Author's Note:
It always makes my heart flutter when people continue to review even after my absences. :) You're all wonderful. imjuzakyd, Rawr Supertastic, Charmane, sunflowerspot, atomic vegetate, hitsugayataichoda, and MisanthropicGoddess - thank you all so much for reviewing the last drabble!
Kaleidoscope
a Bleach (© Kubo Tite) fanfiction
Theme #68
therapy
Opening Song: "Fix You" - Coldplay
The next time Rangiku visits the infirmary in the 4th Division compound, she runs into Renji. "You look worse for wear," she comments, admiring the excessive use of bandages and his bed-ridden state. "Those ryoka really got the best of you, huh?"
He grunts, tries to roll onto his side (and fails). "It's out of my hands now," he mumbles, and she's not so sure if he's just talking about the invaders. She takes a seat beside him, trying to smile reassuringly, but he looks grimmer than she's ever seen him. "You know what's it like," he says finally, voice hollow, "chasing after someone who just keeps walking. It's hard, isn't it?"
She doesn't say anything, but he can see her clenching her hands in her robes. "Sometimes you just have to let them go." Her mouth is set in a thin line, and he thinks she might cry. "Maybe they don't want you to follow them. Maybe they want you to leave."
Renji isn't satisfied with her answer. "Or maybe they just want you to think that." She shifts to look at him, and their eyes connect. He's smiling now, though there isn't happiness or joy behind it at all, and Rangiku understands. "And that's when you know you can't let go."
Hanatarou looks apologetic when he comes to tell her that she has to leave. "No, it's fine," she says, standing up. "I've gotta go anyway." She lightly pats Renji's hand, wishes him good luck on his recovery, and starts for the door.
"Rangiku-san." She turns around. "I wasn't strong enough." He bears a look of such pain that she just wants to comfort him, but he shakes his head. "I wasn't strong enough, but you can still do something." The corners of his lips quirk upwards, and finally she spies a glimmer of hope.
She hesitates, but cannot bring it in herself to do anything but smile. "Thank you, Renji."
He can see through her mask, though, because he had swam in the same uncertainty and fear for years. He knows that she's still afraid, that she's still searching within herself to find the answer, but he can't give it to her. He notices, though, that her shoulders look lighter as she leaves the room, and there is no longer a dip in her brow.
Hope is something Rangiku rarely thinks of these days, but maybe, she thinks.
Maybe.
Closing Song: "The Cave" - Mumford & Sons
Happy 4th of July to all you Americans out there!
Ich liebe dich,
der kapitan