Note: My first (and possibly last, depending on my inspiration and your response) Bleach fanfic. There are probably plenty of mistakes, especially in terminology (hell, I watch the anime with captions, which helps about as much as it hurts), but I'm still learning, so bear with me.
WARNING: There is character death... although since over half the cast of Bleach is technically dead already, why am I bothering to warn you?
Short Summary: Ichigo doesn't mean strawberry. It means Accidental Giant-Slayer. And unfortunately for him, Yachiru's Indian name is Vengeful Pixie Who Slays Accidental Giant-Slayers.
Longer Summary: Ichigo is happy being the 3rd Seat of the 11th Division. At least, until he accidentally kills Captain Zaraki in a spar and is forced to become captain himself. Meanwhile, Yachiru has undergone a frightening transformation, and it may no longer be a matter of calming her down, but putting her down for good. Can Ichigo find it in his heart to kill the one person he can't possibly perform his new duties without?
Ichigo and the Beanstalk
A Bleach Fanfic by
Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)
Chapter 1: The Boy Who Cried Kido
There once was a boy, but his name wasn't Jack. It was Kurosaki Ichigo.
Nor were Ichigo and his mother poor. In fact, Ichigo's mother was dead, and on that point he would've envied Jack, for being poor was a small price to pay for being with a beloved mother in Ichigo's mind, but that is not important.
What is important was that Ichigo, like Jack, was on a mission when he came upon a giant. And like Jack, Ichigo's goal directly conflicted with the giant's for a time, and so they clashed. But where Jack just barely escaped with his life and a rather splendid goose, Ichigo just barely escaped with his life and a lesson he, at the time, simply refused to learn: don't fuck around with Zaraki Kenpachi.
But Ichigo, like Jack, had a bit of a thick head, and like the particular giant he met, actually enjoyed (or at least excelled at participating in) an extraordinary amount of violence in his life. So once Ichigo was done with his mission, he made the mistake of visiting Zaraki, feeling both obligated (the man had helped out some friends of his) and eager (he knew that Zaraki would want a rematch or two... thousand) to do so.
After they'd thoroughly thrashed each other again, and were bleeding all over the place, Zaraki (technically it was Yachiru, but Zaraki hadn't said a word against it, which was just as good... although maybe he had been busy choking on his own blood at the time) had invited him in for lemonade. And somewhere between the violence, and the lemonade, and more violence, and the trying-out of cool hairstyles, and even more violence (followed by even more lemonade), Ichigo kind of forgot to leave.
And that was how Kurosaki Ichigo, Substitute Shinigami, accidentally became 3rd Seat of the Gotei 13's 11th Division.
Unlike most of the new recruits of the 11th Division, who usually had to forcefully make a place for themselves, Ichigo's role was pretty well-defined from the moment Yachiru introduced him as "Ken-chan's favorite playmate, Ichi-kun." From that point on, people had literally fallen all over themselves to do things for him, or more often, to stay out of his way. They would whisper that he was THAT Kurosaki Ichigo, the one who had defeated not one but three of the best fighters to ever pass through the 11th Division... and lived to tell about it. Consequently, for the first week everyone assumed he was a murderous butcher, and practically squealed like frightened young girls if he so much as turned around too fast or arched an eyebrow.
Yachiru had completely ruined THAT image by forcing him to sit for an interview for the Shinigami Women's Association. Ichigo was still amazed, not that most of the female shinigami were fond of the dark and broody type (which he supposedly was), but that so many MALES apparently read the monthly newsletters. The day after the interview went public, people stopped being afraid of him... but they didn't stop respecting him, so that worked out fine.
Ichigo had never wanted special treatment, though. He remembered how miserable Rukia had sounded on the few occasions when she talked about her early days in the 13th Division. So he had been determined that he would earn any fame that came his way.
Things didn't QUITE work out that way.
Already, he'd been known as a complete hard-ass with Zaraki's battle power and short fuse to match, with perhaps the only difference being that he was often seen in the company of not just Yachiru, but Rukia and several other women. This was not quite by choice: NOBODY could avoid Yachiru for very long except Byakuya (and he wasn't giving out any hints as to how he managed it), and from the start Ichigo had thought of Rukia as a rather oddly-shaped boy that bunked in his closet (he'd made the mistake of saying so aloud only once, and still had a scar in the vicinity of his left nipple to prove it), so she didn't count in his mind.
The other girls he had no explanation for; they just seemed to gravitate to him. Matsumoto Rangiku was a flirt plain and simple, so nothing odd there. Rukia was the only one who ever used his given name; nearly everyone else had picked up on Yachiru's preferred "Ichi-kun," although Captain Unohana insisted on calling him "Kurosaki-kun" as if she were his teacher (which she practically was, as he ended up seeing her no less than five times a month as a result of "friendly spars"). Hinamori Momo reminded him a great deal of his sister Yuzu, so he didn't mind her so much, except when she burst into tears with no warning. He'd had no choice with Ise Nanao, as she was teaching him kido, reluctantly on both their parts. The younger, female Kurotsuchi he could never figure out, so he'd fallen into an odd habit of giving her all of the candy in his pockets whenever they saw each other (when a seated officer won a spar, Yachiru filled their pockets with candy overnight). Nemu probably didn't even eat candy, but she never refused it (or he never gave her a chance to) before he ran off, either.
Whatever the women wanted from him, apparently they were getting it, because they all kept coming back. Ichigo could hardly go one day without encountering three or four of them, no matter how much he sometimes tried to avoid them. This became increasingly difficult whenever Yachiru felt like "letting" him handle some of her duties, which usually meant he had to go to meetings in her place. The silly part was that no one ever asked where she'd gone, since they only needed to look in the general direction of Zaraki's shoulder.
Before long, Ichigo had become an unofficial acting lieutenant, and some people even started calling him that to his face, though he always insisted that he was just filling in while Yachiru was "otherwise occupied."
There was no danger of him replacing Yachiru: Zaraki wouldn't hear of it, and Ichigo didn't want it. Everyone assumed he was stronger than Yachiru, and right or wrong, Ichigo was content where he was. He much preferred only doing some of Yachiru's duties from time to time, and still having the freedom to be one the guys. True, he didn't get drunk nearly enough, and he didn't go out looking for fights (he never had to, since nearly every shinigami he'd ever defeated seemed to be in the mood for rematches at any given moment), but he was well-liked among the 11th Division all the same... which was to say he fought often and hard, and they liked that about him.
Ichigo woke up in his quarters one morning with a feeling that it would be a bad day. But never one to give up immediately, he ignored that and went through his morning routine: an hour of meditation with Zangetsu, followed by a quick shower, and then breakfast in the mess hall.
That was where things began to go wrong, as Ichigo happened to walk in just as Yachiru was finishing her sugar topped with a little oatmeal. It was a well-known fact that Yachiru consumed enough sugar at meals to power three sweatshops, and anyone with some sense constantly offered her sour food and plenty of water in hopes of counteracting the sugar overload, not that it ever seemed to work.
"Morning, Ichi-kun!" she sang, waving her spoon at him.
"Morning, Yachiru," he grunted, wondering if it would be completely undignified to run from a pink-haired girl nearly half his size.
"How much do you love me?" Yachiru demanded playfully.
"Not nearly enough for whatever you want me to do," Ichigo immediately replied.
She pouted cutely. "Aw, don't say that! You don't even know what it is yet!"
"It's work, because if it were fun, you'd be doing it yourself," he grumbled, sitting down across the table from her. "So what is it this time?"
She perked up, pleased that he hadn't tried to run off on her... yet. "There's a meeting this morning, and I was hoping you'd go in my place..."
He groaned. "You should really make an appearance yourself every now and then. They could get the wrong idea or something."
"Well, I wouuuuuld," Yachiru replied, stretching out the word cutely, "only Ran-chan asked me to skip the meeting so she could spend some time with you."
Ichigo scowled. He liked Matsumoto, really, but before he'd met her, he never thought he'd get... well... TIRED of breasts. But she was nearly all breasts, all the time. It had gone from distracting to annoying, and he could only put up with her in small doses now. She was like an anti-Orihime, except nearly twice as top-heavy, twice as intelligent, and twice as intent on following him everywhere. If he tried to count the number of times she'd "accidentally" brushed against him on one hand... he probably couldn't, because his hand would most likely be IN her cleavage at the time; it was that bad. It might be different if he knew for sure that she was interested in him, but she had admitted that she liked to tease him and enjoyed seeing him blush. He had no idea how poor Hitsugaya managed to put up with her all of the time, although that went a long way in explaining why he tended to be so short with people.
"So you're going, right?" Yachiru asked, leaning forward and widening her eyes adorably.
He glared at her, but grudgingly held out his hand for her lieutenant's armband.
Yachiru squealed happily as she dropped it into his hand, then launched herself across the table to latch onto his neck and plant a loud, sugary kiss on his chin. "Thank you, Ichi-kun!"
Anyone else might have resented having to brace Yachiru's full body weight with their neck, but Ichigo was unfortunately getting used to it. Thankfully, he knew exactly how to get her off of him: he simply had to kiss her back (though if Zaraki saw him kiss Yachiru anywhere but on her forehead, there would be hell to pay), which was quickly and easily accomplished.
It hadn't escaped his notice that she didn't kiss anyone else, not even Zaraki, but Ichigo tried not to think about that too much. Despite how well he had gotten to know her, Yachiru still managed to surprise him every now and then. Usually they were pleasant surprises, or at least the type he could deal with so long as he exercised a certain amount of patience, and sometimes (like the time she had taken pictures of him in the bathhouse and published them in that damn calendar) she just seemed to want to annoy him needlessly.
"Just make sure you tell the big guy I'll be in the mood to fight when I get back," Ichigo said as Yachiru released him. He was pretty sure that would be the case, since sitting through a meeting always left him feeling antsy.
"Give Ran-chan a hug for me!" Yachiru shouted after him as he stomped his way out.
Ichigo tried not to grind his teeth as he walked briskly towards his destination, muttering unflattering things about Yachiru the whole time. He generally did his best to think of her as a third little sister, and to that end, even let her give him regular haircuts since Yuzu wasn't around to do it. Yachiru was surprisingly good at it, so long as he kept any sort of dye out of her hands. Anyway, it was either her or Yumichika, and Ichigo would rather shave his head than give Yumichika an excuse to touch him.
Along the way, he happened to spot the 8th Division lieutenant walking a couple a feet ahead of him, and knew at once that he was early, since she was never late for anything. Probably he'd saved some time in his hurry to get away from Yachiru was all.
Ichigo was still considering whether he wanted to go to the trouble of speaking to Ise when she spoke first, not even bothering to turn around as she did so. "Kurosaki," she said coolly.
"Nanao," he answered, sounding just as frosty.
She frowned, but did not comment on his casual use of her given name. He had been doing it for months, after all, and contrary to her nature, she'd actually gotten tired of correcting him. "Will you be joining us this morning? I take it your lieutenant is indisposed yet again?"
Ichigo scowled at her, less because she was annoying him, and more because she was right and he couldn't really argue with her. "She made other plans, I guess."
Nanao sniffed, as if she smelled something that offended her. "I would think that being lieutenant of the combat division would demand that she be very much involved, and yet you continue to grace us with your delightful presence. People will start to talk, you know."
"So? My lieutenant's a flake, and your captain's a drunken bum. What's your point?"
If Ichigo hadn't been ready for it, Nanao could have given him a serious wound with the dagger that was suddenly in her hand. "Take that back!" she demanded.
He held up his hands in apparent surrender. "Hey, I just said he was a drunken bum, Nanao. I never said he wasn't a cool drunken bum." Which he was. Especially when he and Matsumoto tried to get Hitsugaya drunk.
She glared at him, but eventually put the dagger away, deciding that Ichigo was attempting to pay her captain a compliment, in his own way. And she could personally appreciate how difficult that was at times.
"Speaking of flakes," Nanao continued, adjusting her glasses in a way that reminded him of one of the older teachers back at his high school, "you haven't reported to me for your weekly kido training yet, Kurosaki."
Ichigo winced and kept quiet. How could he possibly make these people understand that not knowing any kido was less likely to get him killed than standing still and reciting a five-minute long spell in the middle of a fight? EVERY SINGLE TIME he'd seen Rukia do it, she either got attacked before she could finish, or the enemy countered the moment she finished. If she hadn't been in real danger those times, it would've been funny. Actually, it was extremely funny, but he'd learned to keep his laughter to himself, mostly.
But old man Yamamoto had insisted that since Ichigo had not received an official Shinigami Academy education, he had to catch up on everything that he'd missed. Never mind that the life-and-death crash courses that Rukia, Urahara, and Yoruichi had put him through more than made up for the six years of education he'd missed; in Soul Society they were big on tradition, even though part of why Ichigo had joined the 11th Division was because they were the LEAST traditional.
"I think I'm gonna continue my lessons with someone else, Nanao. No offense, but I'm just not learning at my usual rate."
Nanao seemed more annoyed than offended. "That is because most kido worth knowing are very difficult to learn. You cannot expect to master them in a few days, much less become decent at them so quickly."
Ichigo said nothing, but already he was thinking of tracking Yoruichi down to see if she had any shortcuts (if not, she would almost certainly know someone who did). And there was always Rukia. Although Yamamoto had forbidden him to take lessons from anyone not recognized as a kido master, Ichigo couldn't forget that he'd learned a lot from Rukia in a short amount of time, usually just so she couldn't keep rubbing his face in it when he messed up. It was twisted, but it worked, even if they seemed to be the only two aware of that fact.
"And if you're thinking of asking your friend Kuchiki for help, forget it," Nanao snapped, in that creepy way that suggested she could peer directly into his head. "You should not keep disturbing her. I hear she's being considered for a real promotion, and you can't keep taking up her valuable time."
"Oh yeah? Does that mean Ukitake took a turn for the worst?"
Predictably, Nanao pursed her lips at Ichigo's lack of respect for his superiors, but recognized that if he hadn't changed by now, he never would. "No. Captain Ukitake was quite lively the last I saw him, and Rukia is being considered for his lieutenant."
"Damn. If she makes it, she'll be lording it over me forever," Ichigo grumbled. "Like some other lieutenant that I know," he added pointedly.
She smirked. "You shouldn't talk about Lieutenant Abarai when he isn't here to defend himself."
"Yeah, right. I kicked his butt when I was good and ready, so don't think you can keep getting away with disrespecting me, Nanao."
"You would hit a young woman who was wearing glasses?" she asked in mock disbelief, but the challenge was clear in her tone.
Ichigo glared down at her. "No, but I'd put her over my knee in a heart-"
"Oooh! I hope you mean that, Ichi-kun," said a delighted voice behind him. "Nanao, could I borrow your glasses for a minute?"
Ichigo groaned as Matsumoto strolled over to them, that same flirty smile on her face as always. Honestly, everyone knew she was hot. There was little point in being so shameless about it, in his opinion. "Can't you go one day without hitting on someone?" he asked.
Matsumoto smiled at him. "Well, of course. But why would I?" She stepped closer and entwined her arm with his. "Besides, you're too cute not to tease!"
Ichigo rolled his eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Can't you go mess with your captain instead?"
"Nope. Since he knew I had a meeting today, he kicked me out early so I couldn't miss it. Anyway, messing with him isn't on my To Do list until this afternoon, which means I get to mess with you all morning!"
"How'd I get so lucky?" Ichigo asked dryly.
"You haven't, yet," Matsumoto whispered in his ear.
Nanao cleared her throat loudly. "Since you two seem so close, perhaps I could recommend that she take over your lessons, Kurosaki."
His eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare..."
Matsumoto grinned. "Well, of course I'll be your new teacher, Ichi-kun! Now, the first thing you need to learn is how to properly satisfy a woman, and-"
"KIDO!" Ichigo practically shouted, his face red. "I'm learning KIDO!"
With a sly smile, Matsumoto winked at her fellow lieutenant. "I can teach you that at the same time. Bakudo # 100: Taking the Strawberry's Cherry! Surrender yourself to the beautiful busty temptress, foolish fruit! Lie still, shut your eyes, and experience pleasure beyond your wildest dreams! Become a slave to passion, and you may be allowed to kiss the bountiful melons of glory!"
"Hell, if he's stupid enough to turn that down, sign me up!" a familiar tattooed redhead laughed as he walked up.
"She wasn't talking to you, Renji," Ichigo sneered, feeling more than a little silly. He was supposed to be trying to talk his way out of this, after all.
Ichigo noticed that the redhead's eyes went straight to his armband... the one that Yachiru had decorated with pink hearts and kittens. In her defense, she had offered to make him one covered in tiny strawberries, but Ichigo had decided that the original was bad enough. But it was still pretty humiliating to have Renji snickering in his face all the time. Ichigo was about to retaliate when something caught his attention.
Just in front of the meeting hall, he could see Hinamori talking to someone. And since the someone was about the same size as her, and wearing a captain's white haori, it was easy to tell who that someone was. Hinamori shifted slightly, and Ichigo could see the utter frustration and sadness in Hitsugaya's eyes. Whatever they were talking about, it wasn't going well.
Luckily, Hitsugaya spotted the group approaching while they were still several feet away. He said a few more words to Hinamori, then quickly walked away. Most of the others probably didn't notice, but Ichigo could feel that Matsumoto's grip on his arm tightened slightly, and the smile dropped off of her face for a few seconds.
Hinamori continued to stand there for several seconds, staring into space blankly, as if the conversation had had no impact on her at all.
Ichigo gently pulled his arm away from Matsumoto, who let him go willingly enough, and carefully approached Hinamori, not wanting to startle her. "Hey, Hinamori. You feeling okay?" he asked.
She blinked and slowly turned around. "Oh. Hi, Kurosaki-kun. I'm... I'm fine."
Ichigo frowned. "You, um, wanna go for a walk or something? After the meeting, I mean?"
Hinamori stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. "That would... be nice, I think."
"Have you eaten already?"
"Yes, I had a little fruit." She blinked a few times and managed a weak giggle. "It was strawberries, actually..."
The sound almost broke Ichigo's heart. From Hitsugaya's description, Hinamori's laugh had once been something that would make anyone smile. He was sad that he'd missed it, since he didn't think anyone would ever get to hear it again.
It was in that moment that something clicked in Ichigo's mind. He still "needed" to learn kido. Hinamori was a kido master. And plenty of people were worried that she was spending too much time alone. Why not kill two birds with one stone?
Ichigo cleared his throat loudly. "Man, I hope this meeting doesn't last too long. I still gotta find a new kido teacher..."
Hinamori looked up at him curiously. "Aren't your lessons going well?"
"No, actually. I need someone who can really break it down for me." He paused and looked at her. "Hey, I hear you're great with kido. Think you could help me out?"
She seemed startled at the suggestion. "Me? I... I could do that..."
"You'd really be helping me out," Ichigo added. "I'd rather learn from someone who doesn't make me feel like an idiot. And hey, we'd get to spend more time together. Everybody wins! Come on, what do you say?"
"Well, okay," Hinamori agreed hesitantly. "If you really want my help that much, I don't mind teaching you."
Ichigo slipped an arm around her waist and squeezed her gently. "You're a life saver, Hinamori." He wasn't surprised when she stiffened slightly, but he was surprised at how quickly she relaxed.
"I don't mind so much... since it's you, Kurosaki-kun," she said quietly.
Something about the way she said it made Ichigo nervous. There had been plenty of rumors that Hinamori hadn't been quite right since Aizen had betrayed the Soul Society, but Ichigo had mostly assumed that she was only a danger to herself now. If it came down to a fight, he wasn't sure if he could just attack Hinamori like she was any other enemy. It would be like hitting Yuzu, and he couldn't even do that with his hand, much less a sword. On the other hand, if he just let Hinamori beat him, then Zangetsu would kill him in his sleep...
The meetings were largely a waste of time, in Ichigo's view. Perhaps it was because he called the 11th Division home, where things got accomplished largely through intimidation and a general fear of displeasing Zaraki, Yachiru, and Ichigo himself. If he'd wanted to know what was going on in the other Divisions, he had at least one good friend in nearly each one, usually a captain or a lieutenant. News traveled faster when it wasn't an official order, and Ichigo knew enough people that he was always among the first to hear anything big.
But Ichigo went when Yachiru asked him to, less as a favor to her and more to connect with several of his comrades all at once. He would grumble and complain the whole time (especially since Yachiru insisted on him wearing her armband), but it wasn't exactly a difficult task. Ichigo sometimes worried that his constantly standing in for Yachiru would cause him to be seriously considered for her position, or someone else's. In fact, if his first fight with Zaraki had happened in front of enough witnesses, and he hadn't been a ryoka at the time, he'd already have a pretty valid claim on a captain's spot.
On the other hand, nobody in the Gotei 13 was that crazy. At least, he hoped not. Sometimes he worried, when he reminded himself that Renji was a lieutenant, and so was Yachiru, for that matter. But so long as old man Yamamoto was still running things, Ichigo was fairly sure that he'd never get promoted, which suited him just fine. He still felt bad about knocking Ikkaku down to 4th Seat, but his bald friend had assured him there were no feelings: Ichigo had beaten him every time they'd fought, and Ikkaku wouldn't have felt right when he knew there was someone stronger not taking their proper place among the seated officers. Neither one was looking to get promoted for roughly the same reason: they didn't want to take orders from anyone but Zaraki.
But it was easy to see why Yachiru chose to opt out of the meetings: they were boring, and she just couldn't tolerate standing still AND being bored. Ichigo only managed it because he used the time to think about other things. Today, for example, he was thinking about Hitsugaya and Hinamori.
The young, white-haired captain was a little rough around the edges, but he was basically a good guy. Their mutual hatred of Aizen had allowed them to bond quickly, and it was from watching Hitsugaya worry over Hinamori that Ichigo had realized just how similar their situations were. Hinamori had nearly died at Aizen's hands, and Hitsugaya got the same for trying to avenge her.
Ichigo could easily recall the blind fury with which he'd attacked anyone determined to see Rukia executed. To this day, he still hadn't told her so, but he had long considered her his best friend. She had saved his life, his family, and his friends, so if Rukia ever needed something of him, Ichigo would do it at once (with a little complaining thrown in; it was just expected between them). So far, she'd asked for so little in return, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Ichigo liked to repay his debts promptly, and even though he'd gladly pay Rukia back for the rest of his life, he felt like she wasn't taking advantage of his offer. He made a mental note to go and bug her about that later. If nothing else, he could also drop in on Ukitake and make sure he hadn't heard any rumors about Yachiru being replaced.
At any rate, Ichigo was rather proud of himself for staying awake for the entire meeting (even though his thoughts had been on anything but the topics of discussion). He could appreciate that since the betrayal, meetings occurred more frequently on all levels, in the hopes of catching seeds of dissent before they could bear fruit. Still, Ichigo didn't see why it should apply to him, since he wasn't going to betray anyone.
Predictably, Ichigo only got one foot outside the meeting hall when Matsumoto latched onto him again, asking where he was headed next.
Only one excuse that might keep her from tagging along after him popped into Ichigo's head: work.
"I'm going to start kido training with Hinamori."
In truth, Ichigo didn't want to find out what might happen if Matsumoto managed to get him alone for an extended amount of time. Actually, he was pretty sure what WOULD happen, and that was why he wanted to avoid it. Already he could picture how the whole of Soul Society would turn on him for just one pleasurable but ill-advised night with the lieutenant of the 10th Division. Hitsugaya would hunt him down and give him frostbite so severe that his limbs fell off, half the girls would never speak to him again, every red-blooded male would stab him out of jealousy (except Yumichika, though he'd probably stab Matsumoto...), and in the end, his most important limb would probably just rot off from whatever Captain Kurotsuchi did to it while supposedly searching for STDs.
In short, it was a good thing that Hinamori was free that morning, and if Ichigo had a little more bounce in his step as he followed her to the 5th Division, it was because he'd narrowly avoided certain disaster (he was also very attached to Lil' Ichi).
But as it turned out, Hinamori's method of teaching was completely different from Nanao's. Where Nanao would first explain the principle behind each spell (at great length), then demonstrate it, and expect Ichigo to perform it on his own, Hinamori insisted the first day of instruction be nothing but demonstration on her part. She wanted Ichigo to actually see how useful it was not only to know certain spells, but to be able to use them in (relatively) quick succession.
Amazingly enough, Ichigo felt like it was working. True, he didn't really know how to perform any of the spells himself yet, but he also wasn't bored out of his mind, either. He watched eagerly, being sure to make a note of the spells that he found particularly interesting. He also gained a new respect for Hinamori's abilities, because as impressive as she was now, he knew she had once been even better... before Aizen had turned.
Unfortunately, Hinamori wasn't quite as over his betrayal as Ichigo had hoped, because once the lesson ended, she asked the one question that Ichigo had prayed she never would.
"Do you think I'm a fool? For hoping that Captain Aizen will come back to us one day?"
Ichigo hesitated for a long moment. While he hadn't seen Aizen attack Hitsugaya and Hinamori, the former captain had gone through a great deal of trouble to kill Rukia, and in Ichigo's mind that was completely unforgivable. Even after all he'd learned about Renji's past, Ichigo still held a small grudge against him for using excessive force to bring Rukia back to the Soul Society.
But he couldn't just come right out and say that he hated Aizen's guts. Not with the pleading expression in Hinamori's eyes. He couldn't crush her like that (ironically, because her body and mind would never fully recover from Aizen stabbing her).
"Hinamori," Ichigo said at last, "Aizen was one of the most powerful captains here, as well as one of the smartest. Can you honestly tell me that if he wanted to come back here and clear his name, that anyone would be able to stand in his way for very long?"
She didn't say anything, but the way her eyes dimmed told Ichigo all he needed to know.
"But you're not a fool. You really think I would take lessons from one of those?"
Hinamori smiled, but it was strained at best.
Ichigo shook his head. "Look, I'm the wrong person to ask. Somebody tried to kill Rukia, and all the evidence points to it being Aizen. I know you still have feelings for him, but I'd just rather not talk about him at all, because I don't know if I could stay open-minded about it. I like YOU, so we can talk about anything else."
He was hoping for another shaky smile, but instead, Hinamori's face turned bright red. She didn't look angry, though, but it seemed like an improvement... sort of. Ichigo's experience with girls was sadly limited: Yuzu was nice, Karin was stubborn. They were the only two he felt like he even close to perfectly understood, and that was only because they technically weren't allowed to stay mad at each other. Part of his brain hesitated to put female shinigami in the same class as "normal girls," for the simple reason that he had lived with Rukia, and she had been anything but normal. Beyond that, nearly every female in Soul Society had some kind of extreme quirk that would've gotten a "normal girl" locked up and put away somewhere. Hinamori was probably the most normal one, so of course she had to be the one to suffer through a life-altering injury. Maybe she was just really unlucky, or maybe she was too much like Yuzu, but Ichigo had this strange urge to look after her, if not for Hitsugaya, then just because she was a nice girl.
"Hey, I'm supposed to fight my captain after this. You want to come watch?" he offered.
Hinamori's eyes widened. "Why would you want to do that?"
Ichigo grinned. "Well, I'd never get any stronger if I didn't get into tough fights. Plus if I don't, he'd just come looking for me, and then he'd be twice as hard to beat because I made him chase me down and pissed him off. So, you interested? I could use a cute cheerleader."
"Um, okay," Hinamori agreed, turning red again. "But shouldn't we stop by the 4th Division first? You might want to reserve two beds..."
"Oh, they've got beds with our names on them now," Ichigo commented absently. "Captain Unohana says we'll get our own wing if we keep it up."
Hinamori opened her mouth, possibly to suggest that maybe this was a sign that he should stop fighting so much, or at least with Zaraki. But Ichigo grabbed her hand and dragged her off, eager to get to his fight. Hinamori had actually given him some ideas with her demonstrations, and although Ichigo knew it was a bad idea to try a spell for the first time in a fight with Zaraki, he had faith in Hinamori's teaching ability.
"ICHIGO'S GONNA FIGHT CAPTAIN ZARAKI!"
As often as this cry went up in the 11th Division, one might think that it got less important over time. But this could not be further from the truth. When two of best (or the two best, if one were brave enough, and Yachiru was not in earshot) fighters in the 11th Division decided to go at it, it was treated as a monumental event. All other activities, planned or otherwise, came to a screeching halt, and there was a general stampede to get good seats before they were all taken.
Yachiru was one of the few who didn't have to worry about good seating. As a lieutenant, she was either offered the best seats, or she could order someone to give theirs up (though it had never come to that). She was still of the opinion that the REAL best seat was on her captain's shoulder, but Ichigo always complained that he couldn't fight at his best if there was a risk of hitting her, which was both endearing and stupid. And being the big, protective softie that he was, her beloved Ken-chan always agreed with Ichigo.
Really, she was almost insulted! After all, she WAS a lieutenant. It wasn't as if she would just sit there and LET Ichi-kun hit her. She could duck and jump with the best of them! After all, she had seen what happened to the people who didn't get out of Zangetsu's way.
Today, though, Yachiru was in a hurry. Her concern wasn't the best seat, it was the nearest available seat. And although that particular seat was currently occupied, that had never stopped her before.
"Hey, you!" the pink-haired girl shouted, pointing her finger at the offending occupant. "You're in my seat... um... whatever your name is!"
The man's face drooped and was soon absolutely covered in sweatdrops. "It's... Maki-Maki, Lieutenant Kusajishi... remember?"
"Hmm... nope," Yachiru replied at once. "But you're still in my seat, so hold still!" With that, she turned around and hopped into his lap. "Now be a good chair and I might forgive you later!"
"Uh... yes, ma'am," Aramaki replied weakly.
"Shh! Good chairs can't talk!" Yachiru snapped.
Hinamori was feeling strangely important today. Pretty much anyone that had bothered to look would've seen Ichigo holding her hand as they walked into the crowded courtyard where the fight was to take place, and that was all it took to start people talking. But Ichigo either hadn't noticed, or (she hoped) hadn't cared. He had simply found her a good seat, glared at the person in it, and consequently cleared out not only that seat, but the surrounding seats, as everyone nearby had thought he was looking at them.
It was quite inspiring, the way Ichigo made her feel. When she was with him, it was as if no other people existed at all. He seemed to be especially interested in her well-being, even though he had no real reason to be. At the same time, he wasn't pushy and controlling like everyone else who'd tried to help her, or at least she didn't feel pressured when he pushed. He was a welcome change from Hitsugaya, who while he meant well, quickly lost any patience he had whenever he could tell she was thinking about Aizen. Admittedly, she did that a lot, so maybe he had a valid excuse...
"Hinamori!" called a familiar voice, breaking into her thoughts. "You saved some seats for us? Great! Captain, over here!"
She looked up to see Matsumoto hurrying over to her... and just behind her, approaching at a much slower pace, Hitsugaya, with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Oh... I don't know if-"
"Wow, these seats are great!" Matsumoto interrupted, plopping down right next to her. "I bet Ichi-kun will be able to hear us perfectly when we cheer for him!"
"Ah... yes, probably," Hinamori answered, eyeing Hitsugaya nervously as he slowly sat down on the other side of her. "A-Are you going to cheer, too, Hitsugaya-kun?"
"Well, he won't say anything, but we all know he's rooting for Ichi-kun on the inside," Matsumoto assured her.
Hitsugaya glared at his lieutenant. "I am here merely to observe and analyze their respective abilities for future reference. The outcome doesn't matter, since they'll just fight again next month."
Matsumoto just shook her head sadly. "No offense, Captain, but you suck as a cheerleader."
"I am NOT a cheerleader, Matsumoto!"
"So I hear you're looking to get cut up again," Zaraki chuckled, a maniacal grin stretching across his face.
Ichigo smirked confidently. "Yeah, but I just hate to get cut up alone, so don't mind me if I have Zangetsu poke you a few times, Captain."
"You're assuming you even can. The way I remember it, you couldn't even touch me with your blade when we first met. Maybe you've gotten weaker since our last fight."
"Now, if I'd really gotten weaker, you think I'd be crazy enough to call you out like this?"
"No, but I never thought you were crazy. I thought you were stupid."
"So why don't we make this interesting?" Ichigo suggested. "Loser has to spend all of tomorrow with Yachiru... after she's eaten all the candy that goes to the winner."
Zaraki actually flinched. "I take it back. You're crazy, stupid, and a glutton for cruel and unusual punishment. But you've got yourself a bet. I'll even do you a favor and aim away from your shoulders. You're going to need them strong when she latches onto them for a whole day."
And with that, the battle began.
It was like being in the midst of the ultimate storm. Lightning danced between the blades each time the swords of Zaraki and Ichigo were jerked apart, and thunder rumbled each time they were slammed together again. The ground cracked and split around their feet, large chunks ripped up and tossed about by the powerful winds born from the constant, overwhelming spiritual pressure being unleashed.
Only the especially observant shinigami would've noticed, however, that even as the two powers clashed, their respective spiritual pressures did not battle each other, so much as they blended, creating a force so tremendous that only the captains present (and one pink-haired, pint-sized lieutenant) could manage to stay upright.
Despite the obvious danger, however, it simply did not register in the expressions of the combatants. The ever-present scowl was missing from Ichigo's face, replaced by a smug, but thoroughly pleased grin. Zaraki's face was frozen in a frightening mix of a grimace and a smile, but anyone that had served under him could tell he was having the time of his life, too.
And then, with a final exchange of sword thrusts, it was over.
Strangely enough, it was very similar to their first fight.
Ichigo's face drained of color, and then he became a morbid fountain of blood, his clothing soaked through with crimson even before he collapsed, a large pool rapidly spreading beneath him as he lay facedown on the ground. Zangetsu gleamed at his side in a way that seemed a bit too triumphant, given the circumstances.
Zaraki remained on his feet, staring down at his 3rd Seated officer with an amused but impressed grin, his battle-scarred sword still gripped tightly in his large right hand. He was panting, and cut up all over, but otherwise barely even appeared to be winded.
There was complete silence for nearly a whole minute. Many people were staring at Ichigo's fallen form expectantly, as if they were waiting for him to pop up and continue the battle. He'd certainly done it before, after all.
But Ichigo did not move, and finally the cheers started, blanketing the ravaged courtyard in noise.
Zaraki did not react. He simply kept staring down at Ichigo, even when he finally caught his breath.
Captain Unohana emerged from the crowd, followed by several members of the 4th Division, two of whom had a stretcher ready. She began to kneel beside Ichigo, but suddenly froze, whipping around to stare at Zaraki in disbelief.
That was when Yachiru tore herself from Aramaki's lap, because she had sensed it, too. "KEN-CHAN!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran to him.
And Zaraki continued to stare down at Ichigo with that same smile on his face, even after his life had faded away.
End of Chapter 1.
Next Chapter: The Princess and the Strawberry
In which Ichigo tries to hide under Rukia's new desk, Yachiru is a BIT angry, and Hitsugaya gleefully boots Matsumoto into being the temporary overseer of the 11th Division while its leaders are indisposed, hiding, and/or dead.
Endnotes:
I know, I know, you hate me now. But there is a point to this, I don't kill off my favorite characters without an excellent reason.
The NAMES, Grrr. I can understand that from a military standpoint, referring to people by their family names is common practice. But on the other hand, it seems like people who are close should be using given names to indicate the depth of their connection. This is tricky for Ichigo (fairly informal most of the time, even with people he knows well, and doesn't acknowledge the pecking order).
With captains, I generally have Ichigo drop the title entirely, unless it's someone he might have great respect for: Zaraki, who he calls "Captain" almost exclusively, and Unohana, who's too much of a mother/teacher figure for him to address any other way. This isn't to suggest he doesn't respect the other captains, just that he's less formal with them.
This chapter title inspired by "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," which is a story about a boy who lies so much that no one believes him when real trouble comes along. Not that Ichigo isn't trustworthy, but maybe people shouldn't be in such a hurry to fight the guy...
Oh, and don't expect regular updates, since this is taking MUCH longer than I thought it would, between all the researching and the other stories I'm working on. I'd be lucky to get past two chapters at this point. If you're disappointed by that idea, please let me know, since I need all the encouragement I can get.