Thank You [Erica, Ranma]

So many wild things, and yet this was what it’d all been for. Every slash swung, every step he’d taken, he’d always just wanted to be like this – under his love’s pink hues, submerged in her aroma. She did bring up a strange point – the Gotei, as imposing and influential as its name was, wasn’t all of their lives. There was more that they could focus on…

Ranma’s loyalty was with the Gotei United. He’d understood that when talking with Masamune… but things were brittle. Should things change drastically again, he might need to go somewhere else… and he was glad that Erica would follow him. But it meant he’d have to take responsibility. That’s what any partner worth it would do.

“Thanks… I’d like to aid Masamune and the Gotei United. From the look of things, it isn’t gone just yet, and if… if they return, you can work like normal again,” he revealed, “I don’t belong anywhere else other than by your side… but I also really love the 8th Division. Not being unfaithful to you or anything!”

Dummy… it was good that she quickly silenced him with her lips. She knew him well. His hand rose up to rest on the back of her head, beckoning her closer to deepen the kiss. “… Your Zanpakutō should be proud. So much happening, and you’re still smiling strongly.”

Gossiping… maaaaaaaaan, what was she gossiping about? Was it about him?! Wait, what did she say to her Zanpakutō about him?! He was very curious now – if only he could, like, enter her Inner World and eavesdrop or something…

“The time will come… but with the sweet smell and all, ya might be closer than you think,” Ranma reassured her with a grin, “Can’t wait to see what it’ll do… maybe it’ll throw fire like Hinamori-sensei’s, or maybe it’ll be able to heal any injury… that’d be so busted… or maybe it could do something crazy different, like melt skin! Or, uh… manipulate bones, or something…” The possibilities were endless.

Erica was adamant in her path. Healing and treating injured people, her sole reason for joining the Gotei to begin with… her dream job was here. He’d make sure that the Gotei would prevail. All for her, his greatest lov- Snuggles?! “Oh, look what the cat brought… in… itself,” he joked, stroking Snuggles’ back and feeling his bones vibrate from Snuggles’ purring, “Y’know, Snuggles, one of these days, I’ll make ya a big brother, okay? Until then, enjoy your only child privileges, you little tombrat.”

Scent… huh. A flower-type Zanpakutō, and all the pollen her sword released. Wait… was it some sort of anesthetic? Imagine if she could make people fall asleep with it? Cause Hollows or Shinigami to just drop to the floor in slumbers. Damn… or help with surgeries, so people could sleep through the entire ordeal. “Magical pollen… daaaaaaaaaaaaamn, maybe it could even summon catnip! Snuggles would love that,” he joked, mixed with genuine interest in her Zanpakutō’s innate power.

Anyway… huh? Ginger mon- oh, Snuggles… wait, that wasn’t what he meant. But Erica’s enthusiasm for felines was way too strong to ignore, but at the same time, he meant something very diff- oh, forget it… seeing her light up like that drove him to giggle his way into a laughter. He quickly tried to cough it away, he didn’t mean to poke fun at her for misunderstanding or anything.

“He… he’s not a talker, but he’s a good listener,” Ranma explained concerning his own Zanpakutō, “Hōkamaru just… really doesn’t like to talk. At all. But every time I’m in the Inner World, I feel a connection with him. Guess words mean little when we’re this close.” He raised his joined index and middle finger up in the air to resemble how tight he and Hōkamaru were.

“Of course, I can’t read your thoughts – at least, not all the time – so I’d appreciate if we still talked with our mouths. Don’t be jealous – Hōkamaru’s basically my other half, at this point…” He’d punctuate that by gently booping her nose to let her know that he was still being silly.

Combat scent?! But she didn’t even like combat… but the anesthetic pollen stuff could actually be perfect! That way, she’d just make every opponent fall asleep and win the fight by default – powerful. Truly powerful! He sensed such deep potential within her Zanpakutō, it would definitely save his skin one of these days.

But pollen spores… that sounded a bit on the more painful side. Like, imagine she could summon hay fever?! Just throw her enemies into a fit of sneezing! Ewwwwwwwwwwwww, that was nasty… useful, but nasty work indeed.

She did make a good point that Ranma hadn’t caught up on. His Zanpakutō was the polar opposite of hers – her Zanpakutō was talkative but with no name, and his had a known name but didn’t chirp a word… which was strange. The one who actually liked talking with its wielder should’ve given her its name way before his! Some stuff about their soul-slaying swords just didn’t make sense, sometimes… perhaps, that was part of the mystery about Zanpakutōs. “Oh, man… that’s… a good perspective. Maybe Hōkamaru’s just too shy to express his own opinions and all,” Ranma pondered out loud, “Well, he's my Zanpakutō. I should know what’s on his mind.”

I mean, he still couldn’t read Erica’s mind, but she was being silly now. “Oh, really? Bet. What am I thinking about right now, then?”

He wasn’t shy…

…

But he was now, especially since she just called him out on his own thoughts. Dangit, she knows me way too well! Not fair…

“… I mean-“ Ranma tried to argue for his own case, his face reddening a bit. It was getting obvious as to what exactly he was thinking about out of the three options she mentioned. “… It’s not faaaaaaaair, Snuggles! She can read me like an open book…” The poor boy rocked his body from side to side on her lap, hugging poor Snuggles tightly to his chest as the feline purred in utter confusion.

“Damn it, you know I’m obsessed with you…”