A Weak Foundation... [Erica, Ranma]

So Ranma was taken to a concealed recovery ward attended by many active Shinigamis trying to make sure that those who needed rest were actually resting. The outside began to sound quieter now, too… so the emergency was coming to an end. Did they fucking win? Did something happen? The Arrancar he fought just dipped, so something told him that the invading forces had retreated – either out of fear or something else… did they lose?

Did the invaders get what they came for? What were they after? This wasn’t just a prank, was it? So many questions, so many headaches…

…

…

…

“E-Erica!”

Ranma was suddenly wrestling against three panicking Shinigamis trying to prevent him from leaving his makeshift bed. Despite suffering less damage than poor Komugi, Ranma’s skin was still in the process of recovering from the bad burns – especially his hands had suffered the most of it, almost charred completely black from the heat of the Arrancar’s Gran Rey. The Shinigamis around him begged for him to relax, but he was a different person when it came to Erica.

It was a paw to his face that set him back on track… and confused him for a moment, since it wasn’t Komugi playing a prank on him. It was Snuggles! Snuggles had somehow made his way here, safe and sound. How the fuck? “Snuggles? Wait, what are you even- how’d you…?” Now Ranma was even more confused, covering his face with both sore hands, “… Is… is the 2nd Division okay? I mean, were their barracks attacked? Did something happen there?”

Please say nothing happened… please say nothing happened… please say nothing happened… please…

It was chaos and as Erica completed the treatment of what felt like her 100th patient, she felt a particular spiritual energy that broke through it all. She would’ve recognised it anywhere and after a final check of the brutally beaten Shinigami before her, the pink haired woman would confirm that her work was exemplary, before dusting off her hands and returning to her feet. The woman before her would survive, thankfully, with the green eyed woman having done enough to save her life.

The moment her confirmations were complete, she was gone, moving quickly across the ward as she headed towards that pressure that she knew so well. Erica had been worried sick about her boyfriend, a knot in her stomach so tight that it felt as though it would never be undone. Never had she experienced such worry and while she kept herself as chipper as she could, a horribly difficult task given the circumstances. Her time working in the hospital had taught her well when it came to handling herself in a crisis but this was something else entirely.

Her zanpakuto would work as usual, releasing its sweet smelling aroma in order to not only help calm the healer but everyone she passed as well, doing her utmost to help as many as possible.

Yet, her path was strictly in one direction though and soon enough, she heard a familiar voice, one who was under the bodies of three Shinigami as they tried to keep him still.

Without waiting a moment, she’d move forward and make herself known “It’s alright, Ranma! The 2nd is fine and so am I.” Smiling, she’d motion for the Shinigami to leave him be, while scratching the ear of the ginger cat with her free hand. Snuggles always seemed to know where he was needed. “I’ll take care of you, as I promised I would.”

Eyes widened immediately at the catch of her voice. Snuggles’ ears perked up, too, watching Erica approach hastily and excuse the other Shinigamis, leaving her with the two cat-eyed boys. Ranma already forgot the aches in his hands, nothing hurt anymore… and she smelled so fucking good, as always.

“I’m so glad…” he tried to utter without shedding tears… okay, maybe one tear. He was just so glad to see her again, safe and sound. He thought that some place as vulnerable and critical as the Soul Infirmary would be a prime target, but apparently not. “I don’t know why, but the bitch I fought kinda just… fled. Heh, guess she couldn’t take the smoke…”

…

…

“… I did my best, y’know…” No reason to play tough. Not in front of her. “Not gonna lie, love, constant Reiatsu blasts are annoying. If you hadn’t shown me Dankū back then, I couldn’t have defended against them. In a way, you saved my life from miles away. Kidō really is the shit.”

He grabbed her hands, squeezed them tightly, holding them close to him. “Thanks for watching over me…” Snuggles tried to paw at the hands joined together, wanting to take credit as well.

Taking his hands in return, Erica would do her best to hide the concern from her face. He looked like he’d taken another beating and while the healer managed to keep her emotions under control, her zanpakuto released another burst of flowery pollen in order to help everyone relax nonetheless. She could feel her shoulder relax after a moment or two and even Snuggles seemed to respond, purring a little as he refused to leave Ranma’s side. They’d become such a tight knit family in so short a time and the pink haired woman couldn’t have been happier.

“I’m glad that all of your hard work with Kido paid off and I’ll make sure that I’ll teach you another trick or two when you’re ready.” Erica replied with a smile, squeezing his hands gently as her healing senses started to look him over, figuring out her game plan for repairing the damage done “For now, I’d better focus on getting you all fixed up.”

As she gently held his hands, the woman’s limbs would turn blue as she began to heal her boyfriend’s injuries. “Who was this woman that you fought?”

It really was as if the reckless Rukon-brat died out in the presence of Erica, choked out by the sweet fragrance of her aroma. Her Zanpakutō must’ve been aching to meet with her – Ranma could tell from the scent that she was so tantalizingly close to entering her Zanpakutō’s Inner World, and may it be an easy journey for her. May her sword be kind to her… and not a troll.

“She was so weird… I don’t know if I got a good glimpse of her face, but she looked like she had fun fighting us. She wrecked poor Komugi, too! That damn ring of hers…” Ranma tried to relive the events in words for Erica, “Ceros, Ceros, Ceros, Ceros, she was just raining down Ceros everywhere! Like some obsessed fuckface! I-I don’t even remember seeing her use her Zanpakutō at all!”

The rope ring was her Zanpakutō, Ranma… for fuck’s sake.

“I… damn it, I almost cut her clean in half, but the fucker fled as if it was just a game. After Komugi went through so much to give me that opening…”

Damn, thinking about it now saddened him. The moment he landed that one hit on her hip, almost cutting her in half, the little prick just waved them goodbye and opened a Garganta. And that was after suffering wave after wave of Ceros, Ceros, Gran Reys, and whatever the fuck she did at the end with the whole super-explosive Cero wave bullshit.

“… My Kidō wasn’t strong enough. My hands would’ve been fine if it was,” he explained, watching his hands regain their colors slowly from Erica’s Kaidō, “What would Hinamori-sensei say if she saw me like thi- OH NO! HINAMORI-SENSEI! I-I’ve got to check on her! Do you know how things are looking in the Rukongai?”

It wasn’t a pleasant tale at all, causing Erica to sigh as she started to properly heal him. His opponent sounded like one of those people who simply harmed others for fun, a concept that the healer couldn’t understand. It was the antithesis of how the pink haired woman lived and she sadly shook her head as he continued with his story. While she hadn’t been on the front lines, Erica had already seen plenty of victims, knowing full well that by the time her task was done, she would probably be completely exhausted but that was her joy and she wasn’t going to turn away from it. The wounded needed her now, more so than ever.

“There’s no point dwelling on the past now. You fought with all your heart and soul, which is as much as anyone could have asked you to. Both you and Komugi will survive this. For now, just focus on healing up and then getting back on that training ground when you’re ready. That’s all any of us can do now.” She replied sagely, doing her best to smile for him as she went about her work. His hands had taken a severe battering but it wasn’t beyond Erica’s talents to heal.

“I don’t have much information regarding the Rukongai besides one area being hit.” She replied to his question. “They were never going to be able to annihilate it due to the size and it does appear that they were aiming here rather than there. I’m sure your Kido teacher will be just fine, given how strong she is. The woman may not be in the Gotei anymore but she’s still a Shinigami and I doubt she could sit idly by while innocents were at risk.”

Yeah… he’d done his best. And because it wasn’t enough, it stung in his heart – that was why… Erica made it clear to him. He had to get over these idle pains, for he was blessed with still breathing. He was still there, and that meant he could prepare for next time. He had more time left to prepare… really, she was too good for him, sometimes.

“Y-Yeah, obviously, she’d make a killing out there! I bet Rukongai has nothing to worry about… still, must be confusing. She doesn’t… like… the Gotei. The more I think about it, why’d she even bother teaching me anything? If she threw me back to the Gotei in a cage, she had every reason to… n-not that I did anything weird to deserve that or anything.”

Yeah, it was a little… suspicious. At first, Ranma just chalked it up to his natural charm with making new friends, but that was just his inner child boasting about. Snuggles, too, cocked his head to the side in confusion. “But she’s good with Kidō, like, really, really good with Kidō. If I was as good with Hadō or Bakudō as her, I would’ve drawn circles around that bitch Arrancunt…”

Ranma felt his hands recover skin again. One of his hands rose up to cup Erica’s head, then pull her closer to him so she could rest on his chest. “I… wanted you to meet her. Something tells me you’ll learn much more from her than I can. She makes good tea, too.”

If Erica trained under her… and sucked in her knowledge like the Kidō sponge she was… she’d definitely become a fucking legend. He crooked a goofy smile at the thought.

“It’s not all that rare for Shinigami to become disillusioned with the Gotei.” Erica replied after some thought. “My mum is the perfect example of that. She didn’t want to deal with all the politics and aggravation so she just left. I don’t know what she was like when she was in the Gotei but I’ve rarely ever seen her without a smile. She knows that she can do more good for people outside the organisation and that maybe your teacher feels the same way. We all have to follow our own part, after all.”

“From what you told me about her, it sounds as though she teaches because she enjoys it more than anything. Kido is such an enjoyable art to learn and I get more than most the fun that comes from tinkering with it. The academy can only teach the basics after all and sooner or later, we have to experiment to get any better, right? Perhaps that’s why she doesn’t teach there.” She went on, continuing to heal him as she spoke.

“The thought of learning from someone new is always enjoyable although I admit the last person I asked for training turned me down.” The healer added after a moment thinking back. “Her name is Hannah and she refused to teach me because she said my path wasn’t one which would include much combat. I couldn’t argue with her to be honest as that was before I got over my fears.”

”… Ah, ‘right, ‘right,” Ranma replied softly. Yeah, after a little bit of cognitive thought, Erica knew what her path was, and she stuck to it with all her might in an attempt to help those around her the best way she could. Who was he to drag her away from her call?

Then again… was that really the reason why he suggested she meet Hinamori-sensei? “… She… seemed a bit lonely,” Ranma expressed with squinting eyes, Erica’s warmth melting his chest, “I-I don’t know, I just thought… she seemed a bit sad. She had training dummies of people she knew outside. Not exactly a normal thing – I mean, for a prank, I’d understand, but…”

… He remembered some of her words.

Make sure you’re prepared if you do come across him, as he did love to use his Bankai in every confrontation, even if it’s not warranted. He always believed himself to be the hero of any battle, despite the fact that nine times out of his ten, he ended up taking a beating, I doubt very much that he’s changed since then.

She was reminiscing the past in a strange way. It sounded like a jesting remembrance at first, but… maybe she missed some old friends, or maybe she was a bit lonely. That, combined with the target dummies and their resemblances to people she must’ve personally known… it made him a bit wary.

“I don’t know… but I’d like to get a bit out of the norm. Y’know, make something new with my Kidō. After all, you can’t learn everything at the Gotei.” Ranma was clearly struggling to voice his thoughts, as stormy as they were in his skull, but he tried his best to be coherent to his love. He even quoted Hinamori-sensei herself. He wanted to truly stand by what he learned from Hinamori-sensei…

His creative capability was the defining factor in developing his skill with manipulating the demonic arts. And… he kinda wanted to learn about Hinamori-sensei’s time in the Gotei, if possible. Mainly ‘cause he slept through a few history classes himself.

"How's your mum doing? Is she safe?"

“Sounds like her time in the Gotei must have been rough then if she’d go to the trouble of making training dummies of them.” Erica replied with a sigh. “I don’t know anything about her besides what you’ve told me but considering how tough our job is, I’m not surprised that her experiences might have deeply hurt her. All we have to do is look around us now to see just how horrible being a Shinigami can be sometimes and it probably is too much for some.”

As he moved on to speak about his desire to work on his Kido, Erica managed to summon another smile, pleased that he was so eager to work on the art. “No you can’t and I reckon all masters eventually turn away from the norm and create their own spells. It’s something that I certainly hope to be able to do one day and I don’t see why you couldn’t either. You’re improving all the time.”

Getting into the groove of healing, her eyes seeming to gain a bright hue, she’d move on from his hands to the other parts of his body that had been struck, putting her all into healing him. “My mother is as stubborn as ever and while I haven’t heard from her yet, I’ve no doubt that she defended our home with little trouble. She’s tough.”