Nanao sat and brushed Kenpachi's long black hair. she'd spent the
better part of ten minutes trying to get the remnants of the day's
gel and sweat out of his tangled locks. it had taken five shampoos to
counteract the residue. She sprayed it with leave in conditioner; she
had suggested a hot oil treatment to condition his ratted ends, but
there was no talking him into it.
"Geez,"
he said. "I'm not a girl." It was a simple statement she
had to acquiese to, for there was nothing girly about Zaraki
Kenpachi. "And make sure you count all my bells."
He
wore 12 bells in his hair. Each night when she unpinned the spiky
mess, she had to put each bell in its proper place in a sectioned
container. The elastics he used to hold the spikes went in their own
section in a separate container, though those were often broken and
had to be frequently replaced. Extra hair elastics were in his
bathroom drawer.
His hairbrush, a wooden natural
bristled flat brush, had his initials carved into lest someone like
Yumichika think they could take the liberty of brushing their hair
with the captain's personal hairbrush. Not that Yumichika didn't have
15 different hairbrushes of his own, but his were no where near as
nice as Zaraki's.
As she brushed his hair, she
quietly hummed to herself. She ran her hands through it, almost
lovingly, with every brush stroke. This was her favorite part of her
day. By day, he might be a warrior, a killer, a fighter, but at night
he sat in the floor in front of the common room armchair, and she sat
in the chair behind him, and for a couple of hours he just sat still.
He never complained that she brushed too hard, though she was gentle
and tried not to pull. He just talked. He spoke not just about
violence, swordplay, or death either. Most of his chatter was about
daily life in the 11th squad building and about Yachiru, whom Nanao
believed was the only person he truly loved in the world.
"Baby girl told me today she wants to go to the Academy. She's
already vice-captain, what more could she get from that place?"
"I think she just wants to learn some basic skills. Not
just death god powers. I think she saw kids going to school on TV
yesterday and got it in her head she wanted to go too."
"Aren't there TV shows that teach kids stuff like that? You
know readin' and junk?"
"There are plenty. I
can help you too, if you'd like. I've been an academic advisor at the
academy for years, and in life I was a governess." Nanao smiled.
Now she would have even more reason to hang around the brawny captain
and his pink-haired charge.
"Yachiru'll be happy to
know you'll be teachin' her. She likes you."
Nanao
blushed a little at the compliment. "All done," she said.
She did something unexpected at that moment. After she put
down the hairbrush, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him
to her, for just a moment and laid a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Goodnight" she said and then exited to place his things on
his bathroom counter for the next morning.
He smiled for
a moment to himself, though he'd never let her know he liked her. He
didn't want to scare her off just yet.
