A Healer's Work Is Never Done (Rei, Erica)

Another day, another new batch of patients and as Erica steadily moved through the barrage of activity around her, there was a noticeable bounce in her step that hadn’t been there before. Everything was on the up and up for the pink haired healer and after her successful date with Ranma a few days before, Erica didn’t think that she could be any happier. It seemed to be having an effect on those around her too, for even the most grumpy of her co-workers could be seen smiling when she passed them by. It was nice to see and it truly felt that the infirmary as a whole was working wonderfully well.

A clipboard in her hand as usual, Erica would eventually find the room of her first patient of the day. From her notes, she was in the 8th Squad, which Erica couldn’t help but smile at a little. She was coming across quite a few members from that particular Division lately and they seemed to be a nice and friendly bunch. The healer considered both Ranma and Noharu to be her friends and she hoped that theme would keep going today.

With a brief knock on the door, the cheery healer would make her way into the room, with a smile on her face and her green eyes almost glowing with enthusiasm.

“Hey there, I’m Erica and I’ll be looking after you today.” The woman said as a way of greeting as she looked up from her notes, turning her bright gaze towards her patient. “You’re Rei Hara from Squad Eight, yes?”

“That’s the plan.” Erica replied brightly, placing her notes down beside the bed and taking a better look at her patient. Notes were one thing but given how busy her fellow healers were, sometimes important details could be missed. She couldn’t help but notice how nervous the woman seemed to be, a realisation that caused the pink haired woman to tilt her head a little. The pink haired healer was anything but intimidating usually and she couldn’t help but wonder about just what had happened to her patient. “You don’t need to be so nervous. Just try to relax and I’ll have you up and about again in no time.”

The woman looked rather battered in truth and Erica ponded about just where to start. So, she decided to simply ask Rei about her injuries. “Where does it hurt the most? I’ll start from there and see how things go. Don’t worry though. By the time I’m done, it’ll be like you were never injured.”

The wound in question was rather potent and there was a rather strong sense of the attackers spiritual energy stemming from it. That would have to go before Erica could do much else and so with a nod of her head, she began to probe at the girl properly with her healer senses. Yes, her ribs were rather badly damaged and the pink haired woman had little doubt that they’d be causing Rei some pain. It must have been a nasty encounter indeed and the young green eyed woman didn’t want her patient to suffer any longer.

“Alright then. Let’s get you fixed up before that wound starts to fester any further.” Erica answered, gently helping Rei to lay down on the bed so that she could begin her work. The pink haired woman had become rather known for her soft approach and did her best not to make things worse.

Once her fellow Shinigami was prepared, Erica would channel Kaido into her hands, causing them to turn blue, before lowering them so that they were just above the source of Rei’s pain, using her energy to restore her patients. Only then, could she get to the healing itself.

“What caused this?” She asked, raising an eyebrow as she worked.

It wasn’t a nice story to hear and Erica sighed slightly as she continued with her work. The woman had clearly been through a rough ordeal and the pink haired healer’s heart went out to her for that. Such things were a part of a Shinigami’s fight, of course but Erica had never truly enjoyed the concept of fighting, mostly for the reason that it always ended up in someone getting hurt. Over time, she was becoming more used to the idea but that didn’t mean that she enjoyed taking part in it herself. That was a part of the reason why she had taken such an interest in the healing arts, to undo some of the damage that violence always caused.

Her hands moved closer to the woman’s wound, with the eyebrows of the healer furrowing as she fought against the poison. Whatever the Hollow was, it must have been powerful to have caused such a nasty and unpleasant injury. Still, it was not beyond her skills to treat and as she restored Rei’s energy, she sadly shook her head and replied gently.

“I know it’s hard to think about right now but maybe you could try and think about the life you saved rather than those who were lost. If you’d not been there then no one would have survived and another life would have ended. You did all you could, Rei, no one could have asked you for anything more.”

Her eyes would briefly move to the woman and seeing the tears in her eyes, Erica would softly move one hand away from healing for a moment and gently take hold of Rei’s. Her words sounded as delicate as her grip of the woman’s hand.

“Please don’t cry. I know that things look grim right now but I promise that they’ll get better with time. Just focusing on recovering your strength for now.”

Capable enough to heal with a single hand, Erica would continue to hold on to her fellow Shinigami's with her free one for as long as Rei needed. She was sympathetic to the woman’s plight and if the healer had been in Rei’s shoes, she’d probably be in a similar state herself. To lose a patient was the pink haired woman’s worst nightmare, one that occasionally kept her up at night. To be unable to save someone was something she feared greatly but she knew that the best thing that she could do to prevent that was to simply keep growing her skills, just as Rei was planning to do with hers.

“I hope that you’ll give yourself a chance to rest before diving straight into training.” Erica replied gently. “Too often do I have people come in here who’ve pushed themselves too far and find themselves suffering because of it. It’s important to keep honing your skills but it’s just as important to take good care of yourself too. After what you’ve been through, recovery is what you need more than anything else.”

There was progress being made with Rei’s healing and as Erica continued to restore the woman’s spiritual energy, she could still feel the tang of the Hollow that had done the damage. It was unpleasant to feel but the pink haired woman didn’t falter, purging her patient of the foul energy.

What Erica didn’t intend was for her Zanpakuto to suddenly release an aroma of what would smell like flowers, a scent that would fill the room and try to soothe the nerves of both healer and patient. It wasn’t something that the Squad 2 member could control as yet but her blade seemed to know when someone was in need of its services.