Aftershocks

Aoi was pleased with how excited Rin had been, he really did like all this 'old' stuff, so she really was entirely happy with that. He could adore her home all he wanted~ It was best for him to, made it easier for them if he wasn't all upset by it.

She seemed entirely unaware of the looks though, just beaming in a manner that most of them found terrifying. That smile only showed when she was beating them all up, so it wasn't something any of the members liked and caused fidgets of fear around her in an almost Pavlovian response.

Before anyone else could move though a little black and white flash rushed for the pair, bounding forward at full tilt as the tiny little bunny rushed for his master. However it seemed to divert immediately once it noticed the other person, seeing the other person seemingly setting off more excitement.

"Rintoo!" Aoi gave a happy squeal as the bunny ran head first into Rin's leg and then fell bounced onto its back in a small ball. She bent over a bit as the bun recovered flipping itself immediately and rushed back to Rin, paws set on his foot as Rintoo began nibbling on the kimono.

"He's happy to see you, awwww!" Her two buuuuns! Aoi was in heaven, practically sparkling as the others around then started getting closer in apparent disbelief. They had almost felt it was a trick by Captain, but the Bunny never lied... It obviously adored the man, so that...had to be... its other person...

Rin had been focused on the looks, unsure of how to take them...but as he felt a weight hit his leg, his eyes glanced down to see... Rintoo! Aoi was certainly happy to see him, and Rin couldn't deny being a bit happy himself.

The rabbit was adorable, after all.

He leaned down some as Rintoo returned to his foot and began nibbling on his kimono, moving to pick him up to hold him and give him nice, soft pets as a laugh escaped.

"It's good to see him again." He answered, looking to Aoi; it seems he had lost focus on the other shinigami's looks that were directed towards him.

Rintoo immediately nudged Rin's hands, sniffling them and thenlicking them before nibbles followed. Apparently he missed him and was now assessing his state of being, also adoring the soft pets.

Aoi for her part straightened up, not even a bit jealous as Rintoo went for Rin, she would have done the same thing in the buns shoes. Instead she beamed and her squad members were forgotten as she tugged Rin along by his arm.

Her Squad was almost happy with this, but then a collective lonesome feeling seemed to arise from them... She...cared not... for them now.

Aoi was seriously ignoring them now, because really how could she not want to give her two buns all the attention in the world? Instead she was leading him deeper into the Squad, heading for the more residential areas and away from the training and work areas. "This way! You should shower him with all your love, I can wait a bit while I lead you to my home!"

Rin gave a few light, happy chuckles as Rintoo sniffled and licked at his fingers, feeling the ticklish nibbles follow shortly after. It was ticklish whether Rin wanted it to be or not...his hands were sensitive and they were currently the victim of rabbit nibbles.

It had been awhile since he'd last seen the rabbit, it was good to see he was doing well in person; the stories Aoi had shared before had been interesting, and somewhat silly.

He didn't mean to ignore the division members that currently had their eyes on them, but he was utter distracted from the attention. He had Aoi with him, and he was reuniting with her cute rabbit.

"Eeh? I think I can manage giving both of you attention, Aoi..." He gave a smile as Aoi led him off, his hand attempting to continue to give Rintoo pets despite the nibbles as he followed.  He would be able to see Aoi's new home! He still had to worry about decorating it too! He had work to do later!

"I dunno, he seems pretty intent on making sure you love him first. Look at him!" Aoi was still beaming, her smile outshining the sun as she glanced over. Rintoo was nudging Rin's hands now, trying to get closer to the man's body so he could examine him for more injuries or changes. He did not care if he ended up tickling, things could have changed since the last time he was seen and thus needed to be assessed immediately. Dr Bun was in the House.

"I am definitely fine with waiting for Rin Love until Rintoo has his turn. Maybe...you could tell me about the thing you didn't want to tell Ruka about while we walk?" It wouldn't be too far, but her Division had taken her happy shining hints and not come to bother her just yet. So there was really no one around right now but them...

Another light laugh was given at Aoi's words, he couldn't say she was wrong... Rintoo was inspecting him quite closely as he pet him. It had been quite awhile since he'd last seen the rabbit, so he supposed this barrage of cuddles was inevitable...not that he was complaining, of course.

It was nice to see Rintoo again-

"H-Huh?" The thing he didn't want to tell... "Aha... Ah, that..." How was he supposed to...just start talking about that? It was quite a heavy subject, and he wasn't sure how Aoi would react to all of what he'd witnessed...

Hm...

"The bubble, ah... Do you remember...anyone with you when you...after you escaped that guild? Someone...that just appeared halfway through a building one night and...treated your injuries? Helped you get supplies...?"

He figured if he was going to try to ask if she remembered with anything that'd happened...the injuries and supplies gathering would be safer than actually talking about the fire.

Rintoo finally settled as the house came into view, knowing that this meant he'd have proper time to inspect Rin fully.

The house itself was not large, but it was two stories and carefully built. Showing its age, it wasn't in disrepair though merely an antique in and of itself almost. It had a deck built in around the outside, sliding doors and was surrounded by well kept trees and plants. The inside was quite old as well, but typically styled as most buildings were unless specially designed.

Obviously Aoi took care of none of this, and she smiled at Rin before he spoke. "Hm? Remember... something?"

About when she left the guild? When she...burnt it down really... Someone who helped her...?

Someone with supplies?

Aoi froze solid, her mind almost hurting as she felt something shifting in her head. Memories... she hadn't had before, memories that weren't... there rushed in her and she groaned as her hand came up to her face. What... was going on? What...were these weird flashes!? It was like before, with her hollow but not...

"Aoi..." Rin's voice was concerned, not yet having time to take in her new home as worry began to take root. It was...a lot to remember, and clearly the bubbles had influenced things...he wasn't sure if she'd remember or not though...

Judging by how she was reacting now, he hardly knew what to think...

Holding Rintoo in one arm his other reached out towards her, but not yet touching her, unsure of doing so as she seemed to become pained. He could focus on the house in a bit, right now Aoi and her well being was his priority.

"A-Ah... I'm fine..." Aoi's mind adjusted quickly as her hand rubbed her face, those memories settling in and making themselves at home. There were too many to deal with right now, flashes of a knife and pain... someone washing her... getting her clothing... Stealing... Murdering...

Rin's questions were obviously pointing at it being him, but she wasn't really able to think on those thoughts just yet. Unaware of his hand held out, she stumbled forward, attempting to get to the house so she could process all of what was unsaid.

"Hah! Look, its my house!" Waving at it, she tried to get there with a rather small grin. Inside was best...

Rintoo was easily moved, the bun looking over at Aoi in a bit of concern it seemed, his ears twitching.

Rin wasn't convinced as Aoi tried to divert the attention to her home, but he carefully kept by her as she made her way inside properly as she stumbled forward. He had to be sure she'd be alright before he put his focus on anything else.

A place to sit... rest... Aoi could sit down and let everything settle...

"Let's go somewhere you can sit..." He suggested, the concern showing in his tone as he walked with her, still holding the concerned looking rabbit in his arm.

This was all...probably a lot for her to take in... He'd been there in what had seemed like a couple of days...even if he'd returned home after only hours of being gone...

"Kaaay. My living room should be just down this hall." Aoi slide the door open, noting how Rin was hovering but not letting him touch her for now due to the minor shaking that this was causing. Seriously... what in the world was that!?

Sit, she could sit and work through things...

Concerned Rin was concerned for her and she felt he had a right to be. If what little she was letting through was telling her... There was a bit to talk about and deal with.

Part of her though, part of her was immensely happy at this... She lead him along the hallway to another sliding door, opening it to show a room with cushions, a lot more than just sitting ones. Wobbling to the table, she attempted to plop down carefully but instead fell to her knees. "Whoops."

Rin allowed Aoi to lead them somewhere, looking towards the room with the cushions as the door was slid open. His eyes widened slightly out of worry as she suddenly plopped down; he moved to seat himself shortly after, settling Rintoo in his lap in a gentle hold.

He was quiet, not wanting to talk just yet... She had to work through her memories and thoughts before anything else...

"You...were there..." Aoi fell to her side with a soft thud, seemingly not noticing as she stared into space. It wasn't the first time she'd had memory issues, but she was positive this hadn't been how it'd went before. Just that feeling in her, that something was changed and off... Not that she couldn't remember it, because clearly she once had in a different way.

Maybe it was because of how her mind was that she could tell this.

There... Rin had been there... There had been... she'd tried to stab him and failed, he'd been...taking care of her too. She'd slept using his warmth, the clothes he'd stolen for her... Cleaned her back... Those scars were now gone but really they'd been there forever before her hollow regeneration kicked in.

He'd poisoned... poisoned them for her...

"You did... a lot. That's why you helped... That...is why..." Why he'd murdered children... Rin...had done some awful things... Aoi giggled softly, feeling a burning warmth in her heart as she laid there and focused on the memories.

"Mhm...I was there..."

He'd...been there, yes. This was...an altered memory of it all, but he'd been there... Those bubbles had caused people's pasts to become altered, he'd been inserted into Aoi's past...

He'd...helped her, he'd treated her injuries, gathered clothes and supplies for her, poisoned people...

She was...talking though, and now...l-laughing? Giggling, really but...it was a much more positive answer than he'd expected. He'd been worried when she'd just...fallen over, but...she seemed...alright...

"You're alright...?"

Aoi positively glowed... She should be upset, she should be angry that he had been forced into that. That her precious pure Rin was all touched by that darkness in her past. That something had pushed him into that time and he'd seen her like that...

But she wasn't upset at all. It was a weird but very good feeling in her, Aoi pleased beyond measure.

Moving to her hands and knees, she shook her head and murmured softly. "I'm really fine... I promise."

Aoi looked up, her blue eyes almost feverish as she reached for Rin's hand to pull to her cheek. "Uwa...Rin's pure hands have blood on them...all for me~ He tainted them because he loves me... I think I love Rin all the more now~"

Rin was quiet, listening as Aoi began to speak after taking his hand; there was still...a bit of worry left in him, but she said she was alright... Her eyes seemed a bit feverish, but...

L-Loved him all the more now...?

That was a surprise to hear, his main concern was that she'd be upset, but...she was laughing, and saying things like this...

She promised she was fine...

"I was worried...about telling you..."

"Why? It isn't bad." Aoi giggled as she crawled closer to Rin once his hand was dropped, the bunny on his lap noticing his owner's actions and hopping away as she began to drape herself against the man. Pausing for a moment with a confused expression, her happiness didn't yet seem dimmed. "Mm. Wait it might be? Isn't it supposed to be?"

"I remember though~ You took such good care of me. I was right, you loved me." Aoi's movements brought her onto his lap at this point, not allowing him any chance to escape or dissuade her. With a warm smile, she practically sparkled as she giggled more. "You loved me enough to do that... something I didn't think Rin could ever do."

Murdering others~ Especially innocents. How could she not be pleased? It was a rather telling sign of his love that he had done what he had. It was flattering.

Well, it was bad...but his...or well...society's standards compared to...everything... It wasn't definitely hard to really... It wasn't like he was one-hundred percent okay with what he did, but... it had all already happened once before...he hadn't wanted Aoi stuck either...

He wanted to help Aoi more than anything else...be by her side, support her when needed. He wanted to do what he could...

This had been one of those instances...

Rin brought his hand up to Aoi's hair as she moved onto his lap, letting his fingers gently move through her hair as Rintoo hopped off of him and away.

Rather than answer her with words, he leaned in slightly, moving in to give her a kiss.

Aoi's head leaned back into Rin's hand, her eyes closing in quite a bit of enjoyment. She had these wonderful memories now of Rin, a Rin who had helped her and did things just for her... Not that he didn't do them already, but it was quite a step from anything he'd ever shown her before.

It pleased her even if it shouldn't and she made a soft pleased sound as she felt his lips touch hers, responding to his kiss. Her hands gripped his kimono, tensing a bit as she held him closely with that. His answer was quite clear to her, he would do quite a bit to keep her safe.

Selfish, both of them were selfish. Maybe that's why he enticed her so much?

Rin allowed Aoi to keep him close, having expected the likely would have done so after he'd kissed her; he continued to respond as her hands tensed on his clothing.

He was fine, and he'd been able to help Aoi in the bubbles; that was what he'd wanted most of all, he'd done what he'd needed to do.

When he'd arrived home after all of that...he had...strangely not been all that shaken up, just exhausted mostly... Plus, Ruka had been a good distraction from him feeling anything other than tired. She'd been worried, and he'd needed to help reassure her; Aoi had been worried before now too...

He was alright, and he was relieved to have gotten that point across... Hopefully.

Aoi could kiss Rin all day, but she'd get in trouble if she did... There wasn't enough time for fun, not nearly enough to satisfy Rin at least and that was the sticking point. If she could have Rin, then she'd be fine. Pulling back from the quickly mind melting kissing, Aoi continued to hold onto the man's kimono.

In a rare fit of almost worry, she stared up at Rin's face and gave a weak smile. "I'm not hurting you am I?"

Wasn't this bad for him? She was for sure altering him, there were lines and he was passing them... Even if those lines were something like paint on the floor for her, something she barely noticed as she went over. For someone like Rin they should be more like briar hedges, something awful and painful to get across...

Rin continued to respond to Aoi, though as she pulled away his eyes went down to her. Was something wrong?

...

Hurting him...?

He blinked at first in response to that, confused before he realized what she was asking. "Of course your not, Aoi."

She wasn't hurting him, sure...he'd done things he'd never expected he'd be able to do in the bubbles, but... He felt fine, strangely enough.

"I feel perfectly fine..." He continued, voicing his thoughts in attempt to reassure her. "I felt fine aside from exhaustion after I returned home as well..."

Perhaps the fact that he'd put in his head...that it'd already all happened once, and that it was all for Aoi...had made things easier on him? It...seemed to be enough for him...

He'd wanted to help Aoi more than anything back there...

"I am though... I think you're changing to fit me." Aoi spoke softly and solemnly, more than a bit of awe in her voice. He was...fine? No nothing after... that? That awful awful thing he'd done? It wasn't normal by far. "Rin, you're going down roads you can't come back from... And you feel perfectly fine about that."

Aoi's hands slipped up into Rin's hair as her fingers entangled in light strands, pulling his head back enough to bare his throat as she began to nip at the sensitive skin there. "You are getting your hands dirty and dark... Are you sure that's fine?"

"...I didn't feel bad, or awful when I returned...I was just tired, like I needed to rest..." Rin answered, knowing Aoi was worried about this... They should talk about this...some... "I know what I saw, I know what I did back there...but...the main focus of my thoughts then were helping you...

That's what I wanted to do more than anything else, and I did. I did what was needed to help you... There was a thought...that that had all...already occurred in some form...to help push me then, but... I didn't feel broken up about it, not to the point where I would...regret what I did..."

Before he could explain any further, a small breath was given as he tensed slightly; Aoi was teasing his neck, and he was reacting, he couldn't not react whenever she teased him there...

Aoi listened, teasing Rin's neck lightly with her lips no matter how cruel it was. She'd have to go to work, this was mean to do but the woman was unable to resist one bit since Rin was just right here and letting her. Rin hadn't felt miserable over his actions, he hadn't felt torn or even bothered...

It was even obvious to her too, that despite the fact that his thoughts had been trying to rationale that it had already happened... If it hadn't, which she didn't know now was true or not, there was no way he would have hesitated either to cause it to happen if it had meant her safety.

There was no regret in the man and Aoi raised her head up a bit from her small bites to murmur in his ear. "Then I won't worry anymore... You're mine then~ I'll let you follow me where you want from now on..."

She didn't need to protect him from that stuff then, not if he could murder children in cold blood for her~