The Beginning of "Hopeless" [Bambietta, Alastor]

One might have thought it wise for someone of weak constitution to keep from overworking, but Bambietta knew that she, of all people, had no right to take any breaks. She'd already failed to do anything to stop what had happened in Soul Society; she'd been unable to stop Urahara from getting away, despite all her best efforts. As she walked at a relatively brisk pace toward the next room in her rounds, she couldn't help but frown just a touch, her steps slowing down to something more typical of her.

It seemed she was going to have to confront this now, then. With a sigh, there was little else Bambietta could do but brace herself, knocking on the door to Alastor's room before entering, her eyes moving briefly over his injuries before looking toward his face.

"How are you holding up, Alastor?"

She could have asked if he was doing alright, if he was feeling okay after the battle, but Bambietta was hardly that stupid. She knew he must have been doing poorly right now, with everything that had happened. The place was in shambles, he'd been made a mess of, and the Captain Commander...

A thought crossed Bambietta's mind briefly as she considered that, a thought so deplorable that she might have scowled if she were alone. She would need to double down on helping the 3rd's acting captain.

"Where is she?"

He recognised where he was and the state that he was in. They hadn't been able to do much about the arm but the fiery temper still blazed like he was in the heat of battle despite the wounds that covered his body that ranged from broken bones, lacerations, and burns. He hoped that little girl was alright after she'd put herself at risk to try and help him. He had to wonder though if she only got in the way at the end with how hard it was to go all out with her in mind.

Regardless of all that, the moment that a familiar face was present he had only one thing he wanted the answer to. Where was Murasaki? What happened to her. He could only hope that she fared better than the Soul Society had but he hadn't sensed her once on the battlefield. Nothing felt right about that.

That question was exactly what she'd expected. What else would he even ask, after all? He wasn't the sort of guy who'd be worried about himself when that needed answering. Still, Bambietta couldn't help but look away with guilt on her face, the thought of how close she'd been still fresh in her mind. There wasn't anything she could have done, she knew that. But maybe she just hadn't tried hard enough. If she'd been willing to throw it all away, would things be different? Would the people who'd given her so much be in a better place?

Probably not. But she still wondered.

"The acting captain of the 3rd and I have been working to find her. She was trapped in the Dangai by Urahara, but we don't know what means he used to keep her there, or where specifically she is. The Sweeper shouldn't have come through there, so that wouldn't have hit her, at the very least."

Even if she felt abysmal, Bambietta wanted to try and project confidence in her own knowledge of the situation. How she felt wasn't worth much right now, after all.

He grimaced as he pushed himself up. How was the Sweeper not hitting her any consolation right now. He wanted to help her and that made him try to push himself out of bed to stand. If anything she had only introduced a deadline for the whole situation to save her didn't she?

"Then we have to hurry."

Alastor said without any idea as to how he was going to help in this process. He wasn't a smart guy or anything. All this stuff was over his head but he didn't want to sit there doing nothing.

"Alastor, hold on."

Bambietta couldn't be much more forceful than telling him to be careful, though. There were plenty of reasons for that, not the least of which was that she understood entirely why he was in such a rush. Who wouldn't be? But at the very least, she wanted him to recover enough to be fully helpful.

"You're still missing a hand, and you're not in any shape to be pushing yourself like we need in the 3rd right now. If you want to help, then okay. I'll do what I can to get you back there. But you have to recover first. We can't afford to have anything go less than perfect right now."

Maybe that wasn't what he wanted to hear, but it was what he needed to hear right now.

She was trying to be too reasonable but he was not a rational man right now and her attempts to sway him were only met with resistance. So what if he had one hand? He didn't want to just sit here and wait for her to be gone forever.

"No, take me there now, give me anything to do Bambietta."

He tried to grab her with his hand so that it might be conveyed better but there was nothing to hold onto her with. He didn't care about that though, surely he could do something or anything at all that could bring her back?

Pursing her lips, Bambietta almost told him to shut up, to stop pushing himself and let his injuries get better. But that would've been insanely hypocritical of her, wouldn't it have? Besides, she admired that so much about him. Alastor had always been someone more respectable than she was, and this wasn't any different. With a sigh of resignation, Bambietta held out a hand for him.

"Alright. I'll try and reattach your hand when we get there. I know kido isn't really your specialty, and it's not like the dangai is even much of a kido thing in the first place, so I'll need you to be on your feet. Even with all your injuries, you're probably still faster at getting around than I am. I'll need a good set of arms and legs."

Hers were still hardly much of anything, after all. She knew she could trust Alastor, even if she couldn't trust many other people right now. He was her best friend, after all.

He was glad that she gave in so easy, it made it easier for him even though he was short-sighted and didn't really know what he could do to help. At least he was trying to do something though, right? That was all he could hope to do right now in this situation.

"Okay. Let's go."

Despite the fact he was shaky on his feet, Alastor misunderstood her words in his weary and desperate state of mind. With his one good hand he tucked it under her thighs and lifted her up with ease so that she was sitting in his hand. It was a bit awkward and made him wobble but he was strong enough to hold another person with ease.

She did mean that he needed her to carry there because he was faster, right?

"Wait wait wait, you should at least let me do preliminary healing first..!"

But, it was too late now, she'd already been picked up. Bambietta didn't want to make him put her down, not when they were still in a rush. She simply set her hands on his shoulders, doing her best to further stabilize herself, and using the points of contact as ways to focus kaido onto Alastor's body. Sure, it wasn't ideal, but she could begin the healing process now.

"Alright. Let's get going, Alastor."

She might have enjoyed this little arrangement, in different circumstances. But how could she right now? Getting any pleasure out of it would have just meant she was sick in the head.