Woohoo, done! So, that took longer than I thought to get them all organized. Thanks for the reviews I've gotten so far, they're great! Please continue.

Swim Break

"Ikka!" The exasperated voice yelled across the training grounds. Sun reflected from the bald dome as the heavy set man flashed by, locked in battle with a slender form. "Ugh. Even his sword is sweaty. How disgusting."

Yumichika picked his way delicately down the hill, jumping carefully over cracks in the ground. He settled down and spread his blanket out, setting his basket on it. Fragile dishes were set out and a lovely picnic he'd talked their cook into making for him was spread. The battle was headed for him and he leveled a glare at the pair; they both swerved around him and continued once his lunch was safe. Satisfaction rushed through him; he'd trained Ikka well.

Halfway through his meal, he was joined by his older friend and offered a plate of food to be devoured. "Did you forget food again?" A low grunt and purple eyes rolled. "You know, if you work yourself to death, you won't be any good to anyone." Another grunt and the brunet went back to eating quietly.

"Thanks Yume." Ikkaku stood and stretched quickly. "See ya later."

Before he could take off again, Yumi cleared his throat. "Kira's asking where you are. Anything in particular I should tell him or should I just say whatever?" Not that he wouldn't anyways, but it was always nice to know how big a lie he was telling.

"He was?" It was so pathetically obvious Yumi laughed out loud and his friend flushed a dull red. "Well, just, tell him I'll be back soon." His voice lowered in embarrassment and he turned and stomped off.

The brunet leaned back and grinned. Nothing would encourage Ikkaku to hurry like knowing his crush missed him.

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When he stumbled home a week later, Yumi caught him at the door and carried him straight to a bath. Kenpachi watched with lidded eyes and snorted. But, the bald man was grinning ear to ear and it didn't fade even once he'd passed out. Three days of sleeping it off and he was roaming around as if he hadn't disappeared for weeks.

First thing he did was harass Yumi to get Kira over. "Alright, fine! I still don't see why you can't invite him yourself."

"Because, moron, he won't come if I ask him."

"Well, if you're going to call me names, I'm not asking him either." Slender arms folded and the brunet turned away. "So there!"

Ikkaku threw his hands in the air. "Fine! Don't help me. See if I buy you any more of those damn chocolates." He stomped off, muttering under his breath and Yumi giggled before chasing after him.

"Ikka, Ikka, don't be mad!" He pounced on the broad back and clung when wide shoulders tried to shrug him off. "Don't be mad at me!"

"Take a hike. You just want treats."

"No, Ikka, I love you!"

"Oh fuck off." A favorite ploy and one the bald man was well used to. "Fine, I'm not mad." Even though he still was.

He was nearly blinded by the grin and while he was blinking, Yumichika bounced off. "Yay! Oh, and Kira should be here in a few minutes."

"You, you little shit!" The chase was on, the pretty brunet running and laughing, his friend roaring every swear he could think of and making up a few as he went. Around and around the compound, Yachiru joining them the instant she noticed, and Kira walked into chaos.

He froze under the yelling, long enough for Yumi to grab him and hide behind the slender back, smile pressed to his shirt. "Careful, Kira, Ikkaku's on a rampage again!" Yachiru hit them first, plowing the blond onto his ass and sending the brunet darting for the safety of the rooftop, Ikkaku on his trail.

"Key!" Energy radiated as she bounced in his lap, arms around his neck, nose pressed to his. "Where were you? I went to play but you weren't home! And that stupid old Captain said you had to work when you got home. Meanie!"

"Ah, my apologies." He smiled down at her and lifted her to rest on his chest so he could look her in the eye. "I had some work that needed to be done but I'm free now. Should we play?"

Silence. Deep, deafening, silence. Even Yumichika and Ikkaku stopped fighting to stare. "Really?" Blond bangs nodded. "Really, really?"

"Of course. But remember, it has to be a reasonably gentle game." A tiny frown before she beamed at him.

"Because you're little, right?" The blue eye twitched but he nodded. "Okay! Let's go kill stuff!"

A pale brow rose. "Kill stuff? Now how gentle is that?" Her shoulders slumped and the little brow furrowed while she thought "Why don't we go swimming? Do you know how?"

"Nope! Ken-chan says swimming is a waste of time!" Her arms flailed wildly. "Water is for drinking and washing blood off. Why would you want to swim in it?"

A gentle laugh and men started to slide out from where they're hidden. "Well, swimming can be a lot of fun. And it is particularly useful in the real world, where there is a lot of water. Should we try? If you don't like it, you can choose what we do next time we play, I promise." The ever brave Eleventh Division melted back into hiding.

Deep, strangely innocent eyes stared at him for a moment. "Ken-chan, I wanna go swimming!"

A low grunt from the Captain and Ikkaku and Yumichika landed behind the pair waiting for an answer. "Fine. You two go with them." Unspoken was that nothing better happen to their Lieutenant.

"Yes, sir!" Their responses were drowned out by the shriek of joy as Yachiru shoved out of Kira's lap to hug Kenpachi, who grunted and stomped off inside, little pink-haired accessory hanging from his shoulder. "Are you insane?" Yumichika snickered and ran to pack a bag for their little trip while his friend glared at the target of his question.

"Why do you ask?" Blond tipped and he looked up at the staring men. "She'll be fine, it's easy."

"No shit. Even I can swim. What were you thinking, saying you'd play with her? People lose limbs when she plays tag for fuck's sake!" Ikkaku glared and lifted the smaller man up by the back of his hakama.

A slight smile and his hand was brushed away. "It's fine. I'm not frail you know." He smiled at Yumichika who sidled back out, placing the blond between himself and Ikkaku. "And she likes to play with me too much to hurt me."

A low growl but the little girl was back and crawling up the tallest's back to sit on his shoulder "Okay, Baldy, go!"

"I'm not a damn horse!" But he started walking, leading the way.

They didn't go far, just under an hour outside of Seireitei to a clear lake near the estate of Kira's family."Key! Show me how!" Her brunet keeper moved quickly to dress her in a loose shirt and shorts, ducking the waving limbs.

"Yes, Yachiru." The blond grinned and stripped out of his over clothes, leaving him in the thin under shirt and dark pants. A pink blur raced by him and leapt into the water, shrieking at the cold.

Water splashed everywhere as Kira followed her in, sliding under the blue surface and coming up under the little girl, gentle hands supporting her. She kicked energetically and flailed around. "It's fucking cold!"

"Lieutenant! Don't swear!" Yumichika settled himself on the edge of a blanket he seemed to pull from thin air. "And don't stay in too long, the cold isn't good for you."

Ikkaku sat beside his friend and watched the laughing pair splash and learn the basics of swimming. Yachiru took to it in minutes and was paddling around by herself quickly. A bit awkward, not nearly as smooth as Kira, but almost as fast, the sheer amount of energy she was wiling to expend making the difference. "Hey, I thought he didn't like kids?"

"What? Ikka, Kira loves children. He's just not used to them. Yachiru has been going over a lot lately." The brunet grinned nastily. "Not even Ichimaru can get rid of her."

Ikkaku breathed deeply and looked back out over the water. "Brat's looking after him for us, is she?" A pleased hum and the small body pressed to his back, the curve of smooth stomach folding around his hips. "Good. Just a bit more and I'll be ready."

"Ikka?" Purple peeked up but was ignored. "You're not going to try and take him, are you? You can't, he won't forgive you."

Serious eyes didn't turn from watching the youngest pair play. "Doesn't matter."

"It does! Ikka!" Yumi yanked on the older man's collar, forcing him to look down. "Promise you won't! You'll hurt him and he won't get better. Promise you'll wait until he wants help." They stared at each other, examining their resolve.

Finally, the larger man sighed and ruffled long bangs. "Fine, I'll wait a bit. But only until I'm completely ready." The brunet started to protest. "I'll let you know, ok?" Full lips pressed together in anger but the younger man remained curled around him, hands in small fists on his thighs "Promise."

"What are you going to do?" A small, thin voice; if Ikkaku hadn't known better, he'd think his friend was afraid.

He debated for a second whether to tell or not. "I'm gonna be Captain." The slender body jerked away from him. "I'm gonna take the Third's coat."

The bald man found himself flat on his back, staring up at wide eyes and bobbing feathers. A thick finger trailed the pretty decoration at the corner of a bright eye as he smiled up."Ikkaku Madarame, are you going to assassinate the Third Division Captain?"

"Nope. Full on fight, head to head, face to face. You know it's not my style to stab someone in the back." He grinned. "I'll win. Gonna kick his ass. Wanna be my third seat?"

"I think I'd prefer if you assassinated him." A low mutter and the older man laughed. "And no, I don't want to be third of the Third Division. I'll just take over your spot." A haughty sniff and the bald man was yanked down, nose touching his friend's.

Before Ikkaku could comment, Kira's voice rose from the lake. "Um, hey, guys? Can, ah, one of you come and play with Yachiru, please?" Both men turned to look and watch the blond shiver violently.

Yumichika rose gracefully and let Ikkaku take his blanket to wrap around the smaller man."Ah, hell, get out of there! It's too damn cold for a skinny guy like you to be in there for long." The brunet slid the top of his hakama down and stuck his toes in the water, chatting with the little girl while she practiced her new skill.

Brisk rubbing removed most of the water and the slender blond spread himself out on his back, letting the sun finish drying him and warm his skin. The bald man sat beside him, staring determinedly into the distance; wet clothes clung to the delicate frame, outlining every muscle and angle. Silence for long minutes until Ikkaku ran a hand over his head. "Hey, Kira?" A mumble from the reclining man, half asleep in the sun. "I, well, I wanted to say I'm sorry. For the crap I said."

He felt blue eyes open and fasten on him and kept staring at the sky. "It's ok. I know you were just upset." A pleased smile was just visible from the corner of his eye. "I'm glad you didn't mean it." The third seat almost opened his mouth to reply he hadn't said that but chose not to. After all it wouldn't hurt anything for the little blond to think he hadn't meant it. "Where did you go? I wanted to visit but Yumi said you had gone and wouldn't be back for a while."

"Did he?" Well, someone was getting his ass kicked later; the brunet suddenly looked up, always sensitive to possible threats. He grinned and waved, kicking water at Yachiru, who splashed back and tried to throw a handful of cold liquid over the perfect head. "I had some stuff to do. No big deal, I'm back now." No reason to tell Kira he had been away planning and training to remove his beloved Captain from existence.

A quick glance showed the blond to be smiling and waving to Yumi. "Are you ready to go?" The brunet turned to wave back and was drenched by a little pink haired girl leaping on him, shaggy hair shaking water everywhere.

Outraged gasps and Kira hopped up to help him dry off, patting dark strands back into place and murmuring assurances that the pretty man would be alright. Ikkaku dove in after Yachiru, who had paddled off laughing and chased her around the lake for a bit before dragging her out to get dressed again. By the time they made it back, the little girl was nearly asleep on Ikkaku's shoulder and Ichimaru was waiting in the compound, smile in place.

Thin shoulders rounded immediately and the blond followed his silent commander away, glancing back shyly, waving a bit before his hand was tapped. "Show some decorum. Look at you. You're a disgrace." Cold amber eyes glared over the damp clothes and messy hair, bits of grass still peeking through long bangs.

Ikkaku growled but was held back by a slender hand as the blond apologized and left, head down. "Patience, Ikka. Soon, he won't stay much longer." Dark, rage filled eyes turned down but Yumi was watching the pair of blonds walk away. "I can feel it." A charming smile beamed up, insincere and vicious. "Hurry, Ikka, be ready."

A heavy fist clenched before the older man nodded and patted Yachiru's back as she murmured in sleepy confusion.