Matsumoto could feel the gash across her chest bleeding, but it no longer hurt. That in itself was a bad sign. A cut which ran diagonally across your whole chest was supposed to hurt. But the clean deep lines of the wound that was still trickling blood steadily were growing number and number as she tried to stand from where she had landed after being thrown by the arrankar. Somewhere in the background she heard her captain calling from where he was trapped in the odd net that the one arrankar had woven out of his bala and ceros as though they were just another kidou for him to use and she knew that he would fight his way out to help her, if only because she was his vice-captain. But then she saw the sandaled feet in front of her and knew that it wasn't her captain who had come to rescue her.
It was Suiren.
Matsumoto stared in shock at the girl, not even hearing as she looked up and yelled for her two subordinates to get out of the way.
The only thought that was passing through Matsumoto's head was that the other shinigami was truly as insane as they had feared. Because there was no way that a twelfth seat, whether she was sealed or not, could ever survive an attack from an Espada level arrankar.
That was when she saw Suiren staring at her, the friendly serious stare of the shy little girl in the Academy coming from the young woman's eyes.
"You're hurt, Ran."
Matsumoto pulled herself up, a certain prick of pride from Suiren's pity half pulling her up in spite of the pain from the wound across her chest as she pulled herself back up as the wind picked up from a storm that seemed to be coming out of nowhere, lightning flashing through the sky as she watched Suiren, trying to form the words to order Suiren to fall back.
They died on her lips as she listened to the sound of half-echoed call caught in the wind and the sight of Suiren standing there in the middle of the storm, a beautiful blue and silver sari winding loosely up from her legs, half veiling her face which was still turned towards Matsumoto even as she fought the arrankar in front of her.
Then Matsumoto collapsed in pain, a burning searing pain that coursed through the wound as if it was being burnt, the mocking echo of Suiren's words pounding in her head.
Ban Kai.