It was already her fourth day of being Captain, and after the adventures of the past three days, Keiko figured it was time to get serious. Early in the morning, after once again showering and changing, she made her entire Squad get up and assemble outside. A few grumbled about it being way too early, but the bulk of them didn't whine or bitch. For a few hours, she went over the exercises she would want them to memorize as it would become their daily routine. Once she was certain they all understood what they were doing and were doing it properly, she dismissed them a bit before noon.
Rather than head into the main area of the Squad house and have lunch with her Squad, Keiko turned and entered her office, a large room with a desk, couch, books, and all other office-y supplies. Sitting down at her desk, she grabbed a fresh stack of papers and began working on them. Truth be told, Hisagi-fukutaichou had done an amazing job when he filled in for Captain. With the exception of the previous four days of paper work, there was absolutely nothing left half-assed, and for a moment, Keiko wondered if she should get him some soft of gift for the work. Sake, probably. What man didn't like sake? Nodding to herself and making a mental note, Keiko bent down over the papers before her and started to read, every so often filling something in with a pen.
Just as she was about to finish the last bit of paperwork, a soft knock sounded at the door. "Yes?" she called out, her golden eyes never leaving the paper. Hisagi-fukutaichou slipped in. "What's up?" she looked up at him, checking off one more item before putting the paper down.
"You have a visitor," he replied, glancing over his shoulder.
Raising an eyebrow, Keiko stood up, her hands slipping into opposite sleeves. "You act like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong?"
Hisagi-fukutaichou shuddered once before looking back at his Captain. "It's Zaraki-taichou."
For a few moments, Keiko just stared at her lieutenant. She knew he wasn't afraid of Kenpachi, but rather, he was afraid that Kenpachi was -here- at -their- Squad. It seemed pretty out of character for the big man.
"BAH!" she threw her hands into the air in exasperation. Was that man truly that impatient? Muttering a few obscenities under her breath, she made her way out from behind her desk and towards Hisagi-fukutaichou. "I'll take care of him. Go back to whatever it was you were doing."
Hisagi-fukutaichou nodded once and turned to push the sliding door back open, but it was ripped out of his hand as someone from the other side quickly opened it. He fell back a few steps from the force of the door and stared up at Kenpachi.
Keiko sighed before slipping her hands back into her sleeves. "You might as well come in then," she shook her head at Kenpachi before turning around and heading back towards her desk. Once Kenpachi stepped into the office, Hisagi-fukutaichou made his way around the larger man and exited, sliding the door shut behind him. "I said I probably wouldn't be able to do it today," the 9th Captain spoke up once they were alone, turning around to face her fellow Captain, leaning back against her desk.
"Blame a guy fer being impatient," he replied, flopping down onto the couch. "The quicker you get better, the quicker you can try and teach me whatever the hell it is you need ta' teach me, the quicker our rematch," he grinned up at her, now being the shorter of the two from his position on the couch.
Keiko stared at Kenpachi before shrugging and hopping backwards to sit on the top of her desk. "Why have you never tried it before?"
He shrugged, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back on the arm of the couch. "Think I know what the fuck yer supposed ta' do ta' get a bankai?" he snorted. "Besides, it's not like anyone has the balls ta' actually approach me about it." At that, he grinned, apparently quite content with his intimidation factor.
The black-haired woman studied Kenpachi for a few more moments. From all the stories she had heard from her fellow Shinigami, as well as from her previous fight with him, she was beginning to realize that he had just spilled some sort of secret to her. Who the hell -would- try to ask him why he didn't have a bankai? No one, probably, and she could safely assume it was a sore subject.
"My turn fer questions. What the hell were you doing at the old man's place for so long? Pretty sure I heard someone screaming like a little bitch after you went in. Was it you?" he grinned at her.
"What, are you following me now or something?" she spat at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously. A sneer pulled at her lips and she growled at him – he found the way to piss her off. Closing her eyes, she shook her head and sighed. If she was going to do the impossible, he was going to have to trust her, and vice-versa. "Yeah, it was me," she started, slipping off her desk and loosening her Captain's jacket so that it bared her back and arms. "These," she spoke quietly, turning so her back faced him, "are seals. Know anything about them?"
Blinking and raising an eyebrow, Kenpachi sat up on the couch and stared at her back. He felt dizzy just looking at the complicated patterns. "No. What the fuck are they?"
Keiko slipped her Captain's jacket back up her arms. "Think of them like your eye patch. They bind quite a bit of my powers," she turned back to face him, once more folding her arms. "The whole thing's a lot more complicated, but let's just say, if I didn't have these tattoos, I'd be nothing more than a rabid animal."
He stared at her. What could possibly be going through his mind was beyond her.
"And to answer your question, I was at Yamamoto-Genryusai-soutaichou's getting the seals redone. They have to be redone every so often to make sure they're functioning properly. The process hurts more than you could fathom." He continued to stare. "And if you don't believe me, you can come and watch the next time I have them redone."
"Yer one crazy bitch," he finally replied, flopping back down on the couch and closing his eye.
Keiko couldn't help but laugh, finding his remark comical rather than offensive. "Why do you say that?"
"If you had used yer bankai, you probably would have wrecked me in our fight. But now I find out half yer powers are bound?" He shuddered. "Makes me want a rematch even more now." Sitting up again, he laughed. "You're one of the few people I've come to respect."
She could push the subject, explain exactly what it was that the seals kept locked up, but she didn't want to get into it. If things went as planned, the seals would never be broken, and no one would ever have to know about their real role. "Kind words from Zaraki Kenpachi. Be still my heart," she chuckled, placing a hand over her heart.
"You should feel honored," the big man grinned, getting up from the couch. "Now, about that promise."
Keiko rolled her eyes. "You don't give up, do you?"
"Fuck no. If I want something, I'll get it, and as quickly as possible." Grin.
A groan passed Keiko's lips. "Fine, fine. Later tonight, then. Unless you -want- to do this in the middle of the day where everyone can watch?"
Kenpachi paused, eye squinting in thought. "Didn' think a'that. Fine. Tonight then, back at the execution grounds."
"Deal, now get out!" she shooed him towards the door. "People are going to start thinking I'm your slut or something if you keep hanging around here!"
Pausing right before the door, he stared down at her, a glint coming to his eye as he licked his lips.
"OUT!" she yelled, opening the door and physically kicking him out as he cackled manically. With a snort, she slammed the door shut and returned to her desk.
When midnight rolled around and the bulk of Seireitei was asleep or drinking with friends, Keiko left the 9th Squad to make her way towards the execution grounds. Oddly enough, she wasn't surprised that Kenpachi was already there. Either he was very punctual, or very impatient. She was almost certain it was the latter. "I'm not even going to ask if you're ready," Keiko chuckled, stopping before him. She opened her right palm and quickly chanted a short kidou to summon a small ball of light to her hand. She tossed it into the air and it hung a few feet above them to give them some light.
From his seat on a large boulder, Kenpachi looked up at her with a toothy grin. "Took you long enough ta' get out here."
"I don't even want to know how long you've been waiting," she waved her hand dismissively. Sighing softly, she slipped her hands into the opposite sleeves of her haori and looked down at Kenpachi, trying to think of where exactly to begin. "I hope you realize, a lot of this will consist of doing things other than fighting. I don't want to waste my time if you're going to get fed up after a day or two of nothing happening."
The grin remained. "If yer willin' ta' teach, I'm willin' ta' sit an' listen."
"Good," she replied, now taking a seat on a free boulder. It was half the size of the one Kenpachi sat on, and that, coupled with her short height, made her seem almost minuscule. Reaching for the right side of her back, she unsheathed her zanpakuto and motioned for him to do the same. "You know, as well as anyone else, that a Shinigami needs to know its zanpakuto's name to release its shikai and bankai forms, although, there are odd instances when the zanpakuto constantly remains in its shikai form. Yours, obviously, and the substitute Shinigami's. I don't know why, honestly, so don't ask… Some theorize it's because of your raw power. I guess that could be it, I don't know. Then again, I don't think you even care."
Kenpachi snorted.
"Yeah. Anyway. Obviously, your zanpakuto has a name, otherwise it wouldn't even be able to take a shikai form. Now… Close your eyes." She did it, and because of how impatient he had been over the whole thing, she didn't bother to check to see if he did it. She was certain he would. "Picture your zanpakuto. Not just a rough sketch of it. Visualize it exactly as it is. The hilt, the pommel, the blade with all its ragged edges. If you can't do that, then let your hands be your eyes. Touch every piece of it, then imagine it in your mind's eye. It might take a while, but there's no rush."
After a few moments, Keiko opened her eyes and looked up at Kenpachi. The look on his face appeared to be a cross of concentration and annoyance. His hands were tightly grasping at each piece of his zanpakuto, and more than once he cut his fingers. She knew he wasn't hurting himself, but he was going to have to learn to -not- be so rough. Sheathing her own blade, she slipped off the boulder and made her way over to Kenpachi. "It may not be a word in your dictionary, but try to be gentle," she spoke softly, reaching out and moving her hands over his. "You've used this blade for years; it's become a part of you. Soften your grip." She slipped her fingers under his and tried to loosen them. "It might take a while, but the more you hold it and try to imagine it in your mind, the easier it'll be to picture it with the lightest of touches."
For a few more hours, Keiko did her best to help Kenpachi visualize his zanpakuto. As she personally expected, they didn't make much progress, but some was better than none. He claimed he could see the pommel and hilt, but the jagged edges of his blade were proving to be a problem.
Reaching down, Keiko ripped a strip of her Captain's jacket off the bottom, then ripped it in half and wrapped one piece around each of his bleeding hands. "Maybe I'm going to have to teach you how to be gentle first," she grinned up at him, tightly tying off the bandage at his right hand.
"Hmph," was his only response.
With a smirk, she crossed her arms. "So, come back here tomorrow, or are you already giving up?"
Kenpachi snorted. "You made a promise, woman. I'll be back."
"Good. Try doing the same thing we did here whenever you get time to yourself. The more you try to do it, the easier it'll get. For now, though, I need sleep." As if on cue, a loud and long yawn left her mouth. She shivered once, waved and left for her squad.
Kidou - ball of light
Name the book series I stole that from and win uber brownie points!
"If things went as planned, the seals would never be broken, and no one would ever have to know about their real role."
LOLOLOL FORESHADOWING! Sorry. Too much coffee..
And so, Kenpachi begins to learn, or try to learn, his zanpakuto's name. Yes, as it's been stated, a Shinigami either takes decades to figure out his bankai, or goes through some quick, dangerous process. Since I didn't want to use the same process Ichigo used to learn his, and Kenpachi first needs to learn his zanpakuto's name, and then his bankai (which will come easy because of his abundance of power), I figured I might as well have a different process of going about doing it to make things a bit interesting.
Actual BLEACH-verse and characters (c) to all the respective people.
Akuuno Keiko (c) me, General Junos.