With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
Izaya had been slipping in and out of consciousness for days. It was hard to stay awake while he was recovering. The ribs were healing but everything else remained dislocated. He probably should talk about that to someone if he could ever stay awake for more than two minutes at a time. This time however, he opened his eyes to the pale light that filled the infirmary and the small subsection where he slept.
It was the morning it seemed and he kind of looked around. A curtain was drawn and it separated him from the rest of the patients. He wasn't in his jacket or even a uniform. He was in some kind of hospital gown. That was just lovely. Izaya didn't much care for that. Trying to sit up, his midsection was filled with a pain that was beyond description. He had to lay back down and shake his head in anger.
"Shit, broken ribs."
He looked over to his side and saw that he hadn't hallucinated. He really had lost an arm. The pain had been numbed and it no longer occupied every ounce of him. However, it was still quite horrible to think about living without an arm for the rest of his life. Izaya simply looked at the ceiling in disgust. The worst part was that he doubted nobody had even bothered to visit him.
Izaya was wrong. Though she hadn't been much help healing - much to Rinako's dismay - Kin sat just outside the curtain, pinching the bridge of her nose and hoping that he would wake up. When she saw him, bleeding, broken, missing an arm, she had frozen. She hadn't said a word, shed a tear, or moved to help. She wasn't sure what to do.
Now, however, she heard him speak.
"Shit, broken ribs."
She ducked under the curtain and moved towards Izaya, brow furrowed and lips pursed. She had been mad at him, after his drunken behavior and demanding that she dance with him, after he yelled at her. But now, she didn't care - she'd told him not to get hurt and he'd assured her he would be fine. But now...
"I told you not to get hurt you idiot!" Kin snapped, clenching her fists.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Suddenly he heard the curtains move to his right. He looked over to see Kin ducking under the curtains. His face took a look of pure sorrow. He had promised that he wouldn't get hurt and that he would be fine when he returned to her. Now look at him. He was broken and beaten. He was in such bad shape that he could barely look at himself.
"I told you not to get hurt you idiot!"
"Kin-chan, I'm sorry. But, please, don't stand on my bad side. Not having an arm makes me a slight bit nervous."
He tried, to no avail, to kind of lighten the moment. Izaya didn't know that him getting hurt would have effected her so much. He really didn't know how much he meant to her. He remembered what he had promised himself as he lay on what he thought was his death bed. He promised himself that he would find out what he meant to her.
"Kin-chan, what do I mean to you? I know it sounds silly. But, I was laying there thinking 'I'm going to die.' And, I promised myself that I would have to find out what I am to you."
He closed his eyes a little. He was still so tired.
"Not having an arm makes you nervous?" Kin asked, more softly. She had a hard stare - furious. She hoped that she saw that, and not that she wanted to burst into tears. "I was just patching up some new recruits when you came in!"
She didn't move, instead staying rooted in the ground. She tried to keep her stare, but when he asked what he meant to her, she looked down.
"I...I don't know, Izaya," she murmured. What was he, exactly? A friend? He wasn't just someone she was getting paper from. She knew that much. Her eyes closed, she tried to think.
Just tell him you care about him, Shugaka suggested softly. Kin was quiet, but conceded.
"I just don't want to see you hurt."
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"I was just patching up some new recruits when you came in!"
He would have loved to have told her that he wasn't enjoying this either. Izaya would have been euphoric to break the news to her that he was the one who had almost died. However, something stopped him. Was it compassion? Empathy? What was it that kept him from hurting her anymore? Damn.
"I'm sorry dear. I didn't mean to have such an adverse effect on you. Please believe me. I didn't want for this to happen. I actually intended to come back unscathed and have that dinner I offered."
"I...I don't know, Izaya,"
He noticed she didn't tag anything at the end of his name. Was she confused over it? Or was it just a slip of the tongue? No, it didn't matter. He was simply fixating. He knew that she was lying to him. Izaya didn't say anything because he didn't want a fuss. What was going on? He didn't want to make her uncomfortable at all. That was simply odd. The hell was wrong with him?
"I see..." he mumbled. He was looking over to his good side. Staring at the floor, he didn't know how to respond to that. Then he heard her say that she didn't want him getting hurt. That was more along the lines of what he was hoping for.
He turned his head to face her and saw her hard pressed look. No, what was between the lines? She couldn't possibly be as angry as she let on. There was simply no way. What was she masking beneath that anger? He saw that there were no chairs in his little sub-section. Noticing this, he patted the bed beside him with his arm. Of course it was on the left side because he couldn't right well pat that side without an arm.
"Surely you don't plan on standing throughout this encounter? Please, make yourself comfortable. It's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon."
The small shinigami didn't want to sit so close to Izaya - her eyes kept drifting to where his right arm should have been, and each time she caught sight she averted her gaze. Make herself comfortable? How could she when her friend - alright, her friend - was missing his fucking arm.
"Izaya-kun, what happened?" she worked up the nerve to ask, finally forcing herself to sit down on the corner of his bed. She sat with her body facing away from him, and turned her head over her shoulder to see him. Hopefully he wouldn't lie to her about what happened - she knew she probably wouldn't want to say anything.
"Do you need any water or anything?" Kin asked. That was easy - there was a counter nearby with plenty of bottles filled with water. She could get him a small cup easily.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
What had happened? Well, obviously he had gotten his ass handed to him. That's what had happened. Of course, that snide little remark would never leave his lips. He looked at Kin sitting at the foot of his bed. She was turning her head to look at him. For some reason that bothered him. She just looked so damn uncomfortable.
"You know Kin-chan, you can sit closer. Turn your back to my bad side at least. You look so uncomfortable having to turn your head like an owl. It bothers me."
He looked at the floor on his bad side. Thinking about it for a second, Izaya decided that was it. She didn't like looking at where his arm used to be. Obviously he meant more to her than she was letting on. However, he wouldn't bring that up. It might upset her. Now to get on to what she asked.
"Ahhh, what happened? Good question. There were two Arrancars at first. They had to stay together to remain strong so I separated them. I proceeded to thrash the angry while the calm one was pinned against a wall. Then their master, an Espada, showed up and turned the tables. She did this to me. I think her name was...Celia."
"Do you need any water or anything?"
He thought about it. Was he thirsty? Not really, but it would give Kin something to do that would take her away from him for a moment. Thinking she would need that, he figured it was best that she take it all.
"Yes please. I don't think I've had any water or food in a couple days. Oh and Kin-chan, just take your time. No need to rush; water is prone to making a mess." He tried to conceal that he wanted her to take a break as best he could. Izaya didn't want her to know that he felt that she needed some time. He really didn't get the option of coping with losing his arm; he just lost it. For an outsider, it must be harder to cope with.
Izaya told Kin that she could sit closer, and he told her to at least turn her back to his bad side. She scowled. He wasn't telling her what to do - not unless she offered to do something! Instead, she looked forward when she listened to Izaya.
"There were two arrancars at first," he said, proceeding to mention that they weakened when split apart and were easier to take care of. Kin listened more intently when he mentioned the Espada - she could do something about that if she wanted to. Just tell her captain - tell another person's captain. They'd be on the lookout for her. They'd send someone who could actually do something about her.
He said he wasn't sure if he'd had any food or water in the past few days - four days. Four whole days. She doubted that they would leave him dehydrated - she was certain he'd spent some portion of the time hooked up to an IV. If she hadn't been frozen by the counter, then she'd have known for sure.
"Alright, just a moment," she said, standing and pulling the curtain aside. The counter was nearby, and when she ducked under she was happy to see the corked bottles. She lifted one up and shook it around, just as pleased to see that it was full save for a small air bubble. As she returned, she wondered what had happened during the fight. Had he really taken down the first two? That would be quite a feat - she was just a little interested in how he managed to separate them in the first place.
As she ducked back under, she asked, "Just Celia? No other name?"
Pausing, she extended the water bottle to Izaya.
"What...what number was she?"
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Izaya smiled a little as she went about getting his water. It was nice that she was getting away from it all. Maybe she would benefit from that moment. However, she seemed to be more concerned about getting information about Celia. Izaya had no idea what this was for exactly, but figured he could indulge her.
"I didn't really hear another name other than Celia about her. Her underlings always simply referred to her as 'Celia-sama.' She didn't properly introduce herself as I had just beaten the hell out of one of her toys."
He gladly took the water and gave Kin a brief smile. Luckily it had been uncapped and he was able to just take a drink. It tasted lovely. As he swallowed, however, his midsection shot him a stabbing pain in protest. So much so that he almost spit out the water. Luckily, he was able to keep it held back. He shook his head slightly and tried to sit up.
"Fuckin' ribs."
He had to throw himself back as he heard Kin's question. What, they had fucking numbers now? Wait, what was it that Neva said? Shit, he could remember it but didn't know what it meant.
"The calm one called her the 'Octava Espada.' Though, please know that I have no clue what that means. I don't speak Spanish."
"Weird," Kin said as Izaya explained why he only knew the woman's first name. Kin hadn't met a person who didn't give their last name before - maybe she'd met people who didn't have a real surname, but that was different. A serious expression flashed over her but vanished as Izaya struggled to swallow some water.
"Fuckin' ribs..."
He sat up, somewhat, and Kin shook her head. "Stay lying down - I'll help."
She held out her hands, let reiatsu flow through her, and held her fingers above his chest. Healing kido would do him some good and take away some of the injury, and Kin was good at it. She could help. But everything about Izaya felt so damned twisted - it was like trying to untangle knots or solve a Rubik's Cube. She shut her eyes.
"Espada are supposed to be stronger than other arrancar," Kin recalled, screwing her eyes shut tighter. She opened them after working through one particular knot that would help him with at least one of his spare ribs. "You're in knots, Izaya-kun..."
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
