Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, or any of the Bleach characters used in this fic. They all belong to Tite Kubo: the genius behind the captivating manga that started it all. I only own any of my original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.
Cold Shoulder
Prompt: Let it be a dream...
A/N: Written as a personal challenge. Although, I hereby blame St. Harridan for her tactics of "making Larkie wonder how it would all work out."
Even after several days of stunned silence on her part, Retsu could still feel herself suffocating. She had been unable to keep her head on straight, constantly fearing that her staff could read her every thought. Knowing now that such a thing was real, she still couldn't bring herself to fully believe in it. Her lack of impulsive decisions and pure heart refused to allow it, but the facts screamed the truth in her ears, haunting her as she recalled the situation.
Once the sun had risen on that first morning, she had been sure that everything had been a dream. The thoughts that had accompanied those actions, the emotions, the complete disregard for rules, regulation, and her own moral code, were all believed to be faulty. Ideals of that magnitude couldn't have been so easily cast aside. It was simply impossible. Having been so terrified of the smallest possibility, she had scoured the room for any traces of a visitor, only to come up empty-handed.
It had been that false sense of security that had fooled her completely.
Everything had seemed so normal. Chaos, as she went about treating patients, had swiftly ensued each day, further luring her into the mold that she had grown accustomed to. She had gone about her daily tasks with peace of mind, even going so far as to retrieve new prescription medications from the Twelfth Division. A task that had, to her, proven to be a mistake. The idea of such a thing hadn't so much as bothered her as she had accepted the box of pills from Nemu, for she had simply dismissed it as being irrelevant and false. The only thing that had brought it back to her attention had been the obvious smirk that Mayuri Kurotsuchi was pathetically trying to hide as he had watched her.
That had been yesterday, and now, the knowledge that she had so easily let herself go was eating away at her. Now that she was so close to the edge of a nervous breakdown, she had retired to her quarters early, having handed a crucial surgical procedure over to her competent lieutenant. Upon entry to her quarters, Retsu had locked the doors and closed the curtains, allowing herself to sink onto her bed.
It was completely impossible to blame her actions on something so vile as alcohol, as she had never even touched the stuff. The only explanation could have been her own lack of strength, which was a terrible blow.
Truly, it seemed that the world had fallen into pieces.
I hope I'm not the only person who is loving this to bits.