Where he belongs
It was Christmas Eve in Seireitei. The weather was clear, yet cold, and the ground and house roofs were covered in snow. The sky was starting to turn black, and the stars were shining brightly.
Inside a warm room was Zaraki Kenpachi sitting by a window, looking out at the darkening sky with his one uncovered eye. His cheeks were faintly red from alcohol, and his eye was watery. He felt lonely. No one but Yachiru understood him. On the contrary, the other captains hated him. Intensely.
The Soutaichou, old Yamamoto, had threatened to confiscate Zaraki's zanpakutō if Zaraki did not stop asking the other captains for fights all the time.
At time being, the tall captain felt like a homeless dog trying to fit in an already overfilled cage. He needed his own place; a place where he could feel a home. He looked away from the window, threw away his cup of sake. He was tired of trying to fit in; tired of being alone.
His little pink haired vice captain, Yachiru Kusajishi, had already gone to bed, leaving Zaraki all alone to his sake.
'Well, at least I have Ikkaku and Yumichika that understands my need to fight… that is also struggling to fit in,' he thought, trying to convince himself that the duo of the 11th division was as hated as him, but somehow he didn't quite manage it.
An hour later Zaraki was still sitting by the window, and several sake bottles lay empty around him. He was done drinking and sat calmly, almost asleep, staring at the pale moon. He had already undone his hair. It was now hanging loosely down as it wished to, partly covering his face. He had removed his eye-patch, and his reiatsu had already calmed down. He had learned to suppress it.
It was nearing midnight. He let out a sigh, and then another one.
'Hooray, another Christmas spent alone,' he whispered to himself, deciding to go and check on Yachiru.
As he had struggled himself up and put the black, thick-fabric haori tighter around himself he walked into a room, just to see the little girl lying on her mattress, sound asleep. He walked over to her and tucked her into the blanket, which she had already kicked off herself. He kissed her cheek and smiled before getting up and walking out, closing the door silently after him.
A quarter to midnight, he heard soft knocking on the door and went to open. Who the hell could it be?
He pulled the door open, looking pissed off, annoyed at whoever it could be.
Soft singing was the first he noticed. Christmas carols. His eyes searched for whoever was singing it, and found it to be a tall girl. She had long black hair and blood red eyes. A Santa cap was hiding the two horns he knew was there. Her lips were curled into a smile as she sung. Covering her body's curves was a white kimono. Except it wasn't really a kimono. Or well, it was. It was hard to determine in his drunken state.
The kimono, or dress, was long; so long it trailed a little behind her. The pattern that decorated it was silver, gold and blood red, and it was patterns of… God knows what. Her sleeves where long like the sleeves of a Furisode. Her obi was coloured greyish silver with a golden thread decorated with a simple yet beautiful knot.
Because he was so tall, he could see that her obi was tied in a bow at her back, and he smiled. She sure made an effort to look good. What had confused him whether it was a dress or a kimono was the fact that her cleavage was showing. Big time; and it was silently screaming "look at me, look at me!"… And he obeyed them.
What would usually have been the collar of the kimono was white mink fur, and it looked lovely on her.
The second she stopped singing, she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Merry Christmas, you big old monkey," she said. He couldn't resist smiling. Had she dressed up like that just to visit him, or had she been all over the Gotei 13 spreading joy?
'oi, what's up, Sora?' he asked, grumpy.
'What? You don't want me to come?? I can take the presents away and just tell Yachiru tomorrow that it is your fault she won't get any presents from anyone!' she threatened, glaring up at the over two head taller man.
He went silent, stepping aside to let her come in. If Yachiru did not get any presents, she would freak out.
After putting all the presents around the tiny Christmas tree, Sora sat down at the spot where Zaraki had been sitting for hours. 'So, you're all alone, eh?' she asked, a little surprised. He shrugged, nodded a little, trying to look cool and unaffected.
'And you've been drinking…' she stated, looking suspicious at all the bottles before looking at him, worried. 'It is not healthy…'
He shrugged again at her complaining, not looking at anything other than her feet. He didn't dare to… might reveal how drunk he was… how he… No. Mustn't think like that… Can't think like that. She would think he was insane.
'Hey, what is the matter? Are you sad because I didn't bring you a present as well?' she said, teasingly. 'Because, you know, I brought you on- -'
He didn't let her finish. He towered above her, bending down, violently grabbing her chin, making her face look up and he sealed her lips in a strong, savage kiss.
She was the only one that did not hate him. She didn't fear him and she did not avoid him.
Words couldn't describe the joy he felt from being near her. Definitely, she was his sanctuary, the place where he belonged to. Right in her arms, or just where she was, be it Hell or Heaven.