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Post by Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya on Jan 24, 2023 20:10:57 GMT -6
Toshiro was able to turn his head just slightly enough to see Kita's face. She looked... older. Older than he expected her to look. Maybe it was because human age was a foreign concept to him, but she looked different than he remembered. Even though he had managed to grow as well, it wasn't nearly as much as she had. For him it had been a blink of an eye but for her it was probably almost half her life. Age wasn't the only thing that showed on her face. He couldn't imagine what she had been through in Las Noches. His thoughts fell on Rangiku and Momo and his chest tightened. At least he still had Kita. At least she was alive. The hell that was Las Noches and all of its inhabitants--hollows and soul reapers alike--hadn't taken everything from him... not yet.
He gently squeezed her hand with what little strength he could muster. "You look..." He paused, choosing his words. If he said she looked older, she'd probably hit him, even with the state he was in. "... like a mom."
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Post by Kenji Urahara on Jan 24, 2023 20:18:12 GMT -6
"Good good..." Kenji nodded his head. "He's perceptive. That's good." He cleared his throat after not hearing a single chuckle from his joke. "Um...Well, I'm going to go...Because...Well, I'm just not going to make this anymore awkward than it needs to be." Kenji looked to the ailing Captain lying in his bed. "Captain."
"If you don't want the title, I understand," Toshiro told Kenji calmly. "Unfortunately for me, whether or not I get out of this bed doesn't matter..." He turned his head away to look out the window. "I can't hear or feel Hyorinmaru."
"I...I..." Kenji fumbled over his words. "I wasn't going to turn you down, Captain." He looked to his sister who was busy wiping away the few tears that were falling down her face. "I will make you proud. In the meantime," Kenji stood tall as he looked to the Captain of the 10th Division. "You get better or you and I are going to have a problem." Kenji smiled before making his way out of the room.
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Post by Kita Miyamoto on Jan 24, 2023 20:33:26 GMT -6
Kita quickly dried her tears before stepping into Toshiro's full view. She put on the best smile possible. "I would ask you how you're doing, but your new mummy look speaks volumes." Despite herself, she could not help a small giggle with her comment.
Seeing a stool a few feet away she reached for it and took a seat beside the bed within his view. "So are you ready for this? I promise it won't take long and won't hurt."
"Do what you will," he attempted to wave her off but he could barely lift his arm. "Start with my eye at least so I can see properly."
Kita smiled warmly and held his hand in hers concentrating her healing powers on his eyes. Yes, only one was damaged, but why heal one to perfection when she can fix them both. As her healing powers flowed to into him, she looked up at him with her same warm smile. "It has been a long time, Toshi. Over 15 years to be exact, and to your comment earlier--I am a mother of two now. Sojiro who is 15 now and Kadaj who just turned 3 days old." she fell silent for just a second. "I see you have changed as well. You matured and added a little height to yourself."
Her eyes trailed the length of his body noticing he nearly filled the bed.
"Two kids?" Toshiro raised his eyebrow that wasn't covered by bandages. He thought of Sojiro's father and instinctively his fists clenched. He ignored the pain shooting up his arms into his shoulders. "Same father?" His tone was tight and sharp.
Kita's chest tightened with his question as her gaze turned downward and her head shook. "No. It's a lo-," the words caught in her throat. "long story and one I don't want to go into at the moment." She looked back up at him, a frown across her lips. "Let's just say a lot of things happened in Las Noches that I am ashamed of, and will haunt me for the rest of my life."
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Post by Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya on Jan 24, 2023 21:03:55 GMT -6
Toshiro let out a growl. The corners of his mouth turned down into a deep scowl. She didn't have to say anything. He could fill in the blanks himself. He didn't know who the father was but it didn't matter. There wasn't a single soul in Las Noches that he would have been glad to hear gave her a second child. Except for maybe one, but the odds of that were slim to none.
"Three days..." He let out a hmph. "You birthed a child three days ago, right before a war, and now you're here in Soul Society healing me instead of being with your newborn and resting. Was coming here to heal me really that important?" Before Kita could say anything he added, "Kotetsu would have understood. I would have understood."
"I am fine Toshiro. I owe the residents of Soul Society much more than this for wh--" tears started to sting her eyes again as she quickly wiped away one that started a trail down her cheek. "what I did to the people and their homes." She released his hand and stood quickly, "close both your eyes"--she started removing the bandage on his eye--"and start counting to 10 backward then slowly open your eyes when you reach 1." She rested her hand gently to his arm as he started counting.
Toshiro did as she said silently, then opened his eyes. He blinked rapidly, his eyes adjusting to his vision. He could see even more clearly than he could before, even out of his good eye. She took his hand once more and resumed healing him, moving on to his arms. Through her touch, he could feel her energy. It was different. Much different. He had a hunch as to why, but he had to be sure.
"... How is the goddess?"
Kita shook her head, "Sumi is no longer with me. Another long story," but one she did not mind telling. "She was taken from me because the Soul King was displeased with her for interfering, but I was granted the healing power and the defensive power of the Gods. Well," she shrugged, "a shield with the strength of the gods."
"So your healing power has gotten stronger?"
"Mhmm," Kita hummed. She started removing one of the bandages on his arm reviling a deep, nasty, and jagged cut on his arm. "It's like I never lost Sumi's healing powers." She gently place the tip of her finger on top of the wound and slowly moved it down his arm toward the other end of the cut. As her finger uncovered the flesh on his arm it was as if it was never injured. No marks, no redness, not even a scar. She lifted his arm and smiled.
"Good as new." Her smile widened. "They came in very handy while in Las Noches. I can't count how many times I have had to put Gin back together. Literally."
Toshiro growled low in his chest and clenched the fist of the arm Kita had healed, of which the pain was now completely gone. Gin Ichimaru. The man responsible for his lieutenant's death. His first friend in the Gotei. The woman who convinced him to become a shinigami in the first place. If it wasn't for her, his grandmother would have died because of him. He owed Rangiku Matsumoto everything, and in the end he couldn't do a damn thing to protect her. Not even from the man she loved with all her heart. The man who betrayed her and mutilated her. He grinded his teeth together, rage bubbling up in his chest.
"You should have let him die."
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Post by Kita Miyamoto on Jan 24, 2023 22:25:12 GMT -6
Kita could fell his reiatsu building, he was growing angered. It took her a second to put two and two together, and about the time she did, Toshiro blurted out his thoughts. Kita froze in place, her heart felt as if someone drove a hot dagger through it and twisted. She always knew there was no love lost between Gin and Toshiro, but the rage and hatred she felt from his comment and radiating from his person was beyond anything she had ever felt from him, and she knew why.
"You don't know what happen, Toshiro." She nearly shouted, defending the man she loves.
"BULLSHIT!! VALE TOLD ME HE CUT HER INTO TINY PIECES!!" Toshiro forced himself up to a half sitting position, ignoring the excruciating pain that shot through the parts of him that hadn't been healed yet. He used that pain and forced himself to sit upright in front of Kita. "Gin may be your lover but SHE WAS MY LIEUTENANT! SHE WAS MY FRIEND AND HE RIPPED HER APART!" He bared his teeth at her. Letting everything he had bottled up burst out.
"HE LIED!!" She yelled back. "You have no idea what took place and neither did Vale he was not even there! Gin did not kill her!" Her head dropped as did her voice. Almost to a whisper as she spoke again. "I was, and Gin did not kill her." She fell deafening silent.
Stepping back from his bedside, her head still hung low and nearly falling back on the stool she was sitting on moments before, she spoke again. "It's my fault, Toshiro. Please don't blame Gin. It's my fault she is gone. My fault she is dead. If he had only pick me, Rangiku would still be here with u--" she wiped away falling tears. "with everyone."
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Post by Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya on Jan 24, 2023 22:36:19 GMT -6
Toshiro's breath hitched in his throat. He let out a noise of pain, both physical and emotional. He reached out for Kita, grabbing her by her collar. He pulled her forward and looked her dead in the eyes. "Tell. Me. Tell me what happened to her, Kita. I don't care how much it hurts. Tell me what happened to my lieutenant!"
He hated being cruel to her, but he needed to know. He deserved to know. And for Kita to take the blame away from Gin and put it on herself... He knew that wasn't true. He wanted the truth.
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Post by Kita Miyamoto on Jan 24, 2023 23:56:31 GMT -6
Kita took a deep breath her eyes never lifted to look into Toshiro's beautiful teal eyes. "Aizen was trying to get Gin to join his side again."
"What do you mean, again? Hasn't he always been with Aizen?" Toshiro growled.
Kita's head shook. "Gin changed sides and because of this, it angered Aizen. To get him to return Aizen knew there would be only one way." She looked up at Toshiro. "Give him an ultimatum."
"Tch," Toshiro looked away from Kita as she continued. "Gin only cares about himself."
Kita narrowed her eyes at her friend her tone annoyed. "You know nothing about Gin." She sat quietly as Toshiro looked her way again. "Aizen took Gin to the torture chamber one day and strapped him to a stretching table then started slicing him up with his own sword. He started threatening him with the lives of his son, me and Rangiku. Finally, he had me brought in to help break him, but it was not me, it was Loki. When Gin realized this and Aizen dismissed Loki and brought me in." She sighed and looked down at her hands in her lap, her tears never stopped flowing as she told her story.
"When I was brought in, I snapped. Gin was a bloody mess. Aizen had sliced into his arms, his sides, and his stomach. There was blood everywhere, but what Aizen was asking, Gin would not give him. Aizen then turned his anger on me and after a few more minutes--" she grew silent, "they had Rangiku brought in. She was fighting against Illian when he brought her in and growing annoyed with her he struck her across the cheek causing her to tumble across the floor. I went to her aid to heal her, she begged me to stop it, but I couldn't."
Her hands lifted covering her face as she started to weep harder. "I could not stop it. Because if I lifted a finger against Aizen he would've killed everyone he'd dragged in there. Yumiko, Kisuke, Kenji and Sojiro. He threatened them all. I could do nothing to stop it. Nothing." She still sobbed.
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Post by Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya on Jan 25, 2023 0:01:43 GMT -6
Toshiro sighed and visibly calmed. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Stop. You can't blame yourself for Aizen's madness. You survived in Las Noches for so long. You should know better than any of us how he is. He wants this from you. If you blame yourself for his actions, he will continue to win over you."
Kita looked up sniffling, wiping away tears. "But because of that Aizen killed Rangiku because of me. When Rangiku was able to escape I was sent after her, if I didn't... Aizen was going to kill Gin and Rangiku." Her tears still flowed. "I had no choice I had to bring her back." Her tears fell uncontrollably as she looked into his eyes. "I had to, Toshiro. I needed Gin. I needed him more than he ever needed me. He was my rock. My anchor. Without him, I would have never made it out of there."
"That is not true, Kita you are strong," Toshiro told her.
Her head shook madly. "No. You just don't know what kind of hell I had to endure while I was there. If it had not been for Gin I would have been lost to everyone. Still there and still in hell." Her head dropped again as she whipped away tears.
"No, I don't know and I am sorry you had to go through that." Toshiro reached out and took one of her hands. "I am so sorry, Kita."
"Thank you, Toshi. and I want you to know, I tried to protect Rangiku, I really tried, but when Aizen turned his sword on me because of that," she fell silent once more. When she continued her words were softly spoken. "Gin snapped. There was a struggle and Aizen was about to end it, he was going to kill Gin, causing Rangiku to scream trying to stop it. She ran toward Aizen as he plunged his sword through her chest. I tried pulling her back, but it was too late. Aizen punished me as well plunging his sword into my side and through both lungs."
Toshiro sighed giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Kita..."
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Post by Kita Miyamoto on Jan 25, 2023 2:59:31 GMT -6
Her head shook as she wrung her hands that sat in her lap, looking down at them she spoke again. "It was then Aizen told Gin he could only save one of us." She started sobbing again.
"Gin had lost all hope at this point and choose me over Rangiku. He should have chosen me to die. Not Rangiku." She looked up quickly at him. "The Goddess would have protected me. I wouldn't have died, and Rangiku would still be here." Her words were hitching as she sobbed through them.
"Aizen had broken Gin with his attempt of killing us both. Gin couldn't move, only sat there watching us both bleed out on the floor. After Aizen had removed Rangiku's head, he healed me, picked me up, and gave me to Gin. Aizen's then told Gin that this was no longer a game between them. He would do as he was told and he would bow to him. If he didn't, Aizen told him he would pluck off, each, and every person Gin loved. And if he still refused after they were all dead. He would end his life."
"Rangiku's death nearly sent him over the edge. He struggled with it for months trying to keep it together, and still to this day, he is torn apart over it. So please Toshiro, if you're going to blame anyone for Rangiku's death..." she looked deep into his eyes. "Blame me, not the man that love her more then life itself." Hot tears still streaked her reddened cheeks as she lowered her gaze from his.
"I'm so sorry, Toshiro."
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Post by Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya on Jan 25, 2023 9:25:11 GMT -6
Toshiro was silent for a long moment while he listened to Kita and watched as she sobbed uncontrollably. He let out a sigh and hung his head down, staring at the floor between the two of them. He had blamed and hated Gin for so long thinking that he had killed Rangiku. And now everything he thought he knew was a lie.
He looked back up at Kita. "Kita... You know as well as I do that Aizen would not have let any of you go without some form of torture. Even if Gin did choose Rangiku, he would have killed one of you anyway. And knowing full well that he couldn't touch you with the goddess' power inside of you..." He paused, inhaling sharply through his nose then letting out a shaky breath. "He would have killed Rangiku anyway... And if not then he would have tortured both you and Rangiku until you both begged for death. Aizen had Gin trapped with no way out. He knew it, Gin knew it, and I am sure both you and Rangiku knew it."
Toshiro reached out and lifted Kita's head by her chin. When she resisted he spoke, "Look at me." Slowly she lifted her bloodshot eyes to him. "If you keep blaming yourself and letting yourself be miserable over things you had no control over, then Rangiku died for nothing. Do you really think she would want you to keep holding onto this? The man she loved more than anything fell in love with you, and she still loved you like a sister. That woman didn't have a bad bone in her body. You know that. She would have wanted you to keep on living and be happy with Gin. Don't make her death meaningless by giving up on yourself."
He lowered his hand and scoffed, turning away from her and gritting his teeth. "Hell, you shouldn't even be here! You're a human! The only reason you were dragged into all of this was because one of our people was willing to use anything and everything to get what he wanted. If anything what happened to you is OUR fault for being helpless against him. We had to have Kurosaki help us and in the end it still didn't matter!" He let out a dry laugh. "Death gods. What a joke."
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Post by Kita Miyamoto on Jan 26, 2023 23:42:23 GMT -6
Her head shook, a hand lifting as she wiped away her tears and gave a weak giggle. "If Gin were here listening to this I am sure he would feed me the same old line I fed him when he blamed himself for things."
"Oh?" Toshiro inquired with a pointed look.
Her head nodded slowly, "The only person we have to blame in all of this is Aizen." She told him quoting her words she had said many times to Gin. She sighed heavily. "With his preverbal gun to our, or our loved ones' heads. We had no choice but to do as he wished us to do. However, the scars are still ours to bare, and the whispers and glares from our accusers, don't sting any less."
Toshiro reached out and took her hand in his. "Not to sound cliché, but time does heal all wounds."
Kita lowered her head a soft sigh escaped her. "It's been a little over seven years, and it hurts just as much today as it did the day it happened." She looked back up and into his soft, teal eyes. "How much longer do I have to wait?"
"However long it takes for you to forgive yourself for something that wasn't your fault," Toshiro said to her honestly, his tone stern. "The longer it takes for you to forgive yourself, the longer you will carry the pain."
“What if there are things you just can't forgive yourself for,” she sighed hanging her head. Now she understood, even if it was the slightest bit, how Gin felt and thought about everything he had done over the centuries. “My hands are far from clean. Gin tried his hardest to keep the blood off my hands,” she looked down at her hands in her lap clenching them quickly into tight fists. “Now look at me.” She looked at Toshiro. “I’m a killer. A murderer.”
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Post by Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya on Jan 27, 2023 15:27:17 GMT -6
"You're a survivor," Toshiro told her sternly. "You did what you had to in order to live. Whoever faults you for that... well, people form their own opinions no matter what." He placed a hand on her head. "If you want to make amends, then do the best you can for those you hurt. Not everyone may forgive you or understand, but that doesn't have to stop you from doing what you can."
She stood from the stool, her head lifting, her heart heavy and her eyes wet from tears. But Toshiro was right and that was what she was there for. To atone. For the lives she took in Karakura. The lives in Soul Society. For the people she has hurt. For Rangiku. No matter what they believed about her because of Aizen and Vale. She would change that, she, amoung the others that were in Las Noches, knew the truth and she would make sure the truth was told and she would prove that she was not the person Aizen and Vale forced her to be.
She gave Toshiro a sweeter smile as she placed her hand to his healed arm. "You're right. I am here to show everyone I am not the person I was forced to be. I want to help. I always have." She stepped up closer to the bed. "Let get you healed. So you can get back to work yourself."
"Good..." Toshiro groaned, attempting to lay back down but his body locking up in the half-slouching sit he had maneuvered himself into when he sat up in the first place. He let out an exhausted sigh. "Because I can't move anymore. You're just gonna have to heal me like this."
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Post by Kita Miyamoto on Jan 27, 2023 16:56:35 GMT -6
Kita giggled softly and let her healing flow through him. It was a matter of a few minutes when she placed her hand on his shoulder. "You should be good now. Sit up straight."
It took a moment before Toshiro's brain registered the lack of pain and stiffness all over his body. He sat up straight and stretched his back out, placing his hands on his hips. "Much better. Thanks. I would have been here for at least a week, if not longer."
"Well there is still a little more to take care of, but it won't be long. Lay back and let's finish up." Kita informed him, her healing touch flowing through him to heal minor and a few not so minor injuries.
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Post by Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya on Jan 27, 2023 17:31:02 GMT -6
It wasn't long and Toshiro was able to rest comfortably in bed after Kita finished healing his minor wounds. After she was finished, Toshiro stood up and gave her a quick hug before sending her on her way. He knew there had to be much to do to set the Soul Society straight after the battle, and if Kita wanted to be part of that, she couldn't spend all night in his room healing him.
Once Kita was gone, he sat back in bed with a sigh of relief. He hoped it wouldn't take Kotetsu long to come back around to check on him. He would have left of his own accord, but he doubted she would appreciate him leaving without notifying her of his recovery. And so he waited.Moved
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