Golden Hour [Erika, Open to 1]

No sooner had she resolved the immediate business with Shishiyuki and the few visitors that were quick to seek her out. Erika had arrived at the location where she intended to spend the majority of her now free time with the conclusion of her responsibilities as acting captain-commander. Even if she had no obligation to demand she be here and assist in healing the injured shinigami, they were all shinigami that were once loyal to Murasaki and still may be.

She would not abandon that and so she quietly fell into rhythm with the flow of those that remained to assist the former captain of the second division in the task. Erika condemned the men who spent all that time deciding who they wanted in charge as using that time in a way which didn't show any commitment to the shinigami they wanted to command. Now that she had been liberated from the shackles of leadership she could prioritise them - anything less would make her a hypocrite.

Her eyes had dark rings under them from her exertion but she stayed focus and willed herself to keep working regardless of the red stains on her hands from attending injuries and trying to perform kaido to put her reserves of reiryoku to some good use.

Ranma wasn’t good at Kaidō. Ranma wasn’t that good at Kaidō, more like, despite his usual expertise in Bakudō and even Hadō. Even Hinamori-sensei noted that he probably just had to stick to his talents and focus on them, but right now, many of the 8th were injured and in need of aid – despite the whole… dissolution of the Gotei, Ranma’s bond with the 8th was as intact as ever before. As their former Seated officer, he couldn’t leave their side… so it was actually kind of relieving that they were all here, though under less than ideal circumstances.

Their barracks had taken heavy damage. Noharu got miner’s lung times shit cancer, but she was on the way to fix some of that – what a trooper. Captain Rose- he was still in a coma? Who the fuck did he fight to receive such heavy damage? It couldn’t have been anyone like that rope-ring rimjob shitstain Arrancar who bailed on him and Komugi as if it was all just a children’s game- good fucking lord, if only he’d managed to cut a little deeper into her hip…

But alas, after how many times he’d been treated here from injuries either self-caused or from reckless encounters, Ranma had picked up a bit of Kaidō, so now that there were no invading forces and a bunch of injured allies, this was what he genuinely thought he needed to do right now. Even though he wasn’t a 2nd member, he was still part of the jack-of-all-trades squad that he loved so much, so it wasn’t like he felt out of place. Who felt out of place, however? The fuckin’ Second-In-Command who looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks!

“Lemme help, Vice-Cap,” Ranma commented while kneeling down to help stabilize Erika’s current patient. Yeah, he called her Vice-Cap. Who cared? He cared. But who else cared? “…” Oh, wait, he’d learned from his encounter with Captain Nagoshi- he couldn’t risk another earful. Even though it wouldn't matter anymore, it still mattered to him. Was it mainly PTSD from Nagoshi? Yes, absolutely.

“13th Seat, Gekiretsu Ranma, from the 8th… well, the previous 8th… n-no, the remaining 8th…”

"It's just Masamune, Gekiretsu."

She didn't want to hear that title anymore. She wasn't the vice-captain that was acting captain-commander. She represented Murasaki's vision in a way that didn't require that organisation. There was no seniority between them anymore besides being two shinigami and two people assisting in the recovery efforts.

"Please hold him down."

Pain clouded the mind and she couldn't help someone who was in enough pain that they were thrashing around. It would just make their injuries worse.

”Oh… yes, right,” Ranma corrected himself. Of course, she dissolved the place, she probably didn’t care about the title anymore. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He’d slap himself if he could.

A simple demand, and he acted accordingly, holding the patient down as they were thrashing in pain. It was rough, but his girlfriend was used to this duty – hell, Erica was probably still working around here… funny that the two shared the same first name. He’d have to be careful with that.

But still, even throwing brief glances at her… she kinda looked dead inside. Obviously. And she looked like she couldn’t afford to rest – otherwise, those rings wouldn’t be there. Rings… fuck rings. “… I already miss her. Never even got to meet her,” he commented, “The 8th got to exist because of her, but… not so sure what we’re gonna do now. Ain’t really a fan of whatever’s gonna happen with that Kuchiki guy – he prolly won’t let the 8th remain as is.” Yeah, sure, there was something a bit… lighthearted? Yeah, lighthearted about the 8th and its morals, its values, which he pretty much grew up in as a fledgling Shinigami. Morals and values led through Captain Rose… and CC Murasaki made that possible. Ranma would never allow that lightheartedness to be a weakness, but…

With her gone, that, too, would cease to be. And frankly, it terrified him. "I take it napping isn't an option? You look messier than me."

She grimaced as Ranma brought up her. If she wasn't so focused on her task at hand she might've let her emotions out. Anger, frustration, misery. They didn't have a place right now but she found relief that Murasaki had impact on shinigami. Words like that reinforced her perspective that she was correct in her decision to return the choice to all shinigami rather than hand them over.

"I'm not going to rest while people that once served Murasaki are still dying, Gekiretsu."

She looked annoyed. Yeah, usually the first impressions he left on people, yeah… but he said his piece. It was hard to read Masamune’s thoughts, but her words did cast more light… if the nobles intended to take over, maybe what she did was right. Maybe it was too hasty, though. Maybe she was too impatient. Or maybe he didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about – yeah, that sounded most obvious to him.

“Once…” A very depressing word. Even while holding the patient, Ranma’s nails were tempted to dig into something, but he somehow kept himself in check. Things kept changing around him, far too fast for him to get a grip on anything. Like sliding down a slippery hill, constantly trying to grab onto the surface in vain, only falling faster and faster.

Erika…he was not that familiar with her game. Respect.

“Thanks…” Ranma breathed, “The boys appreciate the help. Can’t imagine what new Gotei there’ll even be without all of them fuckers.” He couldn’t underestimate those who once led the Gotei back when it was called Gotei 13. Ranma was a relatively young Shinigami – not even a century old yet – but shit sure had changed a LOT in these last 100 years. So uh… what now? Big question, boy. Big question.

“At this rate, who’ll even… support the new Commander? I swear, if shit hits the fan ‘cuz nobody’s left to follow ‘em, I’ll laugh my insides out.”

Ah, there he was, doing exactly what he warned himself not to do. Underestimating people. Howe fuckin' typical.

"Money will always draw people. Many shinigami also come from noble families themselves, whether lesser or greater so they will remain loyal or just as likely they will serve their specific family. Some I expect will go into the Rukongai and offer their services as rounin."

There was the other thing that crossed her mind as well. One that Ranma seemed to fall into.

"The other options are that people remain loyal to their captains like the people here that still follow Kuchiki Rukia despite not having no formal structure anymore. Murasaki's Gotei is not so fragile that my dissolution of it can make it die. If any shinigami that served her continues to act on those values faithfully and sincerely, the Gotei United never really died. The ones that don't were never loyal to her in the first place-- Tch."

Her thoughts were interrupted by the resistive patient's hand backhanding her chin which prompted her to grab his arm and place her knee on it to avoid any other incidents from the problematic hand.

Ah… fuck. Money. How could he forget that source of power and influence? The other reason made more sense to escape Ranma’s thought process – there were a lot of Shinigamis, and thus a lot of names that he often didn’t catch up on. Noble names were in that category too – he knew of the Kyorakus, the Shihōins, the Kuchikis, the Shibas, the Morikawas, the Koizumis, the- fuck, he was slipping.

Those who still followed their Captains in the absence of the Gotei United… yeah, he’d say he still followed Captain Rose’s example. According to Masamune, that meant the Gotei United hadn’t died yet – a single declaration of dissolution wouldn’t make it disappear. He, and many others, were active and tangible proof that Murasaki’s vision lived on beyond even the Gotei United’s total absence. It was gone in name and status, and yet here they all were.

Reckless and tenacious, undying.

“Consider me… and some of the 8th still under Captain Rose, even as he still sleeps,” Ranma spoke with certainty, “I’m not good with names, dunno how many in the 8th were serious about its direction, but… fundamentally, it doesn’t even sound like a division attracting snot-blood to begin with. More like a wild music band… yeah… if Murasaki’s Gotei still lives beyond a piece of paper, so does the 8th live beyond Captain Rose himself- n-not that he’s dying or anything, I won’t allow it! I’ll rip every hair off of his fuckin' body if he dies on us now!”

Ranma looked down and helped keep the patient still, thinking that maybe he’d been blabbering off again. For fuck’s sake…

That did sound like what she expected for the eighth division. She did remember Rose as being a very easygoing Captain of the Third Division after Yamamoto's death.

"He'll be fine. He's a tenacious man."

She said it so it would be so, she did not anyone that served Murasaki so faithfully to die. That was the kind of willpower she had, if she heard that he was declining then she would go there herself and force him to keep living against his will.

”That he is,” Ranma agreed. Hearing it from her made him calm down again. Captain Rose would make a recovery and join them again. Many of the 8th looked up to him, and still do – he just had that kinda vibe about him.

So yeah… stick to the 8th. Stick to the Gotei United. Fuck the dissolution, it was still there for him. Yeah, he could get behind that! He really could! Problem was, where the fuck was he supposed to go after all of this? The Senkaimon was in shambles, so income was at a halt… and even if it got fixed, there was the nobles and their attempt at reviving the Gotei into, what, the Gotei 14?

“H-Hey, hang in there, man! You’ll be alri- *BASH* y-you’ll be alright, man…” Ranma attempted to reassure the patient, for he sure was in a lot of pain that made the bandage-mouthed looney-gami grimace in sympathy. Somehow, that deserved him an entire arm slapping Ranma’s face, but the Shinigami quickly subdued that. He didn’t exactly know what else someone like Erica would say to their patients… probably talk about cats or aromas.

“Still gotta find a way to rebuild the barr- wait, can’t… b-but we could build a new barracks in the Rukong- wait, I’m broke…”

Why did his genius plan-maker mind just start fumbling now? “…” He started shaking a bit. Maybe he’d need to ask. “… A penny for your thoughts?” Yeah, probably a non-question, really, but he was getting a bit worn out of hearing his own voice.