Naptime Match Making
Disclaimer: My name is Anemone. I have nothing witty to say, and I do not own Bleach.
Dedication goes to Sly-snowflake (shocking, right?) for listening to me babble about my case of Baby Fever.
Prologue
A guttural growl of irritation sounded low within his throat. "Keh, I'm takin' fashion advice from a five-year-old," Kenpachi muttered as he tugged at the collar of his shirt. He was still trying to figure out how Yachiru had talked him into wearing the dark green dress shirt and khaki pants.
"C'mon, Papa Ken-chan, we're gonna be late!" A small hand tugged on his wrist, pulling him through the crowded parking lot. Yachiru's blue and white Sketchers pounded the blacktop. She wore jeans and a dark blue Hello Kitty t-shirt.
"Calm down Yachiru," Kenpachi stated as deep gray-green eyes looked down at his bubblegum pink haired daughter as he maneuvered through the closely parked cars. "If anything we're gonna be too early."
Kenpachi couldn't blame the girl for being excited. He had been listening to her babble for weeks about her Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Mashiro, and the parent/teacher meeting was the perfect place to get to meet the woman. Apparently all the brats loved her.
Yachiru tugged harder on his arm, and Kenpachi quickened his pace to match her excited bounce as they entered the doors of the school.
()()()
"Are we there yet Itsugo?" This was the tenth time Nelliel had asked that question in the past 5 minutes.
Ichigo sighed, pulling the black Lexus into the parking lot. "Yes, Nel, we're finally here." He would teach his daughter patience if it was the last thing he did. 'She's only five. It's perfectly normal for five-year-olds to be impatient.'
With a shake of tangerine locks, he opened the stepped out of the car and situated his black t-shirt and sunshine yellow jacket. Opening the passenger door, he unbuckled Nelliel from the booster seat and told her to stand by the car. The hazel eyed girl bounced impatiently from foot to foot while Ichigo pulled the keys from the ignition and locked the door.
"Alright, let's go meet this Miss Mashiro of yours." Brown eyes filled with amusement as Nel grabbed his hand and excitedly began to pull him toward the school.
"Nel can't wait for Itsugo to meet Nel's teacher. Nel's super excited!" The girl began to skip, electric blue skirt bouncing with the movement and revealing bubblegum pink leggings that matched her electric blue and pink striped top.
Nel tugged harder on Ichigo's hand as they entered the maroon double-doors of the brick elementary school. They walked down white tiled hallways, florescent lights illuminating white walls covered with children's artwork. The sea-green haired girl stopped a classroom at the end of the second hallway.
"Nel's classroom has clouds around it," she explained, pointing to the fluffy painted clouds around the door.
"It's pretty," Ichigo said.
"Miss Mashiro did it! Nel's teacher is a good artist."
When they stepped into the room, they were greeted by a woman who didn't look old enough to be a teacher. She had lime green hair, wore an orange top, white scarf, tight white pants and thigh-high boots. "My name's Mashiro," she greeted warmly as she shook Ichigo's hand.
"I'm Ichigo, Nel's father." Peach hand grasped an alabaster one in a firm handshake.
"Nelliel talks about you constantly," Mashiro informed the orange haired male.
Ichigo smiled, but before he could say anything else, a high pitched squeal cut him off.
"Nel-chan!" A pink blur sped toward them and Nel's hazel eyes filled with excitement. "Chiru-chan! Nel's so happy to see you!"
When Nel's tiny arms wrapped the pink blur in a hug, Ichigo discovered that it was a little girl. 'Well it's good to see Nel isn't the only one with oddly colored hair.' Ichigo thought with a sigh of relief as chocolate eyes inspected the pink haired child. Children could be unnecessarily mean about hair color and Ichigo was glad it wouldn't be an issue.
"Daddy Itsugo," Nel said tugging on the hem of Ichigo's shirt. "This is Nel's best friend Yachiru-chan."
"It's nice to meet you, Yachiru." Ichigo said, dropping to his knees so that he was eye level with the other girl.
"You have pretty eyes," Yachiru told him bluntly.
"Uh, thank you. So do you." Ichigo couldn't help but smile.
"C'mere, Nel-chan, I wanna introduce you to my Papa Ken-chan." Yachiru said in a rush, smile tugging at small lips.
Before Nel could agree, the girl pulled her across the room. Ichigo followed.
"Papa Ken-chan, Papa Ken-chan!" Yachiru was using her outdoor voice.
"What's got you so excited my little spit-fire?"
Ichigo's chocolate orbs took in the man before him. Deep gray-green eyes, a wild mane of spiky black hair, muscular form covered by a dress shirt and tight khaki pants, and a scar on the left side of his face. Ichigo gulped as he felt his pants get tighter.
()
Kenpachi felt the smirk pull at his lips. Yachiru had brought over one of her little friends for an introduction, but he was more interested in the tangerine boy who followed them. The man couldn't be older than 21, and he looked too damn tempting in that tight t-shirt and jeans. Looking good in yellow didn't deter Kenpachi's urge to pounce either.
"Papa Ken-chan, this is my best friend Nelliel." Yachiru proudly introduced as she gave the girl's hand a squeeze.
"Hello Nelliel-chan. It's very nice to meet you." Kenpachi said as he smiled at the girl.
"Nel likes your voice. It's all gravely." Nel said warmly.
Kenpachi chuckled. "Thank you very much." Those beady gray-green orbs strayed from the kids to the boy again. "And who are you?"
An orange head snapped up from counting the tiles on the floor. "I-I'm Ichigo," he stammered.
"Strawberry, huh?" Kenpachi laughed at the glare he received.
"No, da-." He bit his lip before the profane word left his lips. "No."
Kenpachi made his way over to the tangerine man. "Well Ichigo, it's a pleasure to meet you." Those eyes held a gleam of amusement and something else. "The name's Kenpachi."
The two girls watched this exchange with bright eyes. There was a spark of something in the air, and even though they couldn't identify it, they knew their fathers belonged together.
()()()
To Be Continued!
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. ;)
