"I will kill them, Oni-sama." Tsubaki hissed angrily.

"I know," Her zanpakuto replied easily, "Now sit down, Kodomo-san."

The woman huffed angrily but sat down, crossing her legs. Oni smiled at her and laid back against the dirt again. Their inner world had calmed down over the last few weeks, no longer a black abyss. Even weeds had been breaking through the dry land, though since last night none remained. Oni sighed, frowning, as he took a look at his master. She didn't seem to be paying him any attention as she dug her fingers into the dirt repeatedly.

"Loosening the ground to plant flowers?" Oni joked.

He received a harsh glare but it only caused him to smile wider.

"You shouldn't worry so much about them. They were drunk." Oni continued.

"Drunk or not, they made a fool out of me." She growled lowly, hands forming fists.

Oni hummed thoughtfully, closing his eyes. He remained quiet for a while, listening to her harsh breathing. Trying to think of any ways to calm his master before she recklessly attacked her friends. He opened one eye, watching her as she glared at nothing in particular. Closing his eye he sighed. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, they were her friends. Oni was sure that whatever had been said was a misunderstanding but it would be a hard job to convince her otherwise. Especially when sake was involved.

"Let's meditate." Oni grinned, sitting up.

She gave him a disinterested look but followed his lead. In perfect sync they laid their hands on their knees, relaxing their wrists. Oni took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips as she copied him perfectly.

"What's she doing?" Ikkaku whispered quietly.

"Look's like she's meditating." Yumichika whispered back.

The two shared a serious look, frowns growing even deeper.

"I've never seen her meditate before." Ikkaku said, taking another peak around the building.

Since last night the two had heeded Kenpachi's warning and stayed as far away from her as possible. Early in the morning they had gone in search of Renji and Hisagi, demanding that they apologize but it hadn't worked.

"Are you kidding me?" Renji shouted, "She'll murder me! No way!"

Hisagi's response hadn't been much help either.

"You shouldn't have said anything in the first place. I'll apologize when you do."

And now both men found themselves hiding around every corner to avoid accidently bumping into her.

"I feel bad." Ikkaku mumbled, leaning against a wall.

"Same," Yumichika agreed, "Shame is such an ugly feeling."

"What're you two doing?"

Both men jumped in surprise and Ikkaku choked on his own spit. Yumichika patted his back harshly, turning around.

"Ehh hehe. Nothing Taicho." He smiled nervously, waving his hands in front of his face.

Kenpachi frowned, looking around the building to see Tsubaki meditating. His grin came back full force as he watched his subordinates restlessness.

"Haven't apologized yet?" He asked.

"T-There's nothin' to apologize about!" Ikkaku shouted quickly, "It's her fault for misunderstanding everything! She was drunk!"

Kenpachi leaned away from them, putting on a thoughtful look. He knew they were lying to some degree but things had been pretty boring lately and he hadn't had the chance to watch the woman fight as of late. He looked back around the building to see she hadn't moved an inch. He glanced back at Ikkaku and Yumichika, nodding his head.

"Mmm. You're right. She was."

"Yeah! Exactly!" Ikkaku nodded excitedly.

Yumichika frowned as he watched his Taicho's eye glance in the woman's direction again. The sudden grin that split across his face left a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Kenpachi dropped his arms from across his chest and took a step away from them, heading in Tsubaki's direction.

"W-Wait! Taicho! What're you doing!" Ikkaku growled, reaching a hand towards Kenpachi.

The large man turned around, giving them a wicked grin.

"I can't have her disrespectin' my men now can I?"

"W-Wait!" Ikkaku squeaked, hurrying after him.

"Hey, Onna!" Kenpachi called out.

Tsubaki turned, sending him a glare, that only intensified when she noticed Ikkaku and Yumichika behind him.

"What do you want?" She ground out.

"I want you to say sorry." Kenpachi said evenly, the grin on his face never fading.

The woman's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits and her breathing came out hard and ragged. She got to her feet, sheathing her zanpakuto and he could feel her murderous intent rolling off of her in waves.

"What?" She hissed, fists tightening by her sides.

Kenpachi feigned innocence, though it looked far too wicked and jerked his thumb in the direction of Ikkaku and Yumichika.

"Well Ikkaku and Yumichika explained everything, I want ya to apologize for over reactin'." Kenpachi didn't miss the twitching of her left eye.

"Apologize? Over reacting?" She repeated darkly.

"Yeah, Onna."

"H-Hey! Wait Taicho! We never said that!" Ikkaku jumped in quickly.

"Ohh?" Kenpachi asked, crossing his arms over his chest, "But you did agree she was drunk. I figure'd whatever she had been mad about last night must have been her over reactin'?"

"N-No!" Ikkaku exclaimed, face heating up.

Tsubaki watched as the man furiously denied their Taicho, trying to explain in as much detail as he could what happened last night. How everything was a misunderstanding between what he and Yumichika had told their friends and what they had interpreted while being drunk. Kenpachi listened, the grin never leaving his face.

"So you see, we never said any of that! It was just Renji and Hisagi being stupid!" He finished with a sigh.

"Mmm."

Kenpachi turned to look at the woman but none of the heat had left her eyes. He could tell she was still out for blood and he had to agree that if in her situation the event would feel like an attack on his pride. Ikkaku chanced looking away from his Taicho only to feel more guilty as Tsubaki continued to glare. He turned towards Yumichika, begging for help but the man simply seemed to ignore his plea.

"I'm sorry," Yumichika spoke up suddenly, "I take responsibility for their misunderstanding. It's an ugly thing to fight among friends, I hope you can forgive me."

"Me too!" Ikkaku chimed in.

"I don't accept," Tsubaki growled, "Now leave me alone."

And with that the woman turned her back on the group, marching away angrily.

"Wait!" Ikkaku shouted after her, jogging to catch up.

He grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn around, only to be met with a fierce punch to the face. Ikkaku stumbled back, clutching his nose, already tasting his blood filling his mouth.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" He shouted, "You're crazy!"

"I'm crazy?" Tsubaki howled, rounding on him, "You're the filthy liar!"

"We're not lying!" Yumichika said, running up to the two of them.

Kenpachi continued to watch the scene unfold, still interested in how far the two could push that woman before she snapped. He expected it wouldn't be long now.

"You're both filthy fucking liars!"

"Are not!" Ikkaku yelled, only to receive another punch to the face.

Yumichika grabbed onto his shoulder to steady him but Ikkaku shoved his hand away.

"Fuck this!" He hissed, "I'm not going to fuckin' apologize just to get punched! Fuck you bitch!"

Yumichika followed after Ikkaku as he stormed away. Tsubaki let out a scream of frustration, turning to glare at her Taicho.

"It's your fault! I was ignoring them fine before you did this!" She yelled, marching away again.

Kenpachi frowned, shaking his head, "Women are too much trouble."

Kira frowned as he walked back from the Third Division to his apartment, sensing a familiar, angry reiastu near by. It was coming from the woman that he had drank with last night. For a moment he thought of ignoring it but she was fairly close and the idea that she was still this angry bothered him slightly. He flash stepped to catch up with her but couldn't see where she was.

"Up here." A voice called from a tree near by.

Kira looked up to see the woman sitting on a tree branch, her bare feet dangling over the edge and a bottle of sake hanging from her fingertips. Kira jumped up, sitting down to join her. She offered him the bottle and he hesitated for a moment before smiling, taking it gratefully.

"Thank you." He said simply, taking a drink and handing it back.

"No problem." She sighed, taking another gulp as well.

The two remained quiet for a while, neither speaking what was on their mind. Kira didn't really know what to say if he was honest with himself. He didn't know her that well and feared saying the wrong thing could only upset her more. With that in mind he opened his mouth to finally speak but she beat him to it.

"If you're here 'cause of those idiots then don't waste your breath."

Kira frowned again.

"No. I'm not here for them. I sensed your reiastu and decided to apologize for last night."

Tsubaki just chuckled, taking another drink before passing it to the blonde.

"No need. I'm not mad at you." She replied evenly.

Kira smiled, "Then I'm sorry for my friends behavior. Abarai-kun and Hisagi-kun would apologize but I think they're scared of you."

Tsubaki just chuckled again, "I'm not really mad with them either. They're idiots too but they're only going by what they heard."

"What they heard...?" Kira asked, turning to look at her.

"Yeah. What Madarame and Ayasegawa said."

Kira looked confused, before laughing. Tsubaki turned her head slightly, giving him a confused look.

"What?" She asked, annoyance coloring her tone.

"Madarame-san and Ayasegawa-san never said anything like that. Abarai-kun and Hisagi-kun drunkenly took it out of context." Kira smiled lightly.

Kira was surprised when the woman only sighed.

"So they weren't lying then?" She asked, taking a drink.

"You should have more faith in your friends." Kira replied.

Tsubaki sighed again, finishing the rest of the bottle and stood. Kira copied her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder when she swayed slightly.

"Guess I should 'pologize then." She said.

"What for?" Kira asked.

"Broke Ikkaku's nose." She replied evenly.

Kira watched, shocked, as she jumped down from the tree and started walking away. When he landing on the ground near her she turned, flashing him a wide grin.

"Thanks." She said before flashing away.

"No problem." Kira muttered, shaking his head and walking away.

She sure was scary.

"What do you want?" Ikkaku hissed when Tsubaki appeared before him.

She didn't say anything for a long moment but as the seconds ticked by the grin on her face continued to grow.

"Sorry." She shrugged, boredly.

"Sorry?" The bald man asked in surprise.

"Ya, fer breakin' your nose."

Ikkaku's nose crinkled slightly, sniffing the air. The smell of strong sake permeated his senses and he leaned away from her.

"Just how drunk are you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Look, running cause's drinking to hit harder," She said, poking him in the chest, "I came to apologize. Not get made fun of."

Yumichika stepped up between them, smiling brightly.

"What brought this on?" He asked.

She sent him a blank stare to which he quickly added,

"Not that we don't accept and apologize as well."

Tsubaki seemed content with his response and threw her arm around Yumichika's shoulder, grinning wildly.

"Your blonde drinking friend." She replied, still grinning.

"Kira?" Ikkaku asked, glancing as she threw her other arm over his shoulders as well.

"Mhmm."

"What'd he say?"

"Somethin' about trusting friends."

Upon finishing her sentence she brought their foreheads forcefully together. Ikkaku and Yumichika called out in pain, rubbing the abused spots and stepped away from her. Tsubaki just kept her toothy grin.

"What was that for!" Ikkaku glared.

"Pay back. For saying anything to those drunk fools anyway." She said seriously.

"So we're okay now?" Yumichika asked.

"Mmm. For now."