Author's Note

Here is the last(?) chapter of An Unconventional Relationship. I think it wrapped up pretty well. But I still might write a collection of mature oneshots? To practice my smut skills, haha. If there are any requests please send them in! I'll need some inspiration.

There will be some Ergo Proxy and Yowamushi Pedal fics coming up soon! If you want some something to watch or read, try these two!

Thanks for the reviews last chapter! I hope you enjoyed this little story. Please tell me any suggestions, corrections, or advice. I may come back and edit this story later.

A thick blanket of tension smothered the training field. Tsubaki was leading several squads' worth of men through drills that morning. She hadn't noticed the strange looks her fellow division members gave her but by noon the stares had turned into grumbles. At first she had assumed they were just in a foul mood then she heard exactly what they were saying.

"I refuse to listen some whore that's sleeping with a Fourth weakling."

"Who does she think she is?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"Ruining the reputation of the Eleventh."

Yumichika was right. Somehow word had gotten out about her relationship and the men were reacting like he predicted.

Tsubaki wanted to pretend that the words didn't hurt but it cut that the men she had fought and bleed with would turn on her. She was a seated officer now; she had lead training even before that. These men knew her and she thought they had respected her.

She couldn't take it anymore. "Who has the balls to stop bitching and act like a man? Huh?" Tsubaki shouted out her challenge. A hush fell over the field.

"You fuckin' that guy from the Fourth?" A voice rang out but no one stepped forward.

At least Hanataro's name hadn't come up. He wasn't involved yet. "What if I am? That any of your business?"

A new murmur rose up from the crowd. A familiar face emerged. It was her friend from the slums that had also joined the Eleventh.

"So it's true?" He didn't look pleased.

"I'll only say it once. I'm seeing a Fourth Division member, if anyone has a problem with that you can fight it out with me!" Best get this done with now. She knew that the men were upset now so a fight was inevitable.

Thus began the hardest fights of Tsubaki's life. To put it simply, a battle royal started after her challenge. Man after man charged at her, sword swinging wildly, ready to stop her insult to the Eleventh. Countless blows were exchanged. She managed to stay on her feet and withstand physical and verbal attacks. By the time her friend stepped up, she was swaying.

"Why couldn't you just stick with your own kind, Tsubaki?" He spat out.

"Don't ask me that. I shouldn't have to only choose from my own division." The two ran at each other, blades raised. The ringing sound of metal clashing jarred Tsubaki's ears.

"You could have chosen me!" He was jealous. Tsubaki was shocked by this. She had never thought that her fellow slum rat was interested in her. All she thought of him was a comrade. Sure, she'd drag his ass to the healers, that didn't mean she was after his dick! Men!

Her inattention allowed a swing to connect. Her side stung like a line of fire had hit her, not a blade.

That blow pushed her over the edge. Exhausted and in pain. Tsubaki fell to her knees. Suddenly a arm was around her shoulders.

Yumichika had arrived.

"Stupid girl, I told you this would happen," he whispered to her. "You! Get your ass to the offices; I'll deal with you later." Yumichika was ready to give this idiot the beating of his life. A fight like this wasn't honorable or enjoyable. Tsubaki was too stubborn to back down and her opponents were just as pig headed.

He swung Tsubaki into her arms. The way he was handling her would have sent her into conniptions any other time, so her injury was be more serious than he first thought.

He shunpo'd to the Fourth division where he would drop off Tsubaki and find her beau. Someone had to look out for her.

Yumichika entrusted Tsubaki to a pair of healers in the medical ward at the Fourth. They had informed him that she was just exhausted and that the luck strike had been a deep hit but not a serious injury. Kido could heal the wound but she needed rest.

Reassured, he left Tsubaki in a recovery room to find Hanataro. He would speak to him man to man.

He found the healer making rounds in another part of the Fourth's patient's rooms. The surprised expression on Hanataro's face told Yumichika that he hadn't heard of Tsubaki's arrival yet.

"Ah, can I help you Eleventh san?" At least the boy was polite. Still Yumichika couldn't understand what Tsubaki saw in him.

"Actually, you can. Is there somewhere we can talk?"

"Um, there's an empty room over here," he lead them to a nearby door, "Can I ask you what the problem is?"

"The problem is you dating Tsubaki," Yumichika was blunt. The smaller man spluttered and tried to deny any involvement. "She told me all about it; I appreciate the effort but listen up."

"She did? Why do you want to talk to me?"

"I want to tell you that Tsubaki just got into a fight because of you. She fought several squads' worth of men since it got out she was seeing someone from the Fourth. No one else knows it's you so you won't be attacked. But Tsubaki? She's going to be harassed daily now." Yumichika leveled an annoyed glare at Hanataro.

"What! How could they hurt her? Why would they do that?" He was distressed.

"Because you're weak. And because Tsubaki had her fair share of admirers in the Eleventh who were jealous. I tried to warn her! She refused to listen."

"Because of me?" He had never considered that Tsubaki would be hurt.

"Yes. If I was you, I would think about what the right thing to do now is." With that, Yumichika left the room to return back to the Eleventh division.

A breeze passed through the window in Tsubaki's room. Linen curtains rustled softly. Eyes flickered between lids before dark lashes rose, revealing green irises.

Tsubaki turned her head to find that Hanataro was sitting by her bedside. She smiled slightly before she noticed his odd expression. Instead to the happy, relaxed expression he often wore, a grimace marred his face. Tsubaki had never seen him like this.

"Hanataro? What am I doing here?"

He jolted at her voice but didn't look at her. Tsubaki felt odd; he never acted like this. He couldn't know about the fight and if he did know she got in a fight he won't know the reason. So why was he upset.

"Please, what's wrong?"

"We should stop seeing each other," his quiet voice felt like a slap to Tsubaki. Why was he saying this.

"You mean break up? Why? Did I do something?"

"No! I just….I can't….the thought of you getting hurt…." He paused to gather himself. "It's not your fault, it's mine. You should have someone that can protect you. I'm sorry!"

Hanataro got up and hurried out of the room. He had never looked at Tsubaki once during their exchange. If he had, he would have seen the confused and then heartbroken expression on her face. It was ironic that Unohana had warned her to not hurt Hanataro and then he went and sprang this on her.

She didn't have enough strength to get up and follow him. Her head fell back onto the pillow; tears gathered in her eyes.

This was her first experience with heartache.

When Tsubaki returned to the Eleventh Division, Yumichika attached himself to her. He rarely left her alone so he could make sure that another fight didn't break out. The day she finally told him that Hanataro had broken up with her, he had to feign surprise. There was no guilt though. Yumichika had never told him to break up with her specifically. The healer had made the right choice.

Tsubaki was returning to her moody former self. Instead of humoring Yumichika or acting cute, she threw herself into training. She took as many missions as she could. Little by little, the men who had scorned her became her comrades again.

Tsubaki's friend remained cold to her. And she didn't really want to hang around with him either. Her tolerance for his company would probably never come back.

Tsubaki didn't see Hanataro at all. She was avoiding him with a passion. The fledgling self confidence that their relationship had grown was squashed. She still had that attraction to him though. To protect her heart she avoided the Fourth or going out.

Each night tears gathered in her eyes when she thought about why he broke up with her.

Hanataro wasn't faring well either. Where he had was cheery before he was now gloomy. His fellow division members and friends noticed this change.

Whenever someone confronted him, he avoided the problem.

When his work became noticeably different, Unohana stepped in. She had always regarded Hanataro fondly. He was a good worker and had a talent for healing. She would get to the bottom of the matter.

The Captain found Hanataro listlessly organizing the herb cabinets. The room was darker than usual but very organized. He had retreated to the storage room more than usual.

He turned and noticed his Captain standing in the door way with a thoughtful expression. "Captain! I was just putting away some new stock."

"Very good. I've noticed you been back here quite often."

"Well, there's always something to do," he gave a nervous chuckle. "Was there something I could do for you, Captain Unohana?"

"You could tell me what has you so upset. I've noticed that you are not your usual self. Is it something to do with that young lady from the Eleventh?"

How had she known about Tsubaki? Just the thought of her made Hanataro's shoulders slump.

"I decided that it was best we separate."

Unohana hadn't expected Hanataro to say that. She was sure that the girl had been the cause of his mood. "Why would do that?"

"She had come in with injuries from a fight. It was because of me that her division turned on her. I'm not strong enough to protect her!"

"That's no reason to leave a girl that stood up to me about your relationship. You do realize that she probably knew what would happen? She is a fighter and that won't change because of you. You should trust her to take care of herself."

"But, I can't accept that'd she'd get hurt because of me. There are lots of other guys she could date."

"Did she ever tell you that she didn't like that you are a healer? The Eleventh division is always injured. Captain Kenpachi would step in before anything serious happened. Do you think she is happy now?"

"Is she happy? I hadn't thought of that…" he had been too swept up in his own emotions.

"I doubt she is. Your intentions sound good but to her it would be a slap in the face. Girls who look tough can be delicate on the inside," Unohana gave Hanataro a knowing smile. "Why don't you think about whether you really want to do?"

His captain swept out of the room, her white coat fluttering behind her. The room appeared so empty without the taller woman. Speaking of taller woman, Hanataro had someone to visit.

Tsubaki awoke to loud footsteps outside her room. Stumbling out of her futon and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she moved to slide open her door. Before she could, someone threw it open.

On her knees, Tsubaki looked up at Hanataro. He was panting like he had run a mile. After he realized that she was undressed he closed the door. "Sorry! Uh, I'll wait a moment."

She put on a white robe and stepped into the hall. Hanataro wasn't alone; he had managed to get a crowd of Eleventh members staring down at him. He must have caused a ruckus by running to her room in the midst of unfriendly territory.

"Tsubaki, I came to ask your forgiveness! It was wrong of me to doubt you. I know I'm weak but I should have supported you, not abandon you." He bowed low to her.

The group of men surrounding the pair looked at Tsubaki for her reaction. Some were impressed that a weakling would come into the Eleventh's barracks to confess to Tsubaki.

She looked up and saw Yumichika in his sleep wear. He nodded in encouragement to her. Or that's what she took it to be.

Too embarrassed to talk in front of her comrades, she grabbed Hanataro by his shirt to drag him into her room. "Nobody better come in here. Now scat!"

He was staring up at her from the floor. Tsubaki kneeled down next to him, "I thought about you every day. I was sure you wanted to stop dating the barbarian woman. Are you sure you want to be with me?"

"Yes! I wasn't sure you would be happy with a weakling like me."

"You're not weak. It took a lot of guts to come here. But I like that you're kind and sweet. Didn't we talk about this before?" Tsubaki smiled at him. She'd forgive him for this. He was too thoughtful sometimes but she admired that.

"Tsubaki…I love you, you know that right?"

She hummed in response, too focused on his lips. She pulled his head up and towards her. The kiss was all the sweeter since it had been so long. The pair were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't notice the screen door slide open.

Yumichika's head appeared alongside a good amount of the men from the hall. He cooed at them for being so sweet. Tsubaki's head snapped around to start yelling at the louts for spying on them.

After that night, Tsubaki and Hanataro's relationship gained the approval of, or at least was tolerated by, the Eleventh.