Yeah…changed my penname again…

To those of you who wanted to see my pictures of the guys…My computer is refusing to send them, and many of you didn’t leave your e-mail addresses so that I could. Therefore, I have a solution-I have created a web-page that you can go to and see them for yourself.

www. Fanfiction Of Tsukasa. Googlepages. Com

This is without all of the spaces. It’s under fanart, and then under ANBU Shinigami.

Chapter 27: Will of Fire Burns You: part 6: Final Flame

It was a cloudy day. At least it wasn’t raining, Yui thought, though that was really the only good thing he could come up with at the moment. Beyond the wall, shifting shadows signified the presence of those monsters of Orochimaru’s.

They no longer had any ground outside of the walls of Konoha, and even the defenses were failing. It all amounted to a waiting game. They were out of food, and nearly out of water, there was nothing left for them to lose. The once-proud Shinobi of Konoha were down to two hundred and fifty dammed souls who had fought tooth and nail for every minute of their continued existence.

The Last Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, was using a special seal of his to broadcast his last message to those few who were left.

“…And so it is with this in mind that I say this! We may have lost here, but we can make damn sure that these monsters never make it to the outside world! You all know where your post is, and you know what you have to do. All that I can say to you now is that it has been my greatest honor to fight beside you for this last year, and all of the years before it! Remember, that the Will of Fire will continue to burn through the lives of those who made it to the outside world, away from Orochimaru. And it will continue to burn throughout their children’s’ lives, and so on through the years. Konoha may be destroyed, but the ideas and people whom the ideal of Konoha is founded on will never be destroyed completely! Now, as my last order as your Hokage, I order you to get to your post, and show them what Konoha’s finest can do!”

The four brothers locked eyes with each other, faces calm and accepting, knowing that they very likely would not be alive to see the dawn.

“Well, off we go once again.”

“Do you think we can get something good to eat at whichever place we end up?”

“Kai, we are going to our imminent deaths and all you can think of is your next meal?”

“Well, I have to think of something! What are you thinking of then?”

“…the same thing actually…”

“I don’t care what it is, so long as it’s filling,” Yui said, grinning at the gallows-humor that seemed to have taken hold of him and his brothers.

“Here, here!” Kai chorused.

A familiar roar ripped through the air, signaling the start of Oto’s final attack against the Shinobi of Konoha. The boys shared a look and were off, running as fast as their battered and weary bodies could take them.

During their run, Bahamut was conversing with Yui, making sure that he knew exactly what he had to do. In his hand clutched the pendant that Naruto had given him long ago, the key to summoning the lifestreasm, Holy.

Behind them, the monsters that had previously been up against the walls were now demolishing them with rapid speed. Climbing over their dead, they advanced, nightmares given human form.

“Uh, pick up the pace boys, they’re on our ass and gaining fast!” Akira yelled from the rear of the group. As one, they sped up, scant seconds from their positions.

Landing in a clearing in one of Konoha’s many parks, the boys felt Kyuubi’s power wash over them. Sharing a look with his brothers, he started what he knew to be the last thing he ever did.

Power flowed from the gem, even as the monsters not killed by Kyuubi surrounded them. He could feel the Chakra of the other Shinobi disappearing-they were the last ones left. A pale green aura surrounded him, reaching out and down.

The monsters were held at bay as his brothers fought for all that they were worth, but they were tired and there were too many of them. That was ok though, he didn’t need long.

Cupping the crystal in-between his hands, he focused on it, feeling the unique energy that flowed just beneath it’s surface. Half-lidded eyes started to glow a pale green as the pupil went slit like that of a cat’s eye. Around him, a green aura took shape, spreading out and around him.

His brothers had long ago called on their summons, but there were simply too many of the monsters for them to last for long.

“Oi! Hurry it up!” Kai snapped out, a gash appearing on his back, bringing him to his knees. Ifrix roared in fury and destroyed the one who had dared to attack his Chosen one. Yui didn’t say anything, lost in the song of the Lifestream, though the green glow did get noticeably brighter, growing and swelling around him.

Above them, if one looked, they could see thread-fine streams of energy weaving though the air. Those threads were joined by more, and grew to form ropes of energy in the sky. Slowly, so slowly, the streams descended from the sky, weaving through the throngs of monsters.

Then, it happened. The amount of Lifestream that Yui called on was so great that it began to crystallize. The green aura that surrounded Yui was now keeping the monsters back all on its own, which was a good thing because his brothers were in no condition to fight. They lie on the ground, heavily injured and bleeding out but peaceful for the first time in years.

Kai caught Yuri’s eyes and flashed him a devil-may-care grin that had become his trademark over the years. Yuri rolled his eyes as Akira chuckled, his hairtie long gone. A weary hand brushed blood-soaked bangs out of his eyes and watched with calm certainty as his brother floated five feet off the ground, curled around a small green gem.

At that moment, pale green light engulfed them and they knew no more.

Yui on the other hand, saw it all. So much power! It took all his concentration to direct that power, make it go where he wanted it to go. Around him, he could feel his brothers fading, and then disappearing as a wave of energy washed over them. ‘No’ he thought, well aware of what that amount of energy would do to a human body-he was already starting to feel the effects himself-and did not want that to happen to them, ’Crystallize,’ he thought desperately, trying to show the Lifestream what he wanted done.

Understanding, the Lifestream wrapped around the three boys, lifting them up and crystallizing around them. Yui smiled slightly as he continued his grim task. He could feel Uncle Naruto and Uncle Kyuubi in the distance, tearing though the monsters. He stretched out his senses, feeling the darkness that was Orochimaru’s monsters and used the power of the Lifestream to wipe them from existence.

He was nearing his limit and he knew it. He could Feel both of his Uncle’s energy signatures fadeing, even as more of the Wrongness was destroyed. ‘A little longer,’ he thought, forcing back the stabbing pain that enveloped his body, telling him that he had reached the limits of what his body could handle.

‘I have to hold on for a little longer-I’ve almost gotten them!’

The deep, ugly Wrongness was beside his Uncles, fighting them. He stretched out with his borrowed power and wrapped it around Orochimaru even as his world faded to black and simply held, knowing that his uncle would do the rest.

The Lifestream surged around his body, held in place by the last shreds of his will, but it knew. It knew that one of the few who could hear it had died, and it knew why. And it was angry.

Gently, very gently, crystal formed around the small body, wrapping it in a cocoon of glowing crystal even as it seeked out the last of his enemies. Crystalline tendrils formed, netting around the ruined buildings of Konoha, through the trees, catching the shadows and destroying them utterly. By sundown, there were no more monsters to be seen, and Konoha was entombed with layer upon layer of crystal threads, thick as any tree in the forests around Konoha. And the bodies of those who fought the last battle were entombed within the crystal itself, their faces at peaceful for the first time in so long. The green glow of the crystal faded just as the moon rose, shining through the crystal turning what was once a scene of horror into something out of a fantasy book.

(((())))

The eight of them watched in stunned awe as the village of Konoha faded from view, the scene of so many deaths fresh on their minds, as well as the final end of Konoha.

“My God…” Isshin whispered, stunned disbelief on his face, “He called it. He was actually able to call the Lifesteam and use it as a weapon! And even after he…he died, it stayed and destroyed those things of its own will. That-that shouldn’t be possible!”

“You’ll find, when dealing with those four boys, what should be possible and what they manage to do are different things entirely. Those four are bound by entirely different rules than the rest of us,” said a voice beside them.

Almost as one, the group turned to see a dark skinned young boy in a sleeveless purple jacket with the hood drawn up over his face, hiding his eyes. Jeans with a silver chain hanging in a loop from his pocket completed the outfit.

“Who are you?” Ichigo demanded, recovering from his shock.

“I am Bahamut. You must hurry. He is being rather stubborn about this and I’m not sure how much longer I can hold onto him.”

A door materialized in front of the group, made of the same kind of crystal they had seen cover Konoha. Etched on it was the ANBU tattoo.

“He is beyond that door. Unfortunately, I cannot go there, it is the deepest part of his soul, where not even I can go without permission.”

“And what makes you think that we can go there?” Yumichika demanded, his face regaining some of its color.

“Because, you are the first people outside of his brothers to see his darkest memories, even I have not seen them in their entirety. Each of you are important to him, he considers you to all be, in a sense, the closest thing to family outside of his brothers that he has had in a very long time.”

Nobody moved, and for a second, they forgot to breath.

“Family? Us? But his brothers-“

“Have problems dealing with this as it is, but they had their own ways of coping. Yui did not, not until he took the two of you as students, but by itself that wasn’t enough. When Nell came along, he found someone who truly needed him, and in time that list extended to include Yachiru as well. If things ever got bad, he would willingly draw his swords to make sure the two children were safe.”

A vicious grin split the child’s face, “And I pity those who would stand in his way. You see, each of you have given him a reason to continue to live, Nell and Yachiru more so then most.”

Isshin spoke up for the first time, “I can see how the others would play into this, but how do I fit in? I don’t think I’ve ever met him before!”

Bahamut shook his head, “You have, once. He was the one who helped you slip past the gates of soul society when you went to start your life with Masaki-san.”

Confusion, then comprehension dawned on him, “But how would that-“

“You act much like Naruto Uzumaki, his Uncle did. It was because of that resemblance that he helped you. No, though it may be weaker than the others, you do have a connection to him.”

Sentaro looked at Bahamut and walked up to the door, “So, this will take us to Yui-sensei?”

“Yes.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” he said, raising a hand to pound on the door, “Hey Sensei! Open up-we got something to say to ya!” he bellowed, pounding away at the door. As he was about to strike it for the fourth time, the doors soundlessly drifted open, revealing a different landscape than what they had become used to.

Despite the fact that it was Sentaro who opened the gates, Masaki was the first to step through them. On the other side of the door, they could see a vast forest, with strange buildings rising from the treetops.

They stood on a transparent sheet of what looked to be glass, or crystal. It was hexagonal in shape, one of the sides connecting to the door, and the one opposite it connecting to the next hexagon and so on to 

create a path through the foggy landscape. The space between the trees was filled with fog, and through that fog they could see arcs of what looked to be blue fire.

Swiftly, Masaki strode ahead, heedless of her husband and son scurrying after her. She was a Mother on a Mission and God help the poor fool who got in her way…

The pathway curved through the trees, cutting a twisting path between the limbs of various trees, sometimes they passed just over their heads, or just under the platforms, the glass/crystal almost resting on the limb.

They didn’t know how long they had been walking, only that it had been for a long time, and the farther they walked, the thicker the mist got. A fine layer covered the platforms and wrapped around the trees, turning the entire landscape surreal and unnerving.

After what seemed like hours, they saw something up ahead. It appeared to be a person.

“Yui!”

Kiyone broke away from the group and ran ahead. Not pausing, she threw her arms around the figure in a hug.

“…sorry, but I’m not him.” The stranger said, lightly resting a hand on her head.

“Wha?” Kiyone said, looking up. The stranger had purple hair, cut short in the back with long bangs that brushed his chest. His eyes were a deep purple, and shaped like a cat’s. He was wearing a deep v-neck top that showed off his chest, accented by the black cord that was wrapped loosely around his neck multiple times. His pants were black and semi-loose, allowing free movement, with two belts hanging in an ‘X’ from slim hips.

Kiyone flushed red and hasistily backed away, stammering, “W-who a-are you!”

The man laughed, “Well, now that is an interesting question…” he mused, looking up and to the left, as though somewhere out there held the answer, “See…I don’t have a name, not yet. Mostly because my dear landlord hasn’t made up his mind as to what he wants to do,”

“Landlord? Then…are you the spirit of his Zanpato?” Isshin asked as Sentaro pulled Kiyone back and glared at the young man.

Said young man laughed, it was a nice laugh, “Got it in one! See, a Zanpato is a part of the Shinigami’s soul, but…” and here his eyes grew dark, “If that soul is…undecided, if it is being torn apart by indecision, then the Zanpato changes as well to reflect that.”

The nameless spirit shook his head, “Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that is? Long story short- when my idiot landlord decided he wasn’t going to kill anymore, his soul…fractured for lack of a better word, like it or not, he is a fighter. It’s literately in his blood.”

“So what are you doing here?” Captain Ukitake asked, pinning the young man with a piercing stare.

Dark, serious purple eyes locked onto Captain Ukitake’s brown ones, “There is only so much a person can take before their soul snaps.” He said dully, “You’ve seen what he’s gone through, all of that and no place to go. Everyone needs a ‘safe place’. He doesn’t have on. The others, they have stronger ties to their divisions, ties to other people to ground them, even if said other people don’t realize it. Yui…doesn’t. He may be a fighter, but war like that one took a lot out of him, almost more than he had to give.”

“Where is he?” Masaki asked, tension in every line of her body.

“Keep following this path, you’re almost there now. I on the other hand have to go back to the door and keep my idiot landlord from collapsing in on himself any more than he already has.” The young man all but ghosted past them, raising a hand in goodbye as he continued back along the path, “See if you can’t get the idiot to wake up. God knows I can’t seem to get through to him.” And with that the mist closed around him and he disappeared.

“That was…odd…” Yumichika said.

“But if you think about it, it does make sense. His brothers do seem better adapted to living here,” Sentaro pointed out.

“Never mind that, let’s just find Yui and get out of here!” Rangiku said, shaking her head and continuing down the path, the others following close behind them.

True to the young man’s word, from the mists appeared a large tree. This tree was different however, it towered above the others, the pathway becoming a large hexagonal platform around the tree itself. The area was lit by a pale green glow, coming from the tree, though they could see that the tree was wilting slightly.

Sitting in one of the lower branches of the tree itself, was a familiar figure.

“YUI!” Kiyone yelled, charging forward, Sentaro and Rangiku right behind her. The three skidded to a stop in front of the tree, looking up at the reclining figure in the branches.

“Yui, thank god, we thought we’d never find you!” Rangiku said, rambling on in relief. Sentaro backed up a step, into her, “Guys, something’s not right, look at him,” he choked out, pointing at him.

“What?” Rangiku said looking at him and then taking a closer look at Yui. Her breath caught in her throat as lifeless gray eyes stared unseeingly at her. “Yui…wh-what happened to you?” she whispered hoarsely.

“What are you doing here?” Yui said, his voice monotone, dead.

“’What are we doing here?’ We are here to drag you back!” Kiyone yelled, ignoring her teachers’ lifeless face.

“Why?”

“Because…because…What the Hell do you mean ‘why’?” Rangiku sputtered, the others remaining silent behind her.

“But…I don’t want to go back,” Yui said calmly, flicking his hand, summoning black flames. He idly watched them twist and stream through his fingers before turning back to the others, “It’s…peaceful here. No fighting, no war, no one trying turn me into a punching bag because of how I looked, I like it here.”

“Don’t want to go back? Why not?” Masaki demanded, staring at him as if trying to find an answer in his lifeless eyes.

He sighed, “Is it really that hard to understand?” he asked, before they could answer, he continued, “I don’t want to fight any more. I fought my war already, for all the good it did me.” He laughed then, it was harsh and dark and scared them.

“No, I do not want to go back, thank you very much. Go back to the real world and leave me be.”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?” Ichigo yelled angrily, stomping forward. “You just want to give up now? What about your brothers! They went through hell to get you back in one piece! Rangiku, Sentaro and Kiyone worked their asses off for a month non-stop to get strong enough to get you back. You going to sit there and tell me that it means nothing?” Ichigo roared.

There was a flicker of emotion that disappeared almost immediately, but they saw it. It was enough to give them hope that he was still in there.

“And what about Nell and Yachiru?” Ichigo hissed, surprising everyone with the venom in his voice. There was another flicker of emotion in his eyes, and Ichigo charged on, “They’re waiting for you, you selfish son of a bitch. Do you have any idea how worried they have been?”

Now everyone was staring at him, he didn’t care though, he was way beyond caring. This…this…this seriously ticked him off! He had gone through so much, fought so hard and now he was just going to give up when everyone needed him the most? Nuh-nuh, not on his watch he wasn’t!

“What about them? Yachiru has the entire eleventh division and Nell has you, so there isn’t any reason to worry!” Yui yelled back, sitting up.

“That’s not the goddamned point! They want you! Damn it, Yachiru was on the verge of tears and Nell was like some kind of zombie! That’s your fault!” Ichigo yelled back, “Don’t you get it you bastard? You’re like their big brother, you’re important to them.”

Yui froze, his mind going blank…they thought of him as a big brother…? (Poor Yui-chan…so dense…)

Ichigo continued, “And what about Sentaro and Kiyone? They look up to you too! Who was the one that taught them Ninja stuff?”

“You were the one who helped me after that mission!” Kiyone yelled, knowing he would know which mission it was, even if she didn’t say it out loud.

“And if you hadn’t taught me to control my Cetran powers, I would have gone crazy,” Rangiku added, just in time to throw Yui off balance slightly. Seeing a chance, Ichigo darted in through a hole in Yui’s defense and landed a right hook, and following it up with a kick. Catching the kick, Yui pushed Ichigo off balance and punched him in the gut, making Ichigo cough up bile.

“There’s a reason big-brothers are born first jackass,” Ichigo panted, landing another punch on his jaw, “It’s so that they can protect the siblings that come after them!”

“One thing you’re forgetting, both of them are technically older than I am!” Yui panted, his speech somewhat stilted due to the massive bruise that was beginning to show on his jaw, “And I’m not really their brother either!”

“That’s not the goddamn point!” Ichigo roared, “For all intents and purposes, you are their onii-chan and you damn well better act like it and apologize to them or I’m gonna kick your ass!”

“And what the hell would you call what you’ve been doing for the last twenty minutes?” Yui said, sounding more tired than he had at the beginning of the fight.

“A warm-up!” Ichigo shouted, taking one last charge at him, Yui putting all his remaining strength into one last punch. Both connected and both fighters were knocked flat, the only sounds coming from them were the sounds of their harsh panting.

From the sidelines Isshin said, “Well, now that was anti-climatic,” only for his wife to smack him upside the head. The three girls ran over to the two boys when it was obvious that they weren’t going to be getting up for round two. Masaki helped Ichigo up into a sitting position, while Rangiku and Kiyone got Yui into a similar position.

Ichigo grinned and spat a glob of saliva/blood off to the side, “’Ya know, for not having fought in a hundred years, you have one hell of a punch.”

Yui chuckled weakly, blue-gray eyes tired as he leaned against Rangiku and wiped away a trail of blood from the corner of his mouth, “Yeah, well, you have a pretty good punch yourself…for a kid.”

“Oi! Who the hell you calllin’ a kid?” Ichigo demanded in mock-outrage.

“Compared to me? You are a kid, though if you went by that logic, Captain Ukitake could call just about everyone ‘kid’,” Yui said, grinning slightly.

“So does that mean that you’re back to normal now?” Sentaro asked, kneeling beside Kiyone. Yui looked at him and gave a slight nod, “Yeah, mostly. I…guess that I just needed to let off some steam, sorry about that.”

Rangiku pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, “Yui, if anyone deserves to let off some steam, it’s you. After all that you went through, I’m surprised that you’re as kind as you are.”

“Eh heh, thanks…I guess,” Yui said, coloring slightly. Between his parents, Ichigo snickered.

“Well, can we assume that you’re going to come back with us now?” Captain Ukitake asked, a kind smile on his face.

Yui was silent for a moment, “Yeah…I guess I will,” he said, “After all, I can’t just leave Nell and Yachiru alone like this.”

Kiyone’s fist whipped out and wacked him in the back of the head before she could stop herself, “Baka! What about us?”

“Well….you’re all grown, you don’t really need me around that much, and as for training, Kai and my brothers could continue your education, so it really wasn’t something I thought about...”

‘Wa-thwack-thwack-thwack!’

“Baka-sensei! We want you to teach us!” Sentaro snapped, his fist clenched and a tic mark appearing on his forehead.

“Sorry!” Yui yelped, holding his aching head, now sporting several lumps from where his dear students had whacked him.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to be getting back to my body now, not that your world isn’t interesting, but the Vice-captain and Nell must be getting worried by now,” Yumichika pointed out.

“Right, it’s a long walk back, we should be on our way,” Captain Ukitake agreed.

Standing, Yui brushed off his pants, “You walked all the way in? That’s pretty far…but I think that there’s a shorter way out.”

Isshin raised an eyebrow, “What way would that be?”

Yui smiled and closed his eyes, concentrating. Twenty feet away from the group, silver streams of energy spiraled up, twisting and solidifying until a doorway took shape.

“There, that should take you directly back to your bodies, but to be safe, we should all go back one at a time,” Yui said, looking at the others.

“And what about you?” Masaki asked, looking at him worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right behind you,” he said reassuringly, “I have to stay here to hold the doorway open, but after you are all through, I’ll follow.”

Masaki looked at him a moment longer, her piercing gaze trying to determine if he was lying or not. After a moment, she nodded, releasing him from her hold, “Then we shall see you on the other side.”

Slowly, the eight of them trickled out, leaving only Yui standing there. Slowly he looked around his world. The mist was receding, and he could see the faint outline of the moon in the sky. The trees were greener now, and the hexagonal platforms that made up the path were glowing slightly. The tree that was the core of his soul was no longer wilting, but standing tall and strong. Waving a hand, the doorway that was no longer needed faded from existence in a flurry of silver threads.

“So, going to go back now or are you going to stay here?” asked a voice familiar to Yui. He didn’t bother to turn around to answer, “I’m going back. Doesn’t look as though I get to rest just yet, does it?”

“Che’, guess not. The next time I see your face, you’d better have found your will again.”

Silver streams wrapped around him and spiraled upward, taking their passenger back to the world of the conscious.

((((((()))))))))

Light shined down into weary blue-gray eyes.

Blinking, he made out twelve distinctive shapes clustered around his bed. Raising a hand, he groaned and rubbed his head, it felt like someone had taken half a dozen exploding tags and set them off inside his skull.

“Welcome back,” a figure dressed in black and white with black hair said. His vision cleared to reveal the speaker to be Captain Unohana.

“Yeah, I’m back,” he murmured, blinking slowly, “Sorry it took so long, I…guess I just needed a few thing sorted out.”

From off to the side, someone-most likely Ichigo-snorted. He pushed himself up into a sitting position to see that he was in one of the regular hospital rooms.

“You had us worried, you little brat,” Tsunade said softly, hazel eyes locked onto his own. He grinned weakly in response, “Where are Yachiru-chan and Nell-chan?”

“Right here,” Yumichika said, pushing the two children forward, “We’ll wait outside.”

As the other people filed out of the room, the two children stared at Yui, neither one knowing exactly what they should say. Suddenly, Nell gave a choked sob and launched herself at Yui, heavy sobs wracking her as she cried into his chest.

“You-you stubid, basdad,” she sobbed, her speech disintegrating into what it had been before she had met Ichigo, “Don’t eber do dat again! Chiru-chan and I was worried!” brown eyes filled with tears looked up into slightly shocked light blue ones.

“Sorry Nell-chan,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. He sighed and rested his chin on her bone mask, “Sorry,” he said again. Brown eyes glared into blue ones, “You ‘pologise to Chiru too!” she demanded, pulling away from him.

Blue-gray eyes looked up curiously, looking at the small pink haired girl. Tear-filled brown eyes looked back at him, threatening to spill over. Wordlessly, Nell slid off of Yui’s lap and sat beside him as he moved to the side of the bed and swung his legs over the side. Smiling softly, he held his arms out, an open invitation. Half a second later, Yachiru was sitting on his lap, her small arms wrapped tightly around him, crying into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, like he had for Nell and buried his face in her hair, murmuring softly, “It’s alright Yachiru-chan, I’m ok.”

“’S my fault,” she sobbed, clutching helplessly at his hospital robe, “’m sorry. ‘s my fault you got hurt.”

Yui’s breath caught in his throat for a second upon hearing what she said.

“It’s my fault that she got hurt, my fault that Daddy died…” His own words echoed back at him with disturbing clarity.

He tightened his grip around her, making her look up at him questioningly. “Yachiru, listen to me,” he pleaded, dropping the –chan that only he was allowed to use, “None of this was your fault. Do you understand? It wasn’t your fault.”

“B-but-“

“No, no ‘but’s. Captain Kurotsuchi…had been sending people after Nell-chan for a long time now, ever since that incident with the barrier, you remember that, right?” Yachiru nodded into his chest, having buried her face in it when he started talking, his low voice soothing and comforting. “Anyway, ever since then, he has been sending people to sneak around, trying to get past me to get to Nell-chan. This last time was the exception. I had thought that they were after Nell-chan again, so I decided to leave her inside with you and Yumichika so she’d be safe and I could sneak away to get rid of them one at a time. Only this time, they weren’t after Nell-chan,” he heard both girls inhale sharply, seeing where this was going. Nell scooted closer to him, wrapping her arms around him as well. He wrapped one arm around her, the other still firmly around Yachiru and continued his story, “It was a miscalculation on my part,” he admitted, “I hadn’t thought he would do something like that, but I was wrong. This time, they were after me. Do you understand now? It wasn’t your fault Yachiru, not at all.”

Yui’s voice had remained low and soothing throughout his entire explanation, and it was having a soothing effect on the two girls. They were both young, and neither had slept well since Yui had been kidnapped. Nell yawned widely, followed by Yachiru. Yui chuckled, yawning himself.

“You two must be really tired to yawn like that,” he commented, “I’ll call the others back in so they can take you back to your beds.”

“No! Can’t we stay here?” Yachiru pleaded, pouting up at Yui. He crumbled, there was no resisting that technique, and besides he was tired too. Surely it wouldn’t do any harm?

“…Fine. But only this once, got it?”

After a bit of moving around, the three of them had settled. Yui was in the middle, lying on his back with an arm around each of the girls. Yachiru was on his right, her head resting over his heart, its’ sound lulling her to sleep. Nell was on his left, half lying on his stomach, rising and falling with each breath that he took. Within minutes, the three of them were deep asleep, looking more at-peace than they had for a long time.

It was this picture that the others walked in on some time latter. The girls (and Yumichika) cooed quietly while the rest of the boys stood behind them, rolling their eyes.

“We should let them sleep, no doubt they need it,” Captain Unohana said.

The others agreed quickly and left as silently as they came, not noticing the single half-open blue-gray eye drift shut, a small smile finding its way onto his face as he followed his little sisters into sleep.

(((())))

Sorry that this one’s so late! Finals, writers’ block, my loud little brothers’ equally loud friends, and all manner of other things were conspiring against me this time around. However, due to the fact that most of Finals are behind me now, I should be able to get back to a regular schedule.

In other news….

The trip through memory-lane is over now! Where will things go from here? Who knows, I don’t really know and I’m the one writing the story!