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“It’s cradle robbing, is what it is.”
The grump beside her made no effort to lower his voice as they walked quickly towards the doors of Squad 1, and the Captains meeting about to start. Retsu sighed, stopping cold in her stride, making him pause and turn to her.
“I don’t understand how you of all people could call it that?” She said with dangerously thin patience. “You were a child when we first met, and I was already-“
“I’d been a child for as long as you’d been alive – as you well know. Didn’t start growin’ till you cut me.” He explained for the thousandth time. “This is completely different.”
Was he… jealous?
Obviously.
“Kenpachi, there’s no need to get upset – it was before we were together. And I was looking for something more… sedate.”
He snorted in derision. “Sedate sounds about right.”
“And it wasn’t for long – a few years, at most. Why are we even talking about this?” Her patience was hanging on by a thread, unable to deal with this latest threat to the Seireitei (Ryoka, if you could believe it) and his insecurities.
“Because you have a sweet spot for him, and I’m not allowed to fight the fucker!” He bellowed, clearly frustrated by this.
Patience… gone.
She whirled on him, one pointed finger jabbing him firmly between his exposed pectorals.
“Listen here, you arrogant shit,” she began, hissing the words quietly so only he could hear, “You can’t deal with every emotional problem you have, with a sword! You can’t change the past, or the way I feel about people with a fight! And you cannot – I repeat, CANNOT – keep bringing this up every time we are about to be in the same space together!”
He smirked at her.
Smirked.
Retsu’s reiatsu flared in anger, making the walls around them tremble. Kenpachi released some of his own, challenging her, even as he grinned that shark-like grin.
“Yare, Yare,” Came a familiar lazy drawl from the walkway ahead of them, “What’s all this anger before an urgent meeting? Shouldn’t that wait until we hear what Yama-Ji actually wants?”
“Stay outta this, Kyouraku.” Kenpachi growled, still smiling seductively at his woman. Well, threatening and menacing was a kind of seduction, wasn’t it?
“It’s nothing to be concerned about, Kyouraku-Kun, we’ll be right in.” Retsu replied pleasantly calm, her reiatsu not diminishing one bit.
Shunsui paused for a moment, his genial smile widening as he chuckled a bit, then said quietly, “There’s nothing there, Kenpachi-Taicho.”
When Kenpachi glanced at the flowery man, his eyes narrowed when a flare of reiatsu blew over all of them – Kyouraku’s own anger.
“See, Jyuushiro is with me now,” His voice sounded so pleasant, but the threat in that reiatsu was not to be ignored. Kenpachi’s attention shifted to the 8th Division Captain, his grin going wider as he became distracted by the hint of aggression.
“And I don’t intend to let him go.”
The rising pressure. The tension as all three captains felt their anger simmering. Though, Kenpachi was forgetting the reason, and becoming more excited by the idea of fighting the powerful Captain.
“If you don’t hurry up, and stop all this… measuring, Sou-Taicho will have all of you on rebuke.” Jyuushiro Ukitake called from the balcony nearby, clearly exasperated by the peacocking.
Retsu was the first to withdraw, walking away from the two men with a muttered curse that sounded like “Testosterone. Ugh.”
Kyouraku stared at Zaraki for a few more moments before dropping his reiatsu as quickly as he’d raised it – which was just as scary. With a final smile that was more friendly that fearsome, he nodded and walked back towards the meeting, and his lover.
Kenpachi was left standing alone on the walkway with a fight boner and jealousy he couldn’t slake, despite needing to so badly.
“Tch.” He scoffed, before walking towards the entrance to the meeting, where they were about to discuss significantly more interesting things…
… like an impending fight with some ryoka.