Blood in the Rain [Mizu/Kyo]

Having forced that burning Arrancar to retreat, her own exhaustion preventing her from following through on killing him like she wanted, Mizu Flash Stepped as quickly as she could in the direction of a familiar Reiatsu. Or, rather, where that Reiatsu had last been; as far as she could tell its owner was either unconscious...or worse. As she ran, all sense of self-preservation was gone from her mind, the bleeding wounds and scorch marks on her left arm of no consequence to the single-minded woman.

Eventually Mizu reached her destination, and was greeted by a scene of destruction, though that didn't make what her golden eyes took in stand out against the backdrop of a crumbling Seireitei. What stood out was the rent bodies of Shinigami, one whom she recognized and one she didn't.

Kyo!

As much as she wanted to focus only on her love, Mizu knew she couldn't just abandon the bloodied woman passed out nearby. She ran over to Rei's fallen body, picked her up, then Flash Stepped over to Ryo and set her down a foot and a half away so that they lay parallel to each other. Mizu then fell to her knees and placed one hand over each of their most serious wounds, with special attention focused on Kyo's shoulder where his arm used to be. A green light erupted from Mizu's palms, bathing their bodies in the most powerful Kaidō she could muster.

A light rain, no doubt a consequence of all the explosions that had riddled Seireitei, began falling, beginning to wash away the blood that had pooled around them. Mizu shut her eyes tight, desperately trying to keep herself together. She could barely sense anything from Kyo, little more than wisps of Reiatsu that could just as easily be remnants from the earlier battle. But she couldn't give up. Even as tears uncontrollably fell from her cheeks, she did not give up.

"Please..."

When consciousness met Kyo again, it was not something peaceful. He did not rouse gently, his eyes opening in fairly short order and his teeth gritting as if he were still in the heat of battle. His body was still tensed. He was still ready to fight, even now that the battle was over, and it was only after a few moments that he realized the situation. If Mizu was here, then surely things were nearly over. It was quieter now, at least, but that hardly brought him any peace.

"Is Hara alright?"

Even speaking was exhausting, but Kyo wasn't concerned with himself. He knew he had failed if he was in this state, but if nothing else, he needed to know that he had not let his subordinate die from his own failing, too.

The second Kyo stirred beside her, Mizu turned her puffy, crying eyes toward his face. She wasn't sobbing, despite everything that had happened, and even with tears streaming down her cheeks, Mizu remained in control of herself and was determined to save both the people in her care. Still, hearing his voice again after seeing his bloodied, mangled body nearly sent her spiraling.

Upon being asked about a 'Hara', who Mizu figured must be the other fallen Shinigami, Mizu turned toward the woman and focused on the task at hand. A glowing sphere formed at the back of the hand hovering above Rei's injuries and showed a series of symbols that Mizu, an experienced healer, was able to interpret and understand. A sigh escaped her lips before Mizu turned back to Kyo and answered his question. "She'll live, Kyo. Still unconscious, but she'll live."

With her fighting over with, and her patients stable, Mizu was suddenly struck by the full force of her exhaustion. Using multiple spells in the 90s, releasing her Bankai, sprinting across the Rukongai and Seireitei, and now performing emergency first aid, Mizu felt more drained than she could ever remember being. Though her hands never left their places above Kyo and Rei, Mizu slumped over and gently rested her head on the former's chest, just wanting to feel him against her skin again.

"I...I thought you died, Kyo..."

"That's good."

Knowing that the subordinate who had trusted in him was alright meant that Kyo could think more on his own circumstances now, on the woman that was ensuring his survival at present, and who was resting upon him. Admittedly, that wasn't the most comfortable experience in the world given his state, but he wasn't going to tell her to stop. It was reassuring, that she was here.

"I was ready to, if it came to that. I'm glad I didn't."

Of course, he'd still paid for his effort to protect Soul Society. It hadn't gone near as well as he wanted it to. But being alive was at least enough for now. It meant he could help in the aftermath.

Dragging herself back to sitting up straight, Mizu fully took in the state of Kyo's injuries. She knew he was missing an arm, and wasn't sure even she could do anything about that with Kaidō despite her breadth of knowledge and experience with the art. As she scanned his body, it wasn't pity on her face though there was no shortage of sympathy. Others may have lost their limbs as well, or even their lives, but this was Kyo. Her Kyo. Mizu couldn't help feeling this way.

"First the hospital bombing and now...this. Why can't we just do our duty without such horrible, horrible things happening to our home...?" Using her shoulder Mizu wiped away tears and rain drops alike from her face before continuing. "I'm sure our families are alright, at least. They have to be." Hope was in her voice, but the cold fingers of doubt clawed at the back of Mizu's mind.

"I'm sure they are."

Kyo hadn't given quite as much thought to the 'why' of all this. In fact, it wasn't the sort of thing he thought much about at all. He knew that there were always going to be those that were opposed to the Gotei, to the Seireitei, and whatever else might be in the Soul Society. He didn't exactly anticipate these sorts of battles, to be certain, but in the back of his mind this sort of hostility was always a possibility.

"I imagine the recovery efforts will be a long process. We'll probably both be busy for a while."

It was unavoidable, he reasoned, but it wasn't particularly the end of the world. He and Mizu had already been dutiful people, and it wasn't as if being busy would put some divide between them. It was just an observation, the sort Kyo could only make when still recovering from the shock of the current grim reality.

Mizu agreed with Kyo, she knew, especially as a Vice Captain, she would be very busy in the coming days, even more than in the aftermath of the hospital bombing. She acknowledged her agreement with a silent head nod. Looking across the bodies of her two patients, Mizu took stock of the progress of their treatment which appeared to be going well.

Exhausted and satisfied with Kyo and Rei's recovery so far, the green energy disappeared from around her hands as she stopped applying Kaidō to them. Mizu took the opportunity to lay on her back on the ground, ready to pass out...though not before conjuring a translucent gold Kidō barrier which would prevent entrance from outside while allowing any of the three to leave without issue. She laid there, waiting for sleep to take her.