A Shinigami Valentine

Akina opened her eyes slowly. She felt warm and comfortable. A snore sounded beside her. She looked up and smiled. Zaraki was sleeping soundly. His breathing was slow and regular. She stared at his sharply chiseled face, so calm in repose. She felt a warm, sweet rush shoot through her. He wasn't at all what she had expected. He was so much more. She never imagined her life could change so much, so fast. All because of one man. Akina smiled as she thought,

'But what a man.'

She repositioned her head on his broad chest, moving as little as possible. She didn't want to wake him. Akina sighed deeply, letting the peace and comfort she felt sink deep into her soul.

"Yachiru's up." he spoke quietly. She raised her head. She'd thought him asleep.

"I know." Akina replied, laying her head back down.

"You can hear her? I'm surprised. She's really quiet. Even Ikkaku has trouble with her sneaking up on him." he noted.

"No, I can't really hear her. But she's moving around the door. Her reiatsu's so strong. I can't miss it. It reminds me of yours."

"Whaddya talkin' about?" he asked, sitting up slightly so that he could look down at her.

"I can see it. It's so pink! It's kinda like her hair." she laughed, looking at the door and watching the brilliant rays of pink reiatsu darting across the small space under the door.

"It smells so sweet too." she continued, smiling. "Like strawberries and sugar."

"You can see reiatsu?" he questioned her quietly. She nodded, moving up to him so that she was comfortably under his arm. He stroked her hair thoughtfully.

"That's what you were talking about at the restaurant. You could see my spirit energy there. I ain't never met someone who could do that." he commented.

"I'm a little weird." she laughed. "So, what's Yachiru doing outside the door? She keeps moving around to the side. It's strange."

"She's loosening the hinges. She takes the door off the hinges sometimes when I lock her out." he said with a sigh. "She has trouble with the top one. It's too high for her but I think I heard her drag a chair over earlier."

"You're kidding?" she laughed.

"Ken-chan? Aka-chan?" Yachiru called out softly.

"She must've heard us talking." he chuckled. He leaned down to kiss Akina. "I was hoping I'd get to fuck you again before you left. Don't look like that's gonna happen."

"Ken-chan! Aka-chan!" Yachiru called out in a louder, more insistent voice.

"We'll be up in a minute, Yachiru." Akina called back. She was looking up at Zaraki.

"I like waking up next to you, girl. You feel good." he commented with a grin.

"I'm gonna miss it the next couple of weeks." she said sadly. He squeezed her a little tighter. Suddenly the door fell backwards into the living room with a resounding thud. Yachiru's bright pink head popped around the corner.

"Good morning!" she cried out, running into the room and leaping on the bed. She crashed between them, slamming hard into Zaraki.

"You gotta cut that out, brat. I told you before to stop taking the door down." he scolded her. His tone was rough but he affectionately hugged her to him with his free arm.

"Quit locking the door." she reasoned, smiling up at him. Akina laughed. Yachiru wriggled free of his arm and curled up between them. She stared up at Akina with wide eyes as she asked,

"Aka-chan, please don't go on patrol today. You should stay with me and Ken-chan. Ken-chan will be really sad if you leave."

"Oh, Yachiru." she whispered, hugging her. "I don't have a choice. I have to go. But I'll be back soon."

"And then you'll stay with me and Ken-chan forever?" Yachiru asked excitedly. Akina opened her mouth but no words came. What could she say to her? She had no idea if they would stay together.

"Yeah, she'll stay with us forever, brat. Now get outta here and let us get dressed. Go figure out what you want for breakfast." he ordered her.

"Okay!" Yachiru said happily as she scrambled out of the bed. Akina watched her go.

"You shouldn't tell her that. You don't know what's going to happen." she spoked softly, her eyes on the open door.

"Neither do you, sugar." he snapped, stealing a quick kiss before climbing out of bed.

"Yachiru, what's the door doing on the floor again?" Akina heard Ikkaku complain loudly. Zaraki grinned.

"Breakfast's here." he announced, walking towards the door. He stood in the doorway while she dressed. She joined him shortly. She could smell the food Ikkaku had brought in.

"You hungry?" he asked her, sliding an arm around her waist as they walked into the front room.

"I am." she admitted.

"Good. You got a long day in front of you. You need to eat." he said firmly. Ikkaku and Yumichika were moving dishes of food from a large tray onto the table. Yachiru sat in the floor coloring.

"Ikkaku, are you excited about your picnic today?" she asked him lightly, sitting down at the table. Ikkaku shrugged.

"I'm kinda jealous of you." he admitted with a grin. "I wish I was going out on patrol. I'd love a chance to get my hands on an arrancar. I'd like kick it's ugly ass all the way back to Hueco Mundo."

"The last time you fought one, it nearly killed you." Yumichika sniffed.

"But he didn't!" Ikkaku declared triumphantly. Zaraki laughed, sitting down next to Akina.

"Where did you fight an arrancar?" Akina asked, preparing a plate for Yachiru.

"In the living world. Yumichika and I were there for awhile." he explained, sitting down across from her.

"Yachiru, get in here and eat." Zaraki called out.

"Okay! Okay!" she complained, shoving something inside her uniform top. She scrambled up onto a chair next to Akina.

"Here you go, squirt." Akina said, setting the plate in front of her.

"Thank you." Yachiru said with a smile. Zaraki's head snapped around. Akina beamed proudly.

"What time do you leave, Akina?" Yumichika asked quietly.

"Noon." she replied, her smile fading.

"We ain't got long." Zaraki snapped. Akina tried to focus on her food and not on the hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Can you fight?" Zaraki asked abruptly. She looked up.

"You asked me that before. Of course, I can." she snapped.

"I saw you sparring with Tetsuzaemon awhile back. You held your own. I was impressed." Ikkaku commented with a smile.

"Thank you." Akina said, smiling. Zaraki nodded, apparently satisfied.

"Don't worry." she whispered, squeezing his hand.

"I ain't worried. I'd just feel better if you were with me or Ikkaku." he said dismissively.

"Why? So you could protect me?" she snapped sharply.

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?" he growled.

"I don't need you to protect me, Kenpachi. I can take care of myself." she assured him.

"You better." he said darkly, between mouthfuls of food.

"Captain," Yumichika started quietly, "I thought you should know that the two of you are the topic of quite a lot of gossip."

"I ain't surprised." he replied with a sigh.

"It seems a bit more...venomous than one would expect. I wonder if someone is stirring it up?" Yumichika continued. Akina and Zaraki exchanged glances. It had to be Chizu, she thought with a frown.

"Forget about it. They'll be talking about somebody else before you know it." he said with a grin. She knew that he was right. Gossip was the life blood of the Sereitei but it raged briefly then faded away to be replaced by some new piece of news. Despite this, she had a bad feeling.

"Yachiru, finish up. We need to get moving if we're gonna get Akina to the East Gate by noon." Zaraki said, stretching lazily.

"Okay." Yachiru said glumly. Akina noticed that she was being uncharacteristically quiet.

"It's gonna be okay, squirt." she reassured her, hugging Yachiru's small shoulders. "I'll be back before you know it."

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