Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach
A/N: Alright, this is a fic written to the challenge of Elruwien Queen of Nargothrond, so no, I actually don't support this pairing…but I do like challenges. Hopefully this is good…
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Kenpachi had always admired flowers.
Despite everything that happened, winter, wars, famine, drought, flood, plague, flowers would always grow.
They might die for a season, but they would always spring back, as damn stubborn as himself.
That's why he had given the pink haired orphan he had found the name Yachiru, eight thousand flowers. He wanted her to survive in this violent world where the dead lived, and the Hollows fed, like a flower.
She had grown up along the lines of his wishes, eternally cheerful, constantly hyperactive, but just as stubborn as he was.
And that was also why he couldn't stop his eyes from following one of the ryoka, Inoue Orihime.
She was like a flower, seemingly beautiful, sweet, and delicate, but she was more than that. She would never give up, and she would never hurt anyone.
Usually, that would be enough to disgust Kenpachi. Anyone who didn't have enough guts to sacrifice a stranger's or an enemy's life for someone they cared about was trash. But this was different. She genuinely cared for everyone, even if she didn't know them, even if they had already tried to hurt her, she could bear no grudges.
Say what you will, but people like that aren't found every day.
The more he watched her, the more he admired her. The more he admired her, the more he began to actually maybe like her.
But he knew he had no chance.
She was obsessed with Kurosaki, and oblivious to all her other admirers, including the wimpy looking Quincy who had beat Kurotshuchi. Despite the fact the Quincy looked wimpy, and the fact that half of the time Kenpachi wanted to punch him every time he looked at Orihime, he couldn't bring himself to kill anyone who beat Kurotshuchi up so bad.
It was just too bad that the Quincy hadn't killed the robot freak….
And besides all that, there were her powers, the Shun Shun Rika. Strangely enough, they usually took the form of two blue hair pins shaped like flowers, and they were annoying little fairies. One particularly annoyed him, Tsubaki.
The fairy had appeared once, during the time Kenpachi had first met Orihime, had glared, and then said, "Keep your hands off of that woman, or else I will slice you into so many pieces, that nobody will be able to recognize you."
Kenpachi did not appreciate being threatened by something a hundred times smaller than him, but the black fairy had disappeared before he could slice off even a wing.
He hoped that no one would notice his interest, and besides Yachiru ("Ken-chan, why are you always watching Big Boobies?") if anyone did, they never said anything.
That was until he had been officially released from the 4th division, and was watching the ryoka leave.
"…it makes you feel kind of sad, doesn't it?" Unohana asked him, in her own quiet way.
"What?"
"After many years of relative peace, it's all shattered with the coming of a small group of ryoka…"
"It was going to shatter anyway," he said shortly.
She turned her eyes toward him, "Yes…and it probably would have been worse without them."
"Yeah."
They spent a few minutes in reflective silence.
"…will you miss her?" Unohana asked suddenly.
Kenpachi jerked back, "What! Who?"
Unohana smiled, "You know who I speak of…the one you never take your eyes off of, the one with exceptional healing powers…I think her name is Inoue Orihime?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, turning away quickly to hide his red face.
Her peaceful smile grew slightly wider, "I see…" she glanced up at the gate again, "I think…she was a bit like a flower. Beautiful, and seemingly delicate, but in reality as stubborn as a mule. A sweet girl, one who one day, hopefully a long time from now though, get a high seat in the 4th division… "
Kenpachi stared at her for a moment, before choking out a, "Yeah, something like that."
He also looked at the gate again, remembering the way Orihime's brown eyes had sparkled, and her cheerful grin.
He then looked a back at Unohana, her dark eyes as peaceful as ever.
He glanced around, and saw Yachiru beating up his whole division again, pink hair flying.
The war may have just begun, but it didn't seem to matter so much, because there was no way Aizen was going to win. No way in hell, not while Kenpachi still had so many people to protect.
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A/N: Liked it? Hated it? Sorry, I couldn't resist sticking in a little hint of Unohana/Zaraki…and really, it just depends on how you read it. Please review!