Zaraki and Ichigo lay on the battleground, broken and bloody. Yachiru appears beside Ichigo, looking down at him through half-lidded eyes.

Suddenly, she gives Ichigo a deep bow of gratitude, "Thank you!!!"

Barely conscious, Ichigo’s eye cracks open to look at Yachiru. She tells him with honest joy, "Thanks to you Icchii, Ken-chan was able to have a fun battle! It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen Ken-chan look so happy! Thank you so very much!"

Yachiru goes over to Zaraki. She scurries under his arm to lift him up by his shoulder. It’s rather odd to see a girl that small make a genuine effort to pick up a man of that size.

"Icchii," Yachiru calls out to Ichigo in parting, "Don’t die, ok?" She now has Zaraki’s arm draped over her shoulder so she can carry him easier, "And if you can, please play with Ken-chan again. Please." And then she and Zaraki are gone – Yachiru ricochets from building to building as she zooms up to the rooftops.

Down below, Ichigo is still laid out on his stomach; the pupils of his eyes have gone blank. He’s most likely unconscious by now...

~*~*~

(Intro Page! (miss these? I sure have…) A skinnier, younger bandit-version of Kenpachi Zaraki sits against a tree trunk, with his messy straight hair unbound and shoulder-length. His right hand & sword is dripping in someone else’s blood. He’s looking down at his right foot, where a tiny baby Yachiru, in a light-colored kimono, crawls up to him and touches his foot with the same curiosity that all babies have for new things. {warning: Cuteness Factor=100!})

"Where’d you come from, brat?" Zaraki asks the toddler.

The little girl reaches out and touches his bloody, dilapidated sword with that same open curiosity.

"It’s a sword," he tells her as the scene pans back to show all of the slain bodies around them. "Aren’t you afraid? It’s a tool to kill people. You’ll die too."

Baby Yachiru crawls over and reaches a tiny hand up to him with an adorable smile, despite the bloody residue on it that she got from touching the blade.

Zaraki pauses before he asks, "What’s your name, brat?" Yachiru looks up innocently; she'smostly likely still too young to speak. "You don't have one, huh. Me too."

The clouds and the sky above them fade into darkness, a rush of air and movement, and then...

"Ah!" Vice-captain Yachiru gasps happily as Zaraki finally awakens.

Zaraki lays on the rooftop; looking over at her, he croaks out, "...Yachiru?"

"YAY! YAY! Ken-chan woke up!" Yachiru leaps into the air in a fit of joy. "YAHOOEY! I called for Unohana-san,* so she’ll be here soon!"

"...what about him?" Zaraki asks.

"I donno," she says. "He’s probably not dead."

"...That’s good," Zaraki’s lips upturn. "This means I can still pay him back."

"There's no payback."

"There is," he says. "I lost."

"Ken-chan didn’t lose!" Yachiru yells at him, cutely upset.

"...You idiot, what’s with that look on your face..." Zaraki mutters from where he lays.

"But you didn’t lose!!" Yachiru is kneeling by his side, waving her arms frantically to emphasize her argument, "Icchi said it himself! He said he was fighting alongside Zangetsu!" She plants her fists on her hips stubbornly and puffs up, "It’s 2 against 1!! Ken-chan won!!"

Zaraki turns his head away slightly with a weak half-sigh, half-laugh, "...Ha."

"Don’t laugh like that!!" Yachiru gives him a patented comedic b^tch-slap across the cheek. Zaraki grunts at the impact.

After a quiet moment, Zaraki wonders aloud, as if testing out a new concept, "...Fighting alongside... a Zanpaku sword... huh."

"Yachiru..." he says. She looks up at his call. "Do you remember... the time when I gave you your name?"

"Of course I do!" she answers cheerfully. "I even remember the number of clouds that were in the sky!"

"...Yes," he smiles at the memory, "I do too."

Painstakingly, Zaraki manages to move his severely injured right arm to grasp his sword hilt.

"Ke... Ken-chan?" Yachiru asks, clueless.

"Be quiet," Zaraki tells her as he slowly raises the sword hilt. "...For a long time I had forgotten... the anguish of being a man without a name..." He recalls his youth surrounded by other faceless bandits as he seems to speak to the sword, "Even though other gangs were called by name, I had no name for myself. You know how that feels, huh." Yachiru, still unsure about what he’s going on about, says nothing. It doesn’t matter, since Zaraki is lost in his memories anyhow.

Zaraki remembers the toddler and what he said to her on that day: "'Yachiru.'** It's the name of the only person I wish to be like. I give it to you. I am Kenpachi, the name which is given to the strongest Shinigami of his generation. From this day on, that is the name I will go by."

Zaraki focuses on the broken blade, "You’ve been waiting... for quite a long time, haven’t you..." He raises the sword respectfully, "Now... you may be thinking that it’s too late to start anew... But even now, could you please tell me... your name..."

Zaraki and Yachiru intently watch the raised blade, expecting something to happen.

Eventually, Zaraki gives up and tries to smile, "...Damn, I guess it’s no use after all..." His poor excuse for a grin fades. He puts his sword hand over his face to hide his anguished expression, "Damn it... I want to be stronger...! I found an opponent to fight... I could still become stronger...! I want to fight... I want to be stronger..." Yachiru watches him in silent shock as he continues talking.

"It’s been such a long time since..." Zaraki grips the hilt painfully tight, "since I’ve felt like this..." he hollers whole-heartedly into the open sky, "I want to be stronger...!!"

Yachiru watches. She remembers, I had neither a name nor parents.

The toddler, Yachiru, lies harmlessly on the forest ground with blood raining down on the earth around her as she looks up. I was in District 79 in Northern Rukongai, "Kusajishi." I don’t have memories of seeing any other color than blood. Around me, everyone was more like packs of animals than human beings. For a baby such as myself, it wouldn’t be unusual to get stepped on and killed, she thought. You came there. District 80 of Northern Rukongai, “Zaraki.” From the deepest depths of darkness.***

She remembers the young Zaraki swinging his sword in a wide arc of blood, In a split second, you hacked away my bloodstained world. And then you gave me a name.

If you hadn’t appeared at that time, Yachiru thinks with certainty, I wouldn't be here now.

"You can do it, Ken-chan," Yachiru says to Zaraki earnestly, though he seems to ignore her, "Let’s become stronger together. After all, I know that Ken-chan is the very strongest of all." Yachiru remembers the time they first met and smiles, Yes, ever since that day, you have been my whole world.

"So we’ll become much more stronger. Together..." she says aloud.

...But her smile weakens. Zaraki isn’t responding.

"...Huh?" she tries hard to put on a happy face again, but something is wrong, "Ken-chan?"

Zaraki’s hand is limp. He's no longer grasping his sword.

"...Ken-chan," Yachiru is shocked, saddened and very confused, "...Ken-chan...!"****

~*~*~

Elsewhere, Ganju and Hanatarou arrive at the White Tower and gaze up at the sight. Hanatarou glances behing him, "The sounds stopped... I wonder if Ichigo-san is alright..."

"At this point, all we can do is believe that he is!" Ganju keeps his eyes on the tower, "We don’t have time to get distracted! We’re here at last!" He reaches for a rope and hook in his pack.

Ganju starts swinging the grappling hook overhead confidently, "We’re leaping up there! Are you ready, Hana?"

Hanatarou seems to have grown somewhat of a backbone during all that running – he looks pretty determined now, "...Yes!"

~*~*~

Back at the battle ground, Ichigo still lies there unconscious.

Eventually, a black cat appears by his side and looks down at him.*****


* Reminder: Unohana is Captain of the 4th, the healer.
**Kanji for Yachiru's name:???
***Terrible, horrible alliteration. I apologize. :(
****Highlight to hear my screams: I can’t believe this! He can’t be! KEN-CHAN, DON'T DIE!! NOOOOOOOOO!!! >_<
*****Bet you didn’t see that one coming. Nope, I didn’t either. I thought it was going to be Orihime or even Hanatarou...

Notes:
-Shocks abound in this chapter. I think KT broke my heart again. Damn him!! *cries*
-In any case, what a way to go... Zaraki had the most kickass fight ever and he really did enjoy it... now I feel bad that I was scared of him. I hope my eyes are deceiving me and that I'm misinterpreting it, somehow... but if Zaraki isn’t gripping a sword, then he’s no longer Zaraki... and if he’s no longer himself, well... *cries again*

Minor Notes:
-If Kenpachi and Yachiru took their surnames from the district they came from... Does that mean that Rukia and Renji grew up in the "Abarai" district?
-Hanatarou looks adorable in this chapter... I donno why, he just does. I can suddenly see why some fans make GanjuXHana pairings... ^_~
-Yoruichi-san is back!! XD Sweet!!

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