disclaimer: bleach is not mine.
kamikaze of a thousand suns
i.
He finds her on the streets, eyes watery and red rimmed, clinging onto a teddy bear, one that he recognises all too well.
He knows her: this sad girl.
Kurosaki Yuzu.
The youngest of three siblings.
The one that doesn't have much reiatsu.
The most helpless.
ii.
Her tears have soaked Kon's skin.
iii.
He's gone.
Gone.
Gone.
Ichi-nii's never coming back.
And Yuzu doesn't know what to do.
iv.
She trips over her shoelaces and all she can do is hold onto Bostov as she shuts her eyes, bracing for the impact.
Except she never hits the ground.
Instead, someone catches her; hands lightly grasping her shoulders, kneeling on the asphalt.
Slowly, she opens her eyes.
It's—
"Megane-chan!" It's him! Photos don't lie, and Yuzu never forgets a face.
"… eh?" He blinks, puzzled; nonetheless, he helps her to her feet.
"Ah…" Her cheeks flare up, bright red. How should she explain this? "It's what Midoriko-chan called you, since she didn't know your name." Although, it was Megane-san, not chan. "Oh! Midoriko-chan has a crush on… what was his name? Kei… Asahino… Keigo? No, that's not quite right…" She bites her lip, trying to remember. "He's friends with Ichi-nii."
"You must mean Asano Keigo." He corrects her.
"That's right! Asano Keigo." She manages a small smile. "Well, she follows him around, and sometimes, she takes photos of him. And sometimes, you're there!"
Though, when Yuzu thinks about it, Megane-chan is either glaring or ignoring Asano-san. He must not be a photo person.
Silence.
"… your friend sounds like a stalker." He looks a little shocked.
"That's just what Karin-chan said!" She thinks for a second. "But then, my sister doesn't like Midori-chan much." Yuzu wishes Karin maintained better relations with her friends. It would help in the future.
"… I see." Megane-chan pushes his glasses up his nose, and for the first time Yuzu notices the pretty colour of his eyes. She's always liked that shade of blue.
Then he blinks, eyes widening, hands flailing and breaking his stoic façade, as he asks: "Are you alright? No broken bones, or pain? I have a band aid!"
She gives a brave grin, touched by his concern. "I'm fine. Thank you for catching me, Megane-cha… san."
"I suppose I'll have to introduce myself now – I'm Ishida Uryuu, not Megane-san."
The name rings a bell, and she's glad she can put a name to a face.
"Oh, you're him – Ichi-nii's friend! He talks about you!" Although not all of it is good. Most of it is grumbles. He's like Karin-chan. It's sad. She blinks, instinctively tightening her grip on Bostov as she thinks about her big brother. Then she remembers to introduce herself. "I'm Kurosaki Yuzu, his sister." Exhaling, she holds up her doll into the air so he can see him more easily. "And this is Bostov!"
Ishida Uryuu bows, and Yuzu cannot help but giggle.
He's like a real gentleman that she thought existed only in her romance books.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both."
Here, Yuzu is certain that she must have misheard him, because he couldn't have muttered afterwards:
"Bostov? Suits you better than Kon."
And Bostov couldn't have twitched or growled at him.
v.
… he doesn't know how it happened, but somehow he, King of New York, let his denizen Yuzu go to Ishida Uryuu's house.
And he, perfect innocent, was dragged along for the ride.
Ratfink.
He does know.
An upset girl, a kind hearted prissy boy and a split seam.
Ratfink.
vi.
Uryuu doesn't think he's good with kids.
Cooking food, designing clothes and outsmarting Kurosaki Ichigo: these are things he excels in.
Not… girls…
But… somehow… he thinks he might be okay with her.
vii.
Elegant, small, humble.
That's how Yuzu would describe his house, even if she can sense loneliness and isolation in these walls. But there's happiness too – a great deal of it – and that's important to have.
Especially concerning sewing masterpieces and crosses – there's passion there, and it makes her smile.
Come to think of it, there's quite a lot of crosses – even the cushions beside her and the sofa she's sitting on has crosses.
Maybe it's a motif he likes?
viii.
He says he can fix Bostov.
That a split seam is nothing to worry about.
He gives her a smile, one that reassures her.
ix.
She wonders if he can fix her heart too.
Piece by piece. Stitch by stitch.
Worry has broken it into so many fragments.
x.
Kon can't stand her like this. He hates seeing her so sad.
Even though she has a flat chest (which will hopefully grow and grow and grow!) and terrify him with his "mother" and "father" and force him to endure yet another awful tea party with awful clothes—
But Ichigo's even more awful.
Making her cry.
Kon hates it.
xi.
Yuzu is the sun in the Kurosaki family, and she needs everybody to be besides her so she can shine happily.
Without Ichigo, the sun is gone.
Darkness remains.
And Yuzu holds even tighter to Kon.
xii.
The hardest part is not being able to do a thing.
He can't comfort her with words or hugs or actions.
He can only sit on the sidelines and watch her pick him up, shedding new tears onto his lion's mane.
And that—that has to be enough.
xiii.
"Where's Ichigo?" Ishida asks the bear in a different room, while he finds his kit.
"Don't know, don't care!" The bear snorts, indignantly turning away. "But… Yuzu cares, and—" He doesn't want to say it – those words that will mean so much to her – not to this jerk with a needle. "Careful! I'm a delicate specimen! Ruin my body, lessen my sexiness or cuteness, and I'll never forgive you. People will laugh – Ishida Uryuu, beaten by a teddy bear, ha!"
"Quiet." Absentmindedly, the Quincy says, tossing the bear into the air, working his magic.
He'll get his revenge soon.
xiv.
The Southern Belle Kon returns!
xv.
Mario Kon!
xvi.
Luffy Kon!
xvii.
And Yuzu laughs and oohs and aahs because Bostov is an amazing cosplayer and Ishida Uryuu entertains her with his show of mix and match dresses for Kon.
xviii.
He sees it – a smile on her face, brown eyes bright with excitement.
Lighting up like the sun.
xix.
It's for Yuzu's sake that Kon isn't kicking that Quincy jerk's face right now.
xx.
Yuzu thinks that Bostov has been Ishida-san's customer before.
The cross on the back of his head kind of gives it away.
Maybe it's his trademark sign.
xxi.
He walks her back just to make sure she reaches home safely.
xxii.
"Kurosaki-san."
"Y-Yes?"
"Do you think heroes need capes?" The rest of his new outfit is done, it's only this part of the design that needs a second opinion.
"Of course they do!" She nods emphatically, before remembering something. At the time, it was played for laughs, but that's no excuse. "Capes make them strong and heroic! But… I'd advise them to stay away from elevator doors and air plane engines in case their capes get caught. I wouldn't want that to happen."
"I see." It's just as he thought. "Thank you very much."
"Ah, you're welcome." A smile flashes from her face, joined with pinkish cheeks.
Kurosaki Yuzu has far better taste than her brother ever would.
And her sound advice is duly noted.
xxiii.
Perhaps one day she could be his protégé?
xxiv.
"He'll come back, Kurosaki-san. I'll make sure of it."
This is the best thing he can say before they part ways. (Besides, this is Ichigo. Sooner or later, he'll be easy to locate.)
Like Kon, Uryuu feels powerless next to unhappy girls and he's never sure if he's done enough.
But she's happier now, even if it's only a little.
He hopes that it's enough.
xxv.
Megane-chan has been a perfect gentleman.
"Thank you very much, Ishida-san."
And maybe it's not much, but a kiss on the cheek will have to do as a reward for cheering her up and fixing Kon.
Ladies do that to express their gratitude, right?
… even if said gentleman has become very flustered.
xxvi.
When the sun rises the next day, it's beautiful.
And Ichigo gets his much deserved kick in the head by Kon.
For a King always looks after his denizen.