I'm so terribly sorry about how long I've left this, but what with starting A2 and more university applications I've been really busy! I feel so guilty (although presumably not guilty enough to have done this before now :P)

I hope you find This suitably enjoyable. ^_^

It was, Kenpachi had decided fairly early on, going to be a long, difficult morning. Getting the children up had not really been a problem; Yachiru, like all small children, was an early riser and was up almost before him, sitting contentedly in front of some children's program while he prepared her breakfast. Ikkaku and Yumichika, probably be virtue of the uncomfortable position they had been resting in, were also up early, although were decidedly less contented about the matter.

However, the morning was actually moving at a worrying pace, with uniforms to be handed out, and breakfasts to be made, and now they were beginning to encounter problems. Yachiru was still searching for Bo-Bo, who she had decided she was going to take with her, but who had disappeared overnight, Ikkaku was doing everything in his power to resist Kenpachi's chivvying along, and Yumichika was unfortunately emulating him, making the problem twice as great.

Oh, and they had to leave in fifteen minutes, and he still hadn't told the boys he would be taking them into school instead of simply dropping them off. He had heard far too many accounts of times when they had gone missing at the school gates, and he had no intention of allowing truancy while they were in his care.

"You're doing what!?"

"Dropping you into school." Kenpachi repeated, rooting down the side of Yachiru's bed until his hand encountered something soft. With a deft flick, he pulled the soft toy up and into the light. It was the wrong one.

"But...you...Do you have any idea how that would look?" Yumichika hissed. "No, of course you don't..."

Kenpachi growled, his hand down the side of the bed once again. "I'm not asking, this isn't a democracy." He had mentioned it to Yumichika first in the hope that he would be more reasonable about it than Ikkaku, and perhaps even help, but it looked like it was a lost hope. Once again he pulled, a soft plop sound accompanying the arrival of a slightly dusty Bo-Bo. Finally.

Ten minutes to go.

"Bag, Ikkaku. Where's your bag?"

"How should I know?" The onset of school had returned Ikkaku to sullen silence and it was beginning to be irritating.

"Go find it!"

"Umm..." Kenpachi turned to find Yachiru behind him. She had a huge blob of toothpaste on her skirt. Hurriedly he lead her to the kitchen, swearing softly under his breath. As he tried his best to wipe all traces of it from her, he found himself wondering how she had managed to get it onto her skirt of all places.

Five minutes to go.

They were almost ready. Yachiru was clean, had her rucksack on her shoulders with Bo-Bo securely zipped into it; Ikkaku had, under duress, produced and packed his school back, and Kenpachi could see Yumichika's sitting in the hall. There was just one thing missing. "Where's Yumichika?"

Ikkaku shrugged unconcernedly, examining his nails, while Yachiru looked around. "I saw him in the bathroom..." She admitted eventually.

Kenpachi groaned. If the boy was in the bathroom preening then he definitely wouldn't be coming out any time soon. Deciding there was only one way he would be able to get them all out on time he made his way to the bathroom; Yumichika was in front of the mirror adjusting his tie. Quickly, he moved forward and grabbed the teenager by the collar, pulling him out of the room while he was still too shocked to resist properly. It wasn't that he couldn't have just lifted the boy and carried him, he was sufficiently slender, but it would have put a serious and unnecessary dent in the boy's pride, plus he was a terrible wriggler.

"You could have asked!" When Kenpachi finally let go Yumichika scowled and rearranged his clothes, bristling like an angry cat.

Kenpachi kept his reply (which would have been something along the lines of: 'Not if we wanted to get anywhere within the next half hour') to himself, instead he settled for "Come on."

Once they were all outside he decided that it would probably be better to drive. It wasn't that the schools were terribly far away, but walking was subject to many diversions and other time consuming problems, and he had to make sure Yachiru got into school safely, which left less time to get the other two to school.

A few minutes later he was thoroughly regretting his decision. Presumably every other parent had decided to drive their little ones to school, and the road was practically gridlocked. Glancing in the rear mirror he saw Yumichika rubbing his eyebrow absently. "How's your face?"

Surprised, Yumichika looked about himself for a moment, before apparently concluding that he was the one being addressed. "Its fine..."

They edged forward slightly. "Hows the school gonna react to a piercing?"

Yumichika looked defiant. "There's nothing they can do about it now its in."

"Hmm." Finally they pulled up outside the small primary school. Happily, Yachiru gave Kenpachi a small peck on the cheek and hopped out, heading straight for her open classroom door. Kenpachi watched as she went in, only pulling out when he was certain she wasn't going to wander back out.

As they neared the boys' school Kenpachi motioned towards Ikkaku's foot well. "There's a first aid kit in there. Use one of the plasters to cover your stud." Fortunately Yumichika was wearing a rather understated silver bar, rather than his usual extravagant feather decoration, which Kenpachi could swear wasn't good for his eye. "If you do that, they cant make you take it out."

"O-okay." there was some scrabbling and hushed profanities as Ikkaku contorted himself to retrieve the box, and Kenpachi could hear the distinctive sound of plasters being applied and removed again as he pulled outside the high black rails of their school.

Abruptly, Kenpachi twisted around to face the two teenagers. "Listen." he said softly, trying to keep any gruffness from his tone. "This might not mean much coming from me, but school's important. Yer both smart, so I don't want to hear that your not in school after I've dropped you off, all right?" To their credit, they both looked uncomfortable, although Kenpachi didn't receive a response. "Well," He sighed, "Off you go then. Don't...get any parts of you confiscated, or into any fights or anything..."

After a mumbled, even embarrassed goodbye from Yumichika, and a discreet nod from Ikkaku they left, and out of respect for their dignity Kenpachi stayed in the car, simply winding his window down as he watched them.

As they reached the gate they were encountered by two friends who greeted them enthusiastically, although he noticed that Yumichika hung back slightly and unlike Ikkaku didn't engage in the conversation particularly. If he strained he could catch bits and pieces of their chatter; One of the friends, sporting a surprisingly large ponytail of red hair, spoke first. "You came in a car?"

"Yeah, another new carer. He's alright." Something in Ikkaku's tone stung slightly. It was dismissive, almost as if he expected this to be just one of long, long line of people who would take them in over the years. Somehow Kenpachi had hoped that he had earned more of the boys trust than that.

Opening the door and slipping inside once he had made his way home, the house seemed awfully quiet and lonely. He hadn't realised how much background noise three children made, even when they were busy in their respective tasks. Exhaling slowly and feeling slightly lost, Kenpachi resigned himself to a long, aimless six hours.

Hmm...I'm running out of inventive ways to ask this, perhaps being straightforward is best for now. Please, please review! I really love reading what you think, and its great motivation to know that you all like it (or if you don't, why you don't). XD