Authors note: Very minor spoiler if you haven't read all of Bleach. I've tried my best not to spoil anything properly, just in case there's anyone new reading the manga. :)
Had fun writing this one, there's a little teasing. Heehee.
Chapter 20. Tender.
Jin woke up late that afternoon, tired from last night's antics. She awoke where Kenpachi had left her, in her bed still clothed and gently tucked in. It took some time, but Jin remembered falling asleep on him and realised he must have brought her back. She felt warm and happy, but a little scared too. Was she only seeing what she wanted to see? Does he really care about her and not only her body? Jin was more confused than ever.
She got on with her day, cleaning her self up and washing away the red wine stains from her lips, eating and heading to the barracks to train. Once she arrived, news came to her that the Captain was away on some mission. Jin shrugged, it wasn't really out of the ordinary and most likely she'd see him later.
But it got to later…he still wasn't back…then a bit later and later again. It was late evening and Jin was starting to get worried, it usually didn't take this long unless something was up. It was Monday evening, so she started some of the usual paperwork while she waited. Suddenly she heard a commotion in the barracks and some distressed sounding squad members.
"Captain! You must go to Squad 4 immediately-"
Captain? Oh no, what's happening… Jin panicked, getting up from her seat to go and see what was going on.
A familiar gruff voice then sounded, "Hey! Just go home already! I know what I need alright!?"
The door slid open, just before she could get there. A bloodied, wounded Captain stood before her with several large cuts up and down his chest. One looked particularly deep, pouring a river of crimson down his abdomen. Jin stood before him in disbelief. She had seen him fight before and she had seen him injured before, but his strength and resilience always amazed her. Still, she was always worried too.
"You friggin' lunatic..." Jin scolded, "I thought I was a masochist, but you take it to a whole other level!"
"Che, it's the price to pay for a good fight." Kenpachi bit back.
Yachiru burst from underneath his haori, "PRINCESS! You need to heal Ken-chan!" She hopped off his shoulder to go and pull on Jin's robe, "He's awfully bloody!"
"Yachiru!" Ken-chan called, "You can go home now, give her some space to work alright?"
Yachiru turned and gave a smiley giggle, "Oookk!~" She sang, "You take good care of Ken-chan! Ok Jin-jin?"
Then she was gone, almost in a puff of pink smoke. No doubt to go play on her scooter in Byakuya's mansion or something.
Kenpachi grumbled like a wounded animal, making his way over to sit on the desk, drops of blood spilling onto the floor. She had to admit, as much as his wounds worried her…it made him look so primal and sexy as hell. Jin never was one to like a pretty boy.
Well, he's alive. Jin reassured herself.
"So…was it a good fight at least?" She asked, trying to mask her lusty thoughts.
"It wasn't great." He sounded a little disappointed.
Jin rolled her eyes, "I'm sure you'll get a good battle again one of these days."
"Tch, maybe." He shrugged.
"You amaze me." Jin started to retrieve the bandages and other tools from one of the draws, "Seriously, it's like you're a demi-god or something."
She sat the medical supplies on the desk then stopped a moment, looking at the amount of blood oozing from him.
I'm going to need a bowl of water or something…
"Wait there, I'll be right back." She promised, "I need something to help clean you up first…don't die ok?"
Kenpachi laughed, "Ha, so don't take too long."
He removed his top robe while she was gone, thinking to himself that this might turn out fun after all…
Jin quickly returned with a large bowl of warm water and a generous pile of cloths and towels (she was gonna need it), then took her place to start tending to his wounds. A wave of heat then radiated from her, her face flushed bright red, as she realised what she was dealing with. A man, overwhelming with raw sex appeal was covered in blood…and she had to touch him.
Just relax, it won't go anywhere…you're just doing your job. Jin tried to convince herself.
But it felt so intimate, the tension in the air was thick and the soft glow of candlelight was definitely not helping. Kenpachi could sense her discomfort, he grinned to himself, feeling cocky. It was greatly entertaining to know he was having this effect on her.
He decided to poke fun at Jin, "Something wrong?"
"N…no...noo…" She stumbled blushing.
Curse my healthy sex drive.
Jin tried her best to disguise her very obvious discomfort (it wasn't working), she avoided his gaze while soaking one of the cloths. Her heart was thumping, as she brought the soft fabric to his chest tenderly, beginning to clean away the red liquid. Kenpachi watched her intently, taking note of every little movement and flicker of emotion that came from her. Obviously, being a fighter he had a lot of Squad 4 members tend to his wounds before but…this was very different. He swallowed nervously in anticipation, in truth he was rather enjoying this. Jin calmed down as she fell into concentration, taking great care not to aggravate his injuries as she cleaned him.
She took note of all his scars as she did so, admiring his physique, "You've lived a heck of a life…you know that?"
Kenpachi was called back to the room, "Huh?"
Jin shook her head, signaling him to just forget it. Slowly the blood was washed away, enabling her to start bandaging him up. She wound the fabric carefully around his body, taking care to pull it firm but not too tightly. Kenpachi found the whole process with Jin quite relaxing, it was much better than with some random medic. He also got quite a nice view of her cleavage from this angle, so that was a fun bonus.
"You know it's funny, you seem…much happier now, then when I first met you." Jin said thoughtfully.
Kenpachi looked down at her surprised, "Happier? What do ya mean?"
"What I say, you seem happier." She stated simply.
Jin finished wrapping the bandages around him and began to start healing his wounds using kido. The soft green glow from her hands began to work on his most serious wound first, then slowly she made her way around the others each in turn.
"Kenpachi, what...what do you remember? About growing up, who you were..."
Now there was a question Kenpachi never expected to hear. It surprised him, why would she want to know that? It was pretty dull as far as he could remember. Still, she seemed to want to know so…
"Honestly? I don't remember much. At least not before I fought the first Kenpachi." He stopped briefly, he was never one to put much thought into the past. "It was pretty empty, mostly."
There was a hint of sadness in his voice, it was obviously a bit of a sore spot for him. Jin had often wondered how he really felt about his childhood...if you could call it that. He had spoken in bits and pieces about life before, but it was always difficult to get anything out of Kenpachi about him growing up. Still, she wanted to know and understand her Captain.
"Why...did you never try to find anyone? Like to be with." Jin asked gingerly.
"I never really cared about that sorta thing…" He replied nonchalantly, then added, "Till you anyway, I dunno."
Jin jumped a little, "Till me?"
"When I trained you that time, first time I felt scared I'd hurt someone." He admitted.
"And if you'd hurt someone else who wasn't me?"
"Tch. If it was someone else I probably wouldn't care…except Yachiru, obviously." He added.
Jin smiled, "Well, that was sort of a given."
Kenpachi felt a little strange, he didn't like talking about this sort of thing. He didn't see the point of dwelling on things from before, he liked to focus on the moment. But it did feel sorta nice to him that someone cared.
"I think you're pretty remarkable, considering how you grew up." Jin commented.
"What do ya mean?" he queried.
She hesitated slightly, "Well, I think you're...well not good but...you have your own morals, you take care of our Squad-"
"Che. I'm far from good Jin." He sneered.
"Yeah well, I'm not so great either…you look after Yachiru, she thinks the world of you."
"I know." His face softened, "She's a good kid."
"Yeah, she's a cutie alright." Jin said merrily.
Jin was working on the last serious wound now, before going to the remaining shallow cuts and scrapes. Even Jin had to admit to herself, she was real good at dealing with large injuries now, much to Kenpachi's advantage. A thought still nagged in her mind from before though.
"So…why did you feel scared you'd hurt me? Like-"
Kenpachi cut in, "Why? Che, I dunno why I just...I like you."
"There must be a reason why." Jin pressed.
"We have fun, I like being around you." He revealed, "I like talking to you, you seem to like talking to me too."
Jin tried to pry him open a little further, "And how does that make you feel? Exactly?"
He appeared thoughtful commenting, "I dunno...happy I guess."
Jin stood dumbfounded.
"You...guess?" She said, a little exasperated, "See this is what I mean, you're completely emotionally repressed, where as I'm over-emotional."
Kenpachi retorted, "Sounds to me like we balance each other out."
"It's ok to feel vulnerable you know, at least with some people."
She cupped his cheek, whilst healing the last small cut on his face. She was so close and Kenpachi felt so open to her.
"Hold still please." She whispered.
He looked into her eyes. They were a very dark blue he noticed, and they looked...sympathetic? Worried? Her feelings always confused him. She confused herself too, so it wasn't a surprise. As Jin looked into his open eye, she noted how vulnerable he looked in his expression. It was strange…she wasn't quite sure if she was imagining it, her Captain never showed any weakness, ever. Kenpachi decided to put aside his manly pride. He wanted to love her. He brought his hand to rest on hers, bringing it over to his lips. She smelt lightly floral and sweet. He took notice of how much larger he was, the difference always amused him a little. Jin blushed as she felt a familiar ache in her chest, he was being so tender it made her melt. It wasn't like him at all.
"Don't..." She almost whimpered.
He spoke as he savoured the soft skin of her hand, "Teach me then."
"Eh?"
"Help me out with these feelings or whatever..." The Captain looked back at Jin, "Let me kiss you."
"Ken-"
"You afraid what it might lead to?" He questioned.
She looked at him with troubled eyes.
He vowed, "I'll behave, I promise."
Jin hesitated, looking at him in need as she licked her lips nervously...he could see she wanted to. Kenpachi held the back of her head as he suddenly pulled her in, onto his lips. Jin's eyes widened as she half-heartedly tried to push him away. It was a soft and surprisingly tender embrace. He pulled away briefly to only kiss her again, a little deeper this time. Jin gasped as he worked on her mouth wonderfully with his tongue. He kept one hand on her head whilst the other moved to grip her waist, pulling her in a little closer to his warmth, against his wounded chest. His tongue was dancing with hers, more delicate this time...seems he got the hang of it a lot better since they made-out drunk. Jin moaned as he kept kissing her slowly, feeling her breasts softly press against his hard body. His hand entangled into her golden hair in need. The Captain's grip tightened a little more, he didn't want to let her go. Jin then pulled herself away painfully as she began to come to her senses.
It hurt him.
Kenpachi mourned the loss of her touch, pushing his head forward to her in desperation as she stepped back. She looked upset and confused. Why? He didn't get it.
"It's not fair Jin." He growled, "You're stringing me along, it's simple, do you want me or not?"
"No, it's not, it's not simple..." Jin's voice broke slightly.
"You idiot." He barked at her loudly in frustration, "Stop overthinking it! I like you. You like me-"
"I'll see you later..." She said meekly, as she scuttled out the room.
Kenpachi called after her in wanting, "Hey! Jin!"
Oh no. I'm falling for him aren't I? No...face it...
I already have.