Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or D. Gray-Man.
Was this death? If it is, then it hurts. It was much the same as being injured in life.
How long was she in this state? She was aware of her body as the pain washed over her. She felt it most in the place she was injured, where the Akuma missile pierced her abdomen. Since her Innocence was an equipment type, there was no way she could battle the virus. She had no protection from it the same way both Allen and Timothy did, being parasitic types. She had died, consumed by the virus.
So why, Miranda Lotto wondered, did it continue to hurt so much? If she was dead, shouldn't she be at peace? Was she not welcomed into Heaven?
Was this Hell?
Miranda opened her eyes wearily. She was sprawled in the same position when she fell and possibly how she died. She turned on her side and tried to gauge her appearance and surroundings. She still wore her uniform, but it was ripped and torn, especially in the area where a huge piece had been ripped away and crusted with dry blood.
Around was a simple bare clearing, ground with merely boulders scattered about. It was simply barren, and unlike the battleground she last remembered. There were no longer bodies and parts scattered about, that it was almost to believe that it had been just a horrible dream.
It was all confusing. If she had died, shouldn't, for one, her clothing be different? Changed instead to a pure white gown as she ascended above? Shouldn't she at least be bathed in light as she was welcomed into Heaven, be anywhere else than in this barren place?
She wanted to cry.
Miranda tried and managed to roll more on to her side, the best she could do before the ache in her abdomen made it difficult. She gritted her teeth and laid her head on her arms to rest.
Wait. There was something wrong.
She gasped as she realized what was missing.
Time Record.
Her anti-akuma weapon that housed her Innocence, made from the face of an old Grandfather clock, was gone.
Miranda felt breathless, hyper ventilating. The feeling coupled with the anguish of waking alone, losing her friends to fate unknown. It added to the pressure in her chest, until she was forcibly gasping for air.
Time Record had served as a reminder to herself, of what she had decided that fateful day in her town: to become a stronger person, to become an exorcist and protect her friends, her comrades. Losing it was like losing a piece of her heart.
Allen-kun.
Lenalee-chan.
Lavi.
Bookman.
Kanda.
Krory-san.
Marie.
Komui.
Johnny.
Reever.
Timothy.
Everyone at the Order.
They were precious pieces of her heart and it wrenched inside with an emotional pang, their faces beginning to rush through her mind. She could hear them, their voices speaking in her ear.
"Miranda-san."
"Miranda!"
"Oi!"
"Mir-an-da!"
Their words swirled in her head, creating a vortex of pain and sorrow within her being, one that hurt worse than the pain in her abdomen.
"Minna," she whispered, her tears falling as she, despite the pain it brought, curled into a ball. "Minna…!"
"Rohhhhhhhhh!"
Miranda gasped, opening her eyes and gave a scream of horror. Surrounding her were monstrous creatures, large and horribly grotesque with masked, gaping faces. Each of them lumbered towards where she laid, giving out that god-awful scream.
"Rohhhhhhhhh!"
Miranda panicked. What are they? A new form of Akuma? Could they perhaps be a new level, a level 5? God wouldn't be that cruel to allow such a thing, would he?
She didn't know what to do. Without her anti-Akuma weapon, she couldn't fight, couldn't use Time Out to protect herself.
Besides, wasn't she dead already? It wouldn't, shouldn't, hurt that much. With this twisted logic, Miranda closed her eyes and waited for the moment of impact.
"Mai, Sode no Shirayuki!"
Pillars of ice formed and encased the monsters, destroying them as the ice shattered. Miranda opened her eyes and looked up weakly.
A blur of white flashed through the creatures' feet and towards her way. It appeared beside her, just as the ice pillar formed once more to shatter and break apart its captive.
It was a woman standing beside her, with long dark hair braided in a unique style, with the tail end of the braid in front of her. She wore a large white coat and from underneath, Miranda could see a familiar looking set of black robes, similar yet different to what Chomesuke had been wearing when she was in her human skin.
If she remembered correctly, Chomesuke had called it a kimono.
"Hello, child," she said. "I am called Unohana Retsu. I am here to help." She crouched down closer and gently placed a hand on Miranda's shoulder. "Could you tell me your name?"
"Mi-Miranda Lotto."
"Lotto-san, are you hurt any where? Is there a chance you would be able to move on your own?" Unohana asked, as the hand on her shoulder began to glow a gentle blue.
"H-hai. All over, but here," Miranda pressed against the spot on her abdomen, "here hurts the most."
"I see." The woman looked serious as she concentrated on her spell, unbeknownst to Miranda who could not see her.
"Unohana-taichou!"
A new woman suddenly appeared, surprising the German woman with her speed and ability to just appear. She was exotic looking, with short, silvery white hair with a little ponytail tied on the side of her face, with a very tall figure and expressive dark eyes. She wore nearly the same outfit like Unohana, minus the white coat. There was a sheathed katana by her side and she had her hand on its hilt.
"Gomenasai. I bring bad report," she said, bowing. "I'm afraid the mass of Hollows are simply too much for Kuichiki-san and Kira-san to contain. There are beginning to overwhelm us and I fear we might suffer casualties. A retreat is our most top priority, taichou."
"Naruhodo." Unohana nodded seriously at the news and turned back to where Miranda laid. "I will need to move now that it is too dangerous to treat you here, Lotto-san," she said. "I am sorry for putting you under this strain, but can you accept any method I may use to move you?"
Miranda, when she thought about it, didn't have much of a choice. She was hurt, weak, and without her weapon she was useless. And this kind woman was offering her help.
Common sense told her to accept, though she was a bit concerned at the "method" Unohana spoke about. It sounded like something that would freak her out.
Now she was beginning to get nervous.
"I…I can," she said bravely at last.
Pain should be nothing. Over her twenty-six years, she had experienced lots of it, from emotional abuse, injuries of her many, failed jobs, and the constant strain her Time Record would put on her during their battles with the Akuma. She could handle pain and she will. Right now, Miranda's highest priority was to survive and find out what happened.
Or what this really what death was like?
"Alright." Unohana stood and reached for a katana tied to her belt, the first time Miranda seeing the weapon since it had been underneath the coat. The woman unsheathed it and held it forward towards the bare space near them.
The exorcist watched Unohana, as her lips moved softly in a sort of a short incantation.
"Minazuki."
The blade instantly disintegrated, disappearing from her hand to form shape somewhere else. The new form was humongous, with a wide body and a large, toothy mouth. It resembled a creature of the sea. A single eye blinked, as the new creature gave a small noise, like the trill of a whale.
"This is my zanpakutou, Minazuki," Unohana explained to the gaping woman. "He will not harm you. The inside of his body holds special healing properties that can help you better than I. That is where I shall put you."
"Na-nani?!" she shrieked in terror. "It's-it's-it's-IT'S GOING TO EAT ME?!"
The older woman gave her infamous gentle smile. "Daijobou. Minazuki is a zanpakutou of healing. It will feel uncomfortable, I confess, but it shall not hurt you. I promise."
"I…I…" Miranda felt her eyes grow teary with fear. But Unohana looked so sincere in her promise and that, perhaps, was what did her in.
"I understand," she finished weakly. "I will… go inside Minazuki's… stomach."
Unohana gave somewhat of a kind, relieved smile (perhaps because she agreed so readily), before turning to the woman from before, who stood by patiently for her captain's order.
"Isane, please help me lift her. Use delicate procedures, for I believe there is massive inner damage."
"Hai, Unohana-taichou," the woman, Isane, bent down on the other side of Miranda while the captain wrapped her arms under her back.
"Minazuki, please open your mouth and prepare for transport," she ordered and the marine like beast complied with a strange moaning response.
Miranda tried not to scream, biting hard on her bottom lip as they placed her inside the gaping mouth. For a moment, she wished to be left alone instead, to be consumed in the initiating battle occurring around them.
"Breathe."
Unbidden, Marie's voice came to her mind. It was so strong that she could nearly feel his large, warm hands on her shoulders as he helped her through yet another breathing exercise to calm her nerves.
"It's all right, Miranda," she saw his smile. "Just breathe."
In the end, all she did was give her signature laugh, fu-fuing within Minazuki's bowels as his mouth slowly closed.
"Let us be off, Isane," Unohana said, shunpo-ing to the top of her released zanpakutou's head where she gently sat down.
"H-hai, Unohana-taichou!" Quickly following, Isane waved her arm in the air, giving the signal to the two battling Shinigami to retreat, before joining her captain on Minazuki's head.
The manta ray monster trilled once more and flapped its wide fins, creating enough momentum to lift its bulky body off the ground.
Overhead, taichous and fuktaichou saws the small party retreat, two of their Division's trainees and Kuichiki Rukia and Kira Izuru, their assigned Shinigami patrolmen.
The Hollows tried to follow, unable to resist the temptation of a free meal. They walked over the bodies of their fallen, crushing heads and flesh beneath their hard soles. Rukia's Hakuren slowed them down, allowing for a full and swift retreat.
From the air, the Fourth Division captain watched with a solemn eye. Their mission had been a failure just as it had been a success. They managed to map out the uncharted area that suddenly appeared near the 78th Rukonagi District. It was a barren place and overrun with Hollows. The lost souls had been traveling all in the same direction, drawn to the same source.
Miranda Lotto.
"Taichou," Isane looked uncomfortable as she struggled to ask her question. "Ano…"
"I'm not sure myself, Isane," Unohana replied softly. "This is new to me as well. However, I can say this with certainty. Whatever this phenomenon may be, it is connected to Lotto-san. Whatever happens, only she will have the answers why."