Bleach 1. Family

**A/N: A little one shot that came to me, set a long long time in the future involving a grownup Yachiru, all of the Eleventh Divison, and the ties that bind us all together. Not related at all to "Various Events" and sticks strictly to what Tite Kubo has created in his **_**Bleach **_**universe. I know I ought to be working on my other piece, but thing happen and this is one of those things. I post this as an appeasement to people waiting, and I hope that it's not as crappy as I think it is. **

**Disclaimer: Clearly, I am only taking artistic license with Mr. Kubo's idea, I own nothing except the plot of this here ficlet. That is all, nothing more nothing less. Please don't sue me.**

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**Family**

There are somethings that Yachiru Kusajishi, fukutaicho of the 11th Divison, took for granted. The greatest instance of her good fortune was not one of those things, however. She knew (_knew in her heart of hearts, in every fiber of her being)_ that everything she was today was the product of one selfless act of kindness by her father-figure, Kenpachi Zaraki. Even her name was a byproduct of his act, he had given her an identity, a future, a home and a purpose. And from that one act, she had become a fukutaicho, a Shinigami of some repute, a daughter, a niece, a smiling bloody angel that somehow was the hope of the entire Sereitei (_because if one child among all that bloodshed could still be that happy-go-lucky and innocent, then all hope is not lost)._ She had a full family in the 11th, in all of the Sereitei. She had the strength of her sword, of her fight, of Kenpachi and all of her very very large family (_crammed to capacity? Not yet)_. And now, she smiled at the small bundle she had just left sleeping at her quarters in the barracks, she had something to give back to all of them.

She burst into the 11th Divison's mess hall, knowing that it would be crammed to capacity and that everyone will hear her. She grabs a set of plates from the line and dashes it against the far wall, bringing a hush to the room. Clearly, they all know she has something to say that they all need to hear, or else she would not risk Yumichika's wrath over breaking the most beautiful plates the fifth seat could find (_eat off of un-beautiful plates? Unacceptable)_. Ikkaku has to hold the fifth seat back, his screaming and cursing and general rage overcomes most of what their fukutaicho is trying to tell them, but the divison hears this quote the clearest, " … baby coming through" After that, it is a losing battle to try and listen, they are all busy collecting weapons and plotting the best way to destroy whichever punk got their 'Chiru pregnant. _Shikai _ is called upon, Yumichika brings out his zanpakto's true abilities (_there is no judgement at a time like this, any and all powers are accepted. They were on a mission after all. Everyone conveniently forgets after too)_, Ikkaku and some other ranked officer draw out _bankai_. All in all, they looked like a Yakuza clan, swinging their weapons with murderous intent and whatnot.

Yumichika is the first one to gather his wits and ask the perplexed fukutaicho who, exactly the father is. The pink haired lieutenant looks at them in askance, then as if comprehension is dawning, and finally proclaims, as cheerfully as when she delivers the news about the baby, "I don't know!" Which is how, for the first time in the long history of the Sereitei_, _the entirety of a division was struck dumb and struck down (_the strongest, but somehow it was done single handedly by their lieutenant without raising a single weapon, the gossips whispered. And such was how Yachiru Kusajishi became simultaneously a monster and a hero)_ at the same time and in the same place. (Renji felt a sharp twinge and lost concentration for a good half hour before Kuchiki taicho deigned to hit him over the head to bring him to his senses.)

Yachiru got down on all fours and poked the nearest dumbstruck division member. She looked around in confusion, "Was it something I said?" She shrugs her shoulders in confusion, and skips out the door, heading for Kenpachi's office.

She bursts into her father's office in almost the same manner as she did the mess hall. "Kenny! Guess what! There's gonna be a baby joining us!" She had just settled herself onto his broad shoulder sitting with her legs crossed (_she never grew past 4 foot 11 inches, not legally a midget but not quite as tall as she had once hoped to be.)_ He was playing chess with Hanataro Yamada from 4th(_They were actually very good players, both Grand Masters)._

The Kenpachi, the proud Kenpachi, looks at her and grins, "Good for ye 'Chiru." Hanataro faints dead away. "So where did ye find it?"

Yachiru grins, "Well, I was out doing some rounds slaying Hollows while patroling the Rukon districts and there was this blood bath that just appeared in Inuzuri. There was this little blood covered baby playing in the blood, and it was splashing about in this massive puddle of blood and gore and all these weapons were scattered around and this baby wasn't afraid. It reminded me of you, and our first encounter, so I picked up the baby and brought him here to the 11th. I think I shocked everyone in the mess hall though. They all were acting funny at lunch."

Kenpachi shrugs, his divison is not known for being normal by any stretch of the word. "Well, introduce us to th' little guy at dinner, 'kay? And choose a good name, too. I need to hunt up the list of rules Yumi made fer us while ye were still a little pike, those have to be reinstated." Completely forgetting the game, he heads straight for a pile of papers sitting in the adjacent room and mutters, "I know I threw it in here somewhere."

Yachiru giggles, and then heads back to her quarters. Her many oji-sans, oba-sans, mentors, trainers, sparring partners, all of her family here at the 11th division would be happy about the new arrival, she just knew it. They had long since given up on coddling Yachiru, she had fully grown into the fukutaicho the division needed, and they respected her. But they were her family, her roots and beginnings and her whole world. They were the ones who raised her, her guidance and hers to boss around (_everyone knew that 11__th__ had one weakness, and that was their lieutenant – she had them wrapped around her fingers. But kami help anyone who tried to exploit that weakness, they were known for violence for a reason, and their fukutaicho was fukutaicho for a reason.)_. They were the reason she had the strength to stand on her own two feet, to lead fearlessly (_they wouldn't have it any other way_), and they were the reason she fought like a mini Kenpachi (_they all knew that when old man Kenpachi finally bit the bullet and died fighting, then Yachiru would be the new Kenpachi, there was no doubt and Soutaicho be d****ed)_. So when the time finally came to present her son, Takeshi Inuzuri (_silver eyes and light brown hair, tiny perfect feet and hands and simply silent)_ to his new family, she was bursting with pride, knowing that their family's newest member was the one who would certainly steal all their hearts all over again, and would rediscover the bonds of family that kept the 11th Division the most fearsome: they are bonded not by war or fighting, but by brotherhood and the unbreakable bonds of family, of trust and love and respect, and of their immense care for one another (_they only showed all this by punching each other's faces in – every family is certainly dysfunctional in their own way.)_They were 11th Division of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads of the Court of Pure Souls. And they were the most loyal, the most weird, the most dysfunctional fighting outfit anyone has ever seen, the most blood-thirsty, the most violent, and they were family.

Omake: There was palatable relief when baby Takeshi was introduced at dinner. Most of 11th had come back into their senses by that time. Luckily for the entire male population in Soul Society, the whole misunderstanding was quickly forgotten and everyone was enthralled by the baby. All of that night was spent building a nursery, as well as making quick baby gifts (_Takeshi was officially the most well-armed child the Thirteen Court Guard Squads had ever seen; from that moment forth he had a veritable armory at his disposal)_, and then after a fight broke out about who would baby sit first (_only in 11__th__ would they fight over babysitting)_, a schedule was instated. In an instant, the Zaraki Squad reverted to its most ancient way of life: that which revolved around raising a child (_they say it takes a village, 11__th__ would disagree. Who needs a village when they're around?)_.

FIN

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**A/N: A little one shot that came to me, while I was wondering what would happen if Yachiru came across a child in the Rukon districts. I had to use Inuzuri because that's the only other district named, and that would have to be the baby's last name. I also wondered about what kept the 11****th**** so tightly knit – the only logical explanation is that of familial bonds, so I decided the two ideas kind of went together. Well, I hope you enjoyed this little ficlet. Review if you feel like it. Flame me all you want. Until next time.**

**ModernArt2012**


	2. Omake 1

**A/N: Because I had an idea, and someone asked for more. So much for having just a one shot….**

**Disclaimer: Well, isn't this disclaimer quite the little sl**? Everybody does it, nobody pays for it. Well, like everyone else, I don't own anything but the plot and my OC. **

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Takeshi was a quiet baby, one whom everyone immediately assumed was the fourth seat simply by virtue of being alive (_and if the day ever came that Ikkaku was defeated by him, everyone knew the current third would be busted down to Fourth Seat_), after all, his mother had been lieutenant as a child herself, and nobody in the division cared. The paperwork never got done anyways, so it didn't matter much. To most of the members of the Eleventh, there was absolutely nothing strange about saluting someone who was centuries younger than you, even if they were still in diapers (_for all the newer members, it helped that Takeshi had an army willing to kill in his name, as well as a Captain for a grandfather. They converted pretty quickly.)_ No, him being fourth seat was insisted upon, except everyone called for him to be Third, but someone had to be able to fill out the division sake budget, and Ikkaku was the only one who could logically be given the responsibility, out of all the seated officers. He had no aversion to weapons, and liked to gnaw on Yumichika's braid as often as possible. He clapped and laughed when the division members sparred, and for the other divisions, Takeshi gave them almost as much worry as his mother and Kurosuchi-taicho combined.

For the Eleventh, this was merely a sign that Takeshi was meant to lead them one day. The thing they puzzled about, however, was his inscrutable ability to simply disappear. Whoever was on duty to babysit would blink, and he would be gone. They'd tried everything from tying him to them, but he always managed to escape to places unknown (_Second mildly wondered if he was in anyway or form related to Soi-Fon. Or if he was a baby assassin, one that had been born to move like the Onmitsukido Corp, natural ability to shunpo, which led to them campaigning to gain custody of Takeshi. That got them a special beating from Eleventh.)_ Eventually, he'd be found in his special armory, playing with something dangerous, and Yachiru and the Kenpachi would beam proudly (_Central 49 wondered if they ought to call Child Services, but the inquiry ended when it was discovered that Child Services didn't exist as a branch of the Gotei.)_ and coo at him, as if absolutely nothing was wrong with having an infant around dangerous weapons. This lead to a playroom being established in the same room.

It was the Seventh Seat that was on babysitting duty that day, one who had been on illegal trips back to the World of the Living enough to have discovered that he had been a yakuza member. Takeo played it up, acting like he was still a yakuza member (_he secretly trained himself in yakuza ways by reading cheesy shojo manga and watching live action dramas. Kami forbid that you mention that to anyone, or he'd show you yakuza.)_ Ikakku had specially forged Takeshi a sheath, beautifully enameled and decorated with gold designs, and a stunning stand for it as well, and this piece was displayed proudly at the head of the room. Takeo inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as his fists rested on his thighs and his legs tucked underneath his body. He opened them again to find Takeshi reaching for the glittering sheath, small pudgy hand close to the surface. He immediately shouted out, "Young Master! A rumble?!" The Division, by now used to Takeo shouting out such phrases and completely at ease with what the slang meant, immediately reacted, sliding open the walls and pouring forth from the walls, "Are you going to have a fight?!", bringing their zanpakto. (_Hopes that had been raised so quickly were just as effectively dashed when he started gnawing on the false handle that had been placed in the sheath. It didn't stop them from bragging about it though, telling and retelling the story more and more elaborately with each cup of sake that night.)_

The only reason there wasn't a fight with Young Master Takeshi leading the charge on some unknown enemy was that Unohana taicho had been visiting (_no one quite knew why and no one cared to find out. Popular consensus was that she had come to practice scaring people – everyone knew 4__th__ was too easy for her anyway.) _which meant she simply smiled and opened her eyes and asked them what they were doing, and everyone scrambled to make it seem like they weren't doing what it looked like they were doing (_not that any of them knew exactly what it looked like they were doing, but general speculation was that it probably looked suspicious.)_ And thus ended the first great lesson the 11th pretended they had intentionally taught their 4th Seat – be very afraid of Unohana taicho. It doesn't matter what you are planning, if she appears, forget about it. Your life is worth more than whatever you were planning.

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**A/N: And the end of this particular Omake. I hope you guys enjoyed, I wanted to plan my next chapter for another story, but I came up with this instead. Review if you feel like it, etcetera etcetera.**


	3. Omake 2

**A/N: Because I have nothing to do and this popped into my head. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own the OCs and plot. Anything that looks like it could be from ****Bleach**** probably is and thus I don't own it.**

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Takeshi Inuzuri, the fourth seat of the Eleventh Divison, was the most unsettling part of Eleventh if you polled the other Divisions of the Gotei. Though he currently visibly appeared to be at least 8 years old, he was silent and never spoke a word, leveling a penetrating gaze at you that gave you the sensation that he knew everything about you and found you beneath him (_rumors abounded that he was actually Byakuya Kuchiki's long-lost sibling, one who had died and been reborn and had finally returned to the Soul Society. This also conveniently explained how well the two got along; for all that the captain was centuries older and more prone to talking. Everyone conveniently overlooked that Takeshi got along well with Hitsugaya-taicho, and that they also shared similar attributes ) _Not that anyone was stupid enough to say so in front of any Eleventh member, if they valued their (_after_)life. Except for Ichigo, but Ichigo was practically Eleventh anyways, the Eleventh didn't take (_too much_) offense.

If you had to ask the Gotei, the level of unsettling landed somewhere above Mayuri Kurotsuchi when he had just come up with a new experiment and was planning on experimenting on you, below Ichigo's bankai aimed at you, and somewhere between Unohana-taicho smiling at you with her eyes open and Kyoraku-taicho's bankai , though well below having all the taicho's aim their bankai at you. If the Shinigami had to describe his unique brand of unsettling, it was like knowing that the Head of the Kuchiki clan was watching you and preparing to destroy you, but had no intention of reigning in the bloodshed that was about to occur or of you having a hope of defeating him. Or like Kyoraku taicho decided to unleash his shikai and take off his hat, maybe even if Unohana decided to draw her blade and fight you (_nobody could recollect if anyone ever had seen Unohana fight, but the mere thought terrified them to the point that they decided that it was best to never speak of it again or even think of it since that most likely meant that anyone who had ever seen it occur was dead or worse.)_

It was a good thing that Eleventh never heard any of this, because had they heard, they would have tried to prove that their Fourth was probably as scary as Aizen (_though, in hindsight, they discovered that their fukutaicho and taicho would probably mercilessly end them and this near-miss with the destructive force of the two combined was never forgotten)_ Barring that, they might have gone around and tried to prove the opposite, since they knew that their Fourth was nothing if not loving and caring and funny (_he was just really self-contained!)_ – though they might have had a spot of bother proving it. While good natured and always self-contained, few had heard him ever speak, and no one could remember if he had ever raised his voice above a whisper. (_The running theory was that his yelling was to Takeshi as smiling was to Unohana, or Soutaicho opening his eyes fully. There was a concurrent theory that his voice was actually his bankai; no one's ever gotten any proof for or against so the secret statistics book that Yumichika keeps lists Takeshi as having attained bankai, just in case.)_ And his sense of humor was of the dry variety, said in a flat monotone and with little indication that he had meant to say something funny – the kind of thing that you had to be there for.

Even Eleventh held him in awe, since he was a skilled fighter and held his own with live weapons with Ikkaku and Yumichika regularly.( _The other divisions have long since realized that if Eleventh is in awe of someone, then it was a wise decision to fear them.)_He was feared because he had impeccable timing, walking in coldly on schemers plotting to do something not-quite-this-side-of-socially-acceptable, look at them both distantly and distainfully (_The SWA was keeping a careful eye on him, since they figured that he was going to have a massive fan base one day; they were going to market him as the ideal mix between the Kenpachi and Byakuya. As long as Yachiru doesn't find out – but that is a tale for another story)_ and then proceed to ignore them and whatever they were doing to the point that they gave up trying to plot anything in his vicinity because he made them too nervous to do anything so it usually ended up with the plotters running out after the pressure had built too high for them to withstand. (_Needless to say, it was all in their heads; Takeshi, if ever asked about these incidences, would cock his head to the side and stare at you in askance until you yourself felt uncomfortable and left.)_

However, if we were to ask his adoptive mother, she would have had plenty of examples to prove Takeshi wasn't quite as scary as everyone made him out to be. She had pictures of him cuddling with his stuffed bear, cuddling on the Kenpachi's shoulder as they both lay in the shade of tree sleeping (_though Ikkaku claimed that the mere fact that such a young child was okay with sleeping with the heavily scarred warrior was a testament to the fact that he was equally scary. Yachiru dyed his head hot pink for that.)_ We have to take her point of view with a mountain of salt – the stuffed bear was made from the remnants of his baby blanket, and everyone knows how people are attached to their baby blankets; the Kenpachi adored his grandchild, doing normal grandfatherly things with him like teaching him how to sword fight and letting Takeshi ride on his shoulders and secretly feeding him candy when he thought no one was looking (_much like Komamura's divison, Eleventh turned a blind eye to the Kenpachi's actions, if only to keep themselves from being killed and not to save their taicho's pride. Even Eleventh division members have a shred of self-preservation instincts, even if it doesn't work in battle)_ We must also consider that Yachiru discovered her bankai after some fool (_or as Eleventh refers to him, 'that &#$*% who messed with our Takeshi')_ tried to take advantage of Takeshi, and it has never been spoken of since (_those who saw it shiver in fear when it is mentioned, the Kenpachi was ever so pleased)_. One must also consider her own unconventional upbringing, and conclude that of course as a mother and as a child raised in Eleventh, she wasn't going to see anything wrong with her son. Even if he could already beat a seated officer in less than 30 seconds and keep up with the Onmistukido Corp and out maneuver them on a regular day.

In reality, the only one who can actually give some credible report of how Takeshi is not a scary monster is in fact Juushiro Ukitake, for reasons that few would ever guess. Because what Ukitake taicho knows is that Takeshi Inuzuri is terribly shy. He can hold his own in a fight, yes, and has absolutely no fear of tugging on Soutaicho's beard or of getting caught in the Kuchiki manor without invite (_though everyone presumes that he has no invite, everyone also assumes he gets caught or that he has been taught secret ways by Yachiru – everyone doesn't think that he simply walks through the front door)_ or of calling Komamura a 'doggie' where a normal person would be terrified to even reference how Komamura looks (_In telling you that this, we must also report that no one actually saw it happen, merely overheard. Had they seen, they would have found a toddler pointing to images in a picture book, of what was indeed a 'doggie'. Komamura simply hasn't the heart to correct the rumor.) _ But Takeshi is shy in front of people he barely knows, and much prefers to watch people and not say much. He can have long conversations with Yumichika or Ikkaku or Yachiru, but if you stuck him in front of a new divison member or someone he barely knows, he does his best 'stone wall' act and everything goes downhill from there. But, he has a thirst for knowledge, and though he still stutters in Ukitake's presence (_a far cry from their original meeting which consisted of Takeshi creeping in like a mouse when no one else was around and leaving a note asking for permission to get into the Gotei Library before disappearing_), he's at least comfortable enough to try and talk. Plus, Ukitake keeps a careful eye on what Takeshi reads - monsters don't read books on agriculture or calligraphy, he's sure. (_Or how to attain shikai, but that one was up for debate. Though Ukitake seems to always forget that Takeshi has the maturity of an eight year old, and such topics are slightly worrying for an eight-year-old to be consuming.)_

Of course, disregarding everything that made him scary in everyone else's eyes, Eleventh always knew that their Fourth was no monster (_this coming from the division that was led by a real monster_), because of the simple fact (_that they all agreed they would never spill, even at their drunkest, because kami smite them, their precious Takeshi was too adorable and loved to ever be put through such a humiliation at such an age)_ that he sang when he though no one was listening. It was a clear sound, one that harmonized well with his mother and grandfather's voices, though no one will admit that they secretly listen for the sound. It was rare to get the Kenpachi to sing, like pulling teeth to get Yachiru to sing, and even rarer to hear Takeshi. To hear the three together was something Eleventh swore would never be spoken of because it was so magical (_their exact pact includes references to unicorns and angels singing)_and they also swore to never mention how they hid in the vicinity to listen to the singing. Mostly because it was as un-warrior-ly as one could get, second because they didn't want the singers to discover that they were being listened to (_although it could be argued that Takeshi knew, since he had stumbled upon a group of them listening once, though no one ever found out.)_

Trying to publically insinuate that Takeshi was not ranked highly in the list of what makes the Gotei unsettling to a member of Eleventh, however, would be suicide.

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**A/N: The end. Until next time.**

**ModernArt**


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