tampered | (no subject)

(no subject)

When; April 22, evening/night
Rating; PG for charming language? Come on, this IS Ran here. Might go higher.
Characters; Rangiku

10thdiv_haineko and Xulchibara

revelations9x6
Summary; Time for a talk.
Log;

It’d been a long drawn out day for Rangiku. First, reawakening from something much deeper than sleep, then finding that she’d been confined to the room she was currently in. The chain keeping her penned in wasn’t heavy by any sense of the word, and the cuff around her ankle was padded and soft, but it was still something she despised.

Trying to collar a cat.

It wasn’t as if it mattered. She didn’t have the energy to try and force the binding lose and even the simple task of pacing back and forth spent the little liveliness she had. Evening found her curled on her side, staring off into the dimming room as she tried to find the center she knew was there from centuries of meditation and training.

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That earned her a single blazing look from over His shoulder.

"It iS gOoD To kNoW YoU hOlD SuCh a HiGh OpInIon oF mY MoRaLiTy."
He shot back angrily.

"I aM ReSpOnSiBlE FoR EvErY InNoCEnT, Be ThEy mY BlOoDlInE, oR nO.
If We hAd nO cOnTaCt PriOr tO ThiS MoMeNt, I wOuLd StIlL bE OaTh BoUnD To Do EvErYtHiNg In mY pOwEr tO sEe yOu bOtH WeLl aNd SaFe."
Finally turning, He set His feet on the tiled floor, and stood to walk over to the bedside.
He wanted to look her in the eye, and see if she still did not see..

"I ToLd yOu I CoUlD NoT aLLoW yOu To CoMe To hArM, NoR cOuLd ShE."
Without asking her permission, He crouched beside the bed, and rested his palm against her belly, seeking the beating connection to the life within.

I pAiD FoR tWo lIvEs. NoT jUsT HeR's.
Swirling flames wreathed the blackness of His pupils as His gaze bored into her, willing her to understand.
Yes, He could have other children, but that did not justify allowing anyone under his protection to die needlessly.

The drape of hair half covering her face couldn't hide the chilled blue of her eyes as she met His gaze. Challenge swirled in their depths, but that was something small among many other things that could visible if anyone looked closely enough. After a moment, she pulled her gaze from His, settling it on the hand resting on her belly.

A daughter.

"I know what you paid for. I won't do anything else reckless to endanger her."

With her behavior of late, He wasn't quite ready to believe her. ( That, and the stubborn desire to be free was too prevalent for Him to quite trust she wouldn't run given the first opportunity.)

With another heartfelt sigh, he calmed a bit, and adjusted to sit on His heels, his hand remaining where it was.

"I suppose you can feel the difference in your own body." He commented, still obviously irritable, but a note of fatigue creeping into His 'human' voice.
"Too much trauma."

Burning eyes slid half closed as He looked further into the connection between mother and child. Rangiku's heartbeat was faster, her body burning more nutrient than it should.

"I worry about you..." he almost mumbled, half-aware He had even spoken.
"I can tell you that you may be in for a difficult pregnancy, but I it is not in my purview to see those sorts of details. I can not say how."
He frowned for a moment...there was an uncomfortable sensation from remaining in this kneeling position. ( Then again, He was mortal now, and being so confined to a mortal body meant the little things normal to most, were new and strange to Him.)

"You have a healer friend, do you not? Another Shinigami, I believe...." His voice trailed off as His eyes slid closed.
" You should contact her. She seems trustworthy." He finished after a moment.
Unselfconsciously, He curled His free arm beside her on the bed, and lay His head against it.

Old and tired...

She'd felt the changes when she woke up. Going from expecting no heartbeat to waking with one far too fast wasn't exactly ideal, but she wouldn't question it. The note of weariness in His voice brought her attention back to the moment. Her gaze swung down just in time to see a frown cross His features.

Being the person she was, concern came first and foremost. Without thought, her hand moved to slide careful fingers through His hair. "The price you paid... it was so high," she murmured, her voice not as sharp as it had been most of the day.

"I trust Isane and I have for a long time... but I don't know if I should ask for her help..."

He shouldn't let her touch Him....
...But her quiet censure sounded more to do with worry for Him, than irritability about her situation.

Xulchilbara moved to rest His cheek against His forearm, and looked at her from eyes turned the muted shade of burgundy.
" I am not the first god to give up their immortality, and I will have it back eventually." He reminded her, then let her soft petting lull Him further away from anger, and closer to simple fatigue.

His hair had grown some since He first took this body, and the black strands hung over His eyes here and there, unless pushed away by her fingers.
"Why not? Alessa is powerful, and tender, but she knows little of babies." He commented with the shadow of a smile at speaking of her.
( Although He was not looking forward to facing her now that he was mortal)

He frowned again, and a hint of brighter flame kindled in His eyes.
"........Is it because of me that you do not wish to ask her?" He asked her with deceptive calm.
( Why did it matter? He had never cared about whether or not Ran was ashamed of her connection to Him before?)

Her fingers twitched, then stilled and fell away from Him. With a sigh, she closed her eyes. "It because of me, not you." She hadn't missed that tiny smile on His face. It made her jealous in some odd way, but mostly, it just reminded her of why she was there, and the place she held.

"I spent part of my day reading the network since I couldn't manage to stand for too long..."

The hand resting over her belly traveled absently to rub aimless patterns across her hip, and outer thigh.

"You have experienced massive trauma, it is expected you would be tired."
Another frown at the tingling sensation in His feet, and He huffed at the drawbacks of mortality. Doubtless, limbs falling asleep would be the least of it.

There was room next to her, and after this tentative peace, Xulchilbara took the opportunity to place His hand on her chest, and bodily scoot her an inch or two so He could sit beside her, and monitor both her, and His daughter's energies. ( Strangely soothing to feel their connection, and the echo of connection to Him too. )

"....And?" He prompted when she trailed off about viewing th network.

Tired was one thing, but she felt as weak as He'd accused her of making Him. Perhaps it was a touch of payback. She grumbled when He scooted her, but went willingly enough, allowing Him nearer. "No one cared. You and Alessa were really the only ones to show any kind of outrage at what happened to me... Isane did, but she's a healer. She gets worked up any time someone's hurt."

She wanted to roll away from Him; turn away from Him, but she knew how persistant he was. After all, He'd bound her there.

"Not even taichou. He didn't even say a word about it..."

He let her take her time in telling Him what was bothering her....and it wasn't terribly surprising that her chain wasn't the largest part of why she was upset.

"Alessa enjoys your company....and contrary to popular opinion, I do care about you as more than the mother of my child." He commented with a half shrug.

"...But this all related back to your choice not to abort the pregnancy." And the original choice to sleep with me. It was unsaid, and He did have the good grace not to point it out, but it was still there.

" I told you a long time ago, Chrysanthemum"He continued, using His pet name for her for the first time in quite a long time.
" My purpose in the universe is an ugly one. I have always evoked passionate reactions, be they abiding hate, or passionate love."

Xulchilbara did understand the source of some of her hurt over the reaction her friends, and comrades had displayed at her choice, but He was not surprised by that reaction in the least.

....And it seemed He was growing soft along with becoming mortal, for her weakness disturbed Him.
He had not much energy to spare, but nevertheless, the Red God moved to stretch His lean body out next to her, and place one hand over her chest, and the other over her belly once more.

TaKe iT...iT Is aLl I cAn dO, aNd iT wIlL hElP yOu FeEl bEtTeR He 'said' though His mouth did not move, and His voice came from that corner in the back of Her mind that He was connected to.
Without waiting for her to protest, or fuss, He let His eyes slide half closed again, and called up her reitsu.
Energy to energy; it came easily, but instead of drawing it into Himself to be consumed, He pushed His own fiery, chaotic essence into her, and let it suplament her own life force.

....Ah, but it felt good to connect in an intimacy far closer, and more private than sex alone could achieve.

...Yet true to His nature, He couldn't help the quick flash of want that rose in response. ( Though He ignored the reply of the flesh to the sharing of spirit)
It was their relationship at it's basic level; Chemistry

The power brought prickles to her skin and a shaky sigh to her lips. Her body eagerly soaked it in as her hand found the arm so close to where she'd been skewered. She leaned a little closer and pressed a careful kiss to the corner of His mouth, silent gratitude for the sharing.

"I'm sorry..."

Soft indeed...For a being who thrived on conflict, He felt more than willing to let the argument go for the moment, and let Himself be mollified by the kiss.

DoN'T bE. It WaS mY ChOiCE, AnD YoUr CoNnEcTiOn To mE tHaT iS InDiReCtLy ThE CaUsE oF ThIs He replied.

After a moment more, He gently drew away from the connection, and let the hand resting over her heart relax, slide around to her back, and draw her into an embrace.

ReSt. We WiLl bOtH hAvE LiTtlE ENouGh TiMe FoR iT SooN....BuT nOt TonIghT...
And with that, the now mortal God shut His eyes.

He was just wondering if this meant He could sleep as mortals did when His body made the decision for him, and drifted off into dreamless oblivion, His arm still wrapped protectively around Ran....

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