A/N: Hello! Long ti
me no see! I'm sorry fro the long wait, but here's the new chapter! /throws confetti
I'm so relieved that there was no flame reviews for the last chapter. I know it's not the best chapter, but my word ninja Ilta Kimon is back so I'll be sure to re-upload the more awesome/less sucky edited version!
Next week is Chirstmas Break/ YAAAY. Because I will not be traveling anywhere, I will have lots of time to write new chapters! So check back often because I will be updating frequently :D
Thank you yuukiininah for adding my story to your favorite list! :D You don't have your PM enabled so I can't really craft you a super awesome thank you letter! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!
POLL: Who do you want Ichigo to end up with and why? I already have a pairing in mind, but I'm curious to hear your opinion. Who knows, maybe someone can convince me to pair Ichigo up with.. uh I dunno Baragan or something :D
I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter!
Chapter Ten
The dull throbbing pain greeted him as Ichigo woke up. What an odd feeling, being knocked out cold that is. It was like falling asleep with no control over his own body. It was frightening, for the feeling of helplessness reminded him that he is just simply human. Death can come to his just as easily as it can come to other people
As he lay sprawled on the cold hard ground, Ichigo noticed that he was wearing nothing but a towel loosely wrapped around his waist and a haori thrown over his chest. 'Fuck.' Ichigo cursed silently. He knew it. He had a feeling that sooner or later he was doing to be sexually molested. There was no sign that he raped or anything, but Ichigo was sure that somebody had invaded his private parts. What other explanation could be applied to a half naked unconscious boy? Fuck Aizen and his stupid 'Haori'. If he only had given him a shirt, he wouldn't be half naked in some dark and dingy cave.
A pair of golden eyes blinked at him, watching closely as the fabric revealed a part of the blushing peach skin. Those eyes smoldered with hunger and need, but it's stillness betrayed nothing of his presence. The shadow smirked when the boy began to move around, but it was quickly replaced with a concern frown at the boy's dazed look.
"Decided to wake up eh sunshine?" a voice called out from the darkness, it's low baritone and raw edge send shivers up his body.
Ichigo blinked in confusion. He heard of that voice from somewhere, but can't seems to put a face to the familiar voice. He looked at the direction of the voice, but his blurred vision revealed nothing but darkness. Then a bell jingles.
"Is that you Kenpachi?" Ichigo tentatively asked.
The man in the shadows gave a throaty chuckle. "You heard them bells eh?" Ichigo grinned in response. Finally, someone that's actually on his side.
"Of course. Didn't we established that I'm the only one that can keep up with you?" Ichigo shot back, laughing in relief. He choked back with pain, his hand on his neck. Kenpachi leaned forward and patted him on the cheek. "How yer doin? Did I hit you too hard?"
"Well, there's no blood but my head feels like it's gonna explode." Ichigo complained. Kenpachi frowned and inched closer to the boy. "C'mere." Ichigo hissed as the man touched his neck, flinching as the calloused fingers brushed against the sensitive skin.
"W-wait, what are you doing." He asked franticly as Kenpachi began to lift him onto his lap. The man merely growled and held the boy flush against his body, gently pushing the boy's head down onto his shoulder.
"Relax." He breathed into the Ichigo's ear, blowing fire to stir the glowing embers of his loins. Ichigo blushed and pushed away, trying to get into a position where he was not straddling the man. "Relax." Kenpachi growled again, gripping the boy's waist in a not-so-gentle grip. Ichigo just hoped that the man wouldn't mind the hardness between his legs.
After much struggle, Ichigo finally rested his head against the man's shoulder, twisting himself into painful position just to keep his groin from touching the man's lap. He tried not to whimper pathetically as a firm thumb began to push against his neck, but Kenpachi's warm breath coupled with his soft caresses made Ichigo want to do just that. After a few painful squeezes, the pain in his neck began to disappear and a warm pleasure began to flood over him.
Ichigo instantly relaxed into the touch, groaning in pleasure, squeezing Kenpachi's arm as fingers worked their magic. "What a baby. Thought you cracked yer skull or somethin. Turns out, s'only a concussion." The man muttered to himself. Ichigo rolled his eyes at the statement. Only Kenpachi can make light of a trauma to the head.
They stayed like that for a while, their chest expands and contract together like clockwork. It was heaven for both of them, and that's saying something considering how hell like Hueco Mundo is.
"Wait, did you just kidnapped me?" Ichigo asked in realization, breaking their body's connection. Kenpachi sighed. Why do people always use strong word like 'kidnap' and 'abduct' when all he did was carried them out on his shoulders. Well, Ichigo was uncurious, but isn't the word kidnap a little bit harsh?
"Call it whatever you want princess, but the bottom line is I saved yer ass." He gave a feral grin, showing his sharp canines to the boy.
Ichigo laughed at the logic, more happy than the man took him away from Noches than angry for knocking him unconsciousness. "Sousuke is going to be so pissed." He chuckled. "He hates it when things don't go according to his neat little plan." Ichigo remembered the hollow incident with Tousen. The look on Aizen's face was priceless.
Kenpachi narrowed his eyes. He didn't like how Ichigo was talking so familiarly about the traitor. "Whatever," He scowled, pushing the boy off his lap. "We're leaving in a few minutes. Urahara can only keep the Spiritual Gate open for three and I already wasted an hour looking for you." Kenpachi stood up, stopping and leaning down to adjust his Haori on the boy's body.
"Why would you have to go to Urahara?" Ichigo half scoffed at the mention of the perverted shopkeeper. "Don't you have the crazy scientist in charge of the gates? You know that that bastard charges everything wayyyy above the market value right?"
Kenpachi flippantly answered, "The old fart didn't let us send out a search party." And instantly regretted it.
That statement wiped the rebellious look off Ichigo's face, the same look that Kenpachi loved so much. "I see." He simply said. Ichigo felt a little hurt that Seireitei didn't even bothered to help him. After his numerous contribution, he would think that at least Renji or Rukia would try and come for him. Now, the only one that was willing to save him was the same person who tried to kill him all those months ago. It all was rather depressing.
Kenpachi could see how the sadness reflected on those honey brown eyes, how the boy turn his eyes to gaze at the nothingness. He'll be damned if he made Ichigo cried. Kenpachi growled, turning the boy's face to his, startling him from his musings. Ichigo blushed at the closeness and looked away.
"That's okay." He quickly said. "Im just a substitute shinigami after all." Ichigo instantly regretted how weak his voice sounded.
Kenpachi frowned. "Don't mope." He gruffly said, bumping his knuckle to the boy's temple. "You got me, baldy, and princess to take care of ya. We don't need them."
For a moment, Ichigo didn't know how to respond to the gesture. Instead he reverted to his usual scowl. "Not moping." Ichigo muttered, hiding a smile as he rubbed his eyes. Kenpachi growled when the boy's smaller fist began to rub against his head.
"Ge'off pup." He pinned the boy against the cave smooth interior, eliciting a laugh from the boy.
"Nooo, my toweeel!" he grabbed to it futilely, trying to clung desperately to the sparse bit of fabric. Kenpachi grinned as he pulled on the corner on the fabric, teasing the prude boy to show more of his skin. "Perv." Ichigo kicked his savior's squarely on the jaw, flashing the man a glimpse of his smooth family jewels.
Despite the pain, Kenpachi couldn't help but joined the boy in laughter, their warm voice reverberating through the cold cave. He never knew that someone else's happiness could be so infectious.
He stared at the smooth skin of Ichigo's neck, how his cheek blushed and glowed as he laughed away. His eyes sparkled with true joy, and his supple lips stretching into such a wonderful smile. Yes, Ichigo should always be like this, laughing, smiling like he don't have a care in the world. If he couldn't keep his Ichigo happy, the he will surely kill someone.
It was the same old Espada meeting In Las Noches. Grimmjow was scowling, Stark was sleeping, and Aizen was sipping his tea. The routine is always the same; hear some big old speech from Aizen, plan for next move, and then hear Ulquiorra recite his god awfully boring report. This time, the meeting took a more lively atmosphere.
LINELINE
"Kurosaki Ichigo was kidnapped. Izuru Kira and Hisagi Shuhei are drinking all of our alcohol. We need to stock up on detergent."
Everyone in the room blinked. Ulquiorra actually said something interesting.
"Can you repeat that again Ulquiorra?"
"The shinigami fukutaichous are depleting our alcohol reserves. The is dangerously low supply of deterg-"
"No, no. The bit about Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Ah, yes. The human was captured by a captain level shinigami."
Barragan yawned.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fucking FUCK." Grimmjow crushed the cup he had on his hand and threw it violently to the wall. He just found the boy and now some fucking bastard took Ichigo away from him again.
"I'll get him back."Grimmjow said, kicking his chair away and started stalking towards the big marble door. Ulquiorra frowned at the action but made no movement to stop him. "Next, report on the West wing."
"Hold on, Ulquiorra." Tousen spoke up. "Is this true? Was Las Noches really infiltrated by a captain?"
"Yes."
"What das he look like?" Nnoitra drawled.
"Tall. Shredded Haori. Spiked hair. Rude."
"That's Kenpachi-taichou." Tousen flinched, his hand touching his abdomen where the scar from their last battle lay. The three shinigami looked at each other, their faces grim and serious. Zaraki Kenpachi is a dangerous man, a very dangerous man. No sane captain would willingly face the beast alone. Aizen chuckled at Grimmjow's determination. That poor boy is going to be slaughtered.
"Maaa, we're all dead." Ichimaru broke the silence, twirling his chair and throwing his hand up into the air. He turned his attention to the blue haired espada. "Naa, Grimmjow. Ya betta think twice before facing the 11th Kenpachi."
Grimmjow halted his long steady stride, curling his hand into a fist.
"Ya will probably die." Gin said simply. Those words turned his blood cold.
Grimmjow knew he was strong, but he was also aware that he was not the strongest. He is only a sexta, still weaker than his five predecessor. But what he lack in power he will make up in raw determination. He will get Ichigo back, and the brat will be grateful to him.
But is the man really that strong? At most he couldn't be stronger than Nnoitra, and with a little bit of luck, Grimmjow could easily defeat the number three espada. Nevertheless, those petty details doesn't matter. Strong shinigami, weak shinigami, he'll kill them all. He will save Ichigo and tie him up in his chambers.
"Did you hear him Grimmjow? You will die." Tousen called out to the silent man. Grimmjow wanted to snarled at the uptight captain, but instead he slowly turned to him, his face twisted in a crazed smirk.
"I'll take my chances." He said. Nnoitra scoffed and rolled his eyes at the clichéd one liner
"I'll come with you." Stark stood up from his seat, gathering the papers around him. When he noticed the shocked glances from around the table, he simply said, "I'm worried about Ichigo." Aizen raised one of his eyebrows. Interesting, his Primera espada is doing work on his own accord.
Grimmjow shot him a glare, a deep rumble could be heard from in his chest. "Stay out of this." He growled. Stark narrowed his eyes, trying his best to suppressed a growl of his own. Grimmjow dared to go up against him? If he gave him a taste of his power, maybe the little cat wouldn't be so insolent. He quickly shook those thought out of his head. Threats, really? How uncharacteristic of him.
"Actually," Nnoitra Interjected. "Innit betta of me and ma Telsa look for Berry?" He gave a lewd grin. "We're such a good team, well betta than those two anyways, that we'll find em in less than an hour." Nnoitra grinned. After he killed the spiky haired man, he'll take Ichigo back to his room and do unspeakable things to him.
"Oh! That's a good idea! Ah, I might join ya!" Gin smilled. "It'll be a lot faster if we search for 'im together ne?" Nnoitra grin disappeared. If the shinigami comes along, then he wouldn't be able to have some 'fun' with his berry. Fuck Ichimaru, always ruining all the fun. Oblivious to the arrancar's train of thought, Gin smiled and waved at his future partner. 'Fucking Ichimaru, always ruining all the fun.'
"I don't understand why we're fussing over this one human." Barragan sulked, unhappy that a mere boy can command the attention of high ranking espadas. Halibel nodded in agreement, ignoring the snarl that Grimmjow gave her. The misogynistic bastard had always had some bone to pick with her, with Halibel being the only woman in the group that is. But something tells her that his current aggressiveness is not fueled by some chauvinistic ideologies. Grimmjow seemed to want the boy like a cat might want a catnip bag. "Calm down Grimmjow. Barragan is right. No need to make a big fuss over a human."
"I don't know, he is a very interesting specimen." Szael Apporo piped up, twirling his pink hair between his long tapered fingers. "Hollowfication in a human who is a shinigami is unheard of. The abnormal level of reiatsu that he had may be tapped and stored for some reiatsu weapon. Oh the things I can test on him!" He shuddered in pleasure, rubbing out the goosebumps on his arms. "Aizen-sama, If I find him first, then may I have him for my experiments?"
"If you don't marred him too much.." Aizen said nonchalantly. He hated it when other people touch his property, but for the sake of science, he would allow Szaelapporo to thinker with the boy. It could serve as the boy's punishment for allowing himself to be kidnapped.
"Then I wan't him for my 'experiment' too." Nnoitra gave a lewd smile.
"Please," Szael rolled his eyes. "We all know how your experiments ends." Nnoitra laughed and grabbed his crotch, giving the espada a clear image of what he's planning to do to the boy. Barragan gave a thunderous laugh, clearly amused with the espada's antics. "I wouldn't mind having a go at the boy too." The old man eyes darkening with lust.
Both Grimmjow and Stark eyes narrowed at the two arrancar, their eyes promising a bloodbath in the future. It seems like the number of dangerous people just increased. Stark sighed while Grimmjow brood. Not only did they have the Shinigami captain to worry about, but apparently three of their espada are also gunning for the boy.
Aizen sighed and sipped his tea, looking very calm and unconcerned about their current predicament. As strong as his espada were, none of them could face that monster alone and came out alive. They've made a good decision to partner up and look for the boy, but even that tactics wouldn't guarantee their survival.
Despite his concern about Zaraki, sooner or later, his force would have to come and face the eleventh division captain. If he did not allow his men to rescue Ichigo, the boy would be lost and precious information will be jeopardized. However, if he could save Ichigo and kill the beast at the same time, then it would be a waste to simply let this opportunity go. What better time to eliminate such potential threat than now?
Aizen calmly watched the atmosphere of the room shifted and change. He had never seen his espadas so fired up. Usually the ennui of Hueco Mundo put them into a trance of indefrence. The boy's presence seemed to change all of that. Even Barragan was affected by the boy, and he didnt even saw the boy. He focused his eyes especially to his sixth and Primera espada, unsure whether he's supposed to be excited or worried about their zealousness.
He knew Nnoitra wanted to fight and fuck Ichigo, a ritual that the espada do to all his enemies. Grimmjow and Stark, however, they're a different matter all together. They acted as if they actually care about the boy, like they would cherish a friend. He quickly dismissed those ideas from his mind. Arrancars cannot understand friendship or fidelity. They're a species of fear and emptiness, weak notions such as love and friendship are simply not programmed into their nature. Yet the question still remains, just how did Ichigo inspire so much loyalty in so little time?
Grimmjow, the lose cannon, unpredictable sixth espada was pacing back and forth like a caged lion. Every time someone would make a comment about the orange haired boy, he would snarl and growled at them, like a lion would growl at those who touched his mate. It was such an interesting situation to watch. The only expressions that Aizen has ever saw was in him was either boredom, bloodlust, or anger. Now his face looked distraught and... was that fear that he saw in his eyes? Nevertheless, Aizen thought that someone such as Grimmjow would never be anything but antagonistic towards Ichigo. Apparently he was wrong.
And there was Stark. Lazy, predictable, Stark. He would sleep all day if Aizen never commanded him to fight, but here he is, drafting up a search and rescue plan on a Hueco Mundo map. He was actually doing work without being commanded. How curious. Aizen knew that the man had made contact with the boy, but he didn't know that he was devoted to Ichigo.
"Aizen-sama," Ulquiorra asked. Aizen gave him a kind smile before nodding at him to continue. "I will be willing to look for Ichigo myself."
Aizen raised his eyebrow. "Why would you do such a thing Ulquiorra?" he asked, more puzzled at Ulquiorra's use of first name rather than his plan of action.
"Because I don't want him dead Aizen-sama." He said dead on."And because he is my responsibility." The espada quickly added.
Gin frowned at espada's statement. 'I don't want him dead.' Implied attachment and closeness. That fact worried the shinigami. Ulquiorra was not made to care, especially not to care about a prisoner. Has Inoue Orihime soften him up, or has Ichigo gave him a heart?
Despite his subordinate's worried glances, Aizen still face showed nothing but his usual facade. "How kind of you Ulquiorra." He said. "Right now, my main concern is to stop Grimmjow from breaking my door. It was such a hassle to install that door and it would be a shame to do it all over again." Grimmjow ears perked up at the mention of his name, but when he saw that they were not ordering him to go and safe Ichigo, he turned and began to attack the marble door. He has to get out fast, Ichigo needed him.
Ulquiorra nodded in understanding. With no further ado, he flash stepped next to Grimmjow and kicked the arrancar on his torso, throwing him away from the door and threw him onto the wall with a disgusting 'crack. "FUCK."
Stark momentarily looked up from his map, but lost interest when all he saw was Grimmjow and not Ichigo. The rest of the table watch impassively as Grimmjow tried to pushed his ribcage back together. Aizen leaned back onto his chair, happy to know that despite his new emotional development, Ulquiorra was still willing to do his bidding. He was still God in his eyes, and that fact was enough for him.
"This is boring." Yammi exclaimed aloud and burped. Halibel threw a disgusted look at him before moving up the table and took Grimmjow's seat, one that is the farthest away from the brute. Aizen averted his eyes to the only espada that seemed to be unaffected with the news for Ichigo's capture.
"What do you think Halibel? What should be our plan of action?" he asked.
Halibel condescending green eyes turned thoughtful. Aizen has always appreciates Halibel's presence. She was always calm and analytical, and despite her gender she was not subservient to the male in the group. In these time where the male instinct dictates his espada to fight, fuck, and fornicate, Halibel's word are invaluable. "Aizen-sama, the way that I see it, we shouldn't do anything at all." She said, drawing shocked glances from Stark and Ulquiorra.
"WHAT?" Grimmjow shouted from the wall. "Say that again you stupid bitch!" he pulled himself up, coughing up dark blood. "Say that again and I'll fucking kill you!" he said, leaning against the wall for support.
Tousen, who apparently had enough of his nonsense flash stepped next to the espada and hit him hard on his face, slamming the injured espada back into the ground. "Insolent trash." Instead of fear, Grimmjow eyes glinted like a madman, a look that a cornered animal should never had. Tousen stepped back, put off by the look. "Insane." He muttered to himself and took his seat. Aizen saw the little exchange and smiled.
"Please be civil Grimmjow." Aizen chastised the espada, nodding at Halibel to continue. "Please elaborate."
Halibel drew circles on the table, speaking slowly as if she is calculating her every word. "We have the boy's sword do we not? Sooner or later the boy will come back to us with his own voilition. He will escape his from savior and demand for the return of his sword. When we have him inside Las Noches, we can secure the boy and kill off his pursuer."
"That's a brilliant plan." Tousen said. Halibel slightly bowed her head, acknowledging the compliment.
"No, no, no. That's a horrible plan." Stark said. "What if the boy is overpowered? Without his sword he cannot escape his captor, who we already established is stronger than most of us. He could be entering a gate to Soul Society as we speak, and once Ichigo stepped into it, there is nothing we can do to get him back."
"Stark, it seems like you main concern is only about recovering the boy, not about our collective security." Szael Apporo said.
Without any second thought, Stark answered. "Yes."
Every pair of eyes in the room blinked in confusion. Just what is it about the boy that the strongest of the espada wanted him so much?
Aizen smiled. At last he had his Primera espada all figured out. "Now, now. We can all agree that Halibel's plan of action is the most logical. However," He shot Grimmjow a look. "I will allow those who want to look for the boy to do so. Just remember, if you die when you face Zaraki Kenpachi, we will make Nnoitra defecate your dead body." Szael Apporo chuckled and fell into silence, unsure whether it was a joke or a genuine threat. Defecation of dead body is the ultimate insult available, and people like Nnoitra would do it within a second.
Nnoitra raised his hand "Aizen-sama."
"Yes Nnoitra?"
"I'll be goin to." He said, grinning in embarrassment.
"I see." Aizen said. "Well the, we will have Aaroniero do the job. He will be sufficient enough, don't you think?"
Everyone in the room slowly turned their head to the silent espada, his elongated head suddenly looked more terrifying than ever. "As you wish, Aizen-sama." The mechanical voice called out from behind the mask. All of them knew what Nnoitra was like, but they knew almost nothing about Aaroniero. Who knows what heinous things he could do to their body. Everyone shivered and tried to put the thoughts out of his head. Aizen smiled, happy that the threat is working.
"Then It is settled. Meeting adjourned."
They walked through the unrecognizable piles of sand. Ichigo dragged his fatigued legs through the piles of sand. Everywhere he looked everything looked the same. A sand dune there, a crystalline tree there. Another tree, another sand dune. Sand. Sand. Sand. It was fucking horrible. Ichigo frowned at the situation that they're in. Kenpachi was not the most direction savvy person, and the thought of them running around the desolate dessert concerned him.
Kenpachi saw the look on Ichigo's face and mistook it for exhaustion. Without a second thought, He swoop from behind the boy and pulled him up with him, carrying him like a groom would carry his bride.
"What are you doing?"
"Carrying you."
"Well put me down. I can walk with my own two damn feet."
Kenpachi grinned and pinched the boy's thigh. "The rescue-ee should never talk back to the rescuer."
Ichigo yelped and slapped his shoulder. "Fuck you. How's that for talking back?"
"Shut up princess."
"Stop calling me that!"
Kenpachi continued to ignore Ichigo's protests and hiked the boy higher to his chest, eliciting a less than masculine squeal from him. "See? Princess."
"Shut up." Ichigo scowled and held tighter to the man's neck. Kenpachi was tall and it would be a bitch to fall from his height. He'll have to admit though, the hard muscles felt good against body. He knew of men like Kenpachi, those who fight and has the scars and muscles to show it. That thought made Ichigo think of Grimmjow and Chado, all men who seemed to fit into Kenpachi's category. It seemed like Ichigo is always surrounded by men who loved to fight.
Kenpachi nuzzled the boy's hair, breathing in the warmth of the sun from the boy's hair. Even in this dark and dingy land Ichigo still smells heavenly. It's like his radiance never dimmed, it just kept burning and shinning like a sun would.
Ichigo pushed his head up to face Kenpachi, looking straight into his golden eyes. "Hey Kenpachi," Ichigo called. "Thanks for coming for me."
Kenpachi made a gruff noise and pushed his head against the boy. "Yer one of us. Of course I'll come back for ya."
Those simple words brought a smile to Ichigo's face."Yeah." He replied, pulling closer to Kenpachi.
A sharp inhale, a shuddering exhale.
Inhale, exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
A cough.
Another.
And another.
"Taichou."
"I'm fine."
Ukitake Jushiro smiled at his worried vice captain. "Are you sure? Do I need to call the doctor?" Kaien flipped througha little black book furiously, trying to find the address of the doctor. Ukitake reach out gently grabbed his fukutaichou's wrist. After seven years on the job, he was still fussing over him like a mother hen. "No, really Kaien Im fi-"a series of violent cough interrupted the silver haired man, making him double over into his futon.
"See! I told you you're not okay!" Kaien shouted, bringing his fist down hard onto low table in frustration. The cup of tea splashed all over the floor, soaking the expensive tatami map with the equally expensive tea.
Ukitake gave him a weak smile, his delicate fingers carefully straightening the knocked down cups. "Thank you for taking care of me, Shiba-kun. I can always depend on you."
"You'll be the death of me." He sighed and looked away, focusing on drying the tatami mat. His angry glare melted away into a tired look.
"It's an occupational hazard." Ukitake smiled apologetically. "But you knew what you were going into when you became my vice captain."
"You mean when you bully me into becoming your vice captain."
"Details, details." Ukitake waved his hand, fighting another onslaught of cough. Kaien moved to his side, patting his captain's back. "There you go. That's what you get for sneaking out of your bed." He said in satisfaction.
Ukitake laughed. How many times had they had this conversation? A hundred time? A thousand? And yet the routine never grew tedious to him. He carefully took the rag from his fukutaichou's hand and wiped Kaien's hakama dry.
"What kind of captain am if I don't know any of my man?"Ukitake gasped from inbetween cough. No matter how popular people say he is, Ukitake is always concerned about his division members. He feared that his absence would distanced himself with his men. That's why in every single possible minute, he would go and spend some time with his division.
"You shouldn't worry about your man's loyalty, Taichou." Kaien said in irritation, but no matter how hard he tried, Kaien couldn't keep the proud smile off his face. "You know how they all adore you." Ukitake waved his hand to dismissed the clichéd phrase. He heard it already. 'You're such a people person.' 'Everyone loves you.' 'You're the best Ukitake-taichou!"
Kaien has always admired Ukitake. Calm, gentle, kind, and honorable. Jushiro Ukitake is everything that a vice captain could dream of. His emancipated body gave the impression that the man was weak, but he can attest that no other division was as loyal to their captain as the thirteenth division.
Ukitake could see the admiration in his fukutaichou's face. Kaien is a reliable, strong, and kind vice captain. Yet, with all of his qualifications, he still had his feet firmly on the ground. Unlike Omaeda of the second division, Kaien served his division with the same humility that he has on his first day on the thirteenth division. Without Kaien, his division would surely fall into shambles.
To contrast his own calm and polite personality, Kaien has a rough attitude, a trait that seemed to run in the Shiba family. He was glad that Kaien is his vice captain, for he knows that his division is not being coddled.
"Kaien," the captain looked somber. "Thank you." He said earnestly.
The black haired man was caught of guard at the sincerity of his captain. But after a moment of silence, Kaien laughed. "No need to be all sentimental! You know that I will always be on your side" He brought his fist over his heart. "The two of us are souls that are meant to be together." Kaien made a face at his own words. "Wow, that sounded like something that I would say to my wife."
Ukitake brokeout into laughter, his eyes filling with tears of joy and mirth. Kaien laughed with him. "It's true!" He insisted. "If we were to die and be reincarnated, I'm damn sure that taichou would be my brother. Or my neighbor. Or my classmate."
Ukitake wiped the tears from the edge of his eyes, his laughter dying down to a chuckle. "Well don't be in a hurry to die. I still need you as my vice captain." He patted Kaien's hand, who beamed at his captain.
"Hai!"
"Ukitake-taichou."
The voice broke Ukitake out from his musings. "Ah, yes?"
"Forgive me, am I interrupting your rest?" a large snout peeked from the edge of the bengara screen.
"No, no. Please come in Komamura-taichou."
The large captain felt out of place. Everything in the Ukitake house hold looked small and delicate. The bonsai trees, the small wooden carvings, the delicate caligraphic scrools. And here he is, a big bumbling fool in a house of one of the most esteemed captain of the Gotei 13. Ukitake saw how uncomfortable Komamura was and came up to hug him.
"Uki-Ukitake-taichou?" Komamura choked, surprised at the sudden hug.
"It's so good to see you Saijin-san. How are you?" Ukitake beamed.
"I'm, uh, fine." If it's even possible, Komamura looked more awkward than ever. But he did appreciates the man's effort to make him feel welcome.
"Good!" Ukitake patted the man on the arm, laughing at his bewildered look. "Please take a seat."
"Is there any news from Kenpachi-taichou?"
"Yes, the eleventh division third seat has reported that Kenpachi has begun his search for Kurosaki. In a few hour they will arrived in soul society.
"Why are we doing this?"
"Pardon me?"
"Jushiro-san, why are we doing this?" The large canine stopped. "Ever since Yamamoto-soutaichou allowed me into the Kido academy, I swore my loyalty onto him. And now I am an acompliance in an act of treachery. Tell me why a loyal servant of Sereitei would do these things Ukitake."
"Komamura-taichou." Ukitake smiled. "Would you rather see Ichigo imprisoned and taken captive after all that he has done for us?
That question silenced Saijin Komamura.
"You see Saijin-san, we are not committing treachery. Instead we are saving boy, a mere teenager, who has shown acts of bravery far beyond his year. He has given the ultimate sacrifice to divert the winter war, his own life. How can we not repay him in kind?" Ukitake bend down to pour some tea into cups, his lithe fingers cupping the hot porcelain in a practiced manner. "Saving him should be the bare minimum of our gratitude. The way I see it, Ichigo is a hero." Ukitake slid the warm cup over the low table to his fellow captain, his green eyes fixed on Komamura's warm brown eyes. "Don't you think so, Komamura-taichou?"
Komamura was stunned at the truth contained in the captain's eloquent speech. He found himself wanting to nod in agreement. "I understand that you knew the boy personally. I myself know nothing of Ichigo, yet the rumors has told me that he is more than a boy. They say that he is-"
"Pardon me for interrupting." A childlike voice chimed from behind the bengara screen.
"Hitsugaya-taichou." Komamura could feel his tail wagged a little as he watched the small shinigami gave a polite bow. "Welcome Hitsugaya-kun. Would you have some Oolong tea?" Ukitake held up his own cup of Oolong tea.
"That would have to wait for another time Ukitake-taichou." Hitsugaya declined politely. "Kurosaki Ichigo has arrived."
A/N: Sooo? how was it? Good? Bad? Okay? Type it Into the review box! and please don't be shy to tell me if i messed up some parts. I'm still Imporving and I will be thankful for the input!
I hoped you enjoyed this chapter :D. Oh and don't forget to vote on your fav character to pair with Ichigo! It is crucial to the story! (not really, but seriously guys, vote)
Next Chapter: Hisagi stages a coup. Err.. sorta.
See you next week!