Gold and black eyes stared unblinkingly at the orange head that sat in the middle of the room, his white clothes emphasizing his hair nicely. Shirosaki Ogichi, a psychologist and this patient's new doctor, stared at the teenager who stared back with just as much vigor, though his eyes were a brown and lifeless. Shirosaki had no idea how this kid could be classified as 'extremely dangerous and unstable' if all he did was sit in the middle of the room and stare at people.
"I'm your new doctor, Ichigo. My name is Shirosaki, but you can call me Shiro like everyone else does. This is Grimmjow, a friend of mine who will step in if you try to hurt yourself, or hurt me. Would you like to talk about anything in particular today?" The patient blinked, eyes lighting up, as if he had just regained consciousness, and started to study Shiro, like he had seemingly been doing for the past five minutes. Gold and Brown eyes met, a staring contest started with a brilliant gold gaze who waited patiently for an answer and a warm, chocolaty stare that only held curiosity, a tinge of fear, and a swirl of amazement. Ichigo reached his hand out, almost like he was going to poke Shiro in the eye, and pointed. "Beautiful." Whispered words morphed into a whimper when Grimmjow reached forward and clutched the wrist in a tight grip. Chocolate pools lost their life as they peered downcast, looking at the loor and Ichigo started to pick at the carpet, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.
"What the hell Grimmjow!? He wasn't going to do anything!" Shiro shouted in a hushed tone.
"I'm sorry! I totally freaked! Usually he tends to attack his doctors after they introduce themselves. You haven't seen what has happened to them before a guard manages to get in here. I just don't want you to end up like they did. This kid unnerves me." Grimmjow explained, silently pleading for forgiveness.
"I appreciate that, but next time until he actually attacks me, don't step in. It ruins my progress with the patient." Shiro sighed, uneasy about having to start all over. He couldn't stand the way the life just disappears out of Ichigo's eyes.
"Would you like to talk about anything Ichigo?" He asked again, catching the attention of the boy who still picked at the carpet and refused to look up. Shiro received a shake of the head, no words. "Alright, how about I talk then?" This time, Shiro got a nod. Okay, that was progress. "Where to begin? I was born in Hueco Mundo, Karakura. It says that you were born in Karakura too. Is that true Ichigo?"
"y-yeah." Ichigo shyly answered, refusing to make eye-contact as he continued picking at the carpet.
"Do you like to draw Ichigo, because I may be able to bring you a pen and some paper. It just seems so boring, looking at that wall all day. Would you like me to bring you some?"
"Paint." Ichigo blushed, still not taking his eyes off the intricate pattern of the carpet.
"What?" Shiro asked, genuinely confused.
"I Paint." Ichigo portrayed, glancing up, before he quickly looked away. "Do you believe me?" He asked.
"I think you'd make a good painter, whether you're lying about it or not." Shiro answered, smiling. He was glad that he was making progress.
"No. My file…" He broke off, glancing away and dropping his hands, which he used to gesture with, back onto the carpet. "Never mind." He blushed.
"What about your file, Ichigo? Is there something wrong with it?" Shiro asked, perplexed.
"Nobody believes me, so it doesn't matter. Please forget it and ignore me, like my other doctors." Ichigo, tearing up, turned away as if he was making to look out a window, except without a window. He just stared at the wall, silently willing the tears not to flow down his sun-tanned cheekbones. His long orange hair hiding his face, Shiro could only guess what kind of expression he wore.
"If you would like me to ignore what you said about your file, I'll leave you alone about it, but I can't very well ignore you. You're my patient and it would be very hard to ignore someone with so many unseen emotions." Shiro encouraged.
"You'll only pay attention to me so that I'll open up to you. It's what you do for a living. You get paid to not ignore me, though, I'm not sure that is what you'll get paid for soon enough. You're going to end up just like all the others." Ichigo glared, eyes dangerous.
"I have not a clue what you're talking about? Why would I get paid for ignoring you?" Shiro frowned.
"That's what everyone else gets paid for around here. My last doctor, a pink haired man, asked me a question and I told him something so outrageous, you'd think I was crazy. No pun intended. But he just let…" Ichigo cut off, going silent. "I've said too much! He's going to come and get me. He's going to hurt me like the others did." He rambled, curling his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth on his butt. What the hell? Like the others? From what Grimmjow had said, he was the one hurting people, not visa-versa. Why would he be so emotionally distressed about talking and making it seem like he was continually being beaten. It didn't say anything about an abusive relationship or history of abuse of any kind in the file, yet he displayed most of the characteristics of someone who has been physically or emotionally harmed. What was wrong with this kid?