Retribution
Retribution
By
PND
Part 2
For Chica and Marcus
The next morning Yumichika woke to a pair of vivid pink eyes staring down at him. Lilinette was studying him rather intently.
"I'm glad you're awake, Shinigami-san." She said, picking up a pile of white clothing from her lap. "I've brought you new clothes. Stark said your old ones looked like crap and told me to fetch you something new."
"Stark?" Yumichika turned his head to see the empty pile of cushions next to him. "Where is he?"
"I don't know," Lilinette gave a slightly shrug, obviously not worried about it. "Let's get you dressed so Stark can see how nice you look when he comes back." Lilinette tugged on the obi of Yumichika's hakama, undoing it. "I need to redress your wounds while I'm at it. Stark wouldn't be happy if they got infected. That'd be gross." With a strength belying her size, Lilinette pulled the shinigami to his feet. Yumichika quickly grabbed his hakama before they could fall and Lilinette giggled.
"No need to be shy," she teased, undoing the stale bandaging around his chest. "Nothing I haven't seen before." She discarded the old, bloodstained dressing and picked a bowl up from the tray by her feet. She started applying a thick white substance to the partially closed wound, frowning a little as she studied her work. "This is crap. You've been moving around too much and disturbing your injuries. It's not going to heal right if you don't stay still. You shinigami think you're invincible, don't you?" Lilinette gave an exaggerated sigh as she started wrapping a clean dressing around Yumichika.
"I know we're not invincible," Yumichika replied, slightly impressed with the medical skill she seemed to possess. If she hadn't become an arrancar, he was certain the fourth division would be happy to have her. "From the looks of it, arrancar aren't invincible either."
"No we're not," Lilinette agreed surprisingly fast, hands working on his arm gently. "I'm happy Stark hasn't had to fight yet. I know it will happen soon and I don't have any doubts about his strength, but I don't want him to get hurt."
"You're worried about him." Yumichika let out a small sigh as he looked at the small girl. "Just how strong is he? From what I can tell his spiritual pressure has to be one of the strongest I've ever seen."
"Stark could beat your scrawny butt," Lilinette frowned. "That's all you need to know." Finishing work on his arm, Lilinette turned to pick up the pile of clothing again. "Now, it's time for you to change."
"I'm not wearing that," Yumichika wrinkled his nose. The uniform of the arrancar was so plain. He wouldn't allow himself to be seen in it.
"Quit being such a spoilsport, Shinigami-san." Lilinette pulled his hand from his hakama, letting them drop to the floor. "It's not that bad, I promise."
Yumichika watched as she brought forth a pair of black pants and helped him put them on so he wouldn't disturb his wounds again. He frowned at the lack of an obi. It made him feel bare. When he said something about it, Lilinette laughed, saying he wouldn't be wearing one again. She pulled a white top over his head, carefully guiding his arms through the holes. Yumichika busied himself smoothing down the front as she did up the buttons on the back of the garment.
"How pretty!" Lilinette sang, pulling Yumichika to the side of the room to let him see himself in a mirror that was hanging there. Yumichika frowned at his reflection; he didn't look anything like himself. The pants were tight around his ankles, but he supposed that would make them easier to move around in than the loose hakama. She'd dressed him in a long split-side tunic that went down to his ankles. He couldn't say he was fond of the outfit, but Lilinette seemed proud of herself for picking it out.
"Stark's going to love it," she said, hastily brushing down the front of his chest.
"Sure," Yumichika replied, gazing at the mirror. He slowly lifted a hand to remove the straggled feather adornments that were still there. Now there was barely any resemblance. "Do you think he'll keep his word, Lilinette?"
"About what?" the arrancar asked, pulling the shinigami's hair back into a low ponytail. Short tendrils fell forward into his face as he spoke.
"Last night he told me we'd bury the shinigami that died in that battle yesterday," Yumichika said solemnly, crushing the scraggly feathers in his hand. "I want to know if he meant it."
"Of course he meant it, Shinigami-san." Lilinette seemed confident. "You might not think much of us arrancar, but you should at least respect Stark. He told me that he thinks shinigami are powerful fighters and deserve our respect. That's probably why he wants to honor your friend. He wants you to be happy."
"Happy?" Yumichika frowned, handing the crumpled feathers to Lilinette for her to dispose of. "If he wanted me to be happy, he'd let me die."
"You shouldn't say things like that, Shinigami-san!" Lilinette frowned, looking very unhappy. "If you died then Stark wouldn't be happy! Don't you think life is worth keeping as long as you can make just one person happy?"
"I tried to make one person happy and he died, I'm sick of trying." Yumichika looked down at the small arrancar as she made a quiet noise. Her eyes were covered by her hands. Yumichika's brow furrowed in confusion, "You aren't crying, are you?"
"You're being such a jerk!" Lilinette shouted, turning away from him quickly. "You're being selfish. Throwing away your life just because you didn't like the way things turned out is so egotistical! Stark went out of his way to save your stupid little life and all you can do is sit around and worry about all of your problems. Stark has problems, too, you know! What's going to happen to him when the shinigami finally come? Is he going to die? What about when Aizen-sama gets sick of him letting you hang around and kills you? Stark will be sad. I can't stand to see him sad..." Lilinette trailed off as tears began to flow again.
As Yumichika watched the girl try to control her emotions, an epiphany struck him. "You're in love with him!"
"What?" Lilinette shook her head, letting her short green hair fly around her face. "No, I'm not."
"Then what's all this crap about him being happy?"
"He's happy when he's with you and I like it when he's happy..." Lilinette shrugged, obviously not letting on all there was. "He doesn't sleep as much and I get to see him more."
"Except right now," Yumichika frowned, wondering where the espada had disappeared to. He didn't like it when he couldn't even sense his enemies. "He doesn't even know me; I don't see why I matter to him."
"You matter because you aren't like us, not really, anyway." Lilinette pulled Yumichika down on the floor and much to his chagrin, settled herself comfortably on his lap. "Stark, despite being a lazy bastard is a really good man. He likes to dream. I think it's the only thing that keeps hope alive for him. I didn't know what to think when he stumbled across you in that battlefield. Anyone else would've kept on moving. I know I would have. Most of us don't care about the enemy, myself included." Lilinette rested her head against his chest and sighed. "You're so lucky, Shinigami-san. You don't know what I'd give to be in your place."
"Stop that," Yumichika gently pulled her against his chest and dropped his chin on her shoulder. "I don't think you should worry about such things, Lilinette. Just be happy."
"You tell me this, but you don't believe it. How can you tell me to practice something you refuse to believe?"
"That doesn't matter," Yumichika sighed. "I'll do what I feel."
"What do you feel like now?"
"I don't know," he said honestly, closing his eyes. "I miss him so much right now. I just want to hold him again. I hope you never have to feel what I do."
"You've gone through a lot with him haven't you?" She turned to look at him, her eyes radiating in sadness. "I can't begin to understand how you feel, but I will try, for your sake."
"Lilinette," Yumichika was surprised by her words. "Thank you."
"Please, don't thank me," Lilinette smile sadly, her childlike countenance dimming. "I just want to make you feel better so Stark will love me, too." She turned completely in his lap and giggled as she placed her hands on his cheeks. She knew she had no reason to do this and he had no reason to let her. She just felt lonely and she knew he did, too. She smiled and leaned forward. Yumichika's breath quickened as she drew him to her. She hesitantly kissed him, unsure of whether or not he'd react.
"I'm sorry," she murmured as she pulled away from him, blushing slightly. "I thought that maybe would help you forget, but it looks like it didn't. I'm not very good at things like this. Stark's never let me do anything like that to him; I think that something might just be wrong with me..."
"Don't say that," Yumichika leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers gently, as if he were a childhood lover. "I wasn't prepared, and I'm not sure if it's right." Lilinette nodded, dropping her head to his chest and closing her eyes. Yumichika put his arms around the small girl, looking at Stark as he stood in the doorway.
Stark gritted his teeth, watching as Lilinette touched his shinigami so intimately. Yumichika was holding her and looking him directly in the eyes. Stark's grip on the doorway tightened at the way Lilinette was digging her hands into his robes. He had no idea what they had been talking about, but the sight of them hadn't been reassuring at all. He turned to leave, quietly shutting the door behind him.
What had he done wrong? He'd saved his life. He held him close when he was mourning. He promised to give his friend a proper burial. What had he done wrong? He didn't understand. Didn't the shinigami owe him a life debt? He didn't care what Lilinette or that shinigami did. He was still their master.
He pushed open the door again much to Yumichika's surprise.
"Lilinette, get up," Stark commanded, glancing at Yumichika. "We're going."
The battleground was as ugly as it had been the day before. The smell of rotting flesh was tangible and the scattered bodies hadn't been moved at all. Stark felt his heart jerk when Yumichika closed his eyes to shield them from the scene.
"The other shinigami was over here," Lilinette said, carelessly stepping over the bodies of the arrancar. "Found him."
"You stay here," Stark said to the shinigami, but Yumichika had already moved forward and stood next to Lilinette. He stood for a moment before crouching down next to the body.
Lilinette's eyes softened at Yumichika placed a hand on the shinigami's chest and shook his head. He laughed quietly after a few seconds. "It's not him."
Stark was at their side in a second, staring down at the dead body of the shinigami and the tears that were now streaming down his cheeks. Lilinette wasn't sure what was happening. "What do you mean?"
"It's not him," Yumichika said again, hugging the girl tightly. Stark frowned, but kept his mouth shut. The shinigami was smiling now. "That isn't Ikkaku. He's alive still!"
"Then where is he?" Stark didn't like how his voice sounded. It was too hard, but he couldn't seem to help it. He was already jealous and now he wanted to make matters worse. "If that isn't your lover, then where is he? He's not here."
"I don't know." Yumichika's smile fell.
"Then he left you?" Stark frowned, unable to hold in his spite. "I thought you shinigami were all high and noble. I don't believe that asshole left you. Even if you had been dead, wouldn't he have carried your body back with him?"
"I don't know," Yumichika answered stiffly. "But if he is alive, he will come back for me. Please," he bowed slightly in what was a very humbling posture. "Do what you can for my fellow shinigami."
"Why should I?" Stark frowned, unable to rip his eyes off the lean body in front of him.
"Because," Yumichika's eyes flashed. "You promised me you would when you told me I can't die. I'm not going to die and you're going to keep your promises. I don't care how long I have to stay with you or what I have to do, Stark. Ikkaku will come for me."
Lilinette had silently wandered to Yumichika and grasped his hand during his speech. The shinigami never seemed to amaze her. He seemed so competent in his words and she was beginning to wonder what was so wrong about shinigami.
End Part 2.