Bleach Bleach: The Lost Story

Chapter 1: An Evening to Remember

Okay so…Reason for the really odd pairing? I don't have one. Really, I don't. Okay, maybe I do but still…I read a story the other day and got inspired. *shrug* Moving on…You will note throughout the whole story that Kenpachi has hazel eyes, this is because the Bleach wiki is a LIE (it says he has green eyes)! I went and looked at every close-up of Kenpachi's eyes and they look grey…Sometimes violet. *Confusion* and in his fight with Ichigo they do flicker to green, so I said "screw it, they're hazel."

I'm also using Kenpachi's new look from the manga; the one where he has long hair with the gravity defying eye-patch. Haven't seen Soifon's new look yet – if she even has one – so I'm just going to edit her myself, the question if I'll be using the other's new looks – yes. I suppose the timeline is set a little into the future of the current manga, so the story is an AU, considering what happens throughout it probably will never happen. Anyway – on to the story!

BTW: I'm sorry if Kenny is a little out of character…Please, don't hurt me! I tried to make it as realistic as possible from his POV!

K-s-K-s-K-s-K

She was strong, tough, resilient, unyielding. And she was over Yoruichi, when she had told them to get rid of the heating below the floor of her compound they had looked at her oddly – the workers – but nonetheless they had worked tirelessly till it was all gone. The cat toys, treats, things like that, were all gone, missing and leaving her room looking bare and desolate, like a twisted hole. Stalking down the corridor she was happy now that whenever she walked by her room, there were no black, four-legged things to remind her of her past obsession.

Soifon now looked back on her childish fancy as nothing more than a crush that needed to be stopped, and it had. When she'd started working harder, driving herself with a hammer, to get rid of and leave it all behind herself, she'd become a sort of insomniac. Her comrades – her whole damn division – were needless to say, concerned. If that fit the definition…When she'd burned all of said things in the back yard, they had flipped out, asked if there was something wrong with her.

She gave no response to their questions, instead adding more gasoline to the fire and watching her great bonfire with the subtlest of pride as the flames licked at the sky, as if in glee or mocking waves of roiling red and gold. Soifon stopped when she reached the outside of her compound, aware that the eyes of her men followed her and she returned their stares with a glare of steeled grey.

Her dark hair whisked across her shoulders, swishing down her to her mid-back and billowing in the breeze. She'd disposed of her braids, although her outfit remained the same, her zanpakuto patting against her rump every now and again as she made her way around.

Soifon found that sometimes walking around made her feel…At ease. And now of days, seeing a flash of black no longer made her heart race, if anything, it just irritated her to see another rodent or flee bitten animal running around. Sighing loudly she kept walking, no destination truly in mind, she must have walked for some time because when she finally looked up at her surroundings, she somehow had made her way all the way to the eleventh division. What the Hell?

Soifon stood there for several long seconds and then shrugged, turning to see…A bustling market? Apparently the rumors about the eleventh district being uninhabitable were lies set up by Komamura to get others to stay away, the people talking and laughing as they would in any other division. Looking around she became aware of a pair of unyielding eyes on her back, but when she turned nothing was there…Of course there was no one there.

She chastised herself for being so foolish and thinking anything could come out of looking directly at the source, no, she would have to search to find her stalker. Before she could though the eyes stopped, the burning haze leaving her, as if her pursuer became aware of the fact that she knew they were there…Whoever they were.

Sighing she started walking back to her division when she felt a shadow cast over her, "what're you doing here, Captain Soi Sauce?" The gruff voice and the husky after tint was the unmistakable voice of Kenpachi Zaraki, but how had he managed to sneak up on her? Despite his size he was capable of sneaking up on her…It was a strange paradox.

"Don't call me that," she snapped, turning to him in an angry flare, "and I was just out for a walk, I didn't mean to come here."

"Can't take a joke?" Kenpachi growled, "besides, I didn't say you had to leave, I just asked what you were doing here. And now that you've answered my question, I'll be going." With that final comment he turned – oddly enough without a pink haired girl on his shoulder – and slowly made his way down the street.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Soifon roared, her anger flaring at the thought of being one-upped by someone like Zaraki.

"Eh?" He turned his head, looking at her over his shoulder, his long spiky hair reaching down his back, swishing softly in the wind.

"Well-"But now that she thought about it…She really had no right to keep him. "I just…"

"Wanted to know if I was doing something tomorrow evening? Say, seven o'clock?" He looked thoughtful, a grin creeping over his features. Soifon was officially speechless and that was not an easy task to achieve, all considering her horrid anger issues, but watching his mouth as those words came out just confirmed it.

"W-what, that's no-"but before she could finish he went on.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow, wear something nice," that grin didn't fade as he turned away and started walking again.

When he was far out of ear shot she was left standing there, his form just a shade by now, but by this time her initial shock had worn off. "You bastard; I'm not going out with you!" She roared, even though she knew he was long out of shouting range, his form still retreating, never stopping in his stride.

"I – I'm not going," she grumbled, turning and making her way back to her division. The entire confrontation had thrown her off and it reflected in the way she trained her men, making them run till they dropped, do pushups till their arms gave out, and kendo till their arms dropped to their sides.

"Captain," her lieutenant complained, "you're killing us, can't we take just a little-"

"NO!" She screeched and they all scurried around, returning to their tasks. Mainly what bothered her at the moment was what Kenpachi thought to achieve by asking her out, **her** of all people. Why? It didn't add up. Was there some ulterior motive? Was it because he simply wanted to see if he – unlike any other man – could take her? Yes! That had to be it. Zaraki was a man who loved a challenge and asking her out and then commencing to do so was just another way to prove how strong he was…Or maybe it was to prove that nasty rumor wrong?

It was probably Komamura who had started it up – although with his sense of honor it was highly unlikely, no, probably someone of the lower ranks of a division – but one day it had sprung up that Kenpachi in fact, batted for his own team. Weather this was true or not had yet to come to light, and also it had yet to be proven if Kenpachi himself was aware of said rumor. Although now it appeared more likely and Soifon was just his meal ticket to proving it wrong, which she ultimately refused now in her mind to be anyone's lapdog just to verify anything! Even if it was a heinous lie.

And then there was the last reason but even Soifon found it absolutely absurd and tossed it aside with indifference, although every now and again it nagged over her shoulder. What if he liked her? Shaking her head she gave an angry huff, Kenpachi, care? Now that was funny. So funny in fact that Soifon let out a little chuckle, but it died as it reached the wind and she found herself staring at the wall of her compound, arms crossed and eyes half-lidded. What was his motive? It was driving her crazy! Damn…

Striding down the hallway, the lamps lit already she sighed, arms now hanging lazily at her sides as she made her way down the corridor, stopping only when she reached her room.

"So…" Purred a voice she had not heard in several months, "a date with the most fearsome man of the Gotei 13? I almost hate to say that I'm jealous…Soifon." Yoruichi lay, sprawled out on the floor, looking at a small dirty blue book that had obviously seen better days, flipping casually from page to page.

"What are you doing here?" Soifon asked, fists becoming tight at her sides, shaking with irritation.

Yoruichi glanced up from the book to her former student, "just checking up on you. Besides, I wanted to commend you for getting a date with the famous Kenpachi Zaraki!" She smiled, her eyes closed and upturned in glee, "he's quiet the catch you know!"

"What are you talking about?" Soifon frowned, eyes narrowing, "I'm not going out with him."

Yoruichi looked shocked, "why not? He isn't too bad looking; in fact, he's handsome…Once you get past his somewhat gruff nature. Of course, you, yourself are a bit rough around the edges Soifon. You two are the perfect match." She stated it calmly; chin resting in the palm of her hand as she watched Soifon with mildly curiosity.

Soifon huffed, "he's a brute, and I wouldn't lower my standards to him!"

Yoruichi's brow rose, "lower your standards? Since when the Hell have you got any? You've never even been with a man Soifon, at least give him a shot."

Soifon crossed her arms, eyes closed and grumbled under her breath. "I don't like him."

"That's kind of the point of dating Soifon, to figure out if you like a person or not. You're judging him on what other people say; have you ever even really **talked** to Kenpachi before?" Yoruichi asked; brow furrowed as she watched the captain of the Second Division.

Soifon opened her eyes and frowned more deeply, Yoruichi had a point, "fine…" She finally moaned, irritated and wishing the cat woman would leave her be. "I'll go out with him…"

"Perfect!" Yoruichi smiled, "of course…You may want to get something nicer than what you've currently got in the closet."

Soifon looked taken aback, "like what?"

Yoruichi grinned with mischief, "oh…I've got something **very** nice in mind."

**The Next Night, at Seven…**

_I feel…So…Stupid_, Soifon thought as she stepped quietly out of her compound, trying to evade prying eyes as she made her way a little down the road. She was wearing a black dress, which ended a few inches above her knees, her cleavage shown more than she would like it to, and black flats that looked like ballet shoes (because she just **refused** to wear heels!). Her lips had been painted a slight pink with lipstick, hair combed and straightened – courtesy of Yoruichi.

"He said he was…Going to pick me up," she muttered to herself as she stood there, waiting with bated breath and praying that it all hadn't been a set up from the start.

"I did, didn't I?" Came the gruff voice from behind her and she stilled instantly, feeling like she'd been turned to stone. For a few seconds she just stood in shock but slowly she turned to face the other Captain.

"Good to see that you didn't get completely lost," she grumbled, trying to keep her cool even as she turned to look at him. His eye patch remained – what a shocker, but then again they didn't need to scare half the populace with his massive spiritual pressure – covering that one eye, his hair long and spiked down his back as it always was…But, he was wearing a black sports coat, slacks of the same shade, and a dark red silk shirt (slightly unbuttoned) underneath his coat.

Soifon was – needless to say – shocked into silence. "It's rude to stare," he grumbled, arms crossed and flat of his right foot pressed against the wall behind him. He looked…Good, his gruff voice actually smoother she thought.

"I – I know that!" She stammered, failing to hide the blush that touched her cheeks as he caught her gazing at him. "Let's just go," she grumbled to the sound of his deep chuckle, which sent unneeded goose bumps up her spine.

"As you wish," he said, coming off the wall and walking over to her, putting out his arm for her to take. Still with a light pink on her cheeks she looked at the outstretched limb and then to him, his shit eating grin in place she sighed and took it, feeling the warm muscle of his forearm under her palm. Unconsciously, she found herself sort of…Leaning into him.

He smelled rather nice, the wind whipping by a moment to give her the scent that clung to his being; it was a musky, rather clean smell that made her relax a little. Was it cologne? Somehow her mind just could compute the idea of him dabbing cologne on himself…

Kenpachi either didn't notice or didn't care that she was sort of hugging onto him as he made his way down the street, boots clacking over the dried dirt. Soifon didn't want to get clingy but still, the night was cool and he was warm, literally radiating heat in waves, his warm skin right beneath the layers of his coat and shirt. Soifon had never seen much of Kenpachi's form, except the top half or so, she knew he was well built with a sort of lean form, some women might even think him…Sexy.

Shaking away the thought she wondered – humorously and for a moment – where he had gotten said clothes from, shaking away the thought as they passed by a few small shops. Where was he taking her? Did he even know? Kenpachi was famous for losing himself even in the Soul Society and she worried that he had no idea where they were going.

Soifon hated to ask but… "Do you know where you're going?"

Kenpachi stopped, looking down at her and frowned, "yeah…I made myself memorize it. Don't worry about it."

Soifon kept going, walking beside him and feeling the warmth of his arm. Eventually she realized that they were heading to the park, she didn't question it, but kept walking with him as he lead her deep into the night. The park was deserted, the trees shimmering in the quiet breeze; it wasn't a strong wind, rather mellow and nice, carrying a slight cold to it, warning of impending winter.

As they made their way deeper in Soifon noticed that they were heading towards the pond, where a series of colorful lights painted the dark glassy surface. _What is that?_ Kenpachi led her around the line of trees to said lights, were a small red patch – in the form of a crimson blanket – made its home under a tree, a brown basket sitting on top of it.

The lanterns hung above it, sending the colorful lights across the lake and she stared for several seconds as they neared before looking up at him. "You did this?" Kenpachi stopped and looked at her, and to her shock there was a slight pink to his cheeks as he scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

"Uh…Yeah, I wanted to do something special for the first date," Kenpachi walked her over, holding her hand as she slid down and sat on her knees. He sat down next to her, left leg bent in at the knee and laying on the blanket, his right foot lying in front of it, bent at the knee as well. "I got some sushi and rice balls, and uh…Some wine so…" He rubbed the back of his neck, still seeming uneasy. It seemed he was just as unsure about this as she was…Soifon stared at him for a moment. Was this the same Kenpachi she'd always seen as a monster?

K-s-K-s-K

R&R please! They keep me going!


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Bleach, Drama, Romance