Chapter Text
“Kensei!!!!” A young boy yelled out, running into the hideout, diving into Kensei’s arms. “Shinji is fighting some weirdo with a cape like yours-”
“Tch relax….we knew already.” Kensei murmured, rolling his eyes as Shuhei, age 10 clung to him, small arms encircled his neck. “Jeez…just stay here with me.”
Shuhei refused though, shaking his head and tore off, leaving Kensei’s loud cursing behind. He was a big boy! He wanted to go protect his family too! He couldn’t just leave it up to Lisa and Love to aid Shinji.
Needless to say Kisuke had been receiving word of this attack elsewhere and had sent Love to investigate the matter, confident in his skill. Unbeknownst to Shuhei, Lisa had already met up with Rose by chance and was with him on a search to find Shinji and bring him home.
Turning a corner, Shuhei paled and came to a sudden stop by a small fountain. “S-Stay back, or I’ll hit you!” Grabbing a broken metal rod out of the neary trash, Shuhei raised it up like it was a sword, glaring menacingly at the Captain before him. He didn’t know who this adult was, but he knew this must be the guy that attacked Shinji.
“Heh, how cute~” Grey eyes seemed to lighten in amusement at seeing how the trembling boy took a broken stance, attempting to be intimidating but failing horribly.
"Ah, I had forgotten that they were linked to a kid from Rukongai. I had not expected them to be quite so...arrogant." He remarked, only to gesture for Shuhei to step forward. "It is a surprise to see you here, young child." He commented and smiled somewhat. "I'm afraid you've come at rather a bad time...do your parents know you are here? Also, why are you here? It's unlike them to allow their pets to run off…”
Did this man just call him a child?!
Biting back the soft growl that rumbled in his throat, Shuhei felt his stomach flip nervously at the thought of what today might bring. By the end of the day, he should know what course this was all going to take, some of the uncertainty should be put to rest.
“I won’t let you hurt my family!!”
“Oh?” Shunsui Kyōraku smirked finally, adjusting his Sugegasa straw hat, his pink, flowered ladies kimono flowing finally as a breeze fluttered over them. He whirled a blade out, causing Shuhei to rush back to avoid it, only to fall back into the fountain.
“Ah!” Soaked to the bone, the boy trembled from the sudden chills running down his spine and went completely bright red in the face from embarrassment. He hadn’t expected that, but what startled him more was that the attack hadn't landed on its intended target.
Standing before him, Kensei growled, sending the Captain flying backward. A flashback hit Hisagi, of how Kensei had protected him years ago from the hollow trying to eat both him and his friends.
Kensei whirled around to glare daggers at the wet kid. “Fuckin’ brat….I told you to stay with me!”
“But I want to protect everyone!”
“You’re still just a kid! You aren’t in a position to protect anyone let alone yourself!”
Shuhei sniffled, eyes growing wet. Kensei stiffened, suddenly feeling like the worst as he watched the kid break down before him. Normally he didn’t give two shits if Shuhei cried, but the way Shuhei cried this time….this time was different. Shit...did he actually hurt the brat?
“Oi, Shu…”
"You're alive! You should be happy! So smile! " The words echoed in Kensei’s mind. So much for encouraging Hisagi to smile. It just seemed all he did was make his brat cry.
“....are you quite done? It is rude after all to leave one by themselves for so long~” Shunsui purred, looking bemused. So Kensei was still alive? He’d need to report this back to the Head Captain.
“Tch, I don’t have fucking time for this…” Kensei snarled, taking Tachikaze’s Shikai out of his pants pocket. Whirling his Zanpakuto, he slashed at the air, releasing multiple blades of wind which soon exploded, causing devastating damage. Distracted for a moment, Kyōraku flashed stepped back and watched as Kensei snatched the child, carrying him over his shoulder as he ran off. It wasn’t like Kensei to run away from a fight, but he couldn’t allow Shuhei to get hurt.
“How interesting~” The Captain observed, laughing quietly. He looked forward to handing this information over to the rest of the Captains.
It seemed the former Captains and Lieutenants were still alive...and had a boy with them.
Weakness detected.