"Ken-chan! Ken-chan! I brought the new Captain like you asked!"
Groaning, and nearly smacking himself in the face for actually thinking things would work out so easily when Yachiru was involved, Kenpachi closed his eye. There was absolutely no point in talking to Yachiru later as she had done what -she- thought Kenpachi wanted her to do. After Ikkaku's suggestion, Kenpachi quickly found his lieutenant and explained to her that he wanted to find out anything interesting about the new Captain, and that if she did a good job, he would buy her some candy. Apparently the only things that had actually entered her mind were: candy, new Captain, candy, Ken-chan wants to know the new Captain, candy if she does it right.
At the sound of stomping feet and the giggling of Yachiru, Kenpachi looked up from his spot on the floor, cup of sake in hand. Any thought that he might have had about being frustrated with Yachiru was instantly gone. That aura... that deliciously strong aura. It nearly made him shudder just from the -thought- of fighting it.
Yachiru had finally let go of the Captain's hand and stood in front of Kenpachi, her hands clasped behind her back, swaying on her feet, a huge smile on her face as she hummed.
Looking down at her, he motioned with his chin. "In my room. Bottom drawer."
The girl immediately squealed, jumped and turned around before running out of the room, her arms held out as though she were an airplane.
"Your lieutenant said you wished to meet me?"
Slightly startled by the voice, Kenpachi looked up at the new Captain to see her staring down at him. For a few moments, all Kenpachi could think about crossing blades, laughing sadistically, pouring all of his being into a full blown fight with this woman. He was finally torn away from his reveries by the woman's hand being thrust in his face.
"Akuuno Keiko, 9th Squad Captain," she spoke, offering her hand to him.
He wanted to snort, to make some harsh comment about her politeness, but he couldn't bring himself to doing it. "I know who you are," was his only response, a smirk on his lips as he reached out to grip her hand. The idea? Put as much pressure on her hand to see how much she could take. It was a test, pure and simple. Kenpachi was not disappointed.
For every ounce of pressure he added to the squeeze of his hand, she merely matched it, and he was thrilled to see a grin on her face, not a look of pain. Staring up at her, he could see the lust of battle hunger in her eyes, the same thing that was purely evident in his own. So, Ikkaku was right.
"And I know who you are, Zaraki Kenpachi," she grinned, not letting go of his hand.
At this point, the hand shake was no longer a test but an actual fight. Whoever let go first would be considered the weaker. It seemed it was something that both Captains understood, because after a few moments, at nearly the same exact time, they let go of each others hand; neither of them wanted to be disappointed.
"Tomorrow, noon," he finally spoke up.
"Execution grounds," came her reply.
And just like that, their duel had been scheduled.
It appeared he didn't even have to ask, that this new Captain, this battle-crazed woman, wanted to fight him just as badly as he wanted to fight her. For the second time, Kenpachi had fallen into his own personal reveries, thinking about his past battles, about tomorrow's upcoming fight. He barely noticed Ikkaku and Yumichika introducing themselves to the woman, as well as her departure.
"I told you all you had to do was ask."
Peering down at Ikakku, Kenpachi merely smirked. There was no way he could bring himself to smacking or ragging on his Third Seat for that 'I told you so' comment. He couldn't be angry. He couldn't be upset, even when he eventually found out Yachiru had stolen all of his money. No, Kenpachi was excited. Kenpachi was -happy-, and nothing, -nothing- was going to ruin that.
"What exactly just happened?" Hisagi-fukutaichou asked as he and Keiko exited the 11th Squad.
Keiko grinned up at her lieutenant. "Tomorrow, noon, at the execution grounds."
Apparently, that meant nothing to him, because he merely stared at his Captain.
"Zaraki Kenpachi and I are going to have ourselves a little.. duel."
Stopping in his tracks, Hisagi-fukutaichou continued to stare at Keiko, eyebrow raised. "-Why-?"
"Like you said," she replied, turning around and now walking backwards, as though trying to get her lieutenant to keep moving. "I've changed."
With a scowl now upon his lips, Hisagi-fukutaichou shook his head before continuing forward. "I hope you know what you're doing. Zaraki is nothing more than a human battering ram. He doesn't feel pain. He's... an animal."
"I know," she smiled, turning back around to walk beside him. 'And he's too much like me to pass up a fight...' she thought to herself. Keiko had wondered why Kenpachi had stared at her the way he did when she was first introduced to the rest of the Captains. After learning about him through various people, and then finally meeting him in person... Oh, that handshake! Well, technically it was more of a 'hand grip', but that didn't matter. Keiko had finally found a person who would match her in a fight, and it caused shivers of anticipation to run up her spine. She, like Kenpachi, was excited.
Pushing her personal thoughts onto a back burner, Keiko continued to follow Hisagi-fukutaichou as he showed her around Seireitei and introduced her to the remaining Captains and lieutenants.
--
By the time Keiko finished her rounds of sociability, it was fairly late in the day, and she was exhausted. "No more names... no more people," she whined, trudging back to Squad Nine with Hisagi-fukutaichou.
"You weren't whining last night when you were meeting everyone in our Squad," he pointed out.
"Yeah, but I would be a horrible Captain if I didn't know everyone in my Squad. I don't -care- about other Squad's high ranked Seats," she countered with a scowl. "Besides, no one in -our- Squad has a chest that defies nature, or a need to experiment on anything that walks by."
"I can't believe you're still caught up on Matsumoto's chest."
"But it's just... a... but... GUH!" She was at a loss for words.
Hisagi-fukutaichou merely laughed.
"Men," Keiko muttered under her breath after sending a glare at her lieutenant. But quickly, her annoyance disappeared as she remembered what tomorrow would bring: a fight with Kenpachi. How long had it been since she had been in a fight where she could go all out? Thinking back on it, never. Truthfully, even the fight with Kenpachi would not allow her to use the full extent of her powers, but that was only based on one thing: bankai. If Kenpachi could not use his, she would not use hers. Was it fair? To a degree, no, and it might even piss the big man off, but in a way, Keiko didn't care because--
Keiko and Hisagi-fukutaichou stopped in the entrance of the 9th Squad house. Almost immediately, a rush of people surged forward.
"Is it true?"
"Are you really going to fight Kenpachi?"
The emotions of the Squad ran from fear, amazement, anxiety and excitement, all tinged with a bit of pride. How had the news spread so fast?
For a while, Keiko just sighed and answered the hundreds of questions thrown at her. It took a while, but soon she began to realize that the fight might do the entirety of her Squad a world of good.
Despite the warm welcome she had received yesterday, she knew that most of the Squad either still didn't trust her or know what to think of her, because, to be honest, having been a part of the Onmitsukido, she literally hadn't -existed- until yesterday. Perhaps, if they all saw her fight tomorrow, all hesitation, all reserves would be wiped away. If they were -shown- how strong their Captain was, perhaps they would start to place their trust in her. Perhaps the entire morale of the Squad would increase, which would be good for everyone.
The excitement emitting from Keiko was so strong, it was almost tangible, and like a yawn, it was infectious. Within minutes, the entire Squad was rowdy and excited, becoming just as impatient as Keiko knew she was.
Raising her hands in the air to call for silence, she waited until she got it. "Since word has already spread so fast, and I'm sure almost all of Squad 11 will be there, there probably won't be any harm in everyone coming to watch tomorrow," she announced. "I may still be very new to my position and the goings-on in Seireitei, but it doesn't take a genius to realize the notorious reputation Squad 11 has. Because of that, I expect -everyone- to be on their best behavior, no matter what happens. I know that our Squad is one of the few that can tolerate Zaraki-taichou's Squad, but I'm hoping it will turn out to be more than that. I'm hoping that -our- Squad can show the rest of Seireitei that anyone can look past the reputations, the gossip, and have good relations with -all- Squads."
A quiet murmur grew from the crowd. Like yesterday, they weren't sure exactly what to think of what their Captain had just said. But when someone in the back yelled: "No matter what happens, we know -our- Captain has more balls than any other Captain for challenging Zaraki!" Keiko laughed at the comment, and the excitement within Squad Nine continued to grow.
It wasn't until later at night when she finally laid down to sleep that Keiko realized the repercussions her fight may have. She knew, especially after the warning, that Soifon-oneesan would not be happy. And then there was always Yamamoto-Genryusai-soutaichou... "A Captain of the Goteijuusantai should not partake is such barbarous actions," she could picture both of them scolding her. And as a Captain, she should, technically, care about it and do something about it, but things had already been put into motion. Not only that, but if she had to explain herself, she would, and Keiko felt she was in the right for it all.
Smile forming on her lips, the Ninth Squad Captain fell asleep.
soutaichou - title given to the leader of the Gotei 13; "commander-general"
Goteijuusantai - Gotei 13; "13 Division Imperial Guards"
Names, Part 2
Kenpachi does not refer to Keiko by her real name, despite the fact he already has a growing respect for her. Until the two fight, he will continue to refer to her as "the woman" or "the new Captain."
Keiko does not give Kenpachi his proper ending of -taichou when she speaks of him (unless it is before the entirety of her Squad). She views him, as he does her, as a very similar soul. They both find themselves in battles, they both hunger for battles. As she refers to herself as Keiko, thus she refers to him as Kenpachi, first name, no honorifics.
Actual BLEACH-verse and characters (c) to all the respective people.
Akuuno Keiko (c) me, General Junos.