Bubbles
Title: Bubbles
Series: Bleach
Pairing/Characters: Ukitake, Yachiru (Byakuya/Yachiru) (Characters by Tite Kubo)
Warnings: None
Notes: Adult Yachiru. Has references to Prince and Fearless. Written for
24hour_themes . Hour: 1:00 p.m. 'Self-image and personal security.' Table here!
Summary/Excerpt: He had wondered, lately, if she would bring up a particular subject, if she trusted him enough with what was one of the most talked about matters in the Seireitei these days.
It was strange, the things that made you feel old, Jyuushiro thought. His birthday wasn’t one of them, for instance. He celebrated every year with Shunsui, and it only left him happy. Happy to have been born, happy to have lived and loved, happy to have found Shunsui and Sogyo no Kotowari in this lifetime. It also had the effect of leaving him pleasantly exhausted.
He also celebrated his birthday with Yachiru, but she always showed up with gifts and goodies a day early. When she was young, he hadn’t wished to correct her - when she grew older, he finally realized she had never been mistaken in the first place. Her thoughtfulness had seemed accidental when she was younger, but it definitely had intent.
However, the difference between little Yachiru and grown Yachiru, adding another number to the count every year, seeing old friends move on and meeting new ones all the time didn’t make him feel older. No. It was bubbles.
When Yachiru was still a little girl, he had often blown bubbles for her. She had watched them, eyes wide and bright as they danced in the air, floated over the water. She’d laugh when a carp would leap out of the water to snap at one.
At some point, though, she had taken the pan of soapy water and the loop and began to blow bubbles for him. While he had always been slow and steady, conscious of every breath, she sent them soaring one after the other, in an amount only the young with good lungs could manage. He would sit back comfortably and watch them, sometimes falling into a relaxed, meditative state as the light filled them with swirling colours. Their iridescence reminded him of Sogyo no Kotowari.
If Yachiru felt sitting in silence was dull, she didn’t show it. Jyuushiro doubted that she minded. He suspected she rarely had the opportunity to be in a quiet environment, and blowing him bubbles seemed to give her time to sort out her thoughts. He enjoyed the chance to clear his mind. Afterwards, she would usually have something of consequence to ask or talk about. She always seemed glad to have his ear and opinion, and he found her a pleasure to listen to.
He had wondered, lately, if she would bring up a particular subject, if she trusted him enough with what was one of the most talked about matters in the Seireitei these days.
Her relationship with Byakuya.
He had watched them both grow up, first him, and then her, and in truth, their relationship did not hold as much mystery for him as it did for others. If asked what he thought, Jyuushiro might have said they needed each other to balance out. Byakuya had kept himself apart and contained for far too long, and for all that she had matured, Yachiru still didn’t care much for convention or propriety. Their courtship had required Byakuya to reach out, required Yachiru to hold back. He might have said all this, but the only person he’d discuss it with would be Shunsui, and Shunsui did not ask. He wanted to, Jyuushiro thought with a smile, but he wouldn’t. Shunsui didn’t pry. He didn’t need to - if he waited long enough, the information would come to him the way fish come to a patient fisherman. That particular analogy led to other thoughts of Shunsui, and Jyuushiro found himself satisfyingly lost in thought when Yachiru spoke.
“Ukii? Remember when I was little, and decided I was going to marry Byakuya?”
Jyuushiro blinked and turned his head to look at her. She was looking down at the loop in her hand, but he somehow doubted she saw it. “ I remember. That was my fault, wasn’t it? I gave you that book.”
She smiled. “Yes, you did. I wouldn’t say it was your fault, even though I’m certain Ken-chan would love having someone to blame.”
“He doesn’t approve?”
“When you’re little, you want things, and you can’t imagine all the things that are required to make them true. I never imagined that all parts of a life might not fit together. I thought I would always be with Ken-chan, that I could marry my handsome prince and we would all be happy.” She looked up, across the water, eyes resting on a tree branch that hung low and broke the surface. “Now I know. I know that no matter what you feel for two people, it doesn’t mean they’ll like each other. Accept each other. I know that things have to change. And knowing all this” -she looked up at the sky- “I still want to marry my handsome prince.”
“Byakuya?”
“I don’t know what he wants. Ken-chan doesn’t give me a chance to speak to him. Maybe now he will, Byakuya went to speak to him yesterday. Ken-chan didn’t come home covered in blood, so it probably didn’t go too badly. He wasn’t happy, though. He practically threw me out of the building this morning.” She laughed. “He didn’t give me any warnings or make vague promises of ‘accidents’ happening to certain Captains, so I gathered he was giving me permission to see Byakuya.” Her smile faded. “My poor Ken-chan.”
“It seems as though you’re very worried about him, Yachiru,” Jyuushiro offered softly.
“He’s always been there, Ukii. My Ken-chan. My everything. All I wanted. Until…until Byakuya. And what I didn’t realize as a little girl was that while I may be one person with Ken-chan, I’m a very different person with Byakuya.” She shook her head. “And it changes my relationship with Ken-chan. I never wanted that. But it did, and it will only get worse.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of getting worse, Yachiru. It’s just different. You still haven’t reached a balance yet. And you may not find it for awhile. It’s new…but you have plenty of time.”
“Can I have it all, Ukii? Will I still be his little girl, even all grown up?”
Jyuushiro smiled. “You’ll never be all grown up to Zaraki, Yachiru. That is why this is so difficult. I admit I don’t know him well, but I imagine you’re still a little girl on his back to him.”
“He told me once I’d never be too big for him to carry. That if ever I was, he’d just get stronger.” Jyuushiro wondered if Zaraki knew about the smile she reserved only for him. It was beautiful. “But Ukii…I feel…out of place these days. Like I did get too big for Ken-chan. And it irritates him.”
“Then, Yachiru, you really have only one choice.”
She looked at him, finally, worry in her eyes.
“You have to give him some time to get stronger. I’m certain he will, and you’ll find he’ll still be able to carry you. As much as he’s fighting it now.”
The anxiety in her eyes faded, and he saw some tension leave her shoulders. “I just don’t want to get lost, Ukii. I want to stay me. I want it all, even though I’m not a child anymore.”
“Then stay you, Yachiru. And give your men some time. I think they’ll end up surprising you. It’s amazing what love will do.”
She smiled and hugged him, running off with a light step. Jyuushiro picked up the loop she left behind and blew a few lazy bubbles. Maybe it wasn’t them that made him feel old. Maybe it was remembering how many years had passed since he’d been in Yachiru's position, maybe it was being able to meditate at one in the afternoon, and wanting nothing else. Maybe it was living long enough to see people like Zaraki, Yachiru, and Byakuya in the same story and not being surprised.
Or maybe it was the bubbles. It didn’t really matter to him, one way or another. Love always made him feel young.
Series: Bleach
Pairing/Characters: Ukitake, Yachiru (Byakuya/Yachiru) (Characters by Tite Kubo)
Warnings: None
Notes: Adult Yachiru. Has references to Prince and Fearless. Written for
24hour_themes . Hour: 1:00 p.m. 'Self-image and personal security.' Table here!
Summary/Excerpt: He had wondered, lately, if she would bring up a particular subject, if she trusted him enough with what was one of the most talked about matters in the Seireitei these days.
It was strange, the things that made you feel old, Jyuushiro thought. His birthday wasn’t one of them, for instance. He celebrated every year with Shunsui, and it only left him happy. Happy to have been born, happy to have lived and loved, happy to have found Shunsui and Sogyo no Kotowari in this lifetime. It also had the effect of leaving him pleasantly exhausted.
He also celebrated his birthday with Yachiru, but she always showed up with gifts and goodies a day early. When she was young, he hadn’t wished to correct her - when she grew older, he finally realized she had never been mistaken in the first place. Her thoughtfulness had seemed accidental when she was younger, but it definitely had intent.
However, the difference between little Yachiru and grown Yachiru, adding another number to the count every year, seeing old friends move on and meeting new ones all the time didn’t make him feel older. No. It was bubbles.
When Yachiru was still a little girl, he had often blown bubbles for her. She had watched them, eyes wide and bright as they danced in the air, floated over the water. She’d laugh when a carp would leap out of the water to snap at one.
At some point, though, she had taken the pan of soapy water and the loop and began to blow bubbles for him. While he had always been slow and steady, conscious of every breath, she sent them soaring one after the other, in an amount only the young with good lungs could manage. He would sit back comfortably and watch them, sometimes falling into a relaxed, meditative state as the light filled them with swirling colours. Their iridescence reminded him of Sogyo no Kotowari.
If Yachiru felt sitting in silence was dull, she didn’t show it. Jyuushiro doubted that she minded. He suspected she rarely had the opportunity to be in a quiet environment, and blowing him bubbles seemed to give her time to sort out her thoughts. He enjoyed the chance to clear his mind. Afterwards, she would usually have something of consequence to ask or talk about. She always seemed glad to have his ear and opinion, and he found her a pleasure to listen to.
He had wondered, lately, if she would bring up a particular subject, if she trusted him enough with what was one of the most talked about matters in the Seireitei these days.
Her relationship with Byakuya.
He had watched them both grow up, first him, and then her, and in truth, their relationship did not hold as much mystery for him as it did for others. If asked what he thought, Jyuushiro might have said they needed each other to balance out. Byakuya had kept himself apart and contained for far too long, and for all that she had matured, Yachiru still didn’t care much for convention or propriety. Their courtship had required Byakuya to reach out, required Yachiru to hold back. He might have said all this, but the only person he’d discuss it with would be Shunsui, and Shunsui did not ask. He wanted to, Jyuushiro thought with a smile, but he wouldn’t. Shunsui didn’t pry. He didn’t need to - if he waited long enough, the information would come to him the way fish come to a patient fisherman. That particular analogy led to other thoughts of Shunsui, and Jyuushiro found himself satisfyingly lost in thought when Yachiru spoke.
“Ukii? Remember when I was little, and decided I was going to marry Byakuya?”
Jyuushiro blinked and turned his head to look at her. She was looking down at the loop in her hand, but he somehow doubted she saw it. “ I remember. That was my fault, wasn’t it? I gave you that book.”
She smiled. “Yes, you did. I wouldn’t say it was your fault, even though I’m certain Ken-chan would love having someone to blame.”
“He doesn’t approve?”
“When you’re little, you want things, and you can’t imagine all the things that are required to make them true. I never imagined that all parts of a life might not fit together. I thought I would always be with Ken-chan, that I could marry my handsome prince and we would all be happy.” She looked up, across the water, eyes resting on a tree branch that hung low and broke the surface. “Now I know. I know that no matter what you feel for two people, it doesn’t mean they’ll like each other. Accept each other. I know that things have to change. And knowing all this” -she looked up at the sky- “I still want to marry my handsome prince.”
“Byakuya?”
“I don’t know what he wants. Ken-chan doesn’t give me a chance to speak to him. Maybe now he will, Byakuya went to speak to him yesterday. Ken-chan didn’t come home covered in blood, so it probably didn’t go too badly. He wasn’t happy, though. He practically threw me out of the building this morning.” She laughed. “He didn’t give me any warnings or make vague promises of ‘accidents’ happening to certain Captains, so I gathered he was giving me permission to see Byakuya.” Her smile faded. “My poor Ken-chan.”
“It seems as though you’re very worried about him, Yachiru,” Jyuushiro offered softly.
“He’s always been there, Ukii. My Ken-chan. My everything. All I wanted. Until…until Byakuya. And what I didn’t realize as a little girl was that while I may be one person with Ken-chan, I’m a very different person with Byakuya.” She shook her head. “And it changes my relationship with Ken-chan. I never wanted that. But it did, and it will only get worse.”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of getting worse, Yachiru. It’s just different. You still haven’t reached a balance yet. And you may not find it for awhile. It’s new…but you have plenty of time.”
“Can I have it all, Ukii? Will I still be his little girl, even all grown up?”
Jyuushiro smiled. “You’ll never be all grown up to Zaraki, Yachiru. That is why this is so difficult. I admit I don’t know him well, but I imagine you’re still a little girl on his back to him.”
“He told me once I’d never be too big for him to carry. That if ever I was, he’d just get stronger.” Jyuushiro wondered if Zaraki knew about the smile she reserved only for him. It was beautiful. “But Ukii…I feel…out of place these days. Like I did get too big for Ken-chan. And it irritates him.”
“Then, Yachiru, you really have only one choice.”
She looked at him, finally, worry in her eyes.
“You have to give him some time to get stronger. I’m certain he will, and you’ll find he’ll still be able to carry you. As much as he’s fighting it now.”
The anxiety in her eyes faded, and he saw some tension leave her shoulders. “I just don’t want to get lost, Ukii. I want to stay me. I want it all, even though I’m not a child anymore.”
“Then stay you, Yachiru. And give your men some time. I think they’ll end up surprising you. It’s amazing what love will do.”
She smiled and hugged him, running off with a light step. Jyuushiro picked up the loop she left behind and blew a few lazy bubbles. Maybe it wasn’t them that made him feel old. Maybe it was remembering how many years had passed since he’d been in Yachiru's position, maybe it was being able to meditate at one in the afternoon, and wanting nothing else. Maybe it was living long enough to see people like Zaraki, Yachiru, and Byakuya in the same story and not being surprised.
Or maybe it was the bubbles. It didn’t really matter to him, one way or another. Love always made him feel young.