Chapter 11

((Warning! Contains spoilers! Most of what happens from this point on are my theories as to what will happen in later chapters of the manga))

Six months after the Infiltration of the Wandenreich. Everyone was trying to get things back to normal as possible, despite the numerous losses and just how much had changed. Kenpachi's arm had regenerated since his fight with Pernida thanks to Mayuri's Hojiku-Zai. However, he was still getting used to the fact that Yachiru was no longer around. That she was, in fact, the very spirit of his zanpakuto. Although he was glad he knew what had happened to her after she disappeared during his fight with Gremmy, it deeply bothered him that never again would he see her running around the barracks, getting into trouble, always riding on his shoulder. Her absence had affected all of squad 11, especially Asae. Apart from Kenpachi, she missed her the most. Yachiru had become almost like an adopted daughter to her. It seemed like there would always be this missing part of their lives now.
"Asae? Are you here?" Rukia entered the squad 11 barracks, taken aback by how abnormally quiet it was now.
"Hey Rukia." Asae stepped out to greet her friend.
"I don't have long to talk, I'm supposed to be on a mission right now. I brought you what you asked for from the human world." She handed Asae a small shopping bag. "Is everything…ok?" Asae sighed deeply.
"We're holding up." Asae answered with forced cheerfulness.
"Just…keep me informed, ok?" Rukia put her arms around her friend.
"Yeah…" Asae halfheartedly returned the hug.
"I have to go. Good luck." Rukia whispered before scurrying off.
"I need a lot more than luck…" Asae muttered.

…
'Ok. 2 minutes. Plus or negative.' Asae thought to herself as she stared at the little white stick on the counter. 'God this is the longest 2 minutes of my life!' she lamented and buried her face in her hands. Indeed, the time seemed to stretch on into eternity until… "Oh. Oh shit…" a heavy knock on the door brought her to attention.
"Blueberry? You in there?"
"Uh…yeah, Kenpachi…I'll be out in a minute…" Asae took a deep breath, picked up the stick, and stepped out to break the news. She found him sitting at his desk, going over some stacks of paperwork.

"Uh…Kenpachi? Can we talk?" Asae shuffled in nervously.
"What's up, Blueberry?" he asked, not even looking up from his papers.
"Kenpachi it's important." She commanded. Her tone caught him off guard and he pushed his work to the side. Asae gulped loudly, then handed him the stick. He eyed it for a moment.
"The hell is this?"
"It's…it's a pregnancy test from the human world. Kenpachi…I'm pregnant." Asae waited for a response, anything! But he just sat in absolute silence, no expression on his face. Finally he stood up, walked over to the wall at the opposite end of the room.
"You're absolutely sure?" Asae noticed his fists clenched tight.
"…Yes." Asae took a few steps back; he was starting to scare her.
"Shit…" his muscles relaxed, his fists unclenched for a moment "SHIT!" he punched through the wall sending the whole thing flying into the next building. Without even looking at her, he turned and left.
"Kenpachi…no…please…" Tears welled up in Asae's eyes, she was shaking. In just a few moments her entire world had just come crashing around her. There was only one thing she could do.

…
Noboru Fujiyama grumbled as he went to answer the door. He had a lot of work to catch up on and he did not want any disturbances. He was fully prepared to shoo away any visitors…until he opened the door.
"Asae…"
"Hey dad." Asae smiled sheepishly.
"Asae!" Noboru flung his arms around his daughter, tears welled up in his eyes "I was so worried about you! I missed you so much!"
"I'm sorry I worried you, dad…" Asae choked back her tears, feeling guilt fill her chest.
"Nonesense! I'm just glad you're here! Come inside come inside!" he lead her into the house, shutting the door behind them. "I'll make us some tea." He came back a few minutes later with the tea tray and a delicious smelling jasmine tea.
"Oh…this was mom's favorite…" Asae smiled, feeling a lump in her throat.
"You must really be homesick. You never had that reaction to it before!" Noboru laughed warmly. "Well tell me everything that's been going on, Ms. Soul Reaper."
"Um…you go first dad. How have things been since I left?" Asae wasn't ready to break the news to her father, she knew he would not take it well.
"Oh you'll love this! Well after you left, I didn't have much else to do, so I threw myself into my work…" he stopped as he took notice of Asae's guilty expression. "Oh now sweetheart no it was a good thing! Spare you the boring details, I managed to get a committee together of our noble allies and even some of the nearby villagers. We worked together to break down all the brothels and human trafficking in our district and even better, had Kimiko stripped of her title and sent to the absolute worst district for her crimes!" he was glowing with pride.
"Wow dad that's amazing! I'm proud of you."
"Not as proud as I am of you, baby girl." He smiled warmly at her. "I've gone on long enough, tell me about your life."
"Um…well…" Asae stammered, trying to think of a way to make her story as long as possible before having to reveal to him her real reason for coming back. "I became a soul reaper. I actually graduated a little early. Um…I'm fourth seat in squad 11…"
"Squad 11, huh. With Zaraki." A bit of a dark expression crossed his features. The sound of his name made her feel a twinge of sadness.
"Yeah…with Zaraki…" she went over all of her battles, her triumphs, the friends she'd made and lost until she finally ran out of things to say; except…
"Dad…I haven't been entirely honest with you. There's a reason I had to come back…" Noboru took his daughter's hands in his.
"Sweetheart what's wrong?"
"Dad I…I'm pregnant." The weight of the sentence hit Noboru like a ton of bricks. It was all he could do to just sit in stunned silence for a moment.
"Dad…come on say something" Asae urged.
"Zaraki." Noboru finally muttered. "I'm going to kill him!" he leapt up from the couch, but Asae grabbed his arms, holding him back.
"Dad! No! Stop! You know he'd just destroy you as soon as look at you!"
"It would be worth it!" Noboru argued, fighting against Asae's surprising strength. She finally managed to wrestle him back on the couch and calmed him down somewhat.
"So…what now?" Asae asked, still nursing her cup of tea. Noboru stayed quiet for a long while, his brow furrowed in thought. Finally he spoke up, speaking slowly, choosing his words carefully.
"I know a doctor in the village. He's the best around. He'd be able to make this whole mess go away, as if it never happened."
"Dad…no! This is my baby and I'm keeping it!" Asae jumped up from the couch, her hand over her belly protectively.
"Asae, please, be reasonable. No good will come of this." Her father begged.
"I…I'll figure something out dad. I promise."