Disclaimer: Bleach is not mine, property of Kuto Taito.

The Babysitters Club: Chapter 4 – The Prosecution

"You may call your first witness, what did you say your name was again?" Hitsugaya said to the attorney.

"Aizawa Takanori, of Aizawa Law Firm, my father was a famous—"

"Just get to the point," Hitsugaya mumbled grumpily.

"Yes, Your Honor. The prosecution calls Nakata Hiromu." Hiromu, a large, muscular shinigami with short hair stepped up to the front of the courtroom.

"Please approach the clerk and be sworn."

Iemura raised his hand and said, "Please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

"Please be seated." Hiromu stepped up to the stand and plopped himself down rather unceremoniously. "Please state your name for the court."

"'Nakata.' 'Naka' as in 'middle' and 'ta' as in 'rice field.' 'Hiromu.' The bow (yumi) radical on the left and katakana 'mu' on the right."

"Bantai?"

"11-bantai."

"You may proceed, Aizawa-san."

"Hiromu, please tell the court in your own words what happened on the night of July 27."

"Well, I was at this bar one night drinking my usual waiting for my date, when suddenly out of nowhere, this guy, Kyouraku-taichou, comes in with his drinking buddies."

"Could you identify for the record, these 'drinking buddies'?" his attorney asked him.

"I don't know, I'm new, so I don't know people's names too well, but they looked like pretty high ranking shinigami. There was one with red hair and these weird tattoos all over his face…Oh, that one in the jury." He said pointing to the figure in question.

"Hey, I resent that!" roared Renji. "My tattoos are not weird—they're highly stylized and require tremendous—"

"Order! Order!" Hitsugaya pounded the gavel. "Abarai-fukutaichou, please, this is a courtroom. Please keep your emotions in check. This is your first and final warning."

"Please continue," sighed Hitsugaya.

"So the weird red haired dude, this girly guy with long white hair and that girl over there with the nice rack sleeping on the floor."

Hitsugaya groaned as he looked down. He saw his buxom fukutaichou sleeping peacefully at the foot of his podium.

"MATSUMOTO!" he shouted.

"Taichou," she yawned. "Oh, what's everyone doing here?"

"Matsumoto, you were supposed to find a replacement for Unohana-taichou!"

"Huh?"

"The bailiff!" he shouted exasperatedly.

"What bailiff? Who, what are we talking about?" she said sitting up and rubbing one sleepy eye.

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya sighed once again. "Go find someone to be the bailiff and go make me some tea. Now move!"

"Yes, sir!" she said, scrambling out the door.

"As for you, Nakata-san. I would appreciate it if you would refer to people more respectfully, not only when you speak to, but also when you speak of high-ranking shinigami. The 'red-haired dude' is Abarai-fukutaichou. The 'girly white-haired shinigami' you are probably referring to is Ukitake-taichou. And that shinigami 'with the nice rack' is Matsumoto-fukutaichou. Please refer to them most respectfully if you would like the court to extend to you the same courtesy."

"Yes, Your Honor," he mumbled.

"Please continue."

"As I was saying, these four came in and started drinking. They were playing some sort of drinking game that involved playing cards and lots of alcohol. The white, I mean Ukitake-taichou passed out after a few rounds and his lower ranking members came to collect him when he did. Abarai-fukutaichou reached over to scratch his leg and was so drunk that when he was coming back up, he slammed his head into the table on his way up and knocked himself unconscious. The one with the—, I mean, Matsumoto-fukutaichou and Kyouraku-taichou kept drinking until she passed out too."

"Now, what happened after that?"

"Well, the bar was not crowded that night and when his buddies passed out, he came over to where I was sitting and introduced himself. He said he was a taichou and asked if I wanted a drink. I didn't want to be rude, so I took him up on his offer. He said he had some liquor being kept at another bar that had private drinking rooms and asked if I would join him for a round or two."

"Did you go with him?"

"Yeah, he said it was right next to the bar so we'd be back in no time. So I went to this place and they brought out the liquor."

"What kind of liquor?"

"I don't know; it was caramel colored and kinda sweet. We had several rounds and I was beginning to feel dizzy, but I was in my 'happy place'."

"Your 'happy place'?"

"Yeah, that place where everything seems good and happy. Then he started touching my leg. I pushed him away and told him to quit doing that. I remember telling him I was skilled in kidou and that I wasn't afraid to use it. After that, I don't remember what happened but when I woke up, I was naked, and I felt violated."

"You were sure it was Kyouraku-taichou?"

"Yeah, he left his pink haori there."

"Where was he?"

"He was gone in the morning."

"What did you do with the haori?"

"Well, I went to the bathroom when I woke up and when I returned, everything was cleaned up and the haori was gone."

"Did you ask the staff at the bar what happened?"

"Yeah, but they said they didn't send anyone to clean that room or hear anyone else come in. He's a sneaky one so I'm sure to cover it up, he came back and made it so everything was—"

"Objection!" said Nanao standing up. "Your Honor, the question calls for inadmissible speculation on the part of the witness. There's no basis for his claim."

"Any response, Aizawa-san?" Hitsugaya said, turning his attention to the prosecution.

"Your Honor, she's not the defense attorney," he pointed out flatly.

"Sustained," Hitsugaya said pounding the gavel once. "However, Ise-fukutaichou, you are not the defense attorney, so please refrain from further comment unless you are called to the stand."

"I apologize, Your Honor," she said sincerely, before taking her seat.

"Does the prosecution have any further questions?"

"No, Your Honor."

"Any cross-examination, Kyouraku-taichou?"

"Yes, Your Honor," Shunsui said standing up, sauntering over to the witness stand. "I'm sorry, but I don't really remember who you are, but there was one particular part of your testimony that bothered me." Shunsui leaned over to Nakata and stared at him with a tired face.

"Yes?"

"The alcohol. Are you sure it was sweet?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure it was brown?"

"Caramel-colored."

"Oh, ok, caramel colored?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"No further questions," Shunsui said, turning abruptly, his white haori fluttering behind him as he returned to his seat.

"Any redirect, Aizawa-san?"

"No, Your Honor," Aizawa said standing up.

"You may be excused, Nakata-san."

Nakata stepped down and returned to his seat.

"You may call your next witness, Aizawa-san."

"The prosecution calls Komatsubara Yuusuke."

"Um…about that…" said a tiny voice.

"You're not Komatsubara Yuusuke," said Aizawa.

"I'm Yamada Hanatarou. We're both part of 4-bantai," he squeaked meekly. "Komatsubara-san was killed by a hollow yesterday while treating another shinigami."

"I see," Aizawa said looking down at his paperwork. "Well, then, the prosecution calls Sakaki Shin." A tall, blonde, lanky boy with glasses and a mushroom style hair cut stepped up to the stand.

Iemura raised his hand and said, "Please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

"Please be seated." Shin sat down slowly as if the chair were to burn him if he sat down too quickly. "Please state your name for the court."

"'Sakaki.' Tree radical on the left and 'god' (kami) on the right. 'Shin.' 'Shin' as in 'shinjitsu'; 'truth.'

"Bantai?"

"12-bantai."

"Please continue, Aizawa-san."

"Shin, please tell the court in your own words what happened on the night of July 26."

"Well, I was invited to an informal assembly to imbibe beverages of an alcoholic nature and—"

"OBJECTION!"

"Now what! Who was that!" Hitsugaya shouted, looking around the courtroom angrily. "Abarai! I already warned you that—"

"You're such a fuckin' idiot, Abarai," sneered Ikkaku, interrupting Hitsugaya. "You're not allowed to object. You're a juror. Only attorneys are allowed to object, you retard. Your job is to listen." Ikkaku pointed to his ear with the hilt of his zanpakutou for emphasis.

"Well, excu-------se me for not understanding—"

"ORDER! ORDER!" Hitsugaya pounded his gavel loudly. "Where the hell is the bailiff? Where the hell is Matsumoto!"

"I'll go look for her!" offered Yachiru, waving her hand.

"No, you're part of the jury," Hitsugaya said with his arms crossed and a vein pulsing dangerously on his forehead.

"I'll just be a minute! I'll go find big-boobie-neesan and the…the…"

"The bailiff, you stupid fukutaichou," shouted Ikkaku.

"I knew that, pachinko head!" she spat back.

"You don't even know who or what kind of person to look for," he teased, resting his neck on his zanpakutou which he had resting on his shoulders between his arms.

"Shut up, baldie! I'll go find big-boobie-neesan and the bailiff! Just you watch!" Yachiru stood up on her seat, bounced off Byakuya, who despite being irritated was far too refined to do more than humph indignantly, and kicked Ikkaku from the back as she bounced out of the courtroom.

"OUCH!"

"If there are no more interruptions," Hitsugaya said as he banged his gavel multiple times to gain the attention of his jurors.

"Sakaki-san, please continue, but for the sake of the educational level of the jury, please proceed using a simplified vocabulary."

"Thank you," said Renji, crossing his arms in satisfaction. Byakuya rolled his eyes in impatience.

"Well, unlike Hiromu, I was clearly drugged. There must have been some sort of drug in the drink that I was given. After I took the first sip, I immediately started to feel the effects. I was happy for a while. We all started drinking more; Kyouraku-taichou came over and introduced himself. He started talking to me about who knows what. Before I knew it, most of the people with whom we were drinking had either left for another bar or had passed out."

"And what did you do at this point?"

"Well, nothing. Kyouraku-taichou asked for more alcohol and food. I went to the restroom and when I came back there was more food and alcohol. He encouraged me to eat and drink, but he never took anything but a sip from his personal jug of alcohol. He must have put something into the food because right after I started to consume the food, I was feeling weak and ready to pass out. He started coming onto me moments later."

"Did you feel uncomfortable when he did that?"

"Of course, I'm straight, nerdy, but straight! He came onto me and I pushed him away. He forced me to have sexual relations with him."

"Did you fight back?"

"Naturally I did what I could, but I'm no match for a taichou."

"Thank you. No further questions, Your Honor."

"Any cross-examination, Kyouraku-taichou?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Shunsui stood up once again and walked over to the witness stand. He took a good look at Shin. "Funny, you don't look like my type. Too tall…not enough meat on you…I'm not too big on blondes—"

"Objection, Your Honor," Aizawa said, rising slightly. "Counsel is badgering the witness."

"I was just thinking aloud to myself that even if I were to come on to someone, drunk like no other, I don't think this guy would be my type."

"Sustained. Kyouraku-taichou, please refrain from commenting on the physical appearance of the witness."

"Sorry. Let me ask you something, Sakaki. You claim that I was the one that drugged you, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"You work under Kurotsuchi-taichou, right?"

"That's correct."

"The drug you ingested, what was it?"

"I don't know," he said indignantly. "I should be asking you that question."

"It didn't occur to you to ask Kurotsuchi-taichou to test you for it? I'm pretty sure he has an extensive database concerning these things."

"No, not at all."

"Ok. One last thing—you said that I forced you to have sexual relations with you. Could you elaborate on that?"

"You were there."

"I know, but see the thing is, I think I'm innocent. So tell the court what I did, so that I know for future reference," he said goofily.

"Well you definitely exerted a great amount of physical force over my body."

"Did I use any kidou?"

"No."

"Did I call out my zanpakutou?"

"No."

"So I must have been holding you down pretty hard?"

"That's right."

"Did you struggle?"

"Yes, I thought I already mentioned that I did!"

"Just confirming the facts. I must have schemed and conspired pretty far in advance to have been able to successfully pull this off."

"You certainly are a devious one."

"Thank you, no further questions." Shunsui returned to his chair calmly.

"Any redirect from the prosecution?" Hitsugaya asked.

"No, Your Honor," replied Aizawa.

"Then you may be excused, Sakaki-san."

"The prosecution rests its case, Your Honor."

"You may call your first witness, Kyouraku-taichou."

"The defense calls Ise Nanao."

"What?" Nanao nearly fell off her chair when she heard her name.

"Nanao-chan, please!" Shunsui pleaded.

"Taichou! You never said anything about me having to testify."

"I know, but I decided at the last minute—when you were trying to get me to shave before our court appearance."

"Our? I'm not being accused of anything, taichou. I just told you to shave and comb your hair. What did I do to deserve this punishment?"

"I'm not punishing you," he whined. "Think of it as a humble request on behalf of your lovely taichou."

"Humble request?" Nanao said throwing the notepad she had at his forehead. "No, humble request is me asking you to shave or comb your hair—"

"But my whiskers are what drive the ladies wild. I can't simply shave off the source of my sex appeal. Nanao-chan, please! Just this once, I'll never ask again. I promise!"

"I had to testify last time when you got fined for UZUI—Using a Zanpakutou Under the Influence. You said that would be the last time."

"PUH-LEEZE, Nanao-chan!"

Hitsugaya banged his gavel loudly. "No lover's squabbles in my courtroom. Either she testifies now or we shall disregard her as a possible witness."

"Nanao-chan," Shunsui looked at her with his puppy eyes. "I beg you."

"All right," she sighed.

"Thank you, lovely Nanao—OUCH." Shunsui was just about to kiss her when he got the water that had been sitting on his table for him splashed at him and the pitcher thrown at his face.

Sorry guys, Chapter 4 was getting to be a little long, so Chapter 4 will be the prosecution and Chapter 5 will be the defense. Sorry I couldn't get Nanao-chan in more this chapter. But she will definitely be the start of the next chapter. I have written a little preview section for all you dedicated fans…

Cue end of Bleach ending theme. Final credits and…3, 2, 1.

Ukitake: Next time on Bleach…

Nanao: Guess who got called to the witness stand?

Shunsui: Thank you lovely Nanao-chan!

Nanao: Why am I always called to bail you out all the time?

Shunsui: You know you love it.

Ukitake: I wanna be called to the witness stand!

Shunsui: No offense, pretty boy, but I don't want you incriminating me for anything else.

Ukitake: Hey!

Hitsugaya: Can't we all have a normal trial? And Matsumoto, where's my tea?

Matsumoto: Coming…We found the perfect bailiff, taichou. You're gonna be so proud of us.

Hitsugaya: Why do I feel a headache coming on?

Matsumoto: Stay tuned everyone for another exciting chapter of "The Babysitters Club!"

Ukitake: Don't forget to review this chapter!