AN: So let this be the warning - the flashback scene isn't meant to have ANY, and let me repeat and reiterate - ANY, ANY, ANY sexual context or connotations at all. Yes, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Zaraki are all bathing with Yachiru. Zaraki acts like a father to Yachiru, and if he is playing with her in the bath, it's out of a fatherly love and in no way sexual. He is not a pedophile, he is a man who despite his badass outer shell, has a softness and weak point in the form of a little, pink-haired girl. She is like Rin to Sesshoumaru, proof that he is not a monster. Adding to that, Yumichika and Ikkaku are also there and again, they are not pedophiles. They are like brothers to Yachiru at this point in time, and they have no sexual interest in her WHATSOEVER! If you don't like the idea of them all bathing together, get over and stop reading here. Sadly, if you do that, you're missing out on what I think is a good story. But please, if you do read, leave constructive criticism, and not flames. I love hearing your opinions, good or bad (but not flames). With all that said, enjoy! Please read and review!

Laughter and steam drifted from the open window of the bathhouse, fading away into the night. Most of the 11th Division members had bathed earlier, but the last to bathe were usually the Captain and Lieutenant. It wasn't unusual for others to join them, especially Ikkaku and Yumichika, and tonight was no different. The three men sat on individuals stools, each with a white cloth draped loosely across their laps, save for Kenpachi. They were telling stories of various battles they had fought against Hollows, and their time in Rukongai. Yachiru sat on a smaller stool directly in front of Kenpachi, and was too distracted playing with her toys to care much for what they were saying.

"Oi, Pretty-Boy!, Can I wash your hair for you?" she said, looking over at Yumichika, with an innocent smile on her face. In her tiny hand, she grasped a bar of soap.

Yumichika chuckled slightly, reaching out his hand to pat Yachiru on the head. "It's alright Yachiru-fukutaichou. I'll wash it myself. Otherwise you might ruin the luster and it won't look as beautiful."

A roar of laughter erupted from Ikkaku, who threw a bucket of water over Yumichika's head. "It's alright, Yachiru! You can wash his hair! Here, lemme help ya!" He grabbed Yumichika's arms and held them behind his head, while Yachiru jumped up into his lap and started rubbing the soap into Yumichika's hair.

"Ikkaku,…I'll kill you for ruining my beautiful hair!" Yumichika yelled, trying to pull his arms free of his friend.

"Now your hair will be nice and pretty like Ken-chan's!" Yachiru said, dumping more water over his hair to rinse out the soap. "Be glad you at least have hair, unlike Pachinko-head over there." She turned and stuck her tongue out at Ikkaku, who was muttering something under his breath. Laughing, she jumped down from Yumichika's lap, and proceeded to jump onto Kenpachi's back. Sitting on his shoulder, she began to wash his hair as well, making odd little hairstyles as she did so. He simply sighed and ignored the fact that she was braiding parts of his hair.

"Yachiru, stop screwing around and let's get you cleaned up."

He pulled the girl from his shoulder and sat her back down on the stool. He handed her the soap to clean herself with while he took the shampoo and began to wash her hair. "Ikkaku, you've been spending' a lot of time training. You thinking' you gonna try and take the Captain position from me?" Kenpachi said, his eyes gleaming in the light. His voice was thick with the excitement for another fight, but the 3rd Seat simply shook his head.

"I ain't gonna fight you yet. But ya know when I do, I'm gonna win and be recognized as the next Kenpachi," Ikkaku replied. "I'll will fight you again, one day."

"Heh, I'll be waiting," the Captain said. He had forgotten he had been washing Yachiru's hair until she threw the soap at him. "What the fuck?!"

"Pay attention, Ken-chan! You're getting the soap in my eye and it hurts!" Yachiru said, trying to rub her eyes. Kenpachi growled and threw the girl into the tub, pushing her head underwater. He slammed the door open as he walked out, leaving his Lieutenant, and towel, behind.

Yumichika walked over the tub and leaned over the side, looking at Yachiru's submerged head. "Fukutaichou, you don't cute when your face is turning blue, it's not very pretty on a charming little girl like yourself. He left, so there is no point in pretending like you are drowning." He pulled out the little girl and sat her on the ledge of the tub, wrapping her pink towel around her to dry her off. Ikkaku wrapped his own towel around his waist and gathered up Yachiru's toys. She ran over to him and took her basket, and disappeared around the corner, leaving a trail of wet droplets along the floor leading to the Captain's quarters. "Goodnight, Feather Brow, Baldy!"

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Ikkaku rolled over in his bed, still half-asleep and wishing he was still dreaming. Outside the night was still blanketing the skies, and he knew that he wouldn't sleep much the rest of the night. He sat himself up in bed, leaning over and resting his elbows on his thighs. He remembered the times like that, telling stories with his friends and his Captain, and listening to an innocent child's laughter. The sound of her laughter was always so light, that even when he was at the receiving end of her jokes, he was glad to hear her laughing about it. It was so sweet and innocent, although she usually wasn't as innocent as she pretended to be. It had been so long since he last heard it that he wondered what it would sound like now.

His room overlooked the barrack's courtyard, and from here, he could see a light on from the Captain's quarters. He rose from his bed and pulled on his night yukata before walking out. Careful to not make any noise to wake anyone up, Ikkaku crept towards the room. A small line of light escaped from the bottom of the door leading to her room, faint but still visible. He waited outside to see if she was still awake or had merely forgotten to put out the light, hoping to hear a sign that she was awake.

A soft, broken gasp of air was his response and his brow furrowed slightly. It was very quiet, except that she did it a couple more times. Ikkaku carefully opened the door, and took a peak inside. Low candlelight cast dark shadows about the room, but he saw her figure leaning against the wall. Parts of her hair hung loose, hiding parts of her face. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her, holding what appeared to be an old, torn black sheet but he couldn't tell from here. The flame on the candle flickered slightly, enough to emit a different light on her face and glisten against the tear on her cheek.

He pulled the door open all the way, startling his Captain as he walked into the room.

"What are hell are you doing?" she said, wiping her cheeks as she stood. Her hands still gripped the black cloth and Ikkaku realized it was a uniform…Kenpachi's uniform.

"Stop pretending like you're this hard, tough ass bitch," he said, wrapping his arms around her neck and resting her head against his shoulder. "It's alright to be weak sometimes. I was weak too."

"I'm not weak…I'm not-" she tried to say but the words were caught in her throat. He could feel her body shaking as she tried to force herself not to cry, and he knew she would eventually give in and let it out. Slowly he knelt to the floor and her full weight was pressed against his chest. "I just want him back, I want Ken-chan."

"Heh, I think we would all want Kenpachi back. He was an amazing Captain, and I swore to die under his command. He is the reason I became a shinigami, the reason I fought to become stronger. I learned Bankai so that when I got the chance to fight him again, I could defeat him. But I won't ever get that chance, to hear him say 'Ikkaku, it was a honor to fight ya'," Ikkaku replied, rubbing the back of her head. He could feel the moisture from her tears falling onto his arm, yet he paid no mind. He didn't care if the entire squadron came into the room at this moment and saw the two of them there, him holding her while she is crying. They could make fun of him for being a pansy, but he knew this is what she needed, someone to be there for her since Kenpachi couldn't.

Even when he had lost Yumichika, he had Tetsu there to help him accept it. There had been no one there for Yachiru, because she had secluded herself off from the other shinigami unless it was a mission or a required meeting. She had stopped going to the Shinigami Women's meetings, the Captain-Commanders tea ceremonies, playing with her toys, eating candies. Yachiru had forced herself to become an adult for the sake of the 11th Division, to be able to remain their Captain, and Ikkaku had been there to watch her slip further and further from being the happy girl she once was.

He had been like that himself, when he realized he lost Yumichika, the one person who had been his friend throughout everything. The two of them had gone through Rukongai, through the Academy, fought and were defeated by Ichigo and his friends, then turned around to fight alongside them. Yumichika had been there to help him get stronger and to make sure that he could control his strength, to support him in his battles. Ikkaku had refused to speak to anyone when they all finally returned from the battle of Karakura, other than to acknowledge that he would be a Lieutenant, of which he no longer cared about being forced into. He refused to spar with anyone, do patrol, clean…but finally, Tetsu appeared and knocked the sense back into him.

He really did know all too well what Yachiru was experiencing, all of her pain and sadness. It had controlled his life at one point. But he came to realize what had happened was what Yumichika, and what Kenpachi, would have wanted. Yumichika saw Ikkaku fighting and he knew that he would die as a result, he still wouldn't have stepped in because it was their belief that no battle is over until there is a clear victor. And had Ikkaku tried to save Yumichika's life, he would have hated him for not letting him have a beautiful, glorious death in battle.

"Yachiru-san, Kenpachi died protecting you and he woulda died a thousand times for you. He loved you more than anything else in this place, you were his reason to keep fighting and keep living. He wouldn't want you to keep mourning him like this," Ikkaku whispered against her hair. "Don't be a brat, okay? Smile, not because I am askin' ya to smile, but because Kenpachi loved your smile. Smile, 'cause he'd have gone to the moon and back, if ya had asked him and smile, 'cause you deserve to smile again. And if ya feel like ya can't smile, I'll be here for ya."

There was silence after he spoke but he felt her arms tighten around his waist as she buried her face against his shoulder. Her body had stopped shaking some time ago, but he didn't want to let her go just yet. Finally, she whispered back two short words that Ikkaku almost missed her saying them, as she was nearly asleep.

"Thank you."

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Daylight was well in the sky when Ikkaku finally woke up, looking around the ceiling. He didn't remember laying down last night, though he didn't remember even falling asleep either. He went to sit up but found a strange weight pressing down on his body. Then it dawned on him that he wasn't in his room, but in the Captain's. He looked up and saw the top of Yachiru's pink hair laying on top of his chest, with her arm still holding onto his waist and her body resting between his legs. He knew that with her poor memory, she would most likely draw the worst conclusion about this situation.

Slowly, he began to slide her hands free of his yukata, and tried to wiggle her body off of his without moving her too much and risk waking her. He started pulling himself out from under her, gently lifting her body up and over to the side until he was finally free. With a sigh of relief, he headed towards the door and silently slipped out into the hall.

"Oi! Ikkaku-san, whadda doin' sneakin; outta the Taichou's room so early in the mornin' and in yer yukata, too?!" came a surprised voice from behind that caused Ikkaku stop dead in his tracks, paralyzed with shock.

"Er…," he tried to reason, turning to face his subordinate. He swore he would kill whoever saw him leaving Yachiru's room.

Though much to his chagrin, almost the entire division was awake, and had seen him leaving. Within seconds, the room erupted with curiosity, shock, amazement, and scandal. Ikkaku tried to quite them down, and avoid causing any further suspicion, growing more frustrated as he did so. He was about to tell all of them off when the door to the Captain's quarters slammed open, causing him to flinch.

"What the hell is going on here? Why are all of you standing around my door for? Why the hell are all of you bastards yelling?" Yachiru shouted, glaring at the men standing before her. A few of them were dumb enough to chuckle but the Captain had heard them regardless. "Oh, did I say something funny? You wanna tell me what's so funny before I kick your ass?"

One of the lower ranking shinigami chuckled, and stepped forward. "We were just teasing Ikkaku about if he had a good time last night. But you know, Taichou, if it was you, I'm sure it was good."

Yachiru turned and glared at Ikkaku, her reiatsu flaring around her. She barely moved but her sheathed zanpakuto was in her hand and she swung it at his ribs, a loud snap echoing with the impact. Ikkaku doubled over, one hand holding his side while the other was trying to fend off her further assault. "What the fuck did you say to them, you asshole?"

"I didn't fucking say any-urgh-thing! They saw me-gah-leaving and they assumed-shit-goddamn it woman! Stop freakin' hittin' me!" Ikkaku yelled, cursing each time she hit him.

Yachiru grabbed him by the back of his yukata threw him outside into the courtyard. "Like hell I would ever do anything with you, you perverted Pachinko-head!" she yelled, turning to head back inside where the subordinates were laughing and cheering. "As for the rest of you, get the hell out of my sight before I kill every one of you and use your bodies for doormats! I don't want to see any of you for the rest of the day, do you understand that?!"

It was the fastest her subordinates had ever gotten ready and out of the barracks. She rubbed her head, as she sat down at the table, letting the cool winter air blow through the common room and calm her mind. She would make sure to volunteer her Division, and especially Ikkaku, for extra cleaning details throughout Seireitei. Yachiru sighed and leaned back, her mind wandering to the night before. Surprisingly, she did remember everything that had happened, and how Ikkaku had tried to help her accept Kenpachi's death. Looking into her room, she could see the bundle of black cloth laying on the floor.

She walked back into the room and sat down on the floor beside the battered uniform. Hesitantly, Yachiru reached out her hand to the fabric and pulled it towards her, letting the old musky scent fill her nose once again. Inhaling, she tried to take a much of the scent in as she could, trying to remember the scent when it was still fresh and when he was still alive, but it would never come back as strong as it had been then. Slowly, she folded the uniform, and took it outside, along with the candle.

Creating a small pit from stone, Yachiru placed the uniform in the middle of stone and let the frame of the candle start to burn. The tiny flame grew as more of the fabric became engulfed and Yachiru's eyes began to tear up once more. She watched as the uniform faded into ash and the winds blew it upwards into the sky. "Goodbye, Ken-chan. I miss you. Thank you for everything."