/* Hello! Welcome to the first fanfic I've written in years! I've always wanted to do a Grimmjow fic, but was always hesitant due to a fear of getting his personality right. I've decided to give it a shot. Some warnings: this fic contains strong language, violence, a lot of angst, and some lemony goodness (not until later). This is a GrimmjowxOC pairing. I tried to make things as accurate to the Bleach world as possible; that said, there may be a few minor things changed to make it work. My goal is for weekly updates, but no guarantee! (life is crazy right now) Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of their characters. I did create a few OCs for this fic. All names of OCs were randomly selected and any connection to those existing in real life is purely coincidental. Thanks for reading! */
"Haruka-chan." His voice was gentle and weak. The young woman with long violet hair and equally vibrant eyes did not look at him, couldn't look at him.
"Yes?" She returned while continuing her work. As a member of squad four, she was often talked down to. Here was different. She was chosen single handedly by Lord Aizen to assist in his work. This would be for the good of all of soul society. That was what he had told her and she believed it wholeheartedly. She believed in him with everything she was.
"It hurts today." He had become so fragile. Each day that Lord Aizen called upon her to heal his injuries, he seemed a little closer to death. It was heartbreaking. This man, whom she was destined to be with for the rest of her life, was dying and she couldn't help him. But she had to do what Lord Aizen told her. He was all that mattered.
A painful grunt caused her to look up at him. His face was bright. It always seemed to glow when she was in his presence. Maybe that was why she just couldn't look at him anymore.
"I'm sorry. I'll try to ease the pain." She soothed while looking away.
"It hurts." He repeated, his voice a bit more strained.
"Just be still." She insisted, trying to remain cold and indignant.
"It hurts!" His voice started changing. It was a ragged sound that tore at her ear drums.
"Please be still!" It was then she looked at his face again. His hands flew up, scraping away skin as he continued to scream.
"It hurts! It hurts! Haruka-chan, it hurts!"
Panic filled her as she took a few steps back. "What's happening?"
He continued to scream as blood poured from the wounds he was creating. He dug at his face, gouging his own eyes and spilling his lifeforce.
"It hurts!"
A flash of white appeared under his skin, a perfect ivory white.
"I'm sorry." She muttered, scared. Tears started falling as pain closed around her heart.
"It hurts!
His voice was morphing, becoming something haunting.
"I'm so sorry."
She managed to catch the scream erupting from her throat in time as she flew up in her bed. "A nightmare." She thought as she glanced around the room. Everything was as it should be.
A gentle breeze was blowing in from the open window, cooling her damp skin. The lavender-colored comforter was draped across her lap, acting as an anchor. She pressed her palm against her fevered brow while trying to erase the images burned there. It wasn't just a nightmare. It was a memory.
The clock on her nightstand was bright with red numbers reading '3:00.' The light of the moon shining through the open window dimmed the obnoxious glaring digits. She sighed, tossing her head back with her arms outstretched, allowing the mattress to consume her. The 'thwack' sound of the pillow was deafening in the silence of the night. She stared at the ceiling, counting the tiny imperfections; still only eight.
The swishing of curtains against the breeze along with her quiet solace was almost enough to drift her back to sleep. It would have been enough, if the harsh ringing of her phone at her bedside didn't invade her space. She twisted her head enough to see the screen, bright and irritating. She reached over and pulled the phone to her ear, her eyes still staring at the ceiling.
"Hello?" She already knew what it was going to be about. "I'll be right there."
The drive to Karakura Town Hospital was about fifteen minutes from her small apartment on the outskirts. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best way to stay as off the radar as much as possible. It did leave too much time to think, however. It left too much time to remember.
"Aizen-sama?" Her voice was small. It was always small when speaking in his presence. She used to have a voice; a very long time ago.
"I no longer have any use for you." There was no sympathy in his tone, no regret. Where once she revered him, now she knew just how evil he was. He had used her and he did not care.
"B-but, Aizen-sama…"
"I will give you the opportunity to leave now as a courtesy, before I introduce your replacement." He turned and began walking out of the room with his newest toy at his side. The red-headed girl stopped and turned. Her eyes were big, covered slightly by strands of stray hair.
"I'm sorry." She said meekly.
Aizen stopped and tilted his head towards her. "Come, Orihime Inoue." She hesitated for only a moment more before following Aizen out. She was lucky he was such a patient man; always patient for what he wanted.
The bright lights of the emergency vehicles brought her back to her reality. She parked quickly in the employee lot closest to the emergency department and sprang from her vehicle. She sprinted inside, tempted to use shunpo, but knowing better.
"I'm here!" She announced upon entering. There were three victims lying on stretchers in consecutive rooms. The curtains were open, allowing for her to see the devastation.
"Akiyama-san! This one over here is the worst!" A nurse called out. She ran to the farthest victim. It was a child, no older than ten, lying unconscious on the bed.
"What happened?" Haruka asked as she went to work immediately. She glanced over at the end of the bed, the soul of the young girl sat crying. "It hurts." She cried quietly.
Haruka swallowed before looking back at the mangled body. "It was a car accident. The girl was crossing the street and the car swerved to miss her. The driver and passenger of the vehicle are also in pretty bad shape." The nurse answered.
"In the middle of the night?" Haruka questioned.
"Apparently she snuck out of the house." The nurse shrugged before working to cut the girl's pajamas free from her tiny body.
"Akiyama-san." The director's voice always cut through her, no matter the situation. It was cold and calculating.
"Ishida-sensei, I need a room." Haruka responded. He nodded before taking the head of the stretcher. Haruka grasped the bottom where the little girl's soul sat, still faintly linked to the body. The director guided the bed into a spare room off to the side. As soon as the stretcher was in place, he walked towards the door. He glanced back at her only momentarily before leaving, locking the door behind him.
"It's going to be ok." Haruka said to the end of the bed. The tiny soul turned and looked at her with wide eyes.
"I'm scared." Her bottom lip trembled as the threads tying her to her body quickly unravelled, her chain weakening.
"It will be ok. I promise I'm going to help you." She smiled, a bright reassuring gesture that seemed to relax the spirit. She turned her attention to the frail little body and started focusing on her kido. She could feel the barrier that the director had erected around the room, blocking out any sign of her reiatsu as she exerted her kido spells on the broken human.
Healing the physical body was a bit different from healing a soul, but she had become skilled at it over the time she spent working at the hospital as a nurse. She had saved more lives than the doctors and had quickly become the 'miracle nurse' everyone asked for. It was a title Urahara had warned against.
Sweat began dripping from her brow as her gigai started feeling strained against the intensity of reiatsu being used. She took deep breaths, focusing on healing the wounds. A pang of relief lifted her as she saw the connection between soul and body strengthen.
"Something is pulling me!" The soul shrieked.
"Don't fight it!" Haruka urged. "Let it take you."
She watched as the soul was pulled back into the body by the thickened chain. The little girl's eyes fluttered and opened. A look of shock morphed her features. "Rest, little one." Haruka whispered on a strained voice before placing her hand on the girl's forehead. She used a kido spell, knocking the girl unconscious once again.
When all signs of her reiatsu diminished, the barrier was lifted and the door opened. "Ishida-sensei, I'm ready for the next patient."
When all lives were out of danger, Haruka was finally able to sneak into the break room. She grimaced at the old pot of coffee sitting on the burner and opted for some tea instead. "Are you sure you wish to continue this? You will eventually draw too much attention to yourself." The director was always silent when moving about.
"I want to help people." She replied while turning to face him. "Everybody should have a second chance at life."
"That is not how God imagined it." He returned.
"Then why are you helping me?" She asked with a slight smirk tugging at her lips. At heart, Ryuken Ishida was a doctor and doctors strove to save lives.
"I have my reasons." He shrugged.
"Well, I've already been lectured by Urahara, so I'd rather not have to get it from you, too." She turned back to the counter to finish preparing her tea. The little curls of steam were a warm invitation to a bit of relaxation.
He sneered at the mention of Urahara. "I'm hoping he is still aware of our arrangement?"
"Urahara is aware of everything." She twisted around again and pressed her back against the counter. She took a long sip of the hot liquid and sighed.
He averted his gaze, looking bored. "Do not attract shinigami to my hospital. You know how they hate it when someone starts messing with the balance."
"I'm certain that the shinigami have much more important things to worry about than a simple exile saving a few lives here and there." Haruka waved her free hand absentmindedly, growing annoyed at the conversation.
Dr. Ishida snorted indignantly before moving towards the door. "I'm assuming you will be staying for your entire shift? I don't have the staff for you to be making your own hours."
"I will be staying, sensei." She rolled her eyes as he left. She took another long sip of tea and sighed around the pulse of heat. "It's going to be a long day."
Her shift had dragged on. She had her fill of catching puke and wiping up blood for the day. After the car accident, there had been only one other life threatening incident. It was an elderly man who was suffering from respiratory failure due to lung cancer. She had decided to not involve herself in that one despite her heart clenching at the sight of the mourning family. The man was suffering as it was. It might have been possible for her to remove the malformation and heal the damage of the lungs, but humans were not meant to live forever. That and she was already drawing enough attention to herself as it was. "Best to not aggravate it further." She thought. Her other patients of the day were humans with colds, broken bones, or simple lacerations. They were easy enough to treat with traditional human medicine.
The automated doors slid open, inviting a rush of hot, sticky air to bombard her. A few strands of purple hair fell free from the tie, sticking to her forehead. Despite the air conditioned space, she still managed to break a sweat between running around and using her kido.
She stretched her limbs one last time under the bright lamp before moving towards the parking lot. Her eyes were strained from exhaustion; her legs were the consistency of jelly; and all she wanted to do was go home and sleep.
"Hey, girl!" A deep voice called out to her from a dark corner tucked at the side of the hospital.
"Not interested." She answered without stopping. Before she could get to her car, however, two tall men stopped in front of her. The dark fabric of their suits looked expensive and matched their equally dark shoes. They both wore sunglasses, despite it being eight at night.
Haruka glared at them, her violet eyes looking deadly in the bright moonlight that was coming up over the horizon.
"I don't take no for an answer." The man in the corner walked out from the looming shadow the hospital cast upon him. He was a bit shorter than his two counterparts and a bit chunkier too. He wore a similar suit, but his had pinstripes running down it. He wore a wide brim hat that fell just below his thick brow. His smile was wicked.
Haruka turned her glare on him, not at all amused at being held up after a nearly seventeen hour shift. "There's a first for everything." She retorted.
The man's smile twisted into a grimace. "You're the miracle nurse, right?" He pulled his sunglasses off, revealing a pair of dark eyes that immediately spoke of the man's intent. He pushed the brim of his hat up on his brow with a single finger as he looked Haruka up and down. "I have a job for you." He continued when she didn't answer.
"I'm not interested." She replied again.
"I'm in a pretty dangerous business and my...employees tend to get hurt on the job. My boss would like for you to be our company's nurse." His smile grew wide again.
"I am not interested." Haruka's annoyance was growing, like a flame licking at dry kindling, and these idiots were just throwing on more parched branches.
The big guy's smile distorted once again, his emotion as readable as a good novel. "I told you, honey, I don't take no for an answer…" His two goons started moving up, towering over her. She sighed, knowing exactly where this was going to go. Her tired limbs and achy muscles would make this more of a chore, but she did need the practice…
"Is there a problem here?" Ryuken Ishida had his left hand wrist deep in his pocket while he tugged a cigarette from his lips with his right. His silver hair shimmered in the light of the moon. A dusty aura surrounded him as he exhaled a cloud of smoke. The swooshing of his white coat and his reverberating footfalls were all that anyone heard as the men stood at a standstill. "Akiyama-san?"
"No, sensei. I was just heading home when I was stopped by these gentlemen." Haruka answered.
"And I'm certain there is very little business three men like yourselves could possibly have with my nurse at this hour." Dr. Ishida took another inhale of smoke before exhaling it in their direction.
"We were just leaving." The chunky man said as he signaled for his lackys to follow him.
"Thanks." Haruka said after the three had left.
"You should have security walk you to your car from now on." He said as he took the last drag of his cigarette and tossed it to the pavement.
"Probably not a bad idea." She mentioned. "Goodnight, Ishida-san."
He grunted in response before turning back towards the hospital, but not before watching his nurse get in her car and drive away.