More from my Betrayal Verse with Ash. Hope you enjoy!~
The first time it happened was in the hospital, right after the initial attack while Ichigo was still in the ICU. They found him shivering.
He'd disconnected himself from the monitors and IV's to huddle up in the corner of the hospital room opposite the window, curled tightly in the wrapped up in the bedcovers. He was shivering and muttering quietly to himself as he dug his fingernails into his arms. Blood was dripping down his arms from the fingernail gouges and torn skin where he ripped out the IV tubes. In his panic, a jar of gumballs sitting on the bedside table, a present from Tatsuki, had been knocked over covering the floor in brightly colored candy spheres.
When they came in, he jumped and stared at them as if he didn't know who they were, scrabbling backwards as if to press himself further into the wall. It wasn't until Isshin knelt down in front of him and carefully pressed a warm hand against his shoulder did the boy finally calm down. The blind panic cleared from his eyes and his whole body slumped in relief.
He allowed them to guide him out of the corner and back onto the bed, but he kept the blankets clutched tightly to himself, claiming to be cold. A nurse was sent out to get new coverings for the bed along with a few extra blankets as they had Ichigo sit on the bed so they could examine his wounds.
Arms extended from within the blankets Ichigo watched as his father and Ryuken Ishida each took hold of an arm and began to patch up the bleeding gouges. When they were done, they insisted on checking on his other wounds, to make sure he didn't reopen them in his panic. But that meant removing the blankets which Ichigo was hesitant to do.
"He… h-he's not near here… right?" the question was spoken softly in the most timid voice most had ever heard come from the orange haired boy's mouth. Even Isshin hadn't heard such a tone come from his son in years, not since before Masaki died and it brought forth such an ache in his chest. How that... being had earned such an intense degree of trust and love from his son, all while pretending to return his affections no less, to leave the boy so deeply wounded and genuinely afraid of his return, Isshin would never know or understand, but it made him ache for his son. Seeing Ichigo so… so broken, it was nearly more than he could bear sometimes. But it wasn't his place to need consolance right now, no he needed to be strong for his son. He sat next to him on the bed, placing a steadying hand on the teenager's shoulder. "No Ichigo, he's not."
There wasn't even the faintest trace of the hollow's power for miles around, Ichigo was safe for the moment.
.
The teen nodded, slowly allowing the blankets to fall from his shoulders. He was okay. He was okay. He wasn't nearby. Still, Ichigo couldn't help the near violent tremble to wrack his body as the cold air danced over his uncovered form, the hospital gown doing little to keep him warm. Still, even that measly protection was stripped away from him once Ryuken undid the ties so he could examine the stitches over his abdomen.
The gown was slid off his arms to reveal bandages beginning to spot with blood. Some of the stitches were torn. Ryuken sighed. Chilled hands made contact with his bare skin, intending to help him lay down to make the exam easier for both parties. Ichigo could see it was Ryuken, he was expecting the touch, he was prepared for it, but he still flinched at the cold as he was lowered onto the hospital bed. Isshin looked over at his son in concern, glancing meaningfully at his fellow doctor. Ryuken merely shrugged as he began his work, taking a pair of scissors to cut away the bandages.
"Ichigo." he said, it sounded as if he were forcing his voice to be even and steady. "What happened?"
The boy looked up at his father, a look of confusion on his face. The question was simple enough but there was an odd inflection to his tone that Ichigo not discern the meaning of. "I...I ah…" He gasped as Ryuken slid the scissors under the bandages, the cold metal pressing against the warm skin making him go rigid. Knuckles beginning to go white as he gripped tightly onto the sheets until the scissors finished their task and were removed.
"What happened, Ichigo? What made you get out of bed and what is causing all of… all of this?" he made a hand gesture, sweeping up and down across Ichigo's torso in reference to his current behavior. "Did he… Did he do something to you?"
This time, Ichigo caught the meaning. "No dad… it wasn't… we… I didn't want to, he did, but I didn't. We… we tried a couple times, but… I wasn't… ready, so he… he didn't push it…" he mumbled softly. He felt almost ashamed of speaking so sweetly of the one who did this to him, but… he couldn't help it because while they were 'together' he was sweet. He never pushed him, never intentionally made him feel uncomfortable, he respected his boundaries, he made it seem like he actually cared. "I just… I was cold. The AC… I was sleeping and… it felt cold against my arm suddenly and… I… I freaked out because I thought… it felt like him. He was cold, he was always so cold, so I thought… But I couldn't see him… I can barely see anymore so…"
.
"You thought he might be here so you were trying to protect your back. The gumballs… you did that on purpose in case he was here, you could see if he was coming at you. The noise of the spill and the ICU monitor going off would alert someone that something was wrong." Isshin concluded, to which Ichigo nodded. Isshin was both impressed by his son's quick thinking and saddened his words.
That being… he knew just how to manipulate Ichigo. Just what boundaries he could and couldn't push to get Ichigo to trust him. He would call it genius if it wasn't so cruel. So cleverly cruel that it left Ichigo still speaking so fondly of him even after the betrayal, even when he just nearly had a panic attack over the mere possibility of the being's presence. But, then again, Ichigo was still somewhat in a state of shock… it would pass… this feeling of fondness would eventually pass as Ichigo came to terms with the reality of what that hollow had done to him, as would the effects of the trauma. The nightmares and panic attacks and paranoia and skittish nature would eventually fade, albeit much more slowly than the fondness. That was what Isshin hoped at least.
Sighing once more, the former Shinigami sat on his son's bedside, running his fingers though bright orange hair, noting how he winced slightly at the touch, but otherwise said nothing. The elder Kurosaki sighed, unsure what more he could do because he wasn't used to this. Comforting their son had always been Masaki's forte and Ichigo had never really seemed to need nor want much comfort after her death, so Isshin never had to step up to that. Despite this, Isshin knew Ichigo had to be exhausted. Considering everything the teen had gone through in the past 48 hours with such little sleep, the least he could do was offer his son a little comfort. As it was, he could see the teen struggling to keep his eyes open.
By the time the nurse charged with bringing new blankets for the bed returned, Ryuken was just about finished with the stitches. Once he was done, the two doctors helped Ichigo off the bed for the nurse to strip and redress it with fresh linens. When that was done, she set a stack of extra blankets on a chair and made her leave as they settled the teen back down for more rest, Ryuken reconnected him to the ICU monitor and IV. injecting a mild sedative to help him stay asleep once he saw Ichigo wasn't looking. Meanwhile, Isshin tucked the extra blankets around the teen's form to ensure the draft of the air conditioning wouldn't alarm him again.
"Sorry… sorry for causing so much trouble… " Ichigo mumbled softly, his voice already heavy with sleep as the sedative hit his bloodstream.
"It's not any trouble Ichigo, and none of this is your fault. Now, just get some rest."
Ichigo looked up at his father, the look in his eyes clearly expressing how little he believed that statement. His eyes held pain and betrayal and guilt, always so much guilt. Yet, before he could speak another word, a hand brushed gently through his hair.
"Sleep Ichigo." Isshin's voice left no room for argument. He simply stood there, calloused fingers stroking through orange locks until his son's eyes finally slid closed and his breathing evened out in sleep.
Thanks for reading, please review~
