Chapter 4

Buffy groaned as she woke to someone or something prodding her.

"Five more minutes, Mom," she mumbled, rolling over and burying herself under the blanket. She let out a cry of surprise and awoke completely with a start when someone bodily hauled her to her feet.

"I'm not your Mom, you stupid girl," Ikkaku said by way of greeting before flipping her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Buffy exclaimed, squirming in an attempt to get out of his grasp. "Put me down, you jerk!"

"Yumichika told me to get you up for breakfast," Ikkaku replied as he dumped her unceremoniously at the table. "And there, I put ya down. Happy?"

"Was that really necessary, Ikkaku?" Yumichika asked, making a face before turning his attention to Buffy. "How are you feeling?"

"I was sleeping peacefully until someone decided that hauling me out of bed was a marvellous idea," Buffy replied with a roll of her eyes. "Seriously, what if you'd re-opened it or something? How would you have felt then?"

"Like you weren't worth my time," Ikkaku replied with a smirk. Buffy huffed and looked like she was about to smack him upside his shiny bald head when Yumichika placed a calming hand on her arm.

"Don't start, not now," he said with a pout. "I like a good fight as much as the next guy, but I want one, just one, pleasant meal. I want to get to know you better; I can't do that if you're paying attention to him, now can I?"

Buffy stuck her tongue out at Ikkaku, who scowled yet again. Buffy surmised that he only had two main expressions; smirking and scowling. Wow, what a range.

"Fine, but if he does one more thing to piss me off, it's on," Buffy replied with a huff.

"Don't tax yourself too much, you're still healing," Yumichika remarked as he handed her a bun of some sort. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving," Buffy replied, grabbing the bun and taking a large bite. Finding that she liked it, the large bean paste bun was gone in three more bites. Yumichika and Ikkaku just stared at her. "What?"

"That… was awesome," Ikkaku said, blinking.

"It's good to see that you're eating," Yumichika said with a smile, glancing over at Ikkaku as the bald man got up. "You need to keep your strength up, little one."

"I need to go and fight," he said quickly, grabbing his katana on the way out. "I'll be gone all day, don't wait up for me."

Before either Buffy or Yumichika could say anything, Ikkaku had bolted from the shack without a backward glance.

"What's wrong with him?" Buffy asked, curious.

"He gets antsy after being still for long periods of time," Yumichika replied with a knowing smile. Buffy arched a curious eyebrow; it was obvious that Yumichika knew something more than what he was letting on. Then again, she gave him no reason whatsoever to trust him; she'd have to earn that.

What Buffy hadn't known was that Ikkaku had stayed up almost all night, watching her sleep. Yumichika had, in turn, been watching Ikkaku to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. He had this inexplicable urge to make sure Buffy would be all right; he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because she had made Ikkaku happy, one of the few people who had, or maybe it was because she was beautiful. Whatever it was, he decided not to question it for now.

"Sure, I believe you," Buffy said with a roll of her eyes.

"You don't have to, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it," Yumichika retorted with a smirk. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Buffy replied. "Still sore, but that'll pass."

"May I see your injury?" he asked. Buffy nodded, leaning back so that Yumichika could remove the bandages and take a good look at the wound on her stomach. To his surprise, it was completely closed and scabbed over, healing nicely.

"Will you look at that," Buffy said, looking down at her stomach.

"Yes, I noticed," Yumichika replied, covering her up again. "Ikkaku will be happy; you'll be up and fighting again in no time. Once he finds this out, he'll be chomping at the bit to battle you again."

"He sure likes fighting, doesn't he?" Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Mostly, yes," Yumichika replied. Again, Buffy was under the impression that he was withholding information but didn't press the matter. "There isn't much else to do around here; it's all we know."

"Do you fight as well?" Buffy asked, curious. He looked to pretty to know how to spar, but then again so did she so she really shouldn't be judging him.

"I do partake in the beautiful dance of battle, but it is not my whole existence, just a large part of it," Yumichika replied with a soft, somewhat affectionate smile. "Ikkaku usually dispatches the strongest opponents in a district, leaving me to watch most of the time. I don't mind much; it makes him happy, although when a battle doesn't last as long as he wants it to, he'll mope for days."

"Sounds like a real charmer," Buffy muttered under her breath.

"You get used to him after a while," Yumichika replied, still smiling. "Besides, he has you to spar with now; that should make him a little easier to deal with."

"To assume makes an ass of you and me," Buffy retorted. Yumichika looked confused for a moment, trying to figure out the meaning of what she had said. When he did, he let out an amused chuckle.

"Clever little thing, aren't you?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "And I do apologize; it was rude of me to assume that you were going to stay with Ikkaku and myself. I had no right to."

"You, I don't mind," Buffy replied with a shrug. "Baldy needs an attitude adjustment."

"Which I'm sure you would be very good at adjusting," Yumichika said. "His ego needs deflating; he's getting too big for his britches, if you know what I mean, and I think… I think you might be that person to burst his bubble."

"How do you expect me to do that?" Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I need you to show him that fighting shouldn't be everything," Yumichika replied. "He needs some moderation; I've tried to get him to see that, but he isn't listening to me, probably because he knows I can't beat any sense into him. But maybe you can. I worry about him, although I'd never tell him that to his face. I just don't want him to lose himself in the violence. Besides, it's been so long since we've had some new blood around here; I think, if anything else, you'd be able to keep him on his toes."

"You're not trying to recruit me for some weird, kinky three-way sex thing, are you?" Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow. "Because if you are, I don't care if you're a good cook or you're offering me protection from the big bad world out there, I think I'd rather take my chances with the world."

"No, no, no, it's nothing like that," Yumichika said, laughing nervously and blushing a little. "I have only a fraternal affection for Ikkaku, nothing more. He keeps me around because I can cook. So… tell me about this Slayer thing. It sounds fascinating."

Buffy blinked, stunned into silence at the sudden topic change. She wondered how a discussion about kinky three way sex had anything to do with Slaying, but decided not to think about it. The path those thoughts cut seemed to be a frightening one.

"There's not much to tell," Buffy replied with a shrug. "Into every generation a girl is bestowed with the strength and skill to hunt the evil things that go bump in the night. There is only one Slayer at a time, and they usually have a rather short lifespan because of the nature of the work."

"Is that how you died?" Yumichika asked. He'd never met anyone who had remembered their other life, even if Buffy only remembered pieces of hers. Then again, apart from Ikkaku Buffy was the only person he'd had any kind of lengthy conversation with and Ikkaku was far from talkative.

"I honestly don't remember," Buffy replied after thinking for a moment. "I just remember lots of fighting against things that were bigger and stronger than I was, and winning."

"Did you enjoy it?" Yumichika asked.

Buffy thought about that for a moment, silent as she did so. Had she enjoyed the fighting? Maybe she had, on some level. The adrenaline rush of the battle, the elation of the win were both sensations that couldn't be replicated by anything else. She hadn't liked the idea of being the one forced to go out and fight the forces of evil. However, she had started to look forward to the fights that she got into, and was disappointed when the fledglings would burst into dust far sooner than she would have liked.

"Parts of it," Buffy replied. "I liked the adrenaline rush of the fight and the win made me feel great. A loss just meant that I needed to work harder at getting better."

"Yes, I think you'll fit in great here," Yumichika said with a smile. "Do you feel up for a little bit of light sparring? It would be a shame for you to lose your skills, and I haven't had a good fight in a while. No swords, just hands and feet, and you get to call the shots. Sound fair?"

"Sounds like a plan," Buffy replied, getting to her feet. She was only feeling a residual soreness from her injury, and she was already feeling a little antsy. Besides, he said that she was calling the shots; if she thought it was too much, she could tell him to stop and he supposedly will.

"Let's do this thing, then," Yumichika said, getting to his feet before helping Buffy to her own. She smiled a little at that; it was nice to know that one of the people she was with was a gentleman.

She followed him outside to the front of the shack they were staying in. Buffy idly wondered if they were borrowing, owned or squatting in the shack, but decided not to dwell on it; she would find out soon enough. There was a large, open area just outside their front door; the other villagers stayed back from the shack.

"I'm guessing Ikkaku's personality is well known around here?" Buffy asked, gesturing to the wide berth the villagers gave the hut.

"Something like that," Yumichika replied. What Buffy didn't need to know at that very moment was that Ikkaku had, in fact, killed a great many of the good fighters in this district, and people were giving him a wide berth because he was, to put it bluntly, a complete nutcase. Yumichika suspected that they would be moving on soon, although how soon he wasn't sure of.

"Let's do this thing," Buffy said, slipping into a fighting stance. Yumichika mirrored her movements, and for a few moments they stood there, tense, one waiting for the other to make the first move.

Growing impatient, Buffy launched her attack, coming at Yumichika from the front. He blocked her punch easily, kicking her in counterattack. His foot barely tapped her leg, setting the tone of the fight. Attacks were fast and harmless, barely tapping the opposing combatant's body; blocks were the same way. It wasn't quite as satisfying as pummelling the snot out of someone, but it would do. For now, anyway.

The duo went at this for hours, punching, kicking and blocking. Because it wasn't an all-out brawl, it appeared as if Yumichika and Buffy were engaged in some intricate dance.

It was how Ikkaku found them when the sun was beginning to set. He was covered in blood but grinning like a maniac; it must have been a good day.

"What the hell are you two wussies doing?" he called over to them. They stopped their movements at that moment; although they had been at it for most of the day, the only indication of any exertion was the light sheen of sweat on both of them.

"Sparring," Buffy replied with a shrug.

"Looked like dancing to me," Ikkaku retorted with a smirk, advancing on Buffy. "Want me to show you some real sparring?"

"Not tonight," Yumichika said, coming between Buffy and Ikkaku. While he couldn't deny that Buffy was skilled – had they been really sparring, she would have given him a run for his money – he also knew that she wasn't at full strength; Ikkaku would have, eventually, wiped the floor with her face. "Let's have some dinner, shall we? I don't know about either of you, but I'm starving."

With that, Yumichika led the way back to the hut they were living in. Buffy hurried after him, leaving a now-scowling Ikkaku to bring up the rear.

***

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