A one shot I came up with while playing around with bubbles. You're never too old to play around with them! XD
Bubbles.
They're all transparent, some with colours swirling on the outside, some with none. There are some big, some small. They are short lived, some lasting not even for a second, some last for as long as a few minutes. All bubbles glide along consistent with the wind.
But what if a bubble tried to move against the wind?
Nobody's ever heard of it.
There are people in this world who fight against fate.
Some become names remembered for years to come, like Shakespear. Others aren't even noticed in what they've accomplished, like the person on the corner.
So, where does that leave me?
I walked back home, after a long day of school, though the rain. It reminds me of that day. The day my mother died.
I'm 17, with bizarre spiky orange hair. I'm tall; I have brown eyes, and as of now, have accomplished nothing. All I've done is live through life, the way I can.
I know I'm too young to get out there and do something, but, I want to do something.
My name is Ichigo; and my dad once told me that it meant "one who protects". Since that day, I wanted to protect those around me.
My mother died 8* years ago. I couldn't protect my mother on that day when she died. Instead, she protected me.
5 years ago, an old friend of mine, Tatsuki, died too, in front of my eyes. She protected me too.
3 years ago, a classmate of mine, who I called Chad, died protecting me.
It must have been a joke for me to be called that. Others have died for me, protecting me. I try to protect others, but they end up getting killed instead.
"Ichigo!" A shrill voice called.
I spun around, and saw Rukia, a petite girl, in my class, with short raven hair, and perky violet eyes.
She ran over to me, and took shelter from the rain beneath my umbrella.
"It's pouring down now, isn't it?" She commented.
"Yeah," I said. "I'm guessing that you want me to walk you home?"
"Sure," she nodded.
We started walking towards her place. Some people dashed past us, not wanting to get even more drenched than they already were. I could tell by Rukia's panting that she probably ran all the way up here. I can't blame her, or any of those people. Rain soaks you to the bone; it makes you cold, and it feels sad. Like some people would say, "the heavens are weeping" or something like that.
"So, how you're going with the latest assignment?" Rukia asked me.
"It reminds me of how much I hate working with others," I said. "Keigo just talks on and on, and he doesn't get any work done. Muzuiro's a lot better than him; he actually does work, and he's actually done quite a lot. Inoue on the other hand, surprisingly is doing quite good. I've looked over her work, and its way better than mine. How's yours going? You've got Ishida, Honsho and… Um…"
"Ryo," she corrected me.
I whistled. "Sure, Honsho may be a problem, but the other two would be good because of their brain power."
"Well, Ryo and Uryu don't work well in a group," Rukia told me. "They seem to want to do everything by their selves, and they don't share ideas often. Chizuru however is good with sharing ideas, but they're swiftly rejected by Uryu and Ryo."
"I think everybody's having trouble with this assignment," I said.
"It's like you said, it reminds you of how much you hate working with others,"
We then reached Rukia's neighbourhood. It was a 10 minute walk from my house to here, and it was fairly quiet. I then heard alarms, ringing in the distance.
Maybe it's not so quiet.
I then saw the source of the alarms. A bank, further up the street looked like it just had been robbed. People with masks on their faces bolted out of the building, and hopped into the car waiting. The engine started with a roar and it then came hurtling towards us. Maybe, though all that heavy, drenching rain, they couldn't see us. Maybe it was fate.
We were walking down the middle of the road because cars hardly came down here. It left us like a deer in headlights for the car that was thundering down the road. I tried to move, but I wasn't fast enough. I thought that I was going to die, until a pair of hands pushed me away. I fell onto the walk path, and then heard the screech, and the thud. The car then continued tearing down the street.
I then lifted myself up, and stood before Rukia. She was bloodied all over, and barely awake. I ran over to her and lifted her up on my back. I don't want another person dead for me. Not another one.
I did the only thing that could save her life. I dashed over, to home. My dad runs a clinic for emergencies in the area, almost acting as a hospital. Problem is that he can't do any surgery. If I ran over to him, it would be the fastest way to keep Rukia alive.
That is if she stayed alive. I could feel her blood, staining my uniform. Her life, slowly draining out.
The rain pounded on and on.
"Stay with me, Rukia," I told her, like it could help.
"… Ichi… go…" she struggled to say.
"Don't say anything," I said.
People turned their heads as I thundered past, making splashes with my feet. I ignored them. I needed to save Rukia. I don't want the same cycle repeating again.
My lungs felt like they were about to burst. I could hardly take a breath more. But still, I kept on running. Rukia's life was in my hands.
I then saw the big blue painted sign, and I felt like I could jump with joy. But it wasn't entirely over.
I reached the door, and pounded on it.
A few moments later, Yuzu, my sister opened the door.
"Nii-chan, why are you coming in this-" she suddenly cut off when she saw Rukia.
Yuzu then stepped aside to let me though.
My dad came rushing in, all dressed in his white coat. His black hair was stuck up like a mohawk, and he had a few whiskers on his chin. He was tall like me, and had brown eyes.
He frowned when he looked at me, and when he looked at Rukia, his face fell. He led me into one of the patent rooms, and I laid Rukia on a bed.
I couldn't see her chest rising or falling.
Had I failed?
Pops got out a stethoscope, and checked her pulse. His face looked pretty grim.
"What happened to her?" he asked me.
"Run over by a car," I huffed.
There was a moment's silence.
"... I'm sorry, Ichigo," he started.
He didn't need to tell me. Rukia was dead.
"... She's gone," he said.
Hearing those words felt like he had stabbed an ice dagger though my heart.
Tears streamed out if my eyes.
"No, no, no," I said, thinking if I said these words, it would undo her death.
Like it would undo all of their deaths.
I'm sick of people protecting me. People have been dying for the wrong person.
People are like bubbles. Their lives are short, and they're all different. Bubbles drift with the wind, and that's all I've done with my life. I'm not worth dying for.
I'm not worth protecting.
I found a scalpel in the room, and grabbed it.
No one will protect me. No one will protect someone who isn't important. Someone who hasn't tried to fight against fate. Against the wind.
No one will protect me.
Ever again.
I murdered Pops, and both of my sisters. Facing court, I thought that now, I would die. A death penalty would be the one that they would choose.
But I thought wrong.
I was then sent to a mental institute, after they claimed that I could be changed. That I was mentally unfit, and that the blood on my hands could be wiped away.
Practically, they took me to a place worse than prison. The mental institute made those sane, insane, and those insane, even more insane.
When I was locked in the white room, then a voice came.
"They al' died fo' ya," it said. "Why not make more o' them bleed? Make them all not protect ya. Not protect som'one who isn't wo'th a thin'. Ever again."
A bubble that fought against the wind and succeeded is unheard of.
A bubble tarnished with blood; what will people think of that?
* I think it's eight, because the Memories in the Rain OVA said it was six years ago, from that point in time.
Well, it's the first of Insane!Ichigo that I've written. It's a bit strange for me, because making bubbles is fun, yet this story isn't really fun.