~Twenty-Four- Yamamoto's Confession, Takeo's New Love!~

AN:

Well, here is the second to the last chap of 'The True Will of the Heart'. *Cries a little*

This chapter's going to be hilarious. I want to give you guys a short little treat before all this ends. Since I'm SUCH a nice person, I decided that Takeo could end up with somebody [instead of the 'dying' alternative] in this story. It would help things wrap up nicely.

Play anything you freaking want with this chapter, really.

Just be really sure to expect the unexpected. Seriously.

-Fanatic99

Kobayashi Manor

Two Days After the [Failed] Wedding

Genryosuke Kobayashi sat in his tea room, sipping quietly at a cup of oolong tea.

"Perhaps it was never meant to be that I was to meet my father."

The wind blew softly, ringing the wind chimes in the garden.

Kobayashi-sama sighed and slumped a little.

But who the hell could my father be?!

Suddenly, the nice cleaning girl, What's-her-face… ah, Kasumi, ran in, panting.

"Kobayashi-dono!" She exclaimed, bowing to her master. "Sou-Taicho Yamamoto wants to see you!"

"…the Yamamoto of the Gotei 13?" Kobayashi-sama asked, curiously.

"Hai."

Kobayashi stood up and followed Kasumi into the waiting room a few doors down in the hallway.

There, in the middle of the room, sat Sou-Taicho Yamamoto. He was sipping at some oolong tea nervously.

Kobayashi sat down at the table Yamamoto was over and smiled.

"What could have possibly given me the honor of seeing you today, Yamamoto-sensei?"

Yamamoto looked to the ceiling. "I came to tell you something important about your past."

Kobayashi leaned in, curious to what Yamamoto had to say.

There was silence.

The chimes in the garden sounded.

Yamamoto cleared his throat.

"…I heard recently that you are on the search for your father."

Kobayashi nodded. "I've been looking for 368 years now. I've had no luck at all."

Yamamoto cleared his throat again. Silence.

"Well, Kobyashi-kohai, I have something to admit."

Kobayashi leaned in more. He was really suspenseful.

"…I am your FATHER!"

The statement shocked Kobayashi so much it made his heart almost stop.

"I… dropped the ball on your mother almost 400 years ago. I mean, it was totally unintentional, but…"

"…why did you do that to my mom?" Kobayashi asked, quite shocked.

Yamamoto sighed. "It was way back when I had dark, beautiful hair, and when I had a soul patch instead of a beard. I was a sort of rebel back then; always wanting to do my own thing. I was already the First Division Captain at the time, but I was young… anyways, I got drunk one night, met your mother, who was drunk as well. I dragged her to a bed in the 5th Division barracks, and after a few rounds of kissing; I decided I wanted to have sex with her." Yamamoto said simply. "So I did. It didn't take long to get her clothes off. I was handsome back then. I had sex with her for such a long time I'm pretty sure that I wanted to have a child. I was so stupid. The next morning, when I woke up, I saw that I was naked in bed with a woman whose name I didn't even remember. I was totally stoned, the covers of the bed were ripped to shreds, and the woman was, well, as we guys say it, 'tagged', just about everywhere. I was totally disgusted at myself. I didn't know what to do. So I simply left her a card that said 'Sorry' on it and scrammed."

Kobayashi's mouth hung open in terror. Yamamoto had described the situation so graphically he could almost picture what had happened in his head [Which mind you, was a pretty disturbing sight].

Yamamoto shifted nervously. "After that incident I sort of matured. I became serious about my job. I always wondered who my child would've been, but I never bothered to look."

Kobayashi didn't know what else to say.

"…daddy!"

He hugged Yamamoto, crying. "You are my daddy!"

Yamamoto smiled and held his son closer. "There, there."

Behind them, they heard something crack.

The serving girl Kasumi had walked in at the worst time possible, witnessing the two old men hug passionately.

She dropped the tray she had been carrying, shocked at the sight.

I don't think there is any more ways I can describe the situation but as 'awkward'.

--

Seikonsu Bar [In Seireitei]

11:56 PM

"Another shot."

The bartender sadly passed another shot of hard liquor at the bar's #1 customer, Kobayashi Takeo. The kid had been so depressed after being ditched by his fiancé that he decided the best way to drown out the pain was with liquor.

Shot after shot Takeo felt his world spin into something it wasn't: a total dream.

He couldn't help it. He'd been so foolish, even trying to take advantage of Rukia once. He downed his shot and sighed, his breath stinking with alcohol.

"You sure you want to keep drinking, Kobayashi?" The bartender asked nervously. "A few more shots and you could be down for the count permanently."

Takeo shrugged. "Another shot. Make it a mix of sake and wine."

The bartender sighed and mixed Takeo's order. He slid it down the counter towards him.

Suddenly, someone stopped the shot glass with a hand and downed the shot.

Takeo stared. "Where's my drink?"

The bar fell silent.

"That wasn't bad," A voice hiccupped cheerfully. "I've never tasted sake and wine together."

Takeo was angry. He started shoving through people to see who had stolen his drink.

It wasn't a man. It was Rangiku Matsumoto.

The moment Takeo truly laid his eyes on her, he felt his whole world slow.

Damn.

Matsumoto eyed Takeo curiously. "Ah, it's you, Takeo!"

Takeo nodded quietly. "It's you."

Matsumoto eyed Takeo for the first time. His hair was nice, but his eyes… they were amazing.

The bartender saw the sparks fly between the two, and he grinned.

"Guess what! I want to hold a drinking competition! Free sake for the winner!"

Many people started crowding around the counter at once, but the bartender smiled and selected Matsumoto and Takeo to be the contestants.

"The first person to down all 15 of the house's hardest stuff without passing out wins!"

The Seikonsu bar was infamous for its Inferno Sake, a mixture of the hardest partly-legal liquor available. It was so bad the strongest of men would pass out from half a shot.

Both Matsumoto and Takeo wanted free sake too badly to notice the danger they could be putting themselves in.

"Ready… go!"

Shot by shot, each competitor drank fast, downing the sake like it was plain water.

But Takeo took the lead. 3, 4, 5, oh, and 7! The shot glasses slammed down on the table one by one.

But Takeo started to feel lightheaded. Dizzy, even. The sake was setting in. It was starting the Inferno.

His throat felt horrible, but he kept going. 12, 13, 14…

Just one more!

Takeo struggled to bring the last shot glass to his lips. His hands shook.

He couldn't hear the excited screams around him anymore. He couldn't take the alcohol anymore. He couldn't take the pain.

The rest was a blur. Takeo's Kobayashi's head dropped to the table, and he dropped his last cup of sake to the ground, producing an ear-piercing shatter of glass. He had been defeated.

Matsumoto had already downed her last shot.

Cheers and congratulation filled the room. Matsumoto laughed and smiled and waved her hand goofily.

Takeo was down.

His… eyes… slowly… closed…

--

"Wake up."

Matsumoto slapped his cheeks a little. "C'mon. Wake up."

He didn't budge.

Matsumoto sighed. He heard her leave. But soon, she came back, holding something heavy.

He felt ice water being poured on him. His eyes shot open.

"Takeo, you've been out for 13 hours." Matsumoto said, a matter-of-factly. "I really think you should try to stop drinking. Your metabolism can't take it."

Takeo nodded wearily."Yeah."

He looked around. They were in the 10th Division barracks, and he had been lying in one of the hospital beds.

"Why am I here?"

"When I won the drinking competition last night, I turned to shake your hand, but you were totally stoned. I was so worried that you were dead that I carried you for 4 miles to get here."

Takeo nodded. He stared at her blond curls and knowing grey eyes. He smiled.

Matsumoto smiled back. His dark hair was covering his eyes with damp sweat. His eyes sparkled.

A perverted and drunken man with a perverted and drunken woman. It was meant to be.

AN:

*LAUGHING ASS OFF*

I AM YOUR FATHER!!!

…I thought that MatsuTakeo made sense, because, they are pretty much the same. Although I'm a GinMatsu fan, I had to do this.

…special announcement! I'm postponing my release of the story 'Reaching Out' for a different one. The newer story is called 'Life Lessons With the Strawberry'. I've attached an excerpt from the story to get you interested.

Told in Rukia's POV

"I don't get it." I said.

"Don't get what?"

I pointed to the flashing TV screen. "I don't get why that girl always smiles. I just don't."

Ichigo and I were seated on the loveseat [Ha-ha.] in his living room, watching some random show. It was really uncomfortable because it was the middle of June, and it was really hot. I was practically squished up against him, because the Kurosaki's couch was really small.

Isshin and the girls were out to see a movie, so it was just Ichigo and I, sticking to the sofa, on a hot summer day.

Ichigo smells like burning rubber when he sweats. He says I smell like hot sake. I prefer my smell, personally.

Ichigo punched me playfully. "She's smiling because she's happy. It's a social norm, Rukia. Don't you ever smile?"

I frowned. "I don't smile for the hell of it like she does."

Ichigo shrugged. "I mean, I guess it's normal in this society to just smile."

"I smile," I murmured.

I leaned over and turned the electric fan near us on full blast, but the hot air still seemed to kill me. I was already in a black tank top and short shorts, and Ichigo was already in a t-shirt and shorts. I'm pretty sure that neither of us wanted to strip down as much as we wanted to. I mean, it's not 'normal' to walk around in your underwear. Not at all, especially in front of other people.

I sighed. "Ichigo, go grab me a beer from the ref."

Ichigo looked at me like I was insane. "But…"

"I'm ten times your age, fool. I've drank alcohol before."

Ichigo stopped for a moment. "I'll only get it for you if you smile."

I looked at him, annoyed. "You've got to be kidding me. I'm going to melt into a freaking pool if I don't get something cold to drink."

Ichigo shrugged. "Get it yourself."

I moaned and stood up, dragging myself the whole way to the fridge. To my utter amazement, next to the ice cold beers and soda cans in the freezer were, yes, my salvation.

Packets of popsicles. Ice cream.

I looked at the popsicles, too happy to contain my joy. I pulled the box out of the freezer along with a can of coke and stared at it.

"…oh…"

The box was labeled 'Ichigo's Only. Don't touch unless you want to die. That means you, Dad.'

I still reached for one, but I didn't want to take any without permission.

But… it… is…. So… damn… hot….

They were chocolate flavored. It was mainly milk chocolate, with a rich caramel filling, and a spiral of white chocolate wrapped it. And- oh gods- the popsicles had bunny prints on them.

I could feel myself salivate.

-Taken from the Story 'Life Lessons with the Strawberry'

Chapter: How Ichigo Taught Me to Smile

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