Oh snap, oh snap! Look it this, look it~ It's a double upload. Two chapters, one night! It's cause I can't sleep. XD Anyway though, as promised, here's some Kenpachi and So interaction. As you'll see, it's an interesting thing.
Um, this chapter is short so sorry and also sorry if it's a little rambly and dissatisfying but it needed to be done. More on it at the end so I don't give anything away... It's nothing important or magical though so no need to skip to the end.
Oh, and this may have more errors than usual. I read over it of course, about three times, but I'm sleepy so I probably didn't catch every thing anyway though...
Insert disclaimer about me not owning Bleach here.
Chapter 3 Poking the Bear
There was a Captains meeting the next day. It seemed in rather close approximation to So's initiation but she didn't mind. She was always looking for a reason to come back to first division anyway; it was nice to see her friends, and Yama-Gen. He always had the best snacks ready for her.
A smile lit up her face as she walked a little faster, looking forward to the visit, though she'd heard the meetings could be kind of boring.
Twisting a lock of hair in her tiny fists, today she had it pulled into simple pigtails and it was trailing near the floor, she hummed softly to herself and thought fondly of the day before.
Byakuya had seemed rather upset with Renji about being gone for so long but she'd tried to cover for him. It didn't quite work since Byakuya was apparently rather adept at sniffing out lies and quickly shot down her excuse of "I asked him to help me move things."
She realized now that it was a rather sorry excuse anyway, if only because she was sure she could lift far more than the red head ever could, and she would have been better off saying something like "I just wanted to chat."
She sighed softly and gave herself a tired smile, rounding the corner to the meeting hall.
"A-Ah!" she squeaked and bounced back, startled by the sudden impact.
She fell back, landing rather roughly on her bottom, and frowned up at the large figure looming above her.
"Che" Kenpachi turned slowly and glared down at her. "Watch where yer goin' runt" he huffed and stepped into the hall.
"R-Runt" she stuttered, her face suddenly very, very red. Did he just call her a runt? Oh, he did not just say that, oooh!
She huffed and stood up, hands shaking as she frowned, brows furrowed, cheeks puffed out. Honestly, she looked quite like a frustrated child, and she felt like one but, she didn't have time for that.
Dusting herself off she shuffled inside, dismayed to see that she was the last one to take her place.
She knew that Yamamoto would object greatly to any kind of disrespect towards anyone inside and so she did her very beset in resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at the brut she'd run into.
It's not my fault I ran into him. He shouldn't just be standing around with his huge self! She rationalized her anger before squashing it, her attention turning to the elderly man she found herself so fond of.
It was a droll, droning thing this meeting. A little hard on the ears too as the echo in the room was loud and anyone's voice going on and on and on and on and, oh dear she's stuck in an infinite loop, pull her out! Pull her out!
Her attention snapped back to him with a start and she was glad that she'd kept the chimes out of her hair, lest she make noise.
This was so boring.
She resisted the urge, she seemed to be resisting quite a bit lately, to yawn or groan or move around and instead took the time to discreetly look over everyone on the other side of the room. Oh, and be discreetly I mean, through that impenetrable wall of hair almost always blocking her eyes.
She was trying to figure out who she knew and who she didn't.
With the way everyone was lined up she could see the captains for divisions two, four, six, seven and eight. Soi Fon, Unohana, Kuchiki, Komamura, and Kyoraku were parallel to her, lined in a neat little row and paying far more attention than she was.
Of all of them, she knew Unohana the best. The kind woman was a great mentor to both herself and one of her closest friends and she'd spent quite a lot of time in her presence over the years.
She smiled a little at the thought; she was such a friendly woman, but strong and commanding. So emulated her, admired her so very much.
Her eyes wandered away, to the others, and she frowned a little. She didn't know any of them at all. Well, Kuchiki maybe a little, they'd had a short run-in in childhood but, if she was remembering correctly, she punched him in the mouth after he refused to give her some toy she'd wanted. They hadn't spoken since that she knew of… Not counting yesterday.
She'd never said two words to Soi Fon, or Komamura, and Unohana had warned her against Kyoraku shortly after she became a shinigami.
She probably wasn't his type but still…
She couldn't look from side to side without being obvious but she was smart enough to figure out the lines configuration on her side. She was at the very end, standing next to Hitsugaya, who was mercifully shorter than her, beside him was Zaraki, jerk, Kurotsuchi, her other friends captain, and then finally Ukitake who she'd met two or three times before and thought well of.
The only one left was Yama-Gen and he was her absolute idol.
That was sad.
She huffed and grabbed onto her hair again, thinking. It was quite lonely in this room, if she thought about it. Among this group she had mentors, but they weren't quite friends. It was-
"Akane" Yamamoto's voice cut through her musings and she looked up at him quickly, head quirked quizzically to the side as she stepped forward.
"How are you settling into the ninth squad?"
She smiled and nodded, looking down as she spoke, suddenly very self-conscious and shy. "Just fine. Just fine… Everyone is very nice."
Kenpachi and Mayuri both snorted at her reply but she paid them no mind.
"And how are the members of your squad adjusting?"
"Ah…" she opened her mouth then closed it again. How were they doing? How did they feel about her? She'd been so wrapped up in the wonder of it all, not to mention the copious amounts of paper work, that she hadn't really taken the time to gauge the feelings of her new squad.
"I'm not quite sure" she replied honestly, never one to lie to the captain general.
He frowned.
"Akane, a fine captain has only strength, a great captain has the trust and acceptance of their subordinates as well. Will you settle for being less than great?" His tone was, to most, patronizing but to her, who had grown up in his presence she understood that tone to be one of challenge.
"No" she shook her head, thoroughly chastised but also set in a new, firm resolve.
"Then do as I say and form these bonds… Is there anything left to discuss?"
She stepped back in line and silence fell over the large, empty room.
"In that case, you are dismissed!"
The Captain General brought his cane down, striking the ground solidly and at the noise, everyone turned in and left in a flurry of white and black.
Just like that first day, So trailed behind, twisting and tugging her hair.
The sunshiny spring light outside made her eyes burn as she exited the building and she had to stop rather suddenly to avoid another collision with Zaraki.
"Move" she fussed up at him quietly, trying to move to one side. He was standing in the archway, his broad form making it near to impossible for her to slip by. It was frustrating because she could see Shuhei just feet away and she wanted to work on getting to know her squad better.
She heard Kenpachi growl above her and looked up to see his solitary eye glaring down at her.
"Make me, runt" he barked, planning one hand firmly on the other side of the wall to make it completely impossible for her to get through at all.
"Move, please" she tried again. She was trying very hard not to lose her temper.
"Ah said make me. What, ya ain't got the balls to try?" His face was set in quite the wicked sneer and his eye was gleaming in a very predatory way. Usually he didn't harass women, but this runt didn't look like captain material and he did not approve in the least.
"Please" she sighed. "Isa don't wanna-"
"So you're short and a weakling."
That did it.
Face flushed deep red as her frustration reached its highest heights, So grabbed tightly onto the front of his shihakusho and yanked him down with a surprising amount of force. She pulled him back just enough to step out of the alcove and then hefted him over her shoulder. With little hesitation she swung her arm up and sent him flying, his hulking body clearing a little over two hundred feet before slamming through the wall of a building.
"I'm not short!" She shouted at him, her voice the loudest any of them had ever heard it.
Her spiritual pressure spiked along with her volume and sent several by standing squad one members to their knees, unprepared for the sudden force pressing down upon them. Even a few of the lieutenants felt themselves flinch at the pulse of power that was there and then a moment later gone.
Cap back on her power, So turned sharply on her heel and stormed away with a pout on her face, Shuhei following at what he hoped was a safe distance as she muttered and mumbled to herself and he was left wondering what exactly had just happened. He'd only caught that last bit, like everyone else.
He was pretty sure he didn't want to know anyway, if she was so riled up.
Behind them, rather far behind them now with her quick pace, a group of confused captains and lieutenants stood, gazing at Kenpachi, lodged in the wall of what appeared to be a supply building.
Yachiru was standing just in front of him, a curious look on her face.
"Are you okay Kenny?" she asked as he pulled himself from the rubble and cracked his neck.
A maniacal grin spread over his face as he watched her retreating form. "Just great" he nodded to the small girl, letting her climb up onto her shoulder.
"She's pretty strong huh? You gonna fight her?"
"Hell yeah" he replied, eye glinting dangerously
And there you have it, So and Kenpachi interacting for the first time. She's a lot more volotile than you thought right? Or maybe not, maybe you'vve got her pegged, or went along and read her profile XD. Addressing things though, like story things.
This chapter mostly serves to show how alone So is in her new position as captain. As I said, besides Unohana and Yamamoto she doesn't really know anyone and even those two are more of mentors, not friendly friends so interaction and relationships will be a pretty important part of her development and this fic.
As you can see, she and Kenpachi aren't quite getting along and yeah, I want it that way for now. They'll get along eventually... hopefully. XD But yeah, that's chapter three and I'm writing chapter four already. Got something to say, say it. Now it's two of you watching this fic and thank you so much for the review, it made me smile. ^^ You know who you two are, but for everyone else they're and gnarly. I'm reading both of your fics right now. You'll probably get faves and reviews from me, just so you know. XD Hope you enjoyed this~
