I wish there was a moon out there, sending its milky rays of light down to guide my way through the dark maelstrom of rain pouring down on me.
My sight is blurred as I run like I've never ran in my life before — following the violet gleam right in front of me. Its wings flutter a weightless path, uncaring of the storm howling around us, but with a clear aim in its mind. Raindrops create a pearly hue around him, and he is the beacon I follow so desperately. My clothes cling to my skin uncomfortably, but I'm only dimly aware of this. I need to be faster.
"Hurry, Ishida!"
Rukia's stern voice is ringing in my ears.
"I need your help!"
And if you know that, woman, you know that pleading like that means something close to a catastrophe has to be happening. I double my speed, running through deserted streets, urging myself forward faster and faster.
My otherworldly guard vanishes in something that has to be a dark backyard, and I come to a halt rather abruptly. I glance around, standing there frozen to that very spot. The rain still comes down in gusts, my blood singing in my ears and I'm not able to draw in the breath I need too so badly.
There are two figures crouching on the pavement. One is busy giving shelter from the rain — while the other one lays motionless. A shout rings through the night and suddenly, suddenly I'm drinking in the severe situation right in front of me… Rukia screaming at me to hurry over while she cradles him in her lap.
Him.
His normally so bright hair is plastered in dark strands to his forehead and his breathing comes out in uneven gasps. His face speaks of wordless pain.
It feels like something is creeping up my spine, I don't have the time to realize that it has to be fear as I stumble forward. Rukia is still yelling, but my head is an empty shell that doesn't register her words. She clutches his right side and through the torn remnants of his shirt, there's black liquid slowly seeping its way to the ground.
He's bleeding.
"God..." It doesn't sound like my voice but it has to be, I can feel my lips moving while I slip out of my soaked sweater. "Hold him up," I instruct her, twisting the cloth around his midsection, tying it in a firm knot. It's a lousy compression bandage, but it has to do for the moment. The light fabric gains dark stains fast and there's that biting feeling again, reaching for my throat this time.
"Urahara's."
This word is enough to shake me from my trance and I glance up, searching Rukia's eyes. There's an undying determination in them that I have to give her credit for it. I nod silently. His head lolls on her shoulder and her arms hold his body in place securely. Like a mother would hold her child: with care and worry… there's so much trust in that simple gesture. 'Not like a woman would hold her lover' my mind is whispering and, despite all circumstances, I have to smile faintly. Not as a lover.
"We have to move him carefully."
She says as I get to my feet and pull his arm over my shoulder slowly while Rukia firms her grip on his unwounded side. He's heavy and I wish for Chad's strength, but somehow we will manage. We have to.
We fall into flashstep easily and the world is a blur of water and dark colors again. I strain my ears to hear his breathing, his heartbeat...anything, but there's nothing but the wind howling along with our steps. 'Don't dare to die, everything is going to be fine' is the unspoken mantra I repeat in my mind over and over again.
After what has to be a millennia, the dim lights of Urahara Shouten come into view and, again, I hear Rukia yell with all she's got. There are lamps blinking and doors shifting as the well-known figures appear at the threshold, wiping away sleep and raindrops. There's one moment of silence and immobility — until a second later the world decides to step into motion again with a lot more shouting and shifting.
But finally he's safe, they will help him. He's laying there in the makeshift bed on the floor, torso exposed, while Tessai's bulky frame hovers over him. Everything is going to be fine.
"These are no injuries caused by Hollows..." Tessai states in a worried voice. "No, they aren't."
My gaze focuses on Rukia, who starts to gnaw at her lower lip while she looks to the ground, worry clearly etched on her features.
"He got into a brawl with some guys. One kicked him through a window...I guess the glass cut him open like that."
When she looks up again, she searches my eyes, as if to apologize to me.
"Sorry, I came too late."
I open my mouth to answer, but Tessai cuts me off.
"My Kidou heals spiritual wounds, but..."
His sentence trails off, and again, there's that chill that crawls over my skin.
"Earthbound injuries need earthbound treatments," Urahara finishes instead. "And we can't wait till Inoue arrives here."
"No, we won't wait," I hear myself saying. Everyone's eyes are trained on me, but it's him I'm looking at. I kneel down by his side, running my palm over his forehead softly, stroking the strands away that cling to his damp skin. '...as a lover...' a voice in the back of my mind murmurs.
He's so pale as he shifts in pain, slipping in and out of consciousness. The bleeding has stopped, but two long gashes are running in angry open lines over his belly. They aren't that deep, but are in dire need of treatment, he's lost much blood. "Everything is going to be fine, hear me..." These words were never meant to be said, but when Rukia's small hand clasps my shoulder, I realize that I must have spoken them aloud.
She gives me that look again, full of worry and guilt, but I know what I have to do now. I take her hand gently off my shoulder without breaking eye contact. "If they can't help him, I will," I whisper, reaching into my back pocket and pulling out a small case. There's everything I need: Three types of fine steel needles and some threads in black and white. After all, if there's one thing on earth I can perform like no other, it's sewing. Only this time, I'm not patching up some old plush.
Rukia is handed a glass with a milky fluid and, by lifting his head, she forces it down his throat, gulp for gulp.
"Painkillers," Tessai states simply at my questioning look.
Mending torn pieces is such a meditative process. I enjoy it so much under normal circumstances — but nothing is normal here. I work quickly, but precisely, stitch after stitch. It has to be done. Everything is going to be fine. It's funny how these words never fail to keep me from thinking anything else.
I don't know how long I've been working, but when the last move is done, I look up to examine his face. It's peaceful now and his chest heaves with each even intake of air. My own hands are shaking now that the tension leaves my body slowly; taking a calming breath seems so incredibly hard to do.
"Hey..."
Rukia's voice is like the main refrain in a three act drama unfolding right in front of my eyes, I have no words for how thankful I am for that.
"You okay?" she asks.
I want to answer with all my eloquence, try to put up that façade I have gotten used to over the years, but all I manage is a cruel half-smile and a curt nod. For a moment she looks like she is about to comment on my reaction, only to change the topic.
"He looks so vulnerable laying there like this..."
Again I drink in his form. Yes, he does. And he would hate it with every fiber of his being. But with his ever permanent frown gone due to the pills, he really looks like another person. Fragile. Delicate. Beautiful.
Securing the bandages is the last task and, while I'm holding his body up, it's Rukia who wraps the fabric around him carefully. As soon as she's finished, I let his body sag against mine and she sits back on her haunches, looking over at me with an unreadable emotion shining in her violet eyes.
Finally, an honest smile graces her lips and it reaches her eyes too. "You hold him like a lover would," she remarks in a small voice.
I'm glad the others are gone by now, because I'm searching for an appropriate answer with my mouth hanging open like I'm a stranded carp.
But then I come to realize, that it wasn't a question, but a matter of fact. His hair tickles my chin and I can feel his warm breath ghosting over my collarbone. My arms circle his upper body and his solid weight rests against me while I hold him close.
I have to close my eyes as I lean back a bit to rest against the wall behind me. I have never felt so exhausted in my life before. "Lover, huh?" The word rolls off my tongue strange, but easy. "Sounds nice..." I hear her feet tapping over the hardwood floor then the lights are switched off.
"Good night, Ishida" she mumbles before the door closes slowly.
I welcome the silence surrounding me, engulfing us both. I listen to his heart beating and it lulls me into sleep. "Lover," I say one last time into the pitch black darkness sheltering us.