In the Devil's Wake (Rangiku/Noharu)

"It's...okay Ran." Her voice rasped and crackled, fighting the blood and froth in her throat as she was carried. As she felt her head swim and the slow creep of deathly cold trying to steal on her as she stared straight ahead and just focused on keeping a hold on her friend. Trying to keep herself together. As they arrived, and Rangiku set Noharu down, she'd certainly notice the absolute drench of blood having stained the back of the Lieutenant's uniform.

The moment she was dropped, a number of available medics would promptly rush onto the scene in recognition of the Third Seats wounds. The sheared chunk of her left arm and a section of her hip having been obliterated or shorn off herself. She was bleeding profusely, and that wasn't accounting for the pits rotted out of her skin, and the mess she kept coughing up. There really was no way that the division wouldn't pick up on her injuries, and so as Rangiku sat nearby, she'd see a number of healers scrambling to try and get Noharu stable. Taking a moment to try and staunch the bleeding, as well as identify what was causing her to cough up that rotted mess.

There wouldn't get to be a quiet calm, All at once, so much would seem to be happening around Noharu, and a few of the more alert promptly shifted off to try and find one of the more experienced healers as the others continued working on her.

But Noharu wasn't there. Not in the moment. So many people fussing over her, but she wasn't thinking of herself. For every hot mess of rotted lung and blood she coughed up, she still managed to forcibly suck in another painful gasp of air.



I can't die.

The thought was a hot thorn in her mind. It was so damn tempting. To close her eyes, and to let fatigue and pain pull her into unconsciousness. Wouldn't it just be easier? Wouldn't it be less painful? To just let this pain and panic settle down? why not close her eyes and let the slow slide of darkness wrap around her and let her ride all of this out? Surely, when she opened her eyes again, she'd be fine. Right?

Her nails bled as she dug them into the mat beneath her.
No.
I can't.

Panic and cognizance stabbed through her mind even as fatigue threatened her over and over.

She didnt' want to die.
Not like this.
Not with so much she had left to do.
So many questions left unanswered.

I don't want to be alone.

The thought hit her in the chest as tears mixed with the blood sliding down her chin. Her heart racing in her chest as she blinked rapidly, refusing to let the darkness carry her away. Rangiku was alive. Rose was alive. That stupid bitch Shura was alive. Ranma was alive!

But even more than that.

Yuuto was alive.

That thought was a molten hot brick in her chest as she forced air into herself. Even if she coughed up more blood. She stayed alert. And turning her head, amidst the fussing Nurses. AS that thought burned its way to the forefront of her thoughts, and it kept her breath in her lungs. It kept her HEART beating in her chest. Thumping away defiantly as she struggled to breathe.

She had to tell him.

She didn't know why. Logic wasn't sitting anywhere in that fucked up shock-riddled head of hers. There was no 'because'. There was no 'and then'. It wasn't some desperation clawing to the surface. It wasn't regret or fear that she had made a mistake. It was a pure, simple thought. He HAD to know. She couldn't die without him knowing. Knowing what she felt. Knowing what she WANTED for him.

Knowing just how important he was to her.

Her eyes focused and started to dart around, Something was infront of her. Ah... they had stuanched the bleeding and were trying to figure out how to let her breathe. She focused, taking everything in. Staying in the moment of where she was.

" It's ...okhay."

The soft patter of wet on her face snapped Noharu almost out of those thoughts. She'd been so damn focused, she almost didn't even see what was going on with Rangiku. Was that.... oh. Oh she was crying.

"Lieutenant Matsumoto please, she needs some space, we're going to have to ask you to-"

"Noh..."

The Medics were a bit jarred, one of them looking at her in surprise as the others continued to work on patching up her stump and hip as Noharu reached up and gently touched her Lieutenant. Her friend's, face. Gently she let her fingertips brush along the side of the woman's cheek, using her thumb to gently wipe away those tears. Even with her gasping rasps, she still managed to smile up at the woman. "It's alright. I'm....ss,,,horry." She wheezed up to the woman, attempting to comfort her. She let her hand slip down, falling from the woman's cheek to reach down and gently grasp Rangiku's hand. A gentle squeeze to assure them that she was still here. That she was still alive.

Ah... right.

She had more than one thing she had to live for.

She blinked back the tears of pain, and some of Ran's that were on her face, but one of the nurses wiped her face, so she just focused on llooking at Rangiku, keeping eye contact, and squeezing her hand. Which was, admittedly, easier to focus on. She couldn't just let Rangiku be alone. "Cmon.... gimme... a smile, Slut." She tried to smirk, to dip into that vulgar side of her that usually only Rangiku saw. It probably wasn't as effective as she hoped.

She sighed softly and smiled as she saw Rangiku trying to smile back. Well that was fine. They were both bad at this. And it was at that very moment that one of the lead healers rolled in.

"I'm very sorry. But we're going to need to get her into surgery. Lieutenant. I'm afraid you won't be able to go in with her." They explained calmly.

Noharu blinked a few times and tensed. She still was struggling to breathe, making this all so much fuckin harder. She squeezed Rangiku's hand again and lightly tapped their wrist with her thumb. "They ... neehd you... ll'be fine. Seeyha... in ... a bit." She insisted softly, giving the woman a wink as the nurses promptly got her onto a stretcher and lifted her up. The rage of the battle still was going on. The majority of the fights were tapering down, but there was still destruction going on. As they took her away, Noharu raised her hand and gave Rangiku a thumbs up as she was taken away to the nearest emergency surgery center.





It was almost forty five minutes before she was done. A few minutes for preparation, and then the surgery itself had gone on for a good thirty minutes. The doctor had needed to heal her lungs and then drain all of the fluid out. Painstaking draining of blood, rotted flesh. A thick line had had to be used in order to get the thicker mess out of her. But after painstaking work, her lungs had finally been cleared.

They were still incredibly damaged, and her stump and her hip still needed to be healed. But those weren't dire enough to be handled immediately. When it was all said and done, Noharu was set off in the section reserved for the stable and the mending. Unfit to return to the fight, but well enough not to be tended to.

The fighting had died down, but there were still a few battles going on. Noharu stared up at the ceiling of the tent as she breathed slowly.
God...breathing had never felt so fucking amazing. No agony. No struggle. Just smooth, steady breaths.

Maybe that was the pain killers talking. But it felt fantastic. A slow sigh escaping her as she reached up. Divots were still all over her. Bandages covered most of her body. Poultices had been applied to where the rot had literally gouged out sections of her skin and flesh. They had healed some, but the scarring was bad thanks to the nature of the rotting. Similar to how her lungs still didn't feel al the way better. It was easy to breathe, but she didn't catch her breath as well as before. Who knew how much of her lungs was not properly rehealed. But at least she could breathe.

The sound of someone entering her tent made her make a noise.
"No refills needed, Morphine is working fine." She noted quietly. Assuming it was one of the nurses.

OOF!

Noharu hadn't even opened her eyes, and before she knew it, Rangiku had walked across the the room and promptly reeled Noharu into a bear hug straight into her chest! Which, yea it hurt, but she refrained from making any noise as well... not like she could really feel it. Thank you Painkillers. Instead she snorted and giggled as she reached up around Rangiku's arms to hug her back, well as well as she could in the position.

"Holt fuck, Ran, hahaha. Scared the fuck outta me. If I wasn't all banged up your thick ass woulda been on the floor, sneakin up on me like that.," She sighed, closing her eyes and just...taking a moment to relax in Rangiku's arms. Falling quiet for just a few moments. Enjoying the hug from the woman as she just.... thanked the starts that she was still okay. The rdrugs kept her head from buzzing too much. But there was still... a lot of things going on in her thoughts.

She could still feel a few battles going on in the distance. But there was much less now. Andbeyond that... she could sense so many other people in the hospital. Man... what the fuck had happened.

Which only made her Hug Rangiku back just a bit tighter. Glad that she was alright. "Course I was gonna make it. I think I can sense that bitch Kurata in another section of the healing area. Aint now way I was gonna let that retarded cunt outlive me." She assured the woman with a lopsided smile, her shoulders going a bit lax as she then let her smile softened. Reaching up and patting Rangiku's cheek.

"B'sides. I wouldn't leave you all alone either, Ran." She assured her friend, smiling gently up at her friend, cutting the harsh language and tired humor. Just.... to be direct.

She knew damn well Rangiku's past. A lot of people either lying, or hiding their feelings. Every now and then... Noharu just would tell Rangiku exactly how she felt. Maybe it was weird. But well, she hoped it gave the woman some peace of mind.

S'ides. If it came out weird, she could always just blame the morphine. Heh.

Noharu sighed contently and closed her eyes as Rangiku more or less settled on her, reaching around and gently leaving just one arm to hug the woman back as she did. Wincing ever so slightly as she reached up and lightly touched her own face, trying her best to ignore the gross pitting and goughing that was still scarred in. But she didn't focus on that. Not like she wasn't used to a lot of scars. That shit was ... something to worry about later.

Yea.. she ...she had a lot of other things to worry about anyway.

But first.

"Did the kid get out alright? Officer Zefa." She chimed up, gently tapping Rangiku's shoulder blade to get her attention as she did. She imagined he'd have been alright, but she still wanted to check. He seemed like a good kid, even if maybe she thought he belonged in a different squad. She turned her head to extract herself from Ran's chest and looked around. Focusing on her Reikaku, yea there were a lot of injured. Probably as many or more that were dead. It made her stomach turn, thinking about the destruction that beast had done before they'd been able to get to it.

"What about you? You uh... all ...together and everything?" She asked, pulling back so that she could look Rangiku over, checking for any signs of injury. Her getting all fucked up? Ah who was gonna miss her. But Rangiku getting all chopped up? Now that would be a heavy blow to Soul Society's Morale.