A Confusing Shade of Pink
Disclaimer:
I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime Bleach
The rights to that anime belong to…other people…
"Kenny," Yachiru beamed as she hopped onto the stomach of her adoptive father, "Wake up! I wanna go outside and play!" She waited for a few seconds and nudged the eye patch wearing man, who gave her a slight grunt. "Kenny, wake up!"
The 11th Squad Captain let out a long yawn and lazily opened his eye to stare at the girl. "Ugh, what do you want," he mumbled, shifting around slightly, "I was having the best dream I ever had."
"Really, what was it about?"
"I can't remember; dreams are funny that way," Zaraki sighed, "Now, what the hell do you want?"
"I want you to come and play with me outside," she whined, tugging at his clothing. The man sighed and glanced over at the clock hanging on his wall, which immediately caused him to frown.
"It's barely 6 in the morning," he groaned, gently nudging her off of him, "Come back in 4 hours or something."
"But, Kenny, I wanna play outside now!"
"Then go bother Ikkaku and Yumichika, I'm sure they're up right now."
Yachiru frowned at this and folded her arms, "Dummy! They're in the human world with Grumpy Snowman!"
"…Who the hell are you…oh…Captain Hitsugaya," Zaraki mumbled.
He had forgotten that his two subordinates had left, which must be why he's been getting so much sleep lately. Yachiru looked at him pleadingly, but he brushed her off, "Go find someone else to bother, Yachiru, I'm busy right now."
"You're just lazy," the girl pouted, "And I'm not leaving until you get up and play with me!"
After less than five seconds had passed, the girl gave up and angrily stormed out of her home, leaving a tired Zaraki to himself. Her single-minded quest to find a playmate had begun and she wasn't going to let anything get in her way.
However, something did get in her way and that was Yachiru herself. You see she was…a tad bit upset when she left…and as a result her spiritual pressure rose to the point where a frightening, pink aura surrounded her.
Many people she saw gave her a wide berth because of this, hugging any nearby wall so closely that they may as well have been painted on them.
She frowned when she realized what was going on, but soon replaced it with a smile when she found a group of 11th Squad members lazily hanging around, drinking sake and making jokes.
"Hey, come play with me," she angrily beamed as she hopped over to the group. They let out small 'Huhs' and turned their attention towards their lieutenant, immediately freaking out when they saw her. The aura had gotten bigger and now resembled the face of a cat, menacingly smiling at them.
It reached for the group, its fiery pink claws extended to tear their throats out if they denied the girl her 'request.'
"Uh, w-well, you see, we were just about to do something v-very important, L-Lieutenant," one of the men began, cowering as Yachiru grew closer, "S-so we can't right now..."
The pink-haired girl paused for a moment, frowning, before she let out an aggravated sigh and aimlessly began to swing her zanpakuto by the bright pink cord it was attached to. Her swing got faster and its radius increased to the point where she had effectively created a mini-tornado, which was made even more dangerous by the fact that it had mixed with her fiery pink aura.
The unnatural atrocity violently scratched at the ground beneath Yachiru and the Squad members, creating several deep cuts on both. They pleaded for the girl to stop, attempting to defend themselves from the vicious tornado, but she ignored them and they continued to suffer the girl's unabridged wrath.
She was irritated to no end with the fact that no one had time to, or would, play with her. A strange wave of wonder fell over her as she continued to violently swing her zanpakuto, a question of 'why do I feel this way?' bubbling inside of her tiny, pink head.
"Because Cueball and Yumi aren't here," she mumbled, feeling her stomach tighten. Her swing slowed and its radius decreased to the point where her zanpakuto gently slid along the ground, eventually coming to a halt at her feet.
The tightening got worse and she began to sniffle, "Why won't anyone play with me?"
The 11th Squad members nervously looked at each other before one of them finally spoke up, "W-why don't you head over to the 4th Squad Clinic? I-I'm sure someone there will play with you."
Yachiru stopped sniffling and looked at the person who suggested the idea, her aura disappearing. "Yeah, maybe Captain Unohana and Isane will play with me," she beamed with a huge grin stretching across her tiny face, "Why didn't I think of that before?"
Not wanting to waste anymore time, Yachiru happily dashed off, her next destination clear as day. Showing no concern for the people she nearly ran over, Yachiru had arrived at the 4th Squad Headquarters in record time and promptly entered the pale white building.
She looked over her surroundings and let out an awestruck "Wow," as if she'd never been in such a clean building before. Though she had been here before, it always amazed her how clean the 4th Squad Headquarters is, especially in comparison to her home (specifically her 'office').
She broke out of her trance and quickly bounded over to the nearest person she could find: a average height woman with short, gray hair and blue rimmed glasses.
"Um, where's Captain Unohana? She is here, right," Yachiru curiously asked, tugging at the woman's cloth belt.
The woman turned around and looked down at the young lieutenant, adjusting her glasses before replying, "Captain Unohana left to go mountain climbing a few days ago, though she should be back anytime now."
"Oh, w-what about Isane," Yachiru worriedly asked, "Is she here?"
"Yes, Lieutenant Kotetsu is filling in for Captain Unohana and should currently be in the Captain's office right now. Would you like me to take you to her?"
"Nope, thank you," Yachiru beamed as she hopped away. At least Isane was here, she'd probably play with her, right?
-0-
"Whaaaaaaaaaaa," Yachiru whined when she received Isane's inevitable response.
"I'm sorry, Yachiru," Isane sighed, giving the girl a sad smile before stamping a document, "But I must complete my work right now. I'll play with you during the Shinigami Women's Association meeting later, is that alright?"
"Oh…I guess…" Yachiru mumbled, shifting her attention to the floor, "I'm sorry for bothering you."
She left soon after that, sniffling slightly. But suddenly her sniffling stopped and her face brightened, a wide smile stretching across it, when she realized that Isane had given her a great idea: She would play with the remaining members of the SWA!
She giggled at her brilliance, but then something dawned on her.
In fact, several things dawned on her.
The remaining members of the SWA either wouldn't or couldn't play with her. Matsumoto and Rukia were in the world of the living, Soifon would never waste time playing with her, Kiyone was probably drunk or sleeping right now, Nemu was busy working with Captain Kurotsuchi on some 'Anti-Arrancar Technology,' and Nanao was probably even busier than Isane (having to do her drunken Captain's work as well as her own).
She frowned and felt her stomach tighten again, annoying her to the point where it hurt, which caused her to clutch it out of frustration. Her pace slowly increased from a solemn walk to a furious run, not that she cared where she was running to, or who she was running over, so long as she was as far away from the Seireitei as possible.
The hard, pale tiles of the Seireitei were replaced with lush green grass in a matter of minutes, and the young lieutenant found herself in a relatively dense forest. Yachiru tiredly came to a stop and leaned against a nearby tree for support as she caught her breath.
"Kenny would be mad at me for being so weak…" she mumbled, taking in a deep breath and exhaling after a few seconds had passed.
She pressed her cheek against the tree, feeling some comfort in its shadow, and let out a content sigh. "I'm so weak…Kenny would be made…He hates weak people…" Yachiru mumbled into the tree, receiving no reply.
She frowned and pushed away from the tree before kicking it, practically enraged.
"I'll have fun by myself," she all but shouted at the unshakable pillar, receiving no reply. Her stomach tightened again and she kicked the tree harder, but even she couldn't put a dent in it. The tree stared blankly at the girl, remaining silent, and unleashed a massive amount of spiritual pressure.
Yachiru's eyes widened and she struggled to remain standing, though the sudden surge of spiritual pressure didn't last long. With slight confusion and overwhelming curiosity, Yachiru gazed in the direction it originated in, immediately making a mad dash towards it.
-0-
An hour or so earlier, Hanataro was slowly awakening from another dream. Though his previous dreams were borderline nightmares, this one was pleasant.
In fact, it was great!
It was filled with delicious candies and snacks, everyone was really nice to him, he didn't get beat up or trip over himself, and everyone gave him gifts! Though, he found it strange that there was an abundance of pink in it.
He yawned the thought away and groggily glanced over at his clock. His eyes widened and he quickly panicked when he realized just how late he was for work, causing him to nearly break his skull against his nightstand as he scrambled out of his bed and into his shower.
After all was said and done, Hanataro rushed out of the shower and slipped against the wet floor. Before his head could make contact with the sink, he reached out for it and caught himself, taking in deep breaths as he realized just how close he had been to getting a concussion.
"O-okay, there's no point in rushing," Hanataro mumbled, sighing as he regained his composure, "I-I'm already late, so I'll just accept the consequences when I go see Isane and report for…"
"You forgot, didn't you, Hanataroooo," a familiar voice yawned. Hanataro tilted his head in confusion as he wondered what Hisagomaru was talking about. "Hint: Captain Unohana gave you the day ooooofff."
Hanataro paused for a moment and then smacked his forehead against his palm. How could he have forgotten that? He let out a small sigh before drying himself off, brushing his teeth and combing his hair afterwards, and getting dressed.
"I wonder what I'll do today," Hanataro sighed as he left his room, locking the door behind him. He thought about visiting some of the few friends he had, but discarded the idea. Most of them were in the world of the living and the rest of them were working right now, meaning he'd just get in their way if he went to visit them.
He sighed at this thought and began to wonder if he should visit Ganju. He hadn't seen the man in awhile, after all, and he didn't seem to have an actual job that Hanataro could get in the way of.
He brushed the thought away and decided he'd rather be alone right now.
"I should probably go to work…"
Hanataro shook the idea from his head and kicked it away. Before Unohana had left, a few days earlier, he had asked her for this break and she gladly gave it to him.
It seemed rude to him to waste her kindness.
A few minutes had gone by since he began his lonely wandering through the tiled streets of the Seireitei and he smiled at his fortune. Not one 11th Squad member came up to bother him. In fact, he hadn't seen any of them! They were probably having a 'reunion' at the 4th Squad Clinic after another Hollow hunting spree gone wrong.
"Maybe I should go to work, in case someone needs me…But then again, when did anyone need me?"
Hanataro sighed and decided to visit his brother's grave; he hadn't done that in awhile.
-0-
It didn't take long for him to arrive on one of the grassy plains within the Seireitei, with a sense of nostalgia filling him as he entered the forest before him, even more so when he spotted a familiar tree. Carved into it was the Yamada kanji which, like his memories of his brother, was faded but still there.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he traced the carving with his index finger, a powerful reminder of what his brother stood for and what his brother wanted him to become: a medic.
And his brother was the greatest medic he'd ever known, maybe even greater than Captain Unohana.
Hanataro reluctantly pulled away from the tree and continued down the path before him, eventually climbing a modestly steep slope. At the top of the slope was a black obelisk his brother had placed as a marker for their 'secret place.'
It wasn't his brother's grave; in fact his brother technically didn't have a grave, at least not one with a body in it. One day, he had been serving as a medic for a group of 2nd Squad members during some vague mission and a week later their bodies were found, mangled and ripped by Hollows.
The only indication that Hanataro's brother was dead was his blood stained lieutenant's badge, blood which Unohana sadly confirmed as having belonged to his brother.
It gave Hanataro a strange sense of hope that maybe his brother was still alive and well. But then that would mean accepting that his brother had knowingly abandoned him and the Soul Society, not returning when he obviously should have by now, something Hanataro found hard to swallow.
His brother loved him too much to do that.
He shook his head and approached the obelisk, immediately feeling woozy when his mind finally recognized how much spiritual pressure the black marker was producing. He collapsed to his knees and let out a pained groan as he struggled to get back to his feet, his breathing becoming shaky.
"H-huh, who's th-there," a familiar voice sniffled. Hanataro was more than shocked to see little Yachiru poke her head out from behind the obelisk, furiously rubbing away any tears remaining on her face.
"Who are you?"
Hanataro attempted to speak, but her spiritual pressure made that difficult. She realized what was going on and quickly suppressed it, much to his relief.
"I-I'm Hanataro Yamada."
She stared at him curiously as he got to his feet, giving her a bow, and proceeded to wipe her eyes again. Once she was sure her face was tear-free, Yachiru hopped to her feet and walked over to the Soul Reaper.
"I'm Yachiru," she mumbled, sniffling slightly, "Did Kenny send you to find me?"
"Kenny? Who are you talking-oh! C-Captain Zaraki," Hanataro exclaimed, shivering slightly as an image of the demon-like Captain appeared in his mind, "N-no, he didn't, I was just coming out here to see that obelisk right there, see?"
Hanataro pointed to the object, as if to prove his point, and Yachiru sadly glanced over at it.
"Oh," she mumbled, turning away from the boy. She walked past the obelisk and took a seat on the lush grass, cradling her knees to her chest, and stared out at the Seireitei.
"What's wrong, Lieutenant Yachiru," Hanataro asked, cautiously approaching her.
"Nothing," she mumbled, sparing the boy a quick glance before returning her sights to the Seireitei, "I just want to be alone right now."
"That's ironic," Hanataro accidently thought out loud, quickly covering his mouth in shock after doing so. After a few seconds of no response from the lieutenant, Hanataro slowly removed his hands and gulped, wondering what he should do.
He didn't really feel comfortable leaving her here, all by herself. Then again, she did want to be alone and she is the lieutenant of the most vicious Squad in the Gotei 13.
Then again, she is still just a little girl.
He cautiously approached her and reluctantly sat down next to her. She glanced over at him, obviously surprised, but quickly looked away to hide her (even redder) blushing face.
"What exactly does he think he's doing," she wondered, sparing him another quick glance.
Even Hanataro wasn't sure what he was doing. He considered asking her what she was doing here or why she had been crying before, something any idiot with 20/20 vision could see. Maybe he should just let the silence speak for itself?
"Lieutenant Yachiru?"
Or not.
"What," she asked, almost angrily.
"Is there something wrong?"
The girl didn't respond, instead she bit her lip and frowned. She looked over at him, her eyes somewhat watery, and attempted to say something only to quickly turn away. She shifted slightly in the grass and seemed to cradle her knees tighter.
"Kenny doesn't want to play with me…nobody wants to play with me…" she finally replied, receiving a sympathetic look from Hanataro.
"I'll play with you, Lieutenant," Hanataro said, receiving a surprised look from the girl. She stared at him for awhile, her face slowly brightening as a grin stretched across it, and hopped to her feet.
"Really, you'll play with me," she beamed. Hanataro nodded and her grin widened as she hopped up and down, "Yay, Hana's gonna play with me!" After latching onto the boy's arm, Yachiru forcefully pulled Hanataro to his feet, surprising him, "Let's play-um, what should we play first, Hana?"
He suggested "Tag" and Yachiru happily agreed. Though, it didn't take long for their game to end, as Hanataro could never outrun or catch Yachiru. She frowned at his lack of speed, but soon giggled and teased him about it.
"I'll call you Slowpokey," she giggled, "Because you move so slowly!"
Hanataro sighed at this, but couldn't really deny it. If Yachiru was some common 11th Squad thug he'd have an easier time outrunning her; but he wouldn't run after her, he's not suicidal after all.
They moved on to "hide and seek," something Hanataro had a lot more success at.
"You found me," Yachiru beamed for the umpteenth time, "Now it's your turn again!"
She closed her eyes and began to count to 10, allowing Hanataro enough time to hide, "Ready or not, here I come!" It didn't take her long to find him, but she seemed a little frustrated.
"No fair, Hana! Your spiritual pressure is so low that I'm having a hard time tracking you," she playfully frowned, "But I forgive you, hehe!"
"Um, th-thank you," Hanataro replied, not sure how to respond. The girl giggled again and latched onto Hanataro's arm, pulling him into a hug. He felt his stomach tighten with a strange feeling, probably because of how hard she was hugging him, and his face began to heat up.
Was he blushing?
Yachiru sure was, as she quickly pulled and looked away from him, "Y-your welcome, Hana…"
A long, awkward silence ensued between the two of them before Hanataro cleared his throat and casually got to his feet, brushing himself off before kneeling down and placing a hand on Yachiru's tiny shoulder.
"Do you want to go back now," he kindly asked her.
She bit her lip and looked up at the obelisk from before, "Not yet, I wanna stay with yo-I mean…I wanna stay here a little longer." Slipping her hand into his, she led Hanataro back to the obelisk and sat down with him.
"Kenny probably wouldn't like you," Yachiru stated as a matter of fact, pointing at Hanataro, "Your spiritual pressure is too low and you don't look like much of a fighter…"
"Well…I don't do much fighting," Hanataro replied, "Being in the 4th Squad doesn't help either, n-not that I don't like being a medic."
"Kenny really wouldn't like you then," Yachiru giggled. She let out a small sigh, lying down on the soft grass beneath her, and stared at the pure blue sky above her.
Hanataro followed her example.
As time went on without either of them speaking, Hanataro's mind began to wander from the blue sky above him to the pink-haired girl beside him. He'd occasionally seen the girl during his work hours, giggling as she clung to the back of her adoptive father (who was most likely looking for a fight, judging by the way his demon yellow eye scanned the people that nervously walked past him).
She was rather loud, as he recalled, and somewhat annoying, but there was an undeniable level of cuteness to everything she did; every giggle she let out, every hop she took. Now that she was this close to him, he couldn't help but feel that level of cuteness heighten.
Her tiny face, with blush dashed on her cheeks, those reddish-brown eyes of hers, the way her chest slowly rose and fell to repeat the pattern as she breathed. It was, to say the least, adorable and…
Hanataro felt something strange bubbling inside of him, a weird emotion that he felt sick about feeling. He wondered what it was, but he knew it wasn't right, it wasn't okay to feel this way about the girl.
She's just a child, after all.
"Hana?"
Hanataro's eyes widened when the girl's voice finally registered with his mind, breaking him out of his trance.
"Y-yes, Lieutenant Yachiru?"
"Hmmm, just call me 'Yachiru' or 'Chiru,'" the girl frowned, "Lieutenant Yachiru sounds too formal and un-fun…"
"Okay, what's on your mind…Yachiru…" Hanataro reluctantly dropped her title, something he had never done with a superior officer. The girl turned her head to smile at him.
"How come you came here, I mean why'd you want to see that obely thing right there?"
"Uh, well, my brother used to take me here and we'd stare out at the Seireitei together before he died…" Hanataro replied, shifting slightly in the grass, "I used to dislike coming here because of that ledge over there."
Yachiru followed his finger and crawled over to the ledge, "Hmmm, it's not too far to the bottom."
"Yeah, but that seven feet drop might as well have been a bottomless pit when I was around your age…"
Yachiru let out an acknowledging 'Hmmm' as she peered over the ledge, squinting at the grassy land below. She leaned farther and farther out until, much to Hanataro's dismay, she fell over the edge.
"Y-Yachiru!"
She wasn't scared or anything, in fact the fall was kind of refreshing. Though she could have done without the surge of pain that ran through her when she hit the ground, causing her to let out a pained groan as her body rolled away from the point of impact.
Hanataro quickly jumped after her, clumsily landing on his feet, and rushed to her side.
"A-are you okay," the boy frantically asked, gently slipping his hands beneath the girl as he helped her sit up.
"I-I'm fine, I just-ah," Yachiru exclaimed as she sat up, cutting her index finger against a strangely sharp rock. Hanataro gently removed one of his hands to hold hers and examined her finger, "Can you make it better?"
Hanataro nodded, raising his own index finger to hers. A soft blue light radiated from it and Yachiru's wound slowly closed, the only evidence of it having been there being the faint trail of blood leading from it.
Hanataro gently cupped her face with his hand, causing her to blush, and healed the bruise she had received on her cheek.
"Thank you, but, um…" Yachiru blushed a bit as she raised her index finger, "It still feels kinda sore, can you kiss it to make it feel better?"
Hanataro was taken aback by this request, blushing slightly, but agreed. He gently pressed his lips against the girl's finger tip and slowly pulled away. Yachiru, blushing even harder, leaned closer to the boy, bashfully scratching her cheek.
"N-now, can you kiss my cheek? It's still kinda sore, too."
Hanataro gave the blushing girl another taken aback look. She looked away from him, wondering if he thought she was weird for asking him to do something like that, and told him he didn't have to do it if he didn't want to.
To her surprise, he actually did it; though, it was just a quick peck.
But he did it nonetheless.
She gently rested her hand against where his lips had been and smiled, giggling as well. "Okay, hehe, now I feel all better," she exclaimed, hopping to her feet. She paused for a moment when a bubbly, Japanese pop song suddenly caught her attention. It dawned on her, as she dug around in her pockets, that her cell phone had left her person.
"What's this," Hanataro mumbled as he picked up a pick cell phone a few inches from him.
"Can you answer that for me," Yachiru asked, receiving a nod from the boy.
"Hel-"
"Where the hell are you, brat," a familiar, gruff voice interrupted Hanataro, sending a chill down his spine. He remained silent with fear for a few seconds, swallowing hard before attempting to answer the demon-like Captain.
"Answer me, I know you're there, Yachiru."
"Um, actually, I'm not Yachiru…" Hanataro replied, causing the man on the other end of the line to go silent.
"Well then who the hell are you and what the hell do you think you're doing with Yachiru's cell phone," Zaraki growled, sending another chill down Hanataro's spine, "Where the hell is she?"
"Who are you talking to, Hanataro," Yachiru curiously asked.
"Hanataro," Zaraki mumbled, obviously having over heard the girl, "That's your name, huh, kid?"
"U-uh, I'm talking to Captain Zaraki right now, Yachiru. Would you like to talk to him," Hanataro asked, silently hoping she'd say yes.
"Okay," the girl beamed, promptly snatching the cell phone from the boy, "Hi Kenny!"
"Tch, where are you and who's that kid hanging out with you, didn't I tell you not to go around talking to strangers?"
"Silly, Hanataro's not a stranger, he's my boyfriend!"
A long pause ensued on the end of the line with Yachiru asking whether or not Zaraki was okay.
"Your boyfriend…" Zaraki growled.
"Yep, he even kissed me!"
"Let me talk to the little fu-"
Yachiru promptly handed the phone to Hanataro, who reluctantly (very reluctantly) took it from her. He took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat before finally placing the phone against his ear.
"C-Captain Zaraki, it's not what you think, I was just-"
"Listen hear, kid, I already know you're name, all I need is your face and you're a dead man, got it? It's only a matter of time before I find and kill you in the most gruesome way po-"
Hanataro quickly closed the phone and handed it back to Yachiru, who tucked it back into her pocket.
Zaraki would kill him later, he was sure of it.
"What did Kenny say?"
"Uh, he said for me to bring you back to the Seireitei, now, as in right now."
She looked at him with disappointment and underlying sadness, letting out a loud whine as she flailed her arms, "But I wanna play with you still!" She calmed down, somewhat, when Hanataro explained that he'd play with her later, a smile forming on her blushing face.
"You promise," she asked, holding out her pinky.
"I promise," Hanataro smiled, interlocking her pinky with his.
-0-
"Owww, my legs are kinda sore, Hana," the boy remembered Yachiru whining, "Can you carry me, please?"
He, at first, politely refused to do so. But as time went on, and her pestering and whines grew louder, Hanataro finally gave in.
She giggled as he swept her off her feet and cradled her close to his chest, "Kenny always lets me ride on his shoulders or piggy-back ride, but I like this too!"
Hanataro let out a nervous laugh at this as he remembered what Kenpachi had said to him awhile ago.
"Looks like Hanataro's got a girlfriend," a random Soul Reaper laughed, along with others, as Hanataro carried Yachiru past them. There were more accusations like this, each turning Hanataro's face a deeper red. He glanced down at a giggling Yachiru, her face a bashful red as she snuggled closer to Hanataro's chest.
To her they were speaking the truth…Maybe to Hanataro as well…
"You should come with me, Hana," Yachiru whined, tugging at the sleeve of his shirt as he gently placed her on the ground, a few feet away from the Kuchiki Manor, "I wanna show you to the rest of the SWA!"
"But, I'm a man and…"
"No you're not," Yachiru exclaimed, shocking Hanataro, "You're a boyfriend, not a manfriend!"
Hanataro let out a relieved sigh, "But, Yachiru I-I…I…I…oh my god…"
His eyes widened when, off in the distance, he spotted Kenpachi talking to some random Soul Reaper. Well, it was more like interrogating judging by the way Kenpachi had his hand around the Soul Reaper's throat.
Hanataro couldn't see Kenpachi's face, but he could see the Soul Reaper's; a face filled with such intense fear and desperation that the Soul Reaper looked like he was about to faint after pointing in Hanataro's direction.
Before Kenpachi could fully turn his head to look in Hana's direction, the boy was already gone, leaving behind a somewhat confused Yachiru.
"Hana wasn't that fast before," she hummed, feeling a familiar presence loom over her, "Oh, hi, Kenny!" She jumped up to the man and gave him a quick hug before dropping down to the ground.
"Where is he," Kenpachi mumbled with underlying malicious intent. It took Yachiru a few seconds before she figured out who he was talking about.
"Hana had to leave, but he promised to play with me later. How come you want to know?"
Kenpachi remained silent for a few seconds, just staring at the girl. Yachiru could tell he was getting angrier as time went on, even if he didn't openly show it.
"Did that punk, Hanataro, really kiss you," he finally asked through gritted teeth.
"Of course he did, silly!"
"How old is the bastard…"
"I dunno, maybe 60 years or so older than me…"
That tore it. Without saying a word, Kenpachi gently nudged the girl out of his way and walked past her. Yachiru tilted her head in confusion and glanced around at all the people Kenpachi had just KO'd with his spiritual pressure.
-0-
"Hello, Yachiru," Isane greeted the pink-haired girl as she happily skipped into the SWA meeting room, "I'm glad to see that you're feeling better."
Yachiru merely nodded and giggled, before hopping into her chair. She hummed merrily as she spun around on its wheels, her zanpakuto spinning with her. Nanao barely managed to avoid getting hit by the Lieutenant's sword before she abruptly stopped Yachiru's spinning.
"President Yachiru," Nanao began, releasing her grip on the Lieutenant's chair to adjust her glasses, "Please don't do that anymore, need I remind you what happened last time?"
A brief vision of Byakuya angry, no, completely enraged, flashed through the Lieutenant's mind and she gave Nanao a quick nod.
The bespectacled woman adjusted her glasses again before turning her attention to all the women in the room, "Now, let's start today's meeting with open discussions. Does anyone have anything to say or have any topics they'd like to discuss?"
Before anyone had the chance to say anything, Yachiru shouted out, at the top of her lungs and with a resounding pound of her fist against the meeting table, "Love!"
The women of the SWA looked at Yachiru with shock and confusion, well, except for Nemu. Yachiru awkwardly shifted her eyes between the silent women, slowly removing her fist from the table, and nervously laughed.
Surprisingly, the first person to break the awkward silence was Nemu.
"What do you mean by Love," she asked the pink haired girl, receiving a confused look from her, "As in, what definition of 'Love' are you talking about? There are many, so I would like some clarification before giving my input on the subject."
"Oh…w-well, I'm talking about the kind of love you feel when you, w-well, when you really like someone and you kinda wanna spend a lot of time with them…That kind of love…"
Yachiru's voice was unusually quiet, but loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
"What aspect of this definition of love do you wish to discuss? How to get rid of it, how to contain it, how to control it, how to get the one you love to reciprocate your feelings for him or her-"
"Wa-wait, let's slow down a bit," Isane interrupted Nemu, laughing nervously, "Um, Yachiru who exactly do you, um, love?"
"Um, well, his name is Hanataro…"
"H-H-Hanataro, why do you love Hanataro," Isane stammered.
"Because he was really nice to me, a-and he kissed me," Yachiru replied, suddenly feeling uncomfortable about this. Isane looked at her with surprise, but soon repressed it and gently gripped the girl's shoulder.
"Where did he kiss you," Isane asked, loud enough for Yachiru to her, but low enough that the others couldn't (or hardly could).
Yachiru timidly raised her index finger and Isane breathed a sigh of relief. She smiled sympathetically at the girl and patted her head, "It's just a crush."
Yachiru looked at her with confusion and angrily shook her head, "No it's not. This is love! L-O-V-E! Luuuuvvvv!"
Before Isane could reply, she felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around her stomach, "Awwww, c'mon sis, can't ya see how much Yachiru likes Hanataro?" Isane shot Kiyone a look of confusion from over her shoulder and began to stammer.
"Let's just humor her for now," Kiyone whispered into her sister's ear, "It may just be a crush, but it's not like it'll devastate her if we let her live it out…She'll eventually grow out of this, right?"
Isane paused for a moment before giving her sister a thoughtful nod and turning her attention towards Yachiru, "Okay then, what do you want to talk about?"
"Um, well, I want to…I'm not sure what I want to do. We only started dating today…hmmm…I want to show Hanataro how I feel about him…or something like that…"
"Perhaps buying him a gift would be sufficient, though, usually the male of the relationship provides the female with gifts," Nemu suggested, "Gifts are especially effective if given to the recipient on their birthday.
"I don't have any money, Kenny says I waste too much," Yachiru sighed, emptying out her pockets to prove her point. "Oh, what if I make him a cake! Yeah, I'll make him a cake for his birthday and then we'll eat it together by the sunny sunset!"
"Do we even have stuff to make the cake with," Kiyone chimed in.
"Oh, I'm sure Byakuya won't mind us using some of his cooking materials," Unohana smiled as she walked into the room.
-0-
"It looks good," Kiyone nodded as she watched her sister mixing the cake materials, "But it needs something…hmmmm…"
Isane stopped mixing, letting out a small sigh of relief, and looked over at her sister, "What do you mean? This is exactly what the cake mix is supposed to be like…what else could it possibly need?"
Kiyone ignored her sister, snapping her fingers when she finally realized what the cake needed, "Sake! That's what it needs!"
Before any of the women around her could protest, Kiyone produced a smooth, porcelain bottle with a cork on it from her person. After removing the cork she attempted to pour its contents in to the bowl of cake mix, but was immediately stopped by a frantic Isane.
"K-Kiyone, they're not old enough to drink and I don't approve of drinking anyways!"
"I know," Kiyone giggled, placing the bottle back where she pulled it from, "I was just kidding around! Now, let's bake this thing!"
And bake it they did.
The women gathered around Unohana as she laced the fluffy treat with pink icing and nodded to each other. It was, perhaps, the greatest cake ever made…at least the greatest cake made for two people ever made…
"It looks delicious," Soifon stated with an underlying desire to devour the fluffy pink mass of goodness before her, "…Perhaps we should test to see if it's okay to eat…"
"Nooooooooo," Yachiru whined, swiping the cake away, "This is for me and Hanataroooo…"
"Awww, but it looks so good," Kiyone giggled, playfully pretending to reach out for the cake.
"Now, Kiyone, this cake is for Yachiru and Hanataro," Unohana smiled, patting the pink-haired girl on her tiny head. Kiyone nodded, smiling, and Unohana turned her attention to the pink-haired girl beside her.
"Do you think Hanataro will like it," Yachiru timidly asked the Captain, blushing as she stared at the cake in her hands.
"He'll love it."
-0-
Hanataro let out a relieved, yet bored, sigh as he sat under an oak tree. "Captain Zaraki will never find me here," he mumbled as he rested his head against the tree's grayish brown bark. Inevitably, as he thought about what Zaraki would do to him if he caught him, he began to think about Yachiru.
"He's my boyfriend!"
"You promise?"
He frowned as those two phrases kept throbbing in his head, irritating him. It was more like a confusing irritation. He didn't know how to respond to Yachiru's claims that he was her boyfriend, and wondered whether or not he should have told her that she was just crushing on him.
It was, after all, a phase. At least that's what he thought. Maybe she really did want him as a boy-who was he kidding?
"Why do I even care? She'll just grow out of this, she'll realize how much of a loser I am and she'll just move on to her next crush…" he bitterly mumbled, shifting slightly in the grass.
It was better that way, he guessed. It would keep him alive and she'd grow up to experience love and all that other junk.
He wasn't even sure how he felt about her. He liked the girl, but did he really like her, as in, really 'like' her? Not the protective sort of 'like' he kinda felt when he first saw her alone by the obelisk; the sort of 'like' he felt when he blushed at the sight of her cute, smiling face as she lied beside him on the grassy hill.
He cringed at this feeling and began to wonder what was wrong with him…
"Happy Birthday, Hana!"
Hanataro's eyes widened and he quickly looked up into the tree's many branches, spotting little Yachiru happily sitting on one. "I brought you a cake," she giggled as she jumped from her perch, gracefully landing in the young healer's lap.
He grunted as he caught the girl's weight and smiled at her giggling, slowly shifting his eyes to the pink box she held in her hands. "Tada," Yachiru exclaimed, popping open the box's lid to reveal the cake she had helped make for them.
"Oh, thank you, Lieu-I-I mean, thank you, Yachiru…but…" Hanataro smiled, pausing as he counted something on his fingers, "…but my birthday was 5 months and 8 days ago…"
Yachiru gave him a saddened 'Oh' look, "B-but we can still enjoy the cake, right?"
"O-of course," the boy smiled, receiving one in return from the giggling girl still happily resting on his lap.
-0-
Hanataro was amazed, to say the least, that so much stuff was stuffed into that cake box. He watched as Yachiru skillfully laid out a blanket and produced three plates, one for the cake itself and two for her and Hanataro.
"W-would you like me to help you Yachiru," Hanataro thoughtfully asked, feeling guilty at letting her do all this by herself. She shook her head and smiled at him as she dug through the box, eventually pulling out two sporks and a knife.
"I did all this for you, Taro," she giggled, placing the forks on their respective plates, "So I'll do all the setting up, okay? Besides, I'm almost done."
Hanataro nodded, watching her finish the preparations.
"There," she exclaimed, taking a seat next to Hanataro, "Now we're ready to eat…Ummm…You can have the first piece if you want to…"
Hanataro was about to protest, out of 'no, you go first' politeness, but hesitated as he stared into the girl's eyes. They were pleading and expecting; she didn't ask, necessarily, out of selflessness, but impatience.
She wanted to know how he felt about her creation as soon as possible.
He gave her a slight nod, removing the knife from its resting place, and casually cut himself a piece of the cake. She watched nervously as Hanataro bit into his piece, worrying whether or not he would spit it out and yell at her.
"D-do you like it, Taro," she timidly asked, her nervousness peaking.
"I love it," he grinned, blushing as he quickly finished his piece.
"Really," Yachiru giggled, receiving a nod from the boy, "I'm glad you liked it!"
An hour or so went by as they talked and ate the rest of the cake, now deciding they should both rest comfortably against the oak tree looming over them. Yachiru, gently resting her head on her 'boyfriend's' shoulder, looked up at the young healer.
He wasn't strong, a fact she had stated already, but he didn't need to be; after all, that wasn't something she was particularly interested in.
He was cute, a plus, but still it wasn't what she liked about the boy.
It was the kindness he showed her, a kindness that was apparent in every move he made. For example, just a few seconds ago Hanataro had gently adjusted his shoulder to where she could comfortably rest her head on it.
That kindness even showed in his eyes.
She stared up at the light blue gems, gently raising her hand to brush back a strand of the boy's hair that interfered with her sight. She pulled back when she realized he was now staring at her for doing so, a slight blush appearing on both their faces.
"I-I'm sorry," she whispered, looking away from the boy.
"Heh, it's okay," the boy smiled, wrapping his arm around Yachiru's waist. The girl looked at him with almost the same amount of surprise he felt at his spur of the moment action and blushed again, making her own surprising move.
She moved her head closer to his chest, snuggling against it as she contently closed her eyes, "This is how it should be, right?"
Hanataro wondered what she meant, shifting his body so the girl could rest comfortably on his chest. She sighed, giggling afterwards, before continuing.
"This is how a boyfriend and girlfriend should spend their time together, right?"
Hanataro felt his stomach tighten at this question. He wondered if he should end this right now, if he should tell her (gently, of course) that she just has a crush on him.
Or, should he continue this façade, which isn't as façade-like as he believed (or would like to believe) it was.
"Yeah, you're right," he whispered loud enough for her to hear, feeling her smile against his chest after he did so.
"You'd like to think so, huh, kid?"
Hanataro froze when he realized whose voice that was.
"Kenny," Yachiru happily exclaimed, still snuggling against Hanataro's chest, "What are you doing here?"
Kenpachi cocked an eyebrow at this; usually she'd be all over him by now. "I came here looking for you," he finally replied, his eye never moving away from Hanataro for even a split second, "…Is this your 'boyfriend?'"
Yachiru nodded happily and Hanataro silently began to pray as Kenpachi reached for his fragile throat, easily lifting him from the ground after doing so. He struggled to breathe as the demon Captain's grip on his throat tightened, his life flashing before his eyes as Yachiru yelled for 'Kenny' to let him go.
His eyes slammed shut as he felt his last breath being squeezed out of his almost broken throat, a heavy darkness falling around him.
"What the hell's wrong with you, kid?"
Hanataro opened his eyes and looked at the eye-patch wearing Captain looming over him, a look of curiosity showing in his revealed eye.
"Are you okay, Taro," Yachiru worriedly asked, pressing the back of her head against the boy's forehead, "Did Kenny scare you?"
"U-u-uh, no, I was just, I…Y-you're not going to strangle me to death and leave my body hanging in the tree branches above me?"
"Tch, maybe later, kid," Kenpachi grinned, his inhumanly jagged teeth showing, "But I'll let you slide for now, after all, you did look after this little brat here…"
"Hey, don't threaten Taro like that," Yachiru pouted, receiving a gravelly laugh from the 11th Squad Captain, "And I won't let you hurt him, Kenny!"
"Whatever," Kenpachi grinned, his arms folded as he began to scrutinize Hanataro's looks, "Huh, scrawny little kid, aren't ya? And your spiritual pressure's kinda strange, but weak…or maybe it's just faint? You're not suppressing it, are you?"
"U-uh, no, Captain Zaraki, I-I'm not suppressing…my spiritual pressure…"
Zaraki obviously didn't believe him, judging by his grunt-like scoff. "It doesn't matter, at least not right now…Let's go home, Yachiru…" he yawned, turning to leave with the pink-haired girl following after him.
She stopped abruptly, pivoting on her heels as she turned around and returned to Hanataro's side. "Ummm…" she stammered, blushing as she twiddled her thumbs, "I wanna give you your present, I-I know it's late but I still want to give you one…"
"O-okay."
"Alright, now, umm, close your eyes, okay?"
Hanataro nodded and followed her order. He slowly opened them after what felt like an eternity and stared at a happily blushing Yachiru.
"Now we're even and then some," she giggled before returning to her adoptive father's side.
Hanataro slowly raised his index finger to touch where the girl's lips had been, a quiet smile forming on his blushing face. It was quickly replaced by fear when he realized Kenpachi had been watching.
"I hope your head's straight about this, kid," Kenpachi grinned maliciously, "I'd hate to see this brat on my shoulders being hurt by some neglectful punk…But, I won't have to worry about that happening with you, right?"
Hanataro gave him several nods.
"Good," he smirked, turning to leave with Yachiru clinging to his back. "Heh, don't you busy-bodies have something better to do than spy on people," Kenpachi laughed as he walked past a strangely large bush.
The women of the SWA cautiously emerged from the bush a few seconds later, each relatively shocked by what had just happened, with Isane being the most shocked.
"Well," Kiyone nervously laughed as she gently placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, "I don't think she's going to be growing out of this 'phase' anytime soon."