A Woman Saved [Private]

Few people were expecting the first being to step through the Senkaimon to have a head of bright red hair, carrying a limp body in his arms. Nor did they expect that body to be that of the Fourth Division Captain. A crowd was certainly drawn when those two appeared through the Senkaimon, upon returning from Hueco Mundo. The male was red-faced, covered in cuts and scratches, and tears edged at his eyes. Clearly distressed, he looked around at the group of people watching, a wild expression growing as he did so. The female was covered in blood--her own blood--and seemed to be barely breathing. "Someone... help... her..." He took three steps from the Senkaimon. Upon taking his third step, he dropped to his knees and fainted, only holding up the woman through sheer willpower.

Oh, he was going to be in so much shit. His hand went up to his forehead, wiping away a line of sweat that had begun to cross his brow. His body was still beaten-up; Daigoro had refused any attempts at assisting him when he had returned from Hueco Mundo, instead simply taking his time to awake. It had only taken him twenty minutes, though he was still clearly exhausted. He had fought back against their attempts to keep him on the bed, and insisted that he instead watch over Midori. He had been sitting in this place for the past half-hour, refusing to leave her side.

His body shuddered painfully with every movement. He himself shivered with both cold and tiredness, but his eyes never moved away from the door. He sat on a seat beside her bed and every so often looked back at the woman, silently laying in the bed. Her breathing was labored, but stable. She had improved over the past hour, even someone as uninitiated in healing as Daigoro could see that. Men and women had flit in and out of the room--some had attempted to get him to leave, while others had respected his wishes and allowed him to remain. Evidently, Daigoro had remained. He still could not understand why they looked upon Midori with such reverence, or why their touches were tender when they were not attempting to heal her. Maybe if he were at his full capacity he may be able to understand, but right now he did not know why. He really did not care.

"Damn it all. Midori..." He spoke out loud, turning his head slightly, keeping the door in his peripheral vision, while still looking down at the green-haired woman with a soft expression, "I'm... so sorry. I didn't think, I..." He stopped and thought for a few seconds. Apologies weren't enough. None of this was enough. A hand went up to his forehead and brushed through red locks, pushing them back, "No, that's wrong. Well, it's right, I guess, but... ugh. I can't do this kind of stuff, I really can't." He looked to the side and sighed softly, before turning completely towards Midori, his back at the door. If someone were to sneak in now, he would not notice.

"Midori, I am sorry for what happened. I have no other word for it, but sorry. The word itself seems hollow, and I dislike using it, but it's the easiest way to describe how I'm feeling," He shook his head, "You were right, Sascha was right, I was a fool. I should have trusted them to bring Kaminari back, and my foolishness was enough for... this... to happen." He bit his bottom lip, "Lasciel should not have been my priority. She was a gnat, but an intelligent one. You told me... that you had one-hundred percent confidence in them, and I should have as well. I do now... and for what it's worth," He swallowed his bile, "I think you're now worth more to me than those thoughts of a long-dead woman. I'm not sure why, but watching you almost leave this world did something." He frowned at this.

"I saw it again, Midori. I saw that scene again, as I have seen it a million-and-one times. But this time, it wasn't really her. The woman I saw die before me did not have brown hair, but green. She was not Manae." He sighed, "I'm not sure how else to say it. I think I would have seen it, if I weren't so caught up in myself, but now that I've had time to think with a clear... clear-ish head? You've been there for me this entire time, haven't you? Fifteen years, and I was a fool for not seeing it." "OH! Midori likes you... so... go for it or something. Stop keeping her waiting... Y-Ya -hic- jerk." "Kaminari even told me that you did, and I didn't believe her," he laughed softly, "I thought that you were just looking after me as a duty. I told her that you 'kept coming because I pay you'. How wrong was I, huh?" His smile was small and bitter, but it was there and growing.

"I don't quite understand your feelings yet. Actually, the better way to explain it is that I don't understand 'why'. But, I think..." A hand moved out and sat near hers, but did not move any further, "I think I'm finally over Manae's memory. It's been replaced with somebody that I'd like to make new memories with." His face pressed into the blanket, eyes closed, "So please, Midori."

"Come back to me?"

"I'm awake... I'm here." A quiet voice interrupted his thoughts, causing him to open his eyes and slowly raise his head up, a hand limply falling off of it to land on the bed beside them. "I'm a little weak. What happened?" She was awake. Dai's face blanched before reddening. Exactly how much had Midori heard? He might have asked were he not worried. He opened his mouth to explain the events that had transpired within Hueco Mundo's sands, when he was interrupted by angry, yet weak, words from Midori. "You dumb-ass! Stubborn dumb... Just dumb!" He looked to the side, not wanting to talk about it. She was right. "Why did you go?! You could have gotten yourself killed! You're lucky I went there, otherwise you woulda been alone a-..." He frowned as she berated him, but then looked back up at her, just as Midori froze and curled. "Ow, ow... That was dumb of me." A soft laugh left Dai's lips. He wasn't really laughing at Midori's pain. He was laughing at the situation they now found themselves in--he had not expected this when he'd awoken this morning.

"You know..." He began, about to start talking about the situation, about them, when a knock and a voice emanated from the door behind them. Dai immediately turned, eyes narrowed, watching the young lady step into the room. "Captain?" The word didn't register in Dai's mind for a moment, and probably not for several seconds afterwards. Instead, he was simply watching the exchange between the pair with a soft and curious expression. The girl's name was apparently Meiko, and she was another Fourth Division member. She apparently worked out that Midori was bluffing about feeling better and pushed her back down onto the bed, before being complimented. Again, that word was repeated: 'Captain'. Dai frowned lightly, giving it a little bit of thought. His thoughts were--once more--interrupted by this Meiko person, who this time addressed him directly.

"So you're Dai, huh?" It took a moment, but he turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. Why was she addressing him, of all people? "You're a clueless idiot." Dai's expression dulled, as he watched the girl run out of the room with haste. "Hm." His current response was a single syllable, as Dai kept a relatively calm visage on his face. "That was extremely rude..." He turned back to Midori with a sigh, shaking his head. "I'm sorry about that..." He chuckled.

"Don't... don't worry about it. It's honestly not a problem--I feel like her rudeness is the least of my worries for today... But..." He tilted his head to the side, "When were you going to tell me that you were a Captain? I'll admit that I've been living under a rock, but I had literally no idea." His voice broke away into quiet laughter, but no matter the response, Midori had continued to look at him with that same smile. After she gave her answer to him, he leaned in a little bit closer to her, locking eyes with her and watching her carefully, "Midori... Thank you. You've done more for me than anyone has in a long time," He moved his hands to hers and slipped their fingers together, "I'm glad to have you here." His smile matched hers.

"D-Dai... I...." The background noise of the heart monitor basically mimicked his own heartbeat at that point, Dai feeling her breath blow over his lips, teasing them, telling him to just lean in and press them together. Midori's composure seemed to come back quickly, however, as she leaned away and pouted at him, "Wh-What are you talking about? I... have only done what I wanted to do, nothing more!" He tilted his head to the side, blinking at her. What was she talking about? He'd never made her do anything. Frankly, there were times when he'd legitimately tried to get her to leave. She never had. It had impressed him, and he appreciated it a lot more than he'd originally thought, "I'll be there for a lot longer... i-if you want me to..." He opened his mouth to reply, but again, Meiko interrupted the moment with her words.

"Captain Hatakeyama..." Immediately, Dai pulled away from Midori and spun around, looking at Meiko. Kaminari was back? She was alive? Right? His heart thudded in his chest, and while thoughts of Midori were prevalent in his mind, he could really only think about Kaminari right now. When the situation calmed down he could talk to Midori again. "She's back, but we can't heal her. Her wounds... they're horrible. Captain... She's dying and we can't help her." All color drained from Dai's face. He looked down at his own hands, noticing the terrible shake in them. "Our Kidō isn't working!!" He looked back up, and the world seemed silent--nothing said a word bar the women around him, until Meiko moved to try and keep Midori down on the bed. Dai whirled around to see the situation, "No! Your injuries are just as bad. If you get up, they'll..." "OUT OF MY WAY." Dai could sense panic, sadness and a multitude of other emotions. He bit his bottom lip and looked around, wondering what he could do. Meiko was doing her best to hold Midori down, but it may not have been enough.

He had a choice here. He could stop Midori--side with Meiko, keep her down. The selfish part of him wanted that. But that would risk Kaminari's life. He could leave Meiko and step aside. That might exhaust Midori, leaving her in no position to help Kaminari. They could both die. He could stop Meiko, which might come with the benefit of letting Kaminari survive this, but also might've taken Midori away from him. He looked up from his thoughts to see Midori bleeding out everywhere. Meiko was in tears, and apparently someone else had shouted out about Kaminari needing a transfusion. Was his blood type compatible with hers? No, that did not matter right now. Grumbling about stupid things, Dai stepped forwards and leaned down to Meiko, placing his left hand on her head and pushing her away with a soft smile. His other hand, however, was on Midori's head, holding her back. "Now, now. Meiko, let me do my job in this situation." He turned towards Midori and tilted his head, "Lie down. You're going to help Kaminari. But you need to have as much energy as possible." If she complied, he would slide his arms underneath her and lift her up off of the bed. He had been covered in her blood earlier, and it looked like he would be covered in her blood again--it did not matter.

Meiko looked incredulously at him, and he looked back at her with a slight sneer, "Bring her Zanpakutō. We need to do this as quickly as we can." Dai turned towards the door and started to move off, limping heavily on his right leg as he did so. Even if he was still injured, it would not matter to him. He would carry Midori to Kaminari, and make sure that Kaminari lived. If Midori was the Captain, then she was the one who could heal Kaminari. He would deal with what came afterwards, afterwards. Hopefully, with both of them alive.

Pushing through a group of gawking Shinigami (and a PARTICULARLY angry Sascha), Dai brought Midori into the room and laid her down beside the girl. His already-pale expression could not get much paler, but if it could have? Kaminari was surrounded by Fourth Division Shinigami, all desperately attempting to bring her back from the brink. He couldn't properly sense her energy, and it frustrated him. He couldn't bring Midori back to full, and it frustrated him. He couldn't even protect anybody.

And that frustrated him the most of all.

He was made to stand near to Kaminari, and opened his mouth to protest--but was quickly shut up by Midori's determined expression. Quietly moving into position beside Kaminari, he watched as Meiko handed the Zanpakutō over. He was certain that he needed no healing in this situation--his health wasn't worth shit right now. "Conserve life," The dagger in Midori's hand changed into an ornate katana. Midori swung the katana in a half-moon arc, and an orb--one of three--traveled forth and hit Dai in the chest. He reached up and touched the spot where it had made contact, and frowned. "Wh--" His question was answered by a barrier surrounding his body. His injuries felt like they were healing at a higher rate than usual. Damnit Midori, why waste energ--oh, hold on. I know why. He sighed internally.

Someone spoke their protest to this--one of the Fourth Division Shinigami who was pointing at Dai with a rage-and-jealously-filled expression--and were immediately shushed by their Captain, "Shut up or get out." Yeesh. He shook his head. Three minutes passed before the barrier around Dai's body faded. He breathed out and touched his chest, checking himself over before looking up at Midori, who was still working on healing Kaminari. His expression was confused for a moment, before he noticed just how much of her blood she was sitting in. He grimaced and stepped forwards, "Mido--" She fell into the pool, seemingly unconscious.

"Ri..." His immediate reaction was to lunge towards the body on the ground--though it seemed that he would be pushed off by a few of Midori's loyal division members. "Captain Hatakeyama, now!" Meiko pushed away those who pushed Dai away. Excited cries about Kaminari's healing came from the other side of the room, but right now Dai cared not. He was happy that Kaminari was alive, but what was the cost? "She's... in a coma." A tear edged one of his eyes and he stepped forwards, eliciting several glares from... everyone. "Get the Captain back to her bed, now. Re-dress her wounds and begin the healing process. I'll be in there soon." Dai growled at the people who were ordered, "I'm carrying her, deal with it," before kneeling down and tenderly lifting Midori from the ground. He carried her down to her room, before laying her in the bed. The two Fourth Division members rushed past him, and Dai suddenly felt a hand grip his collar, pulling him back out of the room and up against a wall.

He was met with a pair of rage-filled violet eyes, their edges welled up with tears. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, Ito? Are you going to systematically destroy the life of every fucking Captain until you've finished us all?" Sascha--Captain Koenig--was clearly angry and distraught at the situation. "I'm detaining you until further notice. Don't fucking resist." Dai's eyes narrowed, "No. You're needed here. You're injured. Let me be. Once things have settled, then deal with me." Laughter came, "You're fucking joking, right? You think you can just order me, a CAPTAIN, to stand down? Bahahaha!" She pushed him up the wall and sneered at him, "You're going to fucking ROT for what you did for Kaminari and Midori, you hear me?!" Dai's eyes averted from hers, as he saw the tears stream down her cheeks.

"Koenig. Relax. Things will be fine," A harsh voice came from behind the pair, and Dai found himself falling on his ass from a few feet up. He looked up to notice the stern visage of another Captain, before slowly getting to his feet. "Go be with Hatakeyama. Ito, get out of here before she changes her mind. He nodded and left with a sigh, "Thank you, Captain Araragi."

---

Several minutes of searching later, he would find what he was looking for. A few Division Members had pointed him in this direction, with their own little quips, "Finally, you're looking for her room, eh eh eh?" He had begrudgingly taken them and found the room, which wasn't locked. Unsurprisingly. With a small smile he stepped in and looked around, noticing something off. "She..." The room was spotless. Midori's personal quarters... were completely perfect. His own room was just as good as this. "She... I... can't..."

Daigoro Ito fell to his knees and wept.

She was angry--angrier than she had been in a long time. The anger she had felt when she had learned of Kaminari's disappearance was nothing compared to this, and it was all his fault. That red fucking hair, that smug fucking expression, Midori's love, Kaminari's friend, what the fuck was his thing? She wanted to punch him in that face. She wanted to throw him into prison to rot. And yet she had been pushed off of it by none other than Kyotetsu Araragi, whom she had sent a sneer at before she'd left. She would get Ito soon enough, she could guarantee it.

Instead, Sascha traipsed through back into the room where Kaminari was being recovered. She didn't really see anybody else in the room, nor did she care. She was simply watching Kaminari's prone figure from the background with a quiet expression. She would wait for Kaminari to--hopefully--wake up, and explain everything to her that had transpired. She wondered if Kaminari would ever think of Ito as a good person ever again. It both worried and intrigued her.

  That room of the Fourth Division barracks lay in silence, and it was a silence of three parts.

  The most obvious was a hollow silence of things that were missing.  The laughter of friends, the work of the healers at their station, the sounds of recovery.  There were people in that room, but the healers had come and left unable to solve the problem at the room's center.  There had once been frantic voices and urgent action, but such things had fled in the face of a problem they could not hope to overcome with all their skill.  The only one who could had yet to wake up, and precious minutes rolled by.  Those in the room generated this hollow, ringing silence.  Strong men and women, friends and acquaintances.  These were people able to change the world, and not one of them could lift a finger.  So they stood or sat, motionless and worried.

  At the center of the room lay a woman, motionless as life slowly dripped away from her.  She added a small, deafening silence to the fist.  Together they made a harmony of desperation, and of oncoming loss.

  The third silence was not a simple thing to notice.  If you stood and watched the group for several minutes you would begin to feel it.  It was in the air, a subtle tension so thick you almost could chew it.  It hung heavy like a cloud laden with rain.  It was in the steady, intense gaze of the young man seated close to the bed.

  The young man had silver hair, the color chrome polished bright for show.  His eyes were dark as storm clouds, distant as the moon, and never strayed from the silent straining form of the young woman at the center of the room.  This place was his just as the third silence was, which was appropriate as it was the greatest silence of the three, wrapping the others within itself.  It was deep and dark as winter's heart.  It was hungry as a coming storm.  It was the quiet, gnawing sound of a man enraged beyond words, powerless to save a friend.

  Then the silences were scattered like dust as two forms entered the room.  Only then did the young man's eyes move, though only for a moment as though he feared the motionless woman would vanish from his sight.  Genpaku knew both of the figures on sight, but made no motions otherwise.  He turned his head back, silent in word and power.  Truth be told, this was because Genpaku existed behind a kind of barrier for the time being.  No energy really escaped Genpaku's form; he couldn't trust himself to contain the maelstrom in his gut.  He held together like like so much fractured glass, and the smallest of motions would set him shattered to his emotions.

  Midori approached Kaminari's still form, and issued her commands.  Others besides Kaminari began to receive healing, but Genpaku had no feelings on that matter.  He didn't have all the facts together yet either, but even in his state he did not miss the unmistakable feeling of hostility that appeared when Dai entered the room.  Genpaku knew that Dai had something to do with those whole ordeal, but the facts would come out later.  He sat in silence, much as he had been since Kaminari had been brought in.

  Midori's healing seemed to work, though it cost her something.  Namely her consciousness.  Another problem to add to the quickly mounting pile.  Dai insisted on carrying her out, other began to flood around the room.  Two Captains exited in Dai's wake.  Genpaku took all of this in on some level, but that was far away for the moment.  Hopefully words range out, and Genpaku looked to the Shinigami working on Kaminari and apparently making headway.  Finally Genpaku broke his silence, sending it scurrying to the corners of the room witha voice that rung like thunder over the horizon, filled with worry and pain and anger and fear.
"Is she going to be okay?"

Sascha was a woman who knew anger, pain, sadness. With both eyes unfettered, she could see what few others could see--and even then, it was only something she had seen with a passing glance. If she had not paid attention for that single moment, she would never have noticed him again. Their Captain-Commander, Arishima Genpaku. From that man Sascha could see the rage seething throughout his mind and heart. She wanted to reach out and touch his shoulder, to tell him that everything was going to be okay. She wanted to do so oh-so-badly, but at the same time could not. She could not go to someone and convince them of something that she herself did not believe. It was a fool's errand at its worst. If nothing else, Sascha wanted someone to tell her those exact same words. Her entire body was shaking, and she felt ready to lash out at the first person who looked at her even slightly funny. She'd do it, too.

And yet no, no she wouldn't. She wasn't like that. She would never be like that. She wasn't willing to strike someone without probable cause. Now Daigoro Ito, that was a man she wanted to punch in the face. But she doubted she could even do that--for all of the tough facade she put on, there was really only one thing going on in Sascha's mind right now. She was simply glad to have everybody back together. Even if Midori was in a coma now, she would eventually wake up. Sascha knew this to be true.

And so, she waited. Over that entire hour, when she could have been preparing the Third Squad to help protect their neighbors, Sascha simply waited. She watched Kaminari's prone figure as it was tended to by Fourth Division members. She noticed minute movements start to shudder throughout Kaminari's body, and then stepped back in surprise as she took a deep gasp of air. "Ah... Wh-... Fuck..." The usually-raucous Sascha was taken aback and quieted by this fact. Kaminari was alive. Even after the state she'd seen her in, she was fucking alive. Kaminari made motions to look around the room and then asked how she'd gotten back. Sascha let out a long breath and knelt down beside the bed, opposite of Genpaku, "A team went into Hueco Mundo and brought you back... honestly, Joshua did most of the work..." She smiled weakly, tilting her head to the side.

Kaminari's gaze shifted from Sascha to Genpaku, back to Sascha, and between them a few times, before laying on Genpaku. "...Where's Dai? The last thing... I remember... Is that he showed up in Hueco Mundo after that bitch demanded a trade for him..." Sascha bit her bottom lip. It would have been easy enough to lie to Kaminari right there. 'Daigoro Ito is dead. Lasciel took him and killed him in exchange for you', and then find the bastard and kill him with her own two hands... but that wouldn't do, would it? Her anger at Dai... nay, it was anger at herself, mostly. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by more words from Kaminari, "Gen... Where is Dai? And don't you dare lie to me... He's okay, right?" Sascha looked away and mumbled to herself, "Why does he...?" before looking back at the pair.

"Ito is fine. He's a bit banged up. Got the Fourth almost killed trying to kill Lasciel himself. Brought Midori back. Little bitch ran off after Midori went into a coma. Fucked if I know where he is. He ain't dead, though. He's just on everyone's shitlists. Pretty sure about half of the divisions hate him specifically right now, heh, I doubt he'll walk out of this unscathed," Sascha said, though if Kaminari could hear her voice, she'd hear sadness. She disliked seeing people punished for things that weren't entirely their fault--but at the same time, the Gotei would want a scapegoat. He was only a Third Seat. They'd crucify him and go back to their daily lives. "Sorry. I probably badmouthed him a bit too much. Poor fella. I hope Midori wakes up. He needs someone like that in his life... might counteract the all kinds of messed up he is."

His question answer, Genpaku nodded and took his seat again.  In the wake of what had happened this day he should have been more active.  There were a million things that he should have been doing after all.  The Gotei was unofficially at war, and yet Genpaku sat back down in his chair.  Truth be told, anyone who tried to attack the Gotei right now would probably go down in history as one of the stupidest beings in the universe.

So for an hour Genpaku sat, head bowed and eyes closed, as the healers did their work.

By then a awful silence, full of missing laughs and hushed breaths and unease had settled in like cobwebs in an unusued hallway.  At that moment though the silence was scattered once again; this time by the coughing pain and curses of the voice those in the room had been waiting for.  The space between when Genpaku left his chair reached the side of the bed couldn't have been longer than the flutter of a leaf.  Kaminari was alive, and with her breaths (however pained) a piece of the dark thing that had been steadily growing in Genpaku's gut faded away.

And of course her first question was about someone else.  Despite everything that had gone down Genpaku gave an exasperated smile.  She was serious though, and the smile only shown for the space of a short breath before his face returned to something more reserved.
"Daigoro is alive, though I'd be hesitant to call him fine.  And no one is going to change that for the time being; until I get all the details, he's off limits.  I'll be making that known in a little bit," he said, his tone gentle but firm.  He wasn't threatening Dai...not yet anyway.  Those may come in time.  They may not.  Who is to say?
"Otherwise, I don't know.  Probably off doing something stupid or trying to crush himself with his own thoughts."

Make no mistake that Genpaku was overjoyed that Kaminari was alive if not well.  She would get better he assumed.  She would recover.  There were other things now that Genpaku had to think on.  Things he would have to do.  Dark days were coming for Soul Society.

"Daigoro is alive, though I'd be hesitant to call him fine. And no one is going to change that for the time being; until I get all the details, he's off limits. I'll be making that known in a little bit," Sascha slowly turned her head to look towards Genpaku. Surely he was as angry at the little shit as she was, right? If he was intelligent, he'd let Dai be made into the scapegoat, and then everything would be fine. He was a Shinigami in a Third Seat position with the clear power of becoming a Lieutenant--but for all the years since his wife's death, he had refused bluntly to take that higher position. He had the potential to become another Captain, but he had an attitude that would never give him that position. This bullshit further made it clear that he had no way of becoming a Captain--ever.

"Otherwise, I don't know. Probably off doing something stupid or trying to crush himself with his own thoughts." If she could spit, she would have. He =really wasn't Captain material; probably not even Third Seat material. "As long as he's safe..." Sascha was silently fuming. Why did it matter if that fucker was safe?! Wasn't Kaminari's safety a top priority?! Why should she care about some fucko stuck in the middle of a nervous breakdown?! "It wasn't Dai's fault. I went out into the Rukongai and got drunk when I shouldn't have. He offered to walk me home, but I told him I was going for a walk... alone. I told him to go back." She frowned pronouncedly, "Doesn't change the fact that he was the intended target..." She folded her arms and shook her head.

Kaminari spoke a little bit more towards Genpaku, asking him a couple of questions about his location. Solas would have more information there--actually, the showdown between her and Genpaku was something that would be spoken of in future legends. "Captain Koenig..." Kaminari's voice pulled her out of her funk momentarily, and she looked up at the woman with a bewildered expression, "Sascha... Thanks for going out there after me. I don't really care who you think did most of the work, the fact that you guys went there to fight to get me back means a lot. I would like to know if anyone was injured? Was Lasciel killed?" She leaned back in her seat and shook her head.

"You, Ito and Hayashi were the main casualties. Most of us returned exhausted. Hajiwara... put some work in," She emphasised those words in a way that she hoped Kaminari would recognize as 'Toja Hollowed up'. "And no, I'm afraid that Lasciel is still alive. She wasn't present for most of our fight. It's entirely possible that she went after Ito, but we saw neither hide nor hair of her even as we arrived. Honestly, while I don't care, it's imperative that we find her. If she was willing to kidnap a Captain to get to Ito, I don't know what else she'd try and do." She sighed softly, shaking her head despondently. She was mad, but she also felt sorry for Ito, but she also wanted to raze Hueco Mundo... She was emotionally-charged in so many ways that it was almost impossible to calm her down right now. Anybody could see the fire burning in her eyes.