One Chance:

- Ichigo had never thought his time was limited, but when he found out it was, he decided to make the best of what he had.

A/N: This story is just something I do in my spare time when I can't write any more of my normal ones, helps with writer's blocks a lot. It won't be replacing priority on my other stories but be something I will occasionally update from time to time when there's enough wrote for a chapter.

I'm not sure how long it will end up being, maybe the length of a normal story or shorter, haven't decided yet, just going to see where it goes for now. Anyway, enjoy and R&R :)

Chapter 1:

"You have cancer."

Ichigo's world came to a sudden halt when the words left the doctor's mouth, his mind working overtime to try and understand what he had said. He looked up at the doctor with panicked eyes, noting the calm, underlying sadness in them. Clearing his throat, Ichigo managed to ask the one question he could think of.

"How long do I have?"

His doctor looked down at the notes, sighing as he sat down next to him and looked him in the eyes. "A few months at best, if you're lucky, half a year. The cancer has grown to an inoperable size and there's nothing we can do to stop it. All we can do is make you comfortable."

Ichigo nodded and looked down, focusing very hard on breathing which had become very difficult to do. When he calmed down he looked up again. "What can you do?"

"Give you medication to slow down the rate of growth, it won't help much, but it might give you a few more weeks. The results are variable so I can't give you a reliable figure."

Ichigo nodded. "Ok." Standing up, he took a deep breath and glanced at the door where his family were stood on the other side waiting for him. "Doc?"

"Yes Ichigo?"

He turned to look at the man and smiled. "Thank you for what you're doing, even if it doesn't make a difference."

"Of course." He gently placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulders, looking at him kindly. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me, no matter how small the problem is."

"I won't."

"Good." Handing Ichigo his prescription, he opened the door. "Do you want me to tell them?"

Ichigo shook his head, sighing heavily. "No, I will." He nodded at the doctor before leaving the room. He stopped and looked at his family as they stood up, looking at him anxiously. He took a deep breath before telling them. "The results came back positive."

His mother was the first to move, coming over to him instantly and hugging him tightly as his father sank into a chair, holding his head in his hands. Ichigo closed his eyes as his mother's scent enveloped him, calming his nerves and he slowly hugged her back.

She pulled away to smile down at him, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. "So what do you want to do about it sweetheart?"

"I can't do anything. It's inoperable and all the doctor can do is give me medication which might slow down the process, he doesn't know by how much, or even if it will work. But it's worth a shot right?"

"Of course, whatever you want." She hugged him again, kissing the top of his head with a sigh. "How long?"

Ichigo gripped the back of her shirt tightly. "A few months, maybe half a year."

She paused and looked down at her son as he clung to her before sighing and kissing his head again. "Let's go home and talk ok?" Ichigo nodded and let her lead him out of the room, at the door, she glanced back at Isshin to see he hadn't moved since sitting down. "Isshin, we're going home, come on."

He glanced at her and sighed, standing up to follow them out of the hospital. On the way home, Ichigo didn't speak; he looked out the window as the rain splatted against the glass and rested his head on the cool surface. Looking at his reflection, Ichigo could see he was pale and it looked as if finding out the truth had made him appear ill, even though the idea made him snort.

When they got home, Ichigo followed his parents inside and paused when he found Yuzu and Karin stood in the hallway, looking at him worriedly. Something inside him changed when he saw their faces and he made a resolution to himself, no matter how bad it got, he wouldn't let them see it.

So he smiled and went over to them both, pulling them into a hug. "Hey guys."

"So you gunna tell us what happened?" Karin asked, her voice wavering and betraying her as Yuzu started sniffing.

"The results came back positive." Ichigo smiled softly when Yuzu started crying and brushed away the tears. "Doc gave me a few months."

"But, but..." She sniffled, rubbing her face. "You can't go!" Ichigo fell back on his butt when Yuzu threw herself into his arms and sighed, kissing her head.

"I don't want to either Yuzu; I'll stay as long as I can, promise." Holding her tightly, he looked at Karin to see she was tremoring and smiled, holding out an arm. "C'mere." Karin just stood looking at him for a moment before moving closer, letting Ichigo pull her onto his lap too. "It's going to be fine, ok?"

"Idiot." She mumbled. "We should be telling you that, not the other way around."

Laughing lightly, Ichigo managed to smile at their parents, reassuring them seemingly as they relaxed. "I'm fine at the minute so no need to worry. Now come on," he stood up, pulling the twins to their feet. "I'm hungry and I'm betting you guys are too, let's go eat. I hope you've made something good Yuzu."

She perked up slightly and smiled. "I made your favourite Ichi-nii!" She grabbed Karin's hand and pulled her into the kitchen to help set up dinner and Ichigo watched them go with a smile before glancing back at Masaki and Isshin.

"Nothing to worry about." When he turned to follow his sisters into the kitchen, he stumbled when pain shot through his side like a hot lance and gasped, bending over to clutch his side. Masaki rushed to his side and steadied him and after a few moments, when the pain had subsided to a dull throbbing that he could withstand, Ichigo straightened up again. He smiled weakly at his mother and wiped the sweat of his forehead. "I'm fine, just give me a moment."

She nodded, chewing on her bottom lip in worry, a trait Ichigo had inherited before she looked at Isshin. "Help me get him to a chair." When Isshin didn't move, she sighed and shook her head before half supporting, half dragging Ichigo to the dining room so he could sit down. "Do you need anything?"

"A glass of water would be nice." Ichigo looked up and smiled when he saw she was watching him worriedly. "Don't worry mum, I won't drop dead if you leave." He chuckled when she flinched slightly. "Too soon?"

"It's always going to be too soon Ichigo." Kissing his head, she sighed again and left the room, returning a few moments later with his drink. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Taking the drink, Ichigo pulled out his medication, taking one of the pills out. "Might as well start this now, can't go keeling over when I'm at school."

Masaki sat down next to him and started playing with a strand of his hair. "You don't have to keep going to school if you don't want. I'm sure if we explained the situation, they wouldn't force you to go."

Ichigo paused before looking at her. "I want to keep going. If there's one thing I want, its normality. Besides, I'll go crazy if I have nothing to do all day every day."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. But I still think we should tell the school about your condition in case something does happen so they can call us or the doctor."

Ichigo sighed, but nodded anyway, if it made his mother feel better that the school knew, then so be it. "Ok."

"Dinner's ready!"

Yuzu called happily, bringing in some plates with Karin following behind, her usual stoic expression back in place. They set the food down and took their places at the table as Isshin slowly made his way into the room and sat down. Ichigo noted how he walked calmly in, no boisterous yelling or gestures, or even an attack, which was definitely out of the ordinary for him.

"Dad?"

He looked up when Ichigo asked for him, turning to look at his son. "Yes?"

"Are you ok?"

"Of course." He looked down at his plate and sighed. "I just wish there was something I could do for you. Someway I could help."

"There isn't dad, it's too late."

"I know, I just can't accept there's nothing we can do for you."

"You can stop acting like this and be your normal, albeit annoying, self again. That would make me feel better." Ichigo smiled at his dad when he looked at him with a frown. "I just want things to be normal, treating me differently will just make me feel worse."

Isshin sighed and looked down. "If that's what you want." He grabbed a bowl suddenly and threw it at Ichigo, it just missing him as he ducked.

"What the hell?!"

"I see you reactions are as fast as ever! Well done my son!"

Ichigo opened his mouth to start yelling, but sighed and shook his head. "Idiot." He muttered before eating. After he finished, he stood up, intending to clean up but Yuzu shook her head and grabbed the plate.

"I'll do it Ichi-nii. You go sit down and rest."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at her before chuckling and kissing her head. "Ok, but I'm doing them next time."

She smiled dotingly at him before grabbing the rest of the plates and going into the kitchen. Ichigo sighed and glanced at his watch to see it was seven and yawned. "I'm going upstairs, see you tomorrow." He waved his hand and disappeared, grabbing a towel from the cupboard so he could shower.

Afterwards, he stood in front of hir mirror and gently ran his hand over his stomach and sighed, at least he didn't look any different. Grabbing a shirt, he pulled it on before sitting down and grabbing a piece of paper and pen, scribbling down a title.

' What I want to do before dying: '

He tapped the pen in thought against his chin before slowly writing down a few things.

' One: Finish school.

Two: Get good grades. '

After all, he was in his final year, he only had three months left so he wanted to finish and get some assemblance of acceptable grade. Even if they meant nothing, it would be an achievement to have known he could've gone to University.

' Three: Go on holiday with friends. '

They'd been planning a week away to the beach in the summer, something Ichigo was looking forward too and definitely didn't want to miss.

' Four: Fall in love.

Five: Loose virginity. '

So sue him, who wanted to die a virgin? Definitely not Ichigo. He would experience that and hopefully fall in love with someone, someone who would understand his condition. He snorted at the thought, who would want to be tied down to him on a good day, let alone now he knew he had cancer.

He sighed and looked at the list before slowly adding one more. Throwing down the pen, he yawned and crawled into bed, falling asleep instantly. The moonlight shining in the room illuminating the last point on his list.

' Six: Ask Grimmjow Jaeggerjaques out. '