Lieutenant Kushira Hikamara glared and tried to draw her zanpakuto but he was faster. He covered the end with his hand and kept it down. "What happened to us" he asked staring at her intensely. She glared at him and he studied her face. The glare was one of pain and self-blame and Captain Jushiro Ukitake realized what had happened.
He wrapped his arms around her and she tried to push him away but it was a half-hearted shove "don't blame yourself" he said his breath brushing across her cheek and neck "you're shutting yourself off" she stopped struggling "she wouldn't be dead if it weren't for me" she whimpered "no one is blaming you…much less me"
She trembled "it was my mistake though" she said brokenly and he held her tighter, his strong, familiar form comforting to her "it was a mistake anyone could have made" he whispered. She quit pushing him away and clung to his haori sobbing "but I made the mistake" she said.
Jushiro wished he could take her pain away if even for a moment. She had already suffered so much in both her life and death it didn't seem fair. He held her tightly, she felt like she was going to break but it was comforting. "Let me in" he murmured "you can trust me…please let me heal your pain" she whimpered. No one had ever said that to her "I don't know how to trust" she whispered.
"I'll help you learn" she nodded "we'll start off slow" he whispered brushing his nose against hers. She tensed "don't fight me…let me help you" he said softly, lips centimeters away.
She tried to relax but she was nervously gripping his haori. He gently pressed his lips to hers and she melted in his arms. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers "that wasn't that hard was it?" he whispered and she shook her head unable to articulate. He gently ran his hands through her hair making her shiver.
"You can trust me" he murmured gently kissing her neck. Again she tensed but when he gently squeezed her hand to tell her to relax she fought against the urge to push him away and run for the hills. She whimpered as he lightly bit her collarbone.
"I would never hurt you" he said in her ear "I want you to know that no matter what I will never cause you pain" hot tears flowed from her eyes as she felt the walls she put up around her heart shatter with that one sentence. She sobbed into his shoulder "I know" she murmured as he gently rubbed her back soothingly "I trust you"
He pulled her flush against him "you can" he said gently tugging the sash that held her shihakusho closed "you can always trust me" he murmured pushing her down on the grass "always"