A Shinigami Valentine

Slowly but surely, people filtered out of the great hall. Yachiru remained close to Akina.

"I hope you're happy with yourself now." Chizu hissed, stepping up beside them. Akina smiled, thinking of her Nemu and Nanao.

"It was definitely not what I expected." Akina laughed. Her attitude seemed to irritate Chizu. Akina's smile widened.

"It's all your doing, Chizu. You caused all this...good and bad." she said quietly. Chizu's eyes blazed.

"No, you're wrong." she growled.

"You cheated, too." Akina laughed. "You're guilty of everything you accused me of. The only difference is, I guess I'm better at it than you."

"You're going to pay for all this, Akina." Chizu hissed through clenched teeth. She looked down at Yachiru, who was watching the two women curiously.

"Lt. Kusajishi, Akina Ito has smeared the good name of the Shinigami Women's Association. I formally request she be removed from the Association for tampering with the results of the Valentine's Day..." Chizu started. Yachiru cut her off, asking,

"You like Bya-chan?"

"Do I what?" Chizu stammered. "Do I like him?"

"Uh huh? Do you want him to be your boyfriend?" Yachiru asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Yeah, Chizu...do you want Captain Kuchiki to be your boyfriend?" Akina asked, an evil grin on her face.

"Shut up, Akina." Chizu yelled. She struggled to compose herself before saying to Yachiru,

"I'm sorry, Lt. Kusajishi but I want her out. I don't want this to ever happen again. I want her removed from the Women's Association."

"Hmmm..." Yachiru said thoughtfully, looking over at Akina.

"You did cheat." she said to her. Akina nodded.

"So did you, Yachiru." she reminded her with a gentle smile. "So did Chizu."

"Yep!" Yachiru agreed happily. "Will you play with me, Aka-chan?"

"What do you mean?" Akina asked, feeling confused.

"If you play with me today, Aka-chan, I won't kick you out of the Women's Association." Yachiru said easily. Akina stared at her in surprise.

"You wanna make a deal?" she laughed. Yachiru nodded.

"You played with Ken-chan last night. Today, I wanna play with you." Yachiru replied innocently. Akina kneeled down beside her.

"All day?" she asked, smiling. Yachiru nodded, her brown eyes shining brightly.

"I can't believe this." Chizu complained unhappily.

"You got a deal, squirt." Akina replied easily.

"Yippee!" Yachiru cried out, jumping up and down. "Will you play with me all day long? Will you play house with me? Will you play dress-up with me? Will you color with me?"

"Yes...yes...yes...and yes!" Akina laughed as she stood. She grinned triumphantly at Chizu.

"I guess I'll see you at the Women's Association meeting next month." she laughed. Chizu turned and stormed away. Akina sighed, looking down at the bouncing girl. She liked Yachiru. This would be fun. She noticed Ikkaku walked over to Nemu. He flashed her a quick smile.

"You wanna take a walk?" he asked her quietly. Nemu glanced at her father. Captain Kurotsuchi was locked in an argument with Captain Soifon.

"Yes, I would enjoy taking a walk with you, Madarame-san." she said softly. Ikkaku's smile grew. They moved towards the door together. Ikkaku awkwardly offered her his arm as they neared the door. Akina smiled as Nemu put her hand on his elbow. She watched Ikkaku slide her hand securely into the crook of his arm. Nemu smiled shyly and the two of them disappeared through the door.

"That's a nightmare in the making." Zaraki snapped, stepping up next to Akina and Yachiru.

"I think it's sweet." Akina said softly, smiling up at him. He glanced at her. He seemed to be considering her silently. Finally, he turned towards Yachiru.

"I got a meeting. It's probably gonna last a couple hours now that the Old Man's in a pissy mood."

"Okay Ken-chan!" Yachiru said with a smile. He paused, eying her closely for a moment.

"Stay outta trouble, brat." he warned her.

"Will I see you later?" Akina asked him quietly. He looked at her as if the question irritated him.

"Don't know." he snapped, turning away. She placed a hand on his arm as she softly asked,

"Kenpachi...is something wrong?"

He grunted unresponsively. It didn't seem like he wanted her to touch him. He seemed to be running hot and cold. She didn't understand. Slowly, Akina let her hand slip away. Zaraki glanced back at her. He reached back to gently stroke her cheek. She was surprised by the tenderness of his move.

"Do you wanna see me later, Akina?" he asked her quietly.

"Well, I need to talk to you." she whispered.

"What about?" he asked sharply. Again he looked irritated by her response.

"I don't really want to talk about it here." she snapped. She needed to tell him about her patrol assignment but didn't want to discuss it in front of the other shinigami. She didn't know how he would react. Zaraki jerked his hand back, his gaze growing cold.

"I'll find you later." he growled, walking away from them.

"Aka-chan, is Ken-chan your boyfriend?" Yachiru asked her softly. Akina was startled by her innocent question. She wanted to tell her yes but couldn't.

"I don't know, squirt." she said softly. "I really don't know."

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