Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Zanpaku-to? ❯ Delicate Little Flower ( Chapter 26 )

Tite Kubo owns Bleach. I just borrowed the characters. I did create Atonomatsuri (the bird) and Piecrust (the jerk).

 

Delicate Little Flower

 

As he strode back to his Division, trying to block out his random thoughts and any comments from Atonomatsuri, Yachiru caught up with him, slightly over excited and she began to speak rapidly. “Ken-chan, Piecrust is back and he's being difficult. Pretty Boy is unhappy because he thinks Piecrust is too pretty and he has always been the nice-looking one in the 11th. I didn't know it was important. Should I tell him that he's prettier than Piecrust? He is, really, except when he frowns and he's been frowning this morning. If he frowns any more he'll get worried about wrinkles and I hate it when he gets worried about them. He refuses to smile and doesn't laugh at my jokes and keeps rubbing his forehead to try to remove the invisible frown lines. I think he's also annoyed because the jerk is acting like a pain and won't listen to him. Could you come, please, Ken-chan?” She grabbed him by the hand and tugged him along the street.

 

“Piecrust is back? That will make life more interesting,” Zaraki commented as he allowed Yachiru to lead him where she wanted to go.

 

There were many people present in the 11th Division when he entered the compound, all heading in one direction. He heard the sound of laughter and mocking voices calling out insults. Yachiru tugged his hand harder and he found he was following the noise, curious as to what was attracting the attention of his people and causing Yachiru and Ayasegawa such concern. As he arrived at the building, allocated to Piecrust as his quarters, he immediately understood the source of interest. Noticing his appearance, his Division members became quieter, deferring to his presence, but a small hubbub remained as they joked amongst themselves. They parted to allow him to move closer to the doorway.

 

“I demand to be taken back to 4th Division. I'm still unwell and I shouldn't be here. I'll complain to the Captain,” Piecrusts querulous voice shrieked. Zaraki suppressed a smile at the foolishness of the assertion. A small wave of laughter swept through the street outside.

 

“I'll get him for you. I'm sure he'll be interested in your complaints,” Ayasegawa said, the flavour of anger evident in his voice.

 

“See, Ken-Chan?” Yachiru hissed at him quietly, her eyes bright. “Pretty Boy sounds angry. You know how he doesn't lose his temper very often. Piecrust is annoying him. I don't think it's fair.”

 

Zaraki nodded his head, subduing that same smile as he listened to the voices coming from the building.

 

“Good, you do that. I'm sure he'll send me back to 4th Division immediately when he sees the condition of my wounds. I should be treated the way my injuries deserve,” the complacency in Piecrust's tone amused Zaraki even more. The jerk seemed to have no concept of his position within 11th Division. He felt the need to be amused after the conversation with Atonomatsuri on the previous night and wanted to allow the farce to continue as long as possible.

 

Noticing Madarame on the outskirts of the quietly mocking crowd, he approached and pounded him on the shoulder of his wounded arm, making the startled man jump and swear profanely, clutching his arm tightly as he turned threateningly toward Zaraki. When he saw who had attracted his attention, he faltered and smiled at his Captain and Assistant Captain.

 

“I see our Hollow bait has returned. He sounds like he's fine. Why aren't you settling the idiot in?” Zaraki said as quietly as he could, keeping his voice to a low roar.

 

Madarame gave a small grimace and rubbed his arm gently before he replied. “I had a bet with Yumichika and he lost, so he has to settle the moron in. I was going to look for you, but our Assistant Captain offered to find you. For some reason Piecrust thinks you'll be on his side. Is the guy delusional or something?” Madarame used a particular tone whenever he mentioned Piecrust, almost as if he was mentioning some unfortunate and unpleasant body function. It seemed appropriate.

 

Looking at his third seat, he noticed that the injuries from their fight were very plain and evidently painful. “You're coming in with me. I want this guy to see how a true 11th Division member copes with a few cuts,” he watched as Madarame thought about his suggestion and nodded.

 

“Yeah, a few cuts, sure,' the irony was unmistakable. “Just don't make me fight with him today. The mood I'm in I'd probably mince him, even if I'm only using one arm. I'm not looking forward to that thing you mentioned last night.” Madarame gulped slightly as he remembered the agreement.

 

“It won't happen today. I'll let you have today to recover. If you don't like the punishment then don't mention birds or those other things. You got off lightly. If Retsu hadn't stepped in, I might have pulverized you, but then you wouldn't have managed to finish the bets. How's Abarai going with his?” For the moment Zaraki did not want to deal with the jerk inside and he was interested in the bets that had led to the damage to Madarame.

 

“He's still trying to do the first one. If he doesn't make it by midday today, I win by default.” A small smile indicated Madarame's belief that he might win the bet with no trouble.

 

“Yeah, but Abarai hates to lose bets, you know that. You're dreaming if you think he'll give up that readily.”

 

Madarame nodded slowly at Zaraki's observation but replied, “He won't win this set of bets. He agreed to some dumb suggestions because he was overconfident. It's because he reached bankai so recently he thinks he can do it, though it will be an age before he realises his greatest ambition.”

 

Zaraki and his 3rd seat regarded each other for a moment and the Captain noticed a playful twinkle in Madarame's eye. “Does Abarai want to lose the bet?” he thought. “Is that why Madarame is looking so confident? I wonder what forfeit the loser has to pay. I won't ask now because I know he won't tell me. Let's see how this plays out, and then I'll get the details.”

 

“Okay, let's help Ayasegawa before he creases his forehead even further,” Zaraki said as he led the way to the door. “I don't think he wants to pay for yet another bottle of wrinkle cream or he'll probably try to get me to pay because of Piecrust. I wish the old man hadn't barred me from getting rid of the idiot.”

 

“I'm coming too, Ken-chan. I'm still taking an interest in all members of the Division and Piecrust is a member, well, sort of. Maybe he will be a temporary member if we use him as Hollow bait. It's a pity I won't get to visit him at 4th Division anymore because then I won't see Retsu so often and eat the sweets she's keeping in her office. I like eating sweets and talking to her. She gets interrupted a lot but she only smiles and tries to help. I wouldn't like to cross her, though, `cause she could be pretty scary. Maybe I'll just visit her. Anyway, it'll be funny to see how Piecrust acts when he sees you,” Yachiru smiled widely at her Captain, anticipating some entertainment.

 

Nodding at her last comment and pushing through the crowd, Zaraki saw Ayasegawa emerging from the room, a tiny frown wrinkling his forehead. “He must be upset if he's still frowning and Yachiru said he was frowning when she left. He only allows a frown once per week and this is the second one I've seen in the last two days.” As soon as Ayasegawa saw the large form of his Captain loom into his vision the frown disappeared and a wicked smirk appeared on his face.

 

“Captain! Yuki Hisutanga has returned from 4th Division and is expressing his belief that he is not well enough to remain here,” as he spoke the jerk's name, a small moue of distaste crossed him face. His eyes showed the anger that he was trying to contain and Zaraki wondered what other ill thought comments the fool had uttered.

 

“Let me see this delicate little flower,” Zaraki bawled loudly, gaining shouts of laughter from the men lingering outside. The term was repeated between them and it was pretty clear that Piecrust had now been given another nickname. He hoped that Yachiru wouldn't be offended, but the guy was an obvious target for degrading nicknames.

 

“Flower? Oooh, Ken-chan you gave him another nickname. I still prefer Piecrust, but I like Flower too,” she giggled with delight. “A delicate little flower. Is he a tulip? Or a violet? I don't think he's a violet. I know, a narcissus, that's the flower he is.”

 

Zaraki laughed at her observation while Madarame and Ayasegawa chuckled slightly, but their faces were grim. Entering the room, Zaraki saw Piecrust lying on the bed trying to look as if he was suffering agony, but the act was not convincing. His eyes might be closed, but a sliver of white could be seen showing under the eyelid, as he watched for the reaction of his Captain.

 

Zaraki looked at him for a few seconds and turned to Madarame. “Either 4th Division did good work, or Yachiru didn't cut him enough.”

 

“I did cut him a lot Ken-chan. Tell him, Baldy, Pretty Boy,” Yachiru was offended by the suggestion and Madarame immediately rallied to support her.

 

“She cut him enough, I was there and I know how much damage she did. 4th Division do good work and you know that. Look at how quickly they got me on my feet after fighting you. You recovered quickly when we found you unconscious and drugged and they took care of you. I didn't notice any bones or tendons showing after Yachiru stopped chasing Piecrust around. Let's make him train,” Madarame's smile did not bode well for the recently injured 11th Division member.

 

“Yeah, you were much more cut up Baldy. I was worried about you.” Madarame looked surprised at the confession. “Maybe I should have tried harder with Piecrust, but he is such a wimp. Don't worry, next time will be different,” Yachiru nodded her head emphatically.

 

Zaraki observed the reaction of the man in the bed. His eyes shot open and his mouth gaped wide, the shock evident in his face. “Wh, wha, what? Me, train today? I should be back in 4th Division. I'm not well; I'm still recovering from that vicious attack from the Assistant Captain. She had no call to chase me like she did. Don't let her chase me again. It hurts where she cut me. You shouldn't let her behave like that.” The whine in his voice grated on Zaraki's nerves and Piecrust shot a scared look at Yachiru, obviously expecting some form of physical threat.

 

“I wouldn't have chased you if you hadn't run. If you'd stood and fought I wouldn't have cut you so much. It's your own fault,” Yachiru looked stubborn as she spoke. Zaraki made a mental note not to allow her to train with the jerk today. It could be dangerous… for him.

 

For the first time he really looked at this troublesome person, mindful of Yachiru's words about his looks and Ayasegawa's possible jealousy. He saw shoulder length black hair, fair skin, grey eyes, regular features, broad forehead, slender and about 1.5 metres tall. “He is almost pretty, like Yachiru said. Maybe that explains some of his arrogance, but it doesn't explain enough. What's he doing in my Division? He's not at pretty as Ayasegawa, but my 5th seat is a real scrapper and a true member of 11th Division, not like this loser. Maybe it's a woman pretending to be a man, but Retsu would have mentioned that to me. He's too pretty for my Division unless he's a seasoned fighter, which he isn't, and that's going to cause trouble. He won't be able to defend himself against any predatory guys and I don't want to set someone to protect him or warn anyone off. That would make it seem like he was given special treatment, or that I even cared. Ah, hell. Why did the old man decide I had to keep him?”

 

Yuki seemed uncomfortable at his Captain's observation and pulled the sheet up to his chin. Zaraki was bored with the charade and wanted action.

 

“I'll say this once: get up, get dressed and be in the training ground in 11 minutes. If Madarame, who got hurt in a fight with me yesterday, can train, so can you. Today you'll be training with me. You need the exercise.” He smiled harshly as he noticed Piecrust's eyes widen and his head make a small, negative shake at his news. “Yep, we'll have a nice little spar, but don't worry, I won't treat you the way I treated Madarame. As you believe you have superior fighting abilities, I won't hold back.” He saw Piecrust turn even paler, if that was possible. “Oh, before I go, if you get injured from now on you'll be treated here. 4th Division don't want you there and I can't say I blame them. It was only luck that they didn't poison you. Hanatoro will be visiting here once per day to check and if you give him any trouble, you'll be doing all the 4th Division cleaning work for the 11th and that includes sanitary duty. Do you understand? You will learn to treat other Shinigami with respect, no matter their size, gender or level. I will treat you with no respect until you earn it and up `til now the only respect I feel in relation to you is for the people who've had to put up with your stupidity. 11 minutes, Flower, or my zanpaku-to will be providing the necessary encouragement to dress.” Zaraki turned, preparing to leave the room.

 

“Flower? Who is Flower?” Piecrust stammered.

 

“That's your new nickname. If you act like a delicate flower, you have to expect some comment. But remember you are still made to be broken. Maybe I'll break you today, or tomorrow, Piecrust,” Zaraki did not bother to turn around, not wishing to pay more attention to the fool. He left, the feeble protests of the man ringing in his ears, and ordered his men to the training ground. “Be there in 11 minutes, ready to spar. I'll be watching all of you and taking personal interest in your improvement. Any one not trying will fight with me. I need to work out the kinks and I feel in the need for a good brawl. I only just started getting warmed up yesterday and I would like to see how you fare against me. Yachiru, you'll be helping me. Ayasegawa, you'll be deputising for Madarame. Madarame, you'll be observing and correcting. Try not to kill anyone through too much enthusiasm.”

 

He watched his Division scatter as they scrambled to get to the training ground within the specified time. Grinning he looked at Ayasegawa, Yachiru and Madarame. “It should be entertaining today. I sent a message to Captain Unohana to ask that Hanatoro observe, just in case. Not that I'm planning to hurt Flower, but he might have an accident. We've all seen how clumsy he can be, especially when he's fighting. He might trip over his sandals, or his zanpaku-to, or my foot, which would be tragic. Come on, let's move.”

 

“An interesting use of the word, tragic, Captain,” Ayasegawa said as they began to walk toward the training ground.

 

“I'll tell you what is tragic, Madarame complained. “Because of the jerk I've got to train and then do the paperwork. I hope the stiches hold.” He winced slightly but did not say anything further.

 

“Baldy, you're sounding like Piecrust complaining about little things. Should I start calling you Flower also? I don't know any bald flowers. How can a flower be bald unless you pull out all the petals? Perhaps I could call you Petal,” Yachiru mused, her eyes on the sky as she walked. “I'm not sure.”

 

“Excuse me, Assistant Captain. If you call me either Flower or Petal I will circulate a message to all of Gotei 13 and Soul Society that you are no longer permitted sweets. I'm sure I can persuade our Captain of the importance of this, especially when I give him the most recent report from your dent…” Madarame seemed very certain that he would not be brooked when Yachiru interrupted him quickly.

 

“We don't need to talk about that, and you promised you wouldn't. I'm hurt that you want to break your promise over a little thing like a nickname,” Yachiru's voice quivered and her bottom lip pouted as her large eyes gazed at the third seat.

 

Zaraki had listened intently to the interplay. He already knew about the dentists report as he'd received a letter to that effect which had not been intercepted. As yet he had not told Yachiru that an appointment had been scheduled to fill the holes in her teeth. She could find out later, preferably just as they reached the dentists office when it was too late for her to hide. “You can't call him Flower. It would confuse everyone in the Division and some of them are still having trouble working out which end of their zanpaku-to they need to talk to. They're not convinced you can talk to it if you lay it across your knees. We're lucky we haven't had any injuries, yet. We'll have to be more selective about how we choose our new recruits in future. Brawn is good, but a few brain cells might come in useful. We need every advantage that we can get. Now, stop arguing. We need to be united at all times, firm in our purpose and unwavering in our goal.”

 

A stunned silence met his words and he stopped walking and turned to his companions who were standing, staring at him.

 

“What the f… hell are you quoting from, Captain? Have you been reading The Art of War again?” Ayasegawa's voice was timid and he looked at his feet as he asked the question. It was obvious he was reluctant to ask, remembering the reaction Madarame had received the night before.

 

“Kenny, it does sound like your quoting something. I have an adage you might like: A wise man creates proverbs, a fool repeats them.” Atonomatsuri's voice gurgled with laughter in his mind.

 

The unpleasant shock he received at hearing her voice made the nausea from the hangover return and he swallowed hard. Her voice was a reminder of all the unwelcome information he had yet to digest but did not want to know. The distraction of Captain Soi Fon and Piecrust had been a welcome break from his churning thoughts. As he reflected about what Atonomatsuri said, he realised that this was the perfect adage that could be used to mock her fondness for quoting the awful things. “Then what does that make you, vulture? I have yet to hear you create an adage; so that makes you a fool. Finally, we agree on the truth in one proverb,” Zaraki's minds voice was dry as he responded to his zanpakuto.

 

A loud, indignant squawk was Atonomatsuri's response. “A fool? You call me a fool? Even the wisest men make fools of themselves about women and even the most foolish woman is wise about men. I am no fool; no man's fool, no man's friend.”

 

Zaraki stood still and scratched his head, trying to make sense of the bird's comments and to work out an answer for Ayasegawa. “Just remembered hearing it somewhere. What's the problem? It's not one of those things; it's sensible advice.” The justification sounded a little thin, but he would not admit to anything.

 

Internally he said to Atonomatsuri, “You're certainly not my friend. I think you need a new hobby. These stupid proverbs are now applying to you as much to me and I think you are running out of flap. Ha. A bird running out of flap! Maybe you need to lose some weight, featherbrain, because you certainly weigh more than a feather. That may explain why you have trouble flying because you're too heavy. Now shut up. I thought I made it clear last night that I didn't want to talk to you and I haven't changed my mind.”

 

“You don't know your own mind, Kenny boy. I've told you that before,” Atonomatsuri said tartly.

 

“I said shut up,” even to his own mind it sounded like he was speaking through gritted teeth. “Shut your freaking beak or I'll saw out your twisted tongue and jam it down your stinking throat.”

 

The only response was silence. He approved of the silence, thinking that at last the bird might remain silent, for a time. It was too much to hope that she would keep silent permanently.

 

After waiting the 11 minutes, he was satisfied to see his Division had made it to the training ground, even Piecrust who came tottering in last, his hand pressed to his forehead as he tried to look weak and pitiful. He was followed shortly by Hanatoro who smiled at Zaraki and went to sit quietly at one end of the training ground. Most of the Division ignored him, the normal disregard for 4th Division removing any curiosity as to why Hanatoro was there.

 

After the usual disorganisation as people found their sparring partner, Zaraki retrieved two wooden blades. He did not want to use his zanpaku-to for a few reasons. The distaste he felt in handling Atonomatsuri was one of the reasons, but the other reason had to do with trying to train Piecrust. Using a wooden blade would mean he wouldn't inflict more than bruises; at least that was his hope. He'd killed a man using a wooden sword in his past; driving is easily between his ribs. Now he could remember the death, the rage he'd experienced, but not the reason for the fight.

 

The other Shinigami were sparring, with Madarame correcting any major mistakes and Ayasegawa leading the training. Yachiru was paired against a Shinigami, who was twice her size who was gazing at her with a mixture of respect and fear. He watched her moves closely and as she wasn't really trying, had no trouble blocking her attacks. Zaraki wondered how long it would be before Yachiru decided to exert herself.

 

Piecrust reluctantly took the proffered wooden blade and let in dangle uselessly between his fingers. His uniform and face were damp with sweat and Zaraki guessed it was the product of fear rather than from his non-existent exertion.

 

“Are you ready?” he barked harshly.

 

“No,” was the shaky reply. Piecrust tried to hold the blade steady but his hands were shaking badly.

 

“Why the hell do you want to be a Shinigami if you're scared of fighting?” The question seemed obvious.

 

“I'm not scared of fighting. I'm scared of you,” Piecrust stuttered. The admission was made reluctantly.

 

“Only scared? I thought terrified would be a better description,” Zaraki threw down the wooden blade. “Drop the piece of wood. Let's see if you can fight without a sword. Maybe if you learn the basics you might have a chance.”

 

“Can I keep the sword and you fight me without one?” The idiot brightened at the idea.

 

“I'll make a deal with you. You can keep the blade until I take it from you. Fair?” Zaraki decided to toy with the guy a little. Piecrust did like unfair advantages but he never seemed to realise that the advantage was always on the other side.

 

His opponent nodded enthusiastically and began to circle Zaraki who didn't bother to try and keep his eyes on the man. Each time he had seen him fight, his moves had been predictable. Without a doubt he would attack from behind or the left, trying to use an element of surprise. Bored already, Zaraki kicked backwards, but without full force, feeling his foot connect with the leg of the man creeping up behind him.

 

“Unfair, Captain,” Piecrust gasped.

 

Zaraki turned to face him and saw he was holding his leg. “Unfair? You were preparing to attack me from the rear with a weapon and I kicked you. You should have expected something like that. Was I supposed to just stand here?”

 

“Yes, no. I don't know,” Piecrust picked up the wooden sword from where it had fallen. Slyly he attacked while still bending, driving the sword toward Zaraki's face. Catching it with his hand Zaraki exerted some pressure and the blade shattered in his grasp. Piecrust jerked the rest of the sword back, looking disbelievingly at the absence of the blade.

 

“Drop it. It's no use to you any more,” Zaraki commanded. He knew that his display of strength had scared his subordinate, but that was his intention. “Show me how you fight without weapons.”

 

“I don't know how,” was the sulky confession.

 

“What? How could you graduate from the Academy without knowing how to fight without weapons? That's not possible. You would have been kicked out before the end of the first year,” Zaraki could not keep the amazement out of his voice. Piecrust had to be lying.

 

“I don't want to know how,” admitted the shamefaced jerk. “I don't like fighting without weapons. It had no dignity and don't want to have to touch anyone.”

 

“It's not about touching, it's about fighting,” Zaraki raised his voice and addressed the sparring partners. “Right. Put away your zanpaku-to's. It looks like we might have to go back to basics for some of you. Same partners as before, fight without weapons. I don't care if you use karate, judo, tae kwon do, or any other form of martial art you know. Ayasegawa, Yachiru, Madarame, check out the skills. Pick out who can't fight and we'll implement special training for them. You, however, Flower will fight with me. I'll confine myself to wrestling moves, nothing fancy.”

 

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Author's Note:

 

(Warning: Boring explanation ahead). Why did Yachuri say if Piecrust was a flower he would be a narcissus? If you know your Greek Mythology (and don't we all?) you will remember that Narcissus was a young man who fell in love with his reflection and the gods turned him into a flower: the narcissus. Okay, maybe Yachiru might not know that, but for this story she does. The other flowers suggested have other meanings, but I don't feel like explaining them at the moment.

 

Thank you to the kind people who have reviewed this story.

 

I'm not even attempting to predict what will happen in the next chapter but I think Zaraki and Piecrust might fight. How will Piecrust fare at fighting without a weapon? And there are other matters to be explored: Zaraki's ability to accept he was once a Hollow; why Yamamoto demanded Zaraki keep Piecrust; office decoration; the prank to play on the Clown Captain; the bets; bankai; Atonomatsuri and more secrets to be revealed.

 

Please review.

 

MS