Chapter 25
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Nearly a week had passed without any word from Soul Society. Ayako had spent her time between Yuki and Hisagi's rooms. But recently Hisagi was feeling well enough to spend a little time everyday in Yuki's room as well.
He and Ayako sat in silence, watching their sleeping Taichou. Neither of themknew what to say, afraid of upsetting the other. Ayako sighed. Hisagi looked up at her,
"Don't worry…She'll…She'll make it through this…somehow…" His voice trailed off.
Ayako nodded a little, not quite sure what to think. She looked up as she heard the sound of footsteps running down the hall toward them.
A few seconds later the door swung open and Toushiro slid into the room,
"Yuki!"
Hisagi looked up at him, a little startled,
"Hitsugaya-Taichou?"
He was out of breath,
"I…I finally got the chance…To get away and…Come here…" He sat down on the edge of Yuki's bed and took a moment to catch his breath, "Has anything happened in the past few days?"
Hisagi lowered his head, "No…Ishida says her condition is stable…but not improving."
Toushiro looked over his shoulder at his sleeping twin. She looked peaceful, although, once in awhile, a small twinge of a wince would cross her face. He put his hand on top of her bandaged one,
"Yuki…"
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Kurotsuchi had been working non-stop for the past week, trying to come up with some kind of antidote. He sat down in a large chair,
"No matter what I try…it's wrong! What the hell combination did he use in this damn poison?"
"Um..Excuse me…Mayuri-Sama?" Nemu said.
He rested his head on his hand, "What is it?"
"Look here…"
He turned toward her. She stood, bent over, in front of the computer monitor, pointing at something. He slowly stood and made his way to where she stood,
"What is so important?"
"This…Here…"
He bent down and glanced at what she was pointing at. It was a blinking red word,
"Match…?" He paused for a moment, "It's a match?"
He carefully read the information on the computer screen,
"Nemu, we've done it!"
"What do we do now?"
"Make a proper dose, and take it to the living world…We must be quick about it."
Nemu nodded, "Yes, Mayuri-Sama."
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Aizen paced back and forth in his main hall. Jaku, who still sat against the wall there, watched him,
"What's wrong, Aizen-Sama?"
Aizen glanced at him,
"Because of your failure, there is no doubt that she will survive."
"But…The poison!"
"I'm sure it works too slowly…Szayel wanted his victims to suffer…They're probably already working on an antidote." He growled, "What are you going to do to make this up to me?"
"I-I don't know…"
Aizen stopped, "You'd better think of something. You're of no use to me otherwise." He turned, "Don't take to long…I'll be awaiting your decision…" He slowly exited, leaving Jaku alone, once again. He jus tsat there, head down, eyes wide,
"What the hell do I do now?"