Chapter 41: Yasaka

A/N: Sorry for the delay in upload. I essentially rewrote this chapter yesterday and today. The conversation with Yasaka is now four times longer than what it initially was because I felt it prudent to establish their trust in one another as a married couple. Ichigo's 'talk' with Akihiko has thus been moved to Chapter 42. Enjoy!

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It took every ounce of restraint for Yasaka not to drop her face into her hands with a furious sigh. She expected the hostility that would naturally occur between her husband and one-time lover. What she hadn’t expected was how immediate it would be.

Then again, men will be men.

Women tended to be more subtle when it came to marking their territories. She willingly stood right behind Ichigo, certainly not because she deferred to him in her very own throne room, but because she wanted to make it clear she was accepting his protective gesture and that she was comfortable with it. She also had her hand firmly planted on his back, visibly so. Akihiko would be able to clearly see the tips of her fingers curling over Ichigo’s shoulder. The physical touch was a clear sign she was comfortable and accepting of Ichigo in her personal space.

That being said…

Ichigo himself stood perfectly still and unmoving, yet Yasaka could clearly feel the dark tide swell from within her husband, oceans of malignant power beginning to churn from the hellacious depths of the Demon Lord’s soul.

Her hand on his back was also a silent reminder, a plea for his restraint. That she was there. And their daughter too, not far at all within the palace walls. They could ill afford to have Wrath Incarnate make an appearance here.

“Akihiko,” she said warningly, fixing her oldest friend with a stern glare.

“What?” he asked with feigned innocence, nearly causing her to roll her eyes. “He’s the one who called me an asshole first, Hime.”

She could feel Ichigo tense underneath her hand, so Yasaka calmly slid her fingers down from his shoulder and under his elbow, hugging his arm to her.

“Be that as it may, he is still my husband. While you’re within my halls, you will show him the proper respect,” she said, mustering every ounce of steel she had into her tone.

“Fine, fine,” Akihiko held up his hands. “I can see when I’m outnumbered. Sorry, we got off on the wrong foot.”

Ichigo stood straighter, his posture no longer screaming he was ready to explode in violent action. But Yasaka wasn’t fooled, she could still feel the darkness roiling with furor within him.

“Right.” And she barely suppressed a wince as her husband’s voice came clipped and heavy. “Now I remember… you’re Kunou’s birth father.”

“One and only!” Akihiko said cheerfully, and Yasaka desperately wanted to hit her childhood friend over the head at his flippant attitude. Would it kill him to show a modicum of respect when faced with one of the most dangerous Demons in existence? As much as she loved Ichigo, telling Kunou that her beloved ‘onii-san’ killed her own father was not a conversation she ever wished to have.

Murder had adverse effects on family dynamics, after all. And her young daughter already had enough baggage to deal with as it was.

“Yasaka’s told me about you,” and the dark undercurrent in her husband’s voice still ran strong.

“Nothing good, I bet,” Akihiko smiled in response, being willfully ignorant of the hostility Ichigo was so blatantly projecting.

But Yasaka’s mouth twisted sourly. What did he mean by his words? She did not go around bad-mouthing people behind their backs! Especially not with her husband! Well… okay, maybe, sometimes she grumbled to Ichigo about certain people pertaining to work. But that’s perfectly normal! What’s wrong with complaining about work related issues to your spouse! That’s half the point of marriage!

She lifted her chin imperiously. “I have far better things to do than gossip about you in my free-time, Akihiko.”

“It was a mixed bag,” Ichigo said neutrally, and Yasaka shot him a pouty glare for his admission.

With an overly dramatic sigh, Akihiko slumped his shoulders and said, “Typical Hime. Never playing fair despite four centuries of good memories together.”

The corner of her eye twitched. She knew what he was doing; making small, innocent-sounding comments that only served to highlight their bond. Luckily, it did not seem Ichigo was rising to the bait. Internally, Yasaka was feeling a tremendous sense of relief. Thank Amaterasu her husband was mature beyond his years. Which was far more than what could be said of Akihiko.

“Now that all involved parties are here,” Yasaka said in a tightly controlled tone, “why have you returned to Kyoto, Akihiko? We’ve talked about this before.”

He snorted. “Hah, no. We didn’t talk about it, Hime. You decreed; you commanded. Meanwhile I stood there like a child with my ears flat against my skull, having no choice but to obey.”

That… wasn’t entirely true, and not entirely fair to her either. The circumstances surrounding Kunou’s birth were complicated to say the least.

“Akihiko,” she said, a hint of weariness creeping into her voice, which her husband immediately caught onto because he lightly grabbed her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. She squeezed his hand in a silent moment of gratitude. “Please don’t do this, not now when there’s so much already going on.”

“There’s always something going on,” Akihiko said, rolling his eyes. “But fine, I won’t add to your stress. I’m being honest with you. I came out of genuine concern for Kunou and you. Things are pretty crazy these days, what with two foreign attacks on the country by splinter factions of the Three Great Powers.”

She gave her fellow Kitsune an inquisitive look. While the attack from the Old Satan Faction was very obviously public knowledge, the identity of Kokabiel as the invader hadn’t been made public. “How do you know that the second invasion came from the Three Great Powers?”

Akihiko gave her a skeptical look, as if to say, really?

“Hime, please. Half the planet knows. A Satan, a Cadre, an Archangel, two Dragon King class Dragons, an entire army of Angels and another one of Fallen? And on top of it all, Susanoo-sama manifesting his divinity? Anyone with halfway decent sensing abilities instantly knew what was going on.”

Yasaka pressed her lips into a thin line. “I didn’t know you had developed sensing abilities.”

“Well, it’s not like we’ve been talking much in the last decade,” he said with a shrug, though she noted the hint of accusation in his voice. She gripped Ichigo’s hand tighter. In honesty, her strained relationship with Akihiko was primarily her fault, not his. “And even if I hadn’t, people are talking about it everywhere. It’s the most exciting thing to happen on Earth since Azazel was chased out of Valhalla with a horde of angry Valkyries behind him.”

His words made her frown. She had ensured that powerful barriers had been placed around the Valley of Kuoh the moment the Dragon King had descended to confront Kokabiel. Though it seemed the greater supernatural world had managed to glimpse enough to put certain pieces together.

Another headache to deal with. She’d have to investigate how much intel had leaked. Aside from Kokabiel himself, was Takamagahara’s internal strife also public knowledge? What of the tears in the barriers between the realms of the living and dead, were those also revealed before they were so mysteriously repaired?

Her golden brow furrowed slightly. She had too much to deal with.

She touched her shoulder to Ichigo’s, wanting to draw strength from his presence. There were too many things she needed to engage with as Empress, too many matters that required her direct attention. She did not need family drama on top of everything. The best thing to do would be to send Akihiko away and restrict him from entering the city again. And yet… did he really deserve to be treated so cruelly and callously when he had only come out of sincere concern for herself and their daughter?

And what of Kunou? Yasaka herself did not even know who her own father was. Her mother had kept her fully ignorant of his identity. Centuries ago, she had asked her mother about him, and she was flatly told it wasn’t a matter of importance and that such knowledge would only distract her from her duties to the nation and to Amaterasu-sama. The hard and cold rejection from her mother still lingered in her mind.

Could she make the same choice for Kunou? Should she? Was it fair to deny her daughter the chance to know her birth father? Yasaka knew all too well how dreadfully onerous this role her bloodline was tied to could be. Could Akihiko’s presence help alleviate Kunou’s burden? Or was her mother correct? Would Akihiko only prove to be a distraction, or worse, debilitate Kunou’s growth?

Not to mention the strain Akihiko’s presence might place on Kunou’s bond with Ichigo.

And there was Ichigo himself to think of. It wasn’t fair to her husband to allow her one-time lover to suddenly enter their lives. Especially considering Akihiko clearly still had feelings for her. Oh, she wasn’t blind. She had known about his affections since they were children and quite plainly, they hadn’t gone away.

Yasaka felt tired. Very, very tired.

Withholding a sigh for what seemed like the umpteenth time, she fixed her oldest friend with a firm look. “I assume, you wish to meet with Kunou?”

Uncharacteristically, Akihiko stared back at her with just as much austerity. “Yes. I very much want to see with my daughter.”

Her grip on Ichigo’s hand tightened exponentially. And if her husband had been a lesser creature, said hand would have shattered.

“I will take the matter under advisement,” Yasaka said in a tone that brokered no argument. “I will allow you to remain within the city. But Akihiko, if you ever come into my palace again without my permission - there will be grave repercussions.”

The unsaid threat being that she would not stop Ichigo from tearing Akihiko limb from limb if he crossed the line.

Akihiko, for his part, continued to hold her gaze for several seconds, and briefly Yasaka wondered if he would be audacious enough to challenge her. But slowly, her fellow Kitsune dipped his head, acquiescing to her verdict.

“I appreciate the consideration, Hime.” She briefly caught his expression, hope marred with some other emotion she couldn’t place. Vindication? Triumph? Whatever it was, she did not like it.

“You may leave, then,” she said in a heavy tone.

Akihiko gave her one last look before dissolving into a series of sakura petals as he bowed at the waist.

Several long moments passed as Yasaka stared at the empty space where her old friend had stood. Her thoughts churning wildly, her mind splitting in a dozen different directions as she considered so many things that had to be taken into account of before she made her final decision.

At last, Yasaka closed her eyes and let out innumerable frustrations in one great sigh.

She collapsed against Ichigo, and he immediately wrapped her up in his arms. Yasaka instinctively returned his hug, and not just with her arms, but coiled her nine tails around his legs, arms, and back. She wanted to touch him as much as possible, to take in his warmth and hold onto him. Her rock in this horrid storm that was her life.

Nuzzling into his chest, she breathed in his scent and allowed her mind to briefly let go of all the worries which currently plagued her. Taking in the moment to allow the chaos to recede and replace it with a single contented instant of peace.

After several quiet minutes passed in his arms, she lifted her chin and looked up at him. “Let’s go for a walk.”

“Sure,” he said with an indulgent smile.

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Ichigo’s gait was short as he and Yasaka gradually paced through her impressive gardens at the back of the palace. They hadn’t said a word to each other as they walked, hand in hand, all the way from her throne room to the gardens on the far end of the property. Pointedly ignoring all the bowing servants they had met along the way, Ichigo had also subtly brought a touch of demonic power into his eyes. Any and every courtier they had met had instantly turned and fled rather than bother Yasaka with whatever new governmental issue had reared its ugly head.

Was it irresponsible of him to do so? Probably. Did he care? Not in the least. His wife’s personal peace of mind was far more valuable to him at that moment.

Slowly, their feet carried them to a wooden bridge, arching over crystal clear water that led to a single pavilion at the center of the pond. It was their spot. Where most of their walks and dates ended before they whisked away to the bedroom, or he slipped back into Underworld to continue his dread reign.

As his foot touched the first plank of wood on the bridge, Yasaka softly said, “Thank you.”

He looked at her with a small frown, her gaze still heavy and down towards the ground.

“For what?”

“For allowing me to do the talking. For showing restraint.”

He let out a low hum. He didn’t think showing restraint warranted any sort of thanks. If anything, that was the bare minimum. But he understood where she was coming from. He was a Demon. He was the Demon. Anger and Rage came as easy as breathing to him. But if there was one thing Ichigo Kurosaki valued, it was control.

He despised not having control. From the days of fighting Zangetsu for control of his body, to learning to deal with the endless whispers of Hell in his soul, to the malignant Sin wishing to drown the world in a boundless sea of blood. Control was key to living for Ichigo.

Not to mention, he wasn’t about to make things difficult for Yasaka. And, as tempting as it was to give into jealous rage and burn that smug asshole into an ashen stain of her carpets, Ichigo valued Yasaka’s opinion of him far more. Even more so, he valued the respect he had for her and their marriage. It would be a slap to his wife’s face if he had shown up in her throne room and incinerated Akihiko.

She had called him, trusted him, respected him as her husband by refusing to talk with her ex without him by her side. It spoke volumes about Yasaka’s character and how much she truly loved him. Ichigo wasn’t dumb enough to spit on that love and respect by violating her trust by killing Akihiko on the spot.

But dear Lucifer was he tempted to do so.

He had spent half the time Yasaka was talking with Akihiko imagining tearing out the Kitsune’s six tails one at a time. Fucking douchebag.

“Don’t mention it,” he said with a neat smile.

As they came under the shelter of the pavilion and stood in the center, they both turned towards each other, and in practiced familiarity, wrapped their arms around one another.

“I’ve told you about Akihiko before,” she said hesitantly. And Ichigo noted her nervousness in the way she began to bite into her lower lip.

“Briefly.”

She nodded. “I never told you the whole story… and you never really asked.”

He gave a light shrug. “Given how… accommodating you were regarding Tiamat, I thought it’d be rather hypocritical to dig into Kunou’s father. If you wanted to share, you’d share. If you didn’t, then I’d wait until you were ready to.”

She gave him a small smile of thanks. “You really are the perfect husband.” But her smile quickly dipped, and she let out a leaden sigh. “I first met Akihiko well over four hundred years ago. I may have been around Kunou’s age, perhaps a few years older. As you know, aside from being the Head Priestess of Amaterasu and the Empress of Mythical Japan, I am also the Head of the Kitsune Clan. During my mother’s reign, to teach me responsibility and help acclimate me with making decisions that would affect others, she had me take over the responsibilities of the clan.”

“That’s when you met Akihiko,” he surmised.

“Yes,” she said with a nod. “His personality… it was virtually what you saw today. Irreverent, frivolous and little to no filter on his mouth. He was different to the iron-clad severity of my mother’s reign.” Yasaka then gave him a mischievous look and poked him lightly in the cheek. “For the record, she would not have approved of you as a son-in-law.”

Ichigo gave a chuckle. “That’s me. Bad boy extraordinaire. Keeping religious parents on the edge about their beautiful daughters.”

She snorted, “Playboy.”

“Princess.”

For a brief second, the tension within her eyes was broken by their flirting. Sadly, it crept back in after a few solemn moments. “Akihiko was different. And very willing to make his presence known. He was attracted to me from the get-go. I knew, of course. Anyone with eyes could obviously notice his infatuation. But I was young, and like all Kitsune, very easily flattered. I didn’t maintain a sovereign’s distance, and rather quickly, he became my first friend. My best friend.”

Yasaka’s eyes flitted nervously as she added. “We shared a lot of memories together, a lot of happy ones. I probably smiled more with Akihiko than with my own mother. I was happiest when being entertained with his antics.”

It took an immense amount of self-control to wrestle his jealousy down. It was one thing to hear the not-so-subtle jabs from the smug douchebag. It was another thing entirely to hear from his own wife’s lips that there was another man out there that had made her so happy. Within his own mind, he rationalized that this was before she had met him. Hell, this was before he was even before.

But within his heart, however…

Ichigo rolled his jaw as both Zangetsu and Wrath called for blood.

Yasaka’s ears slightly drooped and her golden eyes watered in sadness. “You’re mad.”

His wife’s unshed tears immediately gave him the edge to viciously push down on the two more violent facets of his soul, and he gently brushed a strand of hair from her brow. “Not at you. Never at you. And, if I’m being honest, I’m more jealous than anything. I wish it was me. I wish it had been me making you smile, giving you comfort when you needed it. I wish I had known you all your life. And I hate that it wasn’t.”

Big pools of gold looked up at with, shimmering with heavy emotion. Lucifer, and here he thought he had become immune to her patented watery-eyed vixen stare. “You’re really not mad at me?”

Rather than saying anything, he swept down and captured her lips in a searing kiss. Yasaka let out a muffled sound of surprise but quickly began to kiss him back. After several heated seconds, he pulled away, taking great satisfaction in his wife’s heated cheeks and her semi-dazed gaze.

“I told you,” He whispered softly. “I’d never be mad at you.”

He gently rubbed a thumb across her cheek and Yasaka bit her lip as she gave him a pleased smile.

“So, what happened next?”

Yasaka took in a deep breath as she settled her thoughts. Finally, she said, “Our friendship continued. Decades churned to centuries, and with my mother’s apotheosis upon her thousandth year, I inherited the mantle of Empress. We spoke little after that, and met even less, but still we maintained a friendship. Albeit a distant one. Eventually, I came to desire a child of my own as I started thinking about passing on my responsibilities and continuing my line. We Kitsune are a small Clan as it is. My choice in males was limited.”

“But there was Akihiko, someone you were comfortable with,” he said in understanding.

She nodded, a forlorn touch on her cheeks. “In hindsight, it was a mistake. It would have been keener to choose a male without attachments. A stranger. But as you said, I was comfortable with Akihiko. When I approached him, he was nearly hysterical with joy. Even when I made it quite clear that I did not desire a husband or a relationship. That he would have no say in our child’s upbringing if he chose to agree to be the father, and that she would be mine and mine alone to raise. He argued quite a bit at first, but I was firm. Eventually, Akihiko agreed. But, perhaps, he did not fully understand even after I had laid out my demands.”

“Or maybe he didn’t want to?” Ichigo supplied. “Maybe he was trying to convince himself, and you, that this would lead to something more.”

Yasaka said nothing; her gaze dropped to his chest. The paleness of her cheeks shone in the dim lantern light, and Ichigo was tempted to bend down and give them a chaste kiss. But her next words stopped him cold.

“It wasn’t even a full night.” His arms stiffened around her, as her words fell forbidding on his ears. She must have sensed his distress because she began spewing out details he did not wish to hear. “I-Ichigo, really! I didn’t stay the full night with him! I returned to my own room as soon as I was certain I was carrying his seed an-”

“Yasaka!” And Ichigo crushed her to him as he shut his eyes tight and willed away the mental images of his wife being embraced in the arms of another man. “Please,” his voice was barely above a whisper, but the pleading anguish within was so obvious to even his own ears. “Don’t give me those details.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

He exhaled heavily, tasting the demonic sulfur on his breath. He didn’t need a mirror to know his eyes were burning a furious crimson. The Demon was pushing against his skin, need and anger and hurt screaming to be let out. But for the sake of the woman in his arms, for the love he held for her, he willed every ounce of strength he possessed and pushed it down.

“You don’t need to apologize,” he said gently, as he put one hand on the back of her head and cradled her to his chest. “I’m the one at fault. Sorry for being such a jealous ass.”

“You don’t need to apologize either,” she muttered into his shirt. “…does it make me a bad wife if I’m somewhat happy my husband is jealous over me?”

He scoffed, a moment of humor breaking through the strained atmosphere. “Just don’t make a habit of making me jealous.”

She shifted in his arms. “Says the one who goes around with other women on his arm.”

He wanted to laugh, but honestly? He couldn’t bring himself to. Lucifer, he was such a hypocrite. Here he was consumed with jealousy over a one-night stand Yasaka had years and years ago, meanwhile she so readily accepted his loving relationship with Tiamat for the last two plus years.

And the worst part? He couldn’t even feel a shred of guilt over it. He was a demon through and through now, humanity long since scoured from his soul. It just felt… so normal to him. To selfishly covet Yasaka’s love, while doing the same with Tiamat.

He bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head, even as a fierce conviction coursed through his mind. No matter what, he would do his best to ensure the happiness of both his girls.  

After several moments passed, he loosened his hold on her and pulled back. Yasaka smiled as they caught each other’s gaze. Then Ichigo said, “What happened then?”

She gave a light shrug. “There was a ritual where Amaterasu-sama ensured I conceived with a female child. I did not speak directly to Akihiko again, though I passed him a message encouraging him to leave Kyoto for both of our sakes. He would send letters over the years, though I never responded and ensured Kunou remained ignorant of his existence.”

“But now he’s here,” he said, highlighting the issue.

“And now he’s here.” Yasaka repeated as she put a hand to her head and closed her eyes. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Well…”  He began but then promptly shut his mouth when Yasaka shot him a glare.

“Ichigo, no.”

“Or, hear me out, Ichigo, yes.”

She rolled her eyes at him, though silently he considered it a win. An annoyed Yasaka meant she was quickly moving on from being sad. And he’d rather his wife be annoyed at him than drowning in her sorrows.

“I am not killing Akihiko, Ichigo.”

“I never said anything about you killing him.”

“I am not letting you kill him either.”

As he tried to respond, Yasaka poked him hard in the chest. “Do you really want to tell Kunou you killed her father? Do you want to put her through the childhood trauma of having to know her father was killed by her mother’s new husband? Are you trying to turn our Kunou into Hamlet?!”

Ichigo blinked. Oh shit. That was the plot to Hamlet, wasn’t it?

“Well, in fairness,” Ichigo said, grasping for straws, “Akihiko isn’t my brother so it’s not one hundred percent the same.”

Yasaka crossed her arms. “No, we’re not murdering Akihiko. And yes, that’s exactly what it would be. I will be the first to admit he can be incredibly irritating, but he hasn’t done anything that merits a death sentence.”

“That we know of,” he pointed out in an innocent voice.

But when Yasaka shot him a glare, he held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. No jealousy fueled murders from me.”

Not tonight at least, he told himself. He wouldn’t go out of his way to kill the six-tailed Kitsune, but if ever the bastard gave him a reason, Ichigo would be shoving Zangetsu down his gullet and make scarves out of his tails.

Was it petty of him? Yes, yes it was.

And Ichigo could live with that. He didn’t know if it was a characteristic he always had, or something supernaturally enhanced by his newfound Demonic nature: but Ichigo’s protective streak was now heavily marked with a strong sense of possessiveness.

In hindsight, the younger him would have been horrified by Tiamat’s casual murder of would-be suitors. Now, he didn’t even flinch when young Dragons and foolish Devils attempted to court his Dragon King and paid the ultimate price for trying to covet what was so obviously his.

As he was caught up in his own thoughts, Yasaka fidgeted with the fabric of his shirt, and he looked down quizzically. “Something wrong?”

“Do you…do you think I should allow Akihiko to meet Kunou?”

He shook his head. “Oh no, don’t ask me.”

She looked at him bewildered. “You’re my husband! Who else am I supposed to ask?!”

“Yasaka, sweetheart, I am the least unbiased person in this equation.”

“Ichigo, we’re all biased here. Just… anything? Please?”

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. When it came to Kunou, while he was officially her stepfather, their relationship was more along the lines of siblings. He knew how to be a big brother, that was instinctually easy for him. But when it came to actual parenting, he knew well enough to back off and let Yasaka handle the bulk of those responsibilities.

It had nothing to do with Ichigo shirking parenthood and everything to do with ensuring Kunou felt safe and comfortable with their family dynamics. He didn’t want to intrude upon any potentially upsetting boundaries.

And suddenly, a thought came unbidden to his mind. The kind of wild and outright insane idea that predominantly belonged in Sirzechs’ head. Slowly, Ichigo reached out and put both hands on Yasaka’s shoulders.

“Look, this may sound crazy but hear me out.” Her expression grew skeptical, and Ichigo silently braced himself for being punched in the face. “But maybe… err, talk to Tiamat about this?”

He instantly flinched as soon as the words left his mouth, though the anticipated blow never fell. Instead, Yasaka stood there unblinking, her stare neutral and expressionless. As the seconds ticked by, a certain anxiety began growing heavy in his chest.

Crap, what if he had pissed off Yasaka to the point where she’d do more than just punch him in the face? It was bad enough her ex was in town making a nuisance of himself. Telling her to go to – what was essentially his affair partner – for advice was probably too boneheaded of him?

Oh, who was he kidding? It was the blunder of the century.

A long and fervent apology ready on his lips; Yasaka let out a quiet hum. “You think, as a mother, I should ask the Primordial of Motherhood for counsel?”

Ichigo nodded very slowly. “Kind of…yeah…”

Yasaka deflated, and Ichigo felt the immense tension that had built up within slip from his shoulders. “I shall… consider it. Maybe.”

“That’s all I’m saying,” Ichigo said with boundless relief.

A few quiet moments passed with Yasaka’s brows furrowed in contemplation, but the silence was broken when she asked, “Do you need to return to the Underworld?”

He quickly went through a mental list of significant matters that required his attention, but there was nothing imperative at the moment. “I can stay the night.”

Yasaka beamed warmly. “I’ll give the order for dinner. After all this, I would quite like to spend some time with my daughter.”

Ichigo rubbed his jaw as another absurd Sirzechs-like idea flickered into his mind. “You know what? You get some quality time with Kunou. I’m gonna take a quick walk around the city before I join you two for dinner. Clear my head a bit.”

Yasaka briefly looked confused, but then her expression quickly fell into a scowl.

“I-chi-go,” she growled, entirely seeing through his charade.

He held up his hands in appeasement. “I already said I’m not going to kill him! I just want to talk, man to man.”

“Talk?” Her voice dripping with disbelief. “You’re just going to talk? Is this some new Devil euphemism?”

He shrugged. “Look, princess, this is going to end one of two ways. Either I’m going to go find his smug ass and have a ‘talk’, which you’ve already deduced is code for me decking him in the face. Or I’m going to find his smug ass, drag him back here, tie him up, face him to the wall, and have him listen as I make you scream my name in delight to Amaterasu’s High Halls.”

Yasaka went beet red and immediately began spluttering.

“Sorry,” he said with another shrug, and she knew full well he wasn’t sorry whatsoever.

“Y-y-you…ah! Why are you like this!”

He gave her the Devil’s smile.

“Because that’s the part of me you love the most,” he purred throatily. “Don’t bother going to bed. One way or another, I’m keeping you up all night, princess.”

And with a quick stolen kiss, Ichigo disappeared into the night.