Hell Hath no Fury Like a Man in Love [Closed]

The nights had fallen togther for the young shinigami lying in a hospital bed. Even with the healing that Midori was able to apply, Kaminari's body was still weak and suffering from light side effects that the poison Lasciel put into her caused. The biggest one was apparently a disconnect from her own Reiryoku. This was something she didn't think was possible. It was barely healing. She could do minor Kidō and shunpo, having snuck out last night to figure that out only to be caught by the worried Shinigami members of Captain Hayashi's squad. It was frustrating being stuck in a bed.

Kaminari was the type of woman that always had to move. She had to keep busy. Laying down and letting her body relax was never at the top of her list. Now, she was being forced to lay in bed. There were quite a few times that she got up to stretch, only to be scolded. She went to go visit Midori to see if she had woken up, but was immediately escorted back to her bed. This was annoying. It wasn't like she was trying to escape. Everyone was just worried about any lingering effects that the poison might of had on her. It got to the point where they decided to sedate her to make her sleep.

Stupid. Idea. Someone had come to see her in her medicated state, so she never got the chance to speak to him. Instead, he was shown an injured and unconscious Kaminari. Not many had the courage to step up to Tsubine and tell him what was going on, not with that look on his face, so it wasn't surprising that he was allowed to walk off. The final moments of Kaminari's sleep, her mind was plagued with horrible images. From the deaths of her friends, the loss of her love, and the destruction of the Seireitei. With a strange chill slithering over her, Kaminari's eyes shot open.

"FUCK." she shouted at the top of her lungs, shocking anyone who knew her as a woman who never really swore. A nurse immediately hurried into the room, the woman sweating and feeling weak. "Before you say a damn thing about getting back into that bed, I can handle that amount of reiatsu better than you." she said and helped the woman into a chair. Kaminari didn't hesitate to hurry out of the hospital and shunpo'd off. Her first shunpo practically knocked the wind out of her. It didn't help that someone was sort of crushing people with his energy as he moved farther away from her.

"Darn it..." she bent over, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Feeling that rush of reiatsu again, Kaminari hurried forward, running along the tiled roofs of the Seireitei, pushing herself further with shunpo. This would have been so much easier if she wasn't injured, weak, and half-medicated. After another shunpo, the enraged reiatsu seemed to calm down. She had Tsubine in her sights. He was talking to Kazuo, a friend and fellow Captain, but looked as if he was turning away from him. Kaminari shunpo'd forward again, appearing right in front of Tsubine, glaring at him.

"What... the... hell...?" she forced out. Kaminari leaned to the right a bit, looking passed Tsubine and Kazuo to see if he was alright. Once she realized he was, she looked back to Tsubine. "I was... h-hoping to wake up... and... you'd be ri-right there..." she talked more, forcing herself to speak through heavy breathing with a slightly pained tone, "Waking... up to your reiatsu crushing me... making it hard to breathe... was not a part of that plan." It was obvious that she was pissed. Kaminari stepped toward Tsubine, looking like she was going to hit him, but instead, fell into him and held on tight.

"You... idiot..."

"My idiot..."

Kaminari was tired. After all of that, it would be odd if she would be. There would be no complaints about him carrying her. There was no embarrassment. There was no telling, or even asking, him to put her down. This is where she wanted to be. She was finally in his arms again. Like a bride, he pulled her petite body from the ground and into his arms. She just leaned into him, laying her head on his chest and closing her eyes as they took a quick and smooth trip back to the hospital wing. As they arrived, people seemed to moved right out of Tsubine's way and allowed him to pass.

As they walked, Tsubine apologized as if everything that had happened was his fault. That was an easy way to break her heart. Kaminari opened her eyes and leaned her head back, looking weakly up at him, but still able to push up a loving smile. He laid her down back in her bed, closed the door, pulled up a chair, and took her hand in his. She wrapped her fingers around his hand and shook her head. "There was nothing in that list that you had to apologize for, excluding trying to crush half the Seireitei in your own reiatsu..." Kaminari told him, shaking her head and giggling at what happened.

"It wasn't anyone's fault... Well, anyone else's. The fault was mine." Kaminari laid her head back in the pillow and closed her eyes as she began to explain, "I did something stupid and got angry at myself for it. I went out, got drunk, and did something even more stupid and went off on my own when I realized how stupid I was being... Because of that, I got snatched up  by some Arrancar. It was my fault... and yet everyone keeps blaming themselves... They need to stop it. I can no longer tell whether they're trying to make me feel better, or just make themselves feel better."

"You did nothing wrong." Kaminari turned back to him, tightening her hand around his. It was then that her hand started shaking, but not in pain. She was scared. She couldn't turn away from him as a single tear fell from her eye. "I did though... I messed up so bad..." Kaminari brought her other arm over her eyes and just began to cry heavily into her sleeve, unable to look at him, "I told Yua about us because she kept acting like she was over you; she's not. She said some things that pissed me off and made me feel guilty, so I went out and got drunk and ended up kissing another guy..."

"And to top it all off, I never got the chance to tell Toja what I needed to tell him because I was snatched up, like a pathetic child, by a stupid Arrancar and held hostage for hours until a group of other people had to come and rescue me..." Kaminari dropped her arm back down to her side, her eyes really red from her crying, and her sleeve now wet with her tears, "I'm sorry... Tsubine, I'm so sorry... I'll understand if you never want to talk to me again..." Kaminari would not be shocked if he let go of her hand and walked out of here never to come back. In fact, that's what she expected.

The moment he said her name, Kaminari froze. She held her breath in anticipation of what was to come. She expected anger. She expected disappointment. She expected disgust. She knew what could possibily come of telling him the truth, but she would not lie. Her heart raced and pounded heavily in her chest. She mentally begged him to get it over with, to just tell her off and leave her here, but to Kaminari's surprise, nothing of what she expected ever came. His next words shocked her more than anything had ever shocked her before. "Don't cry about things like that."

Kaminari looked to Tsubine with the most stunned expression. He didn't sound angry at all. And when he continued, the only thing that bothered him was the one thing that she thought he'd walk away for. It was that event that she felt would end it all, but no. Kaminari's face softened and she just stared at him. There was so much emotion in her eyes at this point that it was hard to figure out exactly what she was feeling. It was mostly a calm surprise, confusion, wonder, and the slightest glint of relief, but most of all it was a "How are you not furious with me?" expression.

"Mm..." Kaminari glanced away from him for a moment, "I don't usually drink so often, but so much had been going on that I needed some sort of relief... I've been drinking way, way too much lately..." Kaminari turned over on her side and curled her knees up to her chest, watching him closely as he spoke to her. Her shaking hand finally seemed to calm down, at least enough to not be too obvious. "Alright, I promise that I won't go out drinking without you... ever again, if I drink at all." she told him, trying to keep up a smile, but she was actually having difficulty with it.

Kaminari listened to his claim about her charms in a playful disbelief. She glance off with a "yeah, right" look on her face, only to get her cheek lightly pinched. "Ack..." she retaliated with a quick grab of his hand, only to place a small kiss on it and hold on tight. "I can agree to that. After taking what I took, there is no way I can be called a child." Kaminari rolled her eyes a bit, remembering the size. She turned over on her back again and placed a hand on her lower stomach. She could remember that feeling so well. The look on her face said 'I can't believe I was able to do that'.

"You know..." Kaminari spoke softly and closed her eyes, "It was so dark. The only thing that gave any light was a small fire. The woman Arrancar, Lasciel, she and her lackies were brutal, more than I thought they'd be. I don't exactly know what I thought being tortured by an Arrancar would be like, but this definitely wasn't it..." Kaminari reached up toward her right shoulder and pulled down the fabric that covered her second permanent scar. "Even with all of that pain..." she continued on as she traced the scar with her index finger, "And thinking I was going to die alone down there..."

"There was one thing I could not stop thinking about..." she said, taking a deep breath and sighing it out. She wanted to just tell him, but a little hesitation wasn't a bad thing. It was a little nice being able to make him wonder. She could be a bit of a brat as well. Kaminari pulled her shirt back over her shoulder and looked back over to him, pushing up a small smile. "I never thought I'd say this, but..." she continued on, placing her hand on the side of his face. She ran her thumb gently along his skin, caressing his cheek, "You, Tsubine. I couldn't stop thinking about whether I'd see you again."

"I realized then... That I did not want to live my life without being your woman. If the offer still stands, I'm yours."

The fact that she had obviously caught him off guard meant a lot to Kaminari. She didn't know why, but it did. She always felt like she was predictable, especially to him. It never felt like she could surprise him with anything she did. By catching him off guard, by surprising him, or even just by confusing him at times, it meant that she was showing him something new. It meant they were learning about each other. Kaminari was not a woman that wanted to be predictable. Predictable meant ordinary, usual, normal, known, and anything that told her that she wasn't special or easily compared to other people. By being able to still surprise someone, especially Tsubine, she was more than ordinary.

Kaminari looked straight at him and fought not to advert her eyes. She kept looking at him, hoping for the answer she wanted. When he sighed, she was able to calm herself down just enough to take a breath. It was a quick one, because a moment later her inhale was stopped by Tsubine's lips pressed against hers. It only took a second for her to close her eyes and relax into his kiss. She returned it passionately. And even as he pulled away to break it, she leaned in as if desperate to hold it even half a second longer. As their lips parted, her eyes slowly opened to look straight into his. Her heart was racing again and her cheeks had a small tint of pink glowing along her cheeks.

Then those words he spoke right after confirmed it; she was his woman. She was nervous about it because she had never been with a man before, so for her first of everything to have been with one so experienced, she felt a little more outclassed than usual. With her normal inferiority complex, you'd think that this would upset her, but it didn't. If there was one thing that she was okay being inferior in, it was the amount of partners one had in the past. That thought forced her to fight a giggle. He was not the womanizer she once thought he was and because of that, she allowed him closer than any man had ever gotten. Though it was an honor for her, there was something to be said for him too.

And then that question came and she froze. His next statement came and her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes fell content, staring right into his as her mind flew in a thousand directions. Love? Did she love him? He loved her; he had just said he loved her. That was big. That was something huge for both of them, though Kaminari felt it might be a bit more for herself, but that could just be bias. She had never said those words in the manner that he wanted a reply to and could she? She had known him for so long, admired him for just as long, and wanted him for about half that time, even if for a while she had suppressed it. So, at this moment, was Kaminari able to actually say those words?

"What kind of question is that?" Kaminari puckered her lips in a pout and raised her eyebrow at him. She was obviously being playful. His playful side had definitely rubbed off on her. How did he like a taste of his own medicine? She was never able to make him think, get his heart to jump, or surprise him the way he constantly surprised her. It was her turn to make him feel awkward or a little smaller, even if their height differences were in his favor. Kaminari turned over and pushed herself up onto all fours. With a soft smile, she reached out and pulled him in close until their lips connected. She was shaky because of how weak she was, but she did her best to hold him there.

"I thought it would be obvious by now..." she said as she loosened her grip and broke the kiss. With another quick kiss against his lips, she let go of him and laid back down into the bed with her eyes closed. "I love you, Tsubine." she said and took a deep breath, opening her eyes again and smiling at him, "With all of my heart, I do."

"I will love you with all of my heart. If the time comes that a child is in our lives... if that time comes, then my heart would have grown enough to fit the love I would hold for them more... Do not think a heart is a single size; they grow, advance, and become stronger as time goes on." Kaminari spoke with a really sweet smile on her face. The fact that Tsubine had brought up having children was a big step for her. "I will say though, I've never... ever thought of having kids..." as she said that, her voice lowered almost into a whisper, as if she had just remembered something important. She did. Kaminari's conversation with Yua, the one that went horribly bad, resurfaced in her mind.

"Hm?" Kaminari was pulled from her thoughts by another question. She blinked a couple times as it registered, "Second date? Do you date in the couple phase? I thought that was just the 'getting to know you' ph-..." Kaminari stopped when she saw what he pulled out. She tilted her head to the side and gentle opened it to see what it was. She blinked in surprise. What was it? He explained it to her. "So I can send this to you at any time I want?" Kaminari waited for his answer and glanced away from him smirking mischievously, "I see. And I'm the only one who has one? Hehehe... Sounds fun. I think I'll hold onto it." Prank phone calls just got more fun. And then she remembered his question.

"I don't know when I'll be getting out of here, by the way... I am hoping I can leave soon, but I will fell guilty if I do..." Kaminari looked toward the door with a guilt-ridden expression as she tucked the gift into her kimono, "Captain Hayashi... My friend Midori, she put herself into a coma to bring me back. From what I was told, if it wasn't for her, I'd be dead... I need to figure out a way to help her, to wake her up..." Kaminari's face hardened into determination. She was going to have to figure something out. Midori was her friend and the only reason Kaminari had enough confidence to... "She's also the only reason I was able to muster up the courage to go on that date with you..."

"Aw. I can't call on you at random times in the middle of the night because I want a hug?" Kaminari looked at him with the cutest puppy-dog pout that she could muster. If someone were to see her with this expression on her face, someone besides Tsubine, she'd probably die from embarrassment. With him, she could show whatever part of her she wanted: Giggity. "You're telling me... that you're going to buy an entire house within the Soul Society?" Kaminari raised an eyebrow when she realized what he had just said, "Do you have that kind of money? Am I the rich man's girlfriend?"

"You're right. I don't want to be in here anyway..." Kaminari grabbed onto the blankets and tossed them off of her. She wanted to go back to her room and rest in a bed that didn't make her feel like she was a giant. This bed was too small, something she was going to have to talk to others about upgrading. This was ridiculous! How the hell do they expect someone like Tsubine or Kenpachi to lay in one of these things? Unfortunately, Kaminari wasn't aware of the fact that the Fourth Division had beds that complimented the size and weight of the patients. Beds that were too large made it difficult to work on someone Kaminari's size. And with that, Kaminari went to hop out of bed.

"What kind of present are you talking about?" she looked playfully suspicious at him, puffing up her cheeks a bit. Kaminari's entire demeanor had lightened about a thousand times when Tsubine didn't get too bothered about the kiss with Dai. Of course, for Dai's sake, there was no way in hell she was telling Tsubine who the person she kissed was; he'd have to ask or something, and even then she'd be hesitant. She would not lie, but she'd be hesitant. "A place I want to go?" she thought for a moment and tilted her head to the side, "I want... to see a white-sand beach. I don't know why, but I do."