That night was the longest of Kenpachi's life. Nurses came in and checked Yachiru's pulse, blood pressure, and gods knew what else, marked a few numbers on a chart, and then left. Every time it happened, his heart was in his throat, terrified that they would say she had worsened, hoping that they would say she was better. Still, these interruptions were better than the interminable waits between.

He remembered when they first came to Seireitei, just after he became the captain of Eleventh Division and Yachiru became his Lieutenant. At first, a lot of people said that Yachiru didn't deserve the position.

A bunch of younger shinigami had Yachiru surrounded. Several of them had their swords out and waved them at her ominously.

"You really don't want to pick on me," she said with a smile.

"What's the matter? You gonna tell your daddy on us?" the ringleader asked.

"Naw, I wouldn't bother him about such boring fighters. Ken-chan only likes to fight with tough fighters," she said. "I was telling you not to pick on me 'cuz I'll beat you up."

There was a ripple of laughter. Still, the challenge had been issued. Even a tiny girl was liable to get beaten up if she talked back to her betters. The leader advanced on her, barehanded. "Care to prove that?" he asked, raising his fists.

At that moment, Kenpachi walked out the door. "What's going on that's got you all causing such a racket?" he snarled. The shinigami scattered.

"Hey!" Yachiru protested. "You scared them away! And we were just about to have some fun!"

"Well, go chase them down and have fun elsewhere," he groused. "I'm trying to take a nap."

"Okay!" she said, running off at top speed.

An hour later, Yachiru crept into Kenpachi's room, where he was still snoozing on the sofa. "Ken-chan?" she said, poking him gently.

"What is it, kid?" he asked.

"I'm done playing with those people now," she said. "What should I do with them?"

"Let them go home, moron. What else are you going to do with them?"

"But I can't. They're all asleep and they won't wake up. They're not dead, though," she added hastily. "I made sure not to kill anyone."

That got Kenpachi up in a hurry. When Yachiru said 'play,' he thought she was being literal; he hadn't realized she was planning on getting into a fight. Well, at least she seemed fine.

Outside the dormitory, there was a tidy pile of five unconscious bodies. Kenpachi whistled. "You do all that by yourself, kid?"

"Sure!" she chirped. "It was easy! I did it just like you showed me. After I got the first one, the second two tried to attack me at the same time, but I got 'em anyway. And the last two tried to run off, but I taught them a lesson."

Kenpachi checked them. Nothing serious seemed broken, and they were starting to come around. "I think we can just leave them here," he said. "They can leave on their own when they wake up. By the way, next time you plan on getting into a fight, bring me along, okay, Yachiru?"

"Alright, Ken-chan," she agreed.

By the next day, everyone knew that Yachiru Kusajishi truly deserved the title of lieutenant.

Kenpachi smiled a bit at the memory. She might have been the shortest shinigami in the Gotei 13, but she was certainly one of the toughest. They'd survived a lot together. She wasn't going to get taken down on some stupid training mission.

He had to admit, even though he trusted her implicitly, he always worried about her when she got into fights. He knew she was capable; he trained her himself. But he couldn't stand the idea of his daughter getting hurt, of her dying.

Yachiru was wrapped in a white hospital robe. Her own clothes had been unsalvageable, ripped apart by the Menos. A clear tube dripped blood into her left arm, and an oxygen mask obscured her face. Very gently, Kenpachi took her right hand. "You gotta get better, Yachiru," he muttered. "Who'd give me directions if you weren't around?"

oOoOoOo

Despite her exhaustion, Retsu had passed a restless night. If Yachiru was still alive in the morning, Retsu would have to perform an extremely difficult psychic healing, but she could not sleep, anyway. Finally deserting her bed, she made herself a cup of tea and tried to analyze her feelings.

It was the look on Captain Zaraki's face that was bothering her, she realized. The man's eyes had begged her to do everything possible for Yachiru. Well, there was nothing new about that. Many of her patients had people who cared for them and worried about them. But somehow, this was different. Partly, it was that Yachiru almost never got seriously hurt. Despite his apparent recklessness, Captain Zaraki was very careful not to let Yachiru get in harm's way. Retsu had seen Captain Zaraki dozens of times in the critical wing of the hospital, but never his adopted daughter.

No, it was anxiety which was bothering her. She was afraid for Captain Zaraki. From what little she knew of his past, and from what she knew of District 80, she knew that he was only bound to civilization by the thinnest of threads. Yachiru was that thread, and if it broke, there was no telling what he might do. She didn't think he would ever harm his allies, but he certainly wouldn't stay in Seireitei. And that made her…sad.

Retsu realized that she had finished her tea. She got up to begin making breakfast. Yachiru would live or she would die; Retsu had done all she could. Worrying about what would happen if she failed would only break her concentration, and that could be dangerous. She firmly tried to put her fears out of her mind as she prepared herself for the day.

oOoOoOo

"Captain Zaraki?" a gentle voice said.

Kenpachi jerked awake instantly, surprised that he had fallen asleep. "Captain Unohana," he said. "Is Yachiru going to be…"

"She will live," she said.

A wave of relief washed over Kenpachi. She was going to make it. He smiled a huge, toothy grin, got up, and pulled Captain Unohana into a bone-crushing hug.

"Why, Captain Zaraki," she admonished, rather half-heartedly.

"I should go tell the guys," he said.

He hurried out to the lobby. Yumichika and Ikkaku had been joined by several others, including Renji, Makizo, and even Kyoraku's lieutenant, whatever her name was. "She's gonna make it," Kenpachi said.

The room burst out in cheerful noise.

"I knew that she would be all right. She's too beautiful to die, after all," Yumichika said.

"Watch who you're talking about," grunted Kenpachi.

"Is she awake?" Ikkaku asked.

"Not yet," Kenpachi said. "And when she does wake up, she's probably going to need some quiet, so get lost."

They all left for their respective divisions, relieved that Yachiru would live. I never knew the kid had so many friends, Kenpachi thought. He headed back for the hospital room. Captain Unohana had disconnected the tube and the oxygen mask, but she had erected a glowing bubble over Yachiru.

When the dome disappeared, Kenpachi asked, "What was that about?"

"It was a simple diagnostic. Please sit down," she said. He obeyed, slightly nervously. "The first stage in healing Yachiru was to repair the physical damage. However, the Hollow also inflicted psychic damage."

"What, you mean like mental problems? Yachiru's already seen some pretty bad stuff. I don't think a Hollow's going to…"

"You misunderstand me," she said calmly. "You've cleansed at least a few souls, haven't you?"

"Yeah," he said. It hadn't been a very good experience, since most souls ran in terror from Kenpachi.

"Then you know that the Chain of Fate is severed when a human dies. Now, when Konso is performed, the Chain becomes part of your spiritual body, similar to the way it was a part of your physical body. This Chain is the center of your reiatsu, among other things." Unohana paused to see if Kenpachi was following her.

He nodded to indicate agreement. "If there is very severe damage to a shinigami's body, they may draw on their reiatsu to defend themselves. If that defense is breached, the Chain of Fate is damaged. That is what happened to Yachiru. That Chain has to be repaired, or Yachiru's soul will dissolve. Unfortunately, I don't have the power to do it."

Kenpachi half-rose and shouted, "But you said she'd be alright."

Unohana raised her hand, and waited for him to be quiet before she continued. "Yachiru is extremely powerful, and it will take a great deal of power to heal her. If I tried to do it alone, I would probably kill us both. As it is, it is a very dangerous operation. I need to ask you to help me, Captain Zaraki."

"Course I'll help you," he said. "It's Yachiru."

She nodded, with a slight smile. "I will be the one to perform the healing. I simply need you to provide me with extra strength. It is very important that the flow of power from you to me be steady. A sudden flare could be deadly."

Kenpachi grit his teeth. He didn't have much control over his reiatsu. That was what got Yachiru into this mess in the first place. He wasn't sure he could keep the 'flow' steady. "Isn't there anyone else who can help you?" he asked. "I'm not exactly the most…controlled person."

"No, there isn't," she said. "It has to be a captain, and I can't ask any of the other captains to give me that much power for the sake of a stranger."

Kenpachi exhaled loudly. "Alright. Show me how."

"Remove your eye patch," she said. He did, and he felt his reiatsu flood the room. "Now, imagine your right hand holding an orb, about the size of Ikkaku's head. Imagine it glowing bright blue. Now, focus the power running all over your body into that image." Kenpachi frowned and focused with all his power. Suddenly, there was a blue orb in his hand.

"Very good," Captain Unohana said. "Now, keep it the same size. Make its surface smooth and glassy, like it was made of ice." Kenpachi focused at it again, willing it with all his might to be smooth. After several minutes, it settled.

"Finally," she said, "push the orb gently into the center of my back." She turned around so that she was facing Yachiru, her back to Kenpachi. "Keep your hand on my back, but continue to visualize the orb remaining the same size, and smooth."

Kenpachi took a deep breath, and very gently pressed the orb into Captain Unohana's back.

oOoOoOo

As Retsu felt Captain Zaraki's reiatsu enter her body, she was surprised at the feel of it. She had expected it to be rough, even unpleasant. Actually, the emotion which she felt most powerfully was loyalty. His undying loyalty to Yachiru, of course, but to all the men under his command. And he was gentler than she expected. He didn't have the pulsing, destructive anger she so often perceived in fighters.

Pushing the new sensations out of her mind, she began the healing. She began to pour their combined energy carefully into Yachiru's Chain of Fate, mending the links one by one. It demanded a great deal of energy, but once the initial work was started, it didn't require much concentration. She almost wished it did, because there was nothing to distract her from Captain Zaraki's reiatsu.

She would have preferred not to link with a male shinigami for this procedure. Sharing reiatsu was a very intimate thing, usually reserved to couples who were at least betrothed. It was…embarrassing to see so much of Captain Zaraki's personality. But there hadn't been any choice. She needed a powerful shinigami, and none of her healers were strong enough. Yet she found herself wanting to let herself go, wanting to see him.

At any rate, she couldn't entirely block him out without interfering with the healing. As the transfer continued, she realized that Kenpachi Zaraki was not really a simple man. There was anger, and sadness, and a desire to become greater. But there was also loyalty and a surprising amount of love. Yachiru is lucky to have him for a father, she realized.

oOoOoOo

Kenpachi knew very little about the mechanics of reiatsu. He had lots of it, others didn't, and that was a good thing. As a result, he was surprised when he began to feel Unohana's mind. It startled him so much he almost dropped the link for a moment. He had always had some respect for her. She somehow managed to drag him into her office for yearly checkups, and that was no mean feat. But he was shocked to realize that she wasn't just a captain because it was easy to become captain of the Fourth Division. She was powerful.

In her mind, Kenpachi felt the confidence of training. She didn't just know in her mind how to do battle. Her mind and her body could work together in perfect harmony to bring an opponent down, and she knew it. But her mind was…beautiful. He couldn't have expressed it in words, exactly. Things which were perfectly ordinary to other people were noticed and caressed. The grain of a board, the bend of a river, or the sound of a footstep were all art and music to her. She was not only beautiful herself, but she saw beauty everywhere.

Still, he could tell she didn't have her head in the sand. She had lived a long time and seen terrible things. She had seen people dying almost every day since she joined the Gotei 13, despite her best efforts. Kenpachi felt her pain for every one of those who had died, and those who had been left behind, and he felt her sorrow that she couldn't save them. He felt her anger at those who inflicted pain on others, especially the three traitors.

Enthralled, he explored deeper. Unohana might appear calm on the surface, but inward, she wanted to personally tear Aizen apart. She didn't want him to die on Ichigo's sword; she wanted it to be a far more lingering death. Well, that's something we can agree on, he thought.

He felt her pull away from him, both physically and mentally. "I'm finished now, Captain Zaraki," she said. He noticed that she didn't meet his eyes. "Yachiru will be fine. I'll have her stay in the hospital for another three days for observation, but there shouldn't be anything to worry about." She walked away, quickly for her, Kenpachi noticed.

That is some woman, he thought to himself.