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Refraction
A Bleach Fanfic
Chaos Theory AU
Chapter Seven: A River in Egypt
He'd been in surgery, the first time he felt the disturbance of one of those Arrancar entering Karakura Town.
But dealing with the constant distractions provided by his proverbial sixth sense was nothing new to Ryūken, and not once did his hands waver in their steadiness. Not once did they slip or falter or tremble. Instead, he proceeded with the work necessary to implant a new kidney in place of a failing one, shutting out everything else until he was done, stepping back with bloodied gloves to allow the nurses to do their part with clamps and stitches. His was finished, for the moment.
He scrubbed down in silence; it wasn't unexpected of him. The team who worked with him on those few surgeries he personally conducted understood that Ryūken was not a loquacious man. He did not say unnecessary things or cloud the air with meaningless chatter. A side effect of this was that when he did think to speak, people listened.
And since that was all exactly the way he wanted it, he'd never seen a reason to change his habits.
This was a fact he'd only regretted in one case.
The Arrancar had returned, this time in greater force, and the shinigami that had moved into the area recently were once again fighting them. Predictably, it was not going well. It occurred to him—not for the first time—that his assistance would be of use.
But the thought was quelled as swiftly as it appeared, with the merciless instinct of a falcon diving for a rabbit. With a slight application of the vise of his intellect, all life was squeezed from it, and it ceased to breathe.
He returned to his office, settled himself at his desk, and methodically began the write-up of the surgery he'd just completed. Not ten minutes later, Kanoka-san called up from the nurses' station to inform him that the patient was stable and resting. It would take some time and medicine to ensure that the new organ was not rejected, but the operation part of the procedure was a clear success.
That had been a rush, once. To know that a life had been in his hands, and he'd successfully preserved it.
Once, he'd also entertained the half-guilty pleased thought that he'd kept one more soul from a shinigami's grip just a little longer.
Both the thought and the rush were long gone.
Ryūken moved swiftly through the documentation, narrating the sequence of events while it was still freshest in his mind, and then going back to fill in the more mundane pieces of the forms. The rhythmic clacking of the keys under his fingers and the mind-numbing formalism of the task were almost meditative, in a certain way.
But as it always did, the photograph on his desk remained just within his peripheral vision. A gently-smiling woman and a dark-haired child who'd taken after her coloration and soft heart and after him in every other way. Too many ways, or not enough of them. He could never decide.
The steady clacking paused. Ryūken pursed his lips.
I doubt he'd be happy I told you so, but yes. He's with me. I can look after him for a while, if you like?
He almost wished he could say he had not anticipated the consequences of his decision to allow Uryū to reside with Urahara-san. But some part of him had known it would come to something—if not something like this, then something close enough.
He almost wished he could say he'd allowed anything at all. But ridiculous as he found the notion, so much of this had fate written all over it. And perhaps some small part of him still believed in that kind of nonsense.
A thought that would not die, no matter how hard the talons squeezed it.
He's going to need you again, someday. Call it a guess. But I think you'll know when.
Ryūken's teeth clenched. Reaching across his desk, he pushed the button to call down to his receptionist.
"Yes, sir?" Shigeta-san's voice was crisp and professional, as always.
"Clear my appointments for the first two weeks of next month. I'll be taking a vacation."
There was a short pause. In all his years as head of the hospital, he'd almost never done such a thing, and never on notice this short. Perhaps her surprise was understandable.
"Of course, Director Ishida."
First things were first: he needed to see Shihōin.
A/N: I still live, I promise. Going is slow for all kinds of boring reasons, but here's some Ryūken to tide you over. A few people have been asking for a bit of him. There'll be more later, when he's actually around Uryū again.
Thanks for reading. Y'all are awesome.