Once again, no ownie, no suie. Warnings: Character whumpage, spoilers for episode 119. Guest stars: Yumichika, Ikkaku, Urahara (in spirit.)
Soundtrack: Sons of Plunder by Disturbed.
"So, you're leaving tomorrow?" Hatori asked.
"Yep. I wanna get as far as I can before winter hits. I think your old man'll be glad to see the back of me. Take care of yourself, and don't let Tamao slack off."
"Yachiru, you imp!" Shiho yelled. "Give back those mushrooms, now!"
Yachiru zipped past and scrambled up to Kenpachi's shoulder. She stuck her tongue out. Che, brats, no concept of privacy. Or timing.
"Baka," he said automatically. He checked the basket Yachiru'd stolen. "Oi, Shiho, you trying to poison someone?"
"What do you mean?"
"The edible mushrooms grow on the trees, not the roots."
Hatori stifled a laugh. "I'd tell you to take care, but I think you two'll do just fine. I'll get word to you when Tamao leaves for the Academy."
"Ya can tag along if you want."
"No thanks, I'd stick out like a sore thumb."
That was just an excuse and they both knew it. Kenpachi privately thought 'Tori was a little young for fatherhood, anyway. It'd been fun, though.
--
"And tonight, we say farewell to Zaraki-sama and Kusajishi-jo," Isao said, cheerfully. His relations with Kenpachi were somewhat frosty, but he liked Yachiru. He had to give the man credit: Yachiru never suffered under Kenpachi's care. Kenpachi'd cheerfully put up with the other children as well, teaching them new skills and watching over them as they played.
"To thank Zaraki-sama for his excellent service, his salary has been paid in full. Also, we hope that Zaraki-sama and Kusajishi will accept these farewell presents."
He produced two travel packs, one big and one little. Yachiru's eyes grew wide, and Kenpachi hooked her by her new obi. New to her- the black kimono was one of Tamao's castoffs, but she'd grown out of it so fast there was hardly any wear. Midori was a wizard with a sewing needle.
"Thanks," Kenpachi said curtly. He opened the pack. "This stuff'll really come in handy."
Yachiru squealed with delight over her presents. A little bag of chestnuts from Tori, a ball and a set of jacks from Shiho, a quilted jacket from Tamao, a cute little purse and a sketchbook with pencils from the twins.
"I bought the purse," Minoru said. "I'm sorry for bein' mean."
He flushed when Yachiru hugged him.
"Yachiru, thank them properly," Kenpachi said. Even The Box had been revarnished. He was a bit sorry to be leaving, but they couldn't stay here forever.
--
Kenpachi jumped down from the wagon. The caravan was going back to Thirty-seventh for the winter, but he and Yachiru needed to get a move on.
"Bye Yachiru," Tamao called. "I'll work really hard so we can be shinigami together!"
"I'm sorry I teased you," Minoru called.
"Bye, Uncle Demon, I'll always remember your stories," Hideki said.
"Yachiru, Uncle Demon, have fun!" Shiho yelled.
"Bye, take care!" Tori called. "Don't let us down, Kenta-sama!"
--
"Hey, Ken-chan, when are we going to get there?"
"Late spring, early summer. We're makin' good time. We'll stay in Akizuki tonight, see if anythin' fun happens. First, we need to get me a coat and then get some dinner in our bellies."
"Why don't I get a coat?"
"'Cause you can fit under mine. And that quilted jacket and the padded kimono'll keep you plenty warm."
He idly wondered how much tabi cost. When it got a bit colder, she might need them. They might even have enough for a pair of sandals. It was nice to be alone again-well, sort of.
--
Kenpachi kept his ears open as they tucked into their oden.
"Is Madarame back?" A man at the next table asked.
"No. He headed out to go pick a fight with a little band of bandits. Well, they call themselves bandits. A bunch of fumbling thugs is what I'd call 'em," the restaurant owner said.
"I wish Madarame joy of 'em. He and his boy-toy cause most of the trouble in this district," the first speaker said contemptuously. "I wish they'd get themselves scooped up by shinigami."
"I don't think the Gotei 13 would take'em."
Kenpachi smiled. Perhaps he'd have some fun here after all.
--
Ikkaku Madarame was pissed. Of course, that was his default state of being since he'd woken up in the Rukon. He'd snared a teacher for himself, learned to fight, and began wandering the Rukon when his teacher left. The current problem was that he'd defeated his opponents too easily.
He almost kinda wished that fairy story of Yumi's was real. The "demon of Zaraki," if such a man existed, was probably dead by now.
He headed back into town. Akizuki, the 29h district, was home, for now. Snag some food; get into a fight... hell, maybe he'd head to the Fiftieth District later on.
"Tsk, you went ahead and fun without me?" Yumichika asked, sweetly. Ikkaku hadn't even heard his footsteps- the younger man moved like a cat, even with half a dozen weapons stashed about his person. Some days, Ikkaku was surprised he didn't clank. To Yumi, going out without at least three weapons would've been like going outside naked.
"Wouldn't call it fun, exactly. Buncha wimps."
"Too bad. Wipe your face. It isn't very beautiful, you know."
Ikkaku swiped a hand over his face. Yumichika sighed, and inspected his arm. All the fine hairs were standing straight up. How very odd. No wonder everyone in the district was fidgety today. It felt like a thunderstorm had rolled in. People moved out of their way.
"I can't believe it..."
"No, I swear I saw the Demon buying a cloak here. Someone'll die today, you mark my words."
--
"Anyone wanna fight?"
Yachiru perked up her ears, and looked expectantly at Kenpachi. He shook his head. The man yelling that was probably just another dumb punk with a sword.
Che, some guys, put a sword in their hands and they thought they were cock o' the walk. No challenge at all for him. If it wasn't a challenge, it wasn't interesting.
Yachiru went back to her drawing- it was expensive to keep her in chalk, but it kept her happy. And she was pretty talented.
"Anyone wanna die today?"
Yachiru giggled at that.
He heard footsteps. Evidently Yachiru'd caught someone's attention. He pushed back the hood to get a look at the punk. Red marks at the corners of the eyes, shaved head, cocky attitude- typical street mutt. (Were those tattoos? If they were, he at least got points for that. Yeeowch.)
Tattoos or no, if he didn't leave soon, he'd soon learn who was the biggest, baddest street dog around.
"You should leave," Yachiru informed him. "Ken-chan's in a good mood today, so you'll get beaten up for sure."
The man chuckled. "He'll beat me up 'cause he's in a good mood? That doesn't make sense."
"He doesn't hold back when he's having fun. You could get killed."
"Heh, sounds like my kind of fight."
"You're not very smart are you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Kenpachi decided that punk or not, he really disliked that tone. He stood up, pulling the cloak off.
"Hey, leave her alone."
He flared his reiatsu, pushing his opponent back.
"Gonna run?"
The man leapt back, pulling his sword out. Kenpachi landed a hit on the sheath. He'd never seen anyone use it to block before. He swung again and again, watching his opponent grin.
Gotta give the baka credit, Kenpachi thought. This puppy's been trained.
--
Ikkaku hadn't known what he'd been expecting. Some half-grown brat with a sword, probably. He'd been surprised how chatty the little brat was, considering her protector was going to get his ass kicked. Beat the protector; pack the brat off to Seireitei, easy right?
When what he'd thought was a bit of the wall peeled itself away, he'd been unpleasantly surprised. But hell, it wasn't the size of the dog that mattered; it was the amount of fight in the dog.
--
One, two, three... Kenpachi was having the time of his life. He just kept whaling away, watching little specks of blood appearing on the man's arms. He could sense the younger man bracing himself against the strikes. Sparks showered from both blades when steel met steel.
His opponent jumped out of the crater he was in. Kenpachi let down his guard, a little.
The bald man licked away a drop of blood. "This is a first."
"It's been a while since I was able to cut loose," Kenpachi agreed. This was fun. He hadn't had a good fight in ages.
His opponent altered his stance, preparing to attack. Attacking from above? Interesting tactic, but it wasn't gonna work. He blocked automatically, falling into the old rhythm. This was the only dance worth dancing and he'd gotten a good partner this time. Shame it had to end.
Kenpachi tensed, waiting for the next strike. A flicker of movement-there. He charged, sword out. There was the unmistakable sound of steel being sheered. The blade jumped in his hands, and he knew he'd made a hit. He turned. His opponent was down for the count- but still alive.
--
Yumichika had watched the whole thing, pale blue eyes wide. Dammit, he'd told Ikkaku again and again that he was being too reckless. He remembered life before Ikkaku- and it hadn't been pleasant. Life after Ikkaku was not worth living. They'd watched each other's backs for decades, using every trick at their disposal to get through another year. He fidgeted with his right sleeve. There was a special spring loaded sheath in there, and a vial of poison sewn into his left just in case. If the big man had any future plans for him, Yumichika wouldn't hesitate to use it.
However, he seemed focused on Ikkaku's corpse. Or- no. The girl beside him suddenly perked up.
"That never happens," she said softly. "That man must be really strong, 'cause normally Ken-chan's opponents wind up dead."
She raced over to her 'Ken-chan's' side.
"Yachi, get our things," the man ordered, eyes locked forward. "This just got interesting. Hey, you!"
Yumichika nearly jumped a ri.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Your boyfriend's gonna live. He's gonna be hurtin' for a while though, so take care of him."
Yumichika swallowed the usual retort and nodded.
--
"Honestly, Ikkaku-kun," the blonde man said. "I warned you. The good news is- you won't die."
He growled. Stupid Urahara-sensei. Always living frivolously- even his own division didn't take the man seriously. He was strong, but you'd never know it.
"Ikkaku, if you learned to think, instead of only acting, you could be great. Open your eyes, boy!"
--
"Kill me," the man rasped suddenly.
Kenpachi frowned at him. He'd done the guy a fuckin' favor by letting him live. He'd missed the lungs by a few inches, so death wasn't in his former opponent's future. (If he had hit the lungs, he would've been more than happy to finish the job. He'd died that way, and it was an awful way to go.)
"I didn't come here to put down wounded pups," he growled.
He yanked the man upright and scolded him. That had been a good fight, and if Ikkaku wanted a rematch, he was gonna get it in the Seireitei.
--
"I hate to say it," Yumichika said, placing Ikkaku's arm over his shoulder. "But I told you so. You're lucky to be alive."
He still found it a bit unnerving that the man from Zaraki had declined to kill Ikkaku. He'd seemed pleased that Ikkaku was still alive. What an odd fellow.
Ikkaku managed a weak grin. "Guess I gotta get a new version of the luck-luck dance. My luck's all worn out."
He lapsed into unconsciousness.
Say, sensei? Why is it I'm always lookin' at someone's back? I'll catch up to the Kenpachi no Zaraki, and some day, we'll fight again. And maybe, I'll catch up with you too.
1. I don't believe the tattoos/makeup debate about Ikkaku's markings has ever been settled. If they are tattoos- I have to agree with Kenpachi.
2. Ikkaku, at this point, believes Urahara either died in battle or was killed by his own squad.
3. Yumichika had considered the principles of fighting fair, and how it might apply to him. He decided playing fair wasn't for him.
4. If you want to see Kenpachi's lecture, go watch episode 119. This whole thing is basically that episode from Kenpachi's viewpoint.
Next up: Ikkaku vs. house pests. Also, there's a new poll up on my profile page.