I do not own Bleach or any of its characters hereby mentioned.
Stay
No…this isn't supposed to happen…
This darkness pulling me down... Shit…I can't breathe! It hurts…
"Kurosaki! Hold on, dammit!"
That voice…terrified and desperate…Ishida…? Ishida!
I struggled fruitlessly, trying to breathe around the darkness pressing in on me.
Too soon, an all too familiar harsh, manic tone reverberated through my head.
"Weak, pathetic…How can you be my King?!" His psychotic cackles filled my thoughts.
I opened my eyes to see the white washed image of myself with yellow irises and black sclera.
I shut my eyes quickly again, hoping he might go away and leave me in the dark recesses of my mind alone.
"Nice try, Ichigo, but you're stuck with me. Until you wake up I have you all to myself," his mocking tone jeered.
I didn't like the grin that twisted his pallid lips.
"You nearly got us killed again. Jumping to save your moronic friend…how pathetic."
The images came back to me now. The Hollow…Uryu…so much blood…Uryu's terrified face…raindrops. Wait…had he been crying?
"If it's a fight you want, I have no interest in battling you now," I stated, staring down the black and gold eyes that honestly scared me shitless.
Once again his laughter echoed in my head. "You really are thick-headed! You're barely clinging to life at the moment like a hunted beast, and you think you can battle me?" His blue tongue slithered out between ashen lips, making him look quite like some grotesque lizard. "If you'd let me have control…"
I suddenly found my hand at his throat, lifting him off his feet. "Keep dreaming, creep."
His cackles burned my ears once again. "No matter. We'll have our rematch. But for now, your "friend" is calling you."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
The same creepy smile twisted his ashen features as his image faded away.
Chapter 2
My senses returned slowly. First I heard an irritating beeping sound somewhere to my right, then noticed something across my face, just under my nose. I forced my heavy eyes open to see my surroundings. The room was dark but I could still make out bland white-washed walls. Where was I, a hospital?
Warmth enveloped my left hand, a steady pulse beating against my skin. Soft, warm breath brushed the tips of my fingers. I turned my head to see short black hair splayed against the white sheets, his glasses askew on his face. He looked exhausted, the worry lines on his forehead seemed to have deepened. How long had he been here with me?
Could he be worried about me?
"Ishi…da?" I couldn't make much more than a croak.
He startled awake, pulling his hand from mine, his normally stoic face flushing with color. Cerulean eyes flashed to the monitors beside my bed and then to my face. Relief washed over his features to find my chocolate gaze watching him, only to be replaced a moment later with worry again as pain had me curling in on myself.
He started to rise. "I'll get a nurse."
"No…I'm fine." I grabbed his wrist, clutching it like a lifeline. "Stay…please." I said through gritted teeth.
He sat back down, only able to watch with worry until the spasm passed, while I attempted to strangle his wrist.
"What happened?" I asked once the pain had subsided. I still wouldn't release his hand.
He frowned. "You don't remember?"
I looked at him, not having the energy to shake my head.
Something like regret or maybe confusion clouded his eyes. He looked away from me. "You were nearly cleaved in half. You jumped in front of a Hollow's attack to defend me. Why?"
The last part he whispered so quietly, had I not been right next to him, I would have missed it.
The memory stirred in my mind, seeing Uryu's horrified face…his tears.
"Are you okay?" I asked after a moment.
His thin brows furrowed. "Tche, how can you ask me that, when you're the one lying in a hospital bed?!"
I allowed a chuckle to escape me, but it quickly brought more waves of agony crashing into me. I clenched my teeth, trying to strangle Uryu's hand again. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision, blurring his face before me.
Shit! No…not again…
All trace of annoyance left his voice. "Kurosaki?"
I tightened my hold on his hand, struggling to breathe around the pain.
His other hand touched my shoulder, his voice bringing me back to focus on his face. "Take it easy, jeez. You'll open your wound again." His eyes flicked nervously over my heavily bandaged body.
"You're such a worry wart," I muttered.
I focused on his soft breathing, trying to force mine to fall into sync.
"You need to rest," he said when I'd relaxed again. "I'll leave you be." He started to stand, but I caught his sleeve.
"Stay please…Uryu."
He hesitated at my use of his first name, but relaxed rather awkwardly again in his chair. "Fine, only if you sleep."
I nodded, letting my eyes slide closed. I took his hand again. Some part of me needed to know he was still there, so I wouldn't be alone.
After awhile as sleep had almost pulled me in, his cool fingers touched my forehead, brushing the bangs from my still closed eyes.
"Ichigo…" His voice dropped to a whisper.
My heart jumped a little at his use of my first name. His breath caught. I'm sure his eyes flicked to the rather loud machine monitoring my heartbeat and then back to me, worry tingeing the deep azure of his eyes. I could feel his eyes on me, watching for any signs of distress, which made it difficult to keep pretending to sleep.
Soon though, his fingers continued their rhythm across my forehead.
"Ichigo I…I think I might love you…so you had better pull through this," he whispered.
I let the idea sink in slowly. I should have been at least a little shocked, but I wasn't. More importantly, I wasn't disappointed either. In fact I identified the feeling washing over me as relief.
Having said it aloud, I felt him relax beside me. His hand relaxed in mine and the bed shifted when he laid his head down next to my shoulder.
I waited until his breathing evened out into deep steady breaths.
"I think I might love you too, Uryu…So don't give up on me just yet." I whispered before letting sleep carry me off.