[The touch of her hand - light as it is - reminds him that he is not alone; that this is not the time to indulge in self-recrimination. There will be time for that later - for wishing he could change the past, or escape it entirely. For wondering if it had been fear that had kept him from using his bankai the moment that Ichigo had broken the illusion.
Right now, he can hear the grief in Jyuushiko's voice and he focuses on that, with another silent curse at the kidou shield and the drugs that he can feel draining his energy as fast as he can summon it. Disengaging his hand from hers, he shifts slightly so that he can slip an arm around Jyuushiko's waist, though he makes no attempt to pull her in closely.]
I have broader shoulders than you, Jyuu. And you've always been too forgiving.
[It's an effort to sort through the fever dreams; to remember what was true and what was nothing more than a product of the drugs and the delirium. But there's a faint remembrance there of Ise Nanao's reiatsu, cool and controlled on the surface but with an undercurrent of distress that had frightened him at the time; of Retsu's quiet voice ordering her out. He lifts his head slightly to address Minazuki, who he is certain is still listening.]
If Nanao-chan is still here, you can tell her that her Taichou is ready to hear her report today.
[Then, more quietly, he looks back at Jyuushiko, and this time there's no attempt to hide his face from her.]
no subject
Right now, he can hear the grief in Jyuushiko's voice and he focuses on that, with another silent curse at the kidou shield and the drugs that he can feel draining his energy as fast as he can summon it. Disengaging his hand from hers, he shifts slightly so that he can slip an arm around Jyuushiko's waist, though he makes no attempt to pull her in closely.]
I have broader shoulders than you, Jyuu. And you've always been too forgiving.
[It's an effort to sort through the fever dreams; to remember what was true and what was nothing more than a product of the drugs and the delirium. But there's a faint remembrance there of Ise Nanao's reiatsu, cool and controlled on the surface but with an undercurrent of distress that had frightened him at the time; of Retsu's quiet voice ordering her out. He lifts his head slightly to address Minazuki, who he is certain is still listening.]
If Nanao-chan is still here, you can tell her that her Taichou is ready to hear her report today.
[Then, more quietly, he looks back at Jyuushiko, and this time there's no attempt to hide his face from her.]
What about Kuchiki?