Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Sleeping with the Enemy ❯ Injury ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7: Injury

 

Nina awoke the following morning and quickly discovered that the injuries she'd sustained the previous day seemed to have gotten worse. The muscles of her acid-burned arm and her damaged leg were as tender as they were stiff, and they were bruised through and through. Nina slowly flexed her arm, hissing in pain as she slowly brought it into her body and then out. But her leg - now that was the injury that nearly brought tears to her eyes every time she moved it.

I hadn't expected it to grow worse overnight, she thought.

In the back of her mind, she knew she should probably report her injury to Division Four, but the problem was how she would do that without Captain Aizen or Lieutenant Hinamori finding out. She had no intention of bothering them with something so trivial, and she assumed that the injuries were only sore because they were healing. She sat on the floor of her room to clean her wounds, apply new herbs, and wrap the spots in fresh bandages. She decided that if the pain continued to antagonize her, then she would simply bite the bullet and seek attention from Division Four.

Nina managed to loosen her muscles enough in her apartment to walk somewhat normally, and she swung Kiyohime a few times to regain use in her arm for the day before setting off to the division training grounds to meet with her division. Nina knew for sure that she'd be a little slow on her reaction, but if she could just pass it off as simple muscle tension from her encounter with the Hollow yesterday.

The others were warming up as she arrived on the expanse, and to her slight dismay, Aizen would be overseeing the training session today so that Hinamori could join in and help those who were struggling. Nina stretched and swung a scabbard-clad Kiyohime around. She glanced over at Aizen, and at the moment, he didn't seem to notice anything on her part.

Maybe I can pull this off and go see Division Four on my own… she thought as she paired up with Keitaro.

 

 

The division members were dismissed from their training session for the day, and Nina started out with the others. Nina managed to get through the training, but even the slightest hit from her partner shot searing pain through her body, and she couldn't help but wince even a little. As Nina passed through the door of the training compound, she hoped that she'd be able to leave unnoticed.

"Seito-kun," called Captain Aizen in his kind, soft tone. “May I have a word with you please?”

He smiled at her kindly, and Nina paused with a slight cringe. Somehow the way he'd said that statement made chills run down her spine, and nervous butterflies began flitting in her stomach. Slowly she turned around and faced her captain. "Yes, Captain?"

"You should have been able to react to most of the attacks thrown at you with speed, yet you were off by a few seconds each time getting slower. Is something…wrong?"

"N-no," she responded. "I'm sure Hinamori told you about my encounter with the Hollow yesterday. I'm just rather sore is all."

"I can't help but wonder if you're much sorer than you anticipated, Seito-kun."

"It's nothing serious enough to concern yourself with, Captain," Nina responded, wishing that he would just let her leave. “I will be fine.”

"You can hardly stand, Seito-kun. Why should I not be concerned when one of my members is injured?”

"I'll be fine," Nina assured him. "It's just...that scrap was a little harder on me than I expected. I don't wish to trouble you."

"It's no trouble for me rather to the rest of your squad. A wounded member is no use on the battlefield. Then that becomes trouble," Sousuke said as he stared at Nina.

"If you're ordering me in a roundabout way to go to Division Four for treatment, I will comply," she said, meeting his stare equally. “I had intention of doing so anyway.”

"No, there's no need to make them work more than they already do," he replied in a calm tone. "I can treat your wounds just the same."

Nina's face suddenly pinkened. "I...uh...Captain...I can simply go next door..." She shuffled and dropped her gaze to the ground. "Truthfully, it really looks bad, and the whole thing is embarrassing to say the least."

"How so?" Aizen questioned. "It's just a simple kidou spell that's all, though it would be best if you had some support on your leg.”

"It just is," Nina told him honestly. "I'm not...I'm not used to seeking help from anyone."

"That's a strange way to think. People eventually need help from one another," he said as he began to walk across the grassy plain. Glancing at a large shady tree, he turned around and gestured Nina to follow. "Sit.”

Nina complied and looked up at him. “What will you do, Captain?”

Sousuke merely nodded, smiled, and took her hand gently. Slowly he extended her arm, trying not to hurt her. He raised his free hand over her arm and a light purple glow radiated from it. “You'll see soon enough. Just try to hold still, and I'll do the rest.”

Nina blinked as she felt the sting from the acid burn drain from the area, and a gentle, caressing feeling rushed over the affected flesh. She lifted her light blue eyes to her captain's, silently observing the concentration written on his features and held within his focused dark brown eyes.

"Is that better, Seito-kun?" he suddenly asked, his gaze matching her own.

She blushed. "Um...y-yes. It's much better, Captain. Thank you."

Aizen noded again, then looked down at her legs. The left leg appeared to be stiff and sore seeing as the girl hadn't moved it at all while he healed her arm.

"May I?" he asked for Nina's permission to even get closer to her.

Nina swallowed. "Y-yes...of course." She adjusted herself and tried to scoot a little closer to Aizen.

Extending his arm again, the captain placed his hand on her right leg first not bothering to lift her hakama as he assumed that it would be awkward on her part and inappropriate on his. The same purple light slowly healed and made the bruises that he wasn't seeing vanish.

Nina sat quietly on the grass and let Captain Aizen attend to her injuries. She folded her hands in her lap and chewed on her lower lip as the same sensation she'd felt on her arm caressed her leg and soothed away the bruising and the gashes. She ventured to lift her eyes to him again to study his gentle face. She swallowed and looked down quickly, knowing that having the thoughts she was having could get her into some hot water. She chewed her lip and waited for Aizen to finish.

Instead of taking his time as he would have liked, Aizen finished treating her quickly. Removing his hand from her now healed left leg, his eyes met Nina's again. "I believe you should be back to normal now." He paused and continued to stare at her with warm brown eyes.

Nina couldn't stop the small smile from crossing her fair features. "Um...th-thank you. I'm sorry to have been a bother." She reluctantly pulled her gaze away from him and stared down at her lap. "I should have been truthful from the start, and for that I apologize. As I said, I'm not used to asking for help."

“You were not a bother at all, and please don't hesitate to ask for help. It's what I am here for,” Aizen simply responded.

Nina nodded. "I suppose so." She paused for a moment. "I should let you attend to your own duties now. I have to be on duty at the library this afternoon." She pulled in her legs, relieved by the flexibility and began to get up.

Sousuke glanced up at her, smiled, and got up himself. "Very well, Seito-kun. Please take care."

Aizen watched Nina leave, and he couldn't keep himself from studying her as she passed through the gates and out of his sight. He found himself unable to stop thinking about the clarity of her eyes. Nina's eyes, he noticed from that innocent glance into them, were an eerie yet hypnotic pale blue, like that of a robin's egg. Her pale eyes suited her pale skin, yet they contrasted strongly with her raven black hair. Nina's quiet, unassuming personality only added to her mysterious beauty, and Sousuke could tell that unless he treaded these waters carefully, he could be in a whole lot of trouble.

He realized in those moments with Nina that he was becoming attracted to her, and he found himself wanting to learn more about this confounding girl. She spoke to him softly and respectfully, yet never offered much insight into her own world or her heart. Aizen found himself suddenly wanting to know her, but how could he do that? She was supposed to be nothing more than a plaything to him, yet he was feeling things - and he wasn't sure if he liked that much.

Sousuke clasped his hands behind his back and started toward his office. Manipulating Hinamori was one thing, but Nina was going to be something entirely different. She seemed far stronger willed than he had anticipated, and he was beginning to realize that unlike Hinamori, Nina was not the type to blindly eat out of his hand like a trusting baby bird. No, she seemed far too independent for that. Now he was afraid that his attraction toward her could get in the way if he allowed it to get out of control. But there was still plenty of time to suppress that.

 

 

Nina sat at the central desk reading her book when a set of volumes were plopped down before her. She looked up to see that Yumichika was leaning against the wood smirking at her, and she allowed for a subdued smile.

“Hello, Ayasegawa-san.”

“I found some books that got mixed in with mine,” he told her. “Really, I don't know who works the evening shift on Wednesdays, but I wish they'd pull their head out of their ass!”

Nina laughed. “I'll leave a note to watch where they file returned books. That is quite a few to get mixed up.”

“Well a few I can understand, but this is an everyday thing!” he complained.

“I'll do my best to take care of it, Ayasegawa-san,” she responded, taking the volumes and putting them on the proper cart. “I wonder if perhaps the night worker is placing them on the wrong cart.”

“Hnn…perhaps,” he said. The he smiled. “Hey, I heard that you took down a Hollow by yourself the other day. Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

Nina shook her head. “I'm fine. Thank you. And I did sustain a few injuries but it was nothing serious.” She paused. “How did you hear about that anyway?”

“Ikkaku and I do have friends in Division Five. Gossip travels quickly in Seretei, in case you hadn't noticed.”

“Apparently so,” Nina agreed.

“Now Ikkaku's hot to train with you.”

Nina made a face. “I cannot see why. It was only a low-level Hollow.”

Yumichika flashed a smile and fluffed his hair. “Well if you're not too busy this week, I'll take you over to my division and the three of us will practice together.”

Nina nodded. “That sounds fine.” Then she smirked amusedly. “If you two can handle me.”

“Oh, let's not get a big head now!”

Nina laughed. “I assure you that I'm not. I was simply joking.”

Yumichika paused a long moment. “Are you busy tonight? Like…after you get done here?”

“N-no, not really,” Nina said, shaking her head.

“Well…” he rubbed the back of his head. “Ikkaku and I were supposed to go out and eat like we usually do, but Captain Zaraki sent him down to Earth on some kind of short mission, so…”

Nina smiled. “I'd be glad to keep you company, Ayasegawa-san.”

Yumichika blushed unexpectedly and rubbed the back of his head. “Great! I was hoping you would agree. And…one other thing…”

“Yes?”

“You don't have to be so formal with me, Seito-san. You can call me by my first name if you want.”

She nodded. “Only if you insist.”

“I do.”

“Then I will call you Yumichika-san, and since we are apparently now on a first name basis, then perhaps I should ask you to do the same when addressing me.”

He smirked. “I think I can handle that.”