This chapter was delayed due to SATs, finals, and general not-very-well-thought-outedness. I think it may be the darkest one so far.

-Nir

"This is Iemura Yashochika, 3rd seat of the 4th division, whom many believe would be suited to grander things than paperwork!"

"Grander things? Ha!"

Iemura glared at the crested cockatoo perched on the chair next to him before returning to his journal. "I keep this diary in hopes that the common man may understand the suffering of those in middle-management. Today-"

"Misuse of company property!" Taikomochi screeched inside his head, fluttering its wings. "Broken cleaning utensils! Mops! Brooms! Order forms, order forms!"

"Be quiet!" Demanded Iemura, startling a passing nurse. She looked at him oddly. He glared at her too. She moved on, shaking her head. Iemura kneaded his temples, then continued writing. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted…"

Taikomochi cocked its head at him, its black eyes bright innocent. "Interrupted? Interrupted? I am only helping, Yasochika-san! My only joy is to assist you in your administrative duties!"

"Then why don't you keep your beak shut and let me finish?" Inwardly, Iemura cursed his bad luck for the fourth time that day. Other Shinigami had zanpakuto whose spirits were respectful, who held their tongues when their input was not needed. Taikomochi, on the other hand, saw fit to mimic him and inject its opinions and observations whenever it felt like it. Sometimes it kept him from getting any work done at all, and then complained that he was the incompetent one! "Stupid bird… I would like to barbeque the damn thing!"

"You're speaking out loud again, Yashochika-san!"

Iemura gritted his teeth and went back to his journal. For a few blessed minutes his zanpakuto's spirit remained quiet, long enough for him to finish up the equipment order forms. It did not even insult his penmanship. He was just putting away his ink kit when the spirit spoke up again.

"Yasochika-san, Isn't there something else you had to do…?" It asked slyly.

"What? No, I don't believe so…"

"A very special assignment, given to you by Isane-fukutaicho…"

"Oh. That." He'd been given the displeasurable job of turning the coma patient at 2 o' clock in the afternoon and morning every day that month. Not that it was a completely unreasonable assignment, but wasn't that the sort of thing you gave to an unseated officer? The vice-captain apparently didn't think so. Duty was to be shared equally among all members of the 4th division, she said.

Iemura finished neatening up his supplies and made his way to the small, out-of-the-way room where the coma patient was kept. The heavy August heat had not managed to penetrate its cool interior. In the corner the ventilator still hummed, though the bulky oxygen mask had been replaced by a simple breathing tube below the patient's nose. This vied for space with the feeding tube that snaked down his left nostril in place of the IV. It did not look like he was expected to wake any time soon.

"Geez…" The third-seat muttered. He recalled overhearing a conversation between two lower-seated officers about being assigned to care for the coma patient. It really wasn't that much work just to turn the guy over, was it? He didn't even look very heavy. The ingrates. They didn't know how easy they had it. Iemura placed his journal on the small table next to the bed and worked his hands underneath the patient's body, being careful not to move any of the tubes connected to him. He was just gingerly turning him onto his side when he heard someone step into the room behind him.

"Oh! Isane-fukutaicho!" In his haste to stand at attention he accidentally dropped the patient back onto the bed, where he landed clumsily sprawled on his side. Isane rushed over to right him before Iemura could react. When she found that nothing had been jolted out of place, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Er… forgive my carelessness, fukutaicho… I did not expect you see you." Iemura mumbled. Isane waved a dismissive hand at him.

"No, no, it's okay… Everything's fine." She brushed her braids back and stood with her arms crossed, still not looking at Iemura. For a few minutes they both stood there in silence. Iemura wondered why she hadn't dismissed him yet. Clearly he was no longer needed.

"If you don't mind me asking, fukutaicho…" He began. "If you intended to come in here yourself, why did you bother assigning me to the patient?"

"Oh, well... You know… it doesn't always get done, and then I have to come back and do it myself. Usually it does, but… I just wanted to make sure… I'm sorry. I'm rambling, aren't I?" She looked fitfully from Iemura to the boy laying on the bed.

"She really thinks you would neglect your duties?" Taikomochi sounded incredulous. "The nerve! This may be a silly thing for one of your standing, but it is still important!"

"I would never!" Iemura agreed, then stammered when Isane gave him a puzzled look. "Er, I mean, I would never forget to carry out my assignments, fukutaicho!"

"I didn't expect you to…" Isane said, sounding distracted again. "You may leave now, Iemura-san."

He did so, but found that he didn't like that distant look in her eyes. It wasn't right for a medical officer to become too attached to a single patient. Duty had to be shared equally, wasn't that what she'd said? He would bring it up next time he saw her. Nothing good could come out of time at the bedside of someone who didn't even know you were there.

--

"Haaanaaaaa…"

Hisa was pleased to see Hanatarou look up so sharply. It wasn't surprising, as he hadn't heard his name in weeks. The poor boy hadn't heard any voices at all, even his own. Earlier he'd tried talking to himself, but had found it only made him feel more alone, and quickly gave up on it.

"Hana." The spirit said again, tersely. Hanatarou nodded, unsure how else to respond to Hisa's sudden interest. It would not have surprised him if Hisa didn't say anything else, and simply left him in silence as it had done in the past month. However, that would not be the case this time. The spirit strolled over to him, brushing against his back like an affectionate cat. "Your time here will go much slower if we sit here in silence… why have you been so quiet, Hanaaa…? Why do you ignore me?"

"But… I…" Hanatarou stammered after a moment. He'd been under the impression that Hisa was the one ignoring him, not the other way around. "I thought you…"

"No, no…" Hisa interrupted before he could manage any coherent thoughts. "I understand. This is a time of great stress, and if you prefer to suffer in silence I will not stop you…" It stared at him expectantly. Hanatarou wasn't sure what it wanted him to say.

Finally he spoke up, softly. "I… I could talk to you, Hisa… I didn't know you wanted to, so… I'm sorry. I should have been paying more attention…" His voice was shaky and hoarse from disuse. He was nervous too. Hisa might decide to leave again, so he'd have to be very careful not to say anything that would upset it. He didn't want to be left alone anymore, not now that it had come back to him.

"You do not have to make excuses. I will forgive you…" Hisa lifted his drooping chin with its tail, making him look out into the writhing mist. "But I wish to know… just what has been going on in that little mind of yours that you must look so wistful all the time…?"

The shapes in the mist never appeared when Hisa was near, no matter how hard Hanatarou looked for them. It swirled and dipped but no faces formed to leer knowingly at him, as if he were an intruder in their translucent dimension. "I was just thinking… About everyone else. I know you said it wasn't good to do that, but I don't want to forget them. Imagine, if I woke up and didn't know who anyone was…" He smiled at his joke and continued. "I was thinking about Rukia-san, about the time when I first met her…"

"Ah, yes… I was not often with you, as you left me behind many of those times…" Hisa's tail twined itself around his neck, pressing its chill to his warm flesh. Hanatarou wanted to reach up and remove it, but he didn't want Hisa to become offended. It was probably best to leave it alone for now.

"I…" He hesitated, and the dreamy quality of his voice faltered. That was good. Hisa did not care much for it.

"Do not apologize…" It soothed. "Please, tell me more…"

He did, more tentatively than before. "Well, uh… She told me about the living world, and about Ichigo and his classmates. We talked about a lot of things. It was always nice seeing her…"

"But you have not seen her for a while yet, have you…?"

"She's in a different company…" Hanatarou held still as Hisa settled itself in his lap, curling up in the same catlike manner, its tail still resting around his neck.

"Indeed… and thus the only times you have had to spend with her occurred when she was injured or otherwise incapacitated…" It said, half-closing its eyes lazily. "It was not her choice to be there… It is never anybody's choice. Such unpleasant things cannot be avoided. Her conversations with you were simply a way to blunt the horrible boredom of waiting for her death..."

Hanatarou was pensively quiet for a few minutes before speaking again. "I… I don't think it was like that at all. She always seemed so happy to see me…" He winced as Hisa rolled onto its side, digging its back legs into his belly.

"Hmm, yes… perhaps…" It mumbled sleepily, making Hanatarou wonder if it had really been listening at all. "And then, perhaps not. People are so difficult to figure out, aren't they, Hanaaa…? You have done so much for so many people, and yet… you are alone now, left to rot in your forgotten little room…" It grinned knowingly up at his surprise. "Your caretakers are neglectful… I have seen the pitiful condition your body is in. You are dying, Hana, and they are allowing it to happen…"

"No…" Hanatarou whispered. "They wouldn't… Why are you telling me this, Hisa? I… I know you don't want me to feel lonely, but-"

"Please, Hana." Hisa interrupted. "Think about it. Your captain has an entire company to oversee. You are but a waste of resources. A liability. It would be soooo unspeakably selfish to expect her to devote her time to someone like you…"

"But… she…" What Hisa was saying made no sense. Unohana cared for all her subordinates. Hanatarou knew this from personal experience. He could recall an instance when he'd been up nearly 48 hours straight due to some sort of a scheduling error, and he'd more or less collapsed in the middle of a hallway. He recalled being picked up and carried to a room with a bed, but now he couldn't be sure if Unohana had been the one to do it... It was hard to be sure of things. There was too much fog.

Yet he couldn't deny that his current condition forced him to rely completely on others, which he hated to do. That was an extreme for him. There were very few things he hated. Maybe his squad-mates resented him for it. If they did, he wouldn't blame them. The accident of him being dropped off the execution hill had been partially his fault, after all. If he'd been more careful he might have been able to avoid them and none of this would have happened. But even if his caretakers were resentful they would still do their jobs. He himself did not relish bandaging up 11th Division officers who would probably return to torment him in a few days, but he would never neglect his duties for something so shallow. Whatever Hisa was trying to do, it was going about it the wrong way.

"Hanaaa…?" The spirit lightly brushed his cheek with a tail-tip. "You're being very quiet, Hanaaaa… I do not like to say these things, but I also do not want to lie to you…"

"But you are." Hanatarou gently tucked his hands under Hisa's body and rolled it off his lap. He then stood, stiff from sitting in the same position for too long. On the ground, Hisa clumsily got to its feet and peered up at him. It was odd, but Hanatarou thought it looked rather nervous. "Unohana-taicho would never let that happen to anybody. She didn't become a captain by being careless…"

"But as I just said, I have seen it myself… What could I gain from telling you lies?" Hisa asked, its voice strained.

"I don't know. But if they didn't think I was going to recover, they wouldn't let me lie around like this. I'm still alive, so they must have hope…" Despite his words, a tiny needle of doubt had embedded itself in Hanatarou's guts. He tried to push it away. It was wrong to think of that. Hisa was lying. It must be lying…

"How do you know?" Hisa asked. "Maybe you have already died, and simply have not realized it yet… Nobody truuuly knows what happens when a Shinigami dieees. It might be exactly like this…"

"I'm… I'm not dead…"

"But what if you are?"

"I'm not! I… I'd know! Somehow…"

"Would you really?"

"Yes! I…" He looked down at the grinning spirit curled around his ankles. "I'm not… I'm…"

"You're what, Hanaaa…?"

Hanatarou stared at it, suddenly very afraid of the answer to Hisa's question. He stumbled backwards and ran from it, following the slippery path of rocks that curled outward from the island's shore. The fog was oppressive, bearing down on him like a lead sheet. It seemed to dart in front of him and cover his path so he nearly fell into the awful, dead water of the lake. He was too busy trying not to trip to notice just how far away he was getting. The lake was endless in all directions, and yet after what seemed to be hours, he still felt like Hisa was right behind him. Eventually he came to another island, barely as wide as he was tall. He was out of breath, both chilled to the bone and burning up. Dizzy, he sat down, hiding his head in his trembling arms. Hisa was far away now, and he knew that if he tried to see anything through the fog it would only frighten him. It was like some monster's cold breath, as if he was sitting on one of its rotted teeth as it breathed in and out.

Maybe the terror of the fog would be less horrible than the terror of Hisa's suggestions that he might be forgotten, that he might never wake, or wake to find himself about to die… That he might already be dead. He didn't want to believe any of it, but out here, where he was without anything but his disloyal memories to reassure him, it was all too easy to accept.