Chapter 13: Recovery

I awoke.

I lunged out of bed, falling on all fours at the suddenness of the movement, immediately hitting my knees against the cold, tiled floor. I winced at the pain as I took stock of my situation.

I recognized the room - the beige walls of Fourth Squad's hospital. I was clad in familiar, custard-coloured pajamas, signalling that I was a patient here. Again. The room was peaceful, quiet, empty...

It took me another few seconds to realise that yes - I had just winced at the pain of light bruising on my knees... because the rest of me was blessedly free of pain. Well, okay… I did have a very slight residual ache in my chest and right arm, but it was easy to ignore. The gaping wounds were gone; new, faintly shiny, pink skin was all the evidence of my first near-death experience (hopefully my last, but somehow I didn't think so). I felt a little weak from being in bed, but otherwise it seemed I had recovered remarkably well.

Once the relief of not being seriously hurt (or dead) had sunk in, a new concern came to the forefront of my mind.

I stumbled to my feet and wrenched the sliding screen door open, and then immediately latched onto a shinigami who happened to be walking past. She was really tall, with short grey hair and a vice-captain's badge attached to her upper right arm.

I stared into her startled brown eyes seriously.

"Food." I managed to inform her of my most pressing need matter-of-factly.

Her eyes widened, and she stuttered something unintelligible. My eyes flickered to the long, thin braid running from her left temple, and I wondered distractedly if she could teach me how to do that. I liked my long hair, but it was a little chaotic. Most of the time I was too lazy to brush it out properly; a braid would simplify things. The ends were twisted into a neat little knot that reminded me of a pretzel. Hm, a pretzel... I licked my lips and my eyes went a little unfocused. She blanched.

My fingers tightened on her arm reflexively. "I want-" I had trouble speaking due to the rate at which my mouth was producing moisture. "I want-" I swallowed heavily, "-eat..."

I froze like a hound scenting a fox, analysing the faint whiff of something in the air. Somewhere in this building was something edible.

It belonged to me.

I was about to open my mouth to demand this vice-captain take me to said edible object (she was staring at me, terrified, for some unfathomable reason), when we were interrupted by a familiar, lilting voice.

"Raen," came a warm greeting, as Unohana glided down the corridor towards me. "You're awake earlier than I expected. How do you feel?"

"Starving." I immediately whimpered, turning eagerly to her. "Do you- Is there- Can I-?"

The grey-haired vice-captain squeaked, and I realised my grip on her wrist had become bruising. "Sorry," I said sheepishly, removing my hand at last.

Unohana raised an eyebrow at her vice-captain. "Kitsune. What are you doing?" she asked serenely.

"Captain?" the shinigami - Kitsune - asked weakly.

"Our patient needs some food. Could you organise someone to bring a meal to her room?" the Captain made a regal shoo-ing gesture.

"R-right." said Kitsune, sounding relieved for some reason. She hurried off and Unohana ushered me back into the room with a gentle yet insistent hand at the small of my back. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't scare my squad members by looking like you're about to eat them, in the future." she said calmly.

I pouted. "I wasn't-!" I grumbled, "It's just - Her hair looked like a pretzel, and-" I climbed obediently back into bed at the sight of her raised, expectant eyebrow, "Oh, nevermind."

I lay back, sitting comfortably propped up on the on the pillows. "How long was I asleep?"

"Three days." Unohana replied. "Quite frankly, your recovery is almost miraculous." she frowned slightly.

"Is that... a bad thing?" I blinked, wondering why she looked so troubled.

"No, of course not." she hastily assured me. "It's just unusual."

"Unusual." I sighed, "Did you know that's the first thing that was said to me, when I arrived here? At the time, I didn't know it was something I would get attacked for."

Perhaps it was the uncharacteristic trace of bitterness in my voice, but Unohana suddenly took my hand and held it sympathetically, perching on the edge of my bed. "You've done nothing wrong, Raen," she assured me, "I've already had a chat with Zaraki, who has agreed to lay off... on some conditions. As for your classmates, well... news travels fast. The students of the Academy will no doubt think twice before attacking you again."

"What will happen to those eight idiots?" I asked anxiously, hand clenching under hers.

"You're worried about them, even after they tried to kill you." It was a statement, not a question, yet I felt like she expected a response. Her expression was as serene as ever, her gentle eyes utterly unreadable as she looked steadily at me.

"Well," I blustered, "They didn't succeed, did they? And... you know... they had their reasons, I'm sure..." I flapped a hand distractedly. "I just - I don't want them to die, or... or be imprisoned, over a stupid fight! Doesn't this kind of thing happen all the time here?" From what I could gather, most shinigami were hot-blooded, violence-loving maniacs. Even the pretty ones, like Captain Sexyhair.

"Fights are not uncommon, yes," she conceded, "That said… They usually aren't quite as dramatic as what took place three days ago. But I'd like to know your opinion: what kind of punishment would be fitting, if you had the power to decide their fates?" she tilted her head as if I was a curious specimen under a microscope.

I considered the question seriously. "Hmm," I started with a frown, "I guess... Some kind of... community service, would be best?" I ventured.

"Community service?" she sounded amused.

I nodded, warming up to my idea. "They should learn the value of helping others, and learn to take pride in their own abilities. You know, instead of seeing unusual people, like me, as threats." I tapped my lip with my forefinger thoughtfully, "I'd also recommend some kind of psych evaluation or mandatory therapy," I added, "So that they can understand why they felt the need to attempt to murder me. That's not a sign of a healthy mind."

"I see," smiled Unohana, "And how long should that community service last?"

I pictured the eight idiots sweeping Seireitei's winding streets and whitewashing walls, hanging out Fourth Squad's laundry, perhaps... "A couple of months," I said firmly, "Any more and you risk turning them rogue. There's only so many chores you can do before becoming resentful."

Unohana was still smiling, but her eyes seemed sad. "Never change, Raen," she said suddenly, sounding much older than she looked (I had no idea how old she actually was, of course, but in that moment she seemed ancient, in a wise, kinda zen way) "Don't let the world change you."

I blinked at her, wondering where this was suddenly coming from. "Um, okay."

She released my hand and stood up abruptly, brushing her haori straight. "There'll probably be a trial, so if you really think they deserve leniency, you can make your case directly to the Central 46. I can't guarantee they'll listen, however – it was a serious breach of Academy and Seireitei's laws. But that won't be for some time. After you've eaten, get some more rest. I want you to stay until tomorrow morning and heal properly, okay? Don't try to sneak off."

"Okay." I said placidly. Food was coming - I had no reason to leave.

She paused at the door, before turning back. "I'm doing what I can to keep you safe," she said suddenly, "But stay on your guard. Recent events have...put everyone on edge." she hesitated, as if she wanted to say more, but then she shook her head slightly, and just left.

I spent about ten minutes fretting about what new danger I could possibly be in now, before shrugging it off.

After all, if Kenpachi was no longer hunting me down, how bad could it possibly be?