Chapter 26: Reveal
Those words that she was talking about, about the little fact that the third seat might not love her, made Kunio growl in annoyance. Grasping her shoulders, he shook her gently, making his sister look at him. "Are you sure about that? I mean, how would you know if he doesn't love you?"
"The fact that he doesn't really put all of himself in making love or whatever you want to call it is a sign. He's so distant during that part." Tomoko sobbed as she buried her face in his chest. It hurt knowing it. Closing her eyes to end the tears that seemed to pour out, the bluish green haired woman bit her lip.
"You should talk to him about it."
Shaking her head, Tsubaki opened her eyes to look up at the man that was family. Ikkaku wouldn't want to waste time knowing that he was going to be a father. He didn't care if she was carrying his child or dying.
"You have to do it Tomo-imouto. That child depends on it. If you don't tell him now, he'll find out later on when it progresses. A pregnancy is a hard thing to hide especially as you get later into it." The ebony haired shinigami explained, feeling a little light hearted about her coming to him. It was better then her rushing into things.
Seeing her this broken hearted over a fact that should excite her concerned him. He's seen shinigami, or heard about, shinigami getting their mistresses pregnant and doing some things that he's afraid of Ikkaku doing. One, he'll abandon her as if she's a broken toy that needs to be thrown away. Two, he'll accept the fact that he's going to have a child and stay with her throughout the entire thing.
He was scared of the fact that the man he looked up to would abandon the barmaid. Hearing his name being called by someone, he looked back and let go of his family. Bending down to look at her, he forced a smile on his face. "Listen. I'm gonna try to get off early, which is hard. Maybe Fong-taicho will allow it since it deals with family. Stay here."
Nodding, she moved over until she was leaning against the wall that was around the barracks. Sitting down, she stared at her lap, her hand touching the location of her unborn child. Seeing her act like that made Kunio run to see what the person wanted.
Tomoko closed her eyes and wiped at the tears that were spilling out of her eyes. She should be happy about having a child but knowing that she might not be loved back would be hard to deal with. Biting her lip to silence a sob, she looked up in time to see something that was unusual to see. Of course she's heard of the captains being different but this one was entirely different. "Um . . . Konbawa."
An ear twitched on the man's head, making him turn to show that he indeed had a face of a wolf. Nodding, he continued on.
"What now?" The barmaid asked herself, wanting someone to answer her question. Looking down at her lap again, she felt something fall on her shoulder. Glancing up, she smiled a little at Akemi who looked a little out of breath. "I take it Kunio-onii got a hold of you."
Nodding, the auburn haired beauty sat down beside her family and grabbed a hold of her. "He told me everything. Are you positive that he doesn't love you? He might have been feeling unwell that day."
"I know it. He becomes distant during that so it's just a sign. I know it is." Tomoko replied with her hand wiping away a tear. Hearing the gates open again, she saw her brother sit down in front of them and smiled a little. "On a better note, I looked at that place finally. I just might take it."
"That doesn't concern us right now," Kunio stated with a small sigh. Wanting to go find the bald shinigami, he felt like getting up and going after the man. Reaching over and ruffling the unique hair of his sister, he chuckled. "You know something. What would oto-san do?"
"Most likely go after Ikkaku for it. He would ask questions then do what he wants to do based on the questions." She said at the thought of the man that she inherited her hair and eyes. Looking at the location of the unborn child, she sighed a little. It would be nice to have her parents here to support her. Unfortunately her mother was being a bitch about everything.
Nodding with a shrug, the older sibling got up and stretched. "Who else have you told?"
"Jirou. He kinda talked me into taking the test. I'm glad that he did because now I know what to expect."
Akemi hugged her sister-in-law, knowing that it was hard to go through this when you weren't really wanting it. She's known women that accidently became pregnant early – around their teenage years – or something that caused it to happen that was against their will. "How about you go talk to him now? It might be easy."
Hearing the question that was directed to her, Tomoko shook her head. The young barmaid didn't want to know and see his reaction to the news. The odds of him not wanting her or the child – even if he was part of the equation to make it – were overpowering her and him taking care of her.
"You're going to have to do it." Akemi said, reminding the other woman that she'll have to go home sooner or later. Picking them both up, she smiled a little and hugged her gently. "We'll be there. Unless we get kicked out for not being manly enough. If that happens, I'll show them manly."
A small laugh came from the sapphire eyed barmaid that was seeing a small smile dance on her brother's face. She might as well do it since it was better to confront something when you notice it. Taking a step, she followed after her family to the eleventh division barracks.
As they got closer, the barmaid's nerves were making her play with her sleeves quickly. It calmed her a bit but not enough to make her appear calm. Looking at the gates that would soon be looming over them, she took a breath to calm herself. That also didn't help.
Stepping into the barracks, a small yelp escaped Tomoko as she fell back onto her rump and a ball of bright pink hair in her face. Knowing who it was, she forced a smile on her face to appear not troubled by something.
"Toto! Where were you? I looked at your work place but you left home already. I was really worried and wanted to play hide and seek again. Wait . . . why do you look so depressed? Did Baldy hurt you?" Kusajishi asked at the end as she poked the woman in the nose. Looking up at the two shinigami that was with her, she waved but turned her attention back to her friend.
"It's hard to explain Yachiru-chan. Can you please get off? You're hurting me." The bluish green haired woman said as she smiled a little more. Feeling the small weight come off her lap and stomach, she sighed in relief. Picking herself up, she slipped off her sandals and went on the look for Ikkaku.
"Where would he be at?" Kunio inquired as he looked around and nodded to a few people.
"His room, bathing area, dining area, or sparing rooms." Tomoko recalled from memory. Heading down a hallway, she threw open the door to his room and found nothing but the things she and he owned. Closing it, she growled in annoyance as she almost jogged to the area where the sparing rooms were. Throwing open the doors there, she found people but not the person she was looking for.
"Maybe he's getting a bath?" Akemi suggested with a weak smile. She didn't know her friend was this persistent on things when it came to letting it be known. Looking up at Kunio, only to see him gone, she looked around and found nothing of the other shinigami. "Kuso."
She found nothing of him in the dining area. It was like the bald shinigami disappeared into thin air so she wouldn't find him. Growling in annoyance, she sat down on the deck and glared at the flowers that were put out.
"Where the hell have you been?" Akemi's voice rang in the summer air, making Tomoko look to see Kunio hauling a fussing third seat who was trying to jab him with his sheathed sword.
Getting up, she made her way over to the three who was glaring at each other but Ikkaku didn't know why they were glaring at him. Biting her lip and seeing their attention turn to her and walked away, she was happy that they knew when to give her privacy. "We need to talk Ikkaku-kun."
Blinking and seeing her turn her back to him, Ikkaku followed after his lover to their room. Closing the door behind him, he saw her eyes mist over, as if something hurt her and she wanted him to be notified about it. "What is it?"
Biting her lip, unsure how to say it to someone that could possibly disown her, the long-haired barmaid lowered her gaze to the floor. The silence seemed a lot better than words but it had to be known. She knew that. Turning her attention to the face that had crimson painted at the corner of his eyes, she tried to smile but couldn't. "I'm pregnant."
Those words were hard to digest. Looking at the azure eyes for any hint of it being a joke, he found nothing of what he was looking for. It had to be a joke to him – a sick joke that they were pulling on him for fun and games. "Nande?"
It was just a sign, another sign, that he wouldn't care for this child that was his. Taking a breath and blinking, the unique haired woman looked at her lover and sighed. "Why? Why you ask? I don't know. Wait. I do. We had sex! That's why I'm pregnant. Did you ever think of the fact that I might carry a child while we were doing that?"
In the back of his mind he did but not fully. He didn't expect her to become pregnant from so many times that they fooled around. Closing his sable eyes and leaning against a book case that was put in before he became the third seat, he sighed to himself.
He was going to be expecting a child. Again, in the back of his mind he was happy about the fact that he was going to have a child to care for – to call his own. The other side of him though wasn't ready for a child. Being a shinigami was his passion and he wasn't wanting a child yet. He might never want a child so he didn't think this was good news like she probably wanted it to be. "What are you going to do about it?"
Narrowing her eyes at the man that kept his tone calm instead of joyous or anything other then what she was hearing, she shook her head. "You don't want this child. Do you?"
"You've guessed it."
Growling in annoyance, Tomoko rubbed the bridge of her nose to keep herself calm. That urge to yell at him was there though. That desire to give him a piece of her mind – the fact that he was going to be a father whether he liked it or not – was screaming at her in her mind. "Whether you like it or not . . ."
"Yea?" Madarame questioned with his eyes opening to see tears fall from the already red and puffy eyes. Rolling his eyes at the weak emotion, he blinked.
"You're going to be a father. There's no escaping it. You are going to be a father." She explained slowly, trying to keep herself under control. It was a hard thing to do.
"The only thing I want to do, the only passion I have in this body, is serving the Gotei thirteen. I desire to serve Zaraki-taicho and die as his subordinate. I don't care about a child because that isn't in my plans." The third seat explained how he truly felt. Narrowing his eyes as she sniffled, he took a step closer to her. "I won't be playing house with some barmaid because she took a chance at getting knocked up while we fooled around. That's it."
"Damare konoyarou." Her voice cracked as tears flooded her eyes again. Closing them tightly to let none of them escape, she bit her lip in some hope the pain would stop them also. It didn't though. "What the hell happened? Tell me something Ikkaku. Did you truly love me or just put me through a ride?"
"I'm not sure. All I'm saying is that I don't give a fucking damn about having a child at the moment."
Those words told her how he truly felt about the child. He didn't want to do anything with her or this child. He just wanted to play a hero some more and possibly screw around with other women. Reaching out to slap him, her hand was caught in midair by him. "I hate you."
Throwing the door open like she did before when she was looking for him, she made her way out of the room to find her family waiting for her at the corner. Shaking her head and hugging Akemi tightly, wanting some form of comfort, she hissed in annoyance at the fact that she fell for the wrong guy once more.
"What did he say?" The auburn haired woman asked as she rubbed the woman's back. She wanted to hear good news of course. Turning her hazel eyes to her husband, she bit her lip at what the outcome was.
"He doesn't love me like I thought. He hates my guts. Practically called me a yariman because of the fact that I gave him everything I had to him. He just wants to play hero beside Zaraki and die as his subordinate as he put it. I make wonderful choices."
Making his way toward the shinigami's room, Kunio heard Akemi call to him to get back there but he wouldn't listen. It wasn't right that someone would do that to someone that was giving them a future. Seeing the door start to close, he reached out and caught the object and glared. "Madarame-sempai. You remember me right?"
Rolling his sable eyes, the third seat tried to close the door with it not budging. "Get the hell away."
"Oh no. You need to answer some questions for me first. So you truly didn't love my imouto? You just used her as if she's only good for sex. It makes it sound like you're the whore in this relationship." Kunio accused as his eyes narrowed a little more at the thought of the barmaid being treated like that.
Looking at the brunette eyes that were fierce, he was waiting for the other shinigami to go after him for what he did. Reaching for his zanpaku-to, Madarame kept his attention on the man that was in front of him. "She should know that it was her fault for giving in."
"No, it takes two to do something like this. So you are part of the problem. You, however, are really pathetic. You are the worst kind around here. No one treats a woman like that!" Tsubaki hissed as he felt the covered blade hit him in the side.
"She fucking asked for it dammit. She shouldn't have opened her legs to me in the first place. Then she wouldn't have a bastard child in her right now but then I wouldn't have kept the charade up for much longer."
"When did you fall out of love?" The second division shinigami inquired as he grabbed a hold of the weapon and tossed it away.
"When she started being clingy. That time I wanted to talk to Iba-san alone and she stayed. Finally she left. Happy now?"
"Much." Kunio growled as he walked away from the man and went to take care of his broken hearted sister. Closing his eyes as his anger dimmed into a bother, he opened his mud brown eyes to see his sister crying still. Grabbing hold of her, he hugged her. "You're gonna be taken care of. You can stay with us tonight if you want."
"Arigatou Kunio-onii." Tomoko said as she bowed her head a little. It hurt to know that she was used for sex and that was it. She wanted to know why he did it. She wouldn't go back to that place though. She refused to go near that place because of the fact that he treated her in that way. "I want to get that place. Maybe even have Jirou move in with me."
Nodding, Kunio knew he had to hunt down the flute player some time to tell him his sister's plans. It would be better to know that she was being watched over because she might do something stupid. She didn't seem like the type of person to do something stupid but there was always a chance.
Akemi went on ahead to get the door unlocked and everything else made. As she rushed around to get things ready for her sister-in-law, she wondered how she would have a harder life then she. She didn't know her parents because of the fact that they both died of something or left her to die. Biting her pink lip at the thought, she unrolled a spare futon for the woman.
"What do you want to eat?" The auburn haired shinigami questioned with a small smile on her lips. Wanting to see her cheer up was her number one priority even if it would be hard.
"Fried rice. Any meat you have. I wouldn't mind having some fried squid." Tomoko replied as she looked up into the hazel eyes of her family. It felt good knowing that she had people that actually cared. People that actually wanted to have the child around instead of him.
The way he used her still caused tears to form in her eyes but it was a hard to cry now. Getting up, she tried to stretch and looked over at her brother. "Can I take a bath?"
"Sure." Kunio said as he led her to the bath. Once he was done with that, he went to get some extra clothes that Akemi owned but wouldn't care if the bluish green haired woman wore for a little while.
"I guess she'll be alone."
"No. She has us for one. Also, she has Jirou to be there for her." The ebony haired shinigami stated as he looked over at the woman that was cooking up some rice.
"How? I thought they broke up." Akemi said with her eyebrows pulling together. She knew they talked but it didn't seem like they would ever get back together.
"Easy. Knowing Jirou, he still loves her. I used to run around with the guy when we were kids before he disappeared for five years. We all thought he was dead but then he showed up again. He's the type that would be a good father to her baby instead of that stuck up ass." Kunio clarified with a small smile at the thought of his friend. He hadn't really talked to the flute player in ages but he'll get to do that soon enough. Tomorrow he hoped.
Damare konoyarou: Shut up you bastard
yariman: slut
Drama! *spazs out* I really enjoyed writing this chapter because I had it in my mind for a while now. My muses were just turning ideas out for it and so I typed for at least a couple hours with Jeffree Star and Lady Gaga playing on the Media player. *sighs* I hope you enjoy this. Please review.