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Never Let Me Fall	By : shadoesong Category: Bleach > General Views: 1394 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and its characters, nor do I profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 11
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Chapter 12
Even Rin was having a hard time hiding her distress as she paced anxiously in front of Daisuke's room. Aika leaned against the wall nearby. She did nothing to stop her friend. If she did, the woman would only snap at her and proceed to continue what she was doing.
Upon seeing Daisuke's condition, Unohana rushed him to the Fourth Division and had him prepared for surgery immediately. Rin had awoken the morning of the day after the betrayal. She still felt the effects of the poison, but she had been hit by it many times before and wouldn't be affected as long. As soon as she had heard about her friend, she had gone to him.
"I could have done something," she snarled, finally stopping, her hands clenched into fists. "If I'd bound him with Kido, he wouldn't have come. He wouldn't have gotten hurt. I'm a fucking idiot..."
"It's not your fault, Rin. Aizen was the one who inflicted the wound, not you," Aika tried to reassure her.
"That bastard would never have touched him if I had done something!" Rin insisted. She glared at the door to the room. "If I ever see that bastard again, I'll rip him apart with my own bare hands!"
"Rin... It's okay. He'll be fine." The small woman pushed herself off the wall and rested her hand on Rin's upper arm. "He won't die. Captain Unohana said that he'd only lose his eye."
"She's feeding us lies to make us feel better."
"The wound was quite shallow, Rin. Head wounds bleed a lot, making them look worse than they are. The injury on your back was deeper than his. It just happened to hit an important spot."
She said no more, and instead glared at the door. She heard what Aika was saying. Her head agreed, but her heart...
"Lay the guilt and the blame at the rightful feet, Rin. Aizen will pay for what he's done. That is a promise," the small woman continued.
Rin nodded, though Aika still wasn't sure if her friend was completely convinced. She decided to change the subject.
"How's Byakuya-sama doing?" she inquired.
He had received grievous wounds during the battle. The taller woman shrugged.
"Why the hell should I care," she muttered.
"Because he's your Captain. I take it you haven't heard anything?"
"He'll live. That's all I heard. His room's off limits, just like mostly everyone's..." she said absently.
She continued to stare at the door. Aika realized that she wasn't going to get much more from her friend. Not while she was stuck outside Daisuke's room and unable to visit.
It would be best to leave her for now, Beloved, her zanpakuto spirit spoke.
I'd gathered that. She's just like Daisuke was when I first met them, lingering at her door while she was injured. She's really warmed up to him while I was gone, she thought back to him. The last time she had seen them, Rin still kept them at arm's length, even if she was far more friendly to them.
"Aika?"
She looked up to see Rangiku. She hadn't heard her approach. Rin glanced over as well, giving the taller woman a scrutinizing look. Deciding she was unimportant the tall woman looked back at the door.
"Rangiku, is something wrong?" Aika asked.
Like them, the woman had set up a vigil outside her Captain's room since he had been placed in there, save for eating and having a shower. Aika wondered if something had happened.
"No, but I heard about Daisuke-kun. The Captain's condition is stabilized now. Are you Asaje-san?" she asked Rin. "He told me about you."
"Just call me Rin," the brown-haired said absently. Rangiku nodded and looked back at Aika.
"How is he?" she asked.
The small woman could tell that she, too, had warmed up to Daisuke. She was hardly surprised. The man was so easy to get along with, it was impossible to hate him.
"He'll be fine, but he's going to lose an eye," Aika replied. "Do you want to get something eat? There's nothing much we can do, and we're just getting in the way here. You can come, too, Rin. I'll buy."
If there was one way to bribe her friend into doing what she wanted, it was by offering her free food.
"I guess," she agreed a little reluctantly.
Rangiku took the lead out of the Fourth Division and all three decided on a restaurant. After they ate, the Lieutenant spoke.
"Isane told me that we could visit the Captain now. Do you want to go with me?" she asked.
"Yes," the small woman replied, nodding. She then added, "Have you heard anything about Lieutenant Hinamori?"
Aika had heard she was attacked by Aizen, but not much more than that. Rangiku frowned.
"I heard she was in critical condition and that she might not make it, but that's all," she murmured.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Rangiku. I know you two are close," Aika murmured.
"She'll pull through. I just know she will," Rangiku whispered.
Rin, who had been staring out the window with a faraway look on her face, suddenly stood.
"I'm going back to Fourth Division," she announced. "See ya later."
She waved over her shoulder as she left the restaurant.

When Daisuke awoke, the whole right side of his face felt frozen and it ached badly. He opened his eye, finding he had no control over the right one. The room he was in was dark. The open window was letting in a slight breeze. He had to turn his head to look outside, and it was dark there as well. From what he gathered, he was at Fourth Division. He then struggled to sit up, making the rest of his body ache, as well.
"You're awake!"
He jumped when a voice came from his blind side, surprising him. It was Rin, who had been sitting just outside his line of vision at the right side of the bed. He heard her stand and felt her weight on the bed when she leaned her hands on it.
"Rin..." His voice cracked, telling him that he hadn't used it for a day or two.
"Bastard!" He wasn't surprised to hear the heat suddenly come into her voice now that she knew he was okay. "You baka! I-"
He interrupted her by raising his hand.
"Can you rant on my good side? I can't see you," he said.
She growled in irritation, but stomped around the bed anyways. He gave a half smile at this.
"Never, ever try and die on me again! Got that?!" she snarled, pointing a finger at him. Despite himself, he chuckled.
"I'm glad you're not hurt. I thought Aizen would have gotten you. I heard you attack him, while I was conscious. I was afraid-" This time, she cut him off.
"Shut up! I didn't come here to hear how you were scared for me!" she yelled. "I don't need you getting all worried and shit while you're half dead yourself..."
"So you came here for me? I'm honoured," he said, smiling weakly at her. She gritted her teeth in frustration.
"Fuck you! I didn't come here for you! It's just awkward staying at Kuchiki's mansion without him there, that's all," she muttered, folding her arms across her chest with a huff.
"How long have I been out?" he asked, accepting her excuse while knowing the real reason she was there.
"About a day after you got out of surgery..." She shrugged. "Doesn't matter now."
"Surgery? What do you mean...?" he asked with his eye wide. Had his wounds been that bad?
"You lost your eye almost completely, so they had to take it out," Rin replied. Though, he couldn't say he was surprised, now that he thought about it. "Hence the bandages around your face. Unohana was afraid you'd get an infection, but it's been healing nicely. You'll be out of this stupid room by the end of the week, but you'll have to recover at home. No fighting or hard work for about a week and a half starting now. After that, you can have easy missions until she gives you the all clear."
He scratched his head, frowning at the news.
"I'll die of boredom by then..." he murmured, looking disappointed.
"I could always steal books from Kuchiki for you to read," she suggested. "He has some of the ones you were saying that you couldn't find."
He was surprised she even bothered remembering those books. He had mostly said those things to fill the silence, which Rin seemed to hate.
"I won't have you stealing books from Captain Kuchiki," he said firmly. "How is he, anyways?"
Judging by her casual reference to him, he knew the man wasn't dead.
"Alive. He'll be out by the end of the week, too," she told him, looking as if she could care less at the moment. Right now, her focus was on him. "And why won't you let me? He has so many, he wouldn't even miss them."
It is meaningless to argue with the Angry One... his zanpakuto spirit growled. Daisuke agreed, but he wouldn't let her steal.
"I thought you said we were done with thievery?" he retorted, giving her the best 'I'm disappointed in you' look he could muster with only half his face working.
"Fine, not stealing. Borrowing. I'll just give 'em back afterwards."
She waved him off easily. He resisted the urge to shake his head and disturb his injuries.
"I'll be fine," he insisted. "I have a couple of new books I picked up the other day that I'll be able to read while I'm recovering."
Though a lie that may be, he was sure that Rin would leave him alone. And he was right. She rolled her eyes.
"Less work for me, then."
"Why are you up so late?" He changed the subject before she could change her mind.
"It's only 4 'o' clock in the morning," she protested. "And you're up, now."
Now that she said that, the exhaustion hit him. He sighed tiredly.
"Yeah... But I should be getting rest now... And you, too, Rin. This can't be good for you. Come on, go back to the mansion and get some sleep," he insisted, concern in his voice. She looked away.
"Yeah, remember what happened last time I did that?" she growled, reminding him of the attack. "If it makes you happy, I'll sleep in the damn chair."
She walked around the bed to do so. It left him feeling uncomfortable, having her on his blind side. Fortunately, she seemed to sense this, because she carried the chair around to his left side before settling in it. After lying back down, sleep came to him easily.

Daisuke was awoken by someone nuzzling his neck. As soon as he moved, she purred into his ear.
"Hey there, sexy, you going to sleep all day?"
"Why the hell can't you do that later?!" He heard Rin snap.
"Do what later?" the voice, Aika, asked innocently. "If you're feeling left out, you could always join in. He'd love it even more if two women were here to wake him!"
"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" Rin yelled. He imagined her going redder than a tomato and stifled a laugh. "Why is it always sex with you?!" Aika sighed.
"Why isn't it always sex with you?" she retorted.
"She has a point, Rin," Daisuke said groggily. "I would love it if both of you were here..."
"Why don't you go and molest the person in the next room, where I can't see you?" Rin growled.
He opened his eye to see her at the end of his bed with her arms folded across her chest. Aika was curled up next to him on his good side. Just as he'd predicted, Rin was blushing deeply.
"Good god, Rin! You want me to go and molest my Captain?" Aika exclaimed loudly, so the man would be able to hear her in the next room. She then dropped her voice a little, "I think that would be a little awkward."
"Will you shut up, Asaje!" Toshiro yelled from the other room.
"See? Told you. Awkward," she said with a smirk.
"Shut up, you just got me in trouble!" Rin yelled. Daisuke chuckled.
"If you keep yelling, you'll get into even more," he pointed out. She gave him the finger.
"Suck it, Daisuke!" she snapped.
"I'm really glad you're awake, Daisuke. How're you feeling?" Aika asked, ignoring Rin.
"Better than yesterday. I think the 'molestation' helped, too," he laughed.
"Mm, I knew it would," she purred. "I brought you some books to read."
She sat up and grabbed them from the small table beside the bed.
"This is a really smutty one," she handed him the first one, "Get the really cute nurses to read it to you. Say you have a headache." He chuckled at the idea.
"Thanks, Aika. I really appreciate it," he said.
"No problem, hun. See you later. I've gotta go molest, uh, I mean, visit, my Captain." She gave him a smile before climbing off the bed and leaving the room.
"Tell him he's a lucky man!" Daisuke called after her. She waved to show that she heard him, then closed the door behind her.
"You're disgusting," Rin hissed once she was gone, turning her glare on her friend.
"No, you're just a prude. Have you visited your Captain, yet?" he asked.
"No. Why the hell should I?" From the other room, they could hear Aika and her Captain.
"So help me, Kawasuzu, if you try to molest me I will demote you!"
"Oh, don't worry, Captain. Most of Rin's ideas suck, anyways."
The brown-haired woman bristled.
"Go to hell, Aika! That was your fucking idea!" she yelled at the wall. "And what the hell do you mean all of my ideas suck?!"
"She's always getting me in trouble. I tend not to listen to her, Captain."
"I swear to god, Aika, if they invent Kido that makes you mute you're the first one I'll try it out on!" Rin snarled.
"That's not very nice," Daisuke pointed out.
"Shut up, or you'll be the second one," she growled.
He just laughed, even though it was starting to make his face hurt more. He noted the fact that she still looked tired, as well as distracted.
"You think this is your fault," he read her thoughts out loud in a quiet voice, talking about his damaged face. He knew he had hit spot on when she flinched and looked away. He continued when she said nothing, "I don't blame you for what happened. This was my own fault. I was the one who attacked Aizen. I thought I could take him at his power level. He surprised me."
At the time, he had thought his reiatsu was that of a normal Captain. When he had attacked, though, his pressure had spiked considerably.
"And it's not like being blind on one side is going to kill me. A little extra training and I'll be able to cover that side with hearing and sensing," he said, being as optimistic as possible.
"...Yeah, well, maybe I should have bound you with Kido. I should have taken your stupidity into consideration," she growled. "You lost a lot of blood. You could've died. And being blind in one eye is a serious debilitation. If I'd thought about what I was doing, then maybe none of that would have happened."
"Look, Rin, I'm alive, I'm recovering, and there's nothing you can do about what happened now except mope. Hindsight is always perfect, but don't spend your days lingering on it."
She just shrugged, and he knew his words wouldn't hold much weight with her. They sat in silence. It wasn't uncomfortable or awkward, they had gotten past that decades ago, but there was a bit of anxiety in the air that wasn't his own. The two could hear Aika and her Captain murmuring in the next room.
"I'll be going again next week," she finally spoke. "I just wanted you to know that."
It didn't surprise him. He figured she was torn between staying and going because of his injury, but had no doubt that she would leave anyways.
"Is that wise? We know someone's targeting you. That's why you're not supposed to stray far from your Captain. You shouldn't go alone," he warned.
"It's Aizen targeting me," she told him. "And Ichimaru was the one who attacked me."
She then explained that the Head-Captain had ordered her to stick with Byakuya ever since he had heard about the attack and that she had the Sword Sense. He didn't make fun of her like he might have in another situation, but now he knew why he hadn't seen her at all since she told him about the attack herself.
"But do you honestly think they'd come get me while I'm in Soul Society? They're all the way in Hueco Mundo. It'd be a waste of their fucking time," she scoffed.
"It's entirely possible, Rin. You don't know if he wants you that badly or not, he may just go the extra length. At least bring someone with you. Your Captain, or even Aika, someone that could help you fend off an attack," he suggested.
He'd go with her himself if he hadn't been confined to a bed. By the time she was ready to leave, he may be able to go, though...
"I don't want anyone with me," she snapped. "Much less that stuck up bastard. And Aika doesn't need to be involved. She's already been singled out by those bastards! Bringing her would just make him all the more likely to attack!" She forcefully lowered her voice before Aika overheard from the next room. "I'll go alone. There's less of a chance he'll even realize I'm gone."
"Rin, that'll just give him an even better reason to attack! If Aika's there, you at least have a greater chance of-"
"Shut up!" she yelled. "What makes you think that Aika will make any difference? You didn't see that bastard as he ripped apart every fucking shinigami that we threw at him! He can use level 90 Kido without the fucking incantation! He took care of you as if you were a fucking child, and you're almost as strong as me!"
"Then don't go," he pleaded. "Please, Rin. Put it off. Wait until we've dealt with this."
"I can't." She shook her head. "I have to go. I can't just..." She turned and stalked over to the door. "I'm going-"
She was cut off when she opened the door, revealing Aika. The short woman was staring at her friend with narrowed eyes.
"Rin, what's going on? I heard you through the wall-" Rin cut her off.
"Nothing," she snapped, trying to go around her. Aika blocked her way.
"Where are you going? And what has possessed you to go alone after what Aizen told us?" she demanded.
"Leave me alone," Rin snarled, but Aika still wouldn't let her pass. "I swear to god, Aika, if you don't get the fuck outta my way Daisuke's not going to be the only one confined to a blasted hospital bed!"
Though Aika was in no way scared by her threat, she let the woman pass. She knew that Rin would never tell her what was going on. Not if she tried to get it out of her by this approach. When the woman had stomped out of sight, Aika moved into the room to stand by Daisuke's bed.
"Daisuke? What's going on?" He only sighed.
"I'm sorry, Aika, but I'm sworn to secrecy," he murmured. She nodded in understanding.
"All right, but tell me anyway."
"Aika..." he began.
"You're not getting out of this. So just spill it."
"You wouldn't like it if I told Rin your secrets," he argued.
"This is different. It concerns her safety, Daisuke," she insisted.
She knew he would give in when she said that, and she was right. After a moments hesitation, he nodded.
"All right, but only because I think she would tell you in time, anyways." He pushed himself up further on the bed. "I don't know all the details, she didn't like explaining it to me in the first place. I think the only reason she did was because she wanted me to know where she was whenever she left, so she gave me a brief overview.
"She goes and visits the graves of friends on the anniversary of their death every year. She barely sleeps or even eats at all during this time. She'll stay up most of the night each night for about a week before she actually leaves. She told me it's because she gives each of them a night. And then she leaves on the morning after the last night without a trace before I even wake up.
"She didn't tell me how they died, but I think it has something to do with why she showed up on my doorstep bloody and half dead," he finished.
Aika hadn't known Rin to show such sentimentality, even though she had known the woman nearly as long as Daisuke had. Not as closely, but enough that it surprised her when she heard all this. She wondered if Daisuke knew more than he had told her, and she wouldn't put it past him to go those lengths to remain loyal to Rin. She wouldn't press him for more, though. She had enough information to work with anyways.
"And there's no way to convince her to go another time?" Aika asked.
"No... Trust me when I say this, Aika. Rin has dragged herself to those graves even when she was in critical condition. She'd let me come while she was injured, just to back her up, but she refuses to put off the trip altogether. She won't let anyone come with her, this time, though, because she's healthy. If I have to, though, I will go myself," he said, determination in his voice.
"No, not in your condition," she told him in a hard tone. She then sighed. "Captain Hitsugaya would not be impressed if I disappeared for three days during a time like this. Even for something this important to me..."
And it wasn't like she could just go and share Rin's secrets so she could explain her absence. She was a better person than that. Suddenly, she wondered out loud.
"What about Byakuya-sama?"
"That's...a very good idea. Rin told me that she was forced to stick by his side by the Head-Captain's orders after she got attacked. Now that they know exactly who is targeting her and why, he'll definitely want to keep Rin under at least some form of security. Maybe we could convince him to follow her, make sure she doesn't get into trouble?" he said hopefully.
Aika was dubious. The noble head was a different man than he had been a century ago when he was a teenager. Daisuke wouldn't know that, but she did. Ever since Hisana had died, he was colder to everyone, including her. She wondered if he would even consider wasting his time like that. But if it was under the Head-Captain's orders, he might. Or he would just force Rin to stay.
In any case, whether he went with her or made her stay until the danger had passed, Aika wouldn't mind the outcome. Rin could always put it off, no matter its importance to her, and Byakuya was the type of man who would be able to make her listen, she hoped. Rin was rebellious, and Aika wouldn't put it past her to just leave anyways while her Captain wasn't looking.

A/N I've posted two chapters to make up for the site outage. I wanted to make sure everything was stable again.
I wanted to point out that this chapter has a scene that only shows up in the manga, not the anime.
- 11
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- 13
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Never Let Me Fall