A Necessary Break [Closed]

All Sakura did these days was push. She pushed herself passed every limit she had. Her determination shined brighter than any other aspect of her personality, excluding her obvious kindness and desire to please Ryuunosuke by training. Unfortunately, the body could only take so much and Kaidō can't heal everything. This morning Sakura woke feeling odd. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she was a little dizzy and felt slightly week. Because she didn't feel bad, just strange, she went on with her day like normal. Her day included making breakfast, training, training, and more training. This is what her life now was, even when it shouldn't be and today was one of those days that it really shouldn't be.

There were hours of strenuous training as normal, but Sakura was slower than normal. She was clumsier and made more mistakes. Any time that she was asked what her problem was, she'd wave it off with a smile. "I'm sorry. I'm just being an idiot again." Sakura sighed and continued on pushing herself. Her vision became blurry and her legs were getting weaker. The strikes she was making were almost always off their target. She moved again to swing her sword, but mid swing everything gave in. Sakura slowed down and began weaving back and forth. She leaned too far back and stepped a few times to catch herself. She succeeded, but only to fall again and pass out in the dirt, breathing heavy.

Sakura had collapsed under the weight of her own determination. Sickness and rigorous training was not a good combination. She stirred slightly as her body was turned over, but still did not wake. She heard him call to her and tried to force her eyes open. Her eyes fluttered a bit as she strained to open them. Finally, the opened just enough to look at him. "Ryuunosuke... What happened?" she took in a deep breath, sounds of cracking easily heard, and then she began coughing. "Sorry. I-I'll get up. We still have a few mor-..." Sakura realized very quickly that she wasn't gonna be able to train. Not only did her vision instantly blur,  but Ryuunosuke began  guiding her away from the training grounds. "But what about... I have to continu-..." And that is when it hit her and hit her hard. She stopped walking and grabbed onto her forehead, "Ow, ow, ow... Okay, maybe not. I don't feel well at all... I'm sorry."

She listened while taking a long slow drink of the cool water. When she finished, Sakura nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry for not telling you then. I just didn't want to disappoint you." she stared at the floor for a moment and then looked to her hand, "I thought maybe... if I kept training while sick, it'd teach me to push myself even more. It'd help me work through the pain and discomfort... I didn't think I'd faint." Sakura's face was showing a lot of discomfort at the moment. She looked like she could fall over at any minute. She worked herself too hard for someone that was sick. She also had a  high fever and it was rising. "I think I should go home and rest." Sakura smiled weakly toward him and stood up. She felt like she was walking normal, but her balance was quite off. She kept weaving back and forth. She stopped near a wall, took a deep breath, and then continued trying to get back to her room.

The feeling of her skin hitting the cool sheets was a wonderful one. Sakura sighed and relaxed into her pillows. When he returned with the dining chair, she was a little surprised. She didn't expect him to want to sit there next to her, but it was very sweet. Sakura sat up a bit to take a drink. As she went to swallow, she felt herself need to cough. She held the cough back to the best of her ability and then swallowed. When the water wasn't going to be spat everywhere, she turned away from him and coughed a bit. When her coughing calmed down, she laid back and turned to him while shaking her head. "Not that I know of, especially medicine wise... Though, I think I'm allergic to pollen at times. Spring is evil." Sakura giggled, trying to make a little bit of a joke, but it was hard to keep laughing.

The silence allowed Sakura to rest for a bit, but it was awkward with him sitting right there. She tried to think of something to talk about, but came up with nothing. Luckily, he had a question of his own. She opened her eyes and looked toward him as he asked. "Um... I don't know her on a personal level, but as a leader she seems okay. I know she recently messed up some how. I think she got drunk with a friend, causing her to be kidnapped and was quite brutally tortured over it. What makes it worse is that I heard she wasn't even their target, her friend was. Daigoro Ito, I believe was his name..."

Sakura stopped for a moment, holding back a few more coughs, "I also heard some recent dealings with an Arrancar went weirdly. I don't know any of the details about that though, just the rumors floating about. She always seems like a nice person and wants to be everyone's friend, so I'm not sure if she's the best leader... But she makes everyone here feel more like family, which is nice. Even if she's not as strict as previous Captain Commanders, her ability to bring people together through friendship is pretty out of this world." Sakura smiled at that. She had noticed that even the Captains seem more friendly to each other since Kaminari took office. "I heard they even had a game night and things got really fun... The Captains I mean. It's really sweet, but that isn't what you asked, is it?"

"The only thing I can say about the Head Captain is that I'd really, really like to train with her, she's kinder than most Head Captains, and takes a few more risks than she should. I think she's very sweet and might think and act a little too much with her heart, but that's not too bad of a thing. She's a wonderful person, but a little dumb and extremely insecure, which sounds strange coming from me, I know... Her insecurities cause her to mess up from what I can tell. I don't know much else..." Sakura turned to him again and tilted her head a bit, "How come you wanted to know that?"

Sakura listened with obvious curiosity as he explained. When he finished, she could only smile softly and nod with him. "Of course. Any time." she replied to his thank you. Ryuunosuke changed the subject with a pleasant surprise. He wanted to get to know her? Sakura's eyes shined, even through the weak expression she had. Someone actually wanted to know about her? His question was basic, but to Sakura it was quite personal. It wasn't personal as in private, but personal as in she gets to answer about herself. She wasn't used to that at all. "Well, I've always had a fast metabolism, so I can usually eat anything I want. In the morning, I don't care if the meal is a bit more fattening. The more calories it has, the more I have to burn through training. Because of that, pancakes, french toast, waffles, and anything covered in syrup. It's kind of funny too, because I don't really like high sugary stuff..."

"During lunch, I keep it to vegetables and sometimes a smoothie. I prefer to have some sort of Mexican food though, which sounds odd, but it's true. You can't find much, if any of that in the Seireitei, which is kind of disappointing. It's why I like being stationed in America... They switched up on me last time and put me in Greece..." Sakura glanced toward him with a sweet smile, "Lucky me." She looked back up to the ceiling and thought a bit more. "Dinner... Italian. Well, when I say that I mean spaghetti and lasagna, but only because I didn't want to say Mexican twice." Sakura felt a coughing fit coming on, so she quickly grabbed the water and took a drink. The coughing seemed to back down, so she cleared her throat. "When you were in the world of the living... Did you enjoy anything like that? Eat new foods, go extraordinary places, or just enjoy the different cultures they have?"

Sakura actually pouted at him for a moment. "Note to self: Buy more food." she added to his joke and then giggled, but only caused herself to cough again. She took a deep breath and listened to him as he answered her question. She understood his answer, but she didn't like it. "Hobbies..." she heard his question, but her mind was on what he had previously said. She pushed those thoughts back and thought about what he wanted to know. "I cook, but I don't really do it because it's fun or anything. I'm just decent at it. Besides training, there's nothing else I really do unless I'm on a mission. I've never felt good at anything else, so I wouldn't even know where to begin with a hobby. In the world of the living, I liked watching all the different types of dances. My favorite is the ballroom dancing... The waltz, tango, foxtrot, quick step... They're all wonderful. I'd like to learn something like that, but I'm really clumsy and doubt I can move like they can, so I don't think I could, even if I tried."

"Ryuunosuke..." When Sakura spoke up this time, she sounded more concerned than curious, "Do you ever just... have fun? I don't mean to sound offensive, so please don't take it that way. I'm just... worried. Not only for you, but for me. I want to train, I want to get stronger, but I want to also live my life in a way that I could also be happy. I'll be happy when I'm stronger," That was the first time she ever said 'when' about herself over the word 'if', "but am sometimes curious about whether it's worth it if I only train my life away. I can't remember the last time I went to a party, had a friend to just hang out with, seen a beach without fighting a hollow, or being able to laugh and smile with other people. It's depressing... I feel like if you are able to do fun things that don't require training, then I have a chance to do that too... I don't want to train my life away, but I'm scared I will... I can't even find a decent hobby for myself and don't have enough to even be good at something... It sucks."

Sakura interrupted him. How stupid! His glare caused her to look down to her knees. "Sorry." she said with a tone full of guilt.  She knew better than that. She glanced back over to him as he spoke of skiing and saw the smallest hint of a smirk. "He's probably only doing that because I asked... Unless he really did have fun..." she thought and then listened to all of his adventures. Every question he asked put another image in her head, one she wanted to experience, but probably never would. "Of course I haven't experienced any of that..." she said as he crossed his arms, "I've never really experienced any fun like that before. I don't even have the courage to learn to dance, journeying through a jungle is impossible for me, at least until I get to the point I need to be. Until then, I feel kinda trapped."

Sakura's eyes widened when he offered to teach her to dance. She looked to him, blinking rapidly in surprise. "I, uh..." Sakura's head quickly whipped around to face the other way as a pretty strong coughing attack hit. It went on for quite some time and sounded like she had something stuck in her throat or lungs. She had a pretty bad cold. When she finally stopped coughing, she scooted away from him and put the blanket over the top half of her face. "If you stay too close to me, you'll get sick too. I'd rather that not happen." Sakura looked back to the ceiling, "Still, I don't want you to go. I like having you with me. It's a lot less lonely with you around, and you're my favorite person to talk to."

Two days of rest was enough to get Sakura back on her feet. She wanted to jump right into training again, but was told no. Ryuunosuke felt she needed a day to fully recover. Her cough had gotten horrible and she ended up with a fever above one hundred the night before. Luckily, it all went away pretty quickly and she was ready to get back into training. With Ryuunosuke disagreeing completely, Sakura was forced to keep to her bedroom. It was silent most of the day. She cooked dinner, having insisted on it and she wasn't taking no for an answer. He had taken care of her for the past two nights, so this was her thank you. When it was time to sleep, Sakura found herself tossing and turning in bed. She felt restless and the feeling was a bit too much for her at the moment.

Sakura gave in and got out of bed. She hadn't left the house since she was sick and needed some fresh air. She grabbed her Zanpakutō out of habit and glanced back to the sleeping Ryuunosuke with a soft smile before leaving. She'll be back before he woke up. The air was cool and the Seireitei was quiet. She traveled outside of the barracks and began making her way to her destination. The route she was taking made it seem like she was heading to the training grounds, but she really wasn't.

The walk toward her little destination was almost as relaxing as when she would get there. The silence was nice and the clear air was a wonderful feeling. She dazed out while she was walking. She had no idea she was being followed and even less of an idea when he suddenly appeared in front of her. Sakura walked right into what felt like a clothed wall. With a small 'boop', she stopped and looked up to Ryuunosuke. "Oh, hi." she said softly. She tensed when she saw the glare and took a step back when he spoke. "Oh..." Sakura just smiled and giggled, shaking her head, "No, no... Come with me." Sakura stepped passed Ryuunosuke as she took hold of his hand and began guiding him along to the garden.

The two came to a small enclosed area, but inside was a pretty and well-taken care of garden. "This is where I was coming." she walked over to the bird bath and stepped on a small button. Small lights lit up just enough to softly illuminate the area. The fountains turned on, creating a nice ambiance. Sakura went over and sat on a bench and stared into the fountain. It had a few lily pads in side floating around. She pat the seat next to her so he'd sit down and then she relaxed. "I don't know who does it, but someone takes care of this place... I help every now and then by pulling a few weeds and trimming the plants, but not much. It's my favorite place, especially at night. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"To be honest, it's not usually my style either. I prefer waterfalls, not fountains. I like cliffs and tall trees, not small bushes and flowers... However, I mostly enjoy the sound the water makes." Sakura closed her eyes and just listened to the sound of the fountain for a few moments. When he spoke up again, Sakura looked up to him with her head slightly tilted. "You're the only one that comes under the phrase 'special to me', so nuh'uh." Sakura shook her head and looked back to the fountain, "Yeah, it was here." Sakura's expression immediately fell into disappointment. Sadness shined brightly in her eyes as the thought back to that moment and then she suddenly looked angry. She stared at the ground as she clenched her fists and tried to calm down. When she did, she looked back to the water and relaxed again. "Truth be told, I've never had that kind of special someone; doubt I ever will. Weak and useless isn't exactly a good man's type. How about you? You have anyone like that? Ever?"

Sakura wanted to explain what this place meant, but she thought she'd only disappoint him. Was making him think one thing a lie when she knew about it? Should she correct him? She didn't know. The subject change actually changed him. She watched him closely, closer than she probably would have. There was something new there and she wasn't sure whether she liked it or not. She wanted to press, but wouldn't, not after he stated clearly that he didn't want to talk about it. "Okay." she nodded. Her eyes went back to the fountain. When he stood up, she stared at him for a moment. She ignored his question. "I don't hate my Zanpakutō. He saved me. About three years ago and I ended up here."

"Her name was Anika. She pretended to be my friend and to care about me; her Zanpakutō helped. She tricked me into hurting some young Academy student just because she was jealous of her. She manipulated me into stealing money, equipment, clothing, and other things... When I finally got caught, she abandoned me by saying she had tried to convince me to stop, but I wouldn't listen. When the twelfth proved I was telling the truth and she was lying, I was ordered to bring her in. She fought and I won my first real battle. I came here after that..." Sakura looked around the garden, "I was still punished, but not as much. They thought being forced to kill someone you care about over something so petty was enough punishment..." Sakura stepped up to Ryuunosuke, "So that's my 'big secret'. When you're ready, I'd like to know yours. Maybe then I can finally see you smile? At least, I do hope so..."