Hanatarou stares at you. You look really frightened. And for good reason. That mask looks exactly like a Hollow's... It's cracked slightly at the top, but otherwise, looks perfect. "Aki-san," he asks. "What is that mask? As you can see, it seems to have stopped Vice Captain Abarai's last slash attack." You don't answer, but he keeps asking, (although more to himself than to you at this point), "What is it made of? No... more importantly... why does that mask... look so much like a Hollow's...? Aki...san?"
Quickly, you stride to the door, but stop at its frame. "Hanatarou," you state, without looking at him, "this is a sewer. So there should be places where I can find a drainage pipe leading far away from here, right?" "Yes," Hanatarou answers, "But what...?" "I'll be back," you tell him, leaving the room. "Aki-san?!" He stretches his hand out to the already empty door. You've left and you're not coming back until the Hollow mask is gone.
"Hey, where are you going?!" Ganju squawks as you leave the room in a dark mood. "Hey!!" "Don't follow me," you snap, "Just go back to keeping watch, or whatever it was you were doing earlier." Ganju opens his mouth, as if to retaliate, but then closes it dumbly, knowing better than to argue with you when you get like this, even if you ARE injured... He goes inside the room to see if he can assist Hanatarou or at least keep watch.
"I can't destroy it," you think, "I know it won't be destroyed if Renji, or anyone before him for that matter, wasn't able to do so with multiple slash attacks from a released Soul Slayer, but I can try to throw it away..." Your eyes narrow in determination. "And the further I throw it away, the better..." You realize if you travel for a long time, you're going to get lost, especially since you'd rashly left your guide, Hanatarou behind. But what to do? You let out a sharp gasp of pain as the cut in your shoulder reopens slightly from you walking so briskly so much and so soon... This gives you a rather grotesque, but effective measure for marking your path. You touch your finger to the blood-soaked bandage and mark a small arrow on the corner of the wall in the direction you came from. "I can just scrub it off with my sleeve when I get back," you decide, and continue on. After you travel for what seems to be a really long time, taking different twists and turns by instinct, you come to an acceptably large drainage tunnel, that's as tall as you are. There's a hole in the middle leading straight down, for what purposes you do not know, but right now, it's perfect.
You clench the cracked mask in your hand, staring at it as if you were afraid it would come to life and bite your hand off. "Alright, you," you mumble, realizing the sheer foolishness (or eeriness) of addressing this Hollow mask. "Get lost!" you shout, chucking it into the hole with all the force you can muster. It's a perfect shot, landing right in the hole and submerging quickly. Feeling satisfied with yourself, you rub your shoulder and go back, although slightly dismayed by the site of a bloodied palm. You'll tuck it into your robes when you get back, since you don't want to wash it in the, uh, "water."
Back in the "healing room..."
Ichigo lies prostrate before Hanatarou's outstretched glowing hands. His eyes are closed and Ganju is standing a little ways behind the fourth division healer, in the doorway of the rare small enclosed room he's in. You arrive just outside the room, your foot inches from the door when you hear Hanatarou's voice. He appears to be explaining something to Ganju...
"It looks like when Ichigo was fighting Renji, he was disregarding his own wounds. While we watched, he just kept fighting and going forward. He didn't even make any attempts to block." Your mouth drops open. "Why the hell would he do something so stupid?" you shout, clenching your hands into fists and wishing you could beat Ichigo up as soon as he comes to (argh, if only he weren't injured!). Hanatarou's head jerks up violently, but Ganju just yawns and deadpans, "Why don't you ask him yourself?" "Eh?" you deadpan. Quickly, you rush into the room, prepared to be amazed by his miraculous recovery and expecting him to be sitting up and gazing curiously at you. But when you shove past Ganju, you notice Ichigo's still out cold. "When he wakes up, stupid," Ganju mumbles under his breath, looking away.
Hanatarou sighs and continues to focus on healing Ichigo as you punch Ganju square in the jaw to give injury in exchange for insult. "So... Healing power?" Ganju mumbles after cracking his jaw in place, avoiding you by leaning over Hanatarou's shoulder. "So you guys don't use herbs to heal people?" "Yes," Hanatarou explains, "The other shinigami can only use their power when they're fighting, but we, the fourth division, have healing powers... Although... this is the only skill we know." You raise an eyebrow, but otherwise make no other change in facial expression. So you sucking at kidou isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's just... you. But wait, why is Rukia so good at it, though? She can heal injuries... But she's not fourth division... Your eyebrows slowly knit together. Something's not right. Maybe there's some other reason for her being imprisoned and given an unnecessarily heavy sentence.
"By the way, how's his condition, Ichigo's?" Ganju asks. "Not very good," Hanatarou replies, "but I can definitely heal him. Please give me some time." "I'm sorry, Hanatarou," you mutter, stepping forward and bowing respectfully. "I... couldn't help overhearing what you'd just said earlier... If I'd just finished off Renji when I had the chance..." Your sentence hangs in the air because you all know that you didn't have the chance. Renji would have finished you if Ichigo hadn't decided to strike the final blow. "What are you talking about, Aki-san?" Hantarou laughs quietly. "I didn't spend nearly that much power healing you." "But even so, you still have to expend the rest of your energy on healing him," you tell him, indicating Ichigo with a jerk of the head. "You don't need to apologize for him," Hanatarou says, sparing you a kind glance. "This was his choice. You did your part, and he did his. And now," he goes back to his work, "it's time for me to do mine."
"Please," Hanatarou says, as you open your mouth, about to volunteer to help again, "Aki-san, stop pushing yourself. You've already done enough, and I just need one night. You should use the time to recover and I'll take care of him." You nod and Ganju decides to leave. "Aki-san, you don't have to stay," Hanatarou says, realizing you're still here. In fact, you're now sitting cross-legged next to him, your fists clenched in your lap. "You really should get some rest; you can heal faster that way." You shake your head, pulling your knees towards your chest. "I want to stay with him. I'm sorry if I'm being selfish, since you spent so much effort healing me, but..." Hanatarou takes one look at you and nods. "Her eyes haven't left Ichigo this whole time she's been here..."
"That's fine," he says. "I guess I could use some company." You smile gratefully and continue your vigil. "Somehow, this feels nostalgic," you think. "That's right. It's just like the time with the Grand Fisher. We had each others' backs on that one. Only last time..." You feel a painful twinge in your heart. "Last time, it was Rukia whose side I sat at... And I even helped her. But..." You look at Hanatarou. His hands have stopped glowing and he's taking off his bag, reaching inside for bandages. "It looks like that won't be necessary here." You keep watching. "I can't do anything right now. I'm no good with healing. But the least I can do... is to stay by his side. And that's what I will do."
After what seems like hours, you notice the pile of scrap material and empty containers piling up at Hanatarou's side. "Hey," you mumble, looking towards him. "D'you want me to...?" Hanatarou spares you a tired glance and sees what you're gesturing at. "Ah," he laughs quietly, "Sure." "Okay." With a faint nod, you get up and gather the leftovers in your sleeves and take them outside to dump off.
Not long after you've left the room, Ichigo wakes up. "Ah, Ichigo-san. You're awake," Hantarou comments, still stretching on a bandage. "Hanatarou? Where...?" Ichigo mumbles. "Please stay still," Hanatarou instructs, "Your wounds are not healed yet." His sleeves are rolled back and he's wearing long gloves up to his elbows. "Wounds," Ichigo mumbles. "That's right. I... was fighting Renji..." With a twitch and a gasp, memories flood back and he sits up sharply. "I-Ichigo-san?!" Hanatarou squeaks, alarmed.
"Where's Aki?!" Ichigo gasps, clutching at his newly bandaged side. That's right. He had been fighting to finish what you'd started. To defeat Renji... He had rushed in right after you fell so that you wouldn't be killed... And then, after Renji had begged him... no, the two of you, to save Rukia... He had passed out. Had he really seen your eyes open before his had closed, or had he just imagined all that? He looks around the darkened room and sees that you're not there...
"Thanks Hanatarou, I'm okay," he grinds out. "Wh-what are you talking about?" Hanatarou cries, "You can't get up yet!" "I have to," Ichigo insists, a determined look on his face. Slowly, he gets up and hobbles to the door. He has to make sure you're okay. He has to! "Ichigo-san!" Hanatarou calls, "Ichi--"
Suddenly, a fist shoots through the door, hitting Ichigo right in the jaw and making him topple over, unconscious. "G...Ganju-san?" Hanatarou exclaims. "How can you be okay if a punch like that can take you down?" he grumbles, cracking his knuckles. "Lay down like a good boy until your wounds are healed." Hanatarou sighs and drags Ichigo back to the "treatment room" by the arms. "Ah... another injury. Ganju-san, you're too brutal." "Shut up!" Ganju snorts, "At least I stopped him. Do you have a problem with how I do things?" Shaking his head, Hanatarou thinks, "Anyway, it's hard to believe that the wound on the left side of his chest is so shallow... I thought it would have been a fatal injury..." He pauses to conjure up the image of the thing that saved him. "It was that mask that was hidden inside his robes that saved him. But why was Aki in such a hurry to get rid of it?"
As Ichigo is finally dragged back inside the room, Ganju turns around with a self-satisfied sniff... and is punched. "Gwah!!" he groans, clutching his gut, and staggering back. He wrenches open one eye and squints at you in anger and surprise. "What the hell was that for, you bastard?!" he groans. "That," you huff, cracking your knuckles irritably, "was for punching an injured guy, you ass." "You hypocrite!" he growls, "What're you--" You shove past him rudely and, with one hand on the doorframe, you look back at him and snap, "Punching sense into Ichigo is MY job. Remember that."
And with that, you walk in the room after Hanatarou, leaving a stunned Ganju staring open-mouthed at the empty doorframe. "Geez, that Aki..." Ganju thinks, deciding to sit down and take a nap outside. "I hope Ichigo knows what he's in for if they ever..."
Back in the room, Hanatarou has finished patching up Ichigo and decides to head outside. "Where are you going?" you ask. "It looks like Ganju might need some treatment. I'm going to take care of it," he tells you. "You can stay here if you'd like." You nod and wave him out. "Hmm," you mumble, after sitting for a while. "I wonder if his head is cold...?" You tilt your head sideways and look at Ichigo. He looks like he's asleep; in any case, his breathing seems steadier than it was earlier... "Last time," you absent-mindedly mumble, "Last time, he had his head in Rukia's lap..." You slowly crawl forward and pull Ichigo's head into your lap. "Like this..." His hair... It looks really spiky, but it's actually kinda soft. You reach down and touch it. "It really is soft," you mumble softly. "It's just like him. It looks all tough and scary on the outside, but if you just get close enough to look properly..." You find yourself absentmindedly stroking his hair. "He's actually a very kind person... and he can be soft when he wants to be."
The injured shinigami makes a slight shifting movement, startling you into snatching your hand back, your cheeks warm. You stare down at him, your heart beating really fast. Is he waking up? Did he hear what you said? "Aki..." he sighs. His eyebrows twitch together a little before he becomes still again. "Huh?" Openly blushing, you become even more conscious of the warm weight of Ichigo's head in your lap... but you make no movement to change your position. Somehow, this just feels... right.
You let out a tiny yelp as you hear Hanatarou's voice from the door. "Um, Aki-san?" "Y-yes?" you stammer, looking down at Ichigo and then up so continuously that you nearly give yourself whiplash. "If you want to rest, we can just fold Ichigo's kimono and put it under his head. You don't have to be his pillow." Your eyes travel to the already neatly folded kimono lying just inches away from where you sit. Hastily grabbing the black robes, you admit, "Um, I hadn't thought of that." "It's okay," Hanatarou says, bobbing his head slightly, "I mean, if you..." "Don't WANT to move, it's not like it's any of our business." Face fully burning, you clear your throat and cross your arms, glaring at Ganju (who just finished a flustered Hanatarou's sentence for him). "What about it?" you retort, "This bother you?"
"Not at all," he snorts, "Just don't try to tell me there's nothing between you two after this—owww!!" "Aki-san, please!" Hanatarou stammers, (you'd thrown a small rock at Ganju to destroy the smug expression on his face; that guy just never learns his lesson, does he?) "I'm trying to patch him up!" "Sorry Hanatarou," you mumble half-heartedly. "But hey, I think I just made it easier for you. Now he won't move around or do anything stupid while you're healing him." "I guess," Hanatarou mutters, trying to drag him in the room with a sigh as well. "Urghhh..." It's no use. With his dinky arms and Ganju's considerably larger body mass, he doesn't succeed in moving the man more than a few inches. "Oh, I'll--" you volunteer, but Hanatarou holds up a hand. "No, it's okay Aki-san. You'll just reopen your wounds again." Your eyes flick to your right hand, which is covered in blood, from when you'd clutched at your wound and decided to reuse the blood as paint. Hastily, you try to scrub it off with your robe sleeve, but Hanatarou just laughs and tells you he'll treat Ganju from outside the room; his stuff's out here already anyway.
You're left to sit and wait. You yawn. Ichigo hasn’t woken up in a while. "I guess it's probably safe to take a nap," you think, your eyes closing. But this is a bit uncomfortable, to be sleeping like this... You grab the kimono on your left and replace Ichigo's head on it, while you lie down, curled up in a small ball. Incidentally, your face is right next to Ichigo's. "I guess I like the look of his sleeping face," you think, smiling slightly. "It's completely unguarded, just like that last time..." Your eyes close and you slowly nod off. Not long after, Ichigo wakes up... and the first thing he sees is you. His eyes widen.
"Aki?"
