Waking up hurt. A lot. A tender spot on her right side, her entire right side, throbbed and jumped with muscle spasms, tendons stretched thin. Not to mention breathing completely wore out the lung on that side.
"Are you awake, Rangiku-san?" a timid voice inquired.
The woman couldn't speak yet. Rangiku rolled her head toward the sound, squeezing her eyes shut before slowly prying them open. Orihime stared down at her, fist held under her trembling chin while her other hand hovered above. Tears ran down her not so childish face, at least, not as childish as Rangiku recalled.
Rangiku recognized the gold ring haloed around her, and sighed with relief.
"Are you alright?" Orihime asked, choking past the uniform questions.
"I'm getting better," Rangiku whispered. Already the throbbing was gone, and only the painful sensation of reliving her ribs being ripped out finalized the process. The halo faded after a moment, and Rangiku slowly sat up. "We made it," she said softly, still favoring her right side. Smiling didn't seem appropriate as Orihime, fighting with a roll of bandages, collapsed into uncontrollable sobs. Alarmed, Rangiku scanned the unfamiliar surroundings, quickly grabbing the girl by the shoulder, a silent fear and excitement seeping into her soul.
"Orihime?"
"They didn't win," the girl hiccupped, and surprisingly angry grey eyes locked with Rangiku's. "Soul Society didn't win. Aizen didn't either," she spat, hiding her face right afterward. "They brought you here," Orihime went on behind her fingers, "and you were almost dead. Aizen told me to heal you."
A chill stabbed Rangiku's spine. Once again she found herself consoling the child, cooing aside as Orihime wept for their predicament and in fury she just couldn't express otherwise.
Despite the anguish of not knowing what had happened and how the shinigami had fallen Rangiku studied the patterns before her cool eyes, mouth set in a very uncharacteristic grim line. And in all this ugliness a thought weaved into the pattern, and it was strangely beautiful.
(((())))
Ok, since this bunny isn't ready to move out yet, I decided I can live with it for a while.
Yes, this is neither Gin nor Aizen, but that's just how I'm going to roll. Be back to the guys in the next couple chapters. If FF would allow three main characters on their little list thing, that would make my life a lot easier. But they do not, so I must deal.
Thank you for any continuing support! I hope you enjoy the ride as well.