As I stepped over the roof of division eight, I could taste the metallic tang of my blood at the back of my tongue. Swallowing, I pushed myself to go faster and quicker then I was before. In my haste, I ended up stepping on, and dripping blood onto, Captain Kuchiki's lawn…

Landing just outside of the main gates, I walked in with the guards looking at me inquiringly. I stepped into the main lobby, and noticed that it was very busy. At least a third of eleventh division members were here, and since were almost the largest division, that's quite a lot of people. I dodged healers and patients alike, and strolled up to the main desk as the guys across my shoulders slid down more to cover their swords in my ribs.

"Hi," I said with a small smile, "Is there anyone you can spare to take care of these two idiots? I may have accidentally ruptured a couple of their organs."

Without looking up from his filing, the receptionist replied, "Yes miss, we'll have someone here as soon as were done with the eleventh division patients. May I ask your name, squad and if you're seated?"

"Well, I'm Mercedes Nova Corvette, ninth seat of the eleventh squad."

His honey brown eyes jerked up, and met my creepy green ones. And then look notice of the amount of blood that was soaking our uniforms. His eyes went wide, and he sent a message over an intercom, "Is there anyone who can treat two eleventh division members right away?"

It was answered my Unohana's voice, "Yes, send them to the room two doors down from Captain Ukitake's. Room four hundred and twenty two."

He looked at me, "You heard the Captain, take them to the room."

I nodded and took off at a fairly quick pace considering I had about two, maybe three hundred pounds on my shoulders. I rounded a corner and found a dead end. So I backtracked, and found Hanataro, who was heading for Ukitake's room to change the bed sheets on the other bed on the room. Apparently it had been coughed on... So I tagged along with him, as he began to chatter aimlessly.

"Mercy! What are you doing here?" his little light blue eyes widened in concern.

I laughed lightly, "Well, Hana… this is what happens when the eleventh division plays a simple game: soul reapers and hollows."

"Really?"

"Yep…"

Hana shivered slightly, "Sounds scary."

I rolled my eyes at him and declared, "You bet, and it's even scarier when Captain Kuchiki gets in on it too."

"Oh," he mumbled, "is that what happened to them too?"

I started laughing slightly, "No, no Hana. I happened to them."

"You mean…?" he inquired horrified.

"Yep, I beat them."

"Why though?"

I winced as Akane pressed down on one of the swords, while Yurokusa let one rip right in my face, but then responded, "They attacked me first Hana, and I wasn't looking for a fight."

With a gasp, Hana took a hold of my arm, firmly stopping me, "Did they hurt you?"

I pulled Hana into a walk again and lied to him, "Nope not a scratch."

"Then why are you all bloodied…?"

I sighed remorsefully and answered, "Its their blood Hana. Not mine."

"Really?"

"Yes Hana…" I sighed and glanced to the left, seeing the Sixth divisions lieutenant sitting on a bed, getting a bandage wrapped around his chest. This caught my interest, "What's he doing here,"

"Oh Renji? He got caught in a skirmish between a group of eleventh division members, and got beat really badly."

We walked in silence form then on, through another couple of doors and turned some corners, before Hanataro went into what I assumed was Ukitake's room. I walked down a couple more doors, and came face to face with my destination.

"Come in please." Unohana called though the door. I leaned slightly and opened it without dropping ether of the guys. Unohana was preparing two beds, and when she looked over at me, her eyes widened but she put on a kind smile, "Hello Mercedes, and who are your friends here?"

"Akane and Yurokusa. We were having a big game of soul reapers and hollows, with the seated officers being hollows… they just picked the wrong opponent to fight." I walked over to the bed on the far right and laid Kuro on it, and then laid Akane on the other. As I was straightening up, I felt Unohana give me the creepy glare as she tweaked Kuro's sword causing me to hiss in pain.

"You failed to let the receptionist know that you were hurt?"

I held up my hands, "We tried getting the swords out, and your busy here, so I figured it wouldn't kill me to wait a bit."

She gave me the look again, and I shivered "Your wrong. Now lets move you to room four twenty one. Scratch that, would you mid if you shared a room with Ukitake, since you're not really able to catch… Never mind, were still headed for Ukitake's room. He's getting released today so it should be fine,"

"Can I have like a hospital robe or something please? And if it bothers Captain Ukitake, then I can wait. It doesn't bother me."

She walked to a closet, and tossed me a robe that I quickly slipped on as a healing team, including Hana, came bustling in to heal the two idiots. Unohana walked out the door, and I followed quietly, as we walked down the hall and she knocked on Ukitake's door. "Jushiro, would you mind sharing your room for a moment? All of the rest are full, and we need a eleventh division patient treated quickly."

A kind and calm voice, with a hint of rasp to it, sounded out, "Not at all, Retsu, go ahead and bring him in." And so we walked in. there sitting on a hospital bed, was a white haired man with kind dark eyes and pale skin. His eyes were slightly surprised to see a woman instead of a man, "Retsu, I thought you said the patient was from the eleventh."

I snorted and stated in an annoyed tone, "I would shake hands but," I held up my blood stained hands, "mine are dirty…"

"Oh no, "He laughed, "I don't mind that, but which division are you really from?"

"Captain Ukitake, sir," I answered, for Unohana was about to interject, "I am part of the eleventh and I'm quite proud of it."

"None the less," Unohana waved us off, and pointed at the bed on the far end of the wall, "sit Ms. Corvette. I will be back soon, I just need some others to help restrain you."

I sat were she instructed and waited. My hospital robe shifted slightly exposing Elohcin, and Setsuna who had used our bond to port to our position. I reached down and slid the two sister swords out of my sash and laid them on the chair next to my bedside.

"So is it?" Ukitake said with a raised eyebrow and a small smile.

"Please Captain Ukitake, call me Mercy."

Smiling even bigger, he alleged, "Ok, Mercy. You have twin soul slayers?"

I shrugged and winced as one of the swords nicked something, "Yeah, I heard two captains have twin swords too." I felt a cough coming, so I raised my hand to muffle it; the cough itself turned into a gross sounding fit.

Ukitake shifted so that he faced me a bit more, and asked with distress, "Are you all right?"

Clearing my throat, I swallowed the tangy metallic flavor I had grown to adore and hate, "Nope, but it'll pass… so you were saying?"

"I'm one of them… the two captains with twin swords; so do you know how to use your blades?"

"Yep." I answered proudly.

He looked at me, and down to my torso, "What are you in here for?"

Smiling politely, I said, "Training accident." I let my gaze wander, and found a red button which was on an intercom, "Whats that for?"

"What?"

"The intercom thing…"

He looked at it disdainfully, "Its there to alert people if they are needed in this room."

A knock sounded at the door, and Unohana's voice called out, "Ms. Corvette, were coming in." I shifted slightly as Unohana and Isane walked in with another healer. Isane walked over with the other healer and instructed him to hold my legs down.

"Captain, do you want me to remove this," I motioned to my white jacket thing, "or leave it on?"

Unohana was preparing something while she responded to me, "Take it off, I need to be able to have access to them."

I silently slipped off my coat, giving everyone full view of the soul slayers stuck in my sides. I was getting slightly dizzy, but I didn't mind it. Looking to Ukitake, I got a good look at his wide eyes, as he exclaimed "What kind of training were you doing?"

Smirking at him, I said, "The best kind!"

Startled again he asked, "How are you not crying or anything? I, at least, would show some discomfort!"

Now it was my turn to be startled and I slumped slightly to the side, and straitened at once as a shock of pain flooded my mind, "If I was constantly crying out, or curled up from pain, I would be dead by now wouldn't I, be it by my Captain's of hand or a higher seats blade."

"Mercedes?" Unohana called before Ukitake could respond, "Do you want us to move your bed so you can lean against the wall while we pull them out?"

"Won't that hinder your progress?"

"Yes, but-"

Ukitake clambered out of his bed and crossed the room to stand behind me, while he said; "I can support Mercy so you may attend to her ailments."

I tipped my head so I looked straight up at his face and stated, "You don't have too… I can hold myself up."

"That will work fine Jushiro, thank you for offering. Ok Mercy," she stated as she took Kuro's soul slayers handle into her palm while Isane placed a semi glowing hand on my ribcage, "were going to start pulling them out about-now."

I felt the pain of the blades slowly sliding and wrenching out of my body, and it forced me backwards into Ukitake's arms, which curled around me to hold me in place, as I gritted my teeth against the agony. I felt a scream build in my throat, but swallowed it down to a whimper, and I buried my hands into the sheets on the bed. The sword jiggled, and came out with a spray of blood and other stuff. Isane's gentle hands started healing with a warm glowing light while Unohana moved to my other side.

Unohana's hand locked around Akane's katana as the other braced the spot were the katana protruded from my body, Isane continued healing the other wound that still had blood running out. I took a gurgling breath and let it out, blood dancing at the back of my throat, tempting me to remove it.

Unohana stated in a gentle tone, "On three… One, two…" three never came to my ears, for Unohana started pulling on Akane's soul slayer. I felt one of my ribs edge outward. It snapped suddenly, protruding outward painfully. A cry ripped itself from my esophagus, and my hands left the table to clutch at Ukitake's arms; my legs nearly tossing the poor healer away. The sword in my side, however, slid out easily after that, taking even more of my blood with it.

Blood poured into my mouth and, hunching forward out of Ukitake's arms, I started to cough. As Unohana put the rib back in place, Ukitake moved one of his arms to rub circles on my back while I brought up a hand to cover my mouth. Isane's careful hand ran across my chest, emitting soothing warmth before she went back to healing my side. Eventually the coughing and blood subsided, for the moment, but left me extremely weak feeling. The blood in my lungs was building quickly. It felt like all of my energy was going to a certain part of my body. Isane, forgetting to wrap my wounds as a message from a hell butterfly went into her ear, and the other healer, left to go attend to some other critical conditioned eleventh division members.

Unohana's hands drifted over my entire torso, starting from the top, pausing over my lungs and heart, she frowned at me, "You never mentioned this amount of damage to your pulmonary…"

"It…" I sucked in a small breath as I shifted slightly in discomfort of having two Captains hovering over me, " never came up…"

"Retsu," Ukitake asked and looked at her, I heard his hair shift over the fabric covering his shoulders, " may I ask what kind of damage it is?"

"I'm sorry, I can't say… patient confidentiality prohibits it."

"I see…"

Unohana continued her drifting, only to stop and hover over my lower abdomin, "Mecedes, have you been feeling any of the symptoms I've told you about?"

"No." A good lie would keep her from over worrying about me.

She gave me a look, before her hands darted back up to my chest. A burst of her spiritual pressure invaded my own and attempted to dispel the sickness that is entangled with my lungs. At the preliminary shock, I felt myself go limp, and crashed backwards into Ukitake, who quickly enfolded his arms around my upper body to brace my fall. I blinked slowly as I felt another spray of blood come up from my abused lungs and pool into my mouth, but not yet spilling over.

"Mercedes!" the combined calls of both Captains sounded from the suddenly loud hospital.

My logical mind went blank as the blood bubbled over my lips and I started to hack and cough as more come spraying out. My hand was keeping the blood from going all over the room, so all it could do was coat my arms, chest and legs in the sticky redness. I couldn't get a lungful of air, not even a little gasp of it. Little black dots entered my vision, taunting me into the dark abyss of unconsciousness. The black dots started growing, and when they just about covered my entire vision, I found that they began to ebb. Also, I found that I was breathing a little better now.

My eyes closed and I felt myself being lifted into the air, my head landing on something warm and hard, "Retsu, I am going to ask you to please bring her a change of clothing and some new sheets… I don't think you want her sleeping in her own blood."

"I will get her cloths, and have Hanataro change her sheets. Juushiro, if it wont bother you, could you cleanse the blood from her?"

He shifted end I felt myself bobbing up and down while the warm surface vibrated slightly, "No problem Retsu." I heard a door open and shut, and the busy shuffle of feet. It was a rhythm that I was hearing.

Beat, step, breath in, step, beat, breath out, beat, step, in, step beat, out. A never-ending mantra played in my mind. I was almost out of it when the chant was broken by a door opening and closing, along with a fresh batch of steam rolling into my face. I moaned and cringed as it hurt to do so, along with the steam hitting my still gaping sword wounds. It burnt like when you pour whisky on an open sore or wound.

A deep and kinda rough crooning noise answered my moan, "Its okay, were going to clean you up, and then you'll be able to rest. Five minutes is all I need for you to be awake."

I was handed to a smaller, less comfortable, frame, and that person almost dropped me. I'm no feather let me tell you this. I didn't say a word, but I did cry out quietly as I was stripped of everything accept for my bra and panties and slid gently into the steaming hot water. It scorched at my wounds, so it caused me to stay awake. Five minutes my ass. It could have been five hours, five days, five weeks, five months, or five years, and it still would have felt like fifteen centuries.

I was pulled from the bath and stripped of my last two garments, had my wounds wrapped quickly and efficiently, before being slid into another pair of undergarments and a new hospital robe. Soon the same large warm arms from before held me again, and I dared to open my eyes. Gentle bronze met my starting emerald, and I would have flushed a nice pink color if I hadn't felt like total shit at the moment. My eyes closed again. I heard a faint rattle of something akin to fluid in the lungs beneath my ear.

I dismissed the opening of a door and the closing of it, instead to pick up the hesitant sound of Hana's quiet voice, "Mercy?"

I opened one eye and let its gaze wander to Hana as Ukitake set me on the newly prepared bed. I croaked out hoarsely, "Hana…" I let my eye wander from him to Ukitake, he had stepped back across to his own bed, which had paled and was starting to cough wetly, "Ukitake… help…please?"

Looking back, his eyes widened, and he dashed to the wall and pressed a the red button next to the intercom, "Unohana, Ukitake's coughing again, hurry please!"

I heard a frantic reply, and quick foot steps down the hallway to the room. My eyes were heavy, so as my eyes closed I heard the door slam open and shut. And then I heard no more.