La Sola [open]

"We have to get you out of here..." A flash of pain. "Daigoro...? Daigoro?! DAIGORO!" The shooting feeling of his stomach being penetrated. The blood dropping from his stomach, his mouth -- a cough and a scream. The shouts of fear and worry as he fell, and the eventual darkness that had enveloped him. Frankly, he had thought it to be the end of that all. Once and for all, he had thought the being known as Daigoro Ito to be dead -- and so he succumbed. Yet this was followed by dreams, and those dreams would always cause him to cling to reality. Kaminari, Midori, everyone. Those he had known and loved, and those who would yet be waiting for him. He had always heard whispers above him, but had never been able to reach out to take them. His consciousness had dwindled, leaving him a husk, leaving him the equivalent of dead. They would have left him alone, they would have left him behind. And he would not have judged them for it. Yet for some reason, he clung to life...

"Gah-ha!" Breath. That was breathing. What was it like to breathe? He didn't recall, because he had always known. The taste of sterile air entered his throat and permeated through to his lungs. His eyes wrenched open and he sat up with a start, hearing a few sounds around him. It took moments for his senses to recover, and he slowly laid himself back down when he did -- and yet, that was not quite enough for him. After the feeling returned, he felt pain. Why pain? He had been sleeping for a time, so pain would be... why pain? Footsteps clattered around him, yet he ignored those -- pain. Why pain? He bit his bottom lip and looked over, spying the drip in his arm. So that was how it was. He was in the 4th Division. Almost in relief he would lay his head back on the pillow, staring at the ceiling. His memories were fragmented, broken. What had he last been doing?

"Mr Ito?" A voice interrupted his thoughts and he sat up slowly, looking over to see a woman leaning against a door, watching him carefully. His sitting up brought a grin to her lips, and she entered the room while closing the door behind her, "It's been a while. What do you last recall?" He blinked, rubbing his temples. He opened his mouth to try to speak, but no words came out -- his throat felt dry and husky, and he struggled to speak. She made an expression of 'I knew this was coming', and produced a cup of water. He greedily swallowed it down and looked back at her, watching her eyes. There was no malice, good. "G... Ga... I... I remember... a fight? I... I died? N-no, not dead... but close." She smiled and nodded, taking his hands in hers. It was only now that he looked at his arms. He could see veins and arteries through pale skin. Muscle had degenerated to almost nothing -- he was skin and bone.

"You were poisoned. Apparently with the same toxin that almost killed Kaminari." Dai's eyes widened, "We weren't able to fix you so easily. Something resisted us -- resisted our efforts. We think it was modified, it almost took you completely. You need to bear with me, Daigoro, because what I'm about to say... will not be easy to digest." He looked over at her, eyes full of curiosity, "You have been... in a coma for almost a year." He gasped and shied away from her, not believing her words. She shook her head understandingly, and placed a hand on his head. "It will be difficult to grasp, I know. But you must believe me, else you will not be able to move on. So get some more rest. Lay your head down. I'll inform people. I'm sure you've been missed." She smiled softly and turned away from him, stepping towards the door. As she went to leave, she looked back over her shoulder with a soft smile.

"I'm sure that there are many people will be happy to hear... that Daigoro Ito has finally awoken."

Hatakeyama... Kaminari Hatakeyama. How could he forget Kami-yan? Kami-yan, who he had gone through Hell to attempt to save -- even though in the end, he was nowhere near her. Images of their interactions flashed before his eyes, their friendship... that one time they kissed... everything, everything, everything. And in the end, it all came back to the woman that stepped through the door. His best friend. His confidant.

"You idiot." Ah, yes, the perfect words to greet an old friend. He looked over at her with a soft smile, lips cracked and dry. It was strange to see her as she was, but at the same time, there was no way that he could be sad to see her like this. He tried to remember, but it didn't come -- who was her lover? He didn't think he'd ever actually found out, though he had an inkling of whom it could be. There were lines in her face that weren't there before, and the obviousness of her pregnancy had increased her weight in other areas too. It took him a moment to realise that she had pushed her face into his shoulder and was cuddling his arm. Apparently he hadn't quite gotten the feeling back in that place yet. "You idiot. Don't you dare do that again." He grinned softly, shaking his head. While it took him a couple of seconds to get the sound out, he opened his mouth in response, "Ha... I don't... think that... I wanted this... the first time." His shoulders rolled in laughter, since he didn't want to push himself too hard.

"Heh... You... I see... where my... b-b... body weight went... Little sprog... getting there... Kami-yan... Didn't think... y-you were... the mothering type..." He smiled purely at her, trying not to show his clear weakness, even if his voice was doing such things. Gosh, talking was difficult. It was more difficult than you people give it credit for being, especially when one has not been talking for the past year. He needed to use a lot more effort just to speak than he would to write, but apparently he could barely move his arms either so that wasn't an answer. Instead, Dai just continued his weak smiles, watching her carefully. "Did they... tell you... what it... was?"

A child, huh? He wondered if he would have ever been a good father. He was never going to have a child with his first wife, and Midori... he didn't want to think about that right now. As far as he was concerned, she would have most likely moved on. He would not be happy about it, but he would endure. He always had. He got a bit of a smile across his lips when she mentioned that she wanted the gender of her child to be a surprise. That wasn't actually what he had asked her about, but in the end he felt like it was a serendipitous enough response that he'd leave it be. Things then went silent for several seconds and Dai watched Kaminari raise a hand to cover her eyes. She was wiping away obvious tears and he felt something small well up inside as well. He held back, for her sake.

"I missed you." Fuck. As if he needed another damn spear to be driven into his heart. He almost mentally cursed at her for saying such a thing, though he would never have said something like that aloud. Of course one would miss the dead. That was a given. But why would one miss him? It was almost as if his entire train of thought broke for half a second, as he tried to think of a response. Something, anything! "They said you might not ever wake up. I thought I had lost my best friend." The train of thought came coursing back onto its rails, and Dai let out a quiet sigh of relief as she continued to speak to him. She spoke of how he'd be in recovery for a while, and then asked him the strangest question. Did he dream while in his coma? That was... that was actually quite a good question. Honestly, he hadn't thought of it. Not even in some strange way. He just hadn't considered whether it was a dream that he'd been watching, or his memory.

"Heh... that's a... good question. I saw things. Some of... them were... memories. Others were... I saw... a good life... A future... maybe even... kids... myself." He smiled weakly, "But... I don't know... if they were... dreams or... I don't..." He looked over at her, hoping that she'd understand his breaking line of thought, "But enough... did they tell... you my... what happened... How they... got me?"

His expression hardened some when she mentioned what had happened to him. He had wondered at the time, he realised now, that he had been found a lot faster than he would have expected. His memory of exactly what happened to him was hazy at best, and downright not there at worst, but at least he could remember a few things. He let out a long and slow breath and shuffled in the bed, trying to sit up a bit. He put his hand onto the fabric and pushed up, grunting from the exertion and the slight amount of pain that he felt. It seemed that he was weak enough that he couldn't actually lift his own body weight (that seemed to be much lower in the first place) and instead had to struggle to even sit up. He sighed softly and looked back at Kaminari, trying to read her face. He mostly read happiness. When she mentioned an Arrancar he blinked but didn't try to push for that, instead just watching her carefully. She had also mentioned something about the Twelfth Division, but when she said not to worry about anything outside the walls, he couldn't help but agree with her, so he didn't comment further on such matters. He was sure that he would be embroiled in such things soon enough.

She then told him that he'd be accompanied by a member of the Fourth Division once he was out, to aid in his further rehabilitation. While he did not disagree, there was that slightly selfish streak of knowing exactly who he wanted to have look after him. Images of being fed by a cute green-haired Captain flashed into his head, which he then shook out. She'd probably moved on. Breathing out (and making a pained sound because it hurt to breathe like that) he would take another look at Kaminari, "You're probably... right. Yes, that would be... a good idea." Almost as if on cue, the woman who he had woken up to earlier stepped into the room, shoes tapping on the ground. She ran some fingers through sweat-drenched hair and smiled, "It seems that our illustrious Captain-Commander has been the first to arrive. I guess this means I should be able to give a better explanation. Ideally, I'd like to give this explanation to everyone, but at this time I think I'd rather you be the first to hear it, especially considering how much it concerns you, Captain-Commander." She took a seat on the other side of the bed, looking at the pair through bespectacled eyes, "First, an introduction. I am Fukimono Kaguya, an unseated member of the Fourth Division. I lack a lot of the healing power that my comrades tend towards, but make up for it with a particular niche I fit," she smiled softly, And what I need to tell you here is that, while it was derived from the original that was found in you, Captain-Commander, I do not believe it from the same source. The same creator, sure, but only the base. This version was... modified. It wouldn't work on any being that isn't Daigoro Ito."

Her expression was grim as she continued, "What it does is that it spoofs the spiritual energy of the target and slowly overtakes every iota of it in their body, essentially eating them from within. It also acts as a blocker, stopping any more from being generated or absorbed. It should guarantee death within six months, but as you can see, it has been a year. We believe that it has a lifetime limitation on how long it lasts, eventually being broken down and replaced by the user's actual spiritual energy, though that did not begin happening until seven months after he was poisoned. Daigoro, you have incredible resilience." She nodded and bowed, showing an expression of, 'I can answer any questions you may have'.

In response to Kaminari's question, Fukimono shook her head with a dark expression. She opened her mouth in an attempt to respond to Kaminari's question, but was immediately interrupted by the sound of a door opening. She looked over with a confused expression that turned into one of relief when she recognised the woman who had stepped through the door. She bowed to her Captain, before deciding to take this as her cue to leave. Apparently, Kaminari had thought this exactly the same and was guiding her out instead. She begrudgingly accepted being led along, beginning to explain things further to Kaminari as they left.

Dai, on the other hand, was squished. He had initially noticed something holding his hand and only became lucid enough to recognise that it was Midori when she leaned in to hug him. He made a slightly pained noise, but didn't protest to the hug, instead giving it his best efforts to hug her back. It took him a lot longer to return the hug than he'd like and when it was over, he felt more exhausted than he should be. "Heh... Mi... Midori." He looked to the side and coughed, "Not going to lie, I didn't really think I'd made it either." He breathed out and shuffled backwards somewhat, feeling that a bit more strength had returned to him when she'd entered the room. Her very presence, apparently, was enough to do that. "Tell you what, though, part of me wi --" No, he didn't want to say that and shook his head, "That'd be insensitive. To say... to say the least, I'm glad I woke up. And I'm glad to see you." He smiled at her weakly, mulling over everything he wanted to say. He wanted to just leap out of the bed and kiss her. He wanted to tell her that everything would be fine and that he'd be up and running in no time. But at the same time, that small part of him wished that she hadn't waited for a dead man.

His... Captain? Honestly, Dai didn't recall much about his Captain. While they'd interacted, as all Division do, he always seemed to consider his Captain a mysterious figure with little to go on other than that. He tried to give Midori his best smile and nod, but even he couldn't hide the look of minor worry on his face. What would his Captain say about him? What would they think? Frankly, he wouldn't be surprised if he was stopped from being seated -- it wouldn't come as a surprise because, well, why would a man who could barely move be kept on in a position like that? No, it would probably be for the best while he recuperated.  "Well, I didn't expect him so soon... I... I guess we'll have to talk privately later." He grinned lightly at her, looking carefully into her eyes. He didn't really have anything else to say on that matter; there was nothing to say after all. Not when the potential for wandering ears could poke their way into the room. Instead, he moved a hand up and lightly put it on her cheek, caressing it while he watched her.

That was when someone knocked. He blinked and made a face, showing clear displeasure in being interrupted. He moved his hand away from her face and straightened himself up, moving to make sure he was sitting up properly; his strength was coming back enough that he could do that now. He wouldn't tell the man it was okay to come in, mostly because he was worried that shouting would cause more problems than was worth. The door opened in any case, letting a man step through with footsteps clacking on the sterile ground. Dai made another face (this one clearly in jest) when he mentioned interrupting, before giving him a weak smile. "Heh... it'll take more than... more than..." He looked to the side and coughed, away from everyone, "Bah. It'll take more than a bit of custom-tailored poison and a year-long coma to take me down. That said, I feel like shit." There was no beating around the bush here.

"So... Captain. You're obviously here for a reason." He gave a smile, "So, while I don't... don't wish to sound brusque, it would be nice to know. I probably don't have long left before I get tied down into the bed by nurses and forced to go to sleep to conserve my remaining strength. At least, well at least I've recovered enough to be able to have decent conversation now. Poor Kami-yan could barely get a full sentence out of me."

At his Captain's comment, Dai laughed quietly and bitterly, "For some, they would prefer to die than feel pain. I am not one of those people, admittedly." They finished their bantering and Midori left, leaving the two men there. Dai looked over at Solomon as he pulled the seat closer and sat there, pulling a notebook from his Haori. He still didn't remember many details about his Captain though, to be fair, his memory on everything was pretty spotty right now. "I just have a couple of questions for you, about you." Ah yes, questions. He knew that they'd be coming. He didn't expect them to be coming immediately. He sat up a bit straighter and stretched out, yawning quietly. "Go ahead. I'll answer what I can to the best of my knowledge. As a result, don't expect perfection." After giving that warning he would watch his Captain inquisitively, waiting for him to ask him the first questions.

"I've asked how you were feeling... But you know more about your own health at this moment than I do. How do you think your recovery is going to go?" Straight out of the bat, eh? Dai sighed softly and shook his head, "All of the medical knowledge I have could fit in a thimble but if you ask me, slowly. Really slowly. Your average unseated member is going to be able to outfight me for a while and I wasn't exactly super physically amazing to begin with." He looked down at his lap, "I can't hear my Zanpakutō's voice. I don't think I'm going to be at full capacity for some time - I'd not complain if you deigned to demote me." He smiled sheepishly and returned his gaze to his Captain, answer complete.

"And... how do you think someone made a poison specifically for you? I don't mean the specific concoction, that's for the 12th Division to decide. I guess a better phrasing would be... Who would know you closely enough to make that kind of poison?" He frowned. It was a pretty clear frown. It was a frown of annoyance. "Put simply... ugh. Do you know the full story about Kaminari's kidnapping... I'll explain it as if you don't, actually, since you probably only know the surface story. You remember Manae, right?" He tilted his head to the side, wondering how much he'd have to remember to explain, "The Espada who killed her had a Fraccion by the name of Lasciel. Apparently her ability was to take the body and memory of the recently deceased and use them as shells... so she took Manae's body and memories in an effort to get revenge on me for killing her Espada. Kami-yan... ended up being an unfortunate piece of bait to get me to Hueco Mundo and it worked. I found and killed Lasciel, but not before she took advantage of a moment of weakness. It's surprisingly difficult to kill your former wife, even if she's dead now. She managed to get me at a weak point and fed me that... stuff and, well, here I am now. He shrugged. There was no reason to lie. His mind couldn't even formulate them right now.