Day 27: Intercom, Dawn

[damned_intercom]

"Goooood morning, patients!" The Head Doctor's voice said cheerily over the speakers across the Institute. He seemed to be in a particularly good mood, humming as he paged through the topics he had to cover in today's morning announcement. "How are you all on this fine day? Good? Good

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[bewarethecute]

Kisuke-san was there, holding her hand. His hands were so big around hers, comforting and warm. It was just what she needed then, when the bright light of Tessai-san's magic illuminated the tears on her face, when the hole in her torso made it so hard to breathe. Those warm, comforting hands. Ururu could fall asleep thanks to that warmth, just that tiny bit somehow making the pain fade, and the darkness that overtook her less frightening.

Ururu felt better when she woke up. Tessai-san's kidou was powerful, strong enough to leave her without so much as a little stomachache after that nasty Arrancar had impaled her. And for once, Jinta-kun hadn't kicked her out of bed or stolen the blankets during the night. Though when she thought about it, Ururu realized that might not be such a good thing after all. Jinta-kun was only nice when he was really worried.

But the bed was awfully cozy. It felt roomier than normal too. Maybe she'd just stay there a little longer before she went to check on him.

"Are you awake, sweetie?" The voice was unfamiliar, and once Ururu opened her eyes, she realized that the room was too. She sat up, looking at the stranger now standing in the doorway, with a clipboard in her hand. The lady sounded nice.

"I'm up now. Where am I? Did Kisuke-san take me to the hospital?" Ururu had never been to one, but she knew what they were. If she was in a hospital, she must have been hurt really badly, too badly for Tessai-san to handle.

What a scary thought. If Tessai-san couldn't heal her, and Kisuke-san had to take her away…oh, it was a very scary thought, and Ururu's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, don't cry." The woman rushed to her bedside, and wrapped her arms around Ururu in a hug. "I don't know who this Kisuke-san is, but I'll be more than happy to give you a tour, Karen. I know it's strange, but you'll be staying with us for awhile."

Ururu shook her head at the nice woman's words. Her voice was gentle, but the words were all wrong. Her name wasn't Karen, and if she was here, Kisuke-san had to be. He wouldn't just abandon her.

Would he?

"Is…is Kisuke-san mad at me?" Quite contrary to the woman's wishes, Ururu began to sob, pressing her face against the woman's shoulder. She didn't mean to get the lady's uniform all wet, but the girl couldn't help it just then. Being alone was what Ururu hated most, and it had been such a long time since no one else was there. She didn't think she had done anything wrong, but really, she couldn't remember everything that happened. That man with the red hair had been fighting really hard, and losing very badly. Ururu saw how much he was hurting, even from the roof, and she knew that if the red-haired man had fallen, the arrancar would come after everyone in the store next. Jinta-kun and Tessai-san, and Kisuke-san. It'd fly down and try to hurt them all.

After that, things got a bit blurry. There was fighting and there was pain, and Tessai-san's light and Kisuke-san's hands…

"It'll be okay sweetheart." The woman was still there, still holding Ururu tight. She picked the girl off the bed, not too hard given the child's weight, and began to take her out the door. "How about we get you some breakfast? You must be hungry after sleeping for so long."

Ururu nodded, and held to the woman's neck, but so many things were still wrong. The woman was nice, and her voice was gentle, but her arms weren't warm like Kisuke-san's hands.

No, her arms were cold, colder than ice, and Ururu couldn't understand how things had suddenly gotten so bad.