Chapter one: Dreams

Zaraki Kenpachi wandered the abyssal darkness he found himself in. He knew that he'd been there before, but it seemed new every time. Suddenly a tiny cry reached his ears and he started seeking out the source of the sound. If it hadn't sounded like the owner of said cry was so pitiful, his normal sadistic smile would have crept across his features. "Caring for Yachiru all these years has made me soft." Kenpachi mused to himself with a scoff.

That's when he saw it. The owner of the cry, sitting with their knees pulled against their chest and crying into their folded arms. They were sitting in the only visible light in the god-forsaken, seemingly-never-ending abyss. And it was a child. What appeared to be a young girl not much older than Yachiru had been when she'd become his Lieutenant.

"Oi! What's wrong, kid?" The gruff Captain called out. "Where are we?"

As if being startled, the young girl hiccupped as her soft sobbing stopped despite the tears that were still flowing freely down her face. She turned to gaze at him with a disquieting look. Her eyes were a shocking lime green that seemed to pierce the very soul of the mighty Zaraki Kenpachi. Her hair was a darker shade of green, bordering on black. But two things drew Kenpachi's attention the most; the look in her eyes that was almost like a mix of pleading, fear, anger, and anticipation to see what he would do next, and the crimson blood on her face, arms, and legs that was such a stark contrast to her brightly colored eyes. He could tell that the blood was hers from the multiple cuts and nicks that marred her young body.

"We're in all that's left…and it hurts." The girl spoke in an eerily calm, flat tone.

The cryptic answers only left Kenpachi with more questions. "Left of what? What hurts? What happened to you kid?" Despite his rough and battle hardened exterior, Kenpachi didn't like it when children were beaten up on. Adults could defend themselves; most children (especially girls) couldn't fight back.

"IT hurts. You have to leave this place now. Maybe you could come back. I don't like being alone." The blood stained girl said as she stood on her feet and made her way from her haven in the light over through the darkness to stand in front of Kenpachi. Upon her standing, Kenpachi could see that her clothes as well as her skin had cuts and were tattered with red stains. "Goodbye, Zaraki-sama." The girl said as she pressed her small hand to his abdomen and gave a slight push that sent Kenpachi zooming out of the darkness and sitting up in his bed panting in a cold sweat.

"What…the…hell?" Captain Zaraki questioned between breaths. 'It was a dream.' He thought as he drew his knees up and propped his forehead in his palm and his elbow on a knee. 'That same damn dream.' Then Kenpachi started lightly hitting his forehead with the heel of his palm as he said, "Get out of there, dammit."

He'd been having the same or a similar dream for about a couple of weeks now. Albeit, that 

was the farthest it had ever gotten. It usually just ended as he was wandering around in the infinite darkness searching for the source of the crying…and each night he awoke exhausted, as though he hadn't slept at all but just gone somewhere else. Feeling completely drained of all his energy he flopped back on his bed until he heard a knocking at his door and the cheerful call of his alarm clock aka Kusajishi Yachiru.

"Keeeenn-chaaaaaann!! Are you up yet?! It's time to go to work!" Yachiru called to her surrogate father through the thin sliding paper door.

Looking over to the door, Kenpachi could see the bouncing silhouette of the girl he'd come to name, raise, and see as the closest thing to a family he'd ever had. Despite being how tired he was and fighting the urge to tell her to go away and let him sleep, 'Ken-chan' sat back up at the edge of his bed and called "I'll be right there," as he stood and began to dress. He didn't have the energy to form his hair into the normal jingly spikes so he merely grabbed a white ribbon Yachiru had brought him one day and pulled it into a low ponytail then grabbed his sword from beside his bed and opened the door. Yachiru stood on the other side beaming up at him in all her pinkness.

She had grown over the years into a young woman that was starting to get lots of attention from the newer male shinigami recruits. 'I'll smash their damn heads in if I find any of them talking to her…' he thought in a very fatherly way. He knew that all the attention of the young men was being wasted though. She'd never expressed any interest in the opposite sex…with the exception of one. Though she'd never admit it out loud, he had noticed that she'd grown very fond of the ryoka-turned-shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo. Kenpachi had grown to have a general swordsman respect for the young man, and knew that if Ichigo wasn't already taken by the Orihime girl, he'd be the only one Kenpachi could ever approve of for Yachiru. "Gods I feel old…" he muttered to himself.

Feeling a light tug on his sleeve, Kenpachi looked down to see Yachiru's concerned eyes gazing up at him. "Are you alright, Ken-chan? You have dark circles under your eyes and you're talking to yourself and you didn't fix your hair and—"

"I'm fine, brat." Kenpachi cut off with one of his odd endearments for her. "Let's go. Are Ikkaku and Yumichika already at the training fields with the men?"

"Hai, Ken-chan!" Yachiru chirped as she jumped on his back once he started walking down the hallway. 'I'm still worried that something's wrong with Ken-chan, but if he says he's okay, he must be okay……unless…he doesn't want me to worry about him?' Yachiru continued to think until said thoughts were interrupted by her Captain and father-figure.

"Oi, Yachiru, how long are you gonna keep riding on my back? You're not exactly as small as you used to be, ya know." He said in a raspy, tired voice that still managed to hold a joking tone when speaking with her.

Giggling, Yachiru responded, "You're silly, Ken-chan! Until I find someone else that'll carry me like this, of course!" But inside Yachiru was starting to really worry about the one person 

that made up her entire world. 'I'll go talk to someone in fourth squad later today…'

"So I should probably invest in a back brace then, huh? Cause, girlie, good luck finding someone that let's you get away with as much as I do." Kenpachi said with a small, dry chuckle.

"I just have to find someone who loves me as much as you do!" Yachiru said with a big grin as they reached the training grounds.

As soon as he stepped into his squads training grounds and everyone felt his spirit pressure they dropped what they'd been doing and saluted their Captain and Lieutenant with the same thought, 'Why is his spirit pressure so soft?'

Ikkaku and Yumichika were front and center within a matter of seconds to receive the orders for the day and the drill instructions. "The usual, guys. I'm going to sit over here for a while and watch to see where everyone is in their training." Captain Zaraki ordered in his deep, raspy voice that didn't seem to have the same bite to it that it usually had.

As their Captain went to sit down, the third and fifth seats of the eleventh division exchanged questioning looks, but turned to instruct the other men of the squad on the day's agenda and drill routines.

Once Kenpachi was seated in the grass and leaning against a large stone he noticed that Yachiru had disappeared somewhere…again. Sighing, Kenpachi fleetingly thought, 'Damn kid's never gonna settle down and sit still.' He would have closed his eyes and tried to get a quick nap, but he knew what was awaiting him in his dreams: darkness, crying, and possibly a tattered and blood stained little girl that reminded him a little too much of a young Yachiru.

Kusajishi Yachiru was a familiar face in the fourth division building. She'd spent many days there in the past with her Captain as he would heal from various wounds from various fights. They had actually asked her to come sit with him many times due to the fact that if he was left alone he would try to escape.

The first person Yachiru encountered was the bashful Isane. "'Sane-chan! Hey! 'Sane-chan!" Yachiru called running after the short-haired Lieutenant.

Hearing her nickname, Isane turned around to see the bubbly, pink-haired Lieutenant of the eleventh division waving as she ran toward her. To be completely honest, Isane had been scared of the much younger girl years ago because…well…she was just a really intimidating person in a really small package. But through the years they had become friends and Isane greeted Yachiru with her own smile, small wave, and "Ya-chan, what brings you out here?"

"I don't think Ken-chan is feeling well, but he won't say anything because he's stubborn." 

Yachiru answered with a pout as she approached Isane.

The fourth squad Lieutenant knew how deeply her friend cared for the scary Captain and gave a look of sympathy as she asked, "Well what seems to be wrong with him? Maybe I could help."

"Well, he's seemed really tired here lately and I haven't seen him actually eat anything in I don't know how long and everyone in the division can tell that his spirit pressure has started getting weaker lately." Yachiru explained, whispering the last part. "All the men have started talking about it and I'm worried what might happen if Ken-chan hears any of it."

"Hmmm…I'm not sure what to say about all of that. Let's go talk to Captain Unohana." Isane suggested as she and Yachiru started walking down the hallway to the Captain of the fourth division's office.

Once they reached the door, Isane gently knocked on the door and waited for a sign that it was okay to enter before sliding the door open and bowing to her Captain who was sitting at a desk filling out paper work.

With the same motherly smile she always wore, Unohana Retsu greeted her Lieutenant and Lieutenant Kusajishi. "Good afternoon, Ladies. What can I do for you? Would you like some tea?" Unohana offered as she set down her writing brush and stood to get her kettle.

"No thank you, Captain. Lieutenant Kusajishi came by with some concerns about her Captain and we were wondering if you could help her."

Setting her kettle down so the water would boil, Captain Unohana turned to the pink-clad young woman and said, "Well dear, do tell me what seems to be the trouble with him this time. I must ask first though if he's bleeding and in need of some sort of immediate medical attention."

"No, ma'am." Yachiru answered politely. After spending much time with the elder woman, Yachiru had come to see her almost as the mother-figure that had been so absent through most of her life. "Ken-chan has been acting funny lately. He always seems very tired, hardly eats, and his spirit pressure is dropping. He won't say anything about it and says he's fine, but everyone in the division can tell that something is wrong." Yachiru explained a second time with worry in her voice.

"Well, dear," Unohana answered as she turned to her whistling tea kettle, "it sounds to me like he's probably not sleeping well due to some kind of stress and probably isn't eating for the same reasons. Without proper rest and nutrition it's not uncommon for one's spirit pressure to drop. Because I feel that he's closer with you than most others, I want you to try to get him to get some bed rest and make him eat something every day. Start with small easy meals and foods at first, because if he hasn't eaten for a while it might be too much for his stomach to handle. Following those directions, I'd say he'd be back to his normal self in a week or so." Unohana reassured with a warm smile as she sipped her 

afternoon tea.

Bowing deeply, Yachiru said in a cheery voice, "Thank you, Captain Unohana! I'll be sure to—"

But she was interrupted by Yumichika slamming the office door open with a panicked expression on his face. "Thank the GODS! Captain Unohana! Please come quickly, it's our Captain! He's in the waiting room unconscious!"

After seeing their Captain settle down in the grass and mumble something to himself, Ikkaku turned to Yumichika and said, "Is it just me or is the Captain a little off here lately?"

"No, something is definitely wrong," Yumichika answered. "He looks very ill, not beautiful at all…although that ponytail he's wearing is rather becoming."

"Knock it off, Yumi. He looks like he could be knocked over with a feather." Ikkaku observed as he turned his attention back to the training men.

'What are those idiots chattering about?' Kenpachi wondered as he noticed his two subordinates talking and casting odd looks his way every now and then. 'I'm not a side show attraction, dammit!' Standing up with a little help from his zanpakutou for leverage, Kenpachi started toward the two chatter-boxes. "Oi! What the hell's so important that you two have time to ta—" But Zaraki Kenpachi was stopped as his knees suddenly buckled in mid-step and he fell forward in an unconscious state.

"Captain!!" Ikkaku and Yumichika along with several other squad members yelled as they rushed to his side. "He's still breathing," Ikkaku said. "But what the hell is going on here?! Come on Yumi, we're taking him to the fourth division! Aramaki! Continue working on the drills until we return." And with that the third and fifth seat picked up their leader and ran as fast as their legs could carry them, both wondering the same thing, 'How does Yachiru make this look so easy?!'

Upon arriving in the main hall of the fourth division's building which typically served as a waiting room, Kenpachi was laid on the floor as Yumichika stood and said, "Ikkaku, you stay with the Captain while I go find Captain Unohana."

Yumichika took off down a hallway searching for Captain Unohana's spirit force and found that she was with or near Lieutenant Kusajishi. When he finally found the door that would lead to the people he was desperately searching for, he flung the door open, saw the person that could possibly help his Captain, and yelled "Thank the GODS! Captain Unohana! Please come quickly, it's our Captain! He's in the waiting room unconscious!"

Yachiru gasped and had disappeared before anyone saw her take the first step in her mad dash to get to her 'Ken-chan'. Unohana and Isane were close behind. It wasn't everyday 

that the massive Zaraki Kenpachi was brought in for something that didn't have anything to do with him suffering from excessive blood loss.

By the time they had caught up to Yachiru they found the young girl seated next to her Captain talking to him, more like pleading with him to wake up, as she seemed to be on the verge of tears. Ikkaku was pacing behind her with no idea what he should be doing and almost let out a sigh of relief when he saw the healing Captain hurrying toward them.

As she reached the motionless body of Captain Zaraki, Unohana sat down immediately to check what vitals she could without equipment. "His breathing is far shallower than it should be and his pulse is very soft and rapid. Isane, get a stretcher for him. We need to move him to a room and start him on an IV as soon as possible."

"Hai, Captain Unohana!" Isane saluted as she ran off to do as she was told.

"Unohana-san, what's wrong with Ken-chan? Is he going to be okay??" Yachiru asked in a shaky voice. She was incredibly worried about the 6"7' Captain that lay unconscious in front of her.

"I hope so, Yachiru," Unohana answered with familiarity. "His condition is far worse than I had expected. I'm assuming he's been like this for a few weeks, and if someone his size does not get the food and water needed then dehydration or malnutrition can set in much faster. We're just going to have to start him on an IV drip to put some of the nutrients he needs back in his body, and then pray." Unohana said as she stood when Isane wheeled in a stretcher and they worked on getting the unconscious Captain onto the stretcher and into treatment.

A/N:
:3 well, I think I'm gonna end this chapter there! Might be a little evil, but you'll all be okay : so what's everyone think? This is my first shot at a Bleach fic, so be gentle ; I like the Zaraki/Unohana pairing (probably for the same reason I like Kag/Sess pairing, they're just so darn different!) and that is what this story is going to be! I can honestly say that I haven't chosen ANY other pairings (except for Ichigo/Orihime) so if anyone has any requests I'll be happy to consider them and work them in if I like em!

I know Yachiru seems a little OOC, but I'm chalking that up to her just being older now. She's a little more mature and a little more emotional (as girls tend to get when they get older) I'm putting this in a time period after the whole Aizen thing (I'll explain that later on)

Well, I hope you enjoyed it and have fun with the next chapter which unless I was being super rushed should also be up :

ps—to anyone who has read my other story (Sing For Me) I'll hopefully have it's next chapter up soon as well. I had to take a break because I think the Gods cursed chapter 5 

because every time I get to the same spot I would have to go do something else and in my absence my computer shuts down for an unknown reason and I lose almost all of my work…needless to say I was about to break something. So sorry about that and you'll only have to wait a little longer!

TTFNFWA