feel his breath tickling her ear. His pungent smelling breath nearly made her gag. She instinctively clenched her thighs together and held her hands in front of her for defense.

"No. Thank you. I'll be just fine," She tried scooting to the side to get away from them. She gasped for breath yet again, but this time she couldn't regain breathing control. She clawed at the large hand encircling her neck and cutting off her breathing supply. She closed her eyes shut tightly and tried her best to struggle free from his grasp. She could hear them, just faintly, laughing at her. She cursed at herself for being so weak, but continued to struggle. But as the seconds flew by, it was getting harder and harder to struggle against his grip. She began to feel the life slowly draining from her body and quickly fade. They say that people see what's most important before they pass on. The girl saw nothing flash before her eyes, not once. Something inside her self-conscious clicked. She stopped struggling, but kept her hand around the man's wrist.

"Oi! The hell are you doin'?!" The girl heard a somewhat familiar voice yell out angrily. She fell to the ground, suddenly, coughing and gasping for air. She leaned against the wall, wondering why she hadn't died after all. She heard several shouts, curses, and screams and sounded like someone was fighting. Her eyelids became heavy and began to close on their own. The sounds became distant and faded as if she was underwater. She felt warm hands grip her shoulders and shake her slightly. She opened her eyelids a tad to get a glance at whoever was trying to wake her up. She couldn't lift her head past his chin and saw nothing more than his mouth move constantly. She heard his soft voice, but couldn't make out what he was saying. Soon the sound of her heartbeat drowned him out completely. She drifted off, without hearing anything more.

O N I K A K U S H I

"You didn't have to, you know," He played with the ends of his long ebony colored hair and glared at the many split ends. He sighed and sat a bit closer to the fire for warmth. They were currently in a small house they'd found not too long ago. He watched his friend pile more wood on top of the mediocre flames.

"Yeah, I know," Ikkaku sighed and sat down, "But you know how I never miss out on a fight," He smirked maliciously at his roommate.

"More like: You felt like you owed her," He folded his arms the sleeves of his kimono and smiled gently, but teasingly as Ikkaku gave him a vicious glare.

"Yumichika," He warned. Yumichika didn't pay any attention to his warning and continued to smile at him teasingly. Ikkaku sighed and lay down to lean on his side, propping himself up on his elbow. A small bundle of shadows shifted in the corner. Both pairs of eyes averted themselves in the general direction. There, in a particular corner of the room, lay a small figure covered in a single blanket. Her chest inflated and deflated with each breath she took. He glared. He hadn't planned on taking her home the moment he decided to help her. It would've been a simple go in, beat the guys up, get out, but no. She had to pass out.

"I wonder what her name is," Yumichika thought out loud, looking up at the ceiling.

"Che. Who cares," Ikkaku closed his eyes and continued to lie on his side, "I just want her out as soon as she wakes up,"

"Well yes, but, she has a decent looking face, therefore must have a good name," Yumichika pressed the matter further, taking any chance into an actual conversation, "I bet if she took care of herself a little more, she'd actually be pretty,"

"Hm. Whatever," Ikkaku rolled over and settled himself into his makeshift bed.

Yumichika's face faltered, "I was trying to make conversation," He mumbled to himself more than anything. He shrugged and gave up for the day. He tucked himself into his own makeshift bed and began to slowly drift off.

O N I K A K U S H I

"Oi, onna, how long are ya gonna sleep?" Her eyes darted open at the sound of the voice. She wasn't used to having people wake her up. Normally the sun or the birds would do that, but seeing or hearing neither one, she grew slightly panicked. A blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, again she found this odd. She rolled over and saw Ikkaku standing above her, glaring as if he were annoyed. She paused for a moment and continued to stare. When it finally registered in her mind where she generally was, she jumped up and shrieked, pressing herself up against the wall, "What the hell are you yelling about?! I didn't even do anything! I just told you to get up!"

"Well thanks for being in my face right when I wake up!" She yelled back.

"Like hell I was! I was standing above you! There's no way I could've been that close to you!"

"You were in my line of sight! Therefore in my face when I woke up," She continued to argue. He made a face at her like she was insane.

"Che," He shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever. Just get out," He walked away and out of the house.

"Baka," She glared and pouted from her spot. She heard someone chuckle and, again, she squeaked and backed up against the other wall. Yumichika chuckled at her again and smiled calmly.

"Are you doing alright now?" He asked. She paused, but nodded her head, "I see. That's good. I'm sorry about my friend's attitude. He's not used to much company. Oh, my name's Yumichika by the way!" He introduced himself and pointed out the door, "He's Ikkaku. What's your name? What characters do you use? I bet they're pretty!"

She stared at him blankly, "I don't really know…" A heavy atmosphere had befallen on the room. Yumichika gave her a horrifying look.

"You…don't…know?" She nodded her head in reply, "How do you not know your own name?!"

She scratched her cheek lightly and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling in thought, "I dunno. I don't really remember having a name,"

"…Even worse," He sweat dropped, "How do you not remember your own name?"

"Maybe I never had a name in the first place?" She held up her finger as if to make a point and smiled cutely.

His mouth and brow twitched comically. He coughed to regain his composure, "Well that's…odd," He continued to stare at her cute expression, "Well then, how about I give you a name?" He suddenly gave her the brightest smile he could muster. She merely tilted her head and stared at him blankly, "How about…Yumi! You can be named after me!"

"Bleh," She stuck out her tongue just slightly to indicate her opinion.

"Fine. Fine. Geese," He grumbled and stuffed his hands into the sleeves of his kimono, turning his head away from her to think a bit, "Kumiko?" He threw out another name he'd thought would fit. Again he was rejected.

"What? You're still here?" Ikkaku walked back in the room, looking at both of them curiously.

"I was introducing myself and she told me she didn't have a name," Yumichika explained to him, "So I'd thought I'd name her!"

"Oh?" Ikkaku raised his eyebrow and walked over to their guest and placed the palm of his hand upon her head, "What are you? A dog now? Yumi's gonna keep you and name you? Is that it? Woof- woof!" He mocked her and smirked.

The girl beneath his hand grew irritated with him, but not angry. He had some right to make fun of her since she hadn't known her own name and she was letting some total stranger name her. She gently pushed his hand away from her scalp, "I'm not a dog," She pouted and tried glaring at him.

Ikkaku looked at her for a moment, deciding on what he should do, "Ja, then what should we call you, Inu-chan?" A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. She simply averted her eyes and shrugged her shoulders.

"I got it!" Yumichika slammed his fist, gently, on the palm of his other hand to indicate his point, "How about Shiori-chan!"

"No," Her reply was swift and blunt.

"What? Why?" Yumichika was beginning to get a bit frustrated with her rejection.

"I don't like the way any of those sound," she explained, "Besides. Who says I'll let you name me? I hardly even know the two of you!"

"True," Yumichika agreed while Ikkaku leaned against the nearest wall and said nothing to add to the conversation, "Oh," Yumichika looked up at the bald man suddenly, "Ikkaku, why are you here? Aren't you usually out fighting by now?"

"Che," He scoffed, "I've cleaned this place out. There's no one left to fight in this district,"

The girl shifted her crystal-like eyes to him, but quickly returned them to the floor beneath her, "That's not true," Her voice was soft, but loud enough for them to hear clearly.

"Eh? That so? Then who?" Ikkaku crossed his arms and gave her a stern, smug, glare.

"You haven't fought me yet,"

Ikkaku looked at her sharply and studied her carefully. She definitely did not seem like the fighting type and showed no signs of any type of experience. When he'd woken her up, not too long ago, she'd been utterly surprised and shocked to find him there. Her physique was small and petite and it hardly looked like she could take a punch or even throw a few. The way she carried herself didn't help his judgment any. From what he could see, she always held her hands in front of her body in some position. As if she was trying to keep the world out. She hardly looked at anyone in the eyes and rarely even lifted her head high enough to see a person's mouth. Ikkaku battled with his inner voice. There was simply no way that the, weak looking, girl sitting before him had any physical strength.

"There's no way you'd stand a chance against me," He continued to stare at her sharply.

"I never said I could," She began to play with the ends of her hair, a somewhat nervous habit.

"Then why bring it up?" This girl was definitely irritating to him.

"All you said was 'there's no one left to fight in this district'. I merely implied that you have not fought me. In other words there is still someone left to fight,"

Ikkaku grit his teeth, but tried calming himself a little, "Fine. Let me rephrase that then: There's no one strong left to fight,"

"Hm," She left it at that and looked out the window to her right.

"Ch." Ikkaku grit his teeth and turned to leave the room once more, "Yumichika, lets spar. By the time we reach the next district it'll be too late,"

"If I must," Yumichika picked up his sword and placed it in the tie of his obi. He followed after Ikkaku, but stopped just short of the exit, "Are you coming?" He smiled kindly at her. Yumichika didn't take a liking to many people in Rukongai. Especially all the way out here in the seventy-ninth district, but this girl was exceptionally cute and well-mannered as far as he could tell. She was as calm as a gentle river's flow, but from what he saw in her when she was healing his friend, she could be demanding and assertive as well.

She looked up at him, surprised he'd asked her, but nodded and got up to follow them. Once outside, her eyes met with Ikkaku's. Her stared for a moment, but decided to ignore her presence and walked off. He thought she was extremely mellow and calm, but when she was healing him and he refused to stay still she was definitely able to assert herself and show a completely different side. It made him wonder how two opposite traits could exist in one person at the same time. Ikkaku was aggressive and demanding, always angry and itching to fight, while Yumichika was mostly calm and avoided conflict (not that he didn't fight). Yet, here was a girl who could possibly have both personality traits within herself and able to find a sort of equal balance between the two.

He continued to wonder on the subject as they walked to an empty clearing full of nothing but dirt and dead trees. He glanced over his shoulder slightly, observing the girl following them. She was looking at the ground, as usual, as she walked. 'Doesn't she ever look up?' His gaze met Yumichika's before he turned back around completely. 'Shy. Timid. Calm…' Where his thoughts on her.

"Kiyoko," He stopped suddenly. Realizing that they were already at the place they needed to be to spar.

"What was that, Ikkaku?" Yumichika stared at him strangely. Even the girl next to him lifted her head just high enough for her line of sight to reach his shoulder.

Ikkaku turned around to face them and stared at the girl, "The name 'Kiyoko'. It fits you," He looked at Yumichika and jerked his head for him to follow him a little bit more so they could fight at a safe distance.

She watched as they sparred and sat near a tree that branched out and stood tall. She leaned against the cold, hard bark and sighed. How did she get herself into this mess? She watched them vaguely through half-lidded eyes and felt her mind slip. She hadn't felt the effects of the usual surreal numbness that would wash over her every day. When she was with these people she felt alive and awake. Like she was no longer dreaming. She could finally feel the heavy burden of her heart beating, thumping loudly, within her chest. She didn't mind, she decided, these people were well worth the trouble.

A sudden presence snapped her out of her thoughts. Both Ikkaku and Yumichika plopped themselves beside her. Both were a bit sweaty and breathing somewhat harshly. She guessed, she was a bit more out of it than she thought, "Why do you fight so much?" The question had been tugging at the back of her mind for a while.

"It's fun," Ikkaku leaned over a lifted knee and calmed his breathing.

"Doesn't look like it," Then again, what did she know about 'fun'?

"Neh, Neh, Kiyoko-chan," Yumichika tugged on her sleeve lightly for attention, "What do you usually do for fun then? Surely you must have something to do around this boring place,"

"Kiyoko?" She didn't think the name would stick to her. She liked it, yes, but being named by a total stranger was just awkward.

Yumichika chuckled, "Ikkaku's right," He stared at her innocent gaze, "It does suit you,"

"I guess," She shrugged her shoulders and decided to accept her new name.

"You know," Yumichika's tone of voice suddenly turned serious, "We're going to get stronger and enter the shinigami academy soon,"

"Eh? Nande?"

"You remember that guy from the other day?" Ikkaku intervened. She paused and thought for a moment, but nodded, "Apparently he stormed into seireitei and defeated the squad eleven captain. So now he's the captain,"

"Ikkaku wants to get in there to follow him," Yumichika said bluntly.

Ikkaku growled at his so-called friend, "It doesn't matter why!" He looked away from them and continued to speak to her, "Just know that we won't be here forever so don't go getting too attached to us or something,"

She made a small chuckling sound and replied happily, "Too late," She looked up at the bright sun filling the entire blue sky that held not even a single cloud, "I guess I'll just have to get stronger and follow you then," Kiyoko smiled widely for the first time since she could remember.

O N I K A K U S H I

"Oooooiiiiiii!" Ikkaku called out angrily. He grit his teeth and clenched his fist as a comical anger mark appeared in several different places on his head and fist. Many of the other passing students stared at him as if he was crazy. Yumichika walked up next to him, casually.

"Eh? What's going on Ikkaku?"

He growled, "That damn wench is ignoring me," He yelled and pointed to Kiyoko, who was currently staring at a few hell butterflies roosting on a tree branch.

"At this rate we'll be late to class again," Yumichika sighed, "Kiyoko-Chaan!" He called out, "Hurry up and get to class!"

Kiyoko popped back into reality and ran up to them. Ikkaku turned around and walked into the academy, "Stop spacing out! I swear, you're gonna die on the battle field like that one day,"

Kiyoko pouted, but said nothing. He was usually right after all. Yumichika placed a hand on top of her head and smiled at her, "Don't worry about it. You know how he is," Kiyoko nodded, "You should get going. Your class it much farther than ours. You might be late,"

"Yeah," She ran ahead of him and bid him goodbye over her shoulder. She ran inside, took off her sandals and ran down the hall. Ikkaku shook his head as he watched her nearly slide further down the hall by trying to turn the corner. She felt bad at first, trying to get stronger only to follow them. The reason was because they agreed to help her. At first she told herself that it was their fault for helping her get stronger, but at the same time she knew that wasn't true. One day while training with Ikkaku, she'd confronted him about her worries on the matter. He responded by punching her in the arm and yelling 'stop wasting my time with stupid questions like that!' and continued to teach her what he could. She smiled to herself, running down the long and confusing hallways. Her life had turned around completely ever since then. She no longer felt constantly tired, she ate a bit more than she was used to because of the intense training sessions. She even became a bit sturdier during fights and could hold her own against another.

Kiyoko collided with someone and fell to the floor roughly, "Ah!" She rubbed her sore bottom, "Gomen nasai! Please excu-"

"Watch where you're going!" She looked up and saw a girl with long brown hair, but she didn't dare travel any further up. Looking into people's eyes scared her the most, though she didn't know why, "Ugh!" The girl dusted herself off, "Rukongai street rats," She mumbled and walked off in a disgusted manner. Kiyoko clenched her fists and held them close to her chest, but said nothing to add fuel to the fire. She got up and dusted off her clothes and continued to rush to her class. Her life really did turn around completely. She'd been extremely happy to meet Ikkaku and Yumichika, but at the same time that meant dealing with more people there in seireitei. Her entire time in Soul Society, she'd never really communicated casually with other people. Perhaps that reason alone was why it was so easy to talk to Ikkaku and Yumichika, because they didn't necessarily fit in with the crowd either. She had tried her best, when she was first admitted into the academy, but after a while she just stopped trying to get other people to like her. She figured that they just weren't worth her time if they decided to treat her like crap.

Kiyoko stopped right in front of a door to catch her breath before she went into class. The sign above read 'Advanced Kidou Class 1-A'. Kiyoko had always been good with kidou from the start, even before her rigorous training with her friends. She was a natural, but Ikkaku didn't like her using kidou techniques to help herself for anything other than healing. He thought such techniques were cowardice and a foolish way of cheating during a fight. She argued that he was just upset that he couldn't particularly get the hang of it. In any case they couldn't help where they were placed, so he let the subject drop completely.

She stood upright and opened the tatami door and stepped in. Luckily the teacher wasn't there yet, so she quickly shut the door behind her and hurried to her seat. She could feel her spine tingle with every whisper that was ushered. She knew that they were talking about her, but she chose to ignore it. The door opened and heavy footsteps were heard as the class grew quiet.

"Class!" The male sensei announced rather cheerily, wavy black hair bouncing along with him as he walked, "I have great news! Unohana-taichou of the fourth squad has agreed to let this years advanced kidou class help minor patients as a healing lesson!" He jumped with joy and laughed.

"Honto ni?!" One student shouted.

"Mori-sensei, are you serious?!" Another exclaimed.

"Haaaaaiiii!" He replied in a sing-song voice. The entire class began to erupt into light conversations, "Alright! Alright! I can see that you're all excited about our little field trip, but if you don't settle down we'll never be able to get going!" The class settled down and he quickly took roll. As soon as he was done he hurried them out the door and led them where they needed to go.

Kiyoko followed behind a group of girls that spoke about her in whispers. She merely kept her eyes to the ground, pretending not to listen. She hadn't notice the entire group stop and ran into a girl. The girl gave her an offended glare and quickly looked away. She heard some of the other students talking amongst themselves.

"What's going on?"

"Ah…Mori-sensei's lost again,"

"Figures,"

Kiyoko backed off a bit and looked around at the scenery. The inner walls of seireitei looked a bit different and much more confusing than the academy. A single hell butterfly caught her attention and she followed it with her eyes. She heard a few girls coo and squeal like fans, but paid them no mind.

"Eeeek!" One girl screeched in delight, "It's the guys from the Advanced Kendo Class 2-C!"

"Aiyah! What are they doing here?!" One of her friends eyed them like candy.

"Their class must be on a field trip too!"

"Lucky!"

Kiyoko continued to look at the hell butterfly. It looked lost and confused for some reason. It was probably given one too many orders that mixed with another.

"Eh? Where are they going?" The first girl asked to no one in particular as she and all her friends watched them as they walked right past them without even so much as a glance.

Kiyoko felt a heavy hand being placed on her head, "What are you doing all the way over here? You're gonna fall behind and get lost!"

She blinked and looked up at him, "…Ikkaku?" She squinted and winced.

"Who else would it be?" Ikkaku smirked.

"True," She agreed, "There's no one else I know who's head can cause me to go blind from how shiny it is," She smiled sheepishly to herself, but her grin quickly fell into a frown as Ikkaku tugged on her cheeks, "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Yamete!" She whined and struggled against his grasp.

"What was that?" He grinned evilly and continued to stretch both her cheeks. Yumichika watched nearby and sweat dropped at the two.

"Gomen nasai. Gomen nasai. Gomen nasai,"

Ikkaku smirked and finally let go, getting what he wanted. Kiyoko rubbed the sides of her face and tried to glare at him.

"Anosaa, Kiyoko-chan, what's your class doing out here?" Yumichika tried to light a conversation.

"We were gonna go to the fourth squad to try out some healing kidou techniques," She replied, "What about you?"

"Heh," They stood proudly, "We were gonna use some of the training courses out here to spar,"

"Cool," She smiled at them, completely unaware of the amount of death glares she was getting.

"Minna-san! This way! I've got directions!" Mori-sensei called out and skipped off happily. The class grumbled and followed him.

Ikkaku sweat dropped, "You're sensei's a fairy,"

Kiyoko laughed at his reaction, "Don't say that! He's pretty nice if you pay attention. Anyway I gotta go! See you later! And good luck with sparring!" She waved as she ran off to catch up with the class.

She hummed happily to herself and kicked a few rocks in her path.

"What the hell was that?!" The girl from earlier appeared next to her and rudely asked.

"What was what?" Kiyoko recognized her voice as the girl she ran into earlier that morning. The one that had called her a street rat.

"Don't play dumb! You were talking to the guys from the advanced kendo class like it was nothing!"

"It was nothing," Kiyoko couldn't understand some people, "I've known them for years. We've even slept under the same roof," She told her innocently.

"Eh?!" All the girls screamed out in surprise, though they interpreted Kiyoko's words in a very wrong manner.

O N I K A K U S H I

"Yosh! Minna-san! This is very serious, so please take these words to heart!" Mori-sensei's voice was still far from being taken serious, but the students paid attention regardless, "Unohana-taichou and Isane-fukutaichou, along with 3rd and 4th seats will monitor and teach you the basics of healing kidou!" He turned their attention to the new instructors.

"Good afternoon, minna-san," Unohana-taichou's soft spoken voice filled the silent room as she began to instruct, "I'm glad to have you all here and that you are willing to learn such a difficult kidou. But I'm afraid I must inform you that, even though the basics are simple enough, constantly using such a technique is in fact quite difficult. Using it requires plenty of reiratsu and precise control. Too little and you'll hardly be able to heal anything at all. Too much and you might end up bursting an important vein," The atmosphere in the room grew thick with tension, "But don't worry! That's only for truly extensive wounds and you won't be treating any of those today! The basics are actually quite simple!" The entire room of students nearly fell to the ground.

Isane-fukutaichou stepped forward, "Minna-san, if you would please step this way we'd like to begin instructing you," The class followed their new instructors for the day into another room. Kiyoko didn't even bother listening to the explanations or little tips that were being given. She already knew how to use her reiratsu to heal very well. She'd been living with Ikkaku for kami-sama's sake! The man loved to fight recklessly and what better way to gain experience than that? She'd treated him for everything from scrapes to gashes to burns. She was sure that this lesson wouldn't be a problem at all, "Any questions?" Isane-fukutaichou looked around the room. No hands flew up, "Alright then lets get started!" She opened the door and in came a group full of squad four members from lower seats, "I really shouldn't say this and I'm sorry, but I guess it's kinda good that we get picked on sometimes by squad eleven," Isane-fukutaichou laughed nervously and put her hand behind her head.

"That's just sad," One of the students mumbled to his friend.

The entire hour was completely slow for Kiyoko. She was currently waiting her turn. There weren't enough injured people to go around so each student got one injured area. Most healed bruises and if one was lucky they'd get to heal a cut or a scrape. She sighed with boredom and watched the instructors tutor several of the students. Oh well, she figured, she didn't need a lesson she'd already learned anyway. She placed her elbow on the nearest table and leaned on the palm of her hand. She closed her eyes and spaced out for a moment. 'I bet Ikkaku and Yumichika are having fun right now…'

"Are you alright?" Kiyoko opened her eyes abruptly and saw Unohana-taichou smiling gently at her, "You seem a bit bored,"

Kiyoko quickly stood up straight and shook her head vigorously, "No! No! It's not that! I'm just waiting for my turn! Ha-ha-ha!" She placed a hand behind her head and grinned nervously.

"Souka," Unohana-taichou grinned, but it quickly disappeared when a loud crash was heard from the room across the hall.

"Stay the hell away from me! Like hell I'm gonna let you touch me!"

The class looked at the door and chuckled slightly. Kiyoko blushed and sighed. She recognized the voice quite well, "Anosaa, Unohana-taichou,"

"Hai?"

"I think it would be most wise if you have whoever's trying to heal that particular patient, leave him alone for a bit,"

"Oh? And why is that?"

Before Kiyoko could answer, a small scream was heard from one of the attendants trying to heal him, immediately followed by him flying through the door of their room.

"Souka," Unohana-taichou walked out of the room and into the one across from theirs. Kiyoko followed, just in case as did the rest of the class to see what was going on. There, in the middle of the room, sat Ikkaku, all bloodied up and a bit battered, He was trying to scare away any healers and attendant that wanted to help him, "What's your name?" She asked him. Ikkaku glared at her for a moment, but answered her, "Ja, Madarame-san, how did this happen?"

"We were sparring," A man from his class told her, "And it kinda got out of hand. I used a kidou, but I missed and hit the ground causing the ledge Madarame was standing on to fall,"

"I see. Most unfortunate. In any case, I suppose I should seal up that wound before you lose any more blood," She raised her hands and began to advance on the wound that was across his chest (though there were many other bleeding wounds). He immediately scooted away from her and glared.

"I can heal you if you want, Madarame-sama!" The girl that was mean to Kiyoko shouted out happily.

Ikkaku glared at her sharply, causing her to freeze with terror within her place. Unohana-taichou sighed, "I'm afraid I wouldn't let you do that. You're only a student who we've just taught to teach minor wounds. None of Madarame-san's wounds are minor,"

'He wouldn't let you within ten feet of him anyway' Kiyoko sighed lightly and made her way to his side, right next to Unohana-taichou, "Ikkaku," She said just loud enough for him and the taichou to hear, "Stop being so difficult,"

"Ch," He averted his eyes to the side and continued to hold his gaping wound that refused to stop bleeding.

This time she sighed heavily, "You're so spoiled," She mumbled and lifted up her hands to his open wound. Her hands began to glow a strange blue, almost silver, color as she began to patch him up. He let out a small breath of relief that he didn't know he was holding and felt the burning ache from his wound suffice. He closed his eyes and became much more relaxed.

"Eh? Why is she healing him! She didn't even get to practice!" The same girl complained.

Unohana-taichou ignored the protests from the other students, as did her vice captain and other seats. They were too fixated on Kiyoko's healing ability. She was definitely using reiratsu, but there was something different about the way she used it. She was using reiratsu, but it wasn't kidou. The way it glowed told them that it was a bit more natural than that. Unohana-taichou was also impressed with Kiyoko's healing ability. She was exceptional at it and definitely knew what she was doing, even using the precise amount. What's more was that she was the only one Ikkaku responded to.

This girl had amazingly good healing abilities that were foreign and odd to the healing captain.

O N I K A K U S H I

"Ikkaku," She growled, "What did I tell you about moving! You lost a lot of blood! You're not supposed to be walking around like that!" Kiyoko grit her teeth and dragged him by the collar down the hall and back into the room he was assigned to. He'd been in the healing ward for about three days and they still wouldn't relieve him because he had lost a lot of blood. Normally three days was plenty, but considering how stubborn he was, he had tried numerous times to get out of bed and thus reopened his wounds each time. And each time, nurses had to drag Kiyoko all the way from the academy just to heal him, "I'm getting sick of being dragged down here! Do you know what I'm missing!?" Ikkaku wasn't just scared. Usually, he wasn't scared of most things including women, but at that moment he felt he was ready to crawl under a bed and simply hide from her wrath. Though he would never admit this aloud. Even when he managed to upset her a bit during their training, he'd never actually pissed her off like he had now, save for one occasion. He guessed that they must've been learning some pretty high level techniques for her to be so angry. He grunted as she laid him firmly back down on the futon. He heard several of the nurses nearby, giggling, and blushed. Kiyoko sighed, "Can't you at least let your wounds close properly?" She lifted her hands to his chest and stomach area and began to heal the large gash that continuously reopened.

"It's not like I'm the one that drags you down here," He turned his head in the opposite direction of her.

"You might as well be," Her voice returned to the normal mellow-like tone, "They only force me down here because you don't let anyone get within a ten foot radius of you," He didn't answer her this time, "I guess I don't mind though. If it means helping you then I guess I wouldn't mind," He looked at her from the corner of his eye and slowly he turned his head back to face her.

"What's with you all of a sudden?"

"Nothing," She smiled and chuckled nervously, "I just realized that I was complaining on my way over here and now I'm thinking that I should be a bit more grateful to you,"

"Oh? How so?"

"Well you've helped me get stronger and was just flat out kind to me," He scoffed at this, "It's true! You may not act like it, but I know you could've just told me to leave that day,"

"I did," He smirked and she laughed lightly.

"Well, you coulda forced me then," She smiled and let her reiratsu die down when she was done, but her hands still hovered over his chest. Ikkaku lifted up his own hand and placed it on top of hers, without really being aware of it. She felt the palm of her own hand being forced down from the weight of his and, slowly, she touched the smooth skin of his bare and muscular chest. She blushed at its warmth and could even feel his rapid heartbeat as he inhaled and exhaled. Their eyes locked and a heated gaze grew between them. It went from a confused look to a fiery gaze in an instant. The room was suddenly a bit hotter than it had been a moment ago.

"Excuse me," A nurse poked her head in the room.

Kiyoko jumped just slightly and lifted her hand from his chest calmly, so as not too seem too suspicious, "Hai, I'm done today," She smiled at the woman and stood up. She turned to Ikkaku and gave him a stern glare, "Let it heal this time," She then followed the nurse outside of the room.

The nurse took several more steps down the hall, but stopped and turned to Kiyoko, "Ano…Kiyoko-san?"

"Hm?"

"Unohana-taichou wishes to have a word with you if that's alright," She hid shyly behind her clipboard. Kiyoko looked surprised but nodded anyway. The nurse led the still confused Kiyoko down another hallway. After passing a few doors, she stopped in front of one and opened it. She bowed to Kiyoko before leaving.

Kiyoko poked her head in the room. It was surprisingly plain and well kept. Living with men for the past few years didn't exactly leave very much living space. Even Kiyoko didn't know much about keeping a room clean considering she never had one before.

"Over here," Kiyoko looked to her left and saw Unohana-taichou sitting just outside the room, enjoying the nearby scenery. She smiled her gentle smile at her. Kiyoko, feeling much more comfortable and invited, walked in confidently and closed the door behind her, then proceeded to walk up to the squad four captain, "Have a seat," She gestured to the empty spot to her left. Kiyoko did as she was told, but with a bit of caution, "Squad four has a lovely little garden, don't you think?"

"H-Hai," Kiyoko didn't bother to look at the garden. She wanted something and her years of being with Ikkaku and Yumichika had taught her to be blunt and to the point when you wanted something, "Did you want something?" Her voice was slightly raised, but still calm.

"My. A bit blunt," She giggled, "But yes. I did want something from you actually, but before I decide any further I want you to tell me what kind of healing technique you used on Madarame-san. It wasn't a kidou technique, yet you used reiratsu,"

Kiyoko thought for a moment, unsure herself, "I'm not too sure how to explain it," She told the captain truthfully, "It's like…" She paused and held her hand up to her chin, "Like…" She scratched her cheek, "…" She continued to think, but a sudden sound drifted into her ears. She turned her head in the direction of the source and her eyes settled upon a small stream. It was small and leveled in height. It only left the ground at a few inches best and the miniature waterfalls were just as small, but carried clear water all the same, "I got it!" She exclaimed in sudden revelation and got up to run to the small ponds, "If you don't' mind coming over here for a moment,"

"Hai," Unohana-taichou got up and walked calmly over to where Kiyoko was standing.

Kiyoko turned to the pond, "Think of the pond as a sort of system within our bodies that helps us heal," Unohana-taichou nodded in understanding, "It's clear, clean, pure and flows gently and smoothly," She picked up a nearby stick and poked at a bit of moss on the side of the pond. It moved instantly, taking its chance at escape. At first it ran through smoothly, but it slowly began to block the pathways to the miniature waterfalls. The water tried to force it's way around or through the algae, "But when it becomes blocked, it's unnatural and forced to find another path that's probably not the proper one," The water began to spill out over the rocks, "What I basically do is," She took the stick and lifted up the algae with it, "Remove whatever aliment that's causing the abnormality,"

"Souka," Unohana-taichou saw what the girl was trying to say, but there was much more to this technique than Kiyoko herself could understand, "May I see your eyes for a moment?"

"Eh?" Kiyoko blushed, "Nande?"

"Just for a moment," She bent down near Kiyoko and held her head in place. She saw Kiyoko's eyes panic as soon as their eyes locked, but didn't pay it much attention, "I see. So much water…Your eyes are very blue," She smiled and let go. Kiyoko's gaze automatically traveled to the ground, "Ja. I've decided then," She announced, catching Kiyoko's attention once more, "Kiyoko-san, how would you like a position within the fourth squad? You'd start immediately as soon as you graduate from the academy. We could use someone like you,"

"Eh?! Honto?!"

"Hai," Unohana-taichou saw the confused expression on her face, "You don't have to answer me right away of course. I'll give you a week to give me an answer,"

"H-Hai," She bowed deep, "Arigatou, Unohana-taichou," Kiyoko couldn't believe the events that had just occurred.

O N I K A K U S H I

"Unohana-taichou," Isane walked into the room currently being occupied, "I wanted to speak to you about Kiyoko-san," She stood in the doorway to the outside gardens.

"Souka," Unohana sipped her tea, "Sit,"

Isane did as she was told, "Ano…Is it really wise? I mean straight from the academy? It's true that she has exceptional healing abilities, but to have a beginner challenge our third seat?"

"I have the utmost faith in this one," She answered calmly and almost excitedly, "She shows a lot of promise," Isane nodded and looked at her taichou with worry. Unohana giggled a little, "Isane, do you know the extent of her abilities? How they are used?"

"Iie," Isane tilted her head slightly in thought.

"At first I didn't recognize it," She took another sip of tea, "It's such an old technique that's long been forgotten, but the reason I didn't recognize it at first was because it's been modified a bit," She looked at Isane with a serious expression now, "It's a water based technique that requires complete control and mastery over the element. It's been lost for quite some time. There've been attempts to bring back this type of healing power, but it wasn't very successful and therefore labeled lost,"

"But how does Kiyoko-san know this then? And how did she modify it?"

"As for how she knows this technique, I'm afraid I'm left without even so much as an idea, but I can tell you how it's been modified," She looked back towards the gardens and stared curiously at the waterfall, "Instead of using natural water, she uses the body's own water we have to speed up the natural healing process. In other words it's like a river forcing its way past and obstacle,"

"That's a little dangerous, don't you think?" Isane's eyes grew wide with worry.

"True," She agreed, "But I believe we can teach her to control that a bit more. I suppose it's lucky that Madarame-san has a sturdy body," She giggled lightly.

Isane laughed nervously at her captain and how unusually careless she's being.

O N I K A K U S H I

"Oooiiii," Yumichika waved a hand in front of her face, "Kiyoko-chaaaan," He tugged on the ends of her shoulder length locks, "Are you still alive?"

"Eh?" She suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him, "Nani?"

Yumichika sighed, "I said 'how's Ikkaku doing?'"

"Oh! He's doing fine," She took a bite of her onigiri, "He keeps trying to get out of bed though and it's starting to tick me off,"

He giggled at her latest expression, "Typical,"

"Hm," She swallowed and looked up at the sky, watching several birds fly by. Her mind was still too preoccupied with events from earlier. She knew she was fairly strong and good with kidou, but to have a captain's recommendation?

Yumichika stared at her curiously. She'd been acting a bit strange since she got back from inner seireitei, "Daijobu, Kiyoko-chan? You've been acting kinda weird,"

"Eh? Like how?" She turned her eyes back to her food and took another bite of her onigiri.

"You just seem a bit more spacey is all," he shrugged, not really sure what he meant himself.

"…" She said nothing for a minute to gather her thoughts. She didn't want to tell them now, but if she didn't now then word would get around and they'd surely hear about it and become furious with her for not telling them directly. Another slight problem was that she'd promised to follow them no matter what and that included the same squad they wanted to get into, but now she wasn't so sure. If she was still able to get into seireitei that would be considered following them wouldn't it? Would Yumichika and Ikkaku get angry at her? There was only one way to find out, "Ano…Yumichika," She kept her gaze upon her half eaten onigiri.

"Hm? Nani?" Her tone sounded much too serious, he noted, and she didn't at a suffix honorific to his name either. Something was definitely bothering her.

"Today, when I went to go heal Ikkaku," She placed the onigiri back in the lunch set, "Unohana-taichou of the fourth squad addressed me. She said she wanted to speak to me about something,"

"Oh? What was it? Praise?" He teased and smiled, leaning back on the palms of his hands.

"She…she…" Kiyoko clenched her fists together, unable to verbally tell him about what she was offered.

"Haha! Just say it! I bet it's nothing! What'd she tell you? 'Good work'?"

"She wanted me to be in squad four right after I graduate from the academy!" She yelled out in one breath and clenched her eyes, unsure of how he would react.

His eyes opened in surprise, staring up at the sky and listening to the deafening silence. Only the birds dared to sing a song. Yumichika stayed in the exact position for about a long few seconds, looking up at the clouds but no really taking them in. He hid the surprise in his eyes and replaced them with a stern look, "Nani?" His voice was low and strong. Like a mother about to scold their kid, "You can't be serious,"

"I-I'm not joking," She continued to look down at her lunch, not wanting to see his facial expressions at all, "She really did offer me a seat within the fourth squad personally. I'm still not sure if I should even consider it. I mean I promised the two of you-"

"How long did she give you?" He interrupted. He was angry, yes, but not furious. That was Ikkaku's role. He didn't want to yell at her because she knew she'd get an earful from Ikkaku.

"A week,"

"I see," He calmed down a bit and thought. He was angry because after all they'd been through she just announced that she was thinking about leaving them, though it wasn't permanent. He thought about it a bit more. A sudden revelation popped in his mind. The squad he and Ikkaku wanted to join was the eleventh. From what he'd heard, the eleventh squad was the worst place for any woman to be. Or at least a woman not looking for a bit of 'fun'. Did he really want Kiyoko to be around men like that? There was still him and Ikkaku to help her out, but surely they couldn't baby sit her twenty-four/seven. Kiyoko would surely get offended and even feel a bit violated from the lack of space. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but this decision was best. Yumichika knew he was going to hear from Ikkaku about this later if he didn't already know, "You should go," Yumichika sat up and folded his arms within his long sleeves and gave her a calm, emotionless expression.

"What?!" She looked up and, for the first time in quite a while, she looked at him straight in the eyes. It was rare, but she did look into people's eyes on occasion.

"You should go," He repeated, "Don't let Ikkaku and me get in the way of your decisions. We don't own you and you were always able to do as you pleased from the start. I know you want to accept this offer, so do it," Kiyoko stared at him long and hard. His expression was serious. His eyes didn't flicker or flinch in the slightest. The corners of his mouth were wrinkleless and refused to form some sort of grin. Before she could say anything else, he broke out into a huge grin. As far as she could tell he was being sincere in his smile, but Ikkaku would've known better. Yumichika was completely faking his smile, "It's good to see that even a captain has acknowledged you, Kiyoko-chan! I'm sure you'd be amazing! Whenever Ikkaku and I get into a nasty tumble, well most likely Ikkaku, we can have you patch us up in no time!"

Kiyoko looked at the ground, shocked. She froze for a moment then placed the box of onigiri next to Yumichika and stood up. She turned back to him, giving him an equally fake smile, "I see," She grinned, but quickly turned back around, unable to hide the tears forming in her eyes. She ran off before Yumichika could say anything else.

O N I K A K U S H I

How dare he! She thought as she ran down the hall and into her dorm room, How dare he say those things! Doesn't he care?! Doesn't he want me to stay? Kiyoko closed the door and leaned against it. A single tear flowed down her left cheek, soon followed by many others. She sunk to the ground and buried her face in her knees, crying silently. I thought I wasn't weak anymore… She wrapped her arms around her legs, curling up into an even tighter ball, and continued to let herself go in a moment of weakness.

There was no other choice. She had to go to him and say something. If she didn't then he would surely be angry with her for not telling him anything (though he'd probably be furious anyway). For the moment, she thought, she'd wait a bit. Kiyoko definitely didn't want him to see her in such a pathetic position.

She drew a shaky breath in attempt to calm herself and dried her tears with the back of her sleeve.

"Excuse me," She knocked on the door just outside his room. When she was given the comply to enter, she opened and closed the door cautiously.

"What? What is it? I haven't gotten out of bed all damn day," Ikkaku scowled at her bitterly.

"I know," She continued to stand by the door, eyes looking at the ground, "I-I wanted to tell you something,"

Ikkaku's eyes narrowed slightly. He closed them and sighed inwardly, deeply, and once again reopened them, "I know," She looked up at him in surprise, "Yumichika already talked to me. He came by earlier,"

"Souka," She looked back down at the ground, waiting for him to burst out yelling at her.

"I have no objections,"

At first she thought he was joking. She looked back up at him, long and hard. His eyes never faltered, never shifted or flinched. His mouth never twitched, not once. His head didn't move an inch to show some sort of body movement of rejection. He's…serious?! Kiyoko couldn't comprehend his answer and went into a sort of panic.

"Y-you're serious?" Her voice was slightly raspy and chocked.

"Of course," He looked away from her and out to the fourth squad gardens, "I wouldn't joke about something like that. I have nothing to say about where you choose to go. It's your decision, not mine. Do what you want,"

Kiyoko felt her stomach churn and her heart beat rapidly within her throat. Her body began to quiver slightly and her hands began to twitch. Down the hall, somewhere, a nurse dropped a few glasses on accident, shattering them completely. Shards flew in several different directions, losing themselves in the cracks and crevasses of the building and never to be seen again. In an instant, Kiyoko snapped, "Ikkaku no baka!" Again she ran from one of her friends without another word.

Ikkaku sighed, "I still don't know what the hell you were thinking, Yumichika," He continued to stare at the scenery outside.

"Hm," Yumichika leaned against the wall just outside the room with his arms folded, "I've already explained my reasoning to you,"

"Yeah, ya did. But she's not weak," Ikkaku clenched his fist and folded a knee and laid his arm over it, "She could've handled herself just fine,"

"Do you honestly think that?" Yumichika subtly snapped at his comrade, "She's, surprisingly, incredibly strong, but men like that know how to get some one way or another,"

"Ch," He narrowed his eyes at a bamboo stalk carrying water in the middle of the garden. Each time it dumped the water out, it made a calming sort of noise, irritating him even more because of how much it reminded him of Kiyoko's calming side, "I still think she would've been just fine,"

"If you really think so, then why did you tell her that? Why did you agree to tell her what I said?"

"Who the hell am I to tell her what to do?" He sighed and looked at the sky and watched the birds fly by swiftly, "I don't, shouldn't, have control over her life,"

Yumichika studied his friend closely from the corner of his eye. He saw something strange, but quickly brushed it aside. Though it still bugged him quite a bit. He was no stranger to compassionate emotions. He'd seen it many times in Rukongai. Kids, even other adults, showed concern for one another when they had no food or water. But what he had seen in his friend, gave him an odd feeling.

Ikkaku's eyes were full of pure concern, though he tried his best to hide it.

O N I K A K U S H I

"Aoiyuki-san, could you please answer the question placed here?" Kiyoko looked up from her notes, hearing her name being called on.

She looked at the board momentarily before answering, "The best choice, in this case, would be to use Hadou #4 Byakurai,"

"Elaborate,"

"When facing a water-type opponent, electricity is most effective,"

"Correct," The sensei turned to a different side of the classroom, "Madarame-kun, care to join us?" Kiyoko averted her eyes just enough to see Ikkaku leaning over his desk with a bit of saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth. A smile tugged at the ends of her own, but she quickly bit it back and turned her gaze back forwards. She no longer spoke to them on a one-on-one basis; only when she needed to. It hurt her, but they'd hurt her more by not holding her back. By not telling her to stay with them and bound her by her own promise. She clenched her pencil tightly within the palm of her hand, her knuckles turning white. She knew that way of thinking wasn't right, though she preferred it, she knew that it was more her fault than anything. She should've spoken up for herself and said something, but she just couldn't speak out and refuse a request from a captain. Now, a year later, she wouldn't even spare them a passing glance. Kiyoko was more ashamed than hurt or angry.

"Class dismissed," Kiyoko's eyes shot open (which she was not aware that she had closed). She took a minute to wait for the people around her to pack up their things so that she could pack up and leave. She stretched out and sighed. It was the last class of the day and near evening. She was glad that seireitei provided meals for them and even decent rooms to sleep in. She looked around, hardly noticing a soul left (pun intended) in the classroom. While casually looking around, her crystalline eyes suddenly met with deep brown ones that cut through her like ice. She gasped in surprise and quickly looked away. She packed her things with amazing speed and quickly left the room. Before completely leaving, passing him, she could've sworn she heard him growl.

"Aoiyuki-chan!" Kiyoko looked up at the sound of her given name. Ahead of her, two girls waved for her to come over. She smiled shyly at them and quickened her pace. If it's one thing she leaned about the people in the academy was that they matured after a year or two and become more accepting of others with differences, "You're always one of the last ones out," Her friend commented.

Kiyoko smiled nervously and placed her hand behind her head, "But I'm the last person in the row, against the wall. I don't have a choice but to wait for anyone else to get out, Sonozaki-san,"

"I guess," The girl that'd spoken to Kiyoko directly was Sonozaki Rika. She's a very blunt and honest type of person, attracting Kiyoko to her immediately considering of how much she was reminded of certain people. Her light brown hair was held up in a tight ponytail with a few stray strands poking out from the top here and there. Her natural brown eyes where just the right size to be both intimidating and kind when she needed it.

"Aoiyuki-chan, lets go eat dinner together!" A smaller girl bounced up and down. Her name happened to be Nekoshimaru Genkai. Always full of energy and bubbly, the little girl clung to the two older girls as if they were her real sisters. Her short blue hair reached her shoulders and bounced every time she did, sending it flying everywhere and always giving her a messy appearance. The color of her hair only enhanced her violet eyes that were round and soft.

Kiyoko laughed at the little bubble of joy and placed a hand on top of her head to calm her down, "Hai. Hai. Just let me go put my stuff in my room first okay?" She kneeled down and combed the girl's hair with her fingers, "I'll be really quick about it, 'kay?" She got up and ran off down the hall.

"Hurry up! We'll try to save you a spot!" Rika called out as they went their separate ways to their desired destinations.

As Kiyoko ran further down the halls, they became quieter with less and less people. She figured that most were probably out eating or in the training halls. She slowed her running and began to walk. Before training, running was always a problem, now it was just as simple as walking. It didn't even cause irregularities in her breathing anymore.

"Kiyoko," A hand grabbed her elbow roughly and held her in place. She gasped and turned around quickly, yanking her elbow out of his hand. Only two people called her by her first name in the entire school. Ikkaku let his hand fall after being shoved away, but continued to stare at her intently, "What's with you?"

"W-what do you mean? I don't even know what you're talking about!" She stood her ground. She felt her back against the wall and his body heat drawing ever closer. His hands rested on the wall behind her, his arms keeping her from escaping on both sides. His sharp eyes bore right into hers.

"Don't play dumb with me," His voice was amazingly calm, but low and dangerous. Kiyoko had never seen him like that, even after all her years of living with him and Yumichika, "You've been avoiding us the entire time. Why?" Kiyoko avoided him and turned her head to the side, trying not to allow him eye contact. Ikkaku looked at her closely. At first he was irritated by her actions, but now as he began to realize their position, he looked at her with a bit more interest. When she turned her head to avoid him, she'd left her neck exposed and open. Her vanilla skin looked exquisitely smooth and soft, making him want to move the few strands of ebony colored hair that dared to ruin his sight of her complete neck and run his lips up and down. He wanted to know the feeling of her skin against his lips and to be able to nip and suck on it. A thought of what her moans would sound like crossed his mind, but it lasted only for a split second before he mentally slapped himself, "Kiyoko," She still refused to look at him, "Oi, look at me," She denied him still and succeeded in irritating him further. He placed his index finger and thumb under her chin to force her to look at him in the eyes, though there wasn't much complaint on her end, "What are you ashamed of?" He searched her eyes for an answer, but found nothing except regret and sorrow. His eyes traveled to her pink lips then back up to her eyes. He wondered if her lips were any softer than her skin. Again he mentally slapped himself for thinking such thoughts.

"Could you please let me go," It was more of a request than a question.

"No," He still had enough sense to remember to be blunt. He was enticed by the movement of her lips. The way they puckered together slightly when she started and ended the sentence.

"Ikkaku," She warned.

Ikkaku had to bite his lip to keep himself from practically throwing himself on her. He couldn't hold back much longer. His eyes became half-lidded as he continued to stare at her. He watched as her tongue slowly poked out of her mouth to lick her now dry lips. He had the urge to take it into his own mouth and play with it. He no longer held back the thoughts plaguing his mind and let them invade fully.

"Hanase yo, Ikkaku," Her voice was much softer and quieter this time.

"Iie," His face drew a bit closer to her. She could feel his hot breath tickling her lips, making them dry again after she'd just moistened them, "If I let you go now, who the hell knows when you're gonna come back," He watched as her face flushed and as her chest began to rise and fall a little more heavily. More out of nervousness than anything, her tongue left her mouth to moisturize her lips yet again. Ikkaku could no longer help himself; he lost the will to fight the urge (which is saying something). He leaned in and forced his way passed her tongue with his own. He nearly moaned with pleasure as his tongue slid past her own, creating a sort of friction between them. He played around with her with his own tongue, wanting her to fight back.

At first Kiyoko gasped at the new sensation he was making her feel. It was foreign and almost nerve racking, but once she settled down a bit she found it completely pleasurable. The way his tongue glided against her own and how he explored every bit of it. She wanted more of him. She wanted him to make her feel as good as this all the time. Kiyoko began to fight back against him, causing him to groan in her mouth. The vibration of his voice sent shivers down her spine and made her sigh a moan. She felt his hands wrap themselves around her waist and her body instinctively reacted by snaking her arms around his torso. He lifted up a hand and placed his palm at the back of her neck, deepening the kiss.

She gasped feeling his other hand travel just a bit lower than she'd expected. This action immediately snapped her back to reality and brought her fully to her senses. She broke the kiss and separated them with her hands on his chest. They breathed heavily, still staring into one another's eyes. The lust faded from Ikkaku's eyes and the heat from both their faces faded slowly. Ikkaku blinked and swallowed the lump in his throat loudly and nervously. He froze, realizing the position his hands where in. He searched her face for any signs of disgust or anger. He found nothing but confusion and a bit of a red tint upon her cheeks. He glanced at her swollen lips then back to her eyes once more, silently pleading to be forgiven.

Kiyoko searched his eyes in confusion, trying to comprehend what just happened. She felt his hands slowly lift themselves from their positions, leaving her skin cold from his once heated touch. His mouth opened and his lips moved, but he couldn't make a sound. Quickly noticing this, he closed his mouth once more and continued to stare at her.

"Kiyo-"

"Kiyoko-neechaaaaaaaaaan!" She jumped at the sound of her name. Little Genkai came bouncing around the corner, happily, "Kiyoko-neechan was taking to long, so I'd thought I'd come get you!" She smiled up at Kiyoko with infinite affection. She noticed him from the corner of her eye, "Eh? Who's he, neechan?"

"He's…a friend of mine," She stared straight into his eyes, something she only did on occasion, "We go back a bit. Even before the academy,"

"Ehhhh??" Genkai looked up at him curiously. He didn't look at her, but she could still see the sharp look in his eyes and his intimidating spiritual pressure. Her face faltered slightly, looking at him, and the line of her mouth turned into an uncertain curvy one, "If you say so," She shrugged, "Hurry! Or we'll miss all the good food!"

"Okay, Neko-chan, I'll be right there!" She continued to stare at Ikkaku. They never once broke eye contact.

O N I K A K U S H I

"If you guys don't mind…." Kiyoko stared at her plate of food, "Is it okay if I leave a bit early? I don't feel well,"

Rika looked at her like she was stupid, "No, you can't," She replied sarcastically stuffing a bit of rice into her mouth, "C'mon, 'oiyfi! We don' own you!" She swallowed the rice, "Go wherever you want! You better be alive tomorrow though!" She glared playfully and resumed eating. Genkai waved happily, a bit of rice glued to her round, childish, cheeks. Kiyoko smiled and excused herself.

After placing the tray of food in the designated stack, she left the cafiteria and headed out into the fields. They were mostly used for any students that wanted to spar during their breaks or personal times, but seeing as how the sun was beginning to hide itself, she figured there'd be no students at this time of day. The tall grass waved goodbye to the sun as the breeze forced them to bid their farewells. She walked further out into the fields, nearing a large hill. She began to climb the slope, putting a bit of strain on her legs to keep balance and continue climbing to further heights. She thought it'd be nice to lie down and rest on the other side of the hill and watch Amaterasu run from Tsukiyomi within the heavens. She reached the very top of the hill and breathed in a breath of fresh air, letting the wind run through her hair.

"Nice evening, isn't it?" A familiar voice rang in her ears. She looked downwards and sure enough, on the other side of the miniature mountain, were Yumichika and Ikkaku enjoying the cool night as much as she, "It's been a while, Kiyoko-chan," Yumichika smiled at her warmly while Ikkaku continued to ignore her presence and stare out at the fading sun, "Come and sit," Yumichika offered her a spot between them. She said nothing, but kept her gaze to the grass beneath her feet and sat down beside both of them. Ikkaku's body tensed at her presence. It was not the first time something like this had happened, strictly speaking. She'd gotten mad at him before and run off for little reasons before and each time she'd come back, ashamed and guilty. Yes, it'd happened many times before, but he'd never gotten so close to her in any situation whatsoever. Not only had he kissed her, he'd lost control of refusing to do so. He'd let himself go and take her lips in his own. He let himself enjoy every minute of it, when she could've possibly been fighting him off mentally.

"How've you been, Kiyoko-chan? You've been avoiding us for a while!" Yumichika scolded her lightly.

"Okay I suppose," She played with her fingers that rested on her thighs as she sat traditionally (formally).

"Hm…" He looked at her current body language. He smiled to himself, knowing what she was silently pleading for, "I'm going inside. I'm getting cold," He got up and dust himself off, "Oyasumi," He bid them goodnight and walked off swiftly, leaving Kiyoko and Ikkaku in a bitter, awkward silence.

A light breeze picked up.

"I-"

"I'm s-" Both stopped in mid sentence to wait for the other to speak first, "You first," She gestured for him to speak first and looked away.

Ikkaku cleared his throat, "I…uh…I'm sorry," he mumbled an apology, "I…overreacted I guess,"

"And I was being a bit over sensitive," She admitted.

"…Wait….what do you think I'm apologizing for?" He stopped and thought for a moment, wondering why she just admitted something a bit off topic.

"For last year?"

"…" He stared at her blankly.

"What were you apologizing for?"

"…" He couldn't believe his ears, "Where the fuck were you this afternoon?" His brow twitched in slight annoyance.

Kiyoko stared at him blankly for a moment. And, almost as if a buzzard went off in her head, instantly her eyes lighted up.

Ikkaku tried his best to refrain from laughing, "I don't believe it! You really are a scatterbrain! It took you long enough to remember," Kiyoko blushed at the memory of his lips on hers and his warm embrace. Ikkaku, seeing her blush and nervous look, quieted down and gave her a serious look, "Like I said 'I overreacted a bit',"

"Souka," She whispered and looked down at her hands once more.

"You're not mad, are you?" He looked at her cautiously.

"Iie," She twiddled her thumbs, "I'm just a bit…confused is all," She admitted yet another feeling. He remained silent, "Ikkaku,"

"Hm?" He leaned over a knee while the other leg lay flat.

"Do you…like me?"

"What kinda question is that? Of course. Otherwise me an' Yumichika woulda thrown you out ages ago,"

"That's not what I meant,"

He sighed heavily. He knew it wasn't what she meant, but he wanted to avoid the question, "I don't know. What I did earlier…I don't know what I was thinking, honestly,"

"Soudes…"

He turned his head sharply in her direction. Was that a hint of disappointment in her voice? He wasn't sure. Ikkaku looked at her up and down. The glowing moon, that now dominated the sky, illuminated her gentle form. Her hair was just as shiny and healthy as it had always been and her vanilla skin almost seemed a bit pale in the moonlight. He gulped. It was happening to him again. He was completely enticed by her very being. He saw her shiver slightly as another breeze flew by. He clenched his fist and brought a hand up to her chin, turning her head towards him. She looked at him in confusion and he nearly glared back at her. His look softened ever so slightly, realizing that the color of her eyes was a bit different than usual.

Her crystal blue eyes where now a pale silver that seemed to glow almost, like the blade of a zanpakutou in the middle of the night. He'd never seen her eyes this color before. True, they'd spent years together and he'd seen her eyes crystal clear now and again and so had Yumichika, but he'd never seen them turn this particular color. He guessed it was because of the moonlight and figured that he'd never seen them this way simply because there was no reason for them to be awake at night. All the training him and Yumichika had put her through left no room for dilly dallying. It was eat, train, eat, sleep, over and over again. Of course it'd always left her exhausted, so she'd sleep without waking up the entire night for any reason.

He lost himself in her eyes and breathed on her lips a bit heavily.

"Ikkaku…?" Kiyoko was in a sort of trance, teased by his lips being so close yet again.

Ikkaku continued to make eye contact with her through half lidded eyes, "What the hell are you doing to me?" He whispered on her lips. Their hearts thumped wildly in their chests, almost choking them. It was suddenly a bit warm, rather than cold. Ikkaku closed his eyes and let himself be taken away by the sweet, passionate emotion once more. His lips locked with hers, tenderly.

Kiyoko was taken by surprise, but also let herself drown in a pool of bliss. The kiss was much different than the one from earlier. The first one had been heated, passionate, and hungry. Now it felt soft, sincere, and almost…dare she think it? Loving? She kissed him back and allowed him to lie them down on the soft grass. She felt a bit of his weight on her lower abdomen as he continued to kiss her the same way. They parted for much needed air and looked at the other for permission to continue. Ikkaku placed a hand on her neck and stroked her cheek with his thumb, softly. Kiyoko responded by placing both of her arms around his neck. He took in the appearance of her flushed form; the sight of her chest heaving up and down, and her beautifully pink lips waiting to be caressed again.

She saw the look in his eyes grow a bit more fierce and spark with an emotion she couldn't point out. He kissed her again, this time more forceful. Kiyoko recognized it as the same as earlier. Hungry. Still, she wanted him just as much. His tongue ran over her lips several times, begging for entrance. Not knowing this, Kiyoko kept her lips together. Ikkaku grew a bit frustrated at her naïve way of thinking and used his thumb of the hand around her neck (the other arm being used to hold himself up) and forced her chin downwards causing her lips to part ever slightly. He took the opening without hesitating and forced his tongue past her lips. Remembering the events from earlier, she immediately began to let her tongue dance in corresponding with his own. The action itself decreased the oxygen in her lungs by quite a bit, however Ikkaku refused to part. In order to keep from losing to much air, she would sigh heavily into his mouth and gasp what little air she could, creating a type of moan for her.

Ikkaku, now determined to make her cry out, let go of her chin and began to let his hand wander. At first he placed his hand behind her back, bringing her closer to him, but then he began to caress other parts of her body. His hand traveled up her stomach (over her clothing) and in between the valley of her breasts. He could feel her heart beat rapidly within her chest and moved away from the gentle pulse. Slowly, carefully, he placed his hand over her left breast, using his right hand. She gasped suddenly at his feather-like touch. He let their mouths separate for air. Ikkaku kissed her on the lips lightly and traveled down to her neck while at the same time gripping the breast he'd taken earlier in a rougher sense. She gasped loudly at the sudden touch, but still had not cried out. He licked, bit, and sucked on her neck while his hand continued to massage her breast roughly. Ikkaku made his way to her collarbone and as soon as he bit it, he was rewarded with a soft moan. He smiled against her skin and switched sides of her neck, now leaning on his knees. He began to use his other hand to do the same to her other breast. He was rewarded with yet another soft moan,

"Ikkaku," She breathed out against his ear. His hands left her breasts and traveled to her hips, squeezing them and moving behind her. He gripped her bottom and pushed her flush against him, grinding their hips together in one swift movement. She let out a surprised gasp and moaned, arching her back for more. Kiyoko's body was searing with heat and her skin began to perspire ever so slightly. She felt him remove his hands from her bottom and place them on her hips and pushed himself away from her. He, again, took in her form only this time she was much more flustered and little bruises around her neck began to take place.

A sudden thought occurred to him and where they currently were. He leaned down again and bit her earlobe and whispered, "Do you have a roommate?"

Why, in the middle of all this, she wondered, was he asking such a question? "I-Iie," She struggled to keep calm under his foreplay.

"Good," He suddenly got to his feet and held out his hand for her, "'Cause I do. An Yumichika's not gonna like it if we wake him," She took his hand, blushing, and dusted her backside off as he lead them toward the school's dorms. Her heart was still racing within her chest, though it could've been from Ikkaku's quick pace and long strides. They entered the dorms and quickly stuffed their sandals within their designated spots, "Which way?" He kept his voice low, not wanting to wake up anyone else.

"Over here," She gripped his hand through the darkness and led him down the empty, moonlit hallways. Kiyoko took was taking a bit longer than Ikkaku liked. Her strides were smaller, therefore she was much slower than he. Occasionally he'd let go of her hand and quickly grope her bottom in order to get her to hurry up. The first time she squeaked (catching her surprised scream in her throat), but after several times of his hand roughly caressing her backside he'd just succeeded in making her hotter than before, "Almost," She whispered to him, "It's the room at the end of this hall, to the right,"

She felt him grab her arm and turn her around, kissing her full on the lips and shoving her against the wall to their right. Those directions were the only thing he needed before deciding to take action. He knew where to go, so he didn't need to follow her anymore. Now, this way, he could have her even on the way there. She allowed his tongue to dive into her mouth and his hands to grope her roughly; it was only making her hotter by the second. Engaging in rough foreplay as they made their way down the last few feet of hallway to her room, he opened the door and walked them in, closing it as quietly as he could behind him. He released her lips for a brief moment, looking at her lust filled eyes and continued to kiss her roughly. He shoved her to the nearest wall, yet again and grabbed her thighs and lifted her up, making her wrap her legs around him. Kiyoko sighed a moan and instinctively grinded her hips against him, earning a deep throated groan against her neck. He continued to bruise her neck while letting his hands wander to her waist.

Kiyoko didn't know what to do with herself. Ikkaku had no hair to pull and being at her height she could only wrap her arms around his neck (seeing as how he pushed her up against the wall, making her slightly taller than himself). Her hands wanted something to do, to grip. Kiyoko didn't know much about sex, love-making, mating, etc., but her body seemed to have a mind of its own since they started. She felt Ikkaku's hands around her lower abdomen and the tie around her trousers suddenly loosened quite a bit, making her haori loose around her form.

Ikkaku stopped playing with her neck to look at her. With her hakama off, all that was left was her haori and a few wrappings underneath holding in her good sized breasts and covering her womanhood still. His eyes traveled down and back, marveling at every curve, muscle, and inch of vanilla colored skin. His eyes traveled back up to her face (smirking at the bruises on her neck along the way) and saw a large tint of red along her cheeks. He smirked again and kissed her full on the lips, bringing her down with him on her assigned futon. He rolled them over and placed Kiyoko on her back, kissing her swollen lips roughly and removing her outer clothing. He placed a hand behind her back, attempting to bring her closer, but her undergarments kept him from feeling most of her bare skin against his. Kiyoko, too, wanted to feel his bare skin and arched her back and thrust her hips upward in need of him. She heard Ikkaku catch a groan in his throat and decided to push her way past his haori with her hands. Ikkaku wanted to moan at her feather-like touch tracing every inch of his muscles, but instead he held it in and tore at the wrappings around her breasts. Kiyoko froze and watched him look at her nearly naked form. She blushed and began to cover herself with her arms, but he grabbed her wrists and placed them over her head; taking in the sight of her once more. He leaned in, kissed and licked her neck and whispered in her ear, making her blush even more.

He kept her wrists together with one of his hands, while the other grabbed her breast and massaged it; index finger playing with the pink bud. Her breasts where perfectly round and full, even a bit perky. They weren't large enough to dominate her body, but they were definitely enough to get any man's attention. He leaned over and began to let his mouth play with the other breast.

"Ah!" She gasped in surprise and pleasure. She arched her back and nearly turned over, but he held her firm and continued with his foreplay. Her breathing was heavy and her skin began to perspire the more he nipped at her breasts. Soon they became hard and stood at attention beneath his touch. Kiyoko found it rather frustrating that she couldn't move by much and struggled slightly in his grasp, making Ikkaku smirk once more. He grinded his hips against hers in a much rougher sense then she had been doing, "Uh!" Kiyoko responded by thrusting her hips to meet his. She couldn't take much more of it. She needed him to do more to her; to take her and make her feel like no one else had, "Ikkaku," She breathed out in a whine, "Please,"

Ikkaku obeyed, feeling like moving on himself, and removed her bottom half. He removed his own clothing in a complete haste, feeling the heat of the moment upon them. Kiyoko's eyes widened at the sight before her. She blushed heavily and looked at him in the eyes. The sight of her silver eyes only turned him on even more as he twitched against her womanhood, "I-It's to big," She blurted out finally, "That won't fit,"

"Heh," He cupped her cheek with the palm of his hand and kissed her on the lips tenderly, "Don't worry," Again he kissed her, "It will," He gripped her hips and filled her in a single swift movement. Kiyoko cried out in pain, but was silenced by his lips. He wiped away several of the tears that escaped her eyes and focused on every one of his muscles to not move until she was okay. His lips left hers and kissed along her jaw line down to her neck. He could feel her rapid heart beat within her chest and her breath come out in ragged pants. She was no longer crying from the pain, but he didn't dare move just yet. He knew she was still getting used to him and could feel her tension. Ikkaku felt slim arms wrap themselves around his neck (not realizing he'd let go of her arms) for support. He stopped kissing her neck and looked at her luminous eyes, highlighted by the moon outside. He kissed her gingerly, understanding, and began to move slowly at first.

He groaned, feeling the tight friction on his loins. As soon as he began to move, his breathing became much heavier than it had been. He could feel some of her tension begin to slip away and enjoy herself, but it never fully went away. Ikkaku quickly gained some speed, feeling more intense pleasure by the second. Kiyoko panted heavily and began a rhythm with her own hips against his, only succeeding in throwing their hormones in utter chaos and making Ikkaku push faster. He groaned and grabbed her hips, forcing her to match his movements.

Kiyoko felt something burning deep within her lower abdomen, begging for release. Her moans were slowly becoming screams. Ikkaku regained a moment of consciousness from her loud moans and thought about it for a split second. Surely other people would be able to hear them if they were loud enough. He leaned in and kissed her full on the lips, silencing her latest moan. Kiyoko hugged him close as the tension deep within her loins released. She screamed into his mouth and fell into a world of bliss. He pulled out and pushed in deep several more times before releasing himself into her.

He leaned over her on one arm, panting heavily and leaned his forehead against hers. She smiled at him and cupped his face in her hands, kissing him. When she pulled away, he quickly took her lips again, this time holding it longer than necessary and savoring her taste. They smiled at one another and pulled the blankets up for some much needed rest. Kiyoko began to drift off against his shoulder and could've sworn she was already dreaming, but somewhere in the back of her mind told her she wasn't dreaming when he'd spoken those last three words to her before she fell into a dreamless sleep.

O N I K A K U S H I

Kiyoko inhaled deeply to her waking up. She scrunched her eyes tightly, not wanting to let the morning light in, but shivered at the butterfly kisses being left on her shoulder and shoulder blade. She smiled as he wrapped her torso in one arm and traced her smooth stomach with the other. She opened her eyes and turned her head to meet his and kissed him. They parted and he stared into her deep sapphire eyes. The luminous silver was long gone in the morning's sunlight, but he admired them just the same. He smirked at her outer appearance, but at the same time cherished it. If a goddess could roam seireitei, she would be his mind's eye image of one. Her hair was tangled and astray from it's usual combed state and a line ran down the side of her face from where she slept on the edge of the blanket, yet she was perfection itself.

She yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "What time is it? Shouldn't we get going? Class is gonna start," He ignored her and nuzzled her neck lovingly and licked her favorite spot, "Nn…I-Ikaku!" She tried to swat him away and get up, but he held her down by the shoulders and continued to suck on the spot to make her moan, "Ah," She squirmed under his firm body, "We-We need to get going,"

He moved down to her collarbone and traced her curves with his hands, "Relax," He whispered onto her skin, "We still got a little over an hour," He kissed her chest and in between the valley of her breasts.

"Demo, Ikkaku, I need to take a shower," She swallowed a lump in her throat as he kissed her belly and lower abdomen.

"Then I'll help you take one," He rubbed her inner thighs with his thumbs, causing her to relax and part her thighs subconsciously.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, "S-Some shower that would be,"

He rose himself back up to her face, lowered himself into her ear and bit it, "You get turned on pretty easily," He commented. She blushed and groaned as he began to play with her breast.

"Kiyoko-neechan! Daijoubu?" Genkai greeted her and bounced up to her happily.

"You're limping pretty bad there," Rika walked up calmly and looked at her up and down, "Something happen?"

"U-Un," She responded nervously, "I was practicing my swings late last night and I…kinda tripped and hurt my knee," She scratched her cheek lightly with her index finger, still smiling nervously.

"Eh?!"

Genkai's voice was full of concern, but Rika's laugh was enough to silence thunder!

"That explains it!" She smacked Kiyoko on the back roughly and continued to laugh at her friend, "You know for a second I almost thought you found a ma-"

"Oi, Kiyoko, lets go," Ikkaku walked right passed her.

"Hai!" She limped quickly to his side and followed him into their next class.

"…Anosaa, Genkai," Sonozaki Rika's voice was calm and quiet.

"Eh?" The blue haired child tilted her head and looked up at her friend with amethyst eyes, "Nani?"

"Since when does Aoiyuki let men call her by her given name?" She kept her eyes set on Kiyoko and the bald man that had taken her attention away from them.

"Ano hito?" Genkai averted her eyes to the same man, "Ah!" She suddenly remembered, "Nee-chan said that he's a friend of hers! They go back even before the academy!" She smiled triumphantly at her answer and amazing memory.

"…"

"Rika-neechan?" She gazed up curiously at the brunette. She was mere centimeters away from grabbing her hakama between her thumb and index finger, when-

"NAAAAAAAAAAANIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII?!" Genkai froze, paralyzed with terror; her hair was now messy and sticking up on the ends as if she'd just woken up.

Kiyoko heard her friend's outburst, laughed nervously to herself, but kept her pace along with Ikkaku.

"What's with your friend?" He placed the palm of his hand on his lower back and stretched backwards, allowing several bones to crack into a more comfortable position.

She chuckled softly, "Nothing. She's just randomly crazy," He cast a sideways glance at her, but said nothing more. "Hm? Ikkaku-kun, where's Yumi-niichan?"

He stretched out more of his limbs as they walked to the classroom, "He switched classes,"

"Eh? Nande?" She half-whined.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know. Something about a constant annoyance," He rolled his eyes away from her. He was not about to admit that he continuously pestered his best friend in class about her recent behavior.

"Ah," She turned her attention to her seat and sat down. She noted that Ikkaku was still standing near her, when in fact his seat was several rows up, "Do you need something, Ikkaku-kun?"

"Madarame-san," The teacher called out, "Is there a problem,"

"Yeah!" He called back to him, "Mind if I move here? It's hard to see from my spot up there!" He shoved a thumb in the direction of his original spot.

"Oh?" The teacher rose an eyebrow at him, glanced back and forth between him and Kiyoko, who was currently occupying herself with the board's morning exercise, "I suppose," He hesitated, but quickly turned to an assertive state, "But if I see any dilly-dallying, I'm moving you back! Got it?"

"Ah," He waved his hand in partial acknowledgement and sat down to Kiyoko's left (to her right being the wall). He smirked at her as she let a smile tug at the corner of her lips and shook her head.

After class started and settled, Ikkaku grew bored as always. And like always, he began to let his mind wander. For a minute he thought about the events of last night and this morning and let them swim in his head joyously, but then his mind wandered on his partner next to him. His lover…next to him. Wait, he thought; it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. His lover sitting next to him. Things seemed to be in his favor lately. Madarame Ikkaku considered himself one lucky man. He smirked, but bit the inside corners of his mouth to keep from giving himself away.

Kiyoko had to admit, to herself if not anyone else, that sitting next to him was pretty distracting. She sighed softly, inwardly, and let her mind drift from the subject she found to be boring at the moment anyway. She thought of all that had happened since she'd met both Ikkaku and Yumichika. She remembered that day as clear as the purest of water. They day he gave her a name; the day she decided she'd stick with them no matter what; and even the day of her first lesson with a sword (though it was not so fun at all really). She vaguely remembered a time before that in which she first saw him engage in battle with a taller, muscular man and lost. She of course tried to help him, but he refused and she forced her way past his mental barrier and healed him with her intriguing ability. But before that? Her eyes searched her notes, though she wasn't actually reading them for the answer. What happened to her before that? What was her born name? Where did she come from? How did she end up the way she did?

Kiyoko's thoughts were cut short as she jumped slightly, feeling a bit of weight on her thigh. She averted her eyes downward and saw a hand placed there. She looked back up and resisted the urge to slap it away, for if she did he'd surely get caught. She bit her lip in annoyance; She was disturbed from an important thinking process, of course she was angry! Though she was sure he hadn't known that, so she wasn't as angry. She calmed down, but tensed slightly as he began to move ever so smoothly. He would dip his hand further in between her thighs, rubbing her with his thumb and squeezing her, then slowly make his way higher to her sensitive area, just barely brushing it lightly, then going back down her thigh. Kiyoko swallowed nervously, regained some sense, and jabbed her foot on top of his. Surprised, he held back a scream, grunting, pulled his hand away from her, and covered his face with it to better hide his agony.

"Madarame-san, is there something wrong?" Half of the class turned in his direction when the teacher suddenly stopped the lecture.

"N-Nothing," He cleared his throat, "My stomach started to hurt just suddenly,"

The teacher sighed, "Go to the medical office then, class is almost over anyway. Aoiyuki-san, please escort him there. I don't want him skipping class,"

Kiyoko looked up from her notes, "Eh? Why me?"

"Aoiyuki-san," The teacher released a bit of spiritual pressure as a warning. It was far too low to intimidate her, but she sighed and obeyed anyway. They packed their things and she led them out of the class.

"Ah! Ah! I-Ikkaku!" He pushed into her harder and faster, hearing his name come from her lips turned him on even more. He placed a hand on the wall behind her and held her hip in the other, continuing his vigorous thrusts. Her sticky juices ran down his length, sending pleasure signals all throughout his body. Kiyoko felt the pleasure like no other pressure push in and out of her. The first time had been a bit shaky, being her first time and all; the second time felt much better but she was still getting used to the whole thing; but the third time! It was complete bliss! Every bit of tension within her body was completely gone and even his entrance didn't bother her anymore. Her knew found feeling of pleasure only increased her need for him. She wanted him to penetrate her over and over; She wanted him to throw her up against the wall (like so) and make her feel this way forever. She wanted, needed, more! She lifted her leg up and wrapped it around his waist, then did the same with the other one, "Ooo" She groaned and threw he head back. He was in so deep and he wasn't able to pull out because of her legs, only to go deeper with each thrust. He groaned and leaned over her.

"Nnn…uh! Kiyoko," He spoke her name and released into her. She felt his length pulsate and she instantly felt the hot liquid spread through her lower abdomen. She still hadn't felt the same release, but her body was nearly spent and she felt good all the same. She trailed kisses along his neck, pausing for breath at each one. He attempted to catch his breathing to control it, and nuzzled her neck with his nose.

She giggled, "You think we should kinda get outta here before we get caught?" She smiled playfully at him.

They were in a supply closet after all. Its access was denied to students and staff, but janitors were the ones with keys. Still, the chance of being caught was one out of a hundred. There were plenty of supply closets all around the school and the chances of a janitor picking this closet in particular were very slim especially since it was nearly break. They, like most other teachers with free periods, would probably be taking their break early.

He smiled lightly and kissed her, "Heh, like that would happen. I think we should get out of here before your friends start getting suspicious,"

Kiyoko giggled, "Rika already knows and Genkai's just a kid. She couldn't guess if the words slapped her right in the face,"

He smiled and kissed her sweetly, savoring her taste. Moments like so, caught her off guard. Ikkaku was mostly a blunt and straight forward man with was usually rough with anything and tended to just charge head first into whatever. A real wild boar, sometimes. But in moments like these, after they'd finish a round, he'd be gentle and hold and kiss her as if she meant the world. She didn't know which side she liked more, but was glad that the different sides of him weren't different people completely, for then she'd have to choose. She supposed that they were both equally good qualities in a man, especially as one as fierce and loving as her own.

Ikkaku pulled out of her and let her feet touch the ground once more. He placed the palm of his hand on the small of her back and pushed her forward to meet his lips yet again. To him it just wasn't enough. There was never enough of her for him. Even when his body was exhausted and begging for rest, even if he'd love her later again that day, he would never fully have his fill of her. He wanted her, needed her. She was no longer just some girl they happened to find and help, some girl that had helped him, a friend that grew stronger each day and enjoyed sparring. She was his lover now. His! And he hers. With this in his mind, there was no more doubt in his mind whatsoever. There was no 'what happens now?' no 'do we continue?' and no 'should I even be doing this?' It was purely his love and passion for her within his mind and nothing else.

"Ikkaku?" He blinked and stared down at her gorgeous sapphire orbs, "You okay? You looked kinda spaced out,"

He leaned his forehead against hers, noses touching, "Nothing," He kissed her, "Just thinking," He cupped her cheek in his hand softly and kissed her again, "Lets get out of here,"

"Yumi-niichan!" Kiyoko jumped onto his back, catching him by surprise, and locking his neck in a strong embrace, "It's been a while!"

"What the hell are you doing?! You better not mess up my hair! In fact you'll break my back get off! And I just saw you yesterday!" He grabbed her by her haori's collar and attempted to throw her off, but she held fast.

"Yeah, but how long has it been since we talked like siblings?" She gave him a goofy grin.

He sighed, "I don't know a year maybe. Now get off," He was clearly irritated.

"Aw! But you know you missed me!" She hugged him tighter.

Yumichika looked over to his bald friend and whined, "Ikkaku…"

He smirked, "Oi, Kiyoko, don't kill him just yet okay?"

"Un!" She smiled brightly and plopped on the floor with her hands behind her back.

Yumichika rolled his eyes at the girl, "Oh sure. You get off when Ikkaku asks you,"

She grinned, "That's 'cause Ikkaku asked nicely," She held her lower eyelid with her index finger and stuck out her tongue, "Bleh…."

"You little…!" Yumichika held up a clenched fist, several comical anger marks covering his forehead, and charged at her. Kiyoko moved out of the way instantly, chuckling at him. He tried whacking her with his fist this time, but she easily avoided it. She laughed whole-heartedly, content with her current life. Yumichika huffed and crossed his arms, "I swear, you act like such a kid sometimes," Kiyoko only laughed at his remark. Ikkaku smiled to himself. Her laughter rang in his ears melodiously.

O N I K A K U S H I

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Aoiyuki-sama of the third seat!" A few lower seated fourth division members stopped their morning chores to bow in respect to their superior as she walked by.

Kiyoko looked to her left, with surprise at first, to the bowing shinigami and smiled brightly and warmly at them, "Ohayo, minna-san!" The wind carried her long coal black hair along and only seemed to enhance her never ending beauty. The three men that greeted her for the morning, melted in their spots with their mouths agape, nearly drooling with admiration.

"Oi, Kiyoko," Ikkaku appeared in front of her and smirked slightly, "Morning," He stood tall in front of her with his arm slung around his zanpakutou that hung off his shoulder. He leaned in and kissed her.

When they broke the kiss, she smiled brightly and giggled a bit, "Good morning to you too," The three male shinigami no longer held their mouths open with admiration. Instead their mouths were agape from shock.

Ikkaku looked over at them and glared sharply, "The hell you starin' at?"

"N-nothing!" All three said at once and scrambled back to their morning duties.

"Ch," He slung an arm around her shoulders and held her close to his side, "C'mon," She smiled and nodded, following him down the hallway and turning the corner.

The shinigami watched them go and as soon as they were out of hearing range they began to talk amongst themselves, "Oi, isn't he Madarame Ikkaku-sama of the third seat in the eleventh division?!"

"Ah," Another replied, "I heard he's amazingly strong, but what's he doing out here in the fourth division?! And with Aoiyuki-hime nonetheless!"

"Yamada-san told me that they're going out with each other," The third shinigami added his two cents.

"Eh?!" The two exclaimed and looked at him.

"Why would Aoiyuki-hime choose someone so vulgar?"

"Yamada-san? You mean that kid, Yamada Hanatarou, that's always running around like a gopher for the higher seats? How'd he know?" He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Him and Aoiyuki-hime are like siblings. She treats him like a younger brother and is always kind to him,"

"Ehhh?" He leaned against the wall and sighed, "Anyone that close to Aoiyuki-hime has got to be one lucky person. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, she always treats people with the utmost kindness and respect,"

"Ah," His friend nodded in agreement, "A devastating day it would be for all of Soul Society, should she pass on for any reason,"

O N I K A K U S H I (Epilogue)

"Ikkaku?" Yumichika turned the corner and saw his friend sitting and staring up at the night's fool moon, drinking a bit of sake. He sat down next to him and poured himself a cup, "I can't believe it's already been a year…"

Ikkaku sighed heavily and finished off his cup, "I still can't bring myself to admit that's she's gone," He poured himself another cup and sipped it gingerly, not caring how cold it was that night.

ONIKAKUSHI!