Chapter 20: Kenpachi's Dojo

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"Remind me again why I'm coming with you guys?" I asked as Ikkaku, Yumichika, and I walked to Kenpachi's dojo.

"Because seeing you will hopefully keep Kenpachi calm." Yumichika explained… sort of.

"How am I going to keep him calm?" I was still very confused.

"'Cause he's got a weak spot for pink-haired girls." Ikkaku answered.

And I was only more confused. "He does?"

They both nodded. "Yachiru, the little brat that lives with us, has pink hair… and she doesn't have any rules, never gets punished, and gets to eat all of the sweets that she wants."

"And you think that since he likes her… he'll automatically like me? Since we both have pink hair?" I was still trying to understand.

"That's what we're hoping." Ikkaku slung his arm over me. "And if worst comes to worse, we'll just hide behind you."

Yumichika nodded in agreement. "No way is Kenpachi going to attack a defenseless girl."

I deadpanned. "So the two of you are going to use me as a human shield?"

They nodded together, a serious and shameless look on their faces.

"What kind of lame ass brothers are you?!" I yelled at them.

Ikkaku pulled me closer, pointing his finger in my face. "Hey! I'll beat the shit outta anyone you want! And Yumichika will do your makeup or whatever the hell… And you protect us from Kenpachi!" He wagged his finger in my face to emphasize his points. "That's the deal here!"

I rolled my eyes, trying not to laugh. "Fine… but if he tries to skin me alive then I'm going to make you eat dirt."

And they were cowering behind me just as soon as the dojo was in view. With a deep breath, I pushed the door open and walked inside. And after just two steps in, I was nearly bumping into the largest man that I had ever seen. Standing up straight, my eyes met his abs… I looked up… and up… and up… and saw the face of a very unamused man. He had an eye patch covering one eye and a scar over the other. His hair stood in spikes that were so tall that I wondered how they stayed up.

"So…" His voice was gravelly and deep. "You two idiots have finally come crawling back."

Ikkaku and Yumichika grasped onto me, gulping loudly and shaking in fear.

I wanted to sigh at their childish behavior, but even I was frightened by this behemoth in front of me. So I just stayed quiet, trying to not gape or let my jaw fall open as I stared up at his giant form.

He finally seemed to notice my presence, and with a lifted brow he focused his attention on me. "Who the hell are you?"

Ah, shit… I think I forgot how to breathe. "U-Uh… I-I'm… Junamai Ukitake… It's n-nice to meet you, Mr. Kenpachi."

He scoffed. "Drop that 'Mr.' shit. It's just Kenpachi." And then he looked back at the boys still trembling behind me. "What kind of men are you, hiding behind a girl like this? Tch. You little chicken shits…" With a roll of his eyes, he looked back at me. "Ukitake, huh? You must be Juushiro's niece."

"Y-Yes, sir." I stuttered out, hoping that 'sir' was okay.

"Hmm… but Juushiro had a sister… so shouldn't your last name be something different?" He mumbled, lifting his hand to scratch the back of his head.

I wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or asking me a question, but I answered anyway. "I took my mother's name when I moved here, sir." Oh, hell! This man was so intimidating!

"Ah, I see." He nodded to himself. Then he snapped his attention back to Ikkaku and Yumichika. "And what the hell are you doing with these twits?!" His voice raised to express his displeasure, and I gathered that he was still talking to me.

"Umm… they're kind of my brothers now… so I guess that makes me their sister?" I mumbled quickly, regretting ever agreeing to this and wishing that I could run and hide.

Surprisingly, he chuckled. "Brothers, huh? Well if you want these dipshits as your brothers then I guess that's your business." He grumbled. Then he leaned down, having to bend nearly in half to whisper in my ear. "But I do suggest that you duck…"

Eyes widening, I immediately obeyed. And it was just in time, too… because as soon as I ducked down onto my knees… well, fell down onto my knees… with my arms covering my head in fear… Kenpachi swept his leg over my head into a kick, sending both Ikkaku and Yumichika flying into the far wall, screaming wildly. I gaped as they crashed into the wall and then landed in a heap on top of each other. Kenpachi laughed like a madman, a psychotic grin spread across his face.

He looked down at me, arms crossed triumphantly. "You've got pretty good reflexes, girlie. I'm surprised you moved that fast."

And I nearly fell over dead. Did that mean he would have kicked me too if I hadn't moved?! Was this man crazy?!

"Now get the hell up and start repairing the dojo you dumbasses!" He screamed at the boys, paying no heed to the fact that they were still lying on the floor, swirls in their eyes and limbs in awkward angles.

That's it. This man was a fucking maniac.

"Oh, Kenny! I'm home!" A small voice sounded before a little, pink-haired girl came through the door. She was wearing an elementary school uniform and her hair was a few shades darker than mine. She immediately dropped all of her things and jumped into the air, landing on the large man's shoulders… I wondered how she was able to achieve that height.

He didn't look fazed at all. "Hey, Yachiru. How was school?"

She giggled as she pulled on his hair. "It's was fun!" Then she looked from me to the boys, who were trying to pick themselves up off the floor. "What's going on here?"

"The dipshits are home. And apparently they have a new sister." He answered her offhandedly.

She giggled again as she jumped off of his shoulders and then rushed over to me. "Hi there! I'm Yachiru!"

I smiled at her, finally easing out of my defensive position… she was a cute little girl. "Hi, Yachiru. I'm Juna."

"Juna…" She smiled brightly. "Nice to meet ya!"

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With Yachiru there, Kenpachi seemed a little less psychotic. So I spent some time helping her with her homework and laughing as the boys grumbled about cleaning up their mess. She gave me a nickname… "Candy" because she said that I was sweet and that my hair reminded her of cotton candy. She called Ikkaku "Cueball" because apparently his head reminded her of a cueball… and Yumichika was "Yun-Yun" though I had no idea why… Of course she simply called Kenpachi "Kenny" because I'm sure if she gave him too outrageous a nickname he'd go on some sort of monstrous rampage.

I had already witnessed Kenpachi kick Ikkaku and Yumi's asses… several times… he was relentless and brutal… and I was glad that he wasn't my caretaker. Though after finding out that they had set the dojo on fire by playing with homemade fireworks inside, then… I considered the idea that maybe they deserved their beatings. Of course, Kenpachi could have been a little less violent… I mean… he didn't have to keep thrashing them around while they were screaming in terror… They were lucky that they had only damaged a corner of the flooring, the far wall, and a portion of the roof. Fortunately, none of the equipment had been caught in the fire. I couldn't imagine their punishment being much worse… but somehow I knew that it would have been if they had harmed Kenpachi's precious swords and other various weapons.

After spending a decent amount of time at Kenpachi's dojo, unsure of whether I should be horrified or amused, I had text Grimmjow to come and get me. I didn't want to keep him waiting. So when I heard the car horn outside, I said some quick goodbyes and rushed for the door. Yachiru whined about my leaving while Ikkaku and Yumichika said they'd see me at school. Kenpachi, however, was not so quick to let me leave.

He stood in the doorway, arms crossed and looking down at me with his brow raised. "Just who the hell is honking outside?"

I stared up at him, still not used to his towering form. "U-Um… it's my friend… he's here to pick me up."

"And when he honks you just go running, like some kind of dog?" The tone to his gravelly voice was clearly unamused. "What kind of asshole thinks that it's okay to just honk instead of coming to the damn door like a decent fucking person?"

"Tch!" Ikkaku snorted. "I told you that he was an ass!"

Yumichika wacked him on his bald head with the mop. "Will you shut up before you get her into trouble?!"

"Hmph." Kenpachi snorted. "How 'bout I give you a lesson in getting respect, girlie?"

Oh, shit. I was terrified. I could not see this ending well. "Th-That's okay, Kenpachi… You d-don't have to-"

But he was already leaning out of the door. "Hey! Asshole! Get in here!"

I wanted to just make a run for Grimmjow's car… but Kenpachi's tremendous frame was blocking the way. And there was no way in hell that I was going to try getting past him. "Dammit…" I muttered under my breath.

Ikkaku started laughing hysterically. Yumichika was nice enough to hit him again.

"Aww, it's okay, Candy." Yachiru smiled up at me, tugging on my skirt. "Kenny just wants to have some fun."

I deadpanned. "That's what worries me…"

Kenpachi stepped back inside. "Ah, so you're dating Jaegerjaquez, huh?"

I could see a tuft of sky blue hair approaching from the sidewalk. Shit… "Uh…" Before I had to worry about answering, Grimmjow kicked the door open and walked in.

"What the hell do you want?" He grumbled up at Kenpachi, not at all threatened by his monstrous physique.

I gaped at him, wishing that I could tell him to shut up.

"You should know to walk your ass up to the fucking door and knock like a gentleman, you little dipshit." Kenpachi grumbled back at him.

Grimmjow glared at him, looking grumpy and lethal. And then he turned his sky blue eyes to look at me. "Ready to go, babe?"

I was about to hurry over to him, but Kenpachi grabbed my shoulder, stopping me mid-step. My stomach lurched in shock. I turned to look up at him, wondering what he could possibly want.

"You gonna let him talk to you like that?" Kenpachi muttered, clearly in disapproval.

I sighed. There was no winning in this situation… either way, I was going to piss one of them off. I had seen Grimmjow upset, and it was scary… But Kenpachi was something out of a terrifying nightmare… Fuck! What was I going to do?! An idea popped into my head… so I looked at Grimmjow and smiled. "You know that I don't like it when you call me babe…"

Luckily, he smirked back at me. "Yeah…" Then he huffed and rolled his eyes before glaring back at Kenpachi. "So can we go now, you psychopath?"

I gaped at Grimmjow, my jaw literally dropping. Even though I had thought that about Kenpachi, I never would have had the guts to say it to his face!

But Kenpachi wasn't at all bothered by his insult. He tilted his head to the side and started digging in his ear with his pinky. "You can go when you start acting like a fucking gentleman."

"Tch." Grimmjow stuck his chin out, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, 'cause you're such a good example of that…"

"Well I'm not the one trying to date her, you dumbass!" Kenpachi actually shouted, finally losing his outrageous temper and aiming a kick for Grimmjow's head.

I'd seen him use that same kick to send both Ikkaku and Yumichika flying several times… but Grimmjow just ducked underneath it, his hands still in his pockets and his eyes closed as if he were bored. I wanted to say something… but I had no idea what would help in this situation.

"Ugh…" Grimmjow groaned. "Fine…" And then he walked out of the door, slamming it behind him.

I blinked. Had he just left me here? Yachiru giggled, still swinging from my skirt without a care in the world. Ikkaku and Yumichika were humming loudly, pretending to be working, even though they were mostly watching the scene that Kenpachi and Grimmjow were causing. A knock at the door had me staring through the window at Grimmjow's wild, blue hair…

Kenpachi casually opened the door, staring at Grimmjow with an indifferent look on his face. "Yes?"

Grimmjow glared at him with exasperation. "I'm here to pick up Juna."

"Juna!" Kenpachi yelled my name, making me jump, since I was standing just behind him. Then he turned to face me, a devilish grin on his face. "The Jaegerjaquez punk is here for you."

I placed a hand to my chest, trying to catch my breath, as I rushed over to Kenpachi's side. "Umm… thank you, Kenpachi."

"Sure thing, Juna." He continued to grin. Then he turned to set a firm glare on Grimmjow. "Take good care of her."

Grimmjow actually smirked back at him. "Yeah. I will."

I barely managed to pry Yachiru off of me and bolt out of the door. I beat Grimmjow to the car, but he wouldn't unlock it until he could get there to open the door for me. As soon as Grimmjow put the car in drive, I sighed in relief.

He laughed in amusement. "You didn't know what you were getting into, did you?"

I vigorously shook my head no. "Those bastards tricked me."

He laughed again, placing his hand on my leg. "Should've let me give you a ride there… I could have prepped you."

I turned to face him, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Grimmjow… I shouldn't have even bothered you to go over there in the first place. I could have just walked home."

"Tch." He rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous." He squeezed my leg, just above my knee, making me blush a little. "Besides… I'm used to that maniac."

I tilted my head, considering what had happened. "You did seem to handle him quite well…"

He shrugged, his fingers stroking my inner thigh. "Yeah. It comes with practice."

"Practice?" I asked curiously, trying not to shudder at the way his fingers felt on my skin.

It seemed like he was avoiding eye contact. "It's not common knowledge… but he kinda saved my ass when I was younger. After that, I just started putting up with his insanity… kinda got used to it."

"Oh…" I wanted to ask how Kenpachi had saved him… but I could tell that it was a touchy subject.

"So you're first time meeting him, huh?" He rapidly changed his mood, going back to his smirk. "What'd you think?"

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. "Well, uh…" I ended up laughing nervously. "He's deranged."

He laughed with me. "Are you kidding? He's fucking bat-shit crazy."

I started laughing harder. "He certainly took some getting used to…" I smiled as I thought back to how he had been with Yachiru… and even Ikkaku and Yumichika when he wasn't beating the shit out of them. "But he's a pretty cool guy."

Grimmjow snorted. "He's a fucking insane guy."

I smiled wider, because I could tell that Grimmjow was fond of him… even though he would probably never admit it.

"So have you eaten?" He asked, changing the subject.

"No." I answered, reaching down to lace my fingers with his. His hand on my thigh was very distracting. "I can cook us something if you want."

He shook his head. "No. I wanna take you out."

I blinked at him, surprised by the gesture. "You don't have to do that…"

He turned to smirk at me. "I want to. Since I finally have you all to myself…"

I bit my lip, feeling nervous and excited at the look on his face and his choice of words. "Okay…"

I wasn't sure where we were going… but I realized that I didn't care. I just enjoyed being with Grimmjow.

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