Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
"These are the plans." The assistant handed me the blue prints and shuffled back behind his boss. The man was kind looking, with warm brown eyes and glasses, but no matter how many glowing reviews I got from a variety of people, the sliver of distrust remained tightly imbedded.
"I can explain them to you, if you wish." He held out a hand and I simply shook my head and spread the paper out, using rocks to catch the corners from curling.
"I can assure you Mr. Aizen, I'm well versed in many things. Aerospace engineering is one of them." My snark caused his always present smile to twitch. I had lent him a few of my interns for use and he had taken a liking to Gin, the slightly creepy lab assistant with a quick mind and nimble fingers. I hadn't particularly liked him either.
"Whatever you say. I would also like to talk to you about the award ceremony. You are to get some sort of nomination, correct Miss. Nakano?" He hissed and I could feel my teeth bite down on my tongue to stop the spew of curse words.
"Yes. I would ask if you would be in attendance but I figured it was just people of stature." I folded the blueprints and handed them to Momo, who I had hired as my temporary assistant. She snickered and tried to cover it with a cough. "Also, for the record, its Mrs. Nakano. I'm married."
I glanced over my shoulder to catch his lips tighten over his teeth in a pathetic attempted smile. Momo bowed politely before hustling after me. Before entering the containment area, I stopped and looked back at the thick bars of metal and pipes that under the order of the government, would be constructed to save the lives of everyone. Men and woman clad in thick overalls and masks, hammered and heated the material and I watched the dark smoke twist and curl before vanishing when it reached above the trees.
"So what now?" Momo asked, shifting the bag on her back so it sat more comfortably between her shoulder blades. She smiled when she caught my eye and it made the mask flex on her cheeks. "I don't know about you, but I want to get back inside where there is less chance of getting turn into an animal."
"I'll be right back, there is someone I need to see." She just shrugged her shoulders before pressed the button and entering the dome. I could hear her giggle when one man patted her down and accidentally tickled her underarms.
The lightly worn path around the side of the dome and into the forest took less then ten minutes to walk and by the time I reached the clearing, the small children swarmed me. Their grimy faces broke into smiles and their giggles echoed in the towering trees. I pulled the wrapped lunch from my pouch and handed out scraps to each. It had been hard enough smuggling it out, but it was worth it to see them laugh as they ate and licked the crumbs off their faces.
A small girl pushed her way to the front and held out a hand for the remaining slice of bread. I placed it in her palm and she munched on it happily. I recognized her instantly as the child who had followed Ichigo and I. I patted her head and nodded over to the river a few feet away.
Without true adults, the children had little discipline or rules. When I had first stumbled across the gang, they hissed and spit at me and they only way I had gotten though to them was food and guidance.
They washed and splashed each other and I watched them play, imagining a time when the children in the dome would be able to do the same, play and bathe without the threat of death looming over their heads.
BTS
Ichigo was pulling a double shift at the department that night so when I shuffled into the dark apartment, I was surprised to see my sister sitting on the couch reading by candlelight. She glanced up when I entered and sat the magazine down.
"I was told to come keep you company while my husband works out a situation beneficial to both sides." Her hands were placed lightly in her lap and I noticed the lines around her mouth when she frowned and the bags under her bloodshot eyes.
"Is everything ok?" My voice was shaky and uneven as I dropped my bag on the ground and shuffled forward. Something seemed wrong somehow. "Have you been crying?"
"Oh, have I?" She gasped and rubbed at her inflamed face. I raced forward and grabbed her hands to stop from making the rash worse. I had never once seen my sister cry. Her tears made my heart lurch and I couldn't help but weap openly with her.
"What wrong? What happened?" I caught her arms and shook her a bit, she straitened her back and swallowed thickly. Her tears stopped falling and it was like it had never happened, like my beloved sister hadn't just broken before my eyes. "Tell me!"
She seemed shocked by my angry tone and forceful words. She smiled ruefully and took my hands in hers. She couldn't meet my eye and instead rubbed my palms quietly.
"I should have listened to the doctors, they do know best." She muttered and I watched as she started silently crying again. "But I had to try. It was a boy this time, they said, a little boy."
"Oh no." Reality came crashing down around me as I realized what could have done this to my strong and diligent sister. I thought back to the month before leaving the Citadel where my sister had lost all will to move on with her life. "You had another miscarriage."
She sobbed loudly and I held her as her tears soaked my blouse. Her fingers tightened almost painfully around my waist and I just comforted her while she convulsively gasped before crying more. The candle eventually died out and in the darkness I asked the question I knew I had to answer.
"Does Byakuya know?" She sobbed again and buried herself farther into my clothes. I pushed gently at her shoulders to get her face to mine. "Hisana, answer me!"
"How could I tell him?" Her whole body seemed to deflate, her body crumbled and I had to help her walk to the bedroom. Her body was heavy but she offered little resistance when I pushed her onto the comforter and under the covers. I pulled a chair into the room and sat next to her until her eyes fluttered close, her breathing evened out and her sobbed ebbed. My fingers had gone numb in her grip and I lightly uncurled them from her hand.
I made up a small bed on the couch and the twisting knot in my gut refused to quit. I knew I hadn't eaten in quite awhile but the thought of food make my stomach clench. My finger fumbled in the dark cabinets until I found the matches and relit the candle which had flickered out. The light was casting long shadows over the furniture and made everything appear sinister and malicious.
My fingers were still like rubber when I tugged my phone from my pocket and hit the first on my speed dial. The ringtone was short and Ichigo answered after the third ring. He sounded slightly tired but his words were clipped short and said in a business tone.
"Yes?" He waited for answer and I was half tempted to stay quiet and just listen to him breathe, but I knew he would just get angry.
"It's me." I knew he could tell something was wrong when the sound of him shooting up out of his desk crackled through the phones speakers. "Everything's fine. I just needed a favor."
"What?" I could hear the alarm still evident in his voice but I could also hear him bending down to pick up the papers he must have dropped onto the floor.
"Just let me listen to you work." My words broke at the end and I cursed myself.
"What is this about?" He asked and his question was cut off when he moved his phone to his other ear.
"Please." I begged and hoped he would just this once let it side and not push the matter like he had a tendency of doing. "For once, please. I explain later."
The line went silent for a few seconds and I had almost thought though he hung up until he sighed and placed the phone on desk next to him. The scribbling of his pencil was lulling me to sleep but every time I closed my eyes, my sobbing and broken sister appeared. I was about to give up on sleep when Ichigo started humming.
It was subtle and almost unheard but I knew it was for me. My fingers tightened around the plastic and I closed my eyes, as if that would help me better hear the melody. As he reached the hymn's climax, an idea flashed in my mind and I promised my brain I would look into it tomorrow when I wasn't so tired.
When I woke in the morning, I called Byakuya to explain that my sister had fallen asleep and that she was resting. I could tell from the worry in his voice that he sensed something was wrong with Hisana too. When I explained my my idea, he readily agreed and I went to wake my sister.
BTS
"Of all days to talk a walk, you chose today?" My sister was melancholy. The clothes she had borrowed made her look washed out and pasty and her black hair was disheveled and knotted. Her hands were white where she knitted them together and I noticed that her cheeks looked hollow and her eyes had lost their luster.
"I want you to meet someone." I pulled the leaf covered branch out of her way and her brows knit together in confusion, pulling at the corners of her mask.
"All the way out here?" She was suspicious but also intrigued and when I finally reached the clearing with my sack of foods, my sister exhaled and looked around. "I don't see anyone."
All at once, the children raced from the bushes and surrounded my feet, tugging at the bag and pointing to my shocked sister. I kneeled and leaned down to whisper in a small boy's ear. He raced forward and grabbed at her legs in a mock attempt of a hug.
"What did you tell him?" She asked, in awe of the kids slowly separating from the group to join the boy at her feet.
"The truth. I talked to the District Director and he approved my plan. I did extensive research into child brain development and there is a strong chance that they could regain their memories and minds after the rocket distributes my nitrogen. He agreed that until then, they should have a mentor and teacher to come out once a day to give food and to teach them. I recommended you for the job."
She tilted her head to the side and I could see the happiness shining in her eyes. She looked down and placed a genteel hand on the boy's shoulder as to not startle him, before shaking her head.
"I'm not experienced enough, I wouldn't know what I was doing." Her face was crestfallen but brightened slightly when the boy smiled up at her.
"They need a mother, Hisana. They need a you." She looked up as me and a refined smile crept across her face and she started her first day at work.
I'm oddly in love with this chapter while also simultaneously hating myself for it. As always, ask any questions you have and please tell me any spelling or grammar mistakes I might have made.