Title; Just A Present
22.7.08
It was a question lingering in the back of everyone's mind. 'Why does Unohana-taichou wear her braid around her neck?' A question a certain brute captain knew the answer to, and was proud he knew so; for he was the reason she did her hair that way.
It all started on one very rainy day; one humid, rainy day. Soul society never rained, it was usually very sunny or cloudy, but it never actually rained. It started off like any other for both the captain's; 4th captain Unohana woke up with the caressing taps of rain on her window. She called for her vice captain to put on the stove and began dressing herself with the many layers she wore then topped it off with her captain's robe. Her vice captain Isane came in with a tray of various types of teas and a luminously decorated teacup. Unohana smiled, and began mixing her tea to perfection.
Zaraki's day started off with the morning yells of his little pink blob named Yachiru. She would usually wake up from such nightmares as red and purple poisonous candies or Byakushi-nii trying to eat her for dinner. Anyways, it seemed that today was one of the rare busy days Zaraki had every few months or so. He had to finish off his untouched paperwork (or at least try), which would probably take him a good hour or two, go attend a captains meeting, and… get a yearly check-up from that diverse woman. He felt a sudden unexpected shiver crawl up his spine at the thought of her, there was something about that woman he didn't like, maybe the fact she was so nice no matter how rude and troubling making you are. And he knew that she was well aware of his dislike towards her, but that never stopped her from being the kind, caring mother figure she was. He started to unconsciously clench his fist at the thought.
She was probably one of the busiest captains of the Gotei 13, always having to heal the roughhousing shinigami, in which mostly came from the 11th division. Make sure all the shinigami were fit and healthy, or as healthy as a dead person can be.
Sighing, she stood up from her immaculate desk and walked around the corner to an occupied infirmary room. Knocking on the door as a force of habit, she opened the door to be met with menacing ebony eyes; she smiled.
"Good morning, Zaraki-taichou. How are you feeling on this superb morning?" She asked with a tinge of sweetness to her voice, as she grabbed a file sitting on a table nearby.
"Fine. Lets just get this over and done with woman," His reply housed a harsh tone,
"That's good, shall we begin your check-up?" She chirped. In one swift movement she took off her white captain's robe and placed it on the sterile counter by the door, giving her more movement and to relieve her from a coming heat stroke.
He simply mumbled something under his breathe as a reply.
"May you please remove your top?" She asked in a completely professional tone.
"…." He glared at her with paralysing eyes,
She simply waited for a reply, to which in his eyes seemed like years.
"Its part of the routine." She reassured him, tearing the silence.
He quickly, removed his captain's robe and slipped his arms out of his hakama to reveal scars, rips and a 6 pack that could be mistaken as a washing board. She couldn't help but stare at the brutal markings. An unexpected rush of heat tinted her cheeks the lightest shade of pink; somewhat embarrassed she hoped he didn't notice the sudden change in colour. Unluckily for her, he noticed; and couldn't help but feel rather proud his body still made women blush. In a swift movement she spun on one foot to place his robes where her robe laid.
Regaining her composure, she smiled.
"This is going to feel a little cold,"
"Whatever,"
She placed the stethoscope against his chest and listened to his erratic heartbeat. It was amazing she could hear his heart beat through all his ripped muscles that were along his chest and body. Caught in the moment, a creak of the door opening brought her back to the soon to be disastrous reality.
"Excuse me Unohana-taichou, I'm ready for my check-up-" He, Kuchiki Byakuya chimed in at the worse time. His head turned and met a rare site, it was as rare as the red moon itself, or even seeing Kuchiki Byakuya as shocked as he was. He saw the innocent, mother figure with the small of her hands pressed up against, well, the devil itself.
Time stood still, everything and everyone was frozen, silent; shocked.
"Wait for your turn Kuchiki, can't you see we're busy?" Zaraki said, emphasising the 'busy; concealing a growing grin.
Another session of silence drowned the room.
"Please continue," Pause, "I'll be sure everyone stays away from this room." His voice held the tiniest tint of enjoyment, and with that he left their sight.
Confused and embarrassed, Unohana quickly removed her hands from the man's chest. Cautiously, she turned her sight back to Zaraki who was grinning, and trying to stifle a laugh. Her eyes widened in surprise; he looked so carefree, even approachable when he laughed, she swore it was the prettiest thing she had ever seen.
"You got to admit, his reaction was priceless." He said, with a small smile engraved on his face. "Anyways, lets get this over with."
She didn't reply.
"Oi woman, something wrong?"
Yep, there was something wrong all right.
Her eyes pointed at the open door; the open door crowded with many people, all staring at the two. His mood diminished.
"I recommend you all stay away from this room, they want their privacy." Byakuya simply chimed in again, masking a smile with skill. "Please continue, Zaraki." His mask broke and revealed a barely visible cheeky smile as he walked down the hallways. A sudden burst of whispers dripped from every shinigami's mouths, some even ran out of the division and began spreading the news around soul society.
Zaraki shot one of his murderous stares to the crowd, and within the same second they instantly dispersed, running for their dear dead lives.
"Zaraki-taichou?" Unohana finally managed to break the awkward silence,
"We've got a problem." His voice still had a tinge of murder to it,
"Yes, we do." Was all she could reply
"What should we do?" She said, moving away from the table where he sat
"Beats me." He shrugged, almost like he didn't care; as he began redressing himself.
She quickly picked up the top robe and pushed it aside, then grabbed the robe left over and handed it to him.
"Thanks," He replied as he simply threw it on
"I'm leaving now, Zaraki-taichou." She smiled then bowed,
She grabbed the robe then turned to the door, ignoring piercing stares coming from low-levelled shinigami, she made her way to her office. After a short five-minute stroll she arrived at her office, which was currently occupied by her vice-captain, Isane.
"Taichou! Is it true?!" Isane said in a panicked tone. Almost immediately she bowed in apology, for her rude behaviour.
"I'm sorry! I was meant to say, you have a captains meeting in twenty minutes." She corrected herself,
Unohana however took no notice of Isane's pervious comment and just smiled, as if nothing was done. She nodded a 'thank you' as she put on the captains robe she'd been holding from the infirmary to her office. Isane almost died of a heart attack as she saw the back of the robe. The last time she checked, she was not in that division. She debated whether to tell her captain about the robe, but before she could say anything Unohana had already left the room, to the first division walking past all the shinigami of soul society… In front of all the captains…
Oh the scandal.
And little did Zaraki know, he had been wearing the wrong robe too. He just presumed all the stares that were being stabbed into him were just because of that joke Byakuya had played on them earlier that day.
"Now lets start the captains meeting," Yamamoto declared with a stern voice, addressing his fellow captains to take a seat.
"I have called the captains meeting today to discuss the-" an unsurprising late entrance of 11th captain Zaraki interrupted him,
"Sorry," He said lazily, then turned to his seat.
That was when they saw it. They all saw it; even Unohana saw it. A stream of coughs and muffled laughter started to arise, resulting in whispers filled with gossip. Byakuya hid a grin, as his joke just got juicier. He however took no notice of the people he called companions and sat down in his rightful spot, next to a white haired boy and the creator of weirdo's himself.
"Zaraki-Taichou," Unohana yelled a whisper from across the large table,
He turned his head to face her with a questioning and annoyed look.
"You're wearing the wrong-"
"Zaraki-Taichou, last time I checked you were the captain of the 11th division. Am I right?" Yamamoto said,
Confusion smothered his annoyed face; he simply nodded a yes.
"It seems that you are now the captain of the 4th division, I deeply suggest you remove your robe. We wouldn't want to confuse the young shinigami now would we?" He finished, with a hint of humour splashed in his voice.
Even more confused, he stood up and took off the robe. He stared at the fabric that lay in his hands in horror and clenched the damned fabric between his fingers, certainly a priceless expression to all the captains. A sudden thought struck him. If he was wearing hers, then logically she must have had his. He shot a murderous glance at Unohana who was already up and peeling the robe off. The both awkwardly exchanged robes and sat back down in silence. Both somewhat embarrassed and humiliated.
"Now, shall we begin this meeting?" Yamamoto suggested with a rare smile painted on his face,
All the captains nodded in agreement.
The meeting ended after an intense long hour of discussion about the upcoming battle against Aizen, the traitors and his army. Hueco Mundo was the name in which was the battleground they were going to engage in.
Unohana steadily stood from her chair and turned for the exit, only to be stopped by a rough voice.
"Unohana." At the sound of his voice, she stopped dead in her tracks.
"I'm sorry for the robe I really didn't know,-" She said sincerely as she bowed,
"No,-" He paused, "Don't be. Its not entirely your fault…" He finished,
She looked up to be met with an awkward expression painted on his face.
"Anyways. I'm gonna go now…" He turned to the door,
She simply nodded while housing a growing smile. She couldn't help but feel somewhat warm inside, especially when around him.
Small raindrops slipped from the clouds, gracefully dancing in the sky, eventually falling to its death.
She left the first division with the opposite of a standing ovation. Stares bore holes into her back and whispers were like screeching to her ears. Yet, somehow, she was able to ignore the nosy shinigami knowing that he was somewhere, experiencing the same treatment.
Setting foot in the 4th division, she gracefully made her way to her private quarters, hopefully to jump into a nice hot spring.
Her long dark hair flowed with a breeze from an open window as it swept through her. Slowly, she took the elastic that held her hair together off, and instantly her hair flew brilliantly behind her back. Grasping the towel around her small body, she cautiously dipped her foot in the steaming spring. A soft moan left her lips as the warmth embraced her toes. Eagerly, she dropped her towel and slid into the warm bath. She felt herself melt in the spring and gradually fell into a deep daze.
As the days went on, the weather had no progress whatsoever. If anyone would speculate, they would conclude that the weather had actually gotten worse. At least it wasn't humid. This began to irritate many shinigami and even some captains, especially a certain brute captain with the name of Zaraki. He hated rain, he preferred things to stay the same, like the sun rising and setting without interruption. He sure was on the opposite side of the range to Unohana. She adored rain, it had such a peace to it that was much alike to herself. The way the droplets danced while falling to its doom, it was too ironic. Her eyes stared at an individual drop hanging on the side of a leaf, slowly slipping its grasp and watched as it collided with the merciless concrete. Her thoughts lingered to recent events, most if not all involving Zaraki. They'd been talking much more often, about meaningless topics most of the time. Sometimes they didn't even talk, they would just drown in each others presence, drunk on the silence.
She couldn't help but feel a little excited that today he offered to have tea with her, and pay for it too. She began braiding her hair loosely and dressing herself in proper uniform. She told Isane about her 'appointment' and left without another word. She smiled as she saw a familiar figure leaned up against the bold 4th division gate, she could tell he was distressed.
She never the less approached him.
"Zaraki-taichou?" Her voice was soft; pure, yet questioning his visible distress.
"Hey," Stutter.
Pause.
Her lips curved to a smile,
"So where are we going today?" Her voice was more gleeful
Silence was getting popular.
"You shouldn't go to Hueco Mundo," He said, completely ignoring all that was said before. His eyes met her for the quickest of seconds.
She closed her eyes for a few before reopening them to reveal pure ebony eyes filled with sincere simplicity. Her angel smile still sculpted on her porcelain face.
"Are you worried for me?" It was a simple question that left her tongue, yet it struck such a strong chord in Zaraki. He mumbled something under his breathe before speaking.
"Just don't go,- it's just not a place for someone like you to be in." His voice concealed all emotion, yet she swore she heard the smallest tint of empathy and concern. She couldn't think of a reply, no words left her mouth either.
The awkward silence bore holes into their hearts.
He felt foolish for even trying, sighing he took the silence as an appropriate time to take his leave, he subtly turned his body into a three sixty motion and slowly walked down the damp path.
"Wait,-" Soft enchanting words escaped her lips, accompanied by a sudden clap of thunder, like an orchestra off tune.
Within seconds it came crashing down, giving both captains an unwanted shower. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head enough to see her expression; an expression that could break hearts. Her face was pale and obviously wet; her hair was visibly damp and sticking to her neck. He couldn't completely see her face, he felt a part of himself dent, maybe it was his heart, he wouldn't know. That damned smile was still on her face, and questioned him to the core how someone could be so positive. He stood silent never the less, waiting for her to continue, or something.
She looked up, revealing emotions in its raw; yet a smile was still there. He didn't understand.
"Thank you." Her voice so soft that it could've broken. "For worrying about my well being…" She paused. "But I have to, it's my duty as the 4th captain."
She felt herself take uneven steps towards the paralysed man. Her small hands found their way to his rough cheeks, lightly caressing them. On her tippy-toes, she lightly pressed her lips against his. They were both drenched, Zaraki's hair wasn't even standing anymore, and a few of the bells for missing. But all that went out the door when he felt her tea-flavoured lips collide into his. Unwillingly, she broke the connection and remained staring at him; feet flat on the ground. It seemed that she passed on her contagious smile to him, because now he housed the exact same type of smile she had.
"Okay, I believe in you." He managed to speak, with the taste of her still lingering on his tongue, tickling his taste buds.
"I believe in you too." These words were equivalent to the words 'I Love You', well at least to these two there were.
Zaraki felt that he could come to love rainy days, especially ones with strawberry kisses.
The portal swallowed the captains for the quickest of seconds before throwing them up in a desert with the stench of hollow. Both ladies fell gracefully from the sky, hair and clothing gliding with the wind before landing swiftly and unharmed on the dirt.
"Unohana-taichou, what's that on your neck?" Isane asked, somewhat concerned.
Unohana raised a brow and moved her braid to the side to reveal a pink mark, it was small but it surely was still there. Isane almost had a second heart attack from the hickey her innocent captain housed.
"Oh this?" She smiled. "It was just a present from Zaraki-taichou,"
Isane would be sure to get her heart checked out. And soon.
I'm finally finished! Wow, this is probably the longest project I've ever worked on. Because Unohana is my most loved character of all time, I had to make this perfect. And this was as close as I could get to perfection, haha. Thanks everyone for reading this, feedback would just make my day.
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