{Kenpachi X Reader} A flower among weeds Pt.1

{Kenpachi Zaraki X Reader}

            Kenpachi yawned as he propped his head on his hand. He was bored. The dead had been sorted and reconstruction was already in full swing. The last month of had been nothing but peaceful and he was back to his usual, tiresome routine. Today, however, should hold something interesting; he thought. His squad was receiving a new fourth seat. If there was someone who the head captain deemed strong enough to be on squad eleven, no, to be the fourth seat on squad eleven then that was enough to get Kenpachi curious. Though he was unsure as to how much merit Kyoraku’s opinion had, he wanted to see what this person had that made him so special. So he laid back in wait, the whole squad crowding the room; Ikkaku and Yumichika at his sides.

“Damn, it’s just a new squad member.” Someone whined. “Why does the whole squad have to meet the new member?”

“Come on, don’t say you’re not the least bit curious about a new fourth seat? When was the last time we got a new squad member? Not to mention he’s so highly ranked.” Ikkaku grinned.

“Tcht. He’s probably not very good looking when you put it that way.” Yumichika added.

“Both of you shut it.” Kenpachi grumbled.

There was a creak as the double doors began opening. The whole squad grew quiet. As soon as they could see their new member, they were in disbelief. They were surprised to see you, a woman. You had (length, h/c) hair and beautiful (e/c) eyes. You were adjusting your zanpak-to at your waist to make sure it stayed secure. Once you realized everyone was staring at you, you stood up straight and bowed your head. “I’m (first name) (last name), your new fourth seat. Pleased to meet you.” Suddenly, everyone burst out laughing. You gave them a confused look as you straightened your posture. “Why is everyone laughing?”

“Listen. ______, was it?” Ikkaku rose to his feet and approached you. “I think you've got the wrong squad. I heard some of the other squads were getting new members too so I think you somehow got turned around.”

“Huh? Isn’t this Squad Eleven?” You walked straight past him and directly up to Kenpachi. “You are Captain Kenpachi Zaraki, are you not?”

He sat up. “Yeah.”

You smiled. “Then I’m in the right place. I’m the new fourth seat for squad eleven.”

“Wha-?!” You could feel everyone’s eyes on you.

“She’s so cute.”

“We’ve never had a girl on the squad other than the Lieutenant.”

“Well, does someone want to give me a tour of the barracks?” You asked.

“Oh jeez. This is not gonna go well.” Ikkaku frowned. “A girl in barracks filled with men.”

“This has bad news written all over it.” Yumichika agreed as the men volunteered in an uproar.

“That’s enough.” Kenpachi rose to his feet. “Can’t trust you guys for a second.” He placed a hand on your shoulder. “She’ll be staying in the room next to mine in the captain’s barracks. Like I’d trust her in the same barracks as you guys.”

“Captain Zaraki to the rescue.” Ikkaku smiled.

“Oh- I don’t want any special treatment. I’m just another squad eleven member.”

“Exactly, squad eleven.” Ikkaku smirked. “You’re like family now.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah~” Yachiru jumped onto your shoulders. “Come on, _____~”

“Yachiru.” Kenpachi grabbed her off of your shoulders. “Let’s let her rest for the day.”

“Aw~ Kenny.” She whined as she attempted to wiggle free.

“Uh-! it’s okay. Lieutenant, would you like to give me the tour?” You smiled, unable to resist her charms.

“Yay!” She jumped into your arms. “Come on, Chika. Baldy.”

“Quit calling me that!” Ikkaku growled.

“Baldy~! Baldy~! Baldy~!” She chanted as they headed out the door.

“Stop it- Ow! Lieutenant that hurt!” And like that, they were gone.

‘Why do I have this feeling of Deja Vu?’ Kenpachi thought to himself.

~BLEACH~

            Kenpachi yawned as he walked down the hallway towards his office. He had woken up late, as usual. It was already a little past noon. He could hear movement inside as he reached the door. He quickly opened it to see you- causing you to nearly jump as he did. His desk was- organized. All the papers that were normally scattered about his table-since he didn’t really have a desk- were in three neat stacks that didn't look like nearly as much as when they were scattered around. “Oh- you’re up.” You sighed when you saw that it was just your captain.

“What’s this?” he had a confused look.

“Well, your table was covered in papers when I came to talk to you and Madarame said you don’t get up early so I organized it.” You smiled nervously.

“Is that so?” He sat in front of the table. His hair hung in his face, he hadn’t bothered to fix it as he usually did.

“Yes. I organized them by what would interest you, what’s immediately important and what you wouldn’t care for. I also threw away the ones that were way past the time limit they were needed.” You smiled. “I’ve read them all so I could give you a brief summary of each if you’d like.”

“Huh, I hadn’t seen this table top in so long I almost forgot what type of wood it was.” He looked at you. “You’re a pretty hard worker. Why are you on my squad?”

“I’ve always wanted to be on Squad Eleven and I don’t mind doing stuff like this because I’m a fast reader. It doesn’t bother me one way or another.”

“I can see it doesn’t. You’re a weird one.”

“You’re one to talk.” You frowned at the comment.

“Ha. Our squad could use a hard worker like you. Okay, _____. Give me the summaries.” He grinned and you smiled in response.

You started reading them. You hadn’t noticed Ikkaku and Yumichika spying through the door. “Wow, they’re actually getting along.” Yumichika said.

“Was there really any doubt? We both know the Captain is an easy going person on a normal day. ” Ikkaku chuckled.

“I don’t know. There’s something about them that just seems… a little too friendly.”

“Hmm?”

~BLEACH~

“____~!” Yachiru jumped onto your shoulders.

“Oh, hello Lieutenant.” You chuckled.

“So,” Ikkaku approached you. “You’ve been here two whole weeks and the papers have stopped piling up on the Captain’s desk. You’ve done pretty well for yourself. I’m almost impressed.” he grinned.

“Almost?” you questioned.

“Well, squad eleven is made up of the toughest fighters in the soul society but we’ve yet to see your abilities.”

“It’s true. There’s been a lack of action since I joined.”

“_____, right?”

“Hm?” your attention turned to a man. Two of his buddies were snickering a few feet behind him. “Can I help you?”

“You’re the newest member of Squad Eleven, right?”

“That’s a stupid question.” your quick response somewhat shocked them. “If you know my name then you know what squad I’m on.”

“Ha. Right.” His friends were laughing, making him nervous. “How about a friendly spar? Just me an’ you.”

“Okay.” You shrugged.

“Yay~! We’re gonna see ____ in action~!” Yachiru jumped off of your shoulders.

“I was just thinking about looking for something fun to do and you just happened to have the best timing.”

“I don’t know. Something about this seems a little fishy.” Ikkaku frowned.

“It’ll be fine.” You said as you stepped onto the ground and stood a short distance from the man.

“What’s going on?” Kenpachi walked up.

“Oh, hi Kenny. ____’s gonna fight some guys from another squad.” Yachiru explained.

“They’re picking a fight with her because she’s a girl. It’s probably so they can brag about beating a member of Squad Eleven.” Ikkaku clicked his tongue, annoyed.

The man’s friend tried to hand you a wooden sword. “No thank you.”

“You’re gonna need it.”

“That’s what you think.”

“Such confidence. Alright then, ladies first.” The man joked.

“Then by all means, hit me with your best shot.” You gave him a devious look and his friends obviously thought your insult was funny as they snickered in the background. This caused the man to charge at you- a mistake he would regret as he swung a wooden sword at you almost wildly. You side stepped to avoid it, barely moving from your spot as he continued to miss. Once he swung and you stepped to his side, you brought the back of your hand down on his- causing him to drop the sword. In the next moment you grabbed ahold of him by his face and with enough force, slammed him into the ground. You dusted yourself off. “Now, if you don’t mind. I have to organize some files for my captain.”

“Wow.” Ikkaku stared, breathless.

The man staggered to his feet as you walked away. “Bitch-!” he jumped up and lunged at you. You turned on your heel and with a swift strike to his gut, he fell to the ground.

“Come back when you’re on my level.”
“She’s not bad.” Yumichika chimed in behind Ikkaku.

“How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to see that bumbling fool make an ass of himself.” His eyes went to Kenpachi, noticing the thoughtful look on his face. It piqued his interest.

‘I swear there’s something familiar about her.’

~BLEACH~

“So this is the famous female officer we’ve been hearing so much about.” Izuru smiled as he, Rangiku and Shuhei sat across from you. Yumichika and Ikkaku had invited you out to lunch with them and had offered to introduce you to their friends outside the squad.

“I’m _____, nice to meet you.”

“Oh believe me, there’s not a person in the Seireitei that hasn’t heard of you. I didn’t know you’d be so pretty though.” Rangiku smiled.

“She is quite aesthetically pleasing.” Yumichika agreed.

“You guys don’t have to flatter me. I didn’t join squad eleven to be treated like a princess.”

“Why did you join squad eleven then?” Shuhei asked. “I heard that you received the highest marks in everything and the Head Captain let you choose what squad you wanted to be on.”

“Really now?” Ikkaku was curious now.

You sighed. It wasn’t really any secret but it’s not like it was something you wanted to scream from the rooftops. “Joining squad eleven… wasn’t my first time meeting Captain Zaraki. I used to be very sick, so sick I couldn’t even walk…”

{Many years ago….

You sat up in your bed, alerted by loud noises and shouting from outside your window. You peered out at the garden, attempting to discover the source when a towering figure stepped out of the brush. Your eyes met his in that moment and you felt no fear at all only- curiosity. “So they were guarding a princess.” He joked.

“Wow, Kenny~!” Yachiru chimed from his shoulder. “A real princess?”

“What do you want?” You asked, giving him a serious look as if trying to appear brave.

“Nothing. Just passing through.” He turned to leave.

“Wait-!” You called out to him, not realizing that you did at first.

“What? You want to come with?”

“Yes.” He was surprised by how boldly you said it.

A grin spread across his face. “Then get up and follow me.” He had said it more as a joke as he started walking away only to hear a sudden ‘thump.’ He turned to see that you had climbed- well, more like fallen out of the window and was now struggling to get to your feet. He seemed to watch for several moments as he witnesses the battle that you were losing. He finally grumbled a sigh and lifted you up. He tossed you back through the window on to your bed. “If you really want to follow me, get stronger.” He stated. “You can bark at me defiantly all you want but you’ll never reach me unless you get stronger.”

You were unsettled by this as he walked away again. “I-I’m not getting stronger for you!”}

“…and so that’s the story.”

“What made you wanna follow someone like Zaraki?” Izuru asked.

“You have to understand, back then I was so sick that even my doctors had given up hope that I was ever going to get better and decided to focus on just keeping me alive. A wild man just ‘passing through’ my yard… he was free. He could do whatever he wanted and no one could stop him. I guess I wanted that. So, I put every effort into getting better and getting into shape. When I found out he had become a soul reaper, I devoted myself to it as well.”
“We get how you feel.” Ikkaku nodded.

“Well, almost. We don’t have a giant crush on our captain.” Yumichika’s comment made your face turn beet red.

“I- I do not!” you began shoveling food into your mouth to avoid the conversation, earning a laugh from everyone.

~BLEACH~

Kyoraku slid open the door to Kenpachi’s office. The sun was beginning to set, coating the room in orange light. Kenpachi was sitting behind the table, reading a report. “Oh, does my eye deceive me? Are you actually doing paper work?”

Kenpachi put a finger to his lips to shush Kyoraku, which made him raise an eyebrow curiously. Kenpachi pointed to the mass on the side of table. His haori was draped over your body as you slept. Yachiru was snuggled up against you. “My newest officer went through the trouble of clearing up all of my work so it would rude of me not to.” He joked. “She was working so hard, she fell asleep on the job so I decided not to wake her.”

“So the delicate flower is standing tall in squad eleven from what I’ve heard.”

“I’m just as surprised as you.” He looked down at you, brushing your hair out of your face with his index finger. “To think she actually had the guts to follow me.”

“Kenny’s princess~….” Yachiru mumbled in her sleep.

“Ah, so you are familiar with her. She was dead set on your squad from the beginning so I thought that might be the case.”

“Yeah. It took me a while to remember. I met her before I became captain.”

“I see.” Kyoraku headed for the door. “I expect you to be the perfect gentleman, Kenpachi. If you make a pretty lady like that cry, you’ll get it from me.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Kenpachi shrugged what Kyoraku said off as he glanced at you again. A grin spread across his face. “Well, this’ll be fun.”

TO BE CONTINUED…