Because I Wasn't Insane Enough Already

Chapter 5

Back to Tsuki! I don't have very much to say at this point, except that I've officially got two fans! I've been on wattpad for 24 hours at the time I wrote this, so that's not bad, is it? I don't know... By the way, I might not be updating as often on weekdays, because I've got school. Also, this fic is gonna be looong. Like, incredibly long. (Not like that, you perverts!) But, seriously, I've got something like thirty chapps ahead for our friends Storme and Tsukiko.  

(Again, credit goes to the wonderful Hannah-sama! *bows*) 

Enjoy!

~Emo-san

TSUKIKO'S POV

The next time I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a pale, freckled face framed by dark brown hair. Pastel-colored sheets pressed against my skin, and I was wearing a soft, white, robe. The faint, metallic taste of blood and bile lingered at the back of my throat. But the last sense to hit me was sound. Raucous laughter, swearing, and the audible sloshing of sake emanated from a group of eleventh squad members. A blonde sunglass-wearing fourth squad member complained loudly about his rank (A/N: Iemura), while others called for certain medications or supplies, and moans came from a few who had obviously failed at fighting a hollow. There was no silence. I rolled over and felt my wounds reopen with a pop. I gasped.  

The pale nurse stood. "You shouldn't move so soon. You'll only injure yourself further, ryoka." She didn't intend the last word as an insult, yet it came across as one. "What is your name?" she continued, "I cannot continue to call you'ryoka'." I cracked a grim smile and used one fingertip to trace the kanji for moon on the sheet. "Getsu?" the nurse asked. I grimaced and shook my head. "Gatsu, then?" I winced.  

"Tsu..." I feebly whispered.  

"Oh, Tsuki! I am so sorry, I..." the nurse stammered, blushing slightly. 

"So, ryoka, oh, I mean, Tsuki, you should be honored by who brought you here. Sixth squad adjuchant assistant-captain Abarai Renji! The roku ban gotei no fukutaichou da!" 

I grinned and blushed. The nurse laughed as I averted my eyes.  

"But he said to tell you to cross blades with Zaraki again. Ever. He has been asking for you this past week, and--" 

"WEEK?!" My shriek silenced the room. The nurse curtly nodded and left swiftly, leaving the room to get back to its average, rowdy noise level. And so I was left alone with my thoughts.  

A week...this was only supposed to last a day, I had promised myself. A day to get Storme and get out; simple, why, oh why, is my life never simple? 

I was awoken a few hours later by something startling--silence. I raised my head and saw the inhabitants of the infirmary even the squad 11 groupies, bowing deeply. In the doorway, framed in sunlight against the wooden-paper walls, stood the silhouette of a man in a flowing shihakusho with a sword strapped at his waist and a ponytail; Renji Abarai.  

Renji made his way towards me, stopping to greet various squad members. My brain overloaded, and by the time he got over to me, I thought I would catch on fire from the burning of my face. I twisted myself into an attempt at a sort-of excuse for a bow, all the while avoiding touching or moving the more sliced-up parts of me. "Roku-ban gotei no Abarai-fuku-taochou-sama." 

"You know, Abarai-fuku-taichou's fine." 

"Abarai-fuku-taichou, then." I bowed again, keeping in my sort-of-almost-bow position. Renji cuffed the back of my head lightly, mussing my bluish-dyed hair. His large, warm hands pressed against my head and chest, forcing me up and back gently.  

"Don't move so soon. Zaraki sliced you up pretty badly... I think he kinda expected you to live up to his standards of previous ryoka... But I came here for two other reasons. One, to question you. We can't be sure why you're here, or in you're a spy. Second, no matter what you are, you'll get your a** kicked like that. Even Rukia fights better than you! (A/N: Rukia is notoriously bad at swordsmanship.)I'll have to train you; no noe else would even think about taking you on, but you've got potential. So. Think about it, okay?" Renji patted my bedstead, turned, and exited the infirmary, stopping only for a breif exchange with a former comrade. He didn't give me a chance to respond.  

'He talked to me!' I thought in shock. 'And... he compared me to Rukia!' I glowed with pleasure at the compliment, unaware of the sting at its tail. 'And he actually touched me! Renji touched me!' I sighed with the childish delight of a fingirl. 'What was that poem Kubo wrote? The Prince? ZP (A/N: Zombie Powder, Kubo's first published series) volume 8: Walk like a zombie? Ah, I remember...' I whispered it under my breath. 

The werewolf sharpens his claws,

Like the falling leaves, he sharpens his claws,

With the name of an angel, he sharpens his claws.

From the depths of madness, masked in sanity,

He was the one who saved me

Touching the vessel of flesh my soul becomes water

A single breeze stirs the water into a raging storm

Every time I think of him

Even in my dreams

I feel dizzy

His chest is like the warm earth, His eyes are like the forest at night,m

His voice is like a winter storm

His hands are like a black bed

And his form is like a shining silver lion

My one, my only,

My prince.

Haha! So we had some bloody fluff there... By the way, Hannah, my co-author, is buried in homework, so I'll probably update one more Storme chapp, and you won't see Tsukiko-san for a while. In the meantime, I'll do character sketches for all my OCs and oneshots with them and a character in a pairing. Look for them starting...oh, this weekend maybe, maybe this Friday if I'm fast at homework. But for now-- as Gin would say--

Bye bye!

~Emo-san