Kenpachi was surprised to see the lights in his quarters were blazing. Ikkaku should've sent Yachiru to bed hours ago, he thought in annoyance.
He yanked the door open. Yachiru, Yumichika, and Ikkaku were playing poker. A large pile of candy was sitting in front of the three players.
"What's going on?" Kenpachi demanded. "Where did all that candy come from? And why isn't Yachiru in bed?"
"We're playing poker, and we're betting candy because we figured you wouldn't want Yachiru gambling for money. And she said she wouldn't be able to sleep until you got back," Yumichika supplied.
"Oh, really?" Kenpachi said, glaring at his daughter.
"Yep!" she said.
"So, dare we ask how it went?" Yumichika asked.
In response, Kenpachi punched him in the face. "That's for making me look like a damn idiot!" he growled.
Ikkaku was smirking. "Better wipe that grin off your face, or you're next," Kenpachi threatened.
"So, did you kiss?" Yachiru asked, climbing into Kenpachi's arms. "Did she dress pretty? Was the restaurant good? What did you eat? Did she like the candy?"
Kenpachi carried Yachiru into her bedroom. He was tempted to simply ignore her questions, but experience taught him that she would simply keep asking until she got answers. At least he could wait until they were alone. "No we didn't kiss. I don't know what she wore, but I don't think it was the uniform. I think we ate something with fish, and she liked the candy all right. Now that's enough talk. Bed."
As she climbed under her bright pink covers, Kenpachi tucked her in and turned to leave. "Ken-chan?" she said.
"What?"
"I like Backwards-Braid Lady. She'd make a good mom."
He didn't have an answer for that. "Night, Yachiru," he said.
"Night, Ken-chan."
oOoOoOo
Retsu didn't hear from Kenpachi for more than a week. She was beginning to wonder if he had forgotten about her—he wasn't exactly known for his memory. Or maybe he had been speaking literally when he said the date was just to thank her for healing Yachiru. Honestly, she shouldn't worry so much. It wasn't like he was the only man in Soul Society. But that evening was the first time you've really relaxed in a long time, her inner voice observed.
She was in the middle of patching up some new recruits when she noticed Kenpachi's reiatsu approaching. She wanted to break into a huge grin, but she managed to contain it. Honestly, this is ridiculous, she thought. I'll greet him calmly.
He threw the door open, cracking the frame slightly. "Hey, Retsu!" she heard him say. "Uh, where is she?"
He ducked through the frame and entered the treatment room. "Hey, do you want to…" he began, but she cut him off.
"Captain Zaraki, we have a waiting room for a reason," she said more coolly than she had intended. "Would you please wait there? And please dampen your reiatsu. It makes it rather difficult for my division members to work."
"Sorry," he grunted, and ducked back through the door.
She hadn't meant to be sharp with him, and she wasn't sure that he would wait for her at all. She was relieved that he actually had waited for her. For that matter, he had even suppressed his reiatsu. Relatively speaking, anyway.
"Thank you for waiting, Captain Zaraki," she said. "What was it you needed?"
He looked slightly sheepish. "I just…I had fun the other night. You want to, you know, go out again?"
She nodded slightly. "That would be pleasant. Would you care to meet me here this evening, around sunset? I'm on call tonight, so we can't go far."
"Sure," he said, hurrying away. Well. He hadn't forgotten after all.
After work, she met him by the gates of Fourth Division. "Good evening, Kenpachi," she said. "I'm sorry to be late. There were a few last-minute patients."
"It's fine," he said. This time, his hair was in the usual spikes, and he wasn't carrying a mismatched bouquet. "Where do you want to go?" he asked.
"We'll go to my house," she said, leading the way.
He fell into step beside her. He didn't say anything, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. How odd, that walking by the infamous, bloodthirsty Kenpachi could feel so natural.
She brought him into her kitchen. It was a rather tight fit, actually. He had to stand outside the kitchen proper so that she had room to work.
She got out vegetables, meat, and eggs and began to prepare their dinner. As she was slicing the carrots, Kenpachi asked "What are you doing that for, anyway?"
"What?" she asked.
"Cutting those things into little pieces. Takes lots of time, and they'll cook even if you don't cut them," he said.
"I suppose they will, but they won't cook very evenly. If you just throw carrots in whole, the big ends get undercooked, and the short ends get overcooked," she said.
"Isn't that how everybody eats carrots?" he asked.
Despite herself, she began to laugh. "I suppose Eleventh Division probably doesn't have many people with culinary expertise. No, most people cut them so they cook evenly."
"Still seems like a lot of work," he said. "But whatever you like, I guess. You want help?"
"Sure," she said. "You can cut the leeks. Here's a knife. Just try to cut them into pieces that are about the same size."
She turned around for a minute, and heard a whistle, followed by a very loud crack. Part of her counter had been sheared off by the force of Kenpachi's blow. He looked embarrassed. "Sorry," he said.
She sighed. That was going to be a pain to replace. "It's all right. Just…cut more gently. You don't have to attack them, you know."
After their meals finished cooking, they took them out to the balcony. The first stars were glowing in the sky, and the frogs were singing quietly. "'S pretty," Kenpachi observed.
"Yes, it is," she agreed.
Retsu tried to make small talk, but Kenpachi simply didn't have the knack for it. After a while, they just lapsed into silence. And this one was awkward.
"Look, Retsu," he said. "I don't mean to pry, but you know that I…saw some things when you were healing Yachiru. So I know you aren't just weak, like most Fourth Division members. Why do you do it?"
"First of all," she said firmly, "we are not weak. That may be what they say, but I assure you, it isn't true." Stay calm, she told herself, but she could feel herself getting angry. "Kenpachi, do you have any idea what we have to do every day? You can fight and kill, but in the heat of battle, you don't have to see. We have to clean up afterwards.
"Do you have any idea what that's like? To see mangled, bloody bodies every single day? And not enemies, but friends and comrades. And we do everything we can, but it isn't always enough. We loose too many of them. Do you know what the death rate is in Seireitei? In theory, our life span is effectively unlimited, but only 50% make it to their second century. Half of the recruits we bring in die before they reach their two-hundredth year.
"And did you ever think about the ones we loose to Hollows? They aren't free, you know. It's not like they can just pass over to the Human World again. They are trapped until the Hollow is killed. Can you imagine the horror of being trapped like that, unable to die, for centuries? And then there are those who don't die outright.
"Hell, I can accept the death. We've already died once, and we know what happens after you die again. But then there are the ones who aren't hurt in any way we can heal. The grief of the ones who get left behind. The ones who have nightmares day after day. The ones who go crazy from the strain. The ones who just can't take it any more and kill themselves. We deal with everything. You have no idea what that's like, so don't you dare call us weak."
Retsu realized that she had stood up without realizing it. She couldn't believe she had just said all that to Kenpachi. She had even sworn. He seemed embarrassed, like he didn't know what to do. She was just going to clear the dishes when he stood up and hugged her.
She stiffened at first, but then she just let him enfold her in his massive arms. She started sobbing as she hadn't been able to for hundreds of years. "I'm sorry, Retsu," he said.
"It's just…it's always easier to destroy than to create. I wanted to create," she explained.
oOoOoOo
Of all the things Kenpachi had expected, he certainly hadn't expected Retsu to yell at him, and then start crying. There was just no figuring out women. But it sure was comfortable to have her in his arms. Her braid pressed into his chest, and her arms didn't even reach around his torso, but he certainly wasn't going to move if she didn't.
Just as her sobs were starting to die down, her communicator beeped. "Sorry," she said, wiping her eyes. "If it isn't one thing, it's another."
She flipped it open and said, "Hello." The color suddenly drained from her face. "How serious is it?" she asked. "I'll be right there."
She nearly ran to the door. "What is it?" Kenpachi asked.
"Hanatarou, one of the members of my division," she said. "He's been critically injured. By those idiots in your division." Without explaining further, she flash-stepped away, leaving Kenpachi wondering what exactly had happened.