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He won. That was what was important. He had won the contest, but he'd drank far more than he usually did. Say what you wanted to about her, but Rangiku could hold her liquor with the best of them. He stretched slightly and felt a leg slide across his thigh and heard a murmur to his left. At least this time she was there when he woke up, he thought with a smile. This was good.
Then he felt another movement to his right and he froze suddenly. What in the hell? He sat up a bit, and then turned...and saw fluffy pink hair.
Oh, crap.
Now, he knew from experience that the closer to dawn it got the less sleepy Yachiru was. He glanced at the window into his quarters and saw no sign of pink. Good. He had at least an hour before Yachiru was alert, bouncy and hyper. And what the hell was she doing here anyway? Captain Unohana had assured him she'd be watched over like a hawk in the headquarters there. But right now wasn't the time to think about it. He shifted slightly, careful not to disturb Yachiru, and tried to shake Matsumoto awake.
“Stop,” she mumbled, and curled up closer to him. Under normal circumstances he'd turn this into something more fun, but these were not normal circumstances. He nudged her a little harder. “Zaraki, cut it out,” she said a little more loudly.
“Yachiru's in here, too. Don't jerk awake,” he said quietly.
He felt Matsumoto disentangle herself and, with what must have been very practiced moves, she slowly shifted and sat up, holding the sheet against her chest. He looked at her and saw she was looking at the little girl, her mouth in a small O shape. This was good. She wasn't freaking out. “How did she get in here?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Dunno.” He knew it would not be a good idea to shrug. “You've gotta go, though.”
“I know,” she said, slowly working her way off the bed. She was doing this with such ease that he knew she'd had to escape other mens beds before they awoke before. Not that it bugged him, but whenever he tried to leave a woman's bed they inevitably woke up and...it got messy.
He kept transferring his gaze between watching Matsumoto slither out of bed and keeping an eye on his lieutenant. When Matsumoto got to her feet he spared some time to enjoy the view as she began to very quietly get dressed. He didn't think much about being graceful, but he had to admit that that was what Matsumoto was. Had it been different he'd have been trying to undress her just as fast as she was getting dressed. Now there was a thought. If they went a third go round he might actually stay sober enough to remember her getting undressed for him.
It didn't take her very long, and when she was finished she checked herself over once and then nodded, satisfied. “I will see you later,” she said with a grin.
“Wait a sec,” he said.
“Yes?” she asked, pausing.
“It doesn't feel right, you just leaving like this,” he said, sitting up a little more while being very careful not to dislodge Yachiru from the other side of the bed.
She laughed softly. “Well, it's a complication we don't need. A graceful exit is always a good idea under these circumstances.” Then she paused and, very softly, knelt on the bed again to get closer to him, brushing her lips against his. “To--”
But she never got to finish the sentence as a he yawn was heard on the other side. Matsumoto leapt back, warily watching the little girl. When Yachiru did nothing other than roll over, burying her head into Kenpachi's arm, she let out her breath, waved, and quietly opened the door and left.
Kenpachi sighed, looking up at the ceiling. Captain Unohana may have a smile that chilled him to the bone when she was deadly serious about something, but he'd be damned if he'd accept any good reason why Yachiru was not soundly sleeping in her own damn bed at the 4th Division headquarters. He had envisioned his morning being much more enjoyable than it was turning out to be.
“Ken-chan?” he heard a muffled voice say.
“Yeah, 'Chiru?” he said with a sigh.
“How come Lieutenant Big Boobies was here?” she said, not lifting her head up.
“Because I wanted her to be,” he said, hoping she accepted the simple explanation. “How'd you get in here, anyway?”
“Had a nightmare. Captain Mom wasn't there, so I came here.” There was another yawn. “Captain Mom went to what's his face's room. Captain...Captain...”
Kenpachi's eyebrow raised. “Ukitake?”
“Nope.”
“Kyoraku?”
There was a pause, and he felt a slight nod. “She said she'd be back soon, and she wasn't, and I got scared so I came here.”
Well, this was certainly interesting. It looked as though they'd either have to work out a schedule for this sort of thing or else he was going to force Ikkaku or Yumichika to sleep outside Yachiru's room any time he wanted Matsumoto over. Either way worked fine with him. “You feelin' better now?”
“Yeah, Ken-chan.” She curled up tighter. Just when he began to relax, she stirred again. “Ken-chan?”
“Yeah?”
“How come you two didn't have any clothes on?”
He sighed. If he didn't answer her she'd harp after him all day. And it had been decided long ago that someone from the 4th Division would be having that talk with her when she was older. “Was too hot,” he said, hoping that threw her off.
“Okay, Ken-chan,” she said with another little yawn. “Night.”
He slid back down in the bed some more and shut his eyes. When Yachiru made no more sound and didn't move anymore, he relaxed. Maybe if he was lucky, very lucky,, she'd stay asleep long enough for him to slip out of bed and get dressed himself. Nah, he thought immediately afterward. Knowing his luck lately she'd wake up and be scarred for life. No, there was only one thing to do. He sat up again and shook her awake. “Yachiru.”
“Lemme sleep,” a muffled voice said.
“Go back to your room, Yachiru,” he said, shaking her a little more.
“But Ken-chan,” she said. “I'm sleepy.”
“I need to get dressed.”
Not even a minute later she lifted her head up, stared at him, rubbed her eyes and clambered off the bed towards the door. “Hey, Ken-chan?”
“Yeah, Yachiru?” he asked wearily.
“Want me to go get Lieutenant Big Boobies for ya?”
He shook his head. “Nah. She's gone back to sleep in her own bed.”
“So...no more sleeping over?”
“No more sleeping over for you, 'Chiru. You have a bed, you hafta stay there all night until Captain Unohana says you can go. No more getting up and traveling all across the damn place to get here in the middle of the night.”
She pouted slightly. “Fine, Ken-chan.”
“Wait outside for a bit and I'll get dressed and take ya back to your room.” She didn't reply, instead opening the door and going out into the hallway. Only when she was gone did he breathe a sigh of relief. He'd just gotten up and started getting dressed when he heard a knock. “What is it, 'Chiru?” he asked, continuing to get dressed.
There was a slight laugh. “It's not me, Ken-chan.”
“Well, gimmie a sec,” he said, finishing up. “Who is it, anyway?”
“Captain Mom.”
He finished getting dressed, opening the door and seeing a blushing Unohana talking to his lieutenant. He leaned against the door frame and looked at her. “What do ya want?”
“I want to apologize for not keeping a closer eye on Lieutenant Kushajishi,” she said quietly.”
“Hey, it's no big deal,” he said with a half shrug. “It happens.”
“She did not interrupt you, did she?” she asked.
He had to smile at that. “Nah, we were asleep.”
“Ah,” she said with a nod. “Well...I apologize all the same. It will not happen again.”
“Hey, what you do is your business. I can always send Ikkaku or Yumichika over ta babysit if you need a break.”
She looked so grateful Kenpachi was utterly surprised. “I think that would be a very good idea.”
“All right then. Lemme know when you want a break, and if I want a break too I'll send one of 'em over.”
“Thank you,” she said with a slight bow. “I'll take your young lieutenant back to her room.”
“See ya later, Ken-chan!” Yachiru said happily as she bounced along the hallway with Captain Unohana at her side. He watched them go and let out a small chuckle. Never let it be said that Yachiru showing up that early made for an uninteresting morning...