Chapter 10
"Into each generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in all of the world, a chosen one. One born with…"
"…the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil blah, blah, blah, I've heard it, okay?"
***
"Who are you?"
"Let's just say, I'm a friend."
"Yeah, well, maybe I don't want a friend."
"I didn't say I was yours."
***
"You're dead!"
"I may be dead, but I'm still pretty. Which is more than I can say for you."
"You were destined to die! It was written!"
"What can I say? I flunked the written."
***
"No weapons, no friends, no hope. Take all that away and what's left?"
"Me."
***
"Buffy? What's going on? Where are we? I – I don't remember."
"Angel?"
"You're hurt. Oh, Buffy… God. I… I feel like I haven't seen you in months. Oh my God, everything's so muddled. I… Oh. Oh, Buffy… what's happening?"
"Shh, don't worry about it."
"I love you."
"I love you."
"Close your eyes."
"Buffy…"
***
"Hey, you remember this? I took it from Faith. Stuck it in her gut. Just slid in her like she was butter. You wanna get it back from me… Dick?"
***
"There's a certain, um, dramatic irony attached to all this. A synchronicity that borders on-on predestination, one might say."
"Fire bad. Tree pretty."
"Yes, sorry. I'll go and tend to Wesley, see if he's still, um, whimpering."
***
"We survived."
"It was a hell of a battle."
"Not the battle. High school."
***
"They smell good, don't they?"
"What?"
"Clean sheets. Like summer."
"I wouldn't know."
"Right, I forgot."
"I noticed."
"I wish I could stay, but…"
"No, you have to go."
"It's just with…"
"Little sis coming. I know. So much to do before she gets here."
***
"Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."
***
Buffy shot up out of bed, tears streaming down her face unchecked. Her eyes darted wildly around as she remained tense, only relaxing when she began to recognize her surroundings. It was late, the room was dark, but with her Slayer senses Buffy could easily make out Ikkaku's form sprawled out on the bed across the room and Yumichika was curled up in the bed next to hers, buried underneath the blanket and fast asleep.
Curling up into herself, Buffy drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, letting the tears flow. All of her memories, everything from the last twenty years of her life, and in particular the last five as the Slayer, coming back to her in one fell swoop was extremely overwhelming. Her memories were both good and bad, but the bad ones stuck with her the most.
"Buffy, what's wrong?"
She started slightly when a voice came from her bedside; she had been so wrapped up in her own musings that she hadn't heard anyone draw near. Glancing up, wiping the tears from her eyes as she did so, she was surprised to see Ikkaku standing there, looking concerned. He was shifting his weight from one foot to the other in discomfort, but he still looked concerned.
"Nothing, I'm fine, go back to bed," Buffy told him, offering him a watery smile before sniffling.
"Bullshit," Ikkaku retorted with a snort. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong. Scoot forward and make room."
"Why should I? You don't even like me," Buffy replied. "Go back to bed, I'll wake up Yumichika if my mood takes a turn for the worse."
"You don't want to wake Yumichika up," Ikkaku said. "Trust me. If the guy doesn't get his beauty sleep, he gets cranky. Really cranky. He gets really whiny and bitchy and I don't want to deal with it, do you?"
"Nice way to talk about your best friend," Buffy retorted. "And could you keep it down? You don't actually want him to hear us, do you?"
"He sleeps like a rock most of the time," Ikkaku replied with a shrug and a dismissive wave. He held out a hand for Buffy to take. "Come on, sit with me over on my bed if you're worried about waking him up. I promise, no funny business. You can tell me what's bothering you; I've heard that kind of thing helps."
Buffy looked at the hand warily before glancing over at Yumichika again. He was curled up under his blanket and breathing deeply, laying on his side with his back to her. For all intents and purposes, he appeared dead asleep and not even a bomb going off would wake him. Buffy sighed and took Ikkaku's hand. Grinning slightly, he hauled her off the bed and led her across the room to his so that they could talk without disturbing Yumichika.
Ikkaku sat at the head of the bed, his back against the wall and his legs spread wide. He patted the spot in front of him in invitation, his face serious.
"I-I think I'll be good over here," Buffy said quickly, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Come on, I won't bite," Ikkaku said, before waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Unless, of course, that's what you're into."
"God, what the hell has gotten into you?!" Buffy exclaimed, shocked. Mere hours before he was acting as if he hated her, and now… now he was practically flirting. Had he heard her and Yumichika talking earlier? It was entirely possible but… no. There was no way he would be reacting to it this way, right? "What are you on, and can I get some of that?"
"I'm not on anything," Ikkaku replied with a shrug. "I just thought you might want some cheering up. I can be nice when I want to be. Unfortunately for everyone else, I don't want to be nice most of the time."
Buffy smiled, trying to cover the snort of laughter with a cough. Ikkaku smirked triumphantly, having achieved part of his goal. His face grew serious, concerned again, as his gaze settled on Buffy again.
"So, what's bothering you so badly that you were willing to risk a cranky Yumichika in the morning?" Ikkaku asked, arching an eyebrow. Buffy sighed; she was sure that Ikkaku wouldn't give up if she kept stalling, so giving in was the only option at the moment.
"Do you remember your life when you were alive?" Buffy asked. She knew she had asked this when they had first met, but she hadn't gotten a straight answer out of him at that time.
"Some," Ikkaku replied with a shrug. "It's been a very long time since I came here so things are a little fuzzy, and my memory wasn't great to begin with. Something to do with my death, we think. I never really thought about it."
"Well, everything came back to me, just now," Buffy said quietly. "The last twenty years just flooded back, and the memories from the last five years or so just overwhelmed me. I swear, I'll be fine."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Ikkaku asked, shifting a little in discomfort. "It could help."
"If you don't mind listening, I don't mind talking," Buffy replied with a shrug, shifting a little so that she was sitting closer to Ikkaku.
"If you wanna talk, I'll gladly listen," Ikkaku shot back. Buffy took a deep breath and closed her eyes, exhaling slowly before launching into her story.
She started out at the beginning; her life in LA, finding out she was the Slayer, losing her first Watcher, Merrick, her parent's divorce, moving to Sunnydale. When she got to the Angel saga of her life and started choking up a little as she told Ikkaku how much she had loved him and how she had had to kill him to save the world, Ikkaku moved so that he was seated behind her, rubbing her back.
When she started talking about Parker and Riley, Buffy could tell that Ikkaku was not particularly happy about what she was telling him, although he did snicker a little when she described the cavewoman incident. That had earned him a smack on the arm and a glare from Buffy.
Then the serious topics came up again. Dawn appearing in her life, Glory, her mother's death, dying to save the world. In the process of telling him about the last year of her life, Ikkaku's arms had somehow found their way around her waist and his chin rested on her shoulder. By the time she was finished describing her last moments with her sister before her swan dive, Buffy was crying, the tears streaking salty tracks down her face.
"Almost better not remembering, huh?" Ikkaku asked after a few moments of digesting everything she had told him.
"Some things, yeah," Buffy replied, remembering the Angelus fiasco, The Master, the mayor's ascension, Glory, dying. "But there's good stuff in there too."
Her mind went to the friends she had lost by jumping to her death. Willow and Xander, her first friends in Sunnydale. Giles, who had been so much more than her Watcher. Dawn, the mystical ball of green energy that had been stuffed into a fleshy shell but felt like her blood. Her mother, who had died shortly before Buffy had jumped, had been her rock these last couple of years. If anything, she missed her sister the most. Buffy's eyes began to well with tears again when it finally hit her; she was never going to see her Sunnydale family again.
"Hey, none of that now," Ikkaku said, wiping away her tears again. He turned Buffy so that she was facing him, looking into her eyes after doing so. "You might have lost your family in the living world, but you gained me and Yumichika when you dropped into our lives. That's gotta count for something, right?"
"Some consolation prize," Buffy retorted with a snort. Ikkaku pouted, looking for all intents and purposes like a petulant child. "Oh come on 'Kaku, I was joking! You know, making with the funny?"
"Wasn't all that funny, girly," Ikakku replied, although he had an amused smirk on his lips. "And no shortening my name! It's either Ikkaku or Madarame, nothing else."
"Okay, sure, whatever," Buffy replied with a small smile and a dismissive wave of her hand before she turned serious again. "Thanks again, y'know, for listening and stuff."
"Hey, if it prevents us from having to deal with a cranky Yumichika, I'm happy to do it," Ikkaku said with a smirk. Buffy huffed in annoyance before shoving him, smirking in satisfaction when he flailed and fell of the bed.
"Good night, Ikkaku," Buffy said, blowing him a kiss before getting up and making her way back to her own bed next to Yumichika's. She snuggled up underneath the blankets and closed her eyes, asleep within minutes.
***
The next morning Buffy woke feeling refreshed, all of her bad dreams and bad memories banished from her mind thanks to the bout of verbal diarrhoea in the middle of the night. She groaned when she remembered everything she had said to Ikkaku before she had been able to sleep. Dear Lord, what have I done? she asked herself as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Both Yumichika and Ikkaku were already awake, fully dressed and eating breakfast.
"Why didn't you guys wake me up?" Buffy asked through a yawn and a stretch.
"Ikkaku told me you didn't sleep very well last night, so we didn't want to wake you," Yumichika replied with a smile. "I brought some breakfast for you, though Come on, eat up."
Buffy's head shot up, her eyes locking on Ikkaku's before they narrowed in suspicion How much had he told Yumichika? Hopefully not much. She didn't want to make him any more worried than he already was.
"Well, thank you, that's very considerate of you," Buffy said carefully. She would have to talk with Ikkaku, and soon, about what had and had not been shared between him and Yumichika, and what she would be comfortable with him sharing with others in the future. She crossed the room and sat in between Ikkaku and Yumichika, surveying the spread in front of them.
"We got some fruit and bread this time around," Yumichika said, gesturing to the spread. "No red bean paste buns this time around, I'm afraid."
"That's okay, a little variety never hurt anyone," Buffy replied, gladly taking a peach and a piece of bread to munch on.
"How are you feeling?" Yumichika asked. "Nervous?"
"Nervous? Why would I be nervous?" Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow before it dawned on her. "Oh right, that."
"I think that knock to the head might have messed her up more than we thought," Ikkaku said with a smirk. "I mean, if she's forgetting simple things like the big, scary test looming over her head, something must have happened in that pretty blonde head of hers."
"Shut up, Ikkaku," Buffy replied, smacking him on the arm. "And shouldn't you be nervous? Big test results looming over your head?"
"We aced it, though," Ikkaku replied confidently. "Right, Yumichika?"
"It certainly seems that way, although I distinctly remember someone having a little trouble with using his spiritual pressure in a way that can be useful," Yumichika replied with a smirk.
"What, that little silver haired kid?" Ikkaku asked.
"No, you," Yumichika said with a roll of his eyes. "The silver haired kid did exceptionally well, actually. So did your little friend, Buffy."
"What little friend?" Buffy asked, confused. The only friends she had really made were the two men she was currently sitting with.
"I'm telling you, that knock on the head messed her up, big time," Ikkaku said with a smirk. "He's talking about that strawberry-blonde you were talking to before the testing started."
"Oh, her," Buffy replied, remembering Rangiku. "Wouldn't really call her a friend; she underestimated my abilities and laughed at my height. Seriously wished I was standing near you guys when we were being given instructions."
"Why?" Yumichika asked, confused. "We weren't standing any closer to the front than you were. In fact, I think Ikkaku was farther back because of his height."
"Yeah, but I probably could have convinced Ikkaku to hoist me up on his shoulders so I could see," Buffy replied.
"What, you don't think I'd be able to lift you?" Yumichika asked, pouting slightly, although Buffy was sure it was just for show.
"No, no, I have complete faith in you," Buffy replied. "You probably would have done it, no questions asked. But I like a challenge."
Yumichika smiled knowingly when he heard that, but said nothing. Ikkaku looked from Buffy to Yumichika and back again, looking somewhat confused.
"I don't think I want to know what's going on in your head, Yumichika," Ikkaku said, edging closer to Buffy. "I'm going to go over here, away from you, and hope that Buffy isn't going to try and kick my ass."
Buffy arched an eyebrow at Yumichika, curious as to what he was doing. For a moment, she wondered if he had heard and seen her with Ikkaku last night, then dismissed it just as quickly. He had been completely knocked out the night before.
"Well, I for one am curious as to what our test results are," Yumichika said, getting up. "They should be up by now. Are you two coming with me?"
"I think I'll stay here for now," Buffy said quietly. "I'm not too eager to see how badly I failed."
"I'll check your marks for you and let you know, then," Yumichika said. "Coming, Ikkaku?"
"Sure, be there in a minute," Ikkaku said, waving Yumichika off. The dark haired man looked sceptical, as if wondering what Buffy and Ikkaku were up to. "Seriously, go on. We're not planning on taking over the world or anything, I just want to make sure Buffy's okay."
That statement gave Yumichika pause, but hanging around would have arose suspicions so he turned and left. As soon as they couldn't hear Yumichika's footsteps anymore, Ikkaku turned to Buffy. "So, are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah, I'm going to be fine," Buffy replied with a smile. The tears had returned to her eyes, but they hadn't fallen yet.
"None of that crying crap," Ikkaku said, sounding serious. It would have worked except for the twinkle in his eye. "You got one free pass to cry on my shoulder, and you used it last night. No more, got it?"
"Sure, wouldn't want anyone to think you were a fluffy bunny or anything like that," Buffy said with a snort, swiping a finger underneath her eyes to catch any tears that might try to escape.
"So, do you remember anything else about your past?" Ikkaku asked. "Like, for instance, your name?"
"Yeah, but it doesn't matter now," Buffy replied with a shrug. "I'm Buffy Ayasegawa, and this is my life now. I left Sunnydale and everything else behind when I died, including my old name."
"Okay, I can accept that," Ikkaku said. "You going to talk about it with Yumichika?"
"Probably, on my own time," Buffy replied. "Which means no spilling the beans, mister!"
"I can keep a secret, you know," Ikkaku replied with a slight smile before he sighed and glanced at the door leading to the main walkway. "I should probably go catch up with Yumichika. Are you sure you're going to be okay here on your own?"
"Not a child," Buffy reminded him. "Besides, I think after my performance yesterday it might be a good idea for me to lay low. I'm pretty sure I was the only one knocked out cold yesterday and missed two thirds of the testing."
"Well, if you're sure," Ikkaku said, unsure even as Buffy nodded enthusiastically.
"Now get out there before Yumichika thinks we're up to something nefarious," Buffy said, becoming thoughtful before beaming. "Ooh, I used a big word! Giles would have been so proud of me."
Ikkaku snorted, even though he could hear the hitch in Buffy's voice when she mentioned Giles. Not wanting to leave her but knowing she was right about Yumichika, he headed for the door, turning one last time to make sure Buffy was okay.
"I'll try not to be long," Ikkaku said before turning and heading out, not waiting for Buffy to reply. With a sigh, Buffy turned and flopped onto one of the beds. She closed her eyes briefly, not intending to fall asleep or anything, but her consciousness slipped into black.
***
She woke to someone shaking her gently in an attempt to wake her. Not wanting to leave the blissful oblivion, Buffy rolled over and buried her face into the pillow in an attempt to ignore the shaking and the voices telling her to get up.
"Buffy, you have to see this!" Yumichika said, shaking her harder. Buffy finally extracted herself from her pillow, glaring at her adoptive brother.
"There had better be an apocalypse or something," Buffy grumbled, getting up and running her fingers through her hair. Yumichika arched an eyebrow, curious about the comment, shooting Ikkaku an inquisitive look when he snickered.
"It's important otherwise I wouldn't have woken you," Yumichika said as he helped her out of the bed. "You have to come and see, because you wouldn't have believed me if I told you."
"Okay, where's the fire?" Buffy asked, allowing herself to be led out of the hut and into the main path.
"Just come with us," Ikkaku said. He seemed happy, which Buffy found odd. In the time she had known him, except for that momentary insanity after finding out where Zaraki had ended up, she'd never actually seen him happy.
Buffy let herself be led to a bank of bulletin boards, each with two rows of three sheets of paper tacked to it. Upon closer inspection, Buffy saw that they were the test results.
"Guys, I already know I failed," Buffy said when she saw what she was looking at. "No matter how well you do on a third of the test, it's still a third of the marks and from where I come from, that doesn't qualify as a pass."
"That's just the thing, Buffy," Yumichika said, pointing to one of the sheets of paper. Buffy looked at what he was pointing at. It was her name, Buffy Ayasegawa, and what was written there had to have been a mistake because there was no way in hell that had happened.
"I passed?" Buffy asked. She looked at her name again and the words underneath each of the testing categories. Under each category had the word "pass". She looked again, making sure her name lined up with the correct results. However, after doing this five times, Buffy had come to the conclusion that she was reading the sheet correctly.
But that was impossible!
"There has to be a mistake," Buffy said.
"I don't think these are the kind of people who make mistakes," Yumichika said with a smile. "But, if you like, there's someone you can speak to about your results if you think there's a mistake. It says so at the bottom of the page."
Sure enough, there was the name of a person to contact and what building he was in.
"Well, come on then," Buffy said, grabbing both boys by the hand and dragging them down the path to the office at the end of it. Neither male said anything; seeing the determined glint in Buffy's eyes gave them good reason to believe that they wouldn't have been able to talk her out of it anyway.
"How can I help you three?" asked the man behind the desk when they entered the office. It was the same man that had met them before the test the previous day.
"I would like to speak to you about my results," Buffy said as she let go of Yumichika's and Ikkaku's hands.
"I'm sorry if you failed, miss, but there is another test in a week if you would like to take it again," the man replied calmly.
"I passed."
"Then I fail to see what the problem is, unless you were aiming to fail," the man replied. "Which would make me question your mental faculties, but that is neither here nor there."
"I was just wondering how that was possible," Buffy replied. "I mean, I got sucker punched in the first round and got completely knocked out. How was it possible for me to pass a test I only got to take a third of?"
"Ah, you're the Ayasegawa girl, aren't you?" the man asked knowingly. Buffy nodded. "Then I think I can explain to you how the test is really set up. You see, you don't need to sit the entire test to pass. The three parts give the applicant three opportunities to show off all of their skills. If you show them all in the first part, it's pretty much an instant pass."
"So, I showed everything required in the first part, before I got knocked out?" Buffy asked.
"I believe so," the man replied with a smile.
"Even the spiritual power part?" Buffy asked. She had wondered how she had passed that one; she hadn't felt any different while fighting. It had been like she was Slaying again, fighting and letting her power flow through her.
"That was definitely interesting to watch," the man said. "You were showing your spiritual power in your movements. No one could have moved as fast as you did without the help of spiritual pressure."
"So, I have a place at the academy?" Buffy asked.
"If you want it, it's there for you," the man replied. "You start in a couple of days; you should get your roommate assignments before then."
"Thank you," Buffy said gratefully, smiling at him. He smiled back before Buffy turned and left, a slight skip to her step.
"See, I told you it wasn't a mistake," Yumichika said with a smirk.
"Sorry, I just had to check," Buffy replied with a sheepish smile. "So, you guys passed too, right?"
"Yep," Ikkaku said with a wide grin. "Come on, let's go celebrate! There's a party tonight for all of the new academy recruits. You two in?"
"Should be fun," Yumichika replied. "How about you, Buffy?"
"Sure, it'll be fun to get my dance on," Buffy replied with a grin, still giddy.
She had passed the test and gotten into the academy, she had two of the greatest friends a girl could ask for even if one of them could be a bit of a jerk sometimes and her memories were beginning to come back. Life was pretty good for Buffy right then.
***
Gah, sorry it took so long! I know, it's kind of out of character, but we don't see a lot of Ikkaku in private moments so who's to say he wouldn't be like that? Anyway, things should really be picking up now that they're in the academy. More canon characters will be making appearances now that we're in Seiretei.
As always, reviews are loved, constructive criticism is helpful and flames will be used to toast marshmallows. Until next time!