Precious Things [Murasaki, Alastor]

It'd been natural that Murasaki would be busy lately, and everything surrounding Ichigo Kurosaki had been nothing short of a headache for pretty much everyone. But she'd been doing her best to support everyone, and naturally, that included the one person most dear to her.

"Hey hey, mister man, ya home?"

If it were anyone else, she would have knocked before she entered, but she knew Alastor would hardly mind his girlfriend showing up. Besides, she knew things were still kinda stressful for him right now, and she figured she oughta do what she could for him. That was why she had a big bento in her hands, with a pot of tea atop.

It certainly caught Murasaki off guard to hear Alastor yelling like that, though she'd at least heard enough about his relationship with his zanpakuto to have a pretty decent idea of what was going on here. With a sigh, she set down the lunch she'd brought and made her way right to her man, wrapping her arms gently around him.

"Just came ta see how you're doin'. Seems like I came at a good time, huh?"

Murasaki spoke a little more pressingly than was the norm for her, though it wasn't especially pointed or anything like that. No, she just wanted to do what she could for him, and she didn't like seeing him in such a bad mood.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Mm... I see."

Nestling against Alastor as she was pulled up against him, Murasaki thought about how best to word what she wanted to say here. It was a delicate issue, after all, and she didn't want to seem insensitive or anything like that. She hummed a little tune as she thought, figuring it might help create a more soothing atmosphere, before finally speaking in a gentle, but firm tone.

"Don't ever say there's nothin' to be done, Alastor. We'll figure things out. If you wanna train, we can do that. If you wanna take some time down in the City of Lights to make sure your sister's okay, we can make that happen. I know things are hard right now, but remember you're not all alone, yeah?"

She'd relied on him a lot through their relationship, and now it was about time for Murasaki to do the same. It wasn't just some sort of obligation or anything, of course. Alastor meant a lot to her, and she wasn't the sort to let the guy she loved just suffer through all this alone.

"Even if ya just need to lay your head on my lap or take a little nap, that's alright too. Just don't let yourself get too caught up in all this, okay? I don't wanna see ya caught up in your head."

After all, the last thing she wanted was for him to end up where she'd been years ago.

"None of us do right now. I'd be lyin' if I said it was some easy problem that we've got a solution to. I'm not gonna lie to people and say we've got it all in the bag, but I won't let him keep doin' things like that. That's not what the Gotei is here for."

No matter what Ichigo Kurosaki had been, he was a hollow now, and it was the Gotei's duty to protect the balance, and the world of the living, from rampaging Hollows. That made their former Substitute into nothing short of the biggest enemy in Soul Society, but Murasaki had gotten reports of other Arrancar as well. This was going to be a dark time, all things considered.

"If you want, I can see about having you put on more patrols, or we can get you involved with 4th Division if you want to get stronger. I've got every intention of making sure the Gotei doesn't let this just slide. But please don't take too many risks, alright?"

Her voice was a bit intense as she said that, not quite forceful, but clearly serious about what she said. The last thing she wanted was Alastor getting hurt during his efforts.

It was genuinely disheartening to hear Alastor speak in such a way, but it wasn't like it was surprising at all. This wasn't something anyone would take well, and Murasaki simply wrapped her arms more closely around him, resting her head on his shoulder and running a hand comfortingly down his back.

"We'll get through this, promise. Whatever we gotta do."

It wasn't an empty promise, but rather a very wide one. Murasaki wasn't the sort who had every possibility lined up in her head, but she didn't need to. She knew what she was doing in the moment, and whatever was necessary, she'd figure it out when she had to.

"Love you."