It was the apology that struck him the most.Ā It wasnāt something that he got all that often.Ā although, to be fair, the young woman before him didnāt seem all that used to saying such things⦠or with dealing with people at all for that matter. ⦠Hanataro didnāt see her out and about, dealing with people, aside from SWA meetings⦠he often found himself wondering if she had many friends, just a small curious thought that would surface at odd times like this.
He knew he shouldnāt be thinking about such things, especially right now.Ā Ā He had a job to do.Ā At the very least, she seemed to have calmed down, and he moved to get her that glass of water, filling back up to replace the small amount that he had spilled before.Ā Ā āOh, Y-Yes, of course,ā he assured the woman as he gently helped to raise her head, and brought the glass to her lips with aĀ practiced efficiency.Ā Ā Hanataro may be clumsy and socially awkward and not much use in a fight⦠but when in came to healing, to caring for the injured?Ā There werenāt too many better than him.
āUm,Ā A-About your c-captain, Captain Unohana s-said sheād take care of i-informing him,ā he explained, very relieved by that information himself.Ā Ā The Captain of the Twelfth Division was terrifying, and Hanataro knew he wasnāt alone in that way of thinking.Ā Yet he knew Captain Unohana could handle him.Ā For some strange reasons, even the difficult minded captains didnāt argue with the Fourth Division leader all that often.Ā Hanataro had no idea why, but at least she would make sure Mayuri didnāt interfere with this situation⦠for now at least.Ā Ā āI-Itā¦ā he began, noting the distress in her eyes, he wanted to reassure her that everything would be fine.Ā Yet he hesitated, not sure if he could follow through on that, for any number of reasons⦠yet, it was that same fear on her face that made him speak back up,Ā āItāll be fine, you donāt need to worry a-about anything but getting better⦠o-Okay?ā he offered with a small, kind smile.
Ah... So their captain herself had to go through all the trouble to deliver the news, huh...
To a degree, the brand new information managed to provide the much-needed relief to soften her visage. Unohana-taichou... Delicate she might seem, even the lieutenant knew for a fact that the graceful lady was among the short number of people whose words her master would actually put into consideration, no matter how unwillingly. She still had her concerns, for sureāif he was going to take it well, what sort of chastening awaited her when all of this was over and done... Not that the thought scared her, no... It was never about her, to begin with; it was always about Mayuriāhow the experimental-borne would hate to become a source of disappointment to him, the man she devoted her entire existence to.
But at least for the time being, the healer was right: she couldāno, she shouldĀ deal with those worries later; it wasnāt like they were going to leave her mind soon, anyway... And stressing over it now would only do more harm than good to her healing processāwhich in turn, would mean a longer, not necessarily desired, stay in this room she desperately wished to escape from.
Finally feeling the courage to look at him in the eye, the sense of warmth his gentle smile sent to her heart was inevitable. She was almost caught off guard, at firstāalthough quickly retaliated through her own version to mirror the kind gesture, followed with a faint nod.
āOkay,ā crimson-stained, rose-colored lips parted, allowing her feminine, silky voice to slip past the aperture. This was something she had barely ever experienced beforeāpeople taking care of her, patiently offering comfort as her body underwent recovery. Through the many decades she had continued to thrive, Mayuri was the only person to ever lay their hand on her whenever she got injured and his methods were...not always the most pleasant, as bearable as they could be to his creation.
Though... Now that she thinks about it... Is it just this guy in particularĀ or does everyone in the 4th always practice such benevolence?
Then again, shouldnāt it be required of them to show hospitality to those under their responsibility? After all, they certainly had a different set of rules in their approach to their...āsubjectsā compared to her own squad, given the complete-180 nature of their respective purposes in administering their treatment. Not only that, their leadersā rather strong opinion on each other was also a determining factor that prevented her from satisfying her curiosity regarding how the infirmary was truly run, despite her extensive knowledge of their membersā personal stats.
But the emerging interest was quickly cut short as emerald hues caught a glimpse of blood that seeped through the bandage on her side; replaced by a sudden apprehensionāone that had failed to trigger due to her frantic wave of distress earlier.
āUhm... Yamada Hanataro, isnāt it?ā Ah yes, his nameāof course she knew it, when even the sequences of his genes was engraved in her cingulate cortex, as requested by her creator.Ā āMy wounds... Did you tend to them yourself? Are you...feeling anything out of the ordinary? Because my blood... Itās different.ā
A pause. There was a hesitation, as if the mention of her circumstances brought an unexpected hint of shame; a bitter taste at the tip of her tounge.
āMayuri-sama... The things he did to his bloodāour blood... I can only hope theyāre not doing any harm to you or anyone else who touched it.ā
He did it to protect them, she knew; the poison he embedded in the very fluid running in their system, that isāand she wasnāt mad about that, just...found it hard to admit to strangers. People judged him enough as it was; and while they never seemed to faze him in the slightest bit, hearing their words sometimes...hurt? Even though she couldnāt really begin to explain why exactly it made her feel that way. And the boy, tooāputting aside the fact that he had been anything but gentle to her, he was still an outsider; one who had never got the chance to see her fatherĀ for who he really was...