"I'm telling you, Shuhei, she's fucking nuts."

Ikkaku took his shot of sake, throwing his head back aggressively.

"Hahahah, hey maybe that's what you need, Madarame."

The eleventh division member was dumbfounded by his friend's response, shaking his head as if completely getting rid of that suggestion.

"Nah, you have no idea. I just saved the broad's fucking life and then she slaps me in the fuckin' face and tells me to write up our report and send it off to the first division. Where's the adoration, where's the gratitude, where's any sort of appreciation? No thank you, no kiss on the cheek, no nothin."

"You were looking for a kiss from a twelfth division member? Are you trying to be poisoned?"

Ikkaku groaned in displeasure as Rangiku weaseled her way into the booth with Shuhei and himself, her breasts heaving against his arm as she scooched next to him. Shuhei laughed along with the blonde woman, taking sly glances at her cleavage as he did so.

"You know that girl I went to the Dangai with? I hear she's been in Gotei 13 for longer than a century. Could you imagine? Shouldn't she have been promoted at this point?"

Yumichika perked at the mention of this mystery girl. Ikkaku kept bringing her up in not-so-subtle ways ever since he went on that mission with her. He hummed a quick acknowledgement, wondering how much rambling he could get out of his lifelong friend.

"I suppose not everyone wants to move up in the ranks…" The man paused for a moment as he swung his zanpakuto around, his hands antsy to do something as he waited for Yumichika to finish his bath. "But still. What a chump."

Yumichika gave another hum, sinking himself deeper into the water as he plotted to himself.

"Did you hear, Baldy?"

"Lieutenant, I told you, I'm not bald. What are you on about, anyhow?"

"There's a twelfth division member on the grounds today. She's supposed to help me do all my paperwork today!"

Ikkaku's eyebrows raised, looking up at the pink-haired lieutenant on his captain's back.

"A twelfth division member?"

"Yup! She's got mad scientist hair!"

Ikkaku took a moment to consider the description, remember the way her hair went all which way and practically consumed her small frame, baubles and braids intricately intertwined within her locks.

"She's already at the main barracks building, you know~"

Yumichika's interjection felt like a tease, Ikkaku snapping his head in his friend's direction. He looked like he always did, a half-lidded mischievous look that told him Yumichika knew more than he wanted him to.

"Oh, you know what! I actually forgot my zanpakuto in there! Could you go get it for me? Pretty please~"

Yumichika was more of a pain in the ass than his lieutenant. Still… If it was her…

"She wiped the floor with that guy! She moved faster than some of the second division members I've seen before!"

"I heard poor Koji is going to be in the fourth division for two full days, you know."

"Yea, well I'd like to see how her zanjutsu is. I bet she can't handle her zanpakuto to save her life."

"Oh c'mon! If her hakuda is any indicator of the way she handles a zanpakuto, I wonder how she handles a man, hahahaha!"

Ikkaku could feel a growl low in his throat as he listened to his fellow eleventh division members speak about the twelfth division member that had been on the grounds this afternoon. Apparently one of the men had said something to her and proceeded to hinder her journey back to her own barracks and had received a fitting beat down.

Koji was always a bit of a pest, but he was also bigger than Ikkaku himself. He wasn't sure if he was mad about missing the fight himself or about the way they were talking about her.

Was he … No.

Ikkaku refused to entertain the thought that almost tried to rear its ugly green head.

"Oh look. You're a familiar looking primate."

"Har har. I didn't know twelfth division members had a sense of humor."

"What do you want."

She never really did ask things, simply stated things, even if they were supposed to be questions.

"I heard you injured one of ours yesterday. I'm just here to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Chessebelle arched a thick white eyebrow at her new supposed escort. He refused to meet her gaze, his zanpakuto over his shoulder in a rather photogenic manner.

"That's interesting… I hope every visitor gets a bodyguard on the eleventh division now. I'd hate to be treated any different than others."

Ikkaku didn't bother with entertaining her, simply scoffing at her comment as he walked with her to the main barracks building.

"Making sure I don't go deranged on any other poor soul on my way back, I see."

Ikkaku shrugged at Chessebelle's words as he walked with her back towards the twelfth division. He had been escorting her every day through the eleventh division since the incident with Koji, but today he decided to walk all the way back with her. It was quite late and he didn't want her to get hurt.

What did he just say?

"You know Chiyoko, I don't think you even know my name."

"I don't. Nor do I care for it."

Ikkaku couldn't help but grin. Despite her blatant disregard for the things he was doing for her, she never used her shunpo to get away from him. She never seemed to wave him away from her while she did her work. She never slapped him in the face again, either, not since the Dangai.

"Ikkaku."

The bald man turned at the sound of his name, looking down at the short shinigami standing behind him, those tired slate hues looking up at him.

"Huh?"

"Your name. It's Ikkaku Madarame."

Ikkaku's face broke into a grin. It didn't even occur to him that she had never called him by name before this-it almost made his heart jump as he watched her lips form his name. She turned on her heel now, walking towards the exit of the eleventh division.

"Come. I'm going home for the night."

It had been nearly a year now.

It seemed he was getting closer to the prize he didn't realize he had been chasing.