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.
"I may look silly Mizu-chan, but you're the one who looks ridiculous."
Mizuki made a grimace face at this comment. It was kind of rude of him to say. She couldn't help the way they dressed her, nor could she really say anything about it, especially since the clothes she came in got shredded. Then again, it was a dress, and they had to check her for injuries on her back and all.
"I don't really get to wear what I want in here! It's not my fault..." Mizuki said this in a pouty tone.
She had asked her question, had it responded to, and asked her main question, within a short amount of time, so much in fact she barely noticed when Toshioni stood up.
"I'll see what I can do Mizuki."
Mizuki smiled as he went up to the counter. She didn't think of it before, but she was lucky to have Toshioni around. He was helping her get out of there early. Her dad was working late anyway, and her mother wasn't even in town. Because of this, she needed someone to get her out. This would be Toshioni's task as of right now.
Moments later, Toshioni came back with a look of surprise on his face. Apparently, it had worked! Now, Mizuki would be getting out of there. Where would they go? Back to her place probably, seeing as how she needed to change. But first, the next question would come up from Toshioni.
"We're good to go. Need me to push the wheel-chair?"
"A-hem." Mizuki made a slight cough like noise as she pointed at her broken arm and looked back at Toshioni. "If you want me to try and hurt myself more, then fine, but you should probably help me out here..."
"I don't really get to wear what I want in here! It's not my fault..."
"I'm sorry Mizu-chan. I'll try to get you out of here so you can be in your usual attire again. Sound good?" Without waiting for an answer, Toshioni strode off to go about his task. He was skeptical about it at best but he was going to try for Mizuki if nothing else. She had earned that much from him he felt.
"If you want me to try and hurt myself more, then fine, but you should probably help me out here..."
Chuckling at this, he began to push the wheelchair out of the hospital. She was really light in the chair and it went along quite easily. He remembered her being pretty easy to carry beforehand, so this didn't really surprise him. He didn't know if it was because she was really light or because he was just getting so much stronger in his training. For a second, he thought about asking her how much she weighed, but readily decided against it. That would be bad...very very bad.
He had gotten out of the hospital when he thought about how in the hell he was going to get her home. He didn't have a car or any kind of conventional means of travel. He could use Hirekyaku but that was about it. And if he did that he would have to be very careful with her injuries as they were. Would it better to carry her or to give her a piggy-back ride? Well, given her hospital gown appearance, he figured she would prefer carrying. Toshioni didn't ask her about this, his brain just kept firing. She would want to cover herself up at least a little before this. He would give her his shirt...that would work.
"Hey Mizu-chan, I'm going to need to take you home the Quincy way, okay? So, I know you might want to cover up a little bit before that. So, if you want to put this on, you can." As he spoke he parked the wheelchair on some flat ground before slipping out of his white T-shirt to offer it to her. He really hoped that would be enough; he didn't much feel like giving her his pants. He motioned for her to take it with a small smille. "Mizu-chan, which way is your house from here? I'd hate to go the wrong way, because we could take all day fixing that mistake."
"Hey Mizu-chan, I'm going to need to take you home the Quincy way, okay? So, I know you might want to cover up a little bit before that. So, if you want to put this on, you can."
"Ooo, the Quincy way! I'm so excited!..." Mizuki rolled her eyes while saying this. She then proceeded to grab the shirt from Toshioni. It wasn't large on her, but it wasn't small either. "Thank you Toshi-kun, and I was only playing." She offered a smile with this comment.
"Mizu-chan, which way is your house from here? I'd hate to go the wrong way, because we could take all day fixing that mistake."
Mizuki stopped to think about it for a minute. She looked around from on side to the other, but it just didn't come to her. She wasn't sure where the hospital was in the first place, well, maybe Toshioni knew how to get to the mall. It was close to there after all.
"Uhmmm.... Toshi-kun, I never really came here by myself, so I have no idea which was it is... But if you could get to the mall from here, I could direct you from there."
Mizuki smiled. She wasn't sure where it was, but she knew it was somewhere close by. Hopefully they would go the right direction.
Toshioni smirked slightly at her obvious sarcasm. He supposed that her attempts at satire had something to do with him. Perhaps she had something wrong with the fact that he was a special subset of human. It meant that he had a path to follow in his progression; Mizuki didn't. He didn't know that her sarcasm masked some ill will towards him because of this. It was probably just her being a smartass. However, the idea that she didn't really like him lingered in the back of his mind.
"Eh, the Quincy way is pretty cost-efficient. I mean, I don't need gas or anything like that. It's less tiring than riding a bike even."
"Thank you Toshi-kun, and I was only playing."
"Don't worry Mizu-chan, I figured as much," he said with a smile. He didn't really mind. She had slid his shirt on and it seemed to fit her decently well. Good, she could borrow his clothes often if need be.
"Uhmmm.... Toshi-kun, I never really came here by myself, so I have no idea which was it is... But if you could get to the mall from here, I could direct you from there."
As he thought about it, he was sure he could find the mall. If only he could extend his sight a little he could probably make out the out the silhouette of it. Shit...why wasn't there a Quincy technique for that? It would have to be useful as hell for marksmanship. Oh well. That didn't inhibit his sense of direction. He could find the mall easily.
"Sure, how do you want to be carried exactly? I mean, I don't know exactly what your injuries are."
"Eh, the Quincy way is pretty cost-efficient. I mean, I don't need gas or anything like that. It's less tiring than riding a bike even."
Mizuki smiled. She didn't really want to say anything to this, cuz he was just explaining it to her. She didn't know a whole lot about the quincy, but she knew he was one. Him, the woman from Hueco Mundo, and her childhood best friend, were the only quincy she knows, or has ever known! Her former best friend didn't tell her much, as for the other two, neither did they. She would ask about it later.
"Don't worry Mizu-chan, I figured as much,"
Mizuki smiled as she stood in front of Toshioni. She moved in, getting close to him, and wrapped her one arm around Toshioni, putting her arm underneath his arm along with her head on his chest.
"Toshi-kun... Thank you, for everything..." Mizuki seemed to be in a very happy mood, even though it wasn't night time, nor was the moon out. Usually that was what made her that happy, but this time, it wasn't. It would seem that there is something else that could make her happy.
"Sure, how do you want to be carried exactly? I mean, I don't know exactly what your injuries are."
Mizuki backed up for a moment and looked down. Her left arm was obviously broken, but her other injuries were deeper than that. She would have to tell him.
"Well, besides the obvious broken left arm, I also have herniated disks, whatever that really means, something with my back they said, and my spleen was ruptured, they didn't say if my rib was broken, but I think it was, on the left side. So, you'd have to carry me very carefully... But I know you can do it!" Mizuki smiled and gave Toshioni a small kiss on the cheek.
She wrapped him in a kind of hug that made him blush in an awkward way. A small grin crossed his face as he returned it, careful not to hurt her. He didn't know what other injuries she had sustained...he had to be extra cautious. Either way he just kind of stood there and accepted it. Knowing she might fall, Toshioni was kind of preparing his mind to catch her if need be. Her hitting the ground would be bad; it would be very bad.
"Don't mention it Mizu-chan."
He offered a smile to her. She seemed to be pretty happy. He was happy this was the case; he didn't want to be alone in his happiness at this occasion. His petty, teenage fears were quieted while he was with Mizuki. That was one of the reasons why he was still here with her. That's what he wanted to think about now...her.
"Well, besides the obvious broken left arm, I also have herniated disks, whatever that really means, something with my back they said, and my spleen was ruptured, they didn't say if my rib was broken, but I think it was, on the left side. So, you'd have to carry me very carefully... But I know you can do it!"
Thinking about this for a second, he thought that carrying her normally would be the best way to avoid hurting her. However, he'd shift his arm down to get it to her lower back. Herniated disks were something in the shoulder area or something like that. He would've suggested piggy-back, but that would be bad with her being in a gown and her ribs bouncing against his back.
"I think I'll just carry you the normal way, okay? I'll move my arm lower on your back to avoid your herniated disks. Does that work for you Mizu-chan?"
Mizuki smiled in return as she backed up a little. It was becoming a good day. She had thought it would be bad, a very bad day, having to wait until god knows when for her dad to pick her up. Then Toshioni shows up and forces her to make a decision. But that's when the day turned around. Making that one decision made her feel so much better.
"If I didn't mention it, then what would I do to thank you?" Mizuki chuckled at this, not noticing an innuendo of sorts left there.
"I think I'll just carry you the normal way, okay? I'll move my arm lower on your back to avoid your herniated disks. Does that work for you Mizu-chan?"
Lower his arm? It was already hurting in her lower back, so why would he do that? He didn't know, that was the answer, it had to be the answer. Mizuki would have to tell him that.
"No, it's actually my lower back that is hurt, so if you kept your hands up near my shoulder blades, it'd be good." Mizuki smiled as she explained this.
Mizuki put her right arm around Toshioni's neck, preparing for him to lift her up. She was ready to go home and get changed, who wouldn't be, right?
"If I didn't mention it, then what would I do to thank you?"
With a small smile, Toshioni leaned in to Mizuki and planted a small kiss on her forehead. He did this for a couple reasons, for one thing, he wanted to. For another, he wanted to show her that he just enjoyed his time with her. It didn't matter what was going on or what he had to do for her. He just liked being around her. Around her, it was easy to get away from things that he dreaded. He didn't know why; he just enjoyed it.
"You don't need to thank me Mizu-chan. I enjoy doing it."
"No, it's actually my lower back that is hurt, so if you kept your hands up near my shoulder blades, it'd be good."
Toshioni stood there for a second with a "deer-in-the-headlights" look. It occurred to him that he didn't exactly know what a herniated disc was or where it happened at. Crap. He needed to apologize for that...he was a little embarrassed over this to be honest though. He was never quick to admit that he was wrong about something. However, he'd have to this time.
"I'm sorry Mizu-chan, I don't really know where a herniated disc occurs or really what the symptoms are."
After that he picked up Mizuki, careful not to touch her lower back. He offered a look of reassurance down to her. "Are you comfortable Mizu-chan?" he asked her. He then took her exclamation of "Let's go" as a yes to that. Using one long burst of Hirenkyaku, he brought them to the parking lot of the mall. Once again, he looked down to her with a look of reassurance.
"You don't need to thank me Mizu-chan. I enjoy doing it."
Mizuki smiled. She knew he liked doing it now, but she still had to thank him, it was the polite thing to do. Besides, it made her happy to be able to thank him. She would do it even if he said not to, and so she would do it again.
"But I gotta thank my hero!" Mizuki winked, as she referred to the time in Hueco Mundo.
"I'm sorry Mizu-chan, I don't really know where a herniated disc occurs or really what the symptoms are."
"Why are you sorry? I was just explaining it to you." Mizuki's words were kind and sweet. She really meant everything she was saying, and it wasn't the drugs she was on either.
"Are you comfortable Mizu-chan?"
Mizuki nodded and smiled as he picked her up and got ready to go. Then, in a flash, they were off. It almost seemed like everything was going in slow motion for a moment, as she looked up at Toshioni. She could feel her heart beating fast, as they came to a stop in the mall parking lot.
"Where to now Mizu-chan?"
"Hmmm.... That way!" Mizuki pointed in the direction that was close to her home, but not that close. She wanted to spend a little more time with Toshioni, so she would have him go a little ways off, then correct him and then they would be there. Then she could change and go somewhere with him, maybe.
Toshioni blushed a bit at this when he thought about how he had actually been her hero in Hueco Mundo. It hadn't been anything really; he had just slain a couple lowly hollows Hatter had left for them to deal with. They had been one or two shots each, so it wasn't really that big of a deal. However, he wasn't going to tell Mizuki that anytime soon. He enjoyed the fact that she appreciated his ability to manage small hollows in a large quantity.
"Well, if you must," he said with a smile. He'd let her continue this if she really wanted to.
"Why are you sorry? I was just explaining it to you."
Embarrassed a little at this, Toshioni smiled nervously at her before kicking up a little dust nervously. "Well, I'm apologizing because my not-knowing could've caused you sever discomfort and pain. I mean, my inadequacy could've led to bad things." And just like that, the thoughts crept in again. He wasn't smart enough and that could've hurt Mizuki. He needed to be smarter and stronger to matter. That much was apparent...he didn't even know what a fucking herniated disc was. He was fucking pathetic and didn't know what Mizuki saws in him. Goddammit, why was he so stupid?
"Don't worry about it Mizu-chan," he said with a smile. He wanted to dismiss the topic so he wouldn't have to think about his inadequacy for a couple minutes. She gave him a nod to attest to her comfort so he knew it was okay to take off. The trip was just a normal spurt of Hirenkyaku and he was used to it. However, Mizuki didn't seem to be as he could feel her heart pounding when he stopped. That couldn't be good for her ribs and he knew it. Fuck, he needed to get her home soon.
"Hmmm.... That way!"
"Okay Mizu-chan."
Toshioni used more Hirenkyaku to go a few miles in that general direction. He then stopped atop some form of roof and looked around a bit. He actually didn't know what her house looked like and kind of need her input. "Am I close to your house Mizu-chan? I don't know what it looks like and kind of need you to tell me when I've gone too far. Any of this look familiar."