The Devil of the 80th
Kenpachi Zaraki, better known as the captain of the 11th division and the most bloodthirsty, fight crazy captain of the Gotei 13, or 13 Point Guard Squad, surveyed the area for good opponents. No one he was aloud to fight was around, or strong enough. He had long black hair and wore an eye patch over his right eye. His optics were a grey color and his skin was tan. A long, thin scar ran over his left eye from his forehead to his chin. His captain's haori was torn from the old captain, which he'd defeated without a bankai.
You see he used to live in the Rukongai, or Rukon District. It's also known as the wandering soul city. As the numbers got higher, the worse the district was. There were 80 districts. The 1st district was the purest of the districts. The 80th, where Kenpachi used to live, was the most crime infested of them all.
His lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, rested upon his broad shoulder. She was about seven. Her small stature was deceiving, as she was almost as fast and strong as her much older, larger captain. She had pink hair with red-ish mahogany eyes, which were large and innocent. He found Yachiru while fighting in one of the many districts. She came from the 79th district as a small child. She wasn't afraid of his size or his bloody sword. In fact, she got blood on her small hand and giggled. Neither of them had a name until Kenpachi gave them to them. He was like a father to her. A very odd father.
Just then, Kenpachi spotted a 4th divisioner. She was thin with long black hair and innocent black eyes. She was sweeping and idly humming a soft, mellow, happy tune. A smile was stretched across her childish face as she did her duties. The corners of his mouth twitched into a devilish grin. His sharp teeth glinted in the afternoon sky, catching the girl's eye. She stopped humming and waved joyously. Kenpachi remembered her. She was his favorite punching bag. 'What was her name? Hichi, Michi, Kichi? Ahh whatever,' he thought.
"Oh, hello, Captain Zaraki," she greeted.
"Hey… What's your name?" he snapped.
"Who me? I didn't expect you to remember. My name is Ichi," she responded kindly.
"Yeah that's it! Hey! You want to make me happy? I'm feeling a bit down, seeing as there's no one around to make me feel good."
"Oh yes! Of course I do, Captain!" She was always trying to make people happy. As she's said to many people, those around her governed her emotions. If someone was unhappy, so was she. She let people beat her to a bloody pulp so they'd cheer up. It was just the kind of person she was.
Kenpachi lifted up Ichi by the collar of her typical shinigami shirt. She just smiled as he pummeled her and beat her. He threw a final punch and she must have flown backward roughly ten feet. Yachiru cheered.
"Go, Kenny!" she exclaimed, giggling squeakily. Ichi stood.
"Oh Yachiru. That's not the best part," Kenpachi whispered in response. Ichi turned her back to them and when she did so, Kenpachi made his way over as she continued her work. He reared back his foot and whipped upward it into her behind. She flew another ten feet into the air with a screechy squeal of surprised and came barreling down to the tiled ground head first. She landed with a loud clank-ish thump. Blood poured out onto the smooth tiles from the girl's broken skull. She lay there, helpless and unconscious. Kenpachi looked at her for a moment, unsure if she was alive. When he determined she was as Yachiru called it 'sleeping' he decided to keep her that way so he could beat up later, or so he thought. He lifted her with great ease and carried her to the 4th division hospital, where she was healed and now rested in her own bed at the barracks. This was the first time Kenpachi actually got a good look at the seemingly meek girl. She may not have had the best muscle, but her nails were long, strong, and sharp. He looked curiously at 5 scars that adorned his arm in the same pattern fingernails would. They were round as if they'd pierced his skin. He figured he'd got them from her. But how? She never even tried to hurt anyone, let alone him. He looked from her hands to her face. It was kind of fat, but in a childish kind of way, like Yachiru, and in her mouth, which was slightly ajar, her teeth were exposed. He got closer for a better look. Her canine teeth were sharper and slightly larger than his own. Why would she have those? He remembered two more scars on his shoulder. He didn't put too much thought into it.
Retsu, captain of the 4th division, stepped in. Kenpachi craned his neck around to see her. Retsu sighed.
"Captain Zaraki," Retsu addressed.
"Captain Unohana," Kenpachi responded flatly.
"She's lost a lot of blood and she'll need a transplant. You can't keep doing this to my men and women. We can't find her records because Hanataro tripped in the file room and they scattered, so we don't know who has the same blood type as her," she informed him grimly. Kenpachi grunted. Ichi's eyes fluttered open.
"Nn? Oh… What's going on?" Ichi inquired.
"Ichi… I don't know how else to say it but you've lost too much blood. Do you have any way to remember who has your blood type?"
"Captain… Zaraki… we have the same blood type," she responded weakly.
"Alright… Ichi… You go back to sleep, alright?"
"Ok, Captain." With that she fell back into a slumber.
"The question I have is are you willing to give her your blood?" Kenpachi looked at Ichi, then the floor, then back to Ichi. He was obviously debating. Retsu looked at him disapprovingly.
"Yeah… Now how do we do it?" Retsu brought him to a room with a table of supplies and lifted a needle from the tray. Kenpachi gulped. "You… need… to use that… that thing?"
"Yes. Are you still willing?"
"Y-yeah." Lifting the needle, she extracted some blood. Bringing him into the other room, she injected some into Ichi's arm, then took some more, injected some more, and did this for a bit. Ichi's pale cheeks had gained some more color and the steady beat of the IV beeped monotonously. Kenpachi pulled a chair up to the bed and sat, waiting for her to wake up. Retsu left the room. Looking down at her, Kenpachi waited for her to wake up.
Three days later, Ichi's optics opened. Kenpachi was asleep in the chair. Ichi sat up and looked at him. She felt cold herself, so she, though she was very small, pulled him into the bed and put the blanket on him. She scuttled from the room. After a moment, she walked back in and took all the bells in his hair, grinning in an entertained way. She ran back out, giggling.
Hours later, Kenpachi awoke. He blinked away the tiredness in his eyes for a moment or two. The sun was now streaming through the window onto his face and burned his eyes as he opened them completely. He sat up and blinked again. Where was the jingle? His hair was up but his bells were gone. Someone took them. He sighed. Looking around him, he noticed he wasn't in the barracks of his own division. What was he doing in the 4th's barracks? He shuffled out and to his own turf, where he noticed his 4th seat, Arashi, beating on poor Hanataro. He nodded approvingly to her.
"Good job, Arashi," Kenpachi addressed the steely haired girl.
"Thanks, Captain," Arashi responded, smirking. Hanataro just whined and tried to drag his little frail body away, just to be caught by being jumped on. Kenpachi snickered.
"Yeah, yeah, sliver," he said, sneering. She gave him a look to say 'if I could kill you, I would right now.' He merely chuckled. "Oi! Arashi… You seen that small black haired girl from the 4th?"
"Nah."
"What about you, punching bag?"
"No…" Hanataro whined. Kenpachi growled and moved on. Turning back, he looked back at his 4th seat.
"Leave the bag and help me find her!"
"Hn? Why? Gonna beat her up?"
"Y-yeah." Kenpachi continued walking with Arashi in tow. The jingling of his bells caught their attention. Both heads whipped around to see Ichi tying the bells to strings and dangling them from a shelf she seemingly created herself. Lying down on the ground, she began batting at them like a cat.
"There she is!" Arashi bellowed. Ichi looked over from the bells, still smiling.
"Go Arashi. I have it from here," Kenpachi ordered. Arashi reluctantly walked away, but hid behind a wall, peeking around the corner. She wasn't about to miss this. To her surprise, Kenpachi picked little Ichi up and just looked down at her. Ichi blinked a few times, then turned towards the bells and tried to bat at them again. He raised a brow ridge. "What the heck? You got ADD or something?" Ichi giggled as he put her down and she started hitting the bells again.
"Mmhmm!" she responded happily. Kenpachi plainly went and bought some Ritalin and returned, shoving some down her throat. Ichi began clawing at her throat, gasping for air and hacking up a lung. Kenpachi panicked. He hadn't a clue what to do except watch as she suffered. A few moments later, she calmed down and let her labored breathing flow in and out of her lungs. Kenpachi's eyes were wide in shock. Ichi merely smiled.
"I'm allergic to Ritalin," she stated plainly, still grinning weakly. He nodded solemnly. Arashi gasped sharply but quietly. 'Why is he showing such mercy and kindness to her?! She's from the 4th' she thought angrily. Kenpachi turned after lifting Ichi once more and taking the bells off the shelf. Arashi, being in the 11th, wasn't being the brightest and just stood there in awe. Kenpachi walked by.
"I told you to go!" he roared at her. Arashi bolted from the scene. Kenpachi scowled, aggravated at his subordinate's insolence. Ichi squeaked as he dangled the bell above her while he walked. Again she swatted at the bells, giggling all the while. Kenpachi smiled. Not his adrenaline lined grin, but a soft, actually kind smile. She wrapped her arms and legs around his as she nipped at the small, reflective sphere. He chuckled slightly at her adorable attempts of biting the ball that she had apparently grown attached to somehow. She dropped off his arm and into his other and he cradled her like a baby. A soft coo escaped her lips, as if she were a baby. "Aw!" He pulled her into a bear hug. She squeaked in both surprise and the air being forced from her lungs. He put her down so she could walk on her own.
"You're being aweful nice, Captain Zaraki," Ichi finally said.
"Call me Kenny," he said softly.
"Ok, Kenny." She grabbed onto his finger and looked up to him. Kenpachi smiled a little wider and began walking with her slightly trailing behind him.
Arashi bolted into the 11th division barracks. Ikkaku sauntered over, quirking a brow.
"Yo, Silver… What's up?" he inquired, crossing his arms.
"The captain," Arashi breathed. Ikkaku's expression changed slightly from curiosity to slight concern.
"What about the captain?"
"He's being nice," she hissed. Ikkaku stood still for a moment, thinking apparently.
"To who?"
"A 4th divisioner!" Ikkaku again stood still. After a moment, he burst out laughing hysterically. "Shut up!" she spat. He just laughed harder. "What's so funny, Baldy?" He stopped.
"The captain? Being nice to a 4th? You're insane," he responded, eyeing her angrily for the bald comment.
"I swear it it's true! Go take a look for yourself!"
"Fine I think I will!" With that, Ikkaku left to find Kenpachi, his bald head glimmering in the dimming daylight. Not too long after he left, he found him and little Ichi, who was still holding on to his bony finger. Ikkaku quirked both brows. "Captain?"
"Yeah Ikkaku?" the large man responded.
"What're you doing?"
"Escorting Ichi here to our barracks."
"Why is a better question then."
"That's on a need to know basis…"
"Does she even know?"
"… No…" Ichi just smiled. Ikkaku balled his hand into a fist and thrust his arm toward her. Kenpachi caught the punch with ease and threw it right back at him but 10 times harder. Ikkaku flew backwards about 30 or 40 feet. Ichi squeaked.
"Please don't hurt him…" Ichi piped. Kenpachi looked at her skeptically.
"Why not? He tried to hit you!"
"That's ok. I don't mind being hit."
"Well from now on don't you dare let anyone hit you. If someone tries, whistle for me, ok?" Ichi nodded slowly.
"Will you hurt them?"
"No… Not if you don't want me to."
"Ok… Thank you…"
"For what?
"For not beating them up and giving me blood…"
"Don't mention it… You're my new girlfriend…"
"Ok." She gave in so easily. It was ok, as if she was being commanded and complied with it. Kenpachi didn't seem to notice. He picked her up and carried her to one of the beds in the barracks and put her down gently. The others didn't dare make fun of Kenpachi, but instead started questioning his intentions.
"You gonna shove her in the toilet?" one particularly repulsive man called.
"No," Kenpachi replied.
"No? How about throw her off the roof!" another yelled.
"No."
"Well are you gonna beat her 'til her life hangs by a thread?" a raggedy looking man bellowed.
"No."
"You gonna rape her?" Ichi screamed and hid under the bed, wailing in what appeared to be fear.
"No!" Kenpachi screamed out and walked over to the bed, looking under the bed at the whimpering girl. She cringed further back as he moved his hand to touch her.
"No… Not again… Please not again," she sobbed.
"Shh… No I'm not going to it's ok. Calm down, Ichi. You're safe. Don't worry," he said soothingly. She shook her head, turned, crawled out from under the bed, stood, and ran away. Kenpachi followed in close pursuit. Ichi knew he was following, so she only kept running, no matter how exhausted she must've been. She was crying and running, which made her more than just tired. She collapsed about a mile from the 11th's barracks. Kenpachi carefully approached her body. Pushing her onto her back, he could see she was still conscious, but apparently had just given up. Her eyes were glazed over and bloodshot and her eye sockets were red and puffy. Now she just lay there, calm and just devoid of energy. He lifted her up carefully and held her to his chest as she gasped for breath in her dazed state. He lowered his head to hers and kissed her forehead, which made her squeal and struggle, triggering a will to move. More tears streamed down her cheeks as she filled with more uncontrollable fear. He held her still with a fair amount of ease. After a while, she gave up again, this time still crying. She began mumbling something inaudible. He took a closer listen.
"Ichi will be good. Ichi will be orderly. Ichi will do what they want. Ichi will not complain. Ichi is good. Ichi obeys. Ichi makes happy. Ichi helps. Ichi is a shadow. That's what Ichi is," she murmured. Kenpachi carried Ichi back to the barracks again. She was mumbling this and that speaking in third person until she fell asleep about ten minutes from the quarters. He placed her in his own bed and tucked her in. After about an hour of staring at a wall with Yachiru prodding him for attention, he lifted her up and lay down under her and went to sleep himself.
Ichi awoke to the steady beat of the man's heart. She blinked, then scrambled off him, once again with tears flowing from her big, innocent eyes. She stood and ran out silently, stepping over people from the 11th that were sleeping on the floor after passing out from being drunk all night. When she got outside, she relaxed. The 11th was a lazy bunch. She leaned against the wall and slid down it, sighing. She recalled as she was dazed how he'd picked her up. How he held her gently as she mumbled her nonsense. How he had carried her in her light sleep. How he'd tucked her in. How he slept under her. How she only slept comfortably and felt safe once he moved under her. But why? She stood and began walking again. She hadn't noticed the single person missing from the sea of passed out people in the quarters. Arashi. From behind, she put her hand on Ichi's thin shoulder. Ichi screeched and jumped literally ten feet in the air. Arashi laughed a bit.
"Jumpy much?" Arashi questioned, then grabbed Ichi's little arm. "Where're you going? The captain seems to want you around really bad and I don't think you're getting away from him." Ichi looked a bit scared. "He wants you for something… I don't know what and I don't really care because if he doesn't get what he wants, we get the grunt of his anger!" She began dragging Ichi away when she heard a rather dull, bored voice sounded out behind her.
"Leave the girl alone, Arashi. If you do, I'll put in a good word with the captain," he said. It was Unari, third seat of the 5th division. Arashi turned sharply, glaring at him for a moment.
"Bribery? I don't think even Ichimaru would sink that low."
"Low? Not low. You taking the girl is low." Arashi ran it through her head, then nodded.
"You'll really put in a good word with Captain Aizen?" Unari nodded and Arashi threw Ichi towards a wall, where the girl smacked her back. Arashi stomped off, a triumphant grin on her face. Unari put on a soft grin and took Ichi's arm, lifting her up gently.
"Are you alright?" he questioned with a puzzled expression. Ichi nodded slowly, smiling a bit. Unari walked away with that final word. Ichi shrugged. She was used to that. Ichi walked towards the 4th's barracks, where she sat alone. She climbed on the roof and watched the clouds, not phasing even when she heard her name being called.
"Ichi? Ichi?! Where are you? Ichi!" came Kenpachi's yells. He had woken up without the scraggly girl on his chest, which he did the night before. He sighed in defeat. He gave up. Ichi would never give him a chance to actually get close to her. "Alright, Ichi… You win."
"Win what?" came Ichi's small voice from the rooftop. Kenpachi joined her, laying beside her and staring at the sky.
"Are you avoiding me?" he asked, not looking over to see the thin ebony haired girl.
"Me? No. Why?"
"You're always running away from me. You never used to."
"I am?" She was confused. Kenpachi looked at her like she had three heads.
"Yeah. Whenever I try to be nice and caring like a boyfriend should be, you freak out. Why?"
"Nn… You don't remember?"
"No."
"You raped me…" Her eyes began to well with tears, then run down her cheeks.
"Oh… Shh it's ok. I'm sorry…" He started stroking her hair calmly. She started to struggle, but soon gave up as he held her head to his chest.
"Nn… Nn. No… No. Not… not again," she mumbled, shaking slightly.
"Sh… Ichi. It's ok. It's ok. See? I'm not doing anything to you," he said as he continued to stroke her hair calmingly with her ear to his heart. Ba-dum… ba-dum… ba-dum… ba-dum. He placed her down and looked her straight in the eye. "It's ok."
"Mm… Mmhmm." She nodded slowly with this. "Y-yeah." Kenpachi stood with her, her head on his lips, his arms around her waist. She liked his warmth. It was nice. "You feel warm." He smiled and nodded
"Better now?"
"Nnhnn."
"Good." She felt him gently pucker his lips to her head. She squeaked and he stopped, pulling his head away hastily, but she calmed before he could get it too far. She was growing accustomed to his affections, as they were gentle and kind instead of what she feared. She relaxed into his muscles, feeling safe now that he was sweet. She slipped her hand in his as the tears on her cheeks dried on her soft skin. Kenpachi made a confused grunt, and then smiled, kissing the top of her head, making her squeak instinctively, but nothing more.
"Hey… Ichi."
"Wha?"
"Guess what."
"What?"
"You gotta guess!"
"Tell me!"
"Ok ok!" He got close to her ear, thick lips skimming her cartilage. "I love you," he whispered softly into her ear, smiling. Ichi looked at him for a moment and hugged him tightly.
"K-Kenny…?"
"Yes Ichi?"
"I… I… I love you… too." She looked up at him, smiling broadly, her blush laid thickly on her cheeks under the now dried trails of liquid that had previously dripped down her face. He embraced her tightly, smiling into her ebony hair. She cooed gently at the affection, nuzzling her face into his neck, hugging back. He let go with one of his hands and pulled one of hers off of him, then laced their fingers together. She let go with her other hand and put it on the hand of his that was already occupied. He picked her up and placed her in his shirt, forcing out a confused peep. Kenpachi fought the urge to scream with joy at the cuteness. He lost horribly. It escaped his mouth in a sharp cry of 'aww!'
"Anywhere specific that you wanna go to?"
"Hn? Somewhere pretty!"
"I don't know anywhere pretty."
"Oh that's right. Umm… Bring me to the physical plain on a cliff where we can see a field and watch the sunset and look at the stars when the sunset's over!"
"Ok." Kenpachi went to where the hell butterflies were kept and let it lead them to the physical plain, or earth, and carried her in his shirt to a cliff that overlooked a beautiful field that was littered with colors from various flowers. He sat down and leaned back so her back was against his chest. She reached back and grabbed one of his hands and held it with both of hers. They both smiled a soft smile, more content than anything. The sunset set the clouds aglow in beautiful shades of pink and blue and orange. They faded softly into each other. The chirping of the birds slowly died down and was replaced by the soft cooing of the owls. Now the stars shone brilliantly in the indigo night sky. The gentle breeze lapped at their faces as the soft hoots lulled Ichi to sleep. She shifted, earning her a glance from Kenpachi, who hadn't known she was asleep. She held his hand to her chest, now cradled in his shirt like a hammock. Soft snores sounded from her thin, pale throat as she rested, cuddling with his hand. He couldn't help but smile at her vulnerability. Now he felt a need to protect her with his life.
A FEW MONTHS LATER
Ichi slept as Kenpachi's great hulk hid a small bundle of blankets. The small bunched up cloth cooed to him softly, two eyes peeking out from the small circular opening in the covers. Kenpachi brushed the blanket away to reveal a fairly tan baby with big grey eyes and short, black fuzzy hair that bore a striking resemblance to the father himself. The baby had a small, normal eye ridge with eyebrows and not a scratch on his little body, but still looked much like Kenpachi.
Kenpachi smiled softly, eyes lighting up. This was his baby that he made. He loved Yachiru just as much, but he'd found her and now he could say he had a blood relative.
"Kuro Youkai. That's your name. Kuro for short," he said softly to the newborn, who was reaching upward and wriggling around in the blankets. Kenpachi held his finger to Kuro, who took a tight hold of it and put it in his mouth, gumming it. Kenpachi chuckled softly at the action and praised him. He pulled his finger from Kuro's mouth and poked his stomach, forcing out a small squeak like a squeaky toy. Kenpachi stood still for a moment, just looking at the baby, who was looking back at him. "Aw! You are the cutest little baby I've ever had!" Kuro whined, a small grumble coming from his tiny stomach. Kenpachi knew what that meant. But he didn't know what to feed a baby. "Uh-oh…" he mumbled. Kuro's eyes welled up with tears that streamed down his soft, fat cheeks. A loud shriek pierced the room as he screamed in hunger. Kenpachi panicked. He was so frantic, he hadn't noticed Ichi had woken up and taken Kuro from him and was now soothing him with her soft, gentle nature and a bottle of milk. Kenpachi panicked more when he wasn't holding the baby and the crying had stopped.
"Kenny… I've got him. Relax," Ichi said, looking up weakly. She was still tired. Kenpachi sighed with relief.
"There he is. Oh Ichi I'm sorry! I didn't know what to do! You can go back to sleep." Ichi nodded.
"It's ok, Kenny. Here." She handed him the small happy baby who was still drinking from the bottle. Kenpachi took the bottle and Kuro and cradled him, now feeding him. He smiled again.
When Kuro finished his little drink, Kenpachi sat down with him on the floor. Ichi had been asleep already, blanket wrapped around her small frame. Kuro whined uncomfortably. Kenpachi knew how to handle this situation. He burped him, which made Kuro smile. Kenpachi placed little Kuro in his large lap. The size difference was incredible.
Kenpachi pulled blocks from a big chest adjacent to the bed and cradled him, holding up the A block. It had a single apple on two sides that were parallel to each other and all the other sides had A's on them. Kuro grabbed the block and shook it, a typical baby thing to do, and then looked at it for a few minutes.
"That's an A, Kuro. It's the first letter of the alphabet!" Kuro cooed in response. "A is for apple!" he added. Kuro chewed on the block. Kenpachi chuckled. "I know. Apples are yummy! But that's not an apple you want to eat. That's not a real apple. They don't taste good if they're not real." Kuro didn't get it and kept chewing on it. Kenpachi gently took it from him, confusing the small infant.
A FEW YEARS LATER
By now, Kuro was about seven and was already wielding a sword (a wooden one, mind you), to Ichi's great displeasure. Kenpachi was already training him to be a great fighter as well as their six-year-old daughter, Tatakai, which they had ten years after Kuro. Tatakai, whom they just called 'Kai,' was more skilled than Kuro and younger as well. Kenpachi liked that. Ichi was fairly proud even though it was in fighting, but because she was a girl and usually you don't see that. Ichi kept a vigil on their spars with their small wooden swords. You know… in case of "owies." Kai quickly got Kuro on the ground and held her wooden katana to his throat. Kuro squeaked. Arashi wasn't far, watching the captain, the fourthy, and the two future 11th division members.
"Hey Captain! Haven't seen you around in a while! Been reproducing?" Arashi called, chuckling.
"Yep!" Kenpachi responded, a non-crazed grin on his face. Arashi raised an eyebrow. That was unusual to her.
"With a fourthy?"
"Yep! Can't help who you love. I just happened to fall in love with a fourthy. You still stuck on Aizen?" Arashi froze. How'd he know about that? Ichi… Arashi's eyes burned with anger. She didn't want the Captain to know! Now he would mock her. She stomped over. Ichi hadn't been paying attention to what was going on other than the children.
"Yo, Fourthy!" she barked to Ichi, snapping her eyes away from the kids. She was still smiling. "Where do you get off?" Arashi reared back her fist and thrust her arm forward, hitting something very solid. There was a sickening cracking noise from her knuckles. A grin crossed her face as the pain surged through her arm. That is, until she knew who it was she'd just punched instead of Ichi. Looking up, she saw her Captain with a very unhappy expression. To better describe it is the word 'rage' and that doesn't even begin to express how mad he was. Her grin returned as she pulled out her zanpakuto. Kenpachi grabbed her head, fingers spread out on her scalp. Arashi slowly shrunk under his hand and backed off, placing the weapon back in its sheath. Kenpachi made a low growling sound. He walked over to her, taking long strides as she continued backing off. "Now now captain! Let's not get h—oomph!" Kenpachi had thrown a nice left hook right into her face. "—astey…"
"Don't you ever… EVER… try to lay a hand on my Ichi again," he snarled. Arashi nodded swiftly, blood pouring from her mouth. Ichi, though Arashi was her attacker, came to her rescue, quickly healing both broken hand and face. Kenpachi stood over her disapprovingly. "Why are you so forgiving, Ichi?"
"I don't know. But if I wasn't we might not have two babies," Ichi responded. Kenpachi nodded.
"I guess." When Ichi finished, he lifted her up and cradled her. Kuro waddled over to Arashi and tugged on her sleeve, then sat on her bosom, smile wide and innocent. Arashi lifted her head and looked down at the small child. A soft grin crossed her face as Kuro put his little seven-year-old palm on her cheek curiously. She placed her finger on his hand, making him take his hand off her cheek and place it on a few of her fingers. He got off of Arashi and sat next to her, oogling at her with big eyes. Tatakai scoffed at him, though she was only six. That was something to blame Kenpachi for. She got his attitude. "Awww! Arashi! I think Kuro liiikes youuu!" Kenpachi sang. Arashi blinked.
"Ahh Kuro… I'm sorry but… I'm too old for you! And I like someone else. I'm sorry," Arashi said. Kuro's face grew sad.
"That ok. I didn't like you anyway," Kuro said, looking at the ground. Arashi felt bad.
"Maybe when you're older!"
"Really?"
"Really!" Kuro looked more hopeful. Tatakai scuttled over to Arashi and looked at her like she was evil.
"What yo' name?" she piped.
"My name's Arashi. What's yours?"
"Ta…ta…kai," Tatakai sounded out her name. "You made my big bwoda sad. I no wike you."
"Ohh but I like you, Tatakai. I cheered him up didn't I?"
"No. You didn't. He stiww sad. I no wike you." With that, she waddled away and picked up her small wooden sword and began training with him again. Ichi watched them carefully. Her large black eyes never moved from their small bodies. She seemed tense and uncomfortable. It was obvious she didn't like them fighting. Kenpachi sat behind her and hugged her affectionately; trying to cheer her up, maybe make her relax. He kissed her head and held her close.
"Come on Ichi. Don't worry they'll be fine! Just let them do what they want. They know what they're doing," Kenpachi cooed to her. Ichi still did not shift her glance except to follow the kids. Kenpachi sighed. "Ichii!" Ichi didn't answer. "Ichi!" He started getting aggravated. "Ichi answer me!" She still didn't respond. Kenpachi was mad now. He reared his fist back and punched her square in the face. She emitted a short, sharp, high-pitched squeal and flew backwards. Arashi was shocked.
"So you can hit her but I can't?" Arashi snapped. Ichi was crying now. She began to scramble away when Kenpachi grabbed her by her ankle.
"ICHI! ANSWER ME!" Kenpachi bellowed in her face.
"Y-yes, Kenpa-ach-chi?" Ichi sobbed.
"CALM DOWN! AND LISTEN TO ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU! DON'T IGNORE ME!"
"Y-yes-ssir…" Ichi said as she cringed. Kenpachi let go of her leg. Ichi fell. Kenpachi turned on his heel and went into the barracks. Ichi quickly scrambled away, crying her big optics out. Arashi just watched. Kuro and Tatakai weren't paying any attention to the others being as fighting was their lifestyle. Arashi was shocked more than anything else.
"Hey! Fourthy!" Arashi called after her. Ichi stopped cold. She knew to listen now. But this wasn't Kenpachi. Arashi wouldn't have gotten mad. She caught up to the cowering girl. Tears were flooding from her eyes.
"Y-yes, Arashi-sama?" Ichi stammered.
"Oh the sama isn't necessary!"
"Is th-ere som-methi-ing you wan-nted, A-Arashi-sama?"
"What… What just happened?"
"I d-don't know… May I leave?"
"Yeah yeah." With that, Ichi sprinted away, choking on her own saliva as she sobbed. She ran quickly into the 4th barracks, diving under her bed. She curled up and screamed as she cried. Retsu neared the bed and peered under it.
"Ichi, honey. What's wrong? What happened?" she crooned.
"Kenpa-achi h-hit m-me," Ichi stuttered. "I-in the fa-face." Retsu held her hand under the bed to reach for her.
"Come here, dear. Come to Captain Unohana." Ichi very slowly, about an hour, crept out from under the bed. The tears had stopped coming and she had calmed down a lot. Retsu wrapped her arms around the thin girl, who was now becoming very distant and unresponsive. Her immense eyes were half-lidded and dull without their usual contented shine to them. Soft sobs began streaming down her cheeks into Retsu, who just pat her back and tried to comfort her. Slowly, steadily, Ichi cried herself into a deep slumber in which she was hardly even breathing, but enough to keep her alive. Retsu gently placed her onto her bed, pulling the blanket to her chin. With that, Retsu left the room.
Kenpachi sat in the barracks, mad as ever. He growled at anyone that moved into his way, which was a bunch of people because everyone always seemed to have a question for him when he was angry. He shoved them coldly out of his way and if they returned, just ran them over. He stomped to his bed and plopped down, making it protest with a series of creaks and squeaks. Yachiru popped up on his shoulder. Kenpachi drew his sword and held it to her throat, not realizing it was his little companion. Yachiru squeaked out of fear and slid off, backing away slowly. Kenpachi looked at her and his anger just melted.
"Yachiru! I'm… I'm sorry I didn't know it was you!" Kenpachi pleaded with her. Yachiru's eyes welled up with tears. She turned and started to slink away. "Yachiru. Come here please! I'm sorry!"
"My whole world wants to kill me," Yachiru whined. Kenpachi lifted her into his arms.
"No no noo! I don't want to kill you, Yachiru! I didn't know it was you! I'm sorry! Yachiru! Why would I want to kill you?" Yachiru didn't respond. Only hugged him tightly and cried. And he held her. Held her like he didn't hold his own wife. Kuro shuffled in.
"Daddy! Mommy left and she didn't come back. Mommy was crying. Why? I thought we liked to fight. She didn't even try to fight back. Why did Mommy do that?" Kuro asked his much larger father innocently. Kenpachi wilted as he replayed the events in his head. He sighed.
"Mommy doesn't like to fight, Kuro. Mommy's a little different than us. She likes to help, not hurt. And she was crying because it hurt her. It hurt her face and hurt her heart. Daddy was bad," Kenpachi replied to Kuro, lifting him up with Yachiru.
"Then why did you hit Mommy?"
"Daddy got mad. Don't you ever do what Daddy did, ok?"
"Why?"
"Because it was bad."
"Ok, Daddy."
"Are you gon' get Mommy?" piped a small female voice from the floor. It was Tatakai's.
"Mommy will come back. Mommy just needs time to heal," Kenpachi assured.