Sooooooo…Yeah… I am not really sure where this piece came from, but I decided that I needed to work on smoother dialogues so, VOILA! This takes some time after the Soul Society Arc but before the Fake Karakura Town Arc.
Disclaimer: No, I have never, nor will I ever own Bleach (say that three times fast)!

Articulation

The incessant ticking of the monochromatic clock droned through the silence. Because there was no artificial light on inside, despite it being night, only the half-moon illuminated the two faces.

Outside, the occasional car would zoom down the street, leaving nothing in their wake but the fading echo of their engine. A distant humming could be heard from the fluorescent streetlights and an even subtler droning could be heard from the further away cicadas. All was quiet, even those inside the room.

The orange bristles were drooping slightly; the warm brown eyes were riveted on the face across from him. In the bed, almost matching the white sheets in complexion, the pallid face was artfully turned away and crystal blue eyes stared objectively at the door frame, away from the other's accusing orbs.

Nothing could break the truce of silence between the two. No matter how cumbersome the quiet was, neither could bring themselves to diminish their pride enough to be the first to succumb to the pressure of talking. Even the ticking of the clock was beginning to grind on their nerves.

Ichigo Kurosaki fidgeted in the plastic seat from time to time; he was torn between punching Uryuu Ishida's face in and relieving pent-up stress and preventing further injury to the fool. Ever since he walked in the hospital room, Ishida had been pointedly ignoring him as if to show his distaste and to say "What are you doing here, Kurosaki?" Before he stepped through the door, he had heard Inoue's meandering chatter and Ishida's occasional gruff answer; so, he knew the teenager hadn't become mute.

Somehow Inoue sensed the tension between the two and timidly offered an excuse and an "I think the hospital is closing for visitors, Kurosaki-kun. Maybe we should go…" When he made no move to leave, instead planting himself down and folding his arms with a huff, she gave a small sigh and shuffled towards the door. Orihime threw one last glance towards them before slowly walking down the hall, closing the door with a click.

For just a moment, Ichigo wished that Keigo was here to break the silence, before remembering with a wince, the last incident that happened when the loudmouth was at the hospital ("I swear the heart monitor combusted on its own!"). The interminable silence was beginning to get on his nerves so he blurted to the figure, "What the hell were you thinking?" A push of the glasses up his stern face was his only response.

Ichigo growled inaudibly at the haughty gesture. "You do realize that you're being totally selfish? Stupid fool, you had to know that you couldn't take on that horde of hollows by yourself? Why didn't you do something? Hell, you're the smartest kid in our class; you could've figured something out." He had to grip his knees until his knuckles turned white to prevent him from throwing a fist at the conceited upturn nose.

Throughout Ichigo's tirade the slender fingers gripped the hospital bed sheets tighter and tighter until the Substitute Shinigami could have sworn they were going to be torn. Nonetheless, Ishida's eyes were fastened on the door, away from the accusations—he still refused to acknowledge him. Imaginatively, Ichigo believed that he was seriously considering pressing the emergency button reserved for guests wary for their visitor's.

Exploding from his uncomfortable chair, causing it to be pushed back, he leaned over the railing and got in his face. "Ishida, you can do whatever the hell you want; I could give a damn! Just don't worry Orihime! When she called me, she was practically in tears." He motioned toward the Quincy's shoulder. "She had a very good reason to be petrified when she heard you got torn across the torso."

At the mention of the ginger-haired girl's name, Ishida's eyes softened slightly and the strict posture he had been in sagged. He leaned back into the pillow wearily, Ichigo duly noted. He copied the movement and began to pace back and forth in front of the patient.

Already his thinking was shifting from reprimanding an arrogant rival to comforting an injured friend. He said gently, "I know how it is to want to protect everyone and keep them from every single monster. Trust me, I know. I also know it's impossible to save everyone. You can only do what you can with what you're given—rarely more and hopefully never less. Got it?"

At this, the chartreuse eyes turned to the sapphire ones only to find them closed. Unhealthily, bruised eyelids along with his translucent skin gave Ishida a decidedly skeletal appearance. Remembering several times in Hueco Mundo and the preceding days when he was not sure if he would be the only one walking out of their alive, Ichigo cringed. There had been many instances when he felt one of his friends reiatsu drop dramatically.

Fine, I'll let you rest for now, but you haven't heard the last from—

"Kurosaki."

He half-turned from the doorknob. The Quincy's eyes were still closed and his lips were white from being sealed so tightly. Thinking that he was merely talking in his sleep, he turned to leave once again to leave. No need to talk to an unconscious body, unable to listen to his words. It was around eleven and he still had homework to finish; the walk back home would take about eighteen minutes on foot.

"No. Wait…" Ishida carefully leaned to one side and swung his feet over, tenderly placing his feet on the linoleum tiles. He pushed off the bed, leaned heavily against the chilled metal window sill and wobbled towards Kurosaki.

"OY, be careful!" The orange hair became a blur when he took sure steps to the teetering teenager and placed sturdy hands to steady him. He did not see the reprimanding glower coming; a contemptuous glare came from the shorter teen.

"Hands off, Kurosaki. I don't need your assistance." Ichigo raised his hands in front of him in a mocking pacifying manner and folded them in front of him and bit his tongue to hold back an array of insults that almost slipped out. Realizing their close proximity and Ishida's inability to move (barely able to stand) he took a step back and leaned backwards on his heels.

The Quincy placed two fingers on his eyes almost as if to hold back in oncoming headache. He would have ordered Ishida to sit back on the bed because it could not have been hospital policy to have torn-in-two victims just walking around; however, any advice he gave would be ignored, not appreciated. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" The Substitute Shinigami rolled his eyes; if he would have asked him about fifteen minutes ago, he could have given him a sharp retort and harsh words.

"I'm sure as hell that something is wrong with you. No one else would fight against that many Hollows by themselves—"

"I made a mistake" came the interruption. The previous silence inserted itself once again. Ichigo had to remind himself to keep his gaping mouth closed. Never had he heard the Quincy admit to a mistake blatantly; granted, once, Ishida might have alluded to a blunder after the whole Hollow bait fiasco, although he could have just been looking for an apology.

The coal-haired teen exhibited his discomfort by crossing his arms and clearing his throat. "Listen, I…I recognize that I sometimes have a problem communicating properly." A scoff sounded; he maintained his composure, "But, for… for Orihime's sake, I'll… I'll try to be better. I don't want to worry her unnecessarily."

Ichigo was quiet for a second and then sniffed, "That's all we're asking for." There was no doubt who he was really apologizing to. He slapped a hand on his friend's shoulder which Ishida delicately shoved off with a scowl on his face. He eyed the shorter form speculatively and pointed an insolent, impertinent finger at him, "Why'd you have to stand up and tell me that?"

Gazing with lidded eyes at his friend, he answered off-topic, "I have my own pride and can admit my shortcomings. I will not falter and," The crystal blue orbs hardened, "I can stand on my own two feet. I have never asked for help."

"Oh." In other words, to him, it meant a lot to stand on his own and meet him eye to eye. Apparently, silent gestures meant as much as conversations. "Whatever, Ishida." He craftily changed the subject, "So, how long are you in here for?"

He scrunched his nose distastefully. "Only until the director of the hospital decides to let me go. He wants to do a few more tests to affirm that I didn't receive any infections in the wound. It would be tragic if I went home and died from some non-specific virus. Besides," He added bitterly, if not ironically, "It would give Karakura Hospital a bad reputation and no one would want that."

"Hmmm. I guess that's good." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly at the acidic tone, "Well, I guess that's everything. I just wanted to make sure you were still alive. You know, it would be a hassle to lose the smartest kid in our class. Everyone would be fightin' over your position and it would create bad feelings all-around."

The charcoal head gave a stiff nod to the meaningless chatter. "Do you have anything else to say? It's almost past midnight and surely there is some homework you could be doing right now. I'm not going to be in school for a few days and I cannot ask Inoue-san for all the notes and homework."

Pretending to forget that just earlier he was remembering all the schoolwork that needed to be done, Ichigo internally groaned, Only Ishida could think of homework at this hour of the night. Outwardly, he said, "Only you could think of something like that right now."

"Well, one of us has to care about his grades. I don't know about you, but I'm proud of my ranking and want it to stay the same. I know how balance my life and not procrastinate." Both stared daggers at the other, wandering how things would play out before Ichigo broke into a smirk. Ishida gave a small smirk of his own.

Silently, he gave a friendly punch to the shoulder in friendship; Ishida made an annoyed face. Oh right, I forgot that he was sliced there… True to form, the pale countenance uttered no word, but he did rub his shoulder ruefully and give an earned glower.

Ichigo went back to the plastic seat and adjusted it to face the bed. His book bag that he had frantically slung over his shoulder when he heard about Ishida's hospitalization, he picked up from the ground. Adjusting the strap, he also made sure that nothing spilled from the contents and that the Shinigami Representative Badge was still secure.

He faced Ishida for the last time and gave a mocking salute. For the final time, Ichigo pivoted on his heels and opened the door to leave. He paused, and while still facing the empty hallway, announced, "Be careful, idiot." He left the figure to grope his way back to the bed and to stagger into the pristine sheets. Clicking, the door settled back into place and silence once again reigned throughout the building.

Never did he see Ishida's corner of his lips turn upward into a true smile as he burrowed himself under the scratchy fabric. He did, however, hear the faint, "Thank you, Kurosaki." With a job well done, Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Shinigami jauntily strolled down the halls, out the door, and towards home. One friend saved, now an entire to town to protect.

Please, review and tell me how I did dialogue-wise! See you later!
Thus, I depart.