Counting Forever
AU A miserable young man, cursed to live an immortal life, finds himself falling for a bright young girl who doesn't have much left to live.
DISCLAIMER: Bleach is still not mine... unfortunately.
Death has always been feared by most. Probably because they believe that there's so much to live for like their wealth or whatever they see as a contribution to their personal satisfaction which is perhaps why you've heard of people who go through numerous lengths just to uncover the secrets of living an eternal life or discovering the fountain of youth.
I, for one, have lived for more than two centuries now and let me tell you, it's not all that great. True, I've seen the birth of technology and I probably would still be around to witness its end but even after that, I'm pretty sure that I'll still be here more or less. Let me correct you now by saying that I am not one of those mythical creatures from fictional books, that teenagers read in this generation, no. I'm just a normal 25 year old guy whose physical self has not aged a day besides the fact that it's been in existence for so many years now.
And the reason for that? Nothing big. Just a measly curse. I tried to save a life and this is the price I paid. It seemed fair at that time but now the more that I think about it, the more I feel desperate to experience death. Don't get me wrong, I've tried. Suicide I mean. Painful? Yes. Effective? I'm still here though, so that answers that.
"It's so good to finally meet you, doctor," the woman bowed. The said doctor merely nodded and proceeded to instruct her, the guardian, to leave the room. The woman, who seemed to be in her thirties, followed but whispered something to her petite companion about behaving properly and assuring that she'll be outside if they need her.
Ichigo, the doctor, paid no heed to the conversation and proceeded to read the file of his new patient on his desk...
Rukia Kuchiki. 21 years old. Date of birth... Place of birth... Illness...
He lightly raised his head to see her face. The girl left, Rukia, simply sat down with her eyes wandering the place as if fascinated by this room that he finds so dull and plain.
I guess one of the few things that come when you've lived longer than most is that more and more things become insignificant to you.
Once done, her violet orbs landed on his brown ones and a soft smile graced her face. His eyebrows immediately creased.
How could eyes like those be full of life, surely this must be the wrong person.
Being a shrink for so long has given him the ability to easily read people's actions, most especially what goes on in their heads. But then why does it feel like this girl is reading through his?
He broke their eye contact and looked through her files again.
Being obsessed with death himself, his patients are...
He read the words...
Rare chronic heart disease.
"So... how does this work? You and me," she asked with a slight tilt of her head. He sighed, not exactly quite sure why he did so but part of the reason was to remind himself that this girl was his patient which means...
She's dying.
"I've read through your file and so far—"
"I know, I won't last long because my heart won't allow me to. But you know, it bothers me more that I'm going to die a virgin, than the actual fact of me dying," she shrugged. There was silence for a brief moment as he examined this girl sitting in front him.
"You're pretty blunt," he ended up saying while he closed the folder containing her personal information and she smiled.
"Well doctor, when you're dying, like I am, you try to say as much as you can so that not much would be left unspoken." For some reason, his lips slightly formed a smile.
Indeed, one of the few things that come when you've lived longer than most is that more and more things become insignificant. And yet, when you find something of importance, there is a high chance that your memory of that encounter would be as clear as day. Like...
Her eyes...
Her smile...
Her voice...
Her hair...
Every single detail will remain stored, ready to be relived even if the persona herself... is gone.
A/N: I tried to write a drabble... it's so hard! Haha. Anyway, I've been watching a lot of series in the past few days and I decided to write this for my friend. I posted it here first before I actually give it to her. Let me know what you think. And by the way, I'm still alive. I'll try to update my other works after I get home from a loooong vacation out of the country. And I wrote this because I've been tumblr-ing for awhile now, stalking the ichiruki tag haha. Sorry not sorry. Thanks for reading. Hope you guys would review :"D