A Shinigami Valentine

Akina followed Zaraki out of the bathroom, each still adjusting their clothing.

"See...we had plenty of time." he chuckled, walking into the living room.

'You were right." she said with a contented sigh, catching him by the hand and pulling him back into her arms. Akina stretched up, kissing him deeply. She couldn't let him go. There didn't seem to be any getting enough of the man, she thought as he lifted his mouth from hers. He smiled down at her.

"Sorry." she whispered softly, her arms around his waist. "I can't help myself. I see you and...I just have to touch you...or kiss you...or..." her voice faded to a sweet sigh.

"Or?" he chuckled, running his hands over her back to her rounded bottom. He squeezed her cheeks tightly, pulling her up against him.

"Yeah...that!" she laughed, hiding her face shyly against his chest. Zaraki wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to him.

"I understand, sugar. I feel the same way..." he whispered into her hair. Akina turned her cheek against his broad chest. Something black fluttered across her line of vision. She pulled away from him abruptly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, following her gaze. Akina watched as a black swallow butterfly floated gracefully into the room from the back yard.

"Hell butterfly." he noted quietly, extending his hand. The butterfly landed on the tips of his long fingers. Commander Yamamoto's voice could be heard,

"All captain's are to assemble for an emergency meeting regarding the arrancar situation."

"I wonder what happened." she whispered. Zaraki shrugged as the butterfly lifted away, disappearing out the door.

"Don't know but it can't be good. I gotta go, sugar." he said, leaning down to kiss her again tenderly. She nodded.

"Will you be here when I get back?" he asked as she stepped away from him.

"I promised Yachiru that I'd be all day so...yes." she replied, watching him readjust his hakama. He grinned at her as he said,

"I'm happy you two get along. It'll make my life a little easier. I gotta go but I'll come back here as soon as I can. Don't leave til I do. There's something I wanna talk to you about."

"I need to talk to you too." she called out, suddenly remembering her patrol assignment. He winked at her as he stepped out of the house. She really didn't think he was going to take her news too well. She was putting off telling him. Eventually, though, it was going to be impossible to put it off any longer. Akina sat down heavily on the couch, dreading the inevitable conversation. The door opened behind her. Akina turned, hoping to see Zaraki walk back in. Instead, Yachiru exploded through the door.

"Look who I found." she cried out, climbing up next to Akina. Nanao Ise and Nemu Kurotsuchi peered curiously into the house.

"Hi there." Akina said, smiling. Nanao entered first, followed slowly by Nemu.

"Hello, Akina. I didn't expect to find you here." she noted quietly, her eyes looking over the house.

"It was fortunate we encountered Lt. Kusajishi on her way back from the hospital." Nemu noted, walking over to sit next on the far end of the couch.

"You were looking for me?" Akina asked.

"Yes, we wanted to make sure that everything was okay...after the meeting." Nanao said, sitting down between them. Akina smiled.

"Yeah, it's been a good day." she said softly, thinking of Zaraki.

"Yep, we've been playing all day long." Yachiru said happily.

"What have you been playing?" Nemu asked.

"We played house, tag, dress up and colored." Yachiru explained thoughtfully.

"What is...dress up?" Nemu asked. A devilish gleam sparkled in Yachiru's brown eyes as she said,

"I'll show you!"

Several hours later, Nemu sat in the floor in front of the couch, her long legs crossed. Behind her sat Akina, Yachiru and Nanao.

"Yachiru, don't pull so hard. We're just braiding her hair, not ripping it out of her scalp." Akina said easily, watching as Yachiru pulled the small braid she was working on tightly.

"Thank you, Ito-san." Nemu spoke quietly. It was the closest thing to a complaint that she'd heard from the woman. She sat patiently while the three of them wove tiny braids throughout her long, thick black hair.

"So you and Ikkaku just took a walk around the Sereitei?" Nanao asked, parting a small section of hair to begin another braid.

"Yes, we...strolled together." Nemu said as if reciting something she'd heard.

"Did you have fun?" Akina asked, tying off the long, thin braid she'd been working on.

"Yes, I did. Madarame-san is very interesting. I enjoy hearing him speak."

"Good cause he talks a lot!" Yachiru laughed, yanking a new section of hair up tightly. Akina reached over and gently loosened her grip.

"Like this...that's good." she instructed the child patiently.

"And that's all you did?" Nanao snapped. Akina shot her a dark look, motioning towards Yachiru with her head.

"Did he kiss you?" Yachiru asked innocently. Silence followed for a long moment then Akina and Nanao burst out laughing. Nemu turned slightly, trying to look at them.

"Why is that funny?" she asked.

"Yeah?" Yachiru asked.

"Never mind!" Nanao laughed quietly.

"Did he?" Akina insisted. Nemu shook her head.

"But we are going on a picnic tomorrow." she said proudly.

"Really? That sounds like fun." Akina said easily.

"I have never been on a picnic." Nemu spoke the word picnic carefully each time as if it were new to her.

"You mean your father's never taken you on a picnic?" Nanao snapped. "The man oughta be shot!"

"It's a lot of fun, Nemu. I hope you have warm weather for it." Akina said, smiling. She was trying to imagine Ikkaku and Nemu together on a picnic. It was an odd image.

"He has also offered to take me fishing. I have never done that before either. My captain considers it an inefficient means of gathering food."

"He would." Akina muttered, moving on to a new braid.

"Ken-chan and I used to fish." Yachiru announced. "He's good at it."

"You mean he didn't just stab the fish with his sword?" Nanao teased.

"Hey!" Akina snapped.

"Only the really big ones." Yachiru said happily. Nanao paused, considering the girl silently. Akina grinned.

"So what happened with you and Captain Kyoraku, Nanao? You two disappeared out of the meeting and everyone was wondering." she said with a sly smile. A faint pink blush colored Nanao's cheeks.

"We talked." she said softly.

"Talked? Is that all?" Akina teased. Nanao nodded, focusing on the braid she was working on.

"Yes, we talked. We never talk. It's usually Shunsui doing the talking. I think he likes the sound of his own voice." she said with a soft smile. "He rarely listens to me. But today, sober and straight faced, he listened."

"Oh..." Akina whispered.

"He now knows your true feelings?" Nemu asked. Nanao squirmed slightly.

"Not exactly but it's a start. I...I need to take this slow. He's such a shameless libertine..."

"What's a libertine?" Yachiru asked.

"I'll explain later...go on, Nanao." Akina said quickly. Nanao looked uncomfortable but slowly continued,

"He's a rake...a rogue..."

"Lothario?" offered Nemu.

"Exactly!" Nanao snapped, pulling her hair tighter than she intended. Nemu squeaked softly in pain.

"Sorry..." Nanao said softly. "He has a well-earned reputation. It will take some time for me to learn to trust that what he's saying is the truth."

"There's no hurry, Nanao. What's important is that you've finally been honest with him." Akina said, thinking of Zaraki.

"I suppose. It feels...it feels wonderful. I...I...I shouldn't tell you this..." Nanao stammered, blushing hotly.

"Tell us!" Yachiru cried out excitedly. Akina laughed softly.

"Well," Nanao said, dropping the braid she was working on to twist her hands together nervously. "He kissed me."

"What?" Akina laughed.

"Wow!" Yachiru cried out.

"That is more than talking, Nanao." Nemu scolded her.

"I know." Nanao said quickly, unconsciously touching her fingertips to her lips. "It was a..sweet...innocent kiss...but..." she paused, closing her eyes as she remembered. "It was magic." she whispered. Silence fell over the group again as each considered the magical kiss. The silence was shattered by Yachiru asking,

"Did he turn into a bunny rabbit?"

Laughter filled the house as Yachiru objected loudly,

"What? I saw a magic trick one time and a bunch of flowers turned into a bunny rabbit."

The door behind them opened. Zaraki, Ikkaku and Yumichika entered. The men stopped abruptly, seeing the four females occupying the couch. The laughter slowly faded.

"Welcome home, Ken-chan!" Yachiru cried out, catapulting herself into his arms.

"Hey." Akina said softly, smiling up at him.

"Hey sugar..." he said softly. He glanced at Nanao and Nemu.

"What the hell'd you do to her hair?" he snapped.

"We're playing dress up." Yachiru explained.

"Nemu...you okay?" Ikkaku asked quietly with a worried expression.

"Yes, I am well." Nemu replied cheerfully. Akina got a good look at Nemu as she stood and turned to face her. They had covered her head in tiny braids that stuck out at odd angles giving the beautiful woman a wild, savage look. Zaraki burst into laughter. Ikkaku shot him a dark look. Yumichika shook his head.

"I think curls would suit her better." he noted thoughtfully. Akina laughed. Nemu looked unsurely back at Nanao.

"Don't listen to them. You look lovely." she said, standing and dusting off her uniform.

"I'm very sorry, gentlemen, but you can't be here. Except Yumichika...I suppose, you can stay if you like. But Captain Zaraki, you'll have to leave. This is a private meeting of the Shinigami Women's Association. Last time I checked, you weren't a woman." she said smugly. He cocked an eyebrow at her comment.

"Last time I checked this was my fuckin' house." he growled. Nanao frowned slightly.

"You need to get the hell outta here. I'm hungry and tired." he insisted, sitting down at the table. Yachiru scrambled from his arms to hurry over to Nanao and Nemu.

"Thank you for playing dress up with me. I had fun!" she said with a big smile. Nemu nodded politely.

"Thank you the opportunity to play with you, Lt. Kusajishi. I hope we may play together again soon." she said, moving towards the door.

"Hang on, I'll walk you home." Ikkaku said, following her out the door. Akina smiled. They were so sweet together.

"Captain Zaraki, what was the meeting regarding?" Nanao asked quietly.

"Fuckin' arrancar have been attacking different areas of the Rukongai. They just appear, do a shitload of damage then disappear." he grumbled.

"They're not striking specific targets?" Akina asked, standing to walk over to him.

"Nah, I think they're testing us. Looking for weaknesses." he said, slipping an arm around her hips as she stepped close to his chair.

"What plans were made to combat it?" Nanao asked. He shrugged.

"They're already fixin' to beef up patrols. There ain't much we can do til they decide to attack. We can't get to them yet so we're stuck sitting here with our thumbs up our asses." he complained.

"I see...I think I should go and find Captain Kyoraku before he finds a bottle of sake. This news will not sit well with him. Thank you, Yachiru. I've never played dress up before. It was...interesting. Akina, please be safe. I will speak to you when you return. Captain Zaraki...Yumichika...good evening." Nanao said as she slipped out the door.

"What's she talking about?" Zaraki asked Akina.

"I'll tell you later." she said quickly. Zaraki frowned, his eyes following her as she stepped away from him.

"Shall I go and get some food, sir?" Yumichika asked.

"Yeah, bring enough for everybody." Zaraki grumbled. "Yachiru, you need to get a bath."

"I want Akina to take a bath with me." she insisted. Zaraki's frown deepened. Akina wasn't sure what had transpired in the meeting but whatever it was, it had left him in a foul mood.

"No, you've been hanging off her all day long. Go take your bath." he ordered.

"No!" Yachiru snapped, stomping her foot. Zaraki's lone eye narrowed dangerously.

"Go take your bath...now." he growled. Yachiru crossed her arms and tilted her face away from him.

"I don't mind." Akina said quickly, trying to interceded between the two. "It would be fun."

"Whatever." he growled, visibly unhappy with her interference.

"Yippee! Come on, Akina. We'll go to the bathhouse. Do you want to use my shampoo?" Yachiru asked, taking her by the hand.

"I need to get something to wear, squirt. I don't have anything here."

"Hang on." Zaraki said, walking into his bedroom. He returned quickly carrying a pale blue yukata. He handed it to her.

"That oughta fit." he said. Akina held it against her body. It looked slightly large but a close match.

"Thanks...uhm...where did this come from? It's a ladies sleep yukata..." she asked quietly. He shrugged, taking a jug of sake down from a high shelf.

"I don't remember who left it here. It's clean. Yumichika wanted it but I wouldn't let him take it. The idea creeped me out too much." he said absently as he poured himself a cup of sake. Akina eyed the yukata warily. It was left here by a previous lover of his. The thought bothered her in a way she didn't understand fully.

"You expect me to wear a robe some of other woman left here?" she snapped jealously. He grinned.

"What difference does it make?"

"Come on, Aka-chan! I'm hungry. Let's hurry and get back before Feather Face." Yachiru whined, pulling on Akina's arm. Zaraki held her gaze steadily.

"What's the problem? You jealous?" he asked softly. Her anger flared. She wasn't jealous. She liked him but was definitely not serious about him. What did she care who he had over or what they might have taken off in front of him.

"No!" she hissed. "I'm not. Come on, Yachiru."

She was sure she heard him laughing as she walked out of the house.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A huge thank you to everyone who's taken the time to review my story!